Mid Year Book Freak Out Tag

Hey, everyone! I hope you’re all doing well. Can you believe it’s already mid-2021?! Cause I can’t. I swear 2021 only started a little while ago. I’ve seen a few variations of this tag and I couldn’t possibly answer all the prompts, so I did the ones that I wanted to talk about.

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General

Books read: 28
Reading goal: 28/75
Average rating: 4.2
Most read genre: Contemporary

I am pretty behind on my reading goal, as you can see. I’ve never tracked my reading before, but now that I am, it’s actually a lot of fun. Making spreadsheets is very satisfying and it suits my liking of perfection. I’m kind of surprised that contemporary is my most read genre so far; I thought it would be fantasy, but who knows? Fantasy is a very close second, though.

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Winterkeep (Graceling Realm #1): I really enjoyed the first three books in this series and this one was no disappointment. Winterkeep takes place four years after Bitterblue and introduces us to a new nation, Torla, east of the Seven Kingdoms. When two of Queen Bitterblue’s envoys die under mysterious circumstances when going to meet these new people, Bitterblue and two of her friends journey to Winterkeep, the closest nation to them, to find out what happened. I loved the characters that got introduced in this book, as well the new world. And there are telepathic foxes?

Strange the Dreamer (Strange the Dreamer #1): I’d heard so many good things about this book and it lived up very well to my expectations. Lazlo is a junior librarian, and also very much a dreamer. He’s been fantasizing about Weep, a city no one’s heard from or been to in about two centuries. But then Tizerkane, the soldiers of Weep, arrive in his city and he has the chance to purse what he’s always wanted to do. This book was amazing. The writing and worldbuilding were done so well and I loved the plot of it.

Picture Us in the Light: This story was so sad, but it was so good as well. It follows Danny during his senior year in high school. His path seems set; he’s got a scholarship to RISD and his parents are fully supportive of his choice in career. But he can’t imagine a life without his best friend Harry, and the one-year anniversary of an event that completely changed their friend group is coming up. And then Danny discovers secrets that have been kept from him and suddenly, he’s not so sure of anything. I loved the writing in this story and the characters. They were all done so well. Oh and not to mention the beautiful cover. It’s so colorful and I just really like the design of it.

A Vow So Bold and Deadly (Cursebreakers #3): I’m not sure if I’d say this was my favorite sequel, but compared to the other sequels I’ve read this year, this one wins. There was quite a bit going on this book, but the character voices were done really well, and the balance was pretty good. I feel like there’s more to be said in this series, but I know this is only a trilogy, so I’m kind of hoping there’s going to be something else that has to do with this world.

Ace of Spades: I’ve heard a lot of positive reviews about this, so I’m really excited to read this. I’ve also been looking for more mysteries to read, so this is perfect. For someone who has mystery as one of her favorite genres, I don’t actually read much of it.

The Ones We’re Meant to Find: First of all, look at that cover. It’s gorgeous. This book was described as “We Were Liars meets Black Mirror, with a dash of Studio Ghibli.” I have no idea what Black Mirror is, but We Were Liars was amazing and Studio Ghibli basically describes a lot of my childhood, so this sounded like a very good read.

The Marvelous: The synopsis reminds me a lot of Escape From Mr. Lemoncello’s Library, for some reason. It’s probably because of the ‘there’s a big game/puzzle you need to play in order to get out’ aspect. I like how it’s going to be told from three different perspectives, which I think will be interesting.

Aristotle and Dante Dive into the Waters of the World (Aristotle and Dante #2) (October 12): I really enjoyed the first book in this series and I can’t wait to find out what happens next. The dialogue between the characters is really funny and done so well.

You and Me at the End of the World (July 20): I found out about this story while flipping through Goodreads, and it looks so good. I mean, imagine a world where there was only you and one other person? That actually sounds kind of lonely. But still, it sounds like an interesting read.

Not Here to Be Liked (September 14): I’m not really sure what to say about this. Literally all of the sections where I have books I want to read consist of me saying how excited I am to read them. I really need to start saying something else. What caught my attention for this book was the school newspaper aspect because I’m on my school’s student newspaper.

