Mid Year Book Freak-Out Tag

I know it’s quite some time past mid year, but… oh well. I did this tag last year as well (timelier then), out can check that out here.

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Best book you’ve read so far in 2017

For this I probably have to go with The Final Empire by Brandon Sanderson. Although I’ve read a few awesome books so far this year (honourable mentions go to Illuminae, Nevernight and A Conjuring of Light), this one just kept me up at night reading and I was just so excited to talk to everyone about it and that hadn’t happened in a while. I have both a spoiler-free review and a rave review of this, if you’re interested to know more of my thoughts about it.

Best sequel you’ve read so far in 2017

This one goes to A Conjuring of Light by V. E. Schwab. It was such a great conclusion to the series. There is so much going on, we lern so many new things. I loved it so much, I felt all the feels and I NEED to get to her other books. I love her writing and her imagination so much. She writes such compelling stories and characters and I just don’t even know why I haven’t read all her books yet! I have a spoiler-free review of this one as well, if you would like to read more of my thoughts on it.

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

Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor. Again, another author whose writing I love so much, and yet I still have to finish Daughter of Smoke and Bone and I still don’t have my hands on Strange the Dreamer and I want it because it’s beautiful and I bet on the inside it’s beautiful as well and I can’t wait to read it!

 

 

Most anticipated release for the second half of the year

Godsgrave by Jay Kristoff. I loved Nevernight so much, Jay Kristoff is one of my new favourite authors and I want to read this book yesterday! This actually shares a release date with Tower of Dawn, which I’m also quite excited about, but not as much as I might have expected. Was a bit disappointed with Empire of Storms and Chaol is not really my favourite character. So Godsgrave wins this time. And I’m so excited about that cover! It’ll look so pretty along with the first one!

Biggest disappointment

Caraval by Stephanie Garber. That book sucks. If you’ve been following my reviews, you know how much I hated that stupid book. If you haven’t, then you can check out both my spoiler-free review of it and my rant review. The biggest disappointment position is actually a joint one, and Caraval shares it with Stealing Snow by Danielle Paige. I also have both a spoiler-free review and a rant review of that if you want to know more, so I won’t go into too much detail about why I hated it because I don’t want to ruin my day.

Biggest surprise

Hmm… this is difficult. I don’t think I’ve really read any books that surprised me so far this year. Maybe Replica by Lauren Oliver, because I enjoyed it more than I thought I would. it was far more insightful and clever and bold than I thought it would be and I went through it really quickly. So I guess I was a little surprised by it, but I can’t say it was a big surprise. I have a spoiler free review of it if you want to read more of my thoughts on it.

 

Favorite new author (Debut or new to you)

Jay Kristoff. I’ve read two of his books already and loved both. There’s something about the wit of his writing that gets me and I will read pretty much anything written by him. I really have to catch up with his other books. I can’t wait to see what other delights he has set in store.

 

Newest fictional crush

ELEND VENTURE HE’S SO CUTE I CAN’T sfjhsflakjhwryonjdnafihvnrlehen he’s such a precious, clueless cinnamon fluff ball I want to marry him.

Ahem… I’m okay. Ignore what just happened…

 

 

Newest favorite character

This is kind of hard… either Mia Corvere from Nevernight, AIDAN from Illuminae (although… Kady and Ezra as well, if I’m being honest) or Kit Herondale from Lord of Shadows. I’m currently about two thirds through Lord of Shadows and what can I say, I just can’t resist a Herondale. It’s a tough question to answer, because there isn’t any one character that stands out dramatically above the others, there are just a lot of really good characters that I love.

Book that made you cry

I don’t think I have an answer for this. I can’t remember reading any book that made me cry this year. Oh actually, I may have cried when reading A Monster Calls. Like, not properly cried, but I think my eyes got a bit watery. I do have a review of A Monster Calls if you want to know more of my thoughts. It’s a really powerful book, I thought and I do recommend it to anyone.

 

Book that made you happy

Again, I’m not sure I have an answer for this. I can’t think of a book that made me particularly happy. I mean, all books tend to make me happy just because I love books and I love seeing them and having them and arranging them on bookshelves, but beyond that, there wasn’t any specific book that made me happy.

Most beautiful book you’ve bought so far this year (or received)

Lord of Shadows by Cassandra Clare. It’s so pretty! And it looks so nice with Lady Midnight and I’m happy. I have the edition with the dark blue pages and it’s so cool and I love it!

Other honourable mentions for beautiful books are Illuminae, Nevernight and Caraval (even though the book itself sucks, I can’t deny that it’s beautiful to look at).

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

I’d like to read The Miniaturist by Jessie Burton and maybe some more Laini Taylor and V.E. Schwab. And I need to continue the Mistborn series.