The Mid-Year Book Freakout Tag | 2020

This is my 4th year doing this tag and it's a fun one. I like pausing mid-year to take a look back at what I've read in the last six months. Which books have been real stand-outs, which authors have knocked my socks off, and what books I'm looking forward to in the coming months. So let me pull up my GoodReads shelves for reference and we'll get started.

1. BEST BOOK YOU'VE READ SO FAR IN 2020


Always starts with the toughest question! And in years past I've always shared three or four (or five) books, never able to narrow it down to just one "best" book. But this year that's not a problem because there truly is one stand-out. Still by Kennedy Ryan was stunningly good. And even now is still my only 5 star read of the year so far. Kennedy Ryan wrote more than just a love story. She managed to interweave social issues, poetry, humor and heart and combined it all to make a story that was vast and rich and relevant. Still was smart and thought-provoking, beautiful and gritty - and completely unforgettable.

2. BEST SEQUEL YOU'VE READ SO FAR IN 2020


Another easy one! Armentrout kicked up the action and the intensity in Rage and Ruin and it was a wild ride. A paranormal/urban fantasy, a kick-ass heroine who was still vulnerable, a swoony heroes, lots of action, and plenty of humor and plot twists that blew my mind. And that ending!

3. A NEW RELEASE YOU HAVEN'T READ YET BUT WANT TO

     

This question might as well be called Reader Hall of Shame. Because let's be real - those new releases keep cranking out every single Tuesday and maybe some of you speedy readers can keep up but I can't! I was beyond excited for a follow-up to K.A. Tucker's The Simple Wild and yet Wild at Heart released in February and I still haven't read it. Too many books and too little time... it's the story of my life.

4. MOST ANTICIPATED RELEASE FOR THE SECOND HALF OF 2020

     

Easy-peasy. Colleen Hoover's Heart Bones (July 28) and The  Brightest Night by Jennifer L. Armentrout (October 20).

5. BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENT


The Honey-Don't List wasn't a bad book by any means, and maybe it seems odd to give a book just over three stars and still consider it my biggest disappointment. But The Honey-Don't List wasn't at all what I expected or wanted and, frankly, I've just come to expect more from Christina Lauren.

6. BIGGEST SURPRISE

    

I had high hopes for both of these but I had no idea how much I would love them. Both We Own Tonight by Corinne Michaels and Cake by J. Bengtsson were huge surprise hits for me.

7. FAVORITE DEBUT OR NEW-TO-ME AUTHOR

     

I've read several new-to-me authors already this year but it's been Corinne Michaels and Devney Perry that have been the stand-outs. I've already read multiple books by both authors and I'm excited for more. 

8. NEWEST FICTIONAL CRUSH


No real fictional crushes this year but for the sake of not leaving a category unanswered I'll go with Griffin from That Second Chance by Meghan Quinn.

9. NEWEST FAVORITE CHARACTER


Ryan Wesley and Jamie Canning are always two of my favorite characters ever. #Wesmie

10. A BOOK THAT MADE YOU CRY

  

How much time do you have? I cry in half the books I read. ;) But these three come to mind. Where the Lost Wander was a powerful and moving story. Those characters truly endured and their losses brought me to tears. Kennedy Ryan knows how to shred my emotions and she did it again in Still. I sobbed. And a loss in We Own Tonight, that was kind of inevitable but still sad, had me all teary.

11. A BOOK THAT MADE YOU HAPPY


If I've said it once I've said it a hundred times: Lora Richardson writes the sweetest, most heartfelt, small town contemporary YA novels around. And Anticipating Spring was happy, feel-good reading at its finest.

12. FAVORITE BOOK-TO-MOVIE ADAPTATION


Ummm... *crickets.* I haven't even been to the theater this year, much less seen a book to movie adaptation. So I'm going to stick with my same answer as last year (and the year before that), Love, Simon, because I've re-watched it several times this year. :) 

13. FAVORITE POST YOU'VE DONE THIS YEAR

Gah! This is always such a tough question. But after browsing six months of posts *yawn* I do remember being happy with my reviews of both Where the Lost Wander and Still

14. MOST BEAUTIFUL BOOK YOU'VE BOUGHT THIS YEAR

  

I have some serious cover-love for all three of these: The Kiss Thief, All I Ask, and From Blood and Ash.

15. BOOKS YOU WANT TO READ BY THE END OF THE YEAR

   
   

Can I just say All The Books and leave it at that? No? Okay then, here's a teeny tiny sampling of the ones I really, reallllly want to read sooner rather than later.

What's the best book you've read so far in 2020?
What was your biggest surprise or disappointment?

17 comments

  1. I'd be crickets on number 12 too, lol. Love Simon is a great choice though. I'm hoping to start the Love Victor series on Hulu soon to see how that compares. I hope you enjoy the Kristin Hannah book when you get to it. I love all of her books.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'll be interested to see what you think of Love Victor!

      Delete
  2. Love, Simon is such a good adaptation! When I did this post, I almost used Love, Simon for that question too. I’ve seen it a bunch of times and never get sick of it.

    Aj @ Read All The Things!

    ReplyDelete
  3. I'd say you're having an awesome reading year if your biggest disappointment was still over 3 stars! I still want to read The Honey-Don't List but I've seen so many lackluster reviews that I'm rushing to get to it any time soon.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Well, that's not to say that I haven't had some 2 star reads and some DNF's... but I also didn't expect those to be awesome books, either. I had such high hopes for The Honey-Don't List so that made it more disappointing.

      Delete
  4. TANYA! We should buddy read Wild at Heart, because I went out of my way to PREORDER that book and still haven't read it. I have also been disappointed when I expected one thing but got another from a book. So, disappointing doesn't always equate to a low rating.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. See, you get it! Disappointing doesn't necessarily mean a low rating (3 stars isn't really low to be - it's above average!) but yeah, sometimes I expect one thing and get another and that does taint my feelings. I pre-ordered Wild at Heart, too! And there it sits. *sigh* Maybe we could buddy read next month? I'll need about a week head start so I have a slim chance of not getting left in the dust. LOL

      Delete
  5. YAY!!! I am so happy you are doing this one as well. Its such a delight to do a mid year recap and really look at your reading.

    The Kiss Thief has such a beautiful cover, and I will be honest I read that because of it. Not gonna lie lol And it makes me so happy you LOVED The Cake...such a good book right? It surprised me too.

    Hope the second half of the year is a good one for you!! :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Sometimes a gorgeous cover is enough to pull you right in! :) I haven't read The Kiss Thief yet. After I bought it I started seeing such mixed reviews. But hopefully I'll get to it eventually.And Cake was just wonderful! I didn't want it to end.

      Delete
  6. Such a fun tag! I really want to read Still, but I think I'll have to wait a little bit. I think it'll probably be a just too heavy for me right this minute. I know it won't fail to pack a punch. And I REALLY need to watch Love, Simon!! I really want to reread the book, too!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Still was super emotional so I'd definitely wait until I was ready to have my emotions stomped on. LOL

      Delete
    2. LOL! Yeah, I don't think I want my emotions stomped on right now.

      Delete
  7. The From Blood and Ash cover is awesome. I want to read that one at some point.

    I've been so lucky with my reading this year and have had a lot of 4 or 5 star reads... Picking a favourite so far is so difficult! I don't think I can. :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm excited for From Blood and Ash but I really have to be in the mood for fantasy.

      Delete
  8. Oh, this looks fun! I'm going to fill it out too.

    I've never heard of Still, but it sounds like it made a great impact on you. I love when a book just makes itself stand out head and shoulders on multiple fronts. And I'm glad that Amy Harmon book lived up to expectations; I don't know if I'm going to get to it this year, but I'm really looking forward to whenever it crosses my path.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I hope you have fun with it if you decide to do the tag. :)

      Delete