Mid-Year Freak Out Tag – 2019 Edition

I’ve done this tag the last two years, and since I don’t do monthly wrap-ups and the like, I think that I really enjoy this way of giving myself a year-so-far summary. I’ve had plans to do this post for a week or so, but after being tagged by The Orangutan Librarian I’ve decided to bump it up to now. 🙂

Best Book You’ve Read So Far in 2019

I haven’t ranted and raved about Bel Cano the way I’ve wanted to, mostly because I haven’t been around all that much so far this year. But y’all. THIS BOOK WAS EVERYTHING. I am so in love. So many feels.

Best Sequel You’ve Read So Far in 2019

So apparently the only sequel I’ve read this year is The Kingdom of Copper??? I mean, I know I tend to prefer stand-alones, but THIS is taking things a little far, don’t you think?

Most Anticipated Release for the Second Half of the Year

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I’ve been talking about The Starless Sea since last November when I first heard about it. I have three words for you. Erin. Morgenstern. Pirates. *dies*

I’m also just wallowing away in self-pity over here that Children of Virtue and Vengeance got pushed back so many months. WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS TO ME?????

Biggest Disappointment

Has to be The Gilded Wolves. I was so set up for this to be a new favorite and it just fell flat to me. I was especially disappointed because I’d heard so many people raving about Chokshi’s writing, and I felt like it was really dull and silly.

Biggest Surprise

I don’t know why more people aren’t talking about The Psychology of Time Travel because it is just so so so so good! I was expecting to enjoy it, but I wasn’t expecting it to be my favorite time travel novel EVER. There’s just so much going on for it that I wasn’t expecting, not the least a freaking murder mystery. I also wasn’t expecting it to be so technical, which I LOVED.

Favorite New Author (or new to you)

I’m definitely in love with S.A. Chakraborty’s immersive writing and complex characters and will ABSOLUTELY be keeping an eye on everything she does from now on. Especially since her next series is going to be a heist. *squeak!*

Newest Fictional Crush

I imagine we will go through this every year, but I’m married. No crushing. I’m absolutely in love with Ali’s crush on Nahri in the Daevabad Trilogy, however.

Newest Favorite Character

How to choose??? I think it’s got to be Ead from The Priory of the Orange Tree, because even though I say I’m tired of “badass female warriors”, apparently that is 100% my type. See ALL of my comics.

Book that Made You Cry

I may have said this on my blog before, but I cried for literally half an hour after finishing Bel Canto. And not like, tears beautifully trickling down my cheeks. Like, sobbing. And my husband was just washing the dishes and like, “Is everything okay? Are you sick or something?” and I was like “No, it’s just so SAD! And BEAUTIFUL! Leave me alone, okay!”

Book that Made You Happy

Enchantee was such a breath of fresh air for YA fantasy! It was fun, magical, and flirty. Just dark enough, not toeing the line with gritty. Romantic. *sigh* It’s everything I’ve been wanting from a YA fantasy and haven’t been getting.

Favorite Book to Film Adaptation

The only one I’ve seen is Mary Poppins Returns, which at this point I’ve seen half a dozen times and listened to ad nauseam. As far as musical sequels go, this is the best I’ve seen, but obviously nothing can quite live up to the original.

Favorite Post You’ve Done This Year

There have been several discussion posts that I’ve really enjoyed writing and have had a lot of positive engagement. But I think the one I’m most proud of is More Religious Characters, Please. I wrote it on a whim (I might have been a little pissed…), and then the day it published I was so nervous that I wanted to just hide under my bed all day. But nobody was mad at me, and in fact I found that a lot of people agreed with me! We had some great discussions in the comments, and I’m really glad I didn’t stop to think about what I was doing for long enough to change my mind.

Most Beautiful Book You’ve Bought this Year

Hmmm, I’ve bought a few lovely ones! I won Enchantee in a giveaway, and I think it might be the prettiest book in my entire library, the colors are just so gorgeous! But actually purchased for myself I guess it’s got to be The City of Brass. I mean, they just did a fantastic job with the cover design, didn’t they?

New Release You Haven’t Read But Want To

SO MANY. At the top of the list is With the Fire on High which has been on my tbr since last year, but I’ve been making an effort to read more non-YA books, specifically in genre fiction, so I just haven’t gotten to it yet. Will DEFINITELY this year though!

Book You Need to Read by the End of the Year

So I purchased Carry On, which I guess means that THIS IS HAPPENING. God, I’m so nervous. I’ve never not given a 5-star rating to a Rainbow Rowell book, but I just didn’t care about Simon Snow AT ALL when I read Fangirl…

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It’s my bedtime now, so I’m not tagging anyone this year. But I love to see people freaking out mid-year, so if you haven’t done this tag yet consider it!