This is my second year doing the Mid Year Freak Out Book Tag! I’m not a “tag” person at all but I love this one, not only doing it myself but reading everyone else’s tags! If you’ve done this tag and I haven’t seen it yet, or missed it for some reason, please mention it in the comments and I’ll come visit you:-D
I’m going to follow the same format I did last year by highlighting three books in most categories. It makes this post more symmetrical, and also it’s so hard to choose just one book for each prompt. Here we go!
Best Books I’ve Read So Far This Year:
This was SO hard to narrow down to three books. I really wanted to include The Bone Ships as well, since I loved it just as much as these three. If you want to see my Best Books of the Year So Far – 2020, you’ll see a bunch of other books I love as well. It’s interesting to note these three are all horror, even You Let Me In which is technically fantasy, but it’s very dark fantasy. Reviews if you haven’t read them: The Only Good Indians and The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires.
Best Sequels I’ve Read So Far This Year:
I would have expected Shorefall to be on this list, but honestly I enjoyed these three books more. All three series are amazing, and if you haven’t started them, what are you waiting for? Here are links to my reviews if you haven’t read them: Titan’s Day, Unreconciled, Dragon Unleashed.
New Releases I Haven’t Read But Want To:
For this prompt, I’m listing books that have already been released, but I just haven’t had time to read them yet. These three are probably the books I’m most excited to get to, even though the release date has already passed. Wish me luck!
Most Anticipated Releases for the Second Half of 2019
This is the hardest prompt because how in the world do you choose only three books out of hundreds? But if I HAD to choose, these are the three I’m over the moon excited to read!
Biggest Disappointments:
Unfortunately, it wasn’t hard to come up with three disappointments. I could have added even more to this list, but here are the ones that cut the deepest. Docile is loved by many, but I had a lot of issues with the story, although it’s an incredibly fast paced page turner! The Deep wasn’t at all what I was expecting, and the same goes for The Ancestor, which started with plenty of promise but devolved into a WTF sort of mess.
Biggest Surprises:
I was surprised by The Queen’s Road, not because of the author, who I can always count on to write something amazing, but because this was my first audiobook, and I actually enjoyed it! And I wasn’t expecting to enjoy Corporate Gunslinger as much as I did. I was very leery of reading The Glass Hotel after absolutely loving Station Eleven, and I was surprised not only by how different it was, but how much I enjoyed it.
Favorite New Author:
These three authors have officially made it onto my “auto buy/auto read” list: R.J. Barker because I adored The Bone Ships and now I have plenty of backlist books of his to catch up with! Constance Sayers because I absolutely loved A Witch in Time, and I can hardly wait to read her next book. And jeez, Stephen Graham Jones because how the hell have I not read him before this?? He is such a skilled writer in every way, and he knows how to crush a girl’s heart.
Newest Fictional Crush:
I mean, is anyone surprised? #JugheadJones
Newest Favorite Characters:
As far as characters go, I absolutely loved Monono from The Book of Koli, can’t wait to spend more time with her in the next book! Patricia Campbell from The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires was an excellent character in every way. And Meas from The Bone Ships is the kind of ship’s captain I’d follow to the ends of the Earth.
Books That Made Me Cry:
Riot Baby was a hard-hitting futuristic story that eerily mirrors the current race situation in the United States, which is a great reason to pick it up right now if you haven’t read it. And I was trying not to repeat any books, but it’s usually my favorite books that also have the most emotional impact on me, so The Glass Hotel and The Only Good Indians definitely brought me to tears more than once.
Books That Made Me Happy:
It’s always a joy to read an M.R. Carey book, and the characters in this story, especially Monono and Ursala, put a permanent smile on my face. Moontangled is another delightful entry into Stephanie Burgis’s The Hardwood Spellbook series, and The Bard’s Blade was a surprisingly upbeat fantasy debut.
Favorite Post I’ve Done This Year:
I have a couple of favorites, not necessarily posts with the most views, but posts that were fun to put together:
Books to Read During the Pandemic – Because aren’t you looking for more pandemic/end-of-the-world stories to read?
I Listened to an Audiobook and Here’s What Happened – I break down my very first audiobook experience!
Black SFF Authors You Should Be Reading – It’s time for all of us to make sure we’re reading fiction by Black authors
Five Star Books in Five Words – This was just a lot of fun to do!
Most Beautiful Book I’ve Bought This Year:
I recently bought the Subterranean Press limited edition of Gideon the Ninth, which is really pretty! You can’t tell from the photos, but it’s a slightly oversized hardcover with full color endpapers. Edward Miller is the talented artist!
What Books Do I Need to Read By the End of the Year:
Well, this list could go on forever, but for a sampling, check out my Most Anticipated Books for the Third Quarter of 2020.
I keep forgetting to do the Mid Year Freak Out Tag
Stephanie @ Bookfever recently posted…Blog Tour: Diamond in the Rough — Review + Giveaway (INTL)
You still have time!
amazing work
Right there with you as far as Unreconciled is concerned: this series gets better with each new book!
