I’ve seen this tag floating around a ton on book Twitter and other bloggers’ sites, so I thought I’d join in the fun! The original tag was created by ReadLikeWildfire and Earl Grey Books.
By the end of June I’d read 34 books. I set my goal for 52 this year, so it looks like I’m ahead of my pace of one book per week. I’ll take it since you never know what might randomly pop up in life. Without a doubt most of the books I’ve read so far fall within the fantasy genre. I haven’t read much nonfiction this year, but I have a few in my queue at the moment that I really want to read.
Anyway, let’s get on with the questions!
Best Book Youāve Read So Far in 2022
This is a tough one as I enjoyed various 5-star reads for different reasons. But, since I have to choose, I’ll pick TO BLEED A CRYSTAL BLOOM by Sarah A. Parker. This is an intriguing dark fantasy that left me with a lot of questions. It’s the first book in a series.
Best Sequel Youāve Read So Far In 2022
Hands down for me, the best sequel I’ve read up until this point is GLEAM by Raven Kennedy. The plot twist at the end left me with my jaw hanging open. I had to walk away and finish the book the next day. Unbelievable! It’s the third book in a series.
New Release You Havenāt Read Yet But Want To
Oh, there are so many I new releases I want to read but haven’t yet done so. I just can’t keep up! I’ll pick from my physical book list and say THE SHADOW GLASS by Josh Winning. It’s described as something perfect for those who also enjoy the LABYRINTH and THE DARK CRYSTAL. I love both, so I can’t wait to finally get around to reading it.
Most Anticipated Release for the Second Half of the Year
I’m really looking forward to TO SNAP A SILVER STEM by Sarah A. Parker. It’s the second book in the Crystal Bloom series. I need answers! Though I have a feeling I’ll just have more questions since this won’t be the final book.
Biggest Disappointment
I am definitely in the minority opinion here, it seems, but I didn’t really enjoy THE GIRL WHO FELL BENEATH THE SEA by Axie Oh. Though I enjoy reading Young Adult fantasy, one of my main complaints about it was it fell on the much younger side of that genre; I felt it could have been classified as middle grade. I also felt everything was quite underdeveloped and superficial.
Biggest Surprise
Though a lot of readers enjoyed THE LOVE HYPOTHESIS, I saw a minority of reviewers dislike it for several reasons I discuss here. The premise of the book seemed a little cringe to me. So to make up my own mind I decided to give it a go. And, surprisingly, I enjoyed it more than I thought I would.
Favorite New Author (Debut or New to You)
This author is both new to me and a debut author: Jenny Tinghui Zhang, who wrote FOUR TREASURES OF THE SKY. It’s a heavy historical fiction book that takes place mainly in the 1880s American west. The main character is a Chinese girl fighting for her place in a country that doesn’t see her, or any other Chinese, as belonging in the U.S.
Newest Fictional Crush
No one compares to Rhysand from A COURT OF THORNS AND ROSES. However, I did develop a little crush on Finn in THESE HOLLOW VOWS by Lexi Ryan. The sequel in this duology comes out later this month. I already put my hold request in at the library.
Newest Favorite Character
For this I’ll say Loulie from THE STARDUST THIEF by Chelsea Abdullah. I admire her perseverance.
A Book That Made You Cry
Surprisingly, I haven’t cried from many books this year (so far) despite reading several dark fantasy books. One book that made me cry, though, was OUT FRONT THE FOLLOWING SEA by Leah Angstman. It’s a historical fiction set in 17th century New England.
A Book That Made You Happy
Definitely THE LEAGUE OF GENTLEWOMEN WITCHES by India Holton. Not only did I unexpectedly like this one way more than I thought I would, it was light-hearted and made me giggle a lot.
The Most Beautiful Book Youāve Bought So Far This Year
It was very hard to choose between A MAGIC STEEPED IN POISON by Judy I. Lin and SO THIS IS EVER AFTER by F.T. Lukens. I think the latter ekes out the former for me. I just love how rich the colors are in the book cover of SO THIS IS EVER AFTER. Not to mention I love the art style as well. One day I’ll get to this book on my physical book shelf!
Books You Need to Read By the End of the Year
Well, technically I don’t have any ARCs that I signed up for that are due in December. But I do have ARCs in my NetGalley queue that I probably should read before the end of the year. Books in my NG queue that are already in bookstores are:
- WORN by Sofi Thanhauser
- A THOUSAND STEPS INTO NIGHT by Traci Chee
- THE WOLF DEN by Elodie Harper
- FREE by Lauren Kessler
Books in my NG queue that haven’t yet been published include:
- DARK EARTH by Rebecca Stott
- THE BOOK OF GOTHEL by Mary McMyne
- A TASTE OF GOLD AND IRON by Alexandra Rowland
- THE CHILDREN OF GODS AND FIGHTING MEN by Shauna Lawless
I will also need to read DESCEND by L.R. Friedman, a friend of mine who’s publishing her first book August 23, as I’m on her ARC team.
Favorite Book to Movie Adaptation
Oof, I don’t think I watched any movie adaptations of books this year, so far. I don’t think I even watched any TV series adapted from books, either. I’m currently re-watching season one of THE WITCHER. Does that count? I really like it, but I haven’t read any of the books yet.
Want to read more Mid-Year Freak Out book tag posts? Check out answers from Reader Voracious, The Orangutan Librarian, Biblio Nerd Reflections, Books Are 42, Birdie’s Book Nook, and Your Words My Ink.
I’d say The Witcher adaptation counts! I think it’s one of those few adaptations where the adapted property is more well-known than the original book. Jurassic Park is another one that immediately comes to mind.
Oh, good, I’m glad it counts! I was being pretty literal with that question and was trying to stay away from including TV series. After posting I remembered I’d watched season 2 of Bridgerton, though I haven’t read any of the books.
YAY this and the year-end reading tag are my favorite posts to read each year, so I’m glad you joined in! Every time I see The Shadow Glass cover I scream a little because it gives Labyrinth and Dark Crystal vibes and I love that so much. I can’t wait to hear your thoughts on the book itself when you read it.
Thank you for linking to my post — super sweet of you!
Thanks, I’m glad I joined in, too! I remember doing some sort of book tag in December, but I can’t remember if it was a year-end one, or related to the holidays…or maybe both?
Ugh, I’d love to get to The Shadow Glass this year. Fingers crossed I get through most of my ARCs. There’s a good chance…I don’t think I have any ARC publication dates past October.
And of course, always happy to boost and share others’ posts!
Raven Kennedy’s series is so popular and I keep seeing it everywhere. Very tempted to read it although I don’t read monster romance much! I’m sorry to hear that Axie Oh’s book was so disappointing for you but The Stardust Thief is also one of the books that I’m really looking forward to, so it’s exciting to see it in the “new favourite character” category! š I hope you continue to have amazing reads this year.
I hope you take a stab at Kennedy’s The Plated Prisoner series at some point! I liked the first one, but each book gets better. At this point, I feel like she’s the queen of plot twists, at least, relative to what I’ve read. I wouldn’t call it monster romance…it’s more on the fae side of things, so maybe that’ll pique your interest more? I’m not very intrigued by monster romance, though I also haven’t tried it either, haha.
I hope you LOVE The Stardust Thief when you read it. I’d never read anything before with jinn and really enjoyed it. Definitely looking forward to the next book.
I hope you have some great reads for the rest of the year, as well! Thanks for stopping by…I appreciate all the comment love!