Hey guys! So, I thought I would participate in the mid-year freak out tag we have all seen on YouTube over the last few weeks. While I know this is mostly a YouTube tag, I thought it would be fun to create my own here on my blog! It contains a list of 13 questions all about the books you have read or are looking forward to reading in 2020. Now we all know that 2020 has been a year like no other so let’s start turning it around and find some new and fun books to read and buy.
Let’s get started!
Question #1- Favorite book you have read so far this year.
I have two favorite books so far this year.
My second favorite read of 2020 so far is Nevernight by Jay Kristoff. This is the first book in the Nevernight Chronicles trilogy. It is a story about badass Mia Corvere, as she trains to be an assassin who is seeking revenge on the people who murdered her family. It is a dark, harsh read but it is oh so amazing.
Question #2-Favorite sequel read so far this year.
My favorite sequel I read so far this year is Godsgrave by Jay Kristoff, this is the second book in the Nevernight Chronicles. It follows Mia and the people she has meets during the first book. I read this book in May and the ending left me in a mess! I was in a state of shock and awe for days after finishing this read. I had preordered the paperback UK edition from Book Depository, but it didn’t come out until June and with shipping being a mess right now, I just got the third book Darkdawn in July. And I am honestly so scared yet so excited to finish this trilogy.
Question #3-New release you haven’t read yet but really want to.
There are a couple of new releases I have seen around Instagram lately that have caught my attention. One of them is Home Before Dark by Riley Sager, this is a mystery/horror/thriller about a woman returning to a home that her father had made famous by writing a horror memoir. After she returns to this estate, she starts experiencing strange incidents that are right out of the book her father wrote. I love these types of books for dark, cool, rainy fall days, I can’t wait to get my hands on this one.
Question #4-Most anticipated release for the second half of the year.
There aren't any books I am currently counting down until the release date. I have decided that I really want to focus on reading the books I already own before I spend more money on new books, there is of course exceptions to this rule. A good trip to the bookstore is my happy place, I like to browse the shelves after a rough week. There is one book coming out in December 2020 that is an author who has become an auto-buy for me. The Berlin Girl by Mandy Robotham is a WW11 historical fiction that I cannot wait to read. This is a story about a “country on the brink of war and a woman who puts herself in the line of fire, and a world about to be forever changed”. As many of you might have guessed WW11 historical fictions are some of my favorites. And if this book is anything like her first book The German Midwife, I am going to love it!
Question #5-Book that was the biggest disappointment.
One of my biggest disappointing reads of 2020 was, and don’t hate me for this, Scythe by Neal Shusterman. I expected to LOVE this book, but I just didn’t. This is about a dystopian world where there is no hunger, disease, war, or misery, no one dies anymore. The only way for one’s life to end is for a scythe to take it. Scythes are commanded to kill a certain number of people each year, to keep the population under control. This book follows two teens who are learning the art of being a scythe. I honestly don’t know why I didn’t vibe with this book, I didn’t click with the characters and I wasn’t 100% sold on the whole concept. It is an interesting idea don’t get me wrong, it just kind of felt like it was missing something for me. I am still on the fence about continuing with this series, we’ll see, I guess.
Question #6-Book that was the biggest surprise.
The book that was the biggest surprise for me was Aurora Burning, the second book in the Aurora Cycle series by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff. I read the first book Aurora Rising in May and enjoyed it, it wasn’t my favorite and I didn’t find it all that earth-shattering but I decided to continue and read Aurora Burning. Boy, I am glad I did! The Aurora Cycle series is about a band misfit space cadets from the Aurora Academy, and the adventure and troubles they get into after finding a stowaway named Aurora in their ship during their first real mission. The second book follows the same crew members as the threats they are trying to defuse starts heating up. This book ended on such a cliff hanger I am still in a state of shock. I honestly can’t believe we have to wait another year.
Question #7-Favorite new to me author.
I would have to say that I have two authors who are new to me that have become some of my favorites. One of them is Jay Kristoff, I have read 4 books written by him so far this year alone and I have enjoyed every single one of them. He is quickly becoming an auto-buy author for me, there is one series that he has written that I have not sampled yet, but I want to. It is the Lifelike series; I believe it is a more science fiction-based series instead of fantasy, like his other works.
The second author, a fellow Canadian, named Morgan Rhodes; wrote the Falling Kingdoms series I am trying to compete this year. I think this series is a very underrated YA fantasy series. This story follows four different storylines that are all weaved together somehow, it is a world where the rulers of each kingdom are searching for power and magic that has long been forgotten. Highly recommend checking it out, I don't think you will be disappointed.
Question #8-Newest fiction crush
I am going to skip this question. I don’t normally find myself having a crush on book characters.
Question #9-Favorite book character.
One of my favorite book characters of all time is Anne of Green Gables, I have loved her since I was a child and was reading those stories and watching the movies for the first time. I would say that my current re-read of the series has reminded me that she is one of my favorites, I love watching her grow up on the pages of the book. How she starts out as a curious little girl asking a million and one questions and talking a mile a minute, to a more mature but still inquisitive woman.
One of my newer favorite characters would be Mia Corvere from the Nevernight Chronicles. I think she is a badass woman that the world needs more of.
Question #10-Last book that made you cry.
This is a hard one, I don’t often cry while reading books I get sad and I feel for the characters, but I don’t usually shed actual tears.
Question #11- Last book that made you happy.
I don’t often read nonfiction but every once in awhile, someone will put out a memoir that I find interesting. I have listened to two this past year that I loved; they both put me through a range of emotions. They were Open Book by Jessica Simpson and Over the Top: A Raw Journey of Self-Love by Jonathan Van Ness. I listened to both of these by audiobook, they each narrate their own, and I have to say they were fantastic! I gave both of them five stars and recommend them to anyone who either followed them on social media or watched/listened to their work.
Question #12- The most beautiful book I bought this year.
I have been trying not to buy too many books this year and just read the collection I already have on my shelves. But I did purchase the Nevernight Chronicles in the UK paperback editions that have some of my favorite book covers of all time. I am clearly obsessed with them.
Question #13-Book I need to read by the end of the year.
Honestly, there are a lot of books I need/want to read by the end of the year. I would like to finish two of the bigger series I have started this year, Anne of Green Gables and Falling Kingdoms. I also really need to finish the Nevernight Chronicles I only have the last book left so I don’t see that being a problem.
Well, there you go! This is my mid-year book freak out tag. I have read a lot of books this year that I have loved and some I only found ok. Leave me a comment about what some of your answers to these questions would be. And be sure to follow me on Instagram to watch my reading journey continue for 2020!
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