Mid-year Book Freakout Tag

This post is what happens when I’m supposed to be writing my newsletter, but instead start watching BookTube videos and see a new tag video. In this case, you can thank Thoughts on Tomes because her video inspired me to write up my responses to the “Mid-year Book Freakout Tag.”

Questions and responses:

1. Best book I’ve read so far this year:
   • The Tiger’s Daughter by K. Arsenault Rivera — I loved the setting and the world building. I loved the framing of the story, starting in present day and flashing back to the past for long stretches written as a letter from one woman to another. I loved the ending. When I finished it, I immediately wanted to go back and start reading it over again. Luckily, there’s a prequel coming out later this year.
2. Best sequel I’ve read so far this year:
   • The Stone Sky by N. K. Jemisin — No surprise here. Excellent ending to a fantastic series. My fingers are crossed that she wins the Hugo for best novel for this one as well.
3. New release I haven’t read yet:
   • The Belles by Dhonielle Clayton — I pre-ordered this, but for a variety of reasons, haven’t had a chance to read it yet. I will definitely be reading this before the end of the year.
4. Most anticipated release for the second half of the year:
   • Vengeful by V. E. Schwab — Vicious is, hands down, my favorite book by Victoria Schwab. So, when I heard there was going to be a sequel, I may have squealed and flailed a bit. I’ve had Vengeful on pre-order for months. Of all the new releases coming out in the second half of this year, this is the one I’m most likely to drop everything to read immediately.
5. Biggest disappointment so far this year:
   • Through the Evil Days by Julia Spencer-Fleming — If you’ve been reading my blog for a while, you’ll know that this book is part of a series of mysteries that take place in the Adirondacks. I’ve been reading one per year for the past few years on my annual vacation to “Camp” in the Adirondacks. I thought this one was the last in the series, but the ending appears to be a cliffhanger, leaving room for more. The weird thing is, this book was published in 2013, and it’s unclear if there will be any more books in this series, despite the ending. I’ve really enjoyed many of the books in this series, but this one, for a variety of reasons including what I felt were inconsistent characterizations and the previously mentioned cliffhanger ending, left me incredibly disappointed.
6. Biggest surprise so far this year:
   • Definitely how much I enjoyed The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas. I listened to this on audiobook, which is about 47 hours long. It’s a LONG book. And initially, I thought I wasn’t going to like it. But the more I listened, the more I enjoyed it. So, yeah. This is the book that most surprised me so far this year.
7. Favorite new (or new-to-me) author:
   • Kate Elliott — I finally got around to reading her Court of Fives series, and woah. It’s so good. I’ll definitely be on the lookout for new books by her.
8. Newest fictional crush:
   • I rarely swoon over fictional characters, so I’m not sure how to answer this one. The first character that came to mind was Murderbot. From the first sentence of All Systems Red by Martha Wells, I was instantly charmed by this genderless security android that doesn’t really want to be around humans. It’s not really a crush, but Murderbot has certainly carved out a warm little corner of my heart.
9. Newest favorite fictional character:
   • Hands down favorite so far this year is Charlotte Holmes from the Lady Sherlock series by Sherry Thomas. I may go so far as to say that I like this version of Sherlock even better than BBC Sherlock.
10. Book that made you cry:
    • The Rose & The Dagger by Renee Ahdieh — Which I listened to on audiobook and which made me cry when I was listening to a certain part at the end while eating breakfast at work. Only slightly embarrassing.
11. Book that made you happy:
    • A Princess in Theory by Alyssa Cole — I have a weak spot for “I didn’t know I was a princess” stories. I especially like “I’m a scientist, and I didn’t know I was a princess” stories. This book is so charming and lovely, I think I grinned my way through most of it. Now I have a paperback copy that I can shove into the hands of all my friends so they can also enjoy it. Plus book two is coming out later this year.
12. Favorite book to movie adaptation:
    • A Wrinkle in Time — Okay, so this was also the only book to movie adaptation that I’ve watched this year, and I have mixed feelings about the storytelling in the movie version. However, the cinematography and the cast were outstanding. Regardless of what I (an adult) think of the movie, I’ve heard that the target audience (middle graders) are loving it, and that’s all that matters to me.
13. Favorite blog post I’ve done so far this year:
    • So far, the one I got the most “likes” on was my June recap and mid-year book stats post. Folks seemed to really like that one, which makes me happy. Thanks! 🙂
14. Most beautiful book I’ve bought or been given so far this year:
    • Oh man. I already talked about how much I love the new covers for the Amberlough series. They are so pretty!
15. Books I need to read before the end of the year:
    • First off, I really want to do a full re-read of Megan Whalen Turner’s series, starting with The Thief, so that I can finally read Thick as Thieves in preparation for book 6 that’s coming out next year. Yay!!! I love this series. If you like secondary world fantasy and haven’t read it yet, get on it. You won’t regret it.
    • Then there are the “next in the series” books that I haven’t read yet and need to: Our Dark Duet, Raven Stratagem, Armistice, and Obsidio.
    • Finally there are the “first in a series” books that I’ve been meaning to read for a while now but haven’t started: Leviathan Wakes, The Queen of Blood, and The Falconer.
    • I expect all of these will be “five star reads” (or re-reads, as the case may be) for me, with the exception of Our Dark Duet which I’ve heard isn’t as good as This Savage Song.

I’ve spent WAY too long assembling this post with all the cover photos, etc. I suppose I should get back to writing my newsletter now. If you’re interested in hearing about the RWA conference I just returned from and/or want to know more about the adult contemporary fantasy book series I’m launching this fall, you should subscribe to my monthly newsletter updates. Subscribers will get cool stuff like freebies, giveaways, and swag. You can sign up here.

Stay tuned for my July reading recap. Until then, happy reading!