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Mid-Year Book Freak-Out Tag!

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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. I’ve also tried to provide links to the books I’ve loved, so that you can check them out if they sound interesting. Let’s get started!

1. Best book you’ve read so far in 2021

My MonticelloAll's WellLight from Uncommon StarsNever Have I Ever by Isabel Yap

Tied for best book of the year (so far) are 4 of my 5-star reads for the first half of 2022: My Monticello by (short story collection); All’s Well by Mona Awad (Shakespeare-inspired fabulism); Light From Uncommon Stars by Ryka Aoki (science fiction/fantasy); and Never Have I Ever by Isabel Yap (mythology-inspired short story collection).

And some runner-up faves:

Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit by Jeanette WintersonLove & Other Disasters by Anita KellyThe Past Is Red by Catherynne M. ValenteWhatever Happened to Interracial Love? by Kathleen CollinsThe Mask of Mirrors by M.A. CarrickNettle & Bone by T. Kingfisher

 

2. Best sequel you’ve read so far in 2021

Count Your Lucky Stars by Alexandria BellefleurElectric Idol by Katee RobertOur Favorite Songs by Anita Kelly

My favorite sequels so far this year have all been romances: Count Your Lucky Stars by Alexandria Bellefleur (contemporary), Electric Idol by Katee Robert (loose Greek mythology Eros/Psyche retelling), and Our Favorite Songs by Anita Kelly (contemporary novella).

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

Fevered Star (Between Earth and Sky, #2)Book LoversWoman, EatingA River Enchanted (Elements of Cadence, #1)

So many; even though I have actually read lots of 2022 releases so far I still feel like I’m so behind on everything I want to get to. Some of my top priorities are Fevered Star by Rebecca Roanhorse (fantasy sequel), Book Lovers by Emily Henry (contemporary romance), Woman, Eating by Claire Kohda (literary vampire novel), and A River Enchanted by Rebecca Ross (fantasy).

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

Bloodmarked (The Legendborn Cycle, #2)The World We Make (Great Cities #2)Paris Daillencourt Is About to Crumble (Winner Bakes All, #2)The Atlas Paradox (The Atlas, #2)Ruby Fever (Hidden Legacy, #6)The Golden Enclaves (The Scholomance #3)

Again, so many! I almost can’t believe that some of my most anticipated reads of the year haven’t even come out yet. I narrowed it down as much as I could to 6 (and all of them are sequels): Bloodmarked by Tracy Deonn (YA King Arthur-inspired contemporary fantasy); The World We Make by N.K. Jemisin (contemporary fantasy); Paris Daillencourt is About to Crumble (contemporary romance); The Atlas Paradox by Olivie Blake (dark academia fantasy); Ruby Fever by Ilona Andrews (paranormal romance); and The Golden Enclaves by Naomi Novik (YA fantasy).

5. Biggest disappointment

House of Sky and Breath by Sarah J. Maas

Without question House of Sky and Breath by Sarah J. Maas, my only 2 star read of the year. This book was SO BAD. It made me really frustrated to read, put me into a reading slump, and is making me question picking up more from this author in the future, whereas previously I’d have considered her one of my favorite fantasy romance writers.

6. Biggest surprise

Whatever Happened to Interracial Love? by Kathleen CollinsOut Front the Following Sea by Leah Angstman

I thought of 2 books that surprised me, in different ways; Whatever Happened to Interracial Love? by Kathleen Collins surprised me because it was written decades ago but felt so contemporary in both its storytelling and its themes; and Out Front the Following Sea by Leah Angstman surprised me because I’m not generally a historical fiction reader but was fully entranced by this one and its themes of misogyny that are still relevant today.

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

The Mask of Mirrors by M.A. CarrickNettle & Bone by T. KingfisherSing Anyway by Anita Kelly

I can’t wait to read more from fantasy authors M.A. Carrick and T. Kingfisher, and I’m so glad to have discovered delightful contemporary romance author Anita Kelly.

8. Favorite fictional couples (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 fictional couples of the year)

Get It Right by Skye KilaenShe Gets the Girl by Rachael LippincottLove & Other Disasters by Anita Kelly

I’ve read a lot of great romance this year; the couples that stand out the most to me in terms of favorites were from Get it Right by Skye Kilaen, She Gets the Girl by Rachael Lippincott and Alyson Derrick, and Love & Other Disasters by Anita Kelly.

9. Newest favorite character(s)

Light from Uncommon Stars by Ryka Aoki

I loved all 3 of the main characters in Light From Uncommon Stars; despite the genre mash-up and crazy plot elements, they were all such fully drawn and memorable presences. I can’t wait to see what this author writes next!

