The Mid-Year Freak Out Tag

Hello everyone,

This is the first time I have ever done the Mid-Year Freak Out Tag, so I am immensely grateful to Danni for nominating me. Danni is an excellent blogger and publishes a wide range of posts, so make sure you follow her if you haven’t already.

So without further ado, let’s move on to the questions!

How much have you read?

At the time of writing, I have read a total of 33 books, which I am pretty happy with. It means that I am currently on course to reach my Goodreads target of 52 quite comfortably, and also potentially break my personal record for most number of books read in a calendar year, which currently stands at 62.

What have you been reading?

I like to switch genre for each book I read if I can, so I have read quite a wide variety. My 2020 has so far encompassed fantasy, crime, mystery, thrillers, historical fiction, young adult, and literary fiction.

Best book you’ve read so far in 2020

This is a very easy question! The best book I have read in 2020 is most definitely Where The Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens. I expect this will be my answer at the end of the year, too!

Best sequel you’ve read so far in 2020

I have read six sequels so far this year, which is actually a lot more than I thought. The best one for me was Beast, the most recent book in the podcast based Six Stories series by Matt Wesolowski.

New release you haven’t read yet, but want to

There are several new releases that I want to read, but in the last few days, Mexican Gothic has really caught my eye, and I would be very excited to read that.

Most anticipated release for the second part of the year

How To Disappear by Gillian McAllister is out very soon and I’m looking forward to that, as she very rarely disappoints. We also have The Once And Future Witches by Alix E. Harrow, which I can’t wait to read, especially if it is anything like as good as The Ten Thousand Doors Of January.

Biggest disappointment

I would say One Year Later by Sanjida Kay. All of her previous thrillers had been fascinating and contained lots of great twists, but this one was highly underwhelming by comparison.

Biggest surprise

No book this year has dramatically exceeded my expectations, but there were a couple where I went in blind and they turned out to be different to what I had anticipated. One example is In The Absence Of Miracles, the plot was a lot darker and more affecting than I ever could have expected.

New favourite author (debut or new to you)

Having written Where The Crawdads Sing, Delia Owens is the obvious choice for this one. However, there are some other new-to-me authors whose work I have really enjoyed, such as Leigh Bardugo, Laura Purcell, Bridget Collins, and Eve Smith.

Underrated gems you’ve discovered recently

I cannot really think of anything for this, as most of the books I have enjoyed already have high ratings.

Rereads this year

I hardly ever reread books, and as such I have not yet done so this year. There are too many books on my TBR and too many new releases to keep up with!

Newest fictional crush

I don’t really have any fictional crushes. 🙂

Newest favourite character

That has to be Nikolai, from the Grishaverse. He is such an effervescent character and really brings every scene to life with his presence, personality, and dialogue.

Book that made you cry

I very rarely cry with books, but Where The Crawdads Sing really did have that effect on me. I just connected with the story and the protagonist so much. Sorry to keep mentioning this book, but it was absolutely special.

Book that made you happy

I loved With The Fire On High and smiled a lot while reading it, so it would have to be that one.

Favourite book to film adaptation

I watched the film adaptation of The Hate U Give this year and really liked it. For me, it definitely did the book justice.

Most beautiful cover you’ve bought (or received) this year

A lot of the books I have bought this year have very nice covers, but the standout one for me is The Foundling. It’s just so decorative and beautiful.

What books do you need to read by the end of the year?

There are so many! The ones I need to read in particular though are Thirteen by Steve Cavanagh, The Whisper Man by Alex North, and Daisy Jones And The Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid.

Favourite posts you have done this year?

• My favourite review of this year is for The Corset
• I enjoyed writing my discussion post about what Book Bloggers love to talk about
• The Would You Rather Book Tag was so much fun!

Favourite book community member

This is such an evil question, because I love so many of the book community. The bloggers whose posts I enjoy reading the most are Sofii @ A Book. A Thought, Darina @ Facing The Story, and Caitlin @ Caitlin Althea.

And that is everything! I am not going to tag anyone this time as we are now past the halfway point of the year.

What is your favourite book of the year so far? Have you discovered any great reads that exceeded your expectations? Let me know in the comments!