Hey guys! I did this tag last year and I really enjoyed it so thought I’d revisit it this year! It’s crazy how we are in June already, where is this year going?? I’ve already completed my reading challenge of 30 books! I am now hoping to reach 50 and since I have half the year left, I am feeling pretty confident that I can achieve that! Here’s my picks for the mid-year freak out book tag:
Original creators: ReadLikeWildfire & Earl Grey Books
1) Best book you’ve read so far in 2018
This is a tough one because I have read so many amazing books so far and discovered some, albeit not many, fantastic authors! Alice Blanchard is just one of my newly discovered authors and this book was a rollercoaster from start to finish! One of the most amazing psychological thrillers I have read! I loved all of the characters, the twist at the end was on point and it had me hooked from start to finish. This book had everything I wanted and more! I can’t wait to read more books from her!
2) Best sequel you’ve read so far in 2018
This book was flawless! There wasn’t anything about it that I could fault. It was such an incredible sequel and it blew me away! I was sat on the edge of my seat for most of it and there were so many nail biting scenes! It was very intense, super fast paced and very thrilling! I’m very excited for the third book now!
3) New release you haven’t read yet, but want to
After finally reading Torch a few months ago, I am so freaking ready for Reaper! My friend has agreed to buddy read this with me, so that is exciting! The last buddy read we did was when Allegiant came out and that was way back in 2013, which is insane! Honestly cannot wait to read this and to be able to discuss it with my friend just makes me so happy. Sabaa Tahir is such an amazing author and I have no doubts about this book! It’s going to be fantastic! I’m kind of annoyed though that they decided to change the cover so now I have a series that doesn’t match!
4) Most anticipated release for the second half of the year
This obviously has to go to Queen of Air and Darkness by Cassandra Clare! I didn’t particularly enjoy Lord of Shadows but I was left reeling from that devastating and very shocking ending. I am dying to get my hands on the final book in the trilogy and I can’t believe we have to wait until freaking December! December!!!! I need it now. So badly.
5) Biggest disappointment
This was a tough one but I think I’m going to go with Fear by Dirk Kurbjuweit because I’d been waiting a year for this to come out. I was so excited because it sounded amazing but unfortunately, it just ended up being terrible. I’ve talked about this book so much on my blog so I won’t get into it again, but I was extremely disappointed with this.
6) Biggest surprise
I think for this one I will go with Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell. A lot of people told me I’d really like this book but I wasn’t too sure. It was one I definitely wanted to read but I wasn’t sure if I’d enjoy it as much as I did. I was actually really surprised by how much I loved this! It was definitely more the plot than the characters that held my attention throughout. It’s such an interesting plot for a book and I can definitely see why people say it still resonates in today’s society.
8) Newest fictional crush
Last year when I did this post, my fictional crush was Kell. Obviously I can’t pick Kell again which is fine because for the final book, Holland definitely caught my attention. I wasn’t sure how I felt about him in the first book but wow, he was a completely different character in this one. We got his whole backstory and it completely shattered my heart. He deserved so much more and I just wanted to hug him and give him all my love. I completely fell in love with him.
9) Newest favourite character
I don’t really have one… Can I just pick Holland again? He’s the only character that has really affected me honestly.
10) Book that made you cry
I cried when the dog (Victor) in Bird Box died and I resent the author for killing him. That is all.
11) Book that made you happy
Charmcaster by Sebastien De Castell because it had some very funny moments! I loved the bond between Kellen and Reichis. Charmcaster was definitely more emotional than the first two books but Sebastien also included a lot of humour. Kind of like the Marvel films.
12) Favourite book to film adaptation you saw this year
This is the only film adaptation I have seen this year but I’d have probably picked it anyway because it was so amazing! Amazing, amazing, amazing! These films have been so good and this was such an epic conclusion to the series. It was definitely worth the extra wait after Dylan’s accident. If you haven’t seen these films, please do! A lot of people actually prefer them to the books!
13) Favourite review you’ve written this year
I don’t know, this was a tricky one! I don’t really have a favourite review for this year yet but I did really enjoy taking part in the blog tour for A Breath After Drowning, so I think I will go with that. One thing I want to work on for the second half of the year is my reviews. I haven’t been impressed with the quality of them recently and I think this is something I need to address as it has been bothering me quite a lot these past few months.
14) Most beautiful book you’ve bought so far this year (or received)
I think I am going to have to go with Legendary by Stephanie Garber because it’s half blue, half white. The cover has all those gorgeous stars on and then there is the hidden cover under the dust jacket. Plus it’s signed! I think this is a very beautiful book.
15) What books do you need to read by the end of the year?
Hah! Good question. So many. Too many. But I do need to finish The Raven Cycle so I’ll just pick that.
I had a lot of fun revisiting this tag and again, I had to really think about some of my answers! If you want to do this tag, feel free! I hope you enjoyed this post and thank you so much for reading!
