Mid Year Book Freakout Tag 2019!

I did this tag last year as well, and it really helps in reflecting on your year in reading! I feel like I read a few really really good books, but on the whole, I feel like I had kind of an average reading year so far Hoping to pick up, now that we’ve reached July. Enjoy 😀

1. Best book you've read this year

I just finished it this morning. I don’t know where to begin. This book is, of course, based on Greek mythology. It’s a retelling, but not like a modern, dramatic type of retelling, it kept every single bit of the essence of the real ‘myths’ and Miller did an incredible job.
My friend and I were discussing how all the events that happen in the book are so well described, they’re not dramatic, like ‘OH, there was so much blood, it seeped into the floors and the smell was overpowering’; it was more like ‘the floors were stained.’ And that’s it. That’s what I loved about it, nothing was over the top, it wasn’t in your face, but it was just said in a matter of fact way. I especially loved the deaths and the gore being described. It was so simple, just some bones crunching as Scylla ate men.
Another thing I loved was how all the characters mentioned (at whatever point) had some impact on Circe until the very end. Talking about Circe, she is a fiery, idealistic, scheming (in a good way) witch who has an island all to herself, she breeds animals, has a pet lion, and occasionally takes men to her bed. She is so powerful, it was so empowering to read from her perspective. How she did whatever she could to get away from the males in her family because she knew how they were and what they were capable of. I appreciated how she stood up to her father and how, when she is exiled, didn’t even take a moment to lament the fact that she won’t have the riches anymore, because, for her, none of it really mattered.
I loved how Odysseus played such a big role in her life, even if he was only there for a year with her, everything about him influenced her until the end of her life, which we find at the end of the book.
This book talks about power, motherhood, being ostracized, being female, sorcery and magic. I could write a 1000 word essay but I will stop. Highly highly recommend.

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2. Best sequel
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5/5 stars

Hands down, the best sequel I’ve read in a while. I read a few sequels this year, I enjoyed every single one of them, but I waited so long for this sequel and it lived up to all my expectations, and more. How did I end up loving the two most villainous characters I’ve ever read about? I don’t know, ask V.E. Schwab.
I feel like this book was even better than Vicious, which I didn’t think was even possible, but this had ten times the power, the action, and was sheer brilliance. Majority of books, of course, have characters that are flawed, but Schwab turns those flaws into their driving force and makes it power.
I loved Vengeful for several reasons- more female-driven action, Marcella and June was so freaking cool I cannot say enough about them, they’re badass EO’s that don’t give a shit, and the amount of power they had was insane; more backstory for both Eli and Victor: more of Mitch and Dom, and just simply more of everything. All the aspects of Vicious were done multi-fold in Vengeful and I have no complaints. I also must say, I loved Eli and Victor even more as….older men in their thirties. I thought they had more sass and were more vengeful xD
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3. New release you haven't read yet but want to
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I can’t wait to read this!!!! I love the first two books, I know there are mixed reviews but I really enjoyed it all. I love carnivals, love magic and family-related stories, this had everything. I hope the third book is good and doesn’t become cliche.
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4. Most anticipated release for the second half of the year
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<cue caps>
I AM SO EXCITED FOR THIS SERIES, I HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR ALL THESE YEARS. First off, its a spin-off for Ronan. You had me there. He is probably my favourite character in The Raven Cycle. UGH I CAN’T EXPRESS MY EXCITEMENT. mandatory keyboard smash ihrwablkBBRID;jknhsdblknj.admf.

