Despite the fact that we're still in a global pandemic, time is going very fast and we're over halfway through the year. As we're over halfway through, I thought I would do the Mid Year Freak Out Tag. This is my third time answering these questions on here and I love looking back on my answers from previous years.
1) Best Book You've Read So Far in 2021
Hands down the best book I've read so far is If We Were Villains by M.L Rio. I have a full review, which you can read here. I was hooked from beginning to end. I didn't want to stop reading. I loved the story and the characters. I imagine this will be one of my favourite books of the year.
2) Best Sequel You've Read So Far in 2021
I'm technically cheating as last year I chose Heartstopper Volume Three and this year I'm choosing Heartstopper Volume Four by Alice Oseman. These are some of my favourite books. I reread the whole series so far in preparation for this volume and it made me happy. These are fun and fluffy, yet capture some serious topics beautifully at the same time. I can't believe this series ends with the next volume.
3) New Release You Haven't Read Yet, But Want To
I'm putting off reading Malibu Rising by Taylor Jenkins Reid for one reason and that is because the book is set in August, so I want to read it in August. I just thought it would add to the reading experience reading it in the same month it's set in. I have loved the two other books from Taylor Jenkins Reid, so I imagine I'll enjoy this one too.
4) Most Anticipated Release for the Second Half of The Year
I have chosen Gods&Monsters by Shelby Mahurin as it's one of the few books I know that's coming out later this year. I had mixed feelings about Blood&Honey, but I'm going to reread the series in prep for this one and hopefully my love will come back. I remember being blown away by Serpent&Dove and I want that feeling again.
5) Biggest Disappointment
This may come as surprise to some, especially those that have been reading my blog for a while, but I was really disappointed by Chain of Iron by Cassandra Clare. I have a review, which you can read here. But this series nowhere near lives up to Clockwork Angel, which is my favourite Cassie Clare series. I want to love it, but I don't care for the plot at all. I still really enjoyed it, but for me to give a Cassie Clare book anything other than 5 stars is quite rare.
6) Biggest Surprise
I struggled for an answer for this question, but then I remember being surprised by Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas. I read it really quickly, as it had that "I need to know more" factor. I have a review of this book, which you can read here. This is the perfect Halloween book, with amazing LGBT+ rep. Aiden is a great writer and I can't wait to see what they write next.
7) New Favourite Author (Debut or New to You)
R.F Kuang has to be a new favourite author. I adored The Poppy War and can't wait to dive back into this series. I know she is writing some kind of dark academia book, which looks really good. I have a feeling she's going to be an auto buy author for the future.
8) New Fictional Crush
As mentioned in my answers to these questions for the 2020 version, I don't really do fictional crushes, so I'm going to give Jesper from Shadow and Bone show a shout out as a new favourite character. I think I just have a thing for characters that begin with J, such as Jaskier from the Witcher and Jake from Brooklyn Nine-Nine.
9) New Favourite Character
Speaking of new favourite characters, I had to choose Rin from The Poppy War by R.F Kuang. She's just so badass and we need more badass characters out there. I'm very excited to see where her journey goes in the other books in the series.
10) Book That Made You Cry
I haven't cried over a book since 2018 so I can't answer this question. It really takes a lot for me to cry at a book.
11) Book That Made Me Happy
A book that made me very happy was Flake by Matthew Dooley. This is an adorable graphic novel and I adored it. It's set in the North-West of England, which is where my family is from, so the humour in this book really appealed to me. I laughed out loud at multiple times while reading this. It's going to be a favourite of mine for a while.
12) Most Beautiful Book You've Bought/Received This Year
Like last year, I am choosing the Fairyloot edition of Chain of Iron by Cassandra Clare. Despite my problems with Fairyloot, they really do the prettiest editions of books. They're stunning.
13) What Books Do You Need to Read by the End of the Year?
I have decided that I want to read the complete Sherlock Holmes stories by the end of the year. I have had them for so long and adore variations of these stories. It's high time I actually read them.
I hope you enjoyed this tag!
