July is here! We’re halfway through the year and I am freaking out a little bit, to be honest. Time is passing by so fast!
Which is why I decided to do this book tag! I saw it on another blog and also on Instagram, and I thought it would be a good idea to do it and share a bit of everything I’ve read so far in the year!
Now, I have to be honest with you. I haven’t read as much as I would have liked…I’ve read 12 books in the year. My goal of the year is 30, and according to my Goodreads I am 3 books behind…but it’s all good! I refuse to feel guilty about being behind on my reading challenge. I keep reminding myself reading is not a competition.
Anyway! Here is my 2021 Mid year book freak-out!
Best book you’ve read so far in 2021
Starting with the hardest question!
I’ve read so many great books so far. It is hard for me to choose just one book, so here are some of my favorites:
- Chain of Iron by Cassandra Clare
- The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune
- The City of Brass by S.A. Chakraborty
Best sequel you’ve read so far in 2021
Okay…because I’ve only read twelve books in the year, I am going to repeat some in this book tag. I’m sorry!
My favorite sequels I’ve read so far are of course Chain of Gold by Cassandra Clare and Rule of Wolves by Leigh Bardugo.
Cassandra Clare and Leigh Bardugo are two of my favorite authors and I love everything they write. Chain of Iron was such a good sequel to Chain of Gold! And of course anything that includes Nikolai, Zoya, and the Crows will be amazing, so Rule of Wolves was everything to me.
New release you haven’t read yet, but want to
- Any Way the Wind Blows by Rainbow Rowell
- Six Crimson Cranes by Elizabeth Lim
These two actually just came out…no kidding, they came out today! But I really can’t wait until I can get my hands on them and read them!
I love the Carry On series by Rainbow Rowell. The books just make me happy and I can’t believe the series is coming to an end so soon! But I am excited to see what the book is about.
I am also super excited about the new book series by Elizabeth Lim. I absolutely loved the Spin the Dawn duology and I can’t wait to see what this new series has to bring!
Biggest disappointment
I feel like this is an unpopular opinion, because everyone who I know read the book absolutely loved it. But I was just super disappointed with The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab.
It was just…meh.
I feel like it was super hyped and I read it a couple of months after it came out, so I already had really high expectations to it that unfortunately were not met.
The story was nice! But I didn’t feel like it was anything extraordinary. The story had such a slow start and then I struggled to get excited about what was coming. I actually found myself reading faster just so I could get to the end of the book. Which is really sad because I was hoping I would love it. But oh well…can’t win them all.
Biggest surprise
The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune is my new favorite feel-good novel!
Hands down this book was so full of surprises. It caught my attention because the cover is just gorgeous and I saw some people on Instagram saying they loved it. So as soon as I could get my hands on it, I bought it!
And omg am I glad I bought it. The book had this blurb saying something about it being the best feel-good novel involving the Anti-Christ and I was SOLD.
Actually reading the book was a lovely experience. The book has the best of everything I love about in a book. It was an interesting fantasy worldbuilding, amazing characters that give you all the feels, it had romance, and drama, and it was political, and so many things. AND IT WAS ALSO A COMFORT BOOK. Like how amazing is that?
I was not expecting to love The House in the Cerulean Sea as much as I did but I am so glad because I love finding new favorite books.
Book that made you cry
I am an emotional reader, okay? I will cry with just about anything. So really, finding books that make me cry is not too hard haha!
But I will definitely say that The House in the Cerulean Sea made me cry because of how endearing and cute it was. It was a good cry! I just felt so much for the characters. There was one character in particular, Chauncey, just gave me all the feels and I wanted to hug him so badly.
Book that made you happy
Again…The House in the Cerulean Sea made me so happy. I swear this book is part of every single category of this book tag haha!
But another book that made me happy was A Pho Love Story by Loan Le. It was just a really cute and nice story to read. It has been a while since I read a teenage romance novel and this one was just really lovely.
Of course Rule of Wolves by Leigh Bardugo made me SO HAPPY!! I will not give any spoilers, but I love the crows and I love Zoya and that is everything I have to say about it.
Most beautiful book you’ve bought so far this year (or received)
Rule of Wolves has the most stunning cover! I loved the cover of King of Scars, but there is something about the Rule of Wolves’ cover that makes me love it a tiny bit more than the first book of the series.
I mean…just look at it! Isn’t it gorgeous?
What books do you need to read by the end of the year?
I have sooooooo many books I need to read by the end of the year. My current tbr list is the longest one I’ve had ever in my life and it scares me how many books I own that I have not read yet.
But here is a list of the books at the very top of the list that I’m sure I’ll read before the year ends.
- The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern
- Ariadne by Jennifer Saint
- Lore by Alexandra Bracken
- One Last Stop by Casey McQuiston
- Woven in Moonlight by Isabel Ibanez
- The Empire of Gold by S.A. Chakraborty
I hope you enjoyed reading about the books I’ve read so far in the year! What about you? Let me know in the comments your answers to these questions.
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