Alsooooooo this. Set fifteen years after Offred got into the mysterious van, we find out which van she got into. I can’t wait.
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5. Biggest disappointment
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3/5 stars

Everyone’s going to come for me with axes.
Is it bad that I didn’t get the hype behind this ._. Two of my favourite reviewers raved about it and I thought ohmygod I’m going to love this it’ll be in my top books of the year. Nope.
I have a feeling it’s partly because the first part with Evelyn’s struggle and lying and career was very close to a movie released here just last year. It was practically the same, lying about her age to get into the cinema field and stuff. I know its a stupid reason, but I had the movie playing in my head the entire time, and that’s what bugged me :p
Maybe I’m weird, but I didn’t really connect with Evelyn as much as other people did, it just didn’t do for me. I found her to be extremely selfish throughout her entire life and I didn’t really like her, not even one bit. I know I know, she lost all her loved ones and really struggled, but in the end, I’m glad she knew that she was a shitty person. Because she was.
I liked the character of Monique the most, I like that she didn’t empathize with Evelyn to the point of forgiving her completely and that she had that bit of hatred even at the end, it is completely relevant. And her relationship with her mother was adorable.
In the end, after the photo shoot sequence, there is a minute where Monique really feels close to Evelyn, but afterwards, she goes back to feeling that she will never entirely forgive Evelyn, and that’s why I loved her character. It might seem easy to sympathize and feel like, since the woman lived through such a hard life, it was okay for her to do the things she did, and make the bad choices that she had, that its justified- but Monique showed that it really isn’t that easy, and it doesn’t make sense.
I realize that there are several antagonistic characters that I love (probably not intended by the authors, but I love them), and someone like Evelyn, I suppose is supposed to be bad in a way that makes you love her as a flawed person, but god, for me, she was way too selfish and I would never like a person like her if I knew of the crap she pulled off throughout her life.
The writing was good, the characters were okay, I also liked Harry, obviously. Not much else going for it, in my opinion. It is a very very easy read though, and I appreciated the flow very much because it reads like a chick-lit. Although the book had its good moments, it didn’t do justice to the hype for me.
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6. Biggest surprise
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4/5 stars

Hello. This was so so so so so good. I can’t. I did NOT expect to like this that much, I thought it’d just be a fun read, but I still think about it. I read it all the way back in January. I saw this book on YouTube and thought I’d try it too because it’s YA + mystery. Why not?
I read it in one day, nonstop.
The setting of a boarding school, is firstly, so interesting and so fun. Throw in isolation on top of mountains, and a few murders, you’ve got yourself a nice cozy little book. I loved it! It is set in Ellingham Academy, a place where a selected bunch of students are taken in, to study specialized subjects. It can be anything, for example, the main character, Stevie, studies true crime. HOW COOL IS THAT? Her main interest is in a murder that happened 80 years ago when the Academy’s founder’s wife and daughter were kidnapped, and a young student was killed. She wants to uncover the secrets buried under the academy- literally and figuratively.
It was so much fun, it had classes, it had some petty fights, everything. And I cannot tell you how much I related to Stevie. Anxious, true crime loving girl. I don’t think I hated a single character. All of them were so realistically portrayed, and their interests were so varied, it made me want to go to Ellingham (still do, not going to lie) and they all had a role to play. One thing I was very appreciative of was the fact that things mentioned in chapter one were still relevant till the last page, and that made me very happy. I love when tiny, seemingly unnecessary details come in handy at the very end too, I LOVE IT. I keep track of tiny details and usually, they go to waste, but this was so good. Honestly, I think subconsciously, I’m channelling the same thing and trying to add in small details like that in my writing as well.
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7. Favourite new author. (Debut or new to you)
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4/5 stars

I am on a quest to find all the Jo Nesbø books I can. I love his writing and his understanding of characters. The first book I read was The Devil’s Star, back in March, and I am still recommending this to people.
I really seem to have an inclination towards Norwegian/Icelandic thrillers I don’t know why. Maybe it’s the unique perspective, the attention to the tiniest details that really make the stories brilliant for me. Jo Nesbø and Lars Kepler both, I would absolutely recommend. When I say perspective, I mean the settings, the places, the atmosphere and the general vibe is very appealing to me.
I had been in a mini reading slump, the only way I get out of slumps is a good mystery. This book was so good, and a review said ‘expertly paced’ I couldn’t agree more. Not one page was I bored or uninterested, everything flowed well, there was a lot of confusion (the good kind) and holy crap the details were so gory and disturbing I loved the innovation. Look, give me gore and give me unique methods of murder, I am s o l d.
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8. Newest fictional crush
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I usually always have a fictional crush, haha, but this year I didn’t
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9. Newest favourite character
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Marcella from Vengeful. I have one word for her- BADASS. The amount of power she has is insane, and I love how destructive she is xD Honestly, I don’t think I’ve seen any other character who loves using her power this much. It was so much fun to read about her classily dressing up in red and gold and looking freaking cool before she went in for the kill. I also love her power- ruin anything she touches, upon her will. There’s a scene at the beginning where she turns three men into dust, it’s brilliant.
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 10. A book that made you cry
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4.5/5 stars

Not cry cry, but it really hits you. It talks about the struggles of figuring out what you want to do after high school, and is there anyone out there who doesn’t go through that? When I started this book, I thought it might be like Eliza and her Monsters, but man was I wrong. I thought it’d be an angsty teenage book, but it was so much more.
The main characters are Frances, a girl who thinks studies define her; she is convinced that she is destined to be in a top college, and there is nothing anyone can do to stop her; the other character is Aled, a boy who has a podcast, but is anonymous. No one knows who the creator is, and he has no intentions of revealing himself. His sister, Carys, went missing a long time ago, and she was friends with Frances, who thinks it was her fault she went missing.
The book deals with things like studies, the pressure of getting good grades, having to do well in school for a ‘good life’ and basically the thought that grades define your life. Which is not the case, at all.
The author talked about how students in this day and age feel the extreme pressure of doing something well, whether or not they actually want to do it. The book talked about internet fame, much like several other books, but this was different in many ways- it was tied to school, being anonymous, having a life that no one else knows about, and it also dealt with parental issues. Aled’s mom is psychotic, I don’t know what I would do if I had someone like that. She literally takes away every single thing that her kids like and tries to make them study study study and nothing else. I know of people who have parents like this and I find it very sad.
I feel like the book talked about so many topics such as mental health, following your passion, suicidal tendencies, sexuality, and most importantly for me, friendship. What made me LOVE this book was the absence of a love angle. I hate romance with every fiber of my being, and I could not have asked for a better book in terms of every relationship being one of such strong friendship.
This is also the first book I’ve read with an asexual character, and how the characters accepted him was so wholesome.
Loved the book.
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 11. A book that made you happy
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3.75/5 stars

Okay, I liked this book way more than I expected to. It’s just simply trashy chick-lit drama, but so freaking entertaining I couldn’t stop reading it xD I hate to admit how much I enjoyed it. It had aunties gossipping, mothers talking about potential suitors for their sons, what designer that girl is wearing, what family the other girl is from, family history, whether they were worthy of their sons, inheritance, money, money, money.
One thing I did like though, was how informative it was on the side 😛 For real it had information about the history of Singapore, China and how they were both affected by colonization. And the amount of new designer names and foods I learnt is insane.
I will not say it’s the most original, unique story or anything but it was written well, with a great flow. Not once was I bored, and this is a long book. I loved the way the characters were shaped they all had their individual quirks, it was great to read.
I will not continue the series for the time being.
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 12. The most beautiful book you've bought so far this year (or received)
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I just started to read this today.

Honestly, one of the best books I read this year.

Good book, not extraordinary, but good.
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13. What books do you need to read by the end of the year?
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-The Farm, Joanne Ramos
-Pieces of You, Tablo
-Heroine, Mindy McGinnis
-Flowers for Algernon, Daniel Keyes
-Daisy Jones and the Six, Taylor Jenkins Reid
-Miracle Creek, Angie Kim
-Oliver Loving, Stefan Merrill Block
-A Gentleman in Moscow, Amor Towles
-The Wych Elm, Tana French
-The Secret History, Donna Tartt

Hope everyone enjoys this post! 😀