It's already past the halfway point of the year (oh my god I'm having a crisis about that). This tag is one of my favorites to do every year around this point and it'll be rather interesting to look back at the year so far. I've read 74 books at the time of writing this tag (which is wild) and there's still a whole five and a half more months to go. There's been a lot of amazing books, a fair number of good but forgettable ones, and some real stinkers. And, of course, there's been a lot of rereads.
As a disclaimer, I try not to pick the same book for multiple prompts in this tag to make it more varied. I also don't include my rereads when factoring in favorites or feelings because it's just an unfair advantage to those books at that point. Let's go ahead and take a glimpse into the year so far...
1: BEST BOOK YOU'VE READ
This was really hard to choose. There have been some stellar new reads this year. I had to go with Pack Darling by Lola Rock, however. I read this duology in one day back in February. I immediately couldn't stop thinking about it and I actually then reread it in May. It has become a comfort series, mostly because of how much I love the characters and how well the story was written. I already am looking forward to rereading it again in the future. And, if you'd like to know more of my thoughts, you can find my original review here.
2. BEST SEQUEL YOU'VE READ
I think, in the spirit of not mentioning the same books over and over, I'm going to go with Lore Olympus by Rachel Smythe for this one. To me, it seemed like this story got better and better with each volume. As you got to learn more about the characters, see the plot develop, and explore new relationships. It was fun and I binged the series so quickly (of what had been released at the time).
3. NEW RELEASE YOU HAVEN'T READ BUT WANT TO
There's a couple of them. There were some new releases that I was really excited for this year but my emotional state for the beginning of the year didn't lend itself to complex fantasy books. And now that I'm working two jobs, I'm quite busy and sometimes new releases tend to fall off in favor of mood reading whatever sounds best. For this, I think I'm most wanting to read Relever by Jane Washington sooner rather than later. This is the fourth book in the Ironside series with the fifth one releasing in December. It's a favorite series of mine and I'd been eagerly anticipating this release, but it just hasn't felt like the right mood to reread the series and continue on yet.
4. BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENT
Unfortunately this goes to House of Flame and Shadow by Sarah J. Maas. While I enjoyed parts of this book, I largely feel that it was one of her worst written books and often read more like fan service. I was really hoping it was going to cure the issues I had with the series after Sky and Breath but it actually just made them worse. Despite the parts I did enjoy, the longer I think about this book the more disappointed in it I am. You can read my initial review here.
5. BIGGEST SURPRISE
We're going to have to go with Yellowface by R.F. Kuang for this one. The surprise isn't that I loved it, which I was expecting going in. The surprise is at just how dark and twisted this story got. From the way it was described to me, it was a satirical story that made fun of the publishing industry and called out the bad practices in it. And it was that, but the way most people discussed it was like it was a hilarious story with all of that. To me, it was a lot darker than I expected, which was the big surprise. However, I thought it was phenomenal and so well-done and I have not stopped recommending it to my family and friends since I finished it.
6. FAVORITE NEW AUTHOR
I'm going to go with Brynne Weaver for this one. I've read three of her books this year and enjoyed all of them, particularly Butcher & Blackbird and Leather & Lark. She writes serial killer romances and that's not a genre I've been a stranger to in the past. However, Butcher & Black took me by complete surprise because it's a romcom. I immediately was addicted and so excited for the sequel to follow it up (which was also stunning).
7. NEWEST FICTIONAL CRUSH
Alright so usually I don't get fictional crushes, which is something I've talked about in previous mid-year tags when I answer this question. However, I've been approaching romance reads in a new light this year and there are a few characters that have cracked me enough to be somewhat called a fictional crush. Mainly Eli Killgore.
This could partially be because I just finished Not In Love a few hours before writing this but also because this man is a SIMP. He is down bad for Rue in all the best ways. He cannot function properly when she's in the room, he cannot stop thinking about her, and he understands her on such a fundamental level that is rare to see. Truly amazing. Plus, the spice in this book was written so well to my taste and that doesn't hurt at all.
8. NEWEST FAVORITE CHARACTER
Okay I have to cheat a little bit because one of my newest favorite characters is Lilah from Pack Darling by Lola Rock. There's a reason I've already read the duology twice and a lot of it has to do with how much I love Lilah. I just couldn't help but fall for her and I truly think she's a fascinating, multi-dimensional character that goes on such an intriguing journey throughout the duology.
9. BOOK THAT MADE YOU CRY
Ali Hazelwood is coming in again with Love, Theoretically. Now, I did cry *a lot* in this book but not for reasons you might think. This book wasn't sad or anything but what I mainly cried over was the open, honest communication and how beautiful the relationship was. I do believe it's mainly because I was firmly in my post-breakup feels but I could not stop crying over how beautiful these characters were together.
10. BOOK THAT MADE YOU HAPPY
Okay can you sense a pattern? This one goes to Check & Mate by Ali Hazelwood. I was giggling, kicking my feet, cackling out loud, and just having a jolly time reading this book. To me, it's one of Ali's most balanced books when it comes to plot, romance, social commentary, and secondary characters/plots. It felt so well-done and I have to admit I was fully obsessed with the characters and story. It was just amazing to read. And I fully believe this year has cemented to me that Ali Hazelwood is a new auto-buy author.
11. FAVORITE BOOK TO MOVIE ADAPTATION
Okay so this isn't a movie adaptation but, in my defense, a lot of adaptations recently just haven't been in my realm of interest. However, the Percy Jackson and the Olympians TV show that began in December and ended in January is an amazing one! Of course, I do have *some* issues with it but it by far a faithful and well-done adaptation. I cannot wait to see what future seasons hold.
12. FAVORITE REVIEW YOU'VE WRITTEN
I recently (finally) posted my review for this book. As I previously mentioned, this is one of my favorites of the year so far. And I finally posted a review that I felt did it justice. Of course, I loved the book so it was excited to get to talk about it. You can find that review here.
13. MOST BEAUTIFUL BOOK YOU'VE BOUGHT
I've actually been pretty good in terms of hauling books this year and keeping the number low. The most beautiful book has to go to Emily Wilde's Map of the Otherlands by Heather Fawcette. This is the gorgeous Fairyloot edition with stenciled edges, artwork, an exclusive cover, and is signed. It matches the first book which I got from Fairyloot a while back and they're just simply stunning together!
14. WHAT DO YOU NEED TO READ BY THE END OF THE YEAR?
There's a whole lot of these. My TBR is never-ending and I am always finding new ones to add to it. However, here's a list of a few of my top priorities for this year: the An Ember in the Ashes series, Red Rising, Love on the Brain, The Book of Azrael, Entwined, and A Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches.
Thanks for reading!
xoxo
Lauren
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