The Mid-Year Book Freak Out Tag: 2021 Edition

It’s almost July, which means there are only six months left in 2021. This year has gone by so fast, but I need this summer heat wave to disappear. So autumn, here we come! But anyway, the year being halfway over also means it’s time for the Mid-Year Book Freak Out Tag.

This tag was created years ago by someone in the book community to basically wrap up the first half of your reading year. I’ve had an okay reading experience so far, but it hasn't been the best reading year ever. I completed my 2021 Goodreads Challenge already, so I may not have the quality, but I'm getting the quantity. XD

As of June 15, 2021, I’ve read 31 books. I’m not sure if I'm going to change my Goodreads goal, as I don't want to pressure myself, but I might try to reach 75 books by the end of the year. That's how many I read last year. I'm also hoping to read more books on my TBR shelves in the coming months.

BEST BOOK YOU’VE READ SO FAR IN 2021

Oh lord. This is a difficult question to answer. There's clearly a winner, because I've only read one 4.5-star book and no 5-stars this year so far (I'm very picky with my 5-star ratings), but I'm going to end up listing this book so many times in this post. Yikes.

I’m going with The Last Watch for my favorite read of 2021 so far. Nothing else even came close. Not even the third book in JLA's Blood & Ash series, which I had very high hopes for. Alas, this random adult sci-fi won the award. Congrats!

BEST SEQUEL YOU’VE READ SO FAR IN 2021

This is not an easy question to answer.

Of the sequels I've read, a lot disappointed me for one reason or another. They simply weren't as good as their predecessors. So I guess I'll go with The Empire of Gold by S.A. Chakraborty because even though I love Chakraborty's world-building and writing style, I didn't love what she did with my favorite character in the second book or the beginning of this one.

NEW RELEASE YOU HAVEN’T READ YET, BUT WANT TO

Super easy question to answer.

Grace & Glory by Jennifer L. Armentrout. The last book in the Harbinger series. I'm actually waiting to do a reread of the entire series, including the prequel series, before I dive into this one. I want to remember everything!

MOST ANTICIPATED RELEASE FOR

THE SECOND HALF OF THE YEAR

There really aren’t a lot of books I’m super excited for in the last half of 2021. I've grown more patient over the years. Plus, I'm trying to read series when they're complete.

It was between this one and Vespertine by Margaret Rogerson. But, overall, Dark Rise wins for reasons I can't explain.

BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENT

Oh man, this one made me so sad.

Winter's Orbit was just mediocre. It wasn't a very good sci-fi and it wasn't a very great romance. It was just something in between. I'm hoping a reread one day will make it less disappointing, but I don't know if I want to put the energy into it.

BIGGEST SURPRISE

I'm going to apologize in advance for talking about this book too much. Again, it's the only 4.5-star book I've read so far this year.

The Last Watch was so funny and everything you want in a light-hearted but adventure-packed sci-fi.

FAVORITE NEW AUTHOR

I don't know how to answer this because of the new authors I have read, I've only read one of their books so far and I'm not 100% confident I'll love everything they write in the future. I want to hope I do, but you never know. That being said...

J.S. Dewes totally blew me away with her The Last Watch. I'm super excited to read the sequel, The Exiled Fleet, and I hope I get approved for it on NetGalley.

NEWEST FICTIONAL CRUSH

I had to think about this. It's been a pretty eh fictional crush year so far.

Reid from the Serpent & Dove series. I haven't read books two and three, so I don't even know what scene this is from. I just know that, though his background is a bit problematic because he was raised in a bad environment, Reid is adorable when he blushes and has no idea what Lou is doing.

NEWEST FAVORITE CHARACTER

I'm cheating. Surprise. Surprise.

Kieran Contou from Jennifer L. Armentrout's Blood & Ash series is my favorite character. He was introduced in the first book, From Blood & Ash, which released in 2020. However, I didn't realize how amazing he was until the second book in the series, which released in fall 2020. I did read the third book earlier this year and it just reaffirmed my love, though. So I'm not totally cheating. Right? Oh, and I also have a crush on him too, but I didn't want to list him twice.

BOOK THAT MADE YOU CRY

So I didn't think I was going to be able to answer this question, then I read this book.

This Adventure Ends by Emma Mills. Honestly, this book wasn't that life-changing. However, there were a few scenes that tugged at my heartstrings and made me shed a tear or two.

BOOK THAT MADE YOU HAPPY

I thought this would be difficult. I was wrong.

The Last Watch by J.S. Dewes was so funny. The main character is hilarious, and the opening line is amazing!

FAVORITE BOOK-TO-FILM ADAPTATION

YOU SAW THIS YEAR

I'm sure this will be of little surprise to anyone in the book community.

Shadow & Bone was amazing! I honestly did not expect to love it so much! I'll also say that The Expanse season five was good. However, I haven't read past book two in the series, so I can't judge it based on its adaptation status. Same for the first season of Bridgerton.

FAVORITE REVIEW YOU’VE WRITTEN THIS YEAR

I've written so few! It's been a bad year for blogging, and I doubt it will get any better. I'll probably only be posting a few times a month. I just can't read, exercise, work, sleep, AND blog. It's not feasible anymore with a full-time in-person job. But anyway, my favorite review was probably The Last Watch by J.S. Dewes. It was a super fun time.

MOST BEAUTIFUL BOOK YOU’VE

RECEIVED SO FAR THIS YEAR

I'm cheating again and listing a series instead of just an individual book.

 The Iron Fey series by Julie Kagawa. These are the special FairyLoot editions. I've been buying a lot of special editions lately. It's bad for my wallet, but my shelves are gonna be so pretty.

WHAT BOOKS DO YOU NEED TO READ

BY THE END OF THE YEAR

All of the ones on my TBR shelves. Literally hundreds of books. Here are some highlights:

The Queen of Nothing by Holly Black

Carve the Mark by Veronica Roth

An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir

A Clash of Kings by George R.R. Martin

Grace & Glory by Jennifer L. Armentrout

These are just the ones I think I'll get to soon. I have many more that I want to read before the year is over.

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Alright, there you have it. My Mid-Year Book Freak Out answers for 2021. What would your answers to these questions be? Let me know in the comments below!

Stacking the Shelves: The Three-Week Accumulation Edition

"Stacking the Shelves" is a weekly haul meme hosted by Tynga's Reviews and Reading Reality. It allows book buyers to share their accumulation of books with the online book-loving community.

Okay, this week's haul is a little insane, but this was all delivered to my parents' house while I was working a new job in my new-ish city. Therefore, the pictured items are all a three-week accumulation of books and fan art. Please don't judge me for my massive hoarding/spending issue. Lol.

My preordered Iron Fey FairyLoot editions came in this month, and they're a lot prettier in person than what I'd seen on Instagram. Yes, they were nice looking in images, but in person, they're very aesthetically pleasing. I'm so glad I bought them.

This is my first Bookish Box unboxing. I knew going into it that I didn't really care for April's featured book, These Feathered Flames, but I really wanted the FBAA item. And honestly, I'm really happy with this box. I plan on displaying/using everything except for the bookmark and candle. I just wish the book had been something I was more excited for. However, I am still very salty that the Ascend the Throne theme card for the month featuring FBAA art was included in the March box and not the April one. It irks me greatly.

The April FairyLoot box, like 90% of FairyLoot's boxes, was late. However, I am very happy with its contents. While pins aren't my favorite items, April's was a Daevabad one, which works for me. Also, soap is kind of eh for me too, but I just moved to my own place, and having extra soap never hurt anybody. I will say that the artwork on the tarot cards and the Spinning Silver print (which was part of March's box, but it didn't arrive in time to be included) isn't my favorite. But I love the tote and the book!

Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao was the only ebook I received, and it's a NetGalley ARC. I honestly requested this thinking I wouldn't get approved at all. It seems like a big book from the buzz it's been getting on Twitter, but I was lucky. I hope to read it as soon as my 15-book buying challenge is complete.

May Wrap-Up & June TBR

Bye bye, May! It's sad to see you go, but summer is on its way! Honestly though, I'm not looking forward to the heat. While the rain here in Missouri has been tiresome, heat is icky too. But anyway, back to the bookish-related content. I'm still in the process of getting used to my new job in my new-ish city, so I didn't read a whole lot this month. I'm hoping June will change that, but I'm moving again to my permanent location towards the end of the month, so we shall see how much reading I do....

In this wrap-up, I’ll list the books I read, the books I reviewed, the books I bought/received, and my TBR for next month. Now, let’s get this bookish party started!

Books Read in May

All Systems Red: 4 stars
Flash Fire: 3.5 stars (review to come)
Bone Crier's Moon: 4 stars

Like I mentioned, I only read three books in May, and two were ebooks. Artificial Condition was one I've owned since my days working at Tor, and I've only just now picked it up, simply because it's a short novella. I'm still trying to read 15 physical books I owned prior to April of 2020 before I buy non-special edition books or books that aren't on my most-anticipated list. When I made this goal, I didn't expect it to be so hard. This is taking me forever! I want to buy all of the new books, but I have to be strong and hold out! I'm currently on book #8, so only seven more to go.

The two ebooks I read were Flash Fire, a NetGalley review book, which I've already read and my review is scheduled to go up on its release day, and Bone Crier's Moon, an ebook I bought in fall of 2020. And yes, Bone Crier's Moon does count towards my 15-book goal, since I bought it last year. Thank god. Flash Fire didn't count, though. *sigh*

Books Bought/Received in May

 

This is kind of a spoiler for my upcoming Stacking the Shelves post, but oh well. In the month of May, I didn't buy any non-FairyLoot books. In total, I bought three FL special editions: the May subscriber box, which won't arrive until mid-June (ick); Realm Breaker; and Blood & Honey, courtesy of the Fairy Trove Restock. Other than those, I received 10 books in May, four were ebooks and six were physical copies. The ebooks were all NetGalley ARCs, and I got Flash Fire by TJ Klune, Endless Skies by Shannon Price, Oaths of Legacy by Emily Skrutskie, and Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao. I totally didn't expect to get approved for some of these, but I did. And I've already read and reviewed one of them! Yay! As for the physical books, I received my April FairyLoot book, Prison Healer, and my FairyLoot Iron Fey editions came in along with my Bookish Box order that came with These Feathered Flames. All of these were paid for in the months before May.

Currently Obsessed With

Well, there's no major obsessing this month. I've mostly been playing card games on my computer and reading fanfiction. It's been a pretty chill/boring month.

I'm watching reruns of The Office on Comedy Central, when they're on and I'm home from work. It was a nice surprise to see marathons of The Office on almost every day of the week. I hardly ever watched cable before, but my new temