Mid Year Book Freak Out Tag 2019

Hey bookworms! Mid-year is upon us and with it comes the posting of the annual Mid-Year Book Freak Out Tags over BookTube and Book Blogs. This is a time for us to reflect on what we have read so far this year and what we hope to read before the year ends. Without further ado, let’s get right into the questions:

  1. Best Book You’ve Read So Far in 2019 — I have read 86 books so far this year. It is really hard to choose just one as the ‘best’. I have given out a lot of 5-star ratings. For the purposes of this list however, I will choose just one and say that Julie Kagawa’s, 2018 release, Shadow of the Fox, swept me off my feet. I love this story so much. Japanese-inspired YA fantasy that incorporates dragon lore and a quest. Y’all know I am down for a quest. I am currently reading the sequel, Soul of the Sword, which releases on Tuesday, June 18th.
  2. Best Sequel You’ve Read So Far in 2019 — I have actually read quite a few sequels this year as one of my monthly TBR challenges is to ‘read a sequel’. My favorite has been King of Fools by Amanda Foody. This second book in the Shadow Game trilogy takes the story to a whole new level. Foody’s writing has matured in leaps and bounds. The characters, the world, it was so good! I cannot wait for the final book of the series releasing in 2020.
  3. New Release You Haven’t Read Yet But Want To — This answer could honestly be 50-books long. I should just pick one…but I can’t. Here’s a few:               To learn more about any of these titles, just click the cover photo above!
  4. Most Anticipated Release for the Second Half of the Year — Hands down, The Institute, by my idol, Stephen King. This all-new, 576-novel, by arguably the most important writer of our times, features a sinister institute housing children with paranormal gifts. A good versus evil tale where the good guy doesn’t always win. Set to release on September 10th, I have already preordered my copy and will be reading it immediately upon arrival. I feel like I have been waiting my whole life for this book.
  5. Biggest Disappointment — I won’t dwell on this but for me, my most disappointing read so far this year has been Internment by Samira Ahmed. I say disappointing because I was anticipating it so highly. It’s not a terrible book. I didn’t hate it. I just wanted it to be so much more. This is a YA-dystopian novel dealing heavily with Islamophobia. In this story, Muslims are rounded up and detained indefinitely in internment camps. While the premise and the topics discussed were so good, the writing, for me, was not. My final rating was just 2.5-stars.
  6. Biggest Surprise — For me, this easily goes to Blood and Sand by C.V. Wyk. This gender-flipped retelling of the legend of Spartacus blew me out of the water. I had heard one person discuss this previously on BookTube, where she discussed how sadly under-hyped it was. When I saw it on Book Outlet for super cheap, I couldn’t resist picking it up and, oh man, am I glad I did! This action-packed story was so well written. I absolutely adored this! Read it.
  7. Favorite New Author (Debut or New to You) — Alex Michaelides blew me away with his debut novel, The Silent Patient, a gripping Adult Psychological Thriller. This book was so fun to read. He definitely rocketed up my auto-buy author list. If you read one Adult Thriller this year, it should be this one! My final rating for this one was 5-jaw dropping stars. I still break out in a smile when I reflect on the big reveal. So good.
  8. Newest Fictional Crush — The newest would probably be Carlos Ibarra from Jasmine Guillory’s, The Proposal. I first met Carlos in, The Wedding Date, and although I didn’t know him well, I was excited when I heard he was getting a companion novel to tell his story. I have an ARC of the next companion book in the series, The Wedding Party, which I hope to read very soon! Carlos is set to be Drew’s best man, so that should be a really fun time.
  9. Newest Favorite Character — Alex Claremont-Diaz, of course, from Red, White and Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston. This book basically broke the book world when it was released in May and I was all aboard that hype train. I had an ARC of this and finished it just before release. I raved about it and will continue to for sometime to come! Alex is just the best. I love him with my whole heart!
  10. Book That Made You Cry — I cried, actual tears falling down my face, while reading different parts of Too Much Is Not Enough, a memoir by Broadway Golden Boy, Andrew Rannells. His writing was so raw and heartfelt. When he lost his Father…ugh, man, it got me. A lot of his reflections were so relatable, I just found myself breaking down. Really well done with equal parts humor and weight. I loved this book!
  11. Book That Made You Happy — One of the most humorous books I have read this year is Sal and Gabi Break the Universe  by Carlos Hernandez. This great Middle Grade science fiction novel is part of the Rick Riordan Presents imprint. I have been blessed to received the last few books by this imprint in ARC form and they have all been so good. I was super impressed with Hernandez’s use of humor to tell this story. He is a funny man and a great writer! I cannot wait for the sequel. But seriously, just looking at this gorgeous cover makes me happy!
  12. Most Beautiful Book You’ve Bought This Year — This is a tough one. I have loved a lot of beautiful books this year but I think a standout for me has been The Candle and the Flame  by Nafiza Azad. Honestly, I could just stare at this cover for hours and in person, it just has the most glorious muted metallic shimmer. I cannot even express its beauty!
  13. What Books Do You Need To Read By the End of the YearToo many to count!!!!!!!!!

That completes my Mid-Year Book Freak Out Tag! Play along. Answer in the comments below or on your own blog or channel. Make sure to tag me so I can see your answers. Do we have any of the same answers? Do you agree or disagree with any of mine?

As always, thank you for visiting my blog. I appreciate you all.

Cheers & Happy Reading~

Tag Time: The Netflix Book Tag

Hey fellow bookworms – time for a tag!

Today I decided to do The Netflix Book Tag which I first came across on Josh’s Beards & Books channel on YouTube. You can watch his video by clicking here >>> The Netflix Book Tag <<<. I’m not much for chatting today so without any further ado, let’s just get into the questions:

1. Recently Watched (the last book you finished reading)? The Woman in Cabin 10 by Ruth Ware. I listened to the audiobook -this is an adult psychological thriller that takes place aboard a luxury cruise ship. It was okay – I wasn’t blown away but it had its moments. I gave it a 3-star rating.

2. Top Picks (A book/books that have been recommended to you based on book you have previously read)? Horror books get recommended to me a lot because of my tiny Stephen King (who are we joking here….ENORMOUS) obsession. Usually, things by great authors such as Jack Ketchum, Robert McCammon, Peter Straub, Kealan Patrick Burke, Ania Ahlborn, etc., etc.

3. Recently Added (The last book you bought)? The last book I bought, which arrived today from Amazon, is Flight of Fright. This is a brand new horror anthology edited by Stephen King and Bev Vincent. Basically, King, who is afraid of flying (as am I) decided it would be a fantastic idea to compile a bunch of stories dealing with the myriad of horrifying ways your flight could go wrong…and probably will. Definitely a good read for airline travel!

4. Popular on Netflix (Books that everyone knows about – 2 you’ve read and 2 you have no interest in reading): Two books that I have read that everyone knows about could be, The Shining by Stephen King and Dracula by Bram Stoker. Incidentally, these are two of my top 5 books of all time! Two books everyone knows about but that I have no interest in reading would be, The Notebook by Nicholas Sparks and Moby Dick by Herman Melville.

5. Comedies (A funny book): The last book I read that really had me laughing out loud was Foolish Hearts by Emma Mills. This is a contemporary YA book that just had such witty banter between the characters. I absolutely adored Emma Mills writing style and gave the book a 5-star rating.

6. Dramas (A character who is a drama queen/king): I thought Leah from Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda was a bit of a drama queen. Getting all angry at Simon for no good reason! No good reason, Leah! Good grief…

7. Animated (A book with cartoons on the cover): Howl’s Moving Castle, the Greenwillow Books Edition, published in 2008.

8. Watch it again (A book/book series that you want to re-read): I am definitely due a reread of my favorite book of all time, The Stand by Stephen King.

9. Documentaries (A non-fiction book you’d recommend to everyone): The Radium Girls by Kate Moore. Top notch writing. Also, In Cold Blood by Truman Capote, an absolute brilliant classic in true crime writing.

10. Action and Adventure (An action packed book): The Storm Runner by J.C. Cervantes which I reviewed on this blog about a week ago. Action-packed from start to finish, this new middle grade release is part of the Rick Riordan Presents imprint. This was just an awesome little story and I cannot wait for the next book in the series!

11. New Releases (A book that just came out or will be coming out soon that you can’t wait to read): Wildcard by Marie Lu which just released yesterday, September 18th. This is the follow-up to last year’s, Warcross, which was my favorite YA book of 2017. I preordered a copy of Wildcard and it should be arriving tomorrow!  So excited!

So that is it for my Netflix book tag! Feel free to tell me your answers to any of these questions in the comments section below – I want to know! Also, what’s everyone been watching on Netflix lately? I am excited for the new Sabrina reboot to drop!

Cheers and happy reading~

Tag Tuesday: Bookish Questions

I was tagged on bookstagram (the bookie subculture of Instagram) by one of my best book buds for the Bookish Questions tag the other day and figured it may be fun to implement a new ‘Tag Tuesday’ element to my blog. I don’t finish books every day so need to start blogging more than just reviews and hey, I’m just not that creative, so require a little help coming up with ideas. Tags are great because they make you think about the books you have read, want to read, bookish habits, likes/dislikes, etc. So, without further ado, here we go:

1. Do you read one book at a time?  Absolutely not! I generally read six to ten books at a time. If I read just one at a time, I feel like I would get bored too easily and end up in a slump – every bookworms worst nightmare. I try not to read multiples of the same genre though, particularly true for fantasy, as I find that can get confusing. Below is a photo of the current books I am reading from my Goodreads bookshelf:

As you can see, if you can read the above, I have the following genres: nonfiction, high adult fantasy, post-apocalyptic, horror, ya fantasy and then three adult thrillers. I find thrillers the least complicated to read multiples of – the plots are generally pretty easy to follow.

2. Where do you read?   I have three prime reading spots in my house depending on the time of day. At night, I read in bed for at least an hour prior to going to sleep. During other times of the day I can most often be found on my couch in the living room or sitting up at the bar in the kitchen. In reality though, I always have a book with me so will read essentially anywhere!

3. Do you read the book or watch the movie first?  I am actually one of those super rare birds who prefers to watch the movie or television show prior to reading the book (if possible). That way I know how to pronounce all the names correctly and I am not often disappointed. I think it is generally understood that the books are pretty much always better. If I read the book first, I feel like I would never enjoy a movie or television show based on them (exceptions being Harry Potter, The Hunger Games and Lord of the Rings) – but if you watch first, the books are always an added bonus! Honestly, I don’t know why more people don’t do it this way!

4. Do you have a reading habit?  I have a couple I would call habits. One is that I always remove the dust jacket of my hard covers while reading and then put it back on when I put the book back on my ‘current reads’ pile. Secondly, I always update Goodreads ever single day with my reading progress/page locations, etc. My last ‘habit’, or what is becoming a habit, is my bullet journal which I just bought a couple of months ago. I keep track each month of my tbr list, book haul, read-alongs/buddy reads and wrap-up.

5. Do you stop reading mid-chapter?  Yes, I do this very frequently. Oftentimes, I will read the very first page of a chapter and then stop. Those pages are usually half pages so add more pages read per day on my Goodreads count if I just get them in…and that my friends, is the true sign of a nerd!

What would be your answers to these questions! Let me know with a comment or message – Cheers!