Mid-Year Book Freak Out Tag

~ strugglingbookaholic

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Hi guys! 🙂 I’ve been wanting to make my blog look more cohesive for a while now so I’m planning on making some updates in the next two months. I started with making headers and footers which I’m really excited about. Let me know what you think of them in the comments! This was one of my summer goals and just like I want to stay on track with my blog, I want to stay on track with my reading. I’ve been seeing The Mid-Year Book Freak Out Tag on both YouTube (you can find the creator’s video here) and blogs and I thought it would be a really fun way to see where I am as far as my reading right now so that I can compare it to my answers at the end of the year. So here are my answers as of June 30th!

 

1. The best book you’ve read so far this year

Wow, I’m on question one and I’m already struggling haha. This is difficult because I have a few favorites so far this year and they’re all pretty different so it’s hard to choose just one. However, I’m going to go with Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo. I probably don’t have to explain why because this is such a universally loved book, but every element from the characters to the plot was perfect. I can’t wait to see what happens in Crooked Kingdom!

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2. The best sequel you’ve read so far this year

I just realized that with the exception of Six of Crows, every book I’ve read this year was a standalone. Like I said, I’m planning on reading Crooked Kingdom soon, hopefully this month. So surprisingly I haven’t read any sequels this year. I have a really long list of series I want to read but I think I’ve been so worried about all the time I was going to invest in each one that I haven’t started any yet. This is definitely a sign to me that I need to finally start some of them. After I read Crooked Kingdom, I think I’m going to start The Raven Cycle series!

 

3. A new release you haven’t read yet but really want to

There are so many of these but the first one that came to mind was To Kill a Kingdom by Alexandra Christo. I preordered this book and for some reason I still haven’t read it yet. However, I’ve heard nothing but good things about it. Also, since it takes place in/near the sea it seems like a perfect beach read. I definitely want to read this one by the end of the month!

to kill a kingdom 002.jpg

 

4. Your most anticipated release for the second half of the year

I have two of these that I can’t choose between. The first one is Sadie by Courtney Summers. I finally got my hands on an ARC so I just started reading it yesterday and I am so excited! I’ve been really into thrillers lately and this one seems great. The second one is What If It’s Us by Becky Albertalli and Adam Silvera. I’ve loved everything I read from both of these authors and I’m sure their collaboration is going to be amazing!

sadie 002     what if its us 002

 

5. Your biggest disappointment

My biggest disappointment was probably Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon 😦 I’ve heard a lot of good things about it and they even turned it into a movie, but I just found it to be so farfetched.

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6. Your biggest surprise

I almost listed this one as my favorite book so far this year because it’s definitely one of them, but I was so pleasantly surprised by You’ll Miss Me When I’m Gone by Rachel Lynn Solomon. I honestly bought it on a whim because there was a preorder incentive haha but I ended up loving it. It had cute, fluffy moments but it also discussed a lot of serious topics such as family, love, sickness, religion, and sexuality. I highly recommend checking this one out!

you'll miss me when i'm gone.jpg

 

7. Your favorite new author or an author who is new to you

The first author to come to mind for this one is Amanda Foody. I loved Daughter of the Burning City, I can’t wait to read Ace of Shades, and I got to meet her at BookCon and she was so sweet. However, I’m not sure if she counts for this one because I discovered her last year and I haven’t read her 2018 release yet. So out of the authors I’ve tried for the first time during the first half of this year, I’m going to say Leigh Bardugo. As I said before, Six of Crows is perfection and now I can’t wait to read everything else by her!

grisha trilogy.jpg

8. Your newest fictional crush

I have two new fictional crushes that stand out in my mind. The first one is Owen from Broken Beautiful Hearts by Kami Garcia. He’s so sweet and caring and chivalrous. The second one is Lennon from Starry Eyes by Jenn Bennett because he’s smart, funny, and romantic. I’m not doing either of them justice but if you’ve read either of these books, you know that these guys are beyond lovable.

broken beautiful hearts 002     starry eyes

 

9. Your newest favorite character

For this one I’m going with Jax from The Summer of Jordi Perez (And the Best Burger in Los Angeles) by Amy Spalding. At first Abby thought he seemed like a spoiled jock but he turned out to be really down-to-earth and kind-hearted. He was a great friend to Abby and so freaking hilarious.

