Recommendations based on emojis (part two)

Happy Monday, gals and pals! A couple of weeks ago, I gave some recommendations based on emojis you gave me. I went to Twitter to beg for help with another blog post, and y’all gave me some emojis to give recommendations for.

I got a ton of responses, so thank you so much to everyone who responded! Because of the amount of responses, I decided to do two posts! Hopefully that’s not too many emojis or recommendations.

So anyway, here is part two!

Hadeer: ☺️🧚‍♀️🥳

I really like the vibe of this one, very fun and celebratory and magical. I would highly recommend Nimona by Noelle Stevenson, if you enjoy fantasy and graphic novels. It follows Nimona, a shapeshifter who works with the super villain. It’s so fun and entertaining, and the banter is so great and witty.

I would also recommend Every Heart a Doorway by Seanan McGuire. This book essentially explores what would happen to children who were in fairy tales and have returned to the real world. It has a kind of deja-vu-like vibe, and despite the dark events, it still feels overall light, magical, and celebratory.

I also thought about recommending Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor and The Raven Cycle series by Maggie Stiefvater, because they both have happy, magical vibes, though neither of them are particularly celebratory. I also just want everyone to read them.

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Emer: 💡💤🤷🏼‍♀️😊

This combination is definitely a mood, particularly my mood during an administrative law class (the smiley face is when the class is done).

Another recommendation that is a little out there, but I think Sawkill Girls by Claire LeGrand could really work for this combination. It follows three girls, Zoey, Marion, and Val, on Sawkill Island, where girls occasionally go missing without a trace. It’s fantastical and weird. Val definitely gives off smart/mean girl vibes (💡). Zoey feels very 🤷🏼‍♀️ about her love life. Marion really just wants to 💤 for a long time. It’s not necessarily happy, so I don’t think it really fits 😊 but it does have a hopeful ending.

I would also recommend The Undomestic Goddess by Sophie Kinsella. This follows a lawyer-unexpectedly-turned-housekeeper, who is really struggling with the whole housekeeping thing. She’s very smart (💡) but also very clueless (🤷🏼‍♀️). The book overall is such a fun, happy book, and I cannot recommend it enough.

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Laura: 😑😒😬

This is also a mood. For these emojis, I’d recommend John Dies at the End by David Wong. It’s by far the weirdest book I’ve ever read, and even though it’s not my personal favourite, I know a ton of people who love it. It has a bit of a cult following. But you will definitely feel 😑 and 😒 and 😬 at different points throughout the book. I think it’s worth reading just for the weirdness and the emotions you’ll feel.

Lily: 🥺 and 🤍

Being totally honest, I didn’t know there was a white heart emoji until now but I really love it.

For 🥺, we’re going to focus on some of my favourite cute romances. I’ve already recommend Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston and Her Royal Highness by Rachel Hawkins (either in this post or the last), but those recommendations stand for this one as well. I also recommend Ayesha at Last by Uzma Jalaluddin, which is a Muslim Pride and Prejudice retelling. It’s so funny and smart and adorable, and it’s perfect. Another one of my favourite YA romances is The Truth About Forever by Sarah Dessen, which is a great summer read and is really sweet and cute.

Because 🤍 is now my favourite emoji, I’m going to take some time to recommend two of my favourite books, both of which are sad but hopeful, which is how this emoji makes me feel. First is Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng, which is genuinely perfect. I was completely absorbed by and in love with this book, and I want everyone to read it.

Next is Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel, which is potentially the most hopeful-feeling book I’ve read recently. Yes, it’s a little too on-the-nose about our current situation, but it’s also so hopeful and lovely and wonderful.

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Bronwen: 🦦

I never knew this was an emoji either! It’s so cute!!

When pondering this emoji, my brother said “Harry Potter because Hermione’s patronus is an otter”, so if you haven’t read HP yet and want an otter, there it is.

I would also recommend The Golden Compass by Phillip Pullman, which I don’t think features an otter but does feature a lot of animals. Everyone has a dæmon, an animal that represents who they are on the inside (or something like that), and I believe Lyra (our main character)’s dæmon ends up being a ferret, which is similar to an otter.

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Rae: 😭☺️🥳

Okay for 😭, I’m assuming you want something sad but also cute because that’s how I interpret this emoji? I’d recommend A Heart in a Body in the World by Deb Caletti. It’s very emotional, but also very sweet in a lot of ways. It was one of my favourite books of last year, and I cannot recommend it enough. The audiobook is particularly great, as well!

For ☺️, I’m going with the happiest, lightest book I’ve read recently, which is Check, Please! by Ngozi Uzaku. It’s a graphic novel that follows a figure dancer turned hockey player, who is gay and likes to bake pies. It is the cutest, most wholesome thing I’ve read in a while. I had the biggest smile on my face while reading.

For 🥳, I’m going to recommend Social Creature by Tara Isabella Burton again. There is a ton of partying in this book. There’s also a murder and a lot of tension and interesting friend dynamics. I was addicted to this book when I read it, and I cannot recommend it enough.

Lauren: 😂😍☺️🤷🏼‍♀️

Okay for this combination of emojis, I’m going with Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston. It’s just such a cute, funny romance (😂😍☺️), but the two main characters are also a little dumb about their feelings so they also work for the 🤷🏼‍♀️ emoji. It was one of my favourite books last year, and I really want to reread it sometime soon.

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And On She Reads: 🤷🏼‍♀️🍷☕️🙈🤘🏻

I’m a big fan of this combination, but I’m having a hard time coming up with a recommendation that encapsulates wine, coffee and rock and roll.

This recommendation might be a little out there, but I’m going to recommend The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt. This book follows Theo Finch, who steals a painting from an art museum during a terrorist attack, and then anxiously deals with being in the possession of a priceless painting for the rest of his life. Theo is definitely a little 🤷🏼‍♀️ whereas Boris, his best friend, is very 🤘🏻. Additionally, the combination of wine + coffee feels like Theo’s New York vibe in the second half of the book.

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Jessica: 🤦‍♀️👀😱❤️🐾

Okay this might be a weird recommendation (again), but for this combination of emojis, I’d recommend The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness. The main character, Todd, has a dog who speaks and has some of the best character development. The 🤦‍♀️ emoji is just Viola’s reaction to Todd for 90% of the first book. There’s lots of mystery and intrigue and some romance. The Knife of Never Letting Go definitely hits all the points of this emoji combination.

Rachel: 🧝🏼‍♀️😱💓

For this combination, I expect you’re asking for fantasy with some twists and turns as well as romance. I’d HIGHLY recommend Poison Study by Maria V. Snyder. It’s my personal favourite YA fantasy with twists and romance. It follows Yelena, who is offered the position of food taster instead of being executed. It has some great action, some great romance, some really cool magic and badass women. I reread it just about every year because it’s just so great.

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Ifeoma: 💃🌟

I really like this combination of emojis, too, even if I’m having trouble recommending a book for it.

I would recommend The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid because Evelyn is a star and very glamorous, so I think she fits for these emojis.

If you enjoy historical fiction, you might enjoy Exit the Actress by Priya Parmar. It’s the fictional diary of Nell Gwynn, the mistress to King Charles II and an actress. It doesn’t really fit the tango dancing of the emoji, but it kind of works for the glamour and stardom.

So there’s part two to my emoji recommendations! What were your thoughts? Do you agree with these recommendations? Do you have any better ones (I’m sure you do, some of these were a stretch)? What are your favourite emojis? Let me know!

Ally xx

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