The Books and Music Tag!

Warning: This post contains some spoilers for various books, particularly “Untamed City,” “The Young Elites,” “The Rose Society” and “Roses & Rot.” Read cautiously if you wish to avoid said spoilers!

So, this is a little different than my usual posts, but I came across this thing called “The Books and Music Tag” on BooksInNeed’s blog. Though I wasn’t tagged by them or the tag’s creator, Debbie’s Library, I thought it would be fun to try out!

The rules of this tag are the following:

• Tag the creator of this tag (Debbie @ Debbie’s Library) and the person who tagged you (I did this in the above!)
• Pick 5 songs (or more) that you just have to listen to whenever they are played
• Pick the books or characters that you think fit that song the best, and explain why you picked those books or characters
• Tag some friends!

Without further ado, here are the five songs!

Song #1: Caleb Hyles’ cover of “Eye To Eye” from “The Goofy Movie!” 

The book and/or characters I think it works best with: The entirety of “The Devil is a Part-Timer!” series by Satoshi Wagahara (or at least, books one to six since that’s what I’ve read and reviewed so far)!

Why: I’ve never watched the actual Goofy Movie, but judging by the lyrics alone the song is about working together and being there for each other. In “The Devil is a Part-Timer!” we have characters such as Maou and Emilia coming from an entirely different world…and falling into modern-day Japan. In order to survive, they kind of end up working together (albeit reluctantly) to make sure they make it through the day, get the bills paid, and also fight off other supernatural forces.

The funky groove of this song also felt really fitting to the humourous aspect of the entire series, too. That probably helped a lot in matching up the song with this series.

Song #2: “New Fears” by LIGHTS.

The book and/or characters I think it works best with: Adelina and Teren from “The Young Elites” and “The Rose Society” by Marie Lu. I can’t say anything about their relationship dynamics in “The Midnight Star” because I have yet to get my hands on a copy, unfortunately, but this song definitely fits these two for the first two books, especially the second book.

Why: Adelina was hellbent on vengeance against the whole world over what had been done to her, going through horrid abuse from her father for being a malfetto, then nearly executed and…well. I don’t want to spoil too much here, but let’s just say so much happens that Adelina and Teren have a lot to get their vengeance on each other for by the end of “The Rose Society.”

I’m also hugely aware that a lot of people apparently ship the two together in the romantic sense. Personally I don’t ship them romantically given what they’ve done against each other, nor do I think it would be healthy for them to be romantic, but I definitely find the dynamics and chemistry between them to be interesting, and I think the song, lyrics especially, fit the overall vibe.

Song #3: “Toberu Moru—Last Story Remix” by LoKi/Thaehan 

The book and/or characters I think it works best with: The entire “Guardians Trilogy” (“Stars of Fortune,” “Bay of Sighs” and “Island of Glass”) by Nora Roberts.

Why: The music has mystical, otherworldly-like elements to it, and given how the trilogy centers around these three goddesses who need the help of the main characters to put three magical stars back into order, I felt that the remix fit the ambiance of the trilogy overall.

Song #4: “Strangled Love” by Jannine Weigel 

The book and/or characters I think it works best with: Enzo and Adelina from “The Young Elites” and “The Rose Society,” as well as Mallory and Kaleb from “Untamed City.”

Why: Enzo and Adelina had an interesting relationship development. It went from this tense tutor-student-esque thing to something hugely passionate—and then turned tragic by the end of “The Young Elites” and then became abusive in “The Rose Society.” This song pretty much matches the atmosphere of their relationship as of how passionate it is, yet there are underlying abusive elements in that relationship (the title “Strangled Love” alone gives it away).

I think it also fits Mallory and Kaleb, given how their relationship is romanticized abuse (I pretty much ranted about it in my review for “Untamed City”), and the song would probably reflect Mallory’s point of view of their relationship to an extent.

Song #5: “Cover Girls” by Hitimpulse (feat. Bibi Bourelly) 

The book and/or characters I think it works best with: Evan and Imogen from “Roses & Rot” by Kat Howard. 

Why: Spoiler alert, but this songs pretty much sums up the reason Imogen broke up with Evan late in the book—because he cheated on her with the first pretty lady he saw. Couple this with Evan lying to her previously about his true identity, and Imogen swiftly (and wisely) gave him the figurative boot. The two do manage to stay as just friends at the end of the book, but they’re not going to date each other ever again.

Given how I’m supposed to tag some friends, I’m going to tag Raspbarijam for this tag! This was really fun to do, and I hope to try out more book-related and music-related tags in the future!