the summer of jordi perez.jpg

 

10. A book that made you cry

The only book that I can remember making me cry during the first half of 2018 is Then She Was Gone by Lisa Jewell and it honestly hit me pretty hard. I want to avoid spoilers so all I’ll say is that the world is a cruel, unfair place haha.

then she was gone.jpg

 

11. A book that made you happy

For the question I’m going with Moxie by Jennifer Mathieu. Most of the characters were really likable, the romance was adorable, but most importantly I loved the friendships and the way everyone came together to fight for their cause. It was really positive and empowering and I really enjoyed it.

moxie

 

12. Your favorite book to film adaptation

I’ve only seen two book to film adaptations so far this year and they were Love, Simon and Ready Player One. I really enjoyed them both but I think I liked Love, Simon a little more and it was definitely more true to the plot of its book.

 

13. Your favorite video/blog post you’ve made this year

My favorite blog post I’ve written this year was the one about my Blind Date with a Book. The actual experience was so much fun and I think it was one of my more original posts. I really enjoyed writing it and I hope to write a similar post next year! 🙂

bdwab.jpg

 

14. The most beautiful book you’ve bought/received this year

Without a doubt, this one goes to the US limited edition deluxe version of The Wicked Deep by Shea Ernshaw. The dust jacket is stunning with its contrasting colors and the actual hardcover has silver stars imprinted into it. Overall, it’s absolutely gorgeous and it was an amazing book as far as content too!

* Disclaimer: I got the second picture from Google because I’m not home and I don’t have a picture of it with me 😦 *

 

15. What are some books that you need to read by the end of this year?

This feels like a cruel joke because my TBR pile is forever growing and there are so many books I want to read by the end of the year haha. When I was looking at through my posts to pick an answer for #13, I looked at my most anticipated releases of 2018 post and realized that I haven’t read most of them. I have no idea why I haven’t gotten to these yet because I’m still really excited to read them, but they are: Reign of the Fallen by Sarah Glenn Marsh, Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi, Ace of Shades by Amanda Foody, Leah on the Offbeat by Becky Albertalli, and Legendary by Stephanie Garber.

 

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Well that’s all. Please let me know how you would answer these questions in the comments, or if you’ve completed this tag link it down below! Feel free to tag yourself as well 🙂

- kelly xo bg 2

 

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Published by strugglingbookaholic

35 thoughts on “Mid-Year Book Freak Out Tag”

  1. Wow… I love so many of your answers… Six of Crows is the best ❤️❤️❤️ but I promise Crooked Kingdom will blow your mind 😃😃😃
    I really liked Owen and Jax too… Jax is particularly hilarious and sweet 😊😊
    Love, Simon is so cute… I saw it twice and want to watch it again…
    Hope you have a great second half of reading!!!

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    1. Thank you so much! xoxo
      I can’t believe I waited until this year to read Six of Crows, I was really missing out. Now that I started I don’t want to stop reading Leigh Bardugo’s books and I’m so excited for Crooked Kingdom!
      Jax was the highlight of the book for me. Every scene with him in it made me smile 🙂
      I really want to see Love, Simon again too! It was adorable and it made me cry haha.
      Thanks love, I hope you do too! xoxo

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      1. Crooked Kingdom is mind blowing… I’ll be looking forward to your thoughts about it 😊😊😊
        You should definitely checkout The Language of Thorns… it has Bardugo’s wonderful writing style but the illustrations are stunning…

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      2. Thank you so much! I will definitely write a review and/or let you know when I finish it! 🙂 I actually own Language of Thorns! I bought it before I even read Six of Crows because I have a compulsive book buying problem hahaha. Thank you for your recommendation 🙂 That really inspires me to finally read it soon!

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      5. I know… thankfully there’s no bookstore nearby now, so I don’t go a lot.. And I’m trying very hard not to open amazon 😉😉😉

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  3. To Kill A Kingdom is on my wishlist and I can’t wait to get my hands on them! Haha I absolutely agree with Everything Everything, it was such a disappointment!! OMG I didn’t know The Wicked Deep naked cover is so gorgeous!! Lovely post 💕

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    1. Yes I’m so excited to read To Kill a Kingdom! Please let me know what you think of it when you get to it 🙂 OMG no way! I’ve never had anyone agree with me about Everything, Everything before haha. I’m so glad to hear I’m not alone 🙂 Yes, it’s beautiful! Thanks so much, I really appreciate it ♥

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      1. I definitely will!! Haha I know, that book is too popular and everyone seems to like it! Happy reading love 💕

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  5. OH MY GOODNESS i related to sooo many things you said! I read six of crows recently and I love leigh bardugo now. Crooked Kingdom might kill me but I think I’m ready… Also, Everything, Everything was a disappointment to me as well:( I read it in about 3 hours because the format was kind of weird and I felt like there wasn’t much depth to the story because of it.

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    1. Would you want to buddy read Crooked Kingdom?! I’ve never buddy read a book before but it sounds like so much fun and I want to try! I’m also ready for Crooked Kingdom to break my heart haha so let me know if you’d like to do that!
      I’m so glad to hear I’m not alone. I just heard so many great things about Everything, Everything but you’re absolutely right! It really lacked a lot of depth. Did you read The Sun is Also a Star?

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      1. I’ve actually never buddy read before either (and not really sure how it works😂.) I don’t have the book yet but I’d love to buddy read once I get it! I never read The Sun is Also a Star. do you recommend it??

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      2. Okay let me know when you get the book and we can buddy read it! If I understand correctly buddy reading is just basically when 2+ people read the same book and they decide on a certain number of pages to read per day and talk about it! That way they’re always on the same part of the book and it’s easy to discuss it. I thought The Sun is Also a Star was better than Everything, Everything but I still didn’t love it, it was just eh. If you didn’t like Everything, Everything I probably wouldn’t recommend it 😦

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    1. Thank you so much! ♥ It’s probably great either way but you might appreciate it a bit more after reading the book. It’s kind of fun to see which parts they changed. Whichever you choose, I hope you enjoy it when you see it 🙂

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  8. Six of Crows is amazing. I’m so glad you had a chance to read it this year. I really enjoyed To Kill a Kingdom, so I hope you do as well! I loved Love, Simon as well. I’m always apprehensive about adaptations, but really enjoyed this one. I didn’t know The Wicked Deep had such a beautiful naked hardcover. I actually just bought it and am now even more excited. Hope the rest of your 2018 is filled with wonderful reads!

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    1. I’m so glad I finally read it too! Now that I have, I realize that I’ve been missing out for too long haha. Thank you so much! And I agree! I also usually don’t like when they change aspects of the book but in this case I thought the changes they made were interesting and didn’t affect the overall story too much. I loved The Wicked Deep and I hope you enjoy it too! 🙂 Thanks so much for your comment, love ♥ I hope you enjoy the rest of the books you read this year as well!!

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  9. Whew, you hit so many of my favorite topics! Like, I consider Six of Crows to be the best YA series, so it’s awesome that you’re a new fan. 😊 And oh, I have yet to read Starry Eyes, but I have huge expectations for it as I’d heard amazing things about it. (Also, that Wicked Deep edition is pretty dope. 😉 ) Excellent post!!

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    1. I love starting new series and joining new fandoms 🙂 I’m definitely a huge fan of Leigh Bardugo’s now and I can’t wait to dive back into the Grishaverse! I hope you love Starry Eyes 🙂 And I can’t get over how gorgeous that edition is haha. Thanks so much, lovely ♥

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  10. The wicked deep! Why didn’t I think of that book when I was ordering books earlier? *facepalm*

    I really need to give one of Kami Garcia books a chance. She’s a fellow Klaroline shipper, after all. Any you would recommend? I think I have The Lovely Reckless in my TBR but I’m not sure if I’m ever going to read it.

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    1. Hahaha I hope you get to order it 😉 It’s really good. I’m not sure how you feel about witches but since you like TVD and supernatural elements, you’d probably really enjoy this one! I hope you do if you end up reading it 🙂

      I honestly picked up Broken Beautiful Hearts on a whim and I ended up loving it. It’s probably going to make my list of favorite books of the year haha. I think Kami Garcia writes amazing characters. If you want to read anything by her, I would definitely recommend Broken Beautiful Hearts. I haven’t read anything else by her yet but I just bought The Lovely Reckless so hopefully I’ll get to that one soon! I think it sounds really good 🙂

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