This is my third year doing the Mid Year Freak Out Book Tag! The tag was created by Ely @ Earl Grey Books and Chami @ Read Like Wildfire. 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!
# of Books Read So Far:
This may seem like a small number of books for some of you, but I’m ahead of schedule and I’m pretty happy with this number. I’m on track to read 100 books this year, as long as I keep up my pace.
Best Books I’ve Read So Far This Year:
We already have some good contenders for my Best of 2021, although the second half of the year is going to be very strong. But I have to say, science fiction thrillers are so good this year, and that’s why there are two in this top spot! Dead Space by Kali Wallace was amazing as was The Last Watch by J.S. Dewes (and a debut no less!). For a change of pace, I absolutely loved the small town magical vibe of The Ladies of the Secret Circus by Constance Sayers.
Best Sequels I’ve Read So Far This Year:
It’s no surprise that these three authors won this category, as they are so solid and reliable. M.R. Carey wraps up his emotional series with The Fall of Koli, Jackson Ford takes his Frost Files series to new heights of humor and crazy action in Eye of the Sh*t Storm, and W. Michael Gear ups the ante with the fifth book in his Donovan series, Adrift.
New Releases I Haven’t Read But Want To:
In the “ARCs I’m behind with” category are these three, books I’m especially regretting not reading and reviewing on time. (A problem we all have, right?) I’m also vowing to read them in 2021 at some point, so someone hold me to that!
Most Anticipated Releases for the Second Half of 2021
ALL HORROR. What is up with that? This category is especially tough to narrow down to three picks, but if forced to choose, Feral Creatures, The Last House on Needless Street and My Heart is a Chainsaw are my top three “can’t wait” books for the rest of the year.
Biggest Disappointments:
It’s actually been a really good year overall so far, but I did read three books that disappointed me in one way or another. It doesn’t surprise me at all that two of these are YA, an age group that I’m really struggling to love these days, but still. I’m always on the lookout for YA that will meet my adult standards, which I think all YA should! Immunity Index by Sue Burke was just deadly boring, and it took me two weeks to read this super short book. The Ones We’re Meant to Find by Joan He was confusing as hell, although it had a lot of potential. And Mina and the Undead by Amy McCaw was a debut with your typical debut issues: uneven pacing and a bunch of over-the-top shenanigans. I feel especially bad about my reaction to this book because I was on the street team and I actually won a copy of the book in a giveaway. Sigh.
Biggest Surprises:
The best thing about being a book blogger is being surprised! And I’ve been so lucky this year to have that feeling a bunch of times. At the top of the list are these three: Ten Low by Stark Holborn, a post apocalyptic, high octane thriller that I couldn’t put down; Composite Creatures by Caroline Hardaker, a surprisingly emotional and unique story about a horrifying future; and Doors of Sleep by Tim Pratt, a funny and joyful multiverse story that just made me happy.
Favorite New Author:
I have four authors that immediately came to mind for this prompt: Tim Pratt, Stark Holborn, J.S. Dewes and Alan Baxter. I’m eager to read more of their work!
Newest Favorite Characters:
So many, but a few of my favorites are Pounce from Day Zero, Ten Low from Ten Low, Jamie Conklin from Later and Kinch Na Shannack from The Blacktongue Thief.
Books That Made Me Cry:
I could only come up with two books for this category, but both brought tears to my eyes for various reasons. Composite Creatures was simply heartbreaking, and Birds of Paradise by Oliver K. Langmead was so beautifully written, with characters I cared deeply about.
Books That Made Me Happy:
And by happy, I mean books that were so funny I laughed out loud. Christopher Buehlman’s first foray into fantasy, The Blacktongue Thief, was a lively and hysterically funny start to a new series. Daryl Gregory mixes a retelling with snappy dialog and some very unusual characters in The Album of Dr. Moreau, and Tim Pratt’s Doors of Sleep is a unexpected feel good sci-fi story that delighted me!
