Mid-year freak out! (2018)

OK, so I know most people have already done this, but did you know, that the actual mid-year day is the 2nd of July? So I’m not really that far off! Also, I know I keep saying it, but work is killing me at the moment!! Anyway, without further ado, let’s see what I have thought of the 41 books I have read this year.

Best book you’ve read so far

The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater has to be the best book I have read so far this year. The plot was so unique and totally unlike anything I have ever read, the characters were well though out and really special. I went through every emotion charted, and probably a few more. And, of course, I can never say enough about Steifvater’s writing style.

Best sequel you’ve read so far

ERHMAHGOOORD. Let me tell you now. There were actual moments during my reading of Gemina by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff where I literally (not figuratively) threw my book across the room and cursed the authors. This book KILLED me (figuratively, not literally) and I loved it so so so so so much for doing so. To be honest, I loved this book way more than Obsidio, but apparently I’m kind of a sadist…

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

I desperately want to read A Thousand Perfect Notes by CG Drews, and it finally came in the post this week! HOORAY! I’m not entirely sure I am emotionally stable enough for this yet, and I also need to finish LIFEL1K3 and get over whatever heartbreak that will impart first, but I am very keen to read this book.

Most anticipated release for the second half of the year

The Caged Queen by Kristen Ciccarelli is certainly up there. In fact, I’m actually looking forward to it more than Kingdom of Ash (by Maas in case you’ve been living under a rock), because I’m not convinced it will end in heartbreak and despair. And let’s be totally upfront about this, the more main characters you kill off, the happier I am. After I’m done grieving. But yes, The Last Namsara was wonderful, and I am looking forward to the next instalment!

Biggest disappointment

Turtles All the Way Down by John Green is my Cursed Child of 2018 (so far). I didn’t connect with any of the characters, nor the storyline, which was really disappointing. I have loved John Green books in the past – and in fact I find it difficult to pick my favourite (it’s between An Abundance of Katherines, Paper Towns and Looking for Alaska), so the fact that I went so far as to dislike this book was very disappointing.

Biggest surprise

Oooh. So, this is going to be weird, but hear me out: The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo. I have never read a ‘self-help’ book in my life. I don’t even read non-fiction. However I actually really enjoyed this book. Listening to Marie’s stories about how she came to define her style and career choice, as well as the psychology behind why this decluttering is good, was really interesting. I’m not saying I’ll read more self-help books, but this one was good.

Favourite new author

Holly Black. I was just going to leave it at that, but I guess I could expand on it. So, like nearly everyone else in the world, I got a copy of The Cruel Prince in January. After smashing it out in just over a day because it was so amazing, I then started to purchase Holly’s back-catalogue of books (like I did for Stiefvater last year). So far I have read TCP, Tithe, Valiant and Ironside. I’m starting The Darkest Part of the Forest tonight, and if DarkDawn wasn’t coming out next year, I think The Wicked King would be next year’s most anticipated book!

Newest fictional crush

Prince Cardan from The Cruel Prince. I kind of love his not-really-low-key-but-trying-to-hide-it obsession with Jude. Mostly because she can handle it. I think if she were a gentle petal (well, I probably wouldn’t have liked her…) then I would not like him as much, but his moral grey-ness lends it to the way Jude will deal with him in the future. And I think she can give as well as she gets.

Newest favourite character(s)

I don’t know that I can nail down one, but I will try! I think it probably has to be one of the ladies from The Illuminae Files by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff. Hanna and Kady were pretty freaking badass, and Ella (oh my sweet, little, foul-mouthed spider!) was actually a stand out for me. Just an FYI: Marie Lu drew Hanna’s art for Gemina and it is AH-MAZING. There are drawings of Hanna, Kady and Ella in there, but I can’t find them, so this one of Hanna and Nik (*swoon*) are all I can find.

Book that made you cry

Since I’m trying not to double up, I’m going with Save the Date by Morgan Matson here. It was a gorgeous contemporary story about family, and I could totally see where Charlie was coming from as a seventeen year old who has held her family up on a pedestal her whole life. It was really sweet and had a few good tear-jerking moments.

Book that made you happy

My genuine laugh out loud moments this year probably came from Royals by Rachel Hawkins, which was a massive surprise. I thought the book was going to be a bit kitsch and young, with some fun parts. But the writing was actually hilarious, and the banter between the characters was some of my favourite parts.

Favourite book to film adaptation

If anyone posts anything but Love, Simon here, I am going to be shocked. SHOCKED AND APPALLED. I loved the book, Simon vs the Homo Sapiens Agenda, and the movie was just as good. There were a few teeny inconsistencies, but I actually thought it was very well done. Ten stars! (And lots of Oreos.)

Favourite post you have done this year

This one was really hard to choose, but I think that my fave post I have written this year, is actually Top 5 characters that would win the show Survivor. I had a lot of fun with this post, and as we all know, I got to talk about some freaking amazing kickass characters!

Most beautiful book you have bought this year

Why are these questions so hard??? OK, Most beautiful book that I have personally bought this year… would have to be Warcross by Marie Lu. If you haven’t seen the naked cover of this, then see photos from my Instagram account above for the gorgeous rainbow-ness of it.

Book you need to read by the end of the year

This isn’t one book, it’s a trilogy, and I absolutely want to finish it by the end of this year. This is The Lotus War trilogy by Jay Kristoff, and I started Stormdancer in May, but I’m only about 75 pages through! This is a must read for me, because I need some closure in my life!

Phew! OK. I’m exhausted now, but I hope you’ve enjoyed this. Did we have any answers the same? Tell me what you think!

Happy reading!