10. Book that made you cry

My Monticello by Jocelyn Nicole Johnson

The titular novella in My Monticello absolutely made me sob. I’m not going to say why, but this collection is phenomenal, and everyone needs to read it.

11. Book that made you happy

In Other Lands by Sarah Rees BrennanBoyfriend Material by Alexis Hall

I’m going with my 2 re-reads for this category! I never regret re-reading a favorite book, and both In Other Lands and Boyfriend Material helped cheer me up and bring me out of reading slumps this year.

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

The Bone OrchardFirekeeper's DaughterThe Midnight BargainWahala by Nikki May

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

In the Night Garden (The Orphan's Tales, #1)Sooner or Later Everything Falls Into the SeaThe Actual StarOr What You WillWild SeedWe Ride Upon Sticks

I’m a bit behind schedule on my Top 10 TBR for 2022, but only a bit. I already started Sooner or Later Everything Falls into the Sea by Sarah Pinsker (short story collection), and I need to fully read the final 5 books from my list. Unfortunately, I believe I’ve left the 2 longest books from the list for the second half of the year (In the Night Garden and The Actual Star).

Bonus question! Most-read authors of 2022 (so far): I’ve read 3 books each from these 3 romance authors; we’ll have to see which if any becomes my official most-read author of the year.

Anita Kelly

Love & Other Disasters by Anita KellySing Anyway by Anita KellyOur Favorite Songs by Anita Kelly

Katee Robert

Electric Idol by Katee RobertStone Heart by Katee RobertWicked Beauty by Katee Robert

Ali Hazelwood

Under One Roof by Ali HazelwoodStuck with You by Ali HazelwoodBelow Zero by Ali Hazelwood

 

Book Recommendations, Currently Reading

It’s Monday! What are you reading?

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It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? is a place to meet up and share what you have been, are and about to be reading over the week. This meme started with J Kaye’s Blog  and then was taken up by Sheila from Book Journey. Sheila then passed it on to Kathryn at the Book Date. 

 

To summarize: my reading week rocked!

My reading this week made me so happy–I read two absolutely fantastic books this week! I am now going to start recommending them all over the place.

Books I finished this week:

 

Wide Sargasso Sea

Every Heart a Doorway

 

Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys: the language of this book is lyrical, and not a single word is wasted. I kept rereading sentences because of how beautiful the writing was, and it took me much longer to read this than I thought it would because I wanted to savor it. It’s a feminist reinterpretation of the “madwoman in the attic” aspect of Jane Eyre, and it discusses racism and sexism, both insidious and overt, through the story of Antoinette Cosway, daughter of Jamaican slave owners, who is later sold into marriage with a calculating Englishman. The story is incredibly sad and disturbing, but it feels like a very necessary discussion of the rarely explored aspects of classic literature.

Every Heart a Doorway by Seanan McGuire: I become very easily hooked by any type of exploration of the fantasy/fairy tale genre, and this book was exactly what I wanted to read. The children in this book have all been involved in portal fantasy scenarios (where they have left the real world through magical doorways and emerged into their own fantasylands) but then, for various reasons, have returned (typically, they’ve been forced to return) to reality. I absolutely loved the hints at the different worlds the children went to, and I found the two main characters, Nancy and Kade, to be both intriguing and relatable. I really wish we’d gotten flashbacks to their times in their respective fantastical worlds, though. The hints were not enough! To be honest, I’d have read a much longer book on all of this and loved it, but the novella length did work well as it is.

But I still wish it was longer.

 

Reading now:

Reflections (Indexing, #2)Mr. SplitfootYes, Chef

I bought the ebook of the second installment in Seanan McGuire’s Indexing series, which is about secret government agents dealing with out-of-control and deadly fairy tales snaring unsuspecting civilians. I was so pleasantly surprised by the first book (which is just called Indexing, and I highly recommend it) and I like this one so far as well, although it isn’t quite as surprising since a lot of the fun of the worldbuilding was already accomplished previously.

Sadly, I DNF’d Jackaby, the audiobook I was listening to for the past few weeks (yet another abandoned audiobook for me, oh well). Then today I started listening to Yes, Chef, which is a memoir by celebrity chef Marcus Samuelsson. So far I love it.

And still at the beginning of Mr. Splitfoot!

 

Looking forward to:

Dewey’s 24-Hour Readathon on Saturday! This week I’ll be posting about my TBR stack and Readathon plans. I can’t wait to hear about everyone else’s Readathoning as well.

 

What are you all reading this week?