Favorite Post I’ve Done This Year:
Looking through my posts for the first six months of 2021, I’m dismayed to find that I haven’t really posted much other than my usual reviews, memes, book hauls and lists. I need some more original content, lol. But these three posts were fun to put together and got some good response from readers:
Top Ten Unusual “Animals” in Books
Most Beautiful Book I’ve Bought This Year:
This is the Subterranean Press edition of Middlegame by Seanan McGuire (click on the photos to see bigger images). I knew when this was announced that I needed this edition for my library! It’s beautiful, just like all Sub Press books. The interior is printed in purple ink, which is really cool, and I love the artwork on the cover.
What Books I Need to Read By the End of the Year:
All of them? So so many. Here’s a sample of what I NEED to read in the next few months!
Two out of three of your “best books” and “best sequels” are books I also loved, and I can’t wait to get to Day Zero, since the author’s previous book proved to be such a wonderful read. Oh, and I acquired Ten Low on the strength of your review, so thanks again for showcasing it 🙂
Maddalena@spaceandsorcery recently posted…TOP TEN TUESDAY: Reasons Why I Love Reading
Oh that makes me happy! I hope I don’t let you down:-)
Fun tag! I don’t generally do tags myself, but I enjoy reading others’ responses.
Priscilla Bettis recently posted…One-Sentence Reviews: My 2nd Quarter 2021 Reads
This is the only tag I like:-)
51 books may be a small amount to some but it’s also a huge amount to others. Lately I’ve been reading more than I ever have and you’re still ahead of me! 🙂 No competition here, though, just the joy of seeing what others are enjoying.
You’re right, I shouldn’t worry about my 51 books, but I’m actually happy because I am ahead of my goal!
What Books I Need to Read By the End of the Year: All of them? YUP ME TOO SOUNDS ABOUT RIGHT
LOL I think we’re all in that boat:-)
I’m glad tip see The Fall of Koli so high on your list. I can’t wait to read it!
It’s sooo good!
Look at all the fun books! 🙂
Yes, lots of fun:-)
Nice, this is a great format for a mid-year update! I may have to do something similar with the first few categories. The Last Watch and Adrift are definitely among the standouts of my year so far!
It’s nice to kind of take stock of the first half of the year:-)
Love that title! I enjoyed Dead Space. I have The Last Watch checked out from the library now. And I also have We Are Satellites still waiting for me to read.
Anne – Books of My Heart recently posted…2021 Library Love Mid Year Update
I hope we both get to read We Are Satellites:-)
I’d also like to read A Master of Djinn before the end of the year, or anything else by P. Djeli Clark.
I have a copy of The Ladies of the Secret Circus and can’t wait to get around to reading it, and I also have The Last House on Needless Street which I might save for autumn but I don’t know if I’ll be able to resist that long 😀
Pages and Tea recently posted…Booking Ahead: July 2021
So I’ve added this to my calendar to maybe do on Sunday. I always love reading these posts when everyone else does them! I didn’t realize maybe that Eye of the Sh*t Storm was a sequel? That copy of Middlegame is gorgeous too! And you reminded me that I still need to read Later by Stephen King. Thanks for sharing all this fun!
Lisa Mandina (Lisa Loves Literature) recently posted…Blog Tour Review with Giveaway: Tell Me S’more (The Campfire Series #4) by Beth Merlin
Okay, I joined in as well! My link is below.
Lisa Mandina (Lisa Loves Literature) recently posted…The 2021 Mid Year Freak Out Book Tag
I should try and do one of these. I love your answers and you certainly have had a great year so far. I think I’ve read about 60 books so far which is also on track for my usual reading. I don’t tend to rise above that figure – I tend to fit in around 10 books a month but then sometimes one of them will be a chunkster or a book that you have to ruminate over.
I loved the Blacktongue thief, Later and Day Zero – so many good books so far this year and lots more still to come.
Lynn 😀