Wizard’s Hall: I wanted to like this, but I couldn’t. It was a little less than 150 pages and everything felt so rushed. There wasn’t a lot of exposition and I didn’t have enough time to get to know the characters. I liked the concept of it, but all the events happened in such a short period of time. There wasn’t any allowed time to crank up the tension and heighten the stakes.

Everything, Everything: I’d heard a lot of positive reviews about this book, so naturally, I was looking forward to it. It kind of fell flat for me. This book wasn’t bad, I actually really enjoyed it. I just feel like it didn’t live up to hype. I did appreciate the fact that Maddy is Afro-Asian though. But the romance in here–it was okay, but I feel like it was a bit of instalove and a little unrealistic. Also, that twist at the end. . . oh my gosh, I did not expect that. I kind of suspected something was weird in the middle but not that big.

Elske (Tales of the Kingdom #4): This book wasn’t that bad either, but I didn’t enjoy it a whole lot. It was slow paced in the beginning; we’re not introduced to the main part of the story until about a third-ish of the way into the book. And also, the fact that rape was so prominent. It controlled the women of the society’s lives so much.

Across the Universe (Across the Universe #1): I don’t usually read science fiction but this book sounded really interesting, so I decided to give it a try. I’m really glad I did. I read the whole trilogy in less than a month and I enjoyed the series a lot. I think science fiction is growing on me.

Laini Taylor: Strange the Dreamer was the first book I read by her and it was so good. I talked about it above, so I’m not going to say much here, but I really love her writing style which is lyrical and descriptive, without going overboard.

Kelly Loy Gilbert: Another author whose book I’ve discussed in this tag. I loved Picture Us in the Light, with the great diverse representation and topics. When We Were Infinite is on my TBR and I’m looking forward to reading that as well.

Aiden Thomas: I read Lost in the Never Woods a little while ago, and while I didn’t love it, I still really enjoyed it. Thomas’ writing paints scenes and the descriptions of the woods in their book were made to come alive. I’m planning on reading Cemetery Boys when I can, which is probably not going to be any time soon, but I’m hoping I can get to it in the next few months.

Jo from The Downstairs Girl: Jo is a fantastic character. She’s kind and compassionate, as well as strong-willed and determined. She doesn’t let the fact that she’s part of the minority group get in her way of fighting for what she believes in.

Opposite of Always: Jack’s narration in this book is so funny and I loved reading through his point of view. This book was also very sad, but it made me happy also. Confusing, yeah I know.

Lost in the Never Woods: Look at that cover! It’s so pretty. I love the design of it, with the ombre affect going from bluish-purple to pink. The roots kind of look like hands and the entrance to the woods was clever. It took me a while to notice that the entrance is in the shape of two faces: presumably John and Michael, Wendy’s brothers. I can’t unsee it now.

These Violent Delights: I love the contrast of the dark background with the sword, roses, and dragon. It’s very striking and bold. The whole cover looks very dramatic and I like how the text fits in with the image.

The Mysterious Benedict Society: I was really excited when I found out that this series was being made into a TV show. I loved the books and from the episodes I’ve watched, it’s made really well, even with COVID restrictions and all. It’s also staying pretty true to the storyline. The only difference they’ve made so far is aging Constance up a few years.

So, so many. Here are a few books I’m especially excited to get to:

These Violent Delights: Yes, I’m mentioning this book again. I’ve heard so many good things about this, so my expectations are set pretty high. It sounds so interesting so I’m hoping I’ll enjoy it.

The Cost of Knowing: This book sounds so interesting, but I feel like it’s going to be really sad at the same time. The concept of seeing the future sounds very cool.

Eliza and Her Monsters: This was recommended to me by a friend who really enjoyed it. I’ve been trying to find a time to read it, so I hope to be able to get to it before the year ends.

Muse of Nightmares (Strange the Dreamer #2): I finished the first book in this series a little while ago, I talked about it above, so I’m really excited to see what happens next on Lazlo’s and Sarai’s journey.

What are your answers to some of the questions above?
Chat with me in the comments below!