Mid-Year Book Freak Out Tag // 2019

Sunday, June 30, 2019

How is 2019 already halfway over? How am I actually doing well on my reading challenge? I think I'm only 4 books behind, having read 21/52 books so far! I'm pretty proud of myself for having not felt like I did very well this year overall.

I have been living for these fun-themed, month-long readathons! I passed the OWL's in April and I think I'm going to be able to read all the books for the prompts in the Game of Booksathon that is going on for June. Usually, I feel like I do really bad at readathons, I think they're fun and I like to participate, but I usually like... make a TBR and move on with my life. But this year, that is all that is getting me to read.

But anyway, here are the books that I am freaking out about so far this year.

Best Book You've Read So Far in 2019?


I would have to say that hands down, The Shadowglass by Rin Chupeco was the best book I've read so far this year. This book might be the answer to a lot of these questions, but oh my goodness. This series gets better and better with each book. There aren't very many series where the first book isn't my favorite, but this is one. This book.... No words. Check out my review!

Best Sequel You've Read So Far in 2019?


Honestly, The Shadowglass, but in the interest of giving some unique answers I will go with The Last Life of Prince Alastor by Alexandra Bracken. Gotta put my fave author on this list somewhere, right? This is the sequel and finale for The Dreadful Tale of Prosper Redding. This series was so much fun and I enjoyed the glimpses we got into how Honor Redding got the Reddings into the mess they're in. If you are already wondering what on earth you're going to read during October, may I recommend this series?

New Release You Haven't Read Yet, But Want To?


Song of the Dead by Sarah Glenn Marsh is the second book in the Reign of the Fallen duology. I loved Reign of the Fallen when I read it.. like so much. Since I have been in such a YAY NECROMANCY mood lately, I don't know why I haven't finished reading a book series about necromancers, but here we are. Also, the covers for this series are SO pretty.

Most Anticipated Release for the Second Half of the Year?


Keeping on with the necromancy theme that is prevalent in the answers for this tag so far, I am going to go with Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir. I am so glad that I follow so many people who have been talking about this book because otherwise I don't know that I would have heard about it! And I believe this is an adult book about lesbian necromancers and I am so down for that.

Biggest Disappointment?


Daisy Jones & the Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid was easily my biggest disappointment of the year so far. I have heard SO much about this book and about Evelyn Hugo so I figured that with all that hype, this book must be something, but I wasn't particularly impressed by it myself.

Biggest Surprise?


I am going to call A Curse So Dark and Lonely my biggest surprise of the year. Beauty and the Beast is my favorite Disney movie ever, but I feel like I have been really wary of retellings of it lately?? I don't know why, I haven't really read any that I thought were particularly bad. Besides being weirdly wary of that, I also don't really like books that take place in both a fantasy setting as well as the real world. So, I was kinda "meh" going into this, but I ended up liking it a lot more than I was expecting to. I truly couldn't give you a good explanation as to why I was not expecting to like this book so much, maybe it was a case of being let down too often by the hype, but I'm so glad that I read this book! I loved it!

Favorite New Author (Debut or New to You)?

I haven't really read much this year by authors that are new-to-me. I think I have read three new-to-me or debut authors this year so far, but I don't know that I LOVED any of the books I've read by them. So, I don't think I have a good answer to this question.

Newest Fictional Crush?

I don't really have one of these either. 

Newest Favorite Character?

I don't know that he's a NEW favorite character (definitely a favorite, but not a new one), but after finishing the series, I think I have a deeper appreciation for Kalen from the Bone Witch series. 

Book That Made You Cry?


The ending of The Shadowglass made me UGLY CRY.

Book That Made You Happy?


I don't think I liked this book as much as everyone else seems to have, but it was fun and cute and there were parts of it that made me happy.

Favorite Book-To-Film Adaptation You've Seen This Year?


I think re-watching The Darkest Minds with my boyfriend was the only time I saw a book to movie adaptation so far this year so I guess that one is my answer.

Favorite Review You've Written So Far This Year?

I have not written very many reviews this year. So, I would say either White Stag or Daisy Jones & the Six. I didn't really like those ones that much and for some reason, I usually like my more negative reviews better. I think it's because I actually have coherent stuff to say.

Most Beautiful Book You've Bought This Year?

*sweats nervously in The Shadowglass*

What Books Do You Need to Read by the End of the Year?

          

Okay, a book that came out this year already that I really want to read by the end of the year is The Devouring Gray by Christine Lynn Herman. I have been seeing so much about this book lately, I just really want to get it read.

A book that has yet to come out, but I really want to read promptly is Capturing the Devil by Kerri Maniscalco. I can't wait to see how this series ends!

And a book that came out before this year that I need to get my shit together and read is Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo. I reread Six of Crows in April so I could get this one read, hopefully I will get it done soon!

Have I convinced you to read The Bone Witch series? What have been some of your favorite books so far this year? Least favorites?




Waiting on Wednesday // Well Met by Jen DeLuca

Wednesday, June 26, 2019


Well Met by Jen DeLuca
Publisher: Berkley
Publication Date: September 3rd, 2019
Pages: 336

Summary (from Goodreads):

All's faire in love and war for two sworn enemies who indulge in a harmless flirtation in a laugh-out-loud rom-com from debut author Jen DeLuca.

Emily knew there would be strings attached when she relocated to the small town of Willow Creek, Maryland, for the summer to help her sister recover from an accident, but who could anticipate getting roped into volunteering for the local Renaissance Faire alongside her teenaged niece? Or that the irritating and inscrutable schoolteacher in charge of the volunteers would be so annoying that she finds it impossible to stop thinking about him?

The faire is Simon's family legacy and from the start he makes clear he doesn't have time for Emily's lighthearted approach to life, her oddball Shakespeare conspiracy theories, or her endless suggestions for new acts to shake things up. Yet on the faire grounds he becomes a different person, flirting freely with Emily when she's in her revealing wench's costume. But is this attraction real, or just part of the characters they're portraying?

This summer was only ever supposed to be a pit stop on the way to somewhere else for Emily, but soon she can't seem to shake the fantasy of establishing something more with Simon or a permanent home of her own in Willow Creek.

This book sounds super cute and the Renaissance Faire setting sounds like so much fun. I'm hoping that this will inspire me to actually go to the nearest faire this year. I am pretty sure there is an unofficial Harry Potter themed weekend this year at the one I would go to. But I have made plans to go several times and the people I'm planning to go with always bail on me.

What books are you looking forward to this week?

Top Ten Tuesday // Books On My Summer 2019 TBR

Tuesday, June 25, 2019

So, for today's top ten Tuesday topic, I am going to be telling you what books I plan on reading this summer. Since I haven't been requesting anything, I don't have anything to read that is particularly pressing. I have been choosing reads lately based on prompts for readathons, so I don't actually know how accurate this list is for what I am going to be reading in the near future. A few of these are for the Game of Booksathon that I am doing right now and the rest are just ones that I thought I might like to finally get to when I peered through my shelves. I think that I have decided that I like reading more when I don't request books from publishers. I like my new laid back style better.

If you are unfamiliar with Top Ten Tuesday, here is a link to information and prompts.


1. The Women's War by Jenna Glass
Women's War #1



2. Natalie Tan's Book of Luck and Fortune by Roselle Lim



3. Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo
Six of Crows #2



4. The City of Veils by S. Usher Evans
Princess Vigilante #1



5. Romanov by Nadine Brandes



6. The Girl From the Well by Rin Chupeco
The Girl From the Well #1



7. The Suffering by Rin Chupeco
The Girl From the Well #2



8. The Poppy War by R.F. Kuang
The Poppy War #1



9. The Devouring Gray by Christine Lynn Herman
The Devouring Gray #1



10. The Wicked Deep by Shea Ernshaw


What books are on your summer TBR? Are there any of these that I NEED to prioritize?

Top Ten Tuesday // Most Anticipated Reads for the Rest of 2019

Tuesday, June 18, 2019

Hello and welcome to my first Top Ten Tuesday in quite some time. I thought that this would be an easy topic to start back up with, but I then I spent like two hours scrolling through Goodreads, internally screaming WHAT DO I DESPERATELY WANT TO READ?! I think that since I was last blogging regularly, my tastes in books have changed and now I don't even know what I want to read anymore.

So, this ended up being harder than I ever would have expected it to be, but I discovered some cool new books on Goodreads in the process, so whatever.

If you are unfamiliar with Top Ten Tuesday, you can find more information or prompts here.

Anyway, here is my carefully curated list of books I am very excited about for the rest of the year.


1. The Never Tilting World by Rin Chupeco
The Never Tilting World #1


After reading (and endlessly adoring) The Heart Forger last year, Rin Chupeco easily became probably my #2 auto-buy author. I am so excited for more Chupeco books and even more excited that I will get TWO of her books in one year. #blessed


2. Rage by Cora Carmack
Stormheart #2


Despite the fact that I thought that the romance in this book was kinda gross and icky, I am very excited for this sequel to come out this year. I think the storm magic in this book is so interesting and I am jazzed to see what happens next.


3. The Fountains of Silence by Ruta Sepetys


I love the way that Ruta Sepetys writes about little known pieces of history. Like, a year and a half ago now, I think, she came to South Dakota to speak at a college and I went and listened to her talk about Salt to the Sea and all the research she does for her books is so fascinating. I've only read one of her books so far, but I will buy anything she puts out.


4. The Bone Houses by Emily Lloyd-Jones

I didn't really like this author's last book that I tried reading, but since I am absolute trash for books about reanimated corpses, I am hopeful that this one will be good. I hope that it is good because I am EXCITED and I really like the cover.



5. Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo
Ninth House Series #1


Leigh Bardugo is another author where I will buy everything she writes. I am excited to read an adult book by her. Also, the hype for this one is REAL.


6. The Queen of Nothing by Holly Black
The Folk of the Air #3


I am so glad that this finale got pushed up to November because I have a mighty need to know what happens next. I think it's funny that this book ended up on my most anticipated reads list when the first book was one that I was vehemently against reading. I only picked it up because of a combination of the hype and also the fact that that particular day in Barnes and Noble is was looking at me from E V E R Y young adult book display in the whole store and I was like FINE, I WILL READ YOU. 


7. Call Down the Hawk by Maggie Stiefvater
Dreamer Trilogy #1

The Raven Boys was another book series that I was very surprised to have actually liked. It didn't sound like my cup of tea at all, but here I am... eagerly anticipating being able to go back to that world.



8. Capturing the Devil by Kerri Maniscalco
Stalking Jack the Ripper #4

I am so sad to see this series end! I have loved following Audrey Rose and Thomas Cresswell, but I am excited to see how it ends. I am excited about the particular serial killer they are hunting in this book! I can't wait to see what Kerri Maniscalco will come out with next.



9. Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir
The Ninth House #1


I don't really know all that much about this book, but I have seen a lot of people talking about this one. I briefly glanced at the synopsis, but I SLAMMED that Want To Read button just as soon as I saw the word necromancer. And I think it's about lesbian necromancers!


10. Bid My Soul Farewell by Beth Revis
Give the Dark My Love #2


I didn't LOVE Give the Dark My Love, there were a few things that I didn't like that much about it, but you bet your britches I am excited to see how it concludes. I almost forgot that this book was a thing! I haven't heard anything about it at all. Didn't know it even had a title, cover, release date til I just barely remembered it's existence before I finished this post. But like I said before... TRASH for books about reanimated corpses.

So, that concludes the books that I am excited for for the rest of this year! What books are you looking forward to? Are we looking forward to any of the same ones?

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