MID YEAR FREAK OUT TAG!

Hello and happy Monday everyone! Today I am finally here with this really useful tag! I cannot believe that we are in June or, even worse, that June is almost done! We have reached the halfway point through the year, argh!!! But flying time aside, this was a pretty good year for my reading (and for my personal life, too!) so let’s see some of the highlights!

1. BEST BOOK YOU’VE READ SO FAR IN 2021:

I know I am cheating, but… but it is not possible to just choose one. So for this question I have chosen just books that were the first in a series, or standalone. But I had to mention at least these five. Rocket Fuel is the best non-fiction read so far, and I have to say that is one of the best ever, too. I am in love with this anthology of essays about books and reading. Mastermind is a great thriller, and it is the best one I have read so far! How To Be A Normal Person was my second TJ Klune book, and it is the one I really loved. I enjoyed a lot the other two I have read, but with this one it was another story altogether. Shards of Heart is my favorite sci-fi, at least so far. I had a great time with it, and I cannot wait for the sequels! And, last but not least, Blood Heir. The first book in this new series, companion/sequels to the Kate Daniels’ one. And I am quite surprised by this thing, but I have written a review for every single one of them! Yay!

2. BEST SEQUEL OF 2021 SO FAR?

Even if I am constantly complaining about my not continuing enough series, I have read a lot of amazing sequels! I have read two of the City Watch sub series, Thud and Snuff and loved both of them. Pratchett is always amazing, and even if I had high expectations for these books, they managed to surprise me. The Thief Who Knocked On Sorrow’s Gate is the third book in Amra Thetys series and it was just amazing. I have read the second one this year, too (yay for me!) but it wasn’t so good. But this third one? Amazing!!!! Priest of Gallows is the third book in the series, and it was captivating, dark and intriguing. And then we have Tomas Piety. And he is reason enough to start this series! Another series that I have read a lot this year is Murderbot. I have read books 4, 4.5 and 6, and loved all of them. It has became a comfort read, and Fugitive Telemetry was the one I loved more, but not by much, because they were just so so good! And last but not least, Tyrant’s Throne. This is the last book in The Greatcoats series. This is an amazing series, and this was an amazing ending. It made me suffer a lot, but also laugh. It is such a bittersweet thing this series, and I loved it to pieces.

3. NEW RELEASE YOU HAVEN’T READ YET, BUT WANT TO?

There are a lot of books that can fit this category, but I decided to be good here, and I selected three titles that I really want to read and that are waiting for me on my e-reader. So maybe I would manage to read them sooner rather than later. What is strange here is that I have chosen more sci-fi than fantasy!

4. MOST ANTICIPATED RELEASE OF THE SECOND HALF OF 2021?

There are a lot of books that I am waiting for, but these two are the ones that I need ASAP!!!!!!

5. BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENT?

Let me be clear here, this was absolutely not the worst book I have read so far, not at all, but it was the most disappointing, because I was expecting so much from this one and in the end it didn’t delivered. At least for me. I would continue the series, especially because I had a lot of problem with the sister of the MC, but I think that we should see way less of her around in the sequels, or so I hope, because I was just so irked by her! This aside, it was not a bad reading, and I had enjoyed the book but… but I was expecting more.

6. BIGGEST SURPRISE?

Since I cannot keep using the same books over and over (because some of the books I have mentioned before could have been perfect here, too!) I would go with The Roommate. This is a chick-lit, but there is more to it, and it was surprising. So here we go!

7. FAVORITE NEW AUTHOR (DEBUT OR NEW TO YOU) ?

I could have chosen Tj Klune and Andrew Mayne for this prompt, but there were other authors too that really impressed me this year, so we have M.A. Carrick, and I know that this is a pen-name for two authors, but it counts anyway, and I really enjoyed The Mask of Mirrors, and P. Djeli Clark. I have read only two short stories, but I loved them and I am looking forward to the full length novel!

8. NEWEST FICTIONAL CRUSH?

Murderbot can count for this prompt? It is not newest but…. oh well!

9. NEWEST FAVORITE CHARACTER?

I would go with Celehar from The Witness For The Dead. He is one of my favorite new (or newish) character so here we go. And also Kinch from The Blacktongue Thief. He is an adorable rascal!
And I have talked about How To Be A Normal Person, because Gustavo is one of the best characters ever!

10. BOOK THAT MADE YOU CRY?

I am not a crier but… this last adventure with Falcio, Kest and Brasti got me. Bad!

11. BOOK THAT MADE YOU HAPPY?

This was a surprising and refreshing book. It is a sort of Pride and Prejudice retelling, but we have dragons!!! I really enjoyed this one!

12. FAVORITE BOOK TO MOVIE ADAPTATION YOU’VE SEEN THIS YEAR?

This is not strictly speaking an adaptation, but it is the only one I have watched, and I loved it. So yes, I will go with The Watch!

13. FAVORITE REVIEW YOU’VE WRITTEN THIS YEAR?

I don’t really know, but I am pretty satisfied with the review I have written for The Watch series. But it may just be because it is the most recent one I wrote for something that I really loved!

14. BOOKS YOU NEED TO READ BY THE END OF THE YEAR

Funny thing, Starless was in the same prompt in last year tag. And it is still here. I am bad that way, argh! But I really hope to read it, and all the others I mentioned before the ending of 2021!

And what about you? Have you read some of those books? or do you want to read some of them? Let me know!

Happy reading!
S.