And it seems that book 5 is already under contract 🙂
Maddalena@spaceandsorcery recently posted…THE MID-YEAR FREAK OUT TAG
Oh wow, so glad to hear that! I know it’s not on Goodreads yet but I’m thrilled there will be another one:-)
This was so much fun, Tammy. I definitely want to read all your favorites, especially The Only Good Indians, and that book you bought? Wowza!
It’s a fun tag, and it’s much easier to go back over six months of books than 12, lol.
That edition of Gideon the Ninth looks sooo pretty! Love your choices
Thanks Allison! It is a really pretty book:-)
“And Meas from The Bone Ships is the kind of ship’s captain I’d follow to the ends of the Earth.” ARRRR!! Can’t wait for the next book.
x The Captain
Me too! It’s not that far away:-)
I think I want to make time for this tag, And can I just say, I miss Jughead just by seeing him here. Such a great choice and I would expect no less. Considering The Deep disappointed you, I have to admit I’m more afraid to pick it up.
I’m watching Riverdale over again so I’m not missing Jughead, lol.
I think I’m going to have to do this tag too, I had a good time putting one together last year as well! And thanks for the reminder I need to get to Titan’s Day!
Titan’s Day was fun! I love that series:-)
Monono! 🙂 And I really want to make time to try The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires.
Monono is such an awesome character, right?
Oooh I had to put a pause on my reading of Only Good Indians for another release, but you’ve made me excited to get back into it. 😀 And same with Book of Koli! I also had no idea there’s going to be a sequel??
Kathy @ Pages Below the Vaulted Sky recently posted…A Tarot Black Lives Matter Reading Bingo
Yep, Koli is a trilogy! And I’m so curious to hear what you think of The Only Good Indians:-)
Titan’s Day was so amazing and I’m glad to see it made your list! It needs all the attention it can get. 🙂
I agree! I want more people to start that series:-)
Wow! Loving the look of that Gideon the Ninth book!
It’s so different from the Tor hardcover, but I love it.
So much fun! And a heap of books to go hunt down now. I’m so glad the first half of this year has been good reading for you – here’s to the second half! *raises glass*
Yes! I feel like the second half of the year will be just as good:-)
I love this tag. I may finally have to do it this year. I highly recommend Stephen Graham Jones’ Mapping the Interior. I still need to read The Only Good Indians. I’m running so behind lately.
I hope you do this tag! I will have to check out Mapping the Interior:-)
What a fabulous bunch of books! And I spy some new ones to add to my list!
Laura Thomas recently posted…Book Blast and Giveaway ~ Never Enough by Kristina M. Sanchez
Ha ha, glad I could tempt you:-)
This is a fun post! I want to do it if I get some time. I’ll let you know if I do. The Deep was one I was unsure about, it sounded maybe good, but I think I’m glad I passed on it.
Lisa Mandina (Lisa Loves Literature) recently posted…The Looooong and the Short of It with a Giveaway: June 2020 Wrap-Up Post and What to Expect in July
The Deep was good, but I guess my expectations lowered my enjoyment of it.
Dragon Unleashed is on my shelf just waiting to be read!
Oooh so good!
I love this tag too, it is a nice way to discover some new books and see how our fellow bloggers are doing!! And so far it seems that you are doing great!! I have added a lot of these books on my TBR thanks to your reviews!!
That’s sweet, thanks Susy:-)
This is a tag I’d really like to take part in so I’ll have to pull my socks up.
And that Gideon the Ninth book is stunning. I’ve started listening to this one on audio so waiting to see how that goes.
Lynn 😀
I’m curious to hear how Gideon on audiobook is. I’ll bet it crazy!
Some of these I really want to get to as well, I just need to find the time haha. I want to read that H.G. Parry book too, it looks so good!
Time is our enemy!!
Yaaaaaaas let’s raise a glass to Lucky Meas!
The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires and The Only Good Indians are firmly on my ‘must get to these’ list, along with A Declaration of the Rights of Magicians. Soon….
*Raises glass*
Unreconciled is one of the sequels to OUtpost right? I still have that on my list to get to some day thanks to you haha.
Oh that copy of Gideon the Ninth is so pretty.
Annemieke recently posted…So You Want Your Laughs with Your Dark and/or Fantasy | #TopTenTuesday 246
So many of my upcoming reads are on this list, and now I’m super excited and also wondering what the heck I’m doing with my reading life. How haven’t I gotten to these yet?!
I started The Deep, and I was a bit disappointed with the beginning, too. I need to pick it up again, but it wasn’t exactly what I expected. I really need to get to The Bone Ships soon, especially with a sequel already announced! I know I’m going to love it. 😀
I’m still super jealous of that copy of Gideon the Ninth because OMG IT’S SO FREAKING AWESOME. *squee* I’m just going to live vicariously through you, if that’s okay. 😉