2018 Mid-Year Freakout Blog Tag!

Before I start to answer some very important book-related questions, I would like to thank the ever so lovely Kayleigh from My Endless Shelf for tagging me! I feel very honored and am looking forward to this, so let’s have a look at what this year has brought me – book-wise:

Can you believe it’s already July??? I honestly cannot believe how fast it is going – it feels like it’s only been a blink of an eye since Christmas, and in another we’ll have winter again… In total, I have to admit that I haven’t read that many books yet this year, not as much as I would like to at least, but I intend to make up for the first half of 2018 by reading even more in the next half to come! There have been some very awesome books I’ve read, and some rather bad ones (I have to admit, unfortunately); some re-reads and some big surprises (both positive and negative).

The best thing that happened to me this year book-wise is definitely the start of my blog! Ever since I started it, I have been engaging with other bloggers, with authors and other book-lovers around the globe, which has been and continues to awe me – the book-blogger community is just awesome and I’m so happy that I’m finally part of it! Not only the communication has improved for me, though – I was also busying myself more with the new releases in the book-world, and also with the books I have already read in the past – which ones deserve to make it to my blog, and which disappointed me?

Also reading-wise the birth of my blog has helped, in the five weeks that my blog exists now I have read more books than in the entirety of 2018 (yes, I know how utterly embarrassing that is).

Anyway, let’s go and have a look at the tag now, shall we?

1) The best book you’ve read this year?

That is fairly easy for me – A Court of Mist and Fury has taken my breath away. I finished it yesterday and am still trying with all my strength to beam myself into the story. I love it so much!

2) The best sequel you’ve read this year?

Well, since A Court of Mist and Fury is a sequel – that would be the one!

3) New releases you haven’t read yet but want to.

Um, Morgan Matson’s Save the Date is high on the list, and I would also like to read Emergency Contact by Mary H. K. Choi – the blurb has really gotten me hooked! Oh, and also Holly Black’s The Cruel Prince! I’m really invested in fairy books atm it seems 😀

4) Most anticipated releases for the second half of the year:

Natasha Ngan’s Girls of Paper and Fire (which will be out in November) sounds intriguing and anything new to come by Sarah J. Maas. But, to be honest, I don’t really know of any other new releases for the second half of the year…embarrassing as it may be… I guess I’ll just wait and see? 🙂

5) Biggest disappointment:

Sadly, there also have been books I’ve read this year that disappointed me, although I’m honestly sad to even mention it! The biggest disappointment for me was Uprooted by Naomi Novik (you can read my full review here). I expected so much of it and was greatly let down… I love the cover and together with the blurb, it promised a fairytale adventure, but I was feeling none of it L  Strangely enough, every review I read online was overly positive, so that made me feel rather strange…it doesn’t change my opinion, though – so that was rather sad. The other book that let me down a bit, though not as much as Uprooted, was Truth Seer by Kay L. Moody. It was the first ARC I received and I was so happy and grateful about it and wanted to leave an awesome review t, but unfortunately I didn’t get the feeling I was hoping for – which was that of a great quest and adventure… Read my full review for it here. I wouldn’t say it was bad per se, it just didn’t reach my high expectations.

6) Biggest surprise.

Um, I don’t think there have been that many surprises to be honest… When I buy a book I always expect it to be good, so there were no real surprises. Unless you count disappointments as negative surprises…then go back to question 5. Well, I could name A Court of Thorns and Roses again, because I’ve been lend it by a friend and had it at home for almost a year because I didn’t feel sucked in during the first ten or so pages, so it sat on my bedside table all these months until I felt it’s about time to give it back, so I continued it and fell in love so deeply I almost don’t have the words to describe it. (Don’t worry though, I’m not always this bad with lent books, I usually give them back much earlier. I still feel very bad now though.)

7) Favourite new to you, or debut, author.

New to me would definitely be Sarah J. Maas – I think her A Court of Thorns and Roses series is my favourite series ever! And then – it is embarrassing to admit, but still – there is J. K. Rowling – not new to anybody, but to me! I’ve started reading Harry Potter this year and I love it! And if I’m craving anything light and more on the chic-lit side, Jane Costello will be my new go-to!

8) Newest fictional crush.

Well, if you have been following me on any social media platform or have been reading my blog, you will now that I’m crushing really hard on Rhysand of Velaris (from the ACOTAR series by Sarah J. Maas – as if you needed that explanation). He is the High Lord of the Night Court and is surrounded by darkness – both figuratively as well as literally speaking – which already makes him quite hot (lol), but he is also really sarcastic and gentle and family oriented and oh so lovely – I just love everything about him!

9) Newest favourite character.

Apart from Rhysand, my newest favourite character is Feyre (from the same series) – I love that she is a heroine who is standing up for not only herself but also the other people she feels responsible for, and she is not drawn back to her first partner just because he tells her to come back to him – she knows she was being treated badly and wants freedom and independence – both of which she is willing to fight for. I just love how kick-ass and feminist she is – very refreshing for a female character! I also greatly appreciated that she didn’t opt for a love triangle – I don’t particularly like those…

10) Book that made you cry?

Um, I’m thinking really hard, but… I don’t think I’ve read a book in 2018 that made me cry yet! Surprisingly, lol 😀 I’m usually very prone to crying when it gets really emotional but I think none of the books I’ve read this year were anywhere close to being sad!

11) Book that made you happy?

Whenever I like a book that I’m reading very much I always feel very happy – so that happened a few times this year! I don’t want to mention ACOTAR and Harry Potter again so I’m gonna say Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell – I love that a nerdy fangirl (literally) got all the attention in this one – she is a very relatable character and very likeable!

12) Favourite book to film adaption?

I don’t think I’ve seen a new one this year? Is that embarrassing? Have there even been that many?

13) Favourite post you have done this year?

Hm, that would probably be the one about my journey through the Harry Potter universe (you can read it here)! I’m so proud and happy to finally being in on all the inside jokes, being able to understand the memes and know all the different characters – so sharing all that was probably my favourite. Well, together with all my thoughts on A Court of Mist and Fury, I should say. I wanted to do a little something different from the usual review and took all the notes for the post while reading the book, so they are all uncensored and unadulterated! Read through them here.

14) Most beautiful book you have bought this year?

Well, that was hard because I didn’t think any of the books I bought lately were particularly pretty (lol), but when I had a proper look through my TBR pile I found this rather gorgeous copy of Scarlett Thomas’ The Seed Collectors which I got for my birthday back in January – so I hope this counts. Look – isn’t it super pretty? And in such a classy way!

15) What books do you need to read by the end of the year?

Obviously I HAVE to finish the ACOTAR series and then I also want to read Sarah J. Maas’ Throne of Glass series, plus I want to finish Harry Potter (I’m still stuck at book 4 as of now). And then, well, I’m pretty sure this won’t be it – just today Victoria Ayeward’s Red Queen and Glass Sword arrived in my mail, and I think these are only the first two in a series? I’m really happy I got back into reading more fantasy – I had exchanged it for reading mostly chick-lit for a while but starting Harry Potter in the beginning of the year has brought me back to my roots, lol. I love diving into a new fantasy world!!!

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Yay, that’s it, and you stayed until the end to read all my answers! Since you showed such a commitment, I tag you to answer the same questions on your blog! To keep this tag going, I specifically tag Unwrapped Dreams, Shirley Cuypers and Bookstormgirl to answer these questions!

Tell me in the comments below if you have some of the same answers as me 🙂