It’s time for one of my favorite blog posts of the year–the Mid-Year Book Freak-Out tag, created by Earl Grey Books and Chami! I love this way of looking back on my reading over the first half of the year, because it helps me better analyze where I’m at and where I want to go with my reading over the coming months.

Oh, and I always give multiple answers for each question, because I like to be able to feature as many of the books I’ve loved as possible; I try not to repeat books for multiple prompts for the same reason. Let’s get started!

1. Best book(s) you’ve read so far in 2025

My favorite books of the year so far include The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley (science fiction); We Could Be Rats by Emily Austin (contemporary fiction); Harriet Tubman: Live in Concert by Bob the Drag Queen (fabulism); How to Become the Dark Lord and Die Trying by Django Wexler (fantasy); Eat the Ones You Love by Sarah Maria Griffin (horror); and Not in Love by Ali Hazelwood (contemporary romance). I love that all of these are totally different genres.

 

And some runner-up faves:

Other favorite/almost-favorites were Stamped From the Beginning by Ibram X. Kendi (nonfiction); The Hurricane Wars by Thea Guanzon (romantasy); Tender is the Flesh by Agustina Bazterrica (science fiction horror); A Taste of Gold and Iron by Alexandra Rowland (romantasy); and The Knight and the Butcherbird by Alix E. Harrow (science fiction short story).

2. Best sequel you’ve read so far in 2025

So, to be fair, Sunrise on the Reaping by Suzanne Collins was also the only sequel I’ve read so far this year, but it was still very good. I have several sequels on my TBR for the second half of the year, so we’ll see how this changes in my end of the year wrap-up.

3. New release you haven’t read yet, but want to

There are a LOT of these, but four that seem like I really should have read them already but I’m either mood-reading away from them or saving them for specific times/vacations are Onyx Storm by Rebecca Yarros (romantasy); Emily Wilde’s Compendium of Lost Tales by Heather Fawcett (historical fantasy); Problematic Summer Romance by Ali Hazelwood (contemporary romance); and Death of the Author by Nnedi Okorafor (contemporary fiction/science fiction).

4. Most anticipated release for the second half of the year

Again, there are a LOT of these; we really have some (hopeful) bangers coming out in the second half of 2025. Highest on my list are Mate by Ali Hazelwood (paranormal romance); We Love You, Bunny by Mona Awad (fabulism/horror); Katabasis by R. F. Kuang (dark academia fantasy); and The Irresistible Urge to Fall for Your Enemy by Brigitte Knightley (romantasy).

5. Biggest disappointment

Welp. Disappointments are inevitable with reading, and unfortunately Emily Henry’s most recent book just didn’t work for me the way I wanted it to. I hate reading a meh book from a previous 5-star author, but that’s what happened here; with The Spellshop, I was hoping for an enjoyable read from the first book I picked up in the new year, but I didn’t feel the characters, writing, or story were very strong.

6. Biggest surprise

This is maybe the second YA thriller I’ve ever read, and I only picked it up since I’ve previously liked this author’s adult contemporary romance. And it was great! I LOVED the ending, and the audiobook kept me hooked. Maybe I’ll need to try more YA thrillers now?

7. Favorite new author (Debut or new to you)

I picked up The Deal by Elle Kennedy because I heard it’s being turned into a movie, and was surprised by how fun and addictive a read it was. I’ve so far read another book and a half by Elle Kennedy and feel like they’re great slumpbuster reads, guaranteed to be a good time.

8. Favorite fictional couple (technically, this prompt was favorite fictional crush, but I can’t think of any, so I figured I’d instead highlight some of my favorite contemporary romance reads)

I really liked the small town meets Hollywood vibes of the couple in Dream On, Ramona Riley.

9. Newest favorite character(s)

I’ll go with the characters from these two excellent romantasy reads.

10. Book that made you cry

I feel like this is a very popular to this answer this year. I knew going in that Haymitch’s story was going to be devastating, and it was somehow even worse.

11. Book that made you happy

I enjoyed the crap out of my umpteenth re-read of In Other Lands by Sarah Rees Brennan, one of my favorite books of all time, as always. Another book that was just extremely fun and put me in a good mood to read was academic romantasy Potions, Poisons, and Policies by Courtney Thorne.

12. Most beautiful book you’ve bought so far this year (or received)

13. What books do you need to read by the end of the year?

Again, SO MANY, but these are the 4 remaining books on my top 10 TBR for 2025.

Bonus question! Most-read authors of 2025 (so far):

Surprisingly, I only have 2 repeat authors so far for 2025.

Agustina Bazterrica, whose short story collection was one of my favorite books of 2024,

and Elle Kennedy, a new-to-me author. I’m also halfway done with a third Elle Kennedy book that I put on pause for now, so we’ll see.