Mid-Year Freak-Out Book Tag

After seeing this tag featured on Howling Libraries, I remembered it’s that time of year again when bloggers all seem to take part in the mid-year freak-out. So here we go…

Best book I’ve read so far in 2019:

The Poppy War by RF Kuang

There were three books in the running but I’ve decided to go with The Poppy War as it was unlike anything I’ve read before.

[If you’re interested, the other two were The Ruin of Kings and The Merciful Crow.]

My favourite sequel of the first half of the year:

Kingsbane by Claire Legrand

I absolutely loved Kingsbane by Claire Legrand but the ending has me desperate for book three.

A new release I haven’t read yet but I’m really excited about:

I really enjoyed Witchsign when I read it last year and it proved to be a solid start to the Ashen Torment series. Stormtide released last month and I can’t wait to read it.

Most anticipated release for the second half of 2019:

Bloodchild

There are four books I’m desperate to read but I’m going with Bloodchild by Anna Stephens as it’s the final book in the Godblind Trilogy.

[The other three were: Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo, Call Down the Hawk by Maggie Stiefvater, and The Queen of Nothing by Holly Black.]

Biggest disappointment:

I’m quite good at choosing books I know I’ll enjoy but I bought Superman: Dawnbreaker to complete my collection and just found it boring.

Biggest surprise:

Viper by Bex Hogan

I hadn’t heard of Viper when I first received a proof copy so didn’t know what to expect. However, I found myself staying up late to finish this fun pirate adventure and can’t wait for the sequel.

Favourite new-to-me or debut author:

Two new-to-me authors I enjoyed books by this year are Samantha Shannon and Mark Lawrence. A debut author I loved was Hafsah Faizal.

Favourite fictional crush:

He’s too young for me but Ashish from There’s Something About Sweetie is the cutest. Sandhya Menon writes perfect contemporary romances with cinnamon-roll love interests.

New favourite character:

Daisy Jones & The Six felt like a real biography and no character was more realistically complex than Daisy herself.

A book that made me cry:

This is Going to Hurt by Adam Kay had me crying with laughter so I’ll go with that one.

A book that made me happy:

Heartstopper Vol. 1 by Alice Oseman was adorable and made me so happy.

Favourite book to movie/TV show of the year so far:

I don’t think any adaptation will ever beat Good Omens.

Favourite post I’ve written this year:

Pride and Prejudice BBC 1995

I love talking about Jane Austen so probably my top ten favourite Austen adaptations.

Most beautiful book I’ve bought in the first half of 2019:

I think the prettiest book I bought this year has to be the Goldsboro edition of Aurora Rising. It was also the most difficult book I’ve ever bought thanks to technical difficulties.