Hey Bibliofriends,

Any of my friends will know how HUGE a fan I am of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. It is one of my all-time favourite TV shows in the entire universe and every galaxy from the Milky Way to Far, Far Away! With that in mind, this book tag was at the top of my list to try and get around to doing.

The BTVS book tag was originally created over at Lauren’s Book Slaying blog and has also evolved slightly through Sarah’s blog at Written Worlds too. I think mine is a mashup hybrid of both of the above but I’m having super fun reliving one of my favourite fandoms! Have a go yourself if you’re a Chosen One / Scoobies fan! ☺️

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Buffy – A character who lives a double life

Buffy really is one of the all-time saviours of the fictional world. When they ask you at school what you want to be when you grow up, my first thought was always Buffy, until I remembered that I’d probably get funny looks from all of my teachers…nothing wrong with living in fantasy world every now again! The character that immediately came to mind when thinking of this tag was Professor Severus Snape. He is my absolute favourite Harry Potter character, flawed hero, ultimate double agent and I loved the way J.K. left pondering over his loyalties right until the very damn end!

Xander – A character who mostly just provides comic relief

To me Xander provides much, much more that just comic relief. Yes he has some corny lines and sometimes you could just eye-roll at some of the things he says, however he plays a vital role within the gang and the way he grows up and matures from season to season is actually quite remarkable. His role in the Adam storyline and his poignant conversation with Buffy about Riley in the middle of season 5 are some of my favourite Xander moments. I really struggled to think of a book character who merely provides comic relief. After trawling through my shelves I settled upon Simon from the Shadowhunters series. I find it amusing that his role within the series happens really by accident. In that way, I feel that he draws several parallels with Xander.

Willow – A bad-ass witch

I really like Willow’s character arc thoughout the whole Buffyverse. She goes from scared Scooby geek-girl and ends up changing the entire future for slayers all across the world. There’s only one seriously bad-ass witch that could possible rival Miss Rosenberg and that is Manon Blackbeak from Throne of Glass. She puts the scare in scary and is such an awesome character. Like Willow, I feel that her character arc goes through a pretty big shift and that momentous chapter towards the end of Kingdom of Ash just breaks my heart every time.

Giles – A character who fills the role of an absent parent

There would be no Buffy the Vampire Slayer without Giles. As a teacher myself, I can never really get over the fact that he gets caught so many times just ‘hanging out’ with Buffy and Co. and it doesn’t really seem to raise any eyebrows – imagine the safeguarding if that were to happen in the UK! 😂 The way he looks out for the Scooby Gang brings about some of the most sentimental moments of the whole series and I couldn’t imagine it without him. When thinking of a book character who steps into that absent parent role, my mind came up with one person only…Molly Weasley – the ultimate Harry Potter matriarch. The way she looks out for Harry as if he were her own is enough to melt any Death Eater’s heart.

Oz – Name a book with werewolves

I don’t think I ever particularly liked Oz in the Buffy series and I can’t really explain why. Perhaps it’s because I’m not really a werewolf fan. The last book I read with werewolves was called Pinnacle and was one I was asked to review by the author Lynn Veevers on Goodreads. It was quite an interesting read however after reading/watching lots of things with werewolves in, I’ve decided that they are just not my cup of tea.

Angel – A character who is extremely broody

Tall, dark, handsome…hangs out in shadows and dark cemeteries. There’s only one Angel right? His and Buffy’s relationship was like the ultimate forbidden lover’s trope and although he isn’t my favourite of all of Buffy’s boyfriends you can’t deny that he is kinda her soulmate; even SMG herself picked Angel for Buffy over Spike. The broodiest guy I could think of for this character was Cardan from Holly Black’s Folk of the Air series. His attitude throughout both The Cruel Prince and The Wicked King just smacks 100% pure brood. I am on the edge of my seat waiting for this series finale in November and I’m hoping that my ‘Cardan-is-secretly-a-good-guy’ theory actually comes off.

Spike – A character who has a huge redemption arc

I am such a Spuffy fan and Spike is one of my favourite characters within the Buffyverse. Some of those little moments in season 6 and 7 made me cry…a lot! Can I vote for Snape again?! If not him, then perhaps Lucien from A Court of Thorns and Roses. I don’t feel like his redemption arc is huge but I think he comes through in the end.

Anya – A character you just tried to love, but couldn’t

Anya definitely grew on me as a character. The bunnies skit from Once More with Feeling is definitely one of my Anya highlights! One of the characters who I just could not love no matter how far through the series I read was Alina Starkov from the Shadow and Bone trilogy. I just found her annoying and strangely whiny – it’s almost as if her power was greater than the character that she was and I didn’t feel that she justified her hero status.

Tara – A book with a LGBTQA relationship

Tara really grew into her role throughout the Buffyverse. After re-watching seasons 5 & 6 she totally blossomed into becoming a pivotal role within the Scooby Gang. I like the humility and morality that she brings to the group and without discussing spoilers, what happened towards the end of season 6 actually made me quite sad. The book series that immediately came to mind when I read this prompt was Shadowhunters by Cassandra Clare. I think Magnus Bane is utterly fabulous and I wish he could be my gay best friend!

The First Evil – An ultimate book villain

The First Evil is pretty much the ultimate villain as it’s almost unstoppable. It’s not corporeal, neither can it die…it can really be overcome. There are so many parallels that you an draw between the First Evil from Buffy and the shadow that the Ring of Power brings over Middle Earth. Therefore, as the creator of that evil, Sauron has to be my choice for being the ultimate book villain. To create something so dark which causes a war involving many races of men, elves, dwarves, orcs etc.  almost takes over the entirety of Middle Earth… He’s deliciously wicked but completely got what was coming to his corrupt, evil backside!

Bonus: Sunnydale – A bookish town/city you most definitely would never want to live in

Sunnydale: in Jonathan’s words, “A lot of weird stuff happens here.” Trying to think of a place where I would not want to live in the fictional world… it would be either be Mordor, as one does not simply walk into it – or it would have to be Morath from Throne of Glass. Both places are hubs of evil and contain countless armies of villains and monsters. I’ll definitely be avoiding those places on my fictional travels.

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There we have it, my little tag-ode to one of my all time favourite TV shows. I haven’t managed to get around to buying or reading ‘Slayer’ yet by Kiersten White but it’s definitely on my 2020 TBR. If you’re a fellow BTVS fan then feel free to tag yourself and play along!

As always, drop me a comment to chat! 😊

T xx