The Reindeer Book Tag (Original)

As I said in one of yesterday’s posts, I wanted to do the reindeer book tag I created last year, but it’s not on my blog anymore, so I’m doing a quick recap of the meaning behind each reindeer and doing the questions based on that. Before I go into it, am I the only one who is freezing but heating gives me a headache, so I would rather stay cold?

Dasher – Represents speed and agility, embodying the excitement of Christmas Eve.

A book that you read so fast?

Goodreads Blurb:

t’s time for the holidays, and no one is less enthusiastic about it than Angel Simms. What’s the big deal about such a stressful time of year, anyways? For so many, there are painful memories involved, and she thinks it’s a phase that should be grown out of. At least, that’s what she believed until Kristina comes around. Filled with sickening amounts of Christmas cheer and overall holiday exuberance, Kristina Niklaus has a way about her that makes Angel feel a little more welcoming towards the idea of Christmas, as well as love itself. But when an awfully big secret comes up about Kristina’s identity, it could really tangle the tinsel and cause a rift between the two. Maybe Angel was foolish for falling, or maybe there’s a chance for one more Christmas miracle.

Dancer – Symbolizes joy and celebration, reflecting the festive spirit of the season.

A Book with a musical element?

Goodreads Blurb:

Classical musician Maddie Taylor secretly dreams of a louder life, but geeky girls like her don’t get to be rock stars. That is, until tattooed singer Jared Cross catches her playing guitar and invites her to join his band on The Sound, a reality TV show competition.

Once on the show, Maddie discovers there’s more to Jared than his flirty smile and bad boy reputation. With each performance their attraction becomes impossible to ignore, but when the show pressures them to stay single, they’re forced to keep their relationship secret.

As the competition heats up, Jared will do whatever it takes for his band to win, and Maddie must decide if following her dream is worth losing her heart.

Prancer – Signifies grace and elegance, highlighting the beauty of the holiday.

A book that has a beautiful winter cover?

Goodreads Blurb:

Veterinarian and animal lover Kara Ingalls needs a Christmas miracle. Opening the Meow and Furrever Cat Café to find loving homes for adorable, adoptable cats was a dream come true—but with more cats than customers, it’s quickly turning into a nightmare. If Kara can’t figure out some way to get the café out of the red, it won’t last past the holidays.

Marketing guru Ben Reese may be annoyingly smart and frustratingly bossy, but when he hatches a plan to put the café in the “green” by Christmas, Kara realizes that she’d be a fool to turn down his help. And so what if he turns out to be an excellent problem solver and nerdy-hot—he can’t even handle fostering one little kitten. She needs to keep their relationship professional and focus on saving the cafe.

But if Ben and Kara can set aside their differences—and find homes for all the cats by Christmas—they might discover that, by risking their hearts, they’ll have their own purr-fect holiday . . . together.

Vixen – Represents cleverness and charm, adding a playful element to the reindeer team.

A book that has a childhood element?

Goodreads Blurb:

Shilling Grange Orphanage, England, 1948. She was their only hope. Now they are hers. A gritty, heartbreaking and unforgettable story of love and hope in the darkest of times.

Clara Newton is the new Housemother of Shilling Grange Orphanage. Many of the children have been bombed out of their homes and left without families, their lives torn apart by the war, just like Clara’s. Devastated by the loss of her fiancé, a brave American pilot, she is just looking for a place to start again.

But the orphans are in desperate need of her help. Funds are short, children cry out in the night, and tearful Rita tells Clara terrible stories about the nuns who previously ran Shilling Grange. Clara cannot bear to see them suffer, but what does she know about how to look after eight little ones?

Clara can’t get anything right, and then she accidentally ruins Rita’s only memento of her mother. Overwhelmed, she wonders if they’d be better off without her. But she’s not completely alone. Living next door is Ivor: ex-Shilling Grange resident, war hero, and handyman with deep brown eyes. He doesn’t trust Clara and she is fiercely independent, but he has a way with the children. And with his support and the help of other locals, Clara begins to find her way.

As she heals from her grief and adjusts to her new life, Clara wonders if she has finally found her home and family among the orphans. Can she find the strength to fight for them when nobody else will? And dare she open her heart to love again?

Comet – Symbolizes hope and inspiration, reminding us of the magic of Christmas.

A book with magic in the title or story

Goodreads Blurb:

When skeptical engineer Alex Murphy’s perfectly ordered world collides with mystical cruise director Luna Hartwell’s cosmic chaos, sparks fly higher than the Northern Lights. Can a woman who believes in electromagnetic fields learn to trust in magic? Can a woman who reads tarot cards convince a scientist that love is the most powerful force in the universe? Aboard the lesbian cruise ship Sappho’s Dream, opposites don’t just attract—they create miracles that defy the laws of physics and prove that some equations balance perfectly when you stop trying to solve them and start living them instead.

Cupid – Represents love and affection, emphasizing the importance of togetherness during the holidays.

A story that has a pet in it

Goodreads Blurb:

When freelance photographer Val Monroe gets trapped in a Vermont blizzard while chasing a climate change story, she never expects to find herself performing emergency surgery on a wounded dog—or falling for the enigmatic veterinarian who saves him. Dr. Sarah Bennett has been hiding in rural Millbrook since her partner’s death, using her work to numb the guilt that follows her everywhere. But as the storm forces these two guarded women together, they discover that sometimes the most dangerous thing you can do is let yourself care about someone who might actually stay. A tender, atmospheric romance about finding home in unexpected places and learning that healing happens not in isolation, but in the brave act of letting someone else help carry the weight.

Donner – Signifies strength and resilience, embodying the determination to deliver joy.

A strong main character

Goodreads Blurb:

Naughty never looked so nice.Noel Frost has been managing Santa’s Naughty List for two centuries, and he’s very good at his job. Meticulous. Organized. Utterly committed to the rules. But there’s one human who keeps appearing on his list every single year—Ezra Vince, a street artist whose “creative vandalism” arrest record is really just gorgeous murals bringing color to forgotten neighborhoods.

This year, Noel goes undercover to investigate in person. Just to verify Ezra truly deserves coal, of course. It has nothing to do with the fact that Noel’s been studying Ezra’s file (and photos) for years. Nothing at all.

Going undercover as a human in the city, Noel intends to catch Ezra in the act. Instead, he discovers a man who feeds stray cats, teaches kids art for free, and creates beauty in places that desperately need it. As Noel gets pulled into Ezra’s world of midnight painting sessions and terrible diner pancakes, he starts questioning everything he thought he knew about naughty and nice.

And realizes he might be falling for his favorite repeat offender.

It’s my current read, which I got today. It is free on Amazon and a cute winter queer rom-com.

Blitzen – Represents lightning and speed, reflecting the urgency of Santa’s mission.

A book you read in one setting

Goodreads Blurb:

Cathal O’Sullivan wasn’t expecting to save anyone on the last day of school.
But when he pulls Elliot Chen back from the edge of a busy road, the moment doesn’t just change Elliot’s life, it rewrites Cathal’s.

Elliot is brilliant, sarcastic, and stuck in a body shaped by spinal muscular atrophy and a life that feels like it’s already decided. Cathal is sharp, restless, and a working-class kid with top A-levels and no clear way out. Neither of them were looking for love. But love, it turns out, might be looking for them.

Over the course of three extraordinary days, the boys find themselves trading poetry, secrets, and a quiet kind of hope neither of them thought they’d ever get. But when the world you’ve known tells you not to want too much, not to expect a future, not to reach, how do you build one anyway?

Rudolph – Symbolizes uniqueness and overcoming adversity, teaching the value of acceptance and kindness.

A book with a unique element

Goodreads Blurb:

Wartime London. A city under fire. A clock that doesn’t just tell time… it rewrites it.

When Charlie Grey stumbles upon an abandoned clock in modern-day London, he never expects it to change everything. But one turn of its hands drags him back into the chaos of the Blitz, and into a life that isn’t his own.

Stranded in 1940s London, Charlie discovers that surviving air raids is only the beginning. Maggie, a sharp-witted barmaid, might be his only ally. Edward, a man who seems to know more about time travel than he admits, could be his greatest threat. And somewhere in the shadows, a stranger watches, determined to protect history at any cost.

One clock. Two lifetimes. A choice that could change history forever.

I’m tagging:

Angel’s Book Nook

A Dance With Books

The Staircase Reader

Alex