THE UMBRELLA ACADEMY BOOK TAG

Hullo, bookdragons!

It’s been 7863145684 years since I did a book tag post so I’m finally picking my not-so-pretty feet up and getting my book tag mojo back! I first saw this tag on Cait @ PaperFury’s blog and at that time I still haven’t seen the series yet and got zero of her references but enjoyed the post nonetheless. This tag is originally from booktube. See the original video here.

I used to binge watch a lot of TV series but that took the backseat because I started prioritizing reading and blogging out of all the 72 things I used to do during my smol free time. But then one day, a TV series about a dysfunctional family of superheroes was born and suddenly binge watching TV series claimed the front seat once more (TBR pile sweetie i’m sorry). Look, the series was so hyped up that I couldn’t ignore it okay?? I NEEDED TO UNDERSTAND ALL THE UMBRELLA ACADEMY REFERENCES. I got no self-control.

I ended up loving the series so much because 1) the actors were superb, 2) I’m a trash for dysfunctional superhero families, 3) it was surprisingly funny, 4) it had a lot of surprises, and 5) I ABSOLUTELY LOVE THE SOUNDTRACK. The soundtrack was the best thing in this series tbh. I think all the ears of every man, woman, and child I came across with bled in earnest because I couldn’t stop singing “ISTANBUL NOT CONSTANTINOPLE” at the top of my lungs. Most of them didn’t get the reference but I’m sure I was still annoyingly noisy and unapologetically so.

Okay I’ll stop babbling now. I know some of you have watched the series and many still HAVEN’T watched it yet but do not fear. You can still read this post and leave with your soul intact afterwards. I’ll try to keep The Umbrella Academy references at a minimum.

(look at me throwing away promises I can’t keep again lmao)

1. HELLO: NAME THE BEST FIRST BOOK IN A SERIES

I actually wrote a whole post about this somewh—OH WAIT. I posted it here on the blog 567 years ago so if you want to see my personal picks of THE BEST FIRST BOOKS IN YA just click here.

I have read more books since that post so I’m just going to drop more titles here. These first books in a series are enough to give you 10 mini-heart attacks so go ahead and check them out:

2. THE HARGREEVES CHILDREN: NAME A BIG BOOK FAMILY (DYSFUNCTION IS OPTIONAL)

I love reading about the chaos of a big family and C. G. Drews’s new book portrays that in great detail. THE BOY WHO STEALS HOUSES features the chaotic De Lainey family and honestly I will read a single book full of this family’s banter (ft. Sam of course) if I get the chance. All the De Laineys are precious ok. My arteries love them so much.

3. THE WORLD ENDS IN 8 DAYS: IF YOU ONLY HAD EIGHT DAYS LEFT, WHICH BOOK WOULD YOU CHOOSE TO BE YOUR LAST READ?

I will choose THE TYRANT’S TOMB because if the world is ending, I might as well read a Rick Riordan book to kill time (before I get killed that is). It’s probably going to be a heartbreaking book after Uncle Rick dropped the bomb that is The Burning Maze but at least I’m going to see some of my faves in action again even if I’ll probably shed a lot of tears while doing it.

4. SPACE BOY: NAME A CHARACTER WHO PLAYS THE LEADER, BUT MAY NOT BE CUT OUT FOR IT

Let me just say that Luther can be eaten by sharks and I won’t even blink. I’m so… INFURIATED with the dude. He’s the king of bad decisions and I don’t think I can forgive him anytime soon. He certainly deserved to be incinerated by Daenerys.

I actually can’t think of a character that fits the prompt so well but I think Rin from The Poppy War counts. I just read The Dragon Republic a few weeks ago (spoiler alert: I was destroyed) and she actually admits that she’s not a good leader. She was just pushed into the role as commander and well, she’s not really good friends with responsibility. It actually scares me that I have so much in common with Rin.

Y’ALL ARE NEVER GOING TO BE PREPARED FOR THE DRAGON REPUBLIC. R. F. Kuang is a bloody genius. I’m still scarred from The Dragon Republic so I should stop talking about it before I flood this world with my tears again.

5. THROWING KNIVES: WHAT LITERARY WEAPON WOULD YOU WANT IN YOUR ARSENAL?

ALL THE SHARP-EDGED BOOKMARKS. Some bookmarks can draw blood and slit throats and you can’t tell me otherwise.

My hardback copy of THE PRIORY OF THE ORANGE TREE can also knock five thugs out cold so I’d love to have it in my arsenal too. It’s a bit heavy (<—– understatement of the century) but at least I will feel safer if I have it with me.

6. I HEARD A RUMOUR: NAME A BOOK THAT HAS A MISLEADING PLOT LINE

I can’t think of a book with a misleading plot line but I can think of a book with a misleading blurb. Is that the same thing??? I am a ball of confusion.

Anyway, I think The Raven Boys has a misleading blurb because when I first read it, it made the book seem like a teenage flick with rich boys and a girl who has a deadly kiss. I thought, “just how cliché can this book get?”

Boy was I wrong.

When I read the book itself, I found out that it was far from cliché. In fact, it’s one of the weirdest, most interesting books I have ever read in my entire life. There’s nothing like The Raven Boys. Maggie Stiefvater has a writing style that is unlike any other and I enjoyed reading every word she wrote.

Now I miss my raven children so much.

7. KLAUS: NAME A BOOK THAT INVOLVES THE DEAD / GHOSTS / ETC

Klaus is actually my favorite Umbrella Academy character. He reminds me of my favorite son Nico di Angelo and I will totally sell my kidneys for them both. Seeing Robert Sheehan act so spectacularly brought me to tears. It’s a shame that The Mortal Instruments movies didn’t take off quite well. He was a perfect Simon. I would’ve watched the movies for him (just like I would finish the TMI books someday solely for Simon).

Anywaaay, I really love reading books with ghosts in them. My absolute go-to ghost books are the whole Lockwood and Co. series and Victoria Schwab’s middle grade series City of Ghosts. I crave overkill spookiness and I’m no stranger to sleepness nights so I’ll definitely be fine.

8. THE BOY: RECOMMEND A BOOK THAT PLAYS WITH TIME (WHETHER IT BE IN DUAL TIMELINES, INVOLVING TIME TRAVEL, ETC.)

TIME TRAVEL IS MESSIER THAN MY CLOSET which says quite a lot because my closet looks like it’s been run down by thirteen hurricanes and ten particular stubborn pet dogs. When a book involves time travel, things get really really YIKES. Tampering with time is scary.

Despite this, I still love the All Souls trilogy which features witches, vampires, star-crossed love stories, time travel, and Shakespeare (don’t ask me. Just read the books). This trilogy is actually one of my absolute favorites because it gave me quality vampire content when I needed it the most. I still have to reread it because I STILL HAVEN’T READ THE COMPANION NOVELS. I’m so good at anticipating books and then putting them on the TBR pile for five years when they’re finally released. Oh joy.

Also, let me give an honorable mention to Gemina which handled the issue of multiverses real smooth. Am I trash for this series? Yes yes I absolutely am.

9. VANYA: NAME A CHARACTER WHO HAS BURIED POTENTIAL

MY BOY NICO DI ANGELO. So maybe it’s obvious that I love him too much but I say this with as much unbias as I can muster: HE REALLY REALLY DESERVES EVERYTHING. Nico is one of the most powerful demigods out there but he hasn’t really been given the chance to show his full potential. Homeboy can raise an army of the dead, can shadowtravel, and is the primary ambassador of sleeping but still he’s not given the appreciation he deserves.

I really hope Uncle Rick gives us more of Nico in his upcoming books. If I see him in his books again, I WILL SCREAM. I miss my precious demigod so much.

10. LUTHER AND ALLISON: NAME A QUESTIONABLE BOOK COUPLE, AND WHY YOU DO OR DON’T LIKE THEM

It’s been a year since I read the Grisha trilogy but I still hate the Mal and Alina ship from my hair follicles to my ugly toes. It’s just heartbreaking that my Alina and Nikolai ship didn’t sail, okay??? Plus Nikolai’s heart broke so much too. My king didn’t deserve all the pain. Not to mention that Mal is as uninteresting as a sack of potatoes and I just don’t see any chemistry between him and Alina.

I also don’t like the Chaol and Celaena ship from the Throne of Glass series. I cried for more or less ten times when they became together because I hated them that much lmao. Good thing that ship sank in the end.

11. HAZEL AND CHA CHA: PICK A DEADLY BOOK DUO

I live for deadly book duos. There’s no better way to make a relationship work than killing all the evils when there’s free time. Nothing like blood to make a bond stronger. Oh blood sweet blood.

Here are some of my favorite deadly book duos:

🔪 Kaz and Inej from Six of Crows

🔪 ‎Kell and Lila from the Shades of Magic trilogy 

🔪 ‎Aelin and Rowan from the Throne of Glass series 

🔪 Percy and Annabeth from Percy Jackson and the Olympians

🔪 ‎Cardan and Jude from The Folk of the Air series

12. GOODBYE: WHAT’S THE BEST FINALE?

Finales always leave a bittersweet taste in my mouth. I don’t want good books to end but it’s necessary. Authors need to rest and sleep too. They can’t just be buried under endless manuscripts of a single series forever, right?

Kudos to authors who write the most heart-racing endings. They’re so good at trampling on my heart it’s almost unreal. Here are some of my fave finales:

Sooo that’s it! I can’t wait for The Umbrella Academy season 2 and see more Ben content because he deserves better. He’s hardly in the promotional posters and I honestly don’t know why??? It’s not like his identity is a secret or anything. My soft boy needs more love. Justin Min (the actor) is also a huge blessing to this world so I hope he has more screen time in the next season.

I hope you enjoyed reading this post!

Have you watched The Umbrella Academy? What are your other hobbies aside from reading? Oh and tell me your thoughts about this post below!