For those of you who don’t know, Taylor Swift announced a surprise album called folklore hours before it released at midnight on July 24. I have been obsessing over it since it came out, so I decided to make a book tag revolving around it, with one question for each song on the tracklist.

the 1 – a character who you think ended up with the wrong person

Skye Penderwick in The Penderwicks at Last

SPOILER: I will never not be bitter about Skye and Jeffrey not ending up together. I’m sorry, but I can’t.

cardigan – your favorite young love

Anne Shirley and Gilbert Blythe

They will forever be one of my fictional couples, and I think they fit not only this prompt, but also the song I based it on in general.

the last great american dynasty – a book/series that reimagines history

The Lady Janies trilogy

This really just applies to the first and third books, since My Plain Jane was based on a novel instead of history, but the reimagining of history in this series is great and I love it.

exile (ft. Bon Iver) – your author cowriting team

Jay Kristoff and Amie Kaufman

There was no other real choice for this for me. The Illuminae Files is one of my favorite series ever, and I also love The Aurora Cycle.

my tears ricochet – a character who was betrayed by somebody they love

Cressida in Ash Princess

SPOILER: This isn’t a romantic relationship, like in the song, but Cressida claimed to love Theodosia like a sister, but was betrayed by her. I don’t have much sympathy for her, but she still fits this well.

mirrorball – a character who changes themself to fit in

Avery from The Thousandth Floor trilogy

This also applies to several other characters in the trilogy, but Avery’s struggles with living up to the expectation of perfection from her are one of the things I remember most clearly from these books.

seven – childhood best friends to lovers

Aristotle and Dante

Technically they didn’t know each other when they were young children, but their transition from best friends to realizing they’re in love with each other is seamless and is one of my favorite executions of the best friends-to-lovers trope.

august – a summertime romance book

Bloom

This is so fluffy and cute, and the art style is lovely as well.

this is me trying- a character that messed up, but admitted it and tried to make amends

America Singer

America makes so many mistakes that The Elite is too frustrating to read for me and I end up skipping it when I reread the series. However, she does try to learn from her mistakes, and she is more responsible by the end of her trilogy.

illicit affairs – a book where cheating is a major plot point

American Royals

The relationships in this book were so messy that I had a hard time figuring out when people were technically cheating, but I do know it played a significant part in the plot.

invisible string – a book where destiny or fate plays a large role

The Caraval trilogy

Maybe this is technically cheating since the role that fate plays in this is really more gods called Fates, but I love this series, and it definitely fits in a loose sense, so I’m putting it in.

mad woman – a female outcast who works against the society that looked down on her

Rosina and Erin in The Nowhere Girls

They both were outcasts, but worked to try and overcome the society they were in.

epiphany – a book about soldiers 

War and Peace

I’m in the middle of War and Peace, so that’s the obvious choice for this for me right now. 

betty – teenage love triangle (bonus points if one or more characters is gay)

The Last True Poets of the Sea

I wanted to use this for summertime romance, but I thought it fit this prompt more. This book has one of my favorite love triangle executions, and it’s great.

peace – a couple after their coming-of-age story

Wayward Son

This was the only book that made sense for me for this, since it literally grapples with the question of what happens after the coming-of-age story.

hoax – a book that features a toxic relationship

Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up With Me

I didn’t love this book, but I did think the way it addressed toxic relationships was really important.

the lakes – a book you want to get your hands on but that hasn’t come out yet

The Doors of Stone, the 3rd book in The Kingkiller Chronicle

I want to read this so badly! It was rumored to be published next month, but that’s probably not happening.