I was tagged for the Totally Should’ve Book Tag by the lovely Min @ Min and Her Books!

The tag was originally created by Emma on Youtube, on her channel Emmmabooks.

I’ve seen this tag floating around the blogosphere as well as Book Tube, so I’m glad to finally have a reason to do this! Read on if you’re interested in my bookish opinions!

Totally Should’ve Gotten a Sequel

Ascension (Jacqueline Koyanagi)

While marked as a series on Goodreads, Ascension has been a stand-alone in it’s own series since 2013. I only just recently read Ascension, but I would definitely be interested in more books in this universe. While I loved the story, there was just so much more world building that I needed, and I was hoping other novels would lend into that. But so far, four years later, and there’s no news of a sequel. I’m still holding out for one though, however unlikely it probably is.

 

Totally Should’ve Had a Spin-Off Series

The Expanse (James S.A. Corey)

While the series gets longer and longer, I can’t help but to feel burned out in relation to the characters. I love Holden, Naomi, Alex, and Amos, as well as Avasarala, Bobbie, Prax, and Fred, but jeez, the only stories in this series not about them are short stories. I love these characters a lot, but I want to know more about the background characters. There was a gay priest in the third or fourth book and why can’t I know more about her? Or the disabled veteran in the third? There was so much diversity in the side characters, but you rarely get to know more about them past the single book they’re in.

An Author Who Totally Should Write More Books

Alison Evans

Alison Evans is one of the few people who can write my gender ID that I relate to. They write genderqueer characters beautifully, and I’ve only have the pleasure of reading two of their novels: Ida, and Long Macchiatos and Monsters. Both had flawless enby rep, and I only want more. I know they write short stories and poetry, and I do actually have something of their’s titled Wolfskin, but I haven’t had the chance to read it yet. I’m just really hoping they decide to write more genderqueer characters.

 

A Character Who Totally Should’ve Ended Up with Someone Else

There’s only one book that I’ve gotten into the relationships, and this is one that a LOT of people have actually gotten mad at me over. In this middle grade novel, titled Ranger’s Apprentice, the main character, Will, ends up with this girl named Alyss. Now, in my opinion, there really was no chemistry there, mainly because the (male) author had no idea how to write female characters. Now, the relationship between Will and his best friend Horace was phenomenal, and I can’t help but to ship them?? But the series is unfortunately completely straight and mostly white.

Totally Should’ve Ended Differently

And the Trees Crept In (Dawn Kurtagich)

And the Trees Crept In was probably one of the scariest novels I have ever read. That ending though was one of the most confusing and disappointing endings to a book I can even think of. Like, who adds a sex scene in the middle of the climax? That was completely awkward, especially when the love interest was unneeded in the first place. This book was a great premise and seemed to have only been half developed.

 

Totally Should’ve Had a Movie Franchise

The Realm of the Elderlings (Robin Hobb)

This saga is better than Game of Thrones. Complex characters, beautiful imagery, and amazing background and worldbuilding. Everything about this series points to either a TV show to the Game of Thrones scale, or a huge-ass movie series that complements the books perfectly. Or at least graphic novels for the characters and the imagery.

Just please.

 

Totally Should’ve Had a TV Show

Not Your Sidekick (C.B. Lee)

Do . . . I have to explain this one. Even as an animated kids show, I feel like this series would be perfect for any visual adaption. It’s such a funny book, and the characters are so relatable, and I feel like a lot of people would find this series really enjoyable if only it was more popular.

 

 

Totally Should’ve Had Only One Point of View

27 Hours (Tristina Wright)

Okay, here me out…but I was really confused with the amount of characters. With four POVs, and multiple other characters introduced through those characters, I was having a real hard time following everything. It should have just been written in third person omniscient, and have been left at that, instead of flipping back and forth between each character, not written in first person. I could never tell whose POV chapter I was in, because it was all third person limited, and I just got really confused. Sorry, not sorry.

 

Totally Should’ve Had a Cover Change

Warcross (Marie Lu)

This is kind of cheating since I haven’t read Warcross yet, but jeez, I just had to mention this. Marie Lu is a #1 New York Times Bestselling Author, and yet she still hasn’t had a cover with a POC on it. I like the rainbow theme on the cover, but the typeface seriously looks like oldass Word Art, and the white background is extremely plain. It’s grown on me a little bit, but I will forever be bitter that Marie’s character didn’t get the due representation on the cover.

 

Totally Should’ve Kept the Original Covers

Ranger’s Apprentice (John Flanagan)

This is more of a sentimental reason, but when I read the Ranger’s Apprentice novels (mentioned above for not liking the main relationship), the cover to the left was used. I grew to love them, especially as they continued throughout the series. The seventh novel probably has my favorite cover, along with the sixth and the second. However, right when the last (my least favorite) book came out, they decided to change the covers, and I can not stand them.

They also changed the companion series, Brotherband, right in the middle of the series to match with the new RA covers. Both of them should have stayed with the originals, especially Brotherband, because the covers were just beautiful. My favorite was the third one. (I’ll add their pictures too, I guess…Old (#3) to the left, new (#4) to the right.

 

 

Totally Should’ve Stopped at Book One

This Savage Song (Victoria Schwab)

Let me get this out of the way–No I have not read Our Dark Duet yet, but I’ve been really hesitant on it for a specific reason, and that’s why this duology is in this category. I loved This Savage Song, but when I heard that there was iffy enby rep in Our Dark Duet? I was hurt without even reading the novel. I look up to Victoria a lot, and to know that she might’ve wrote some harm that disregards me and my identity? Yea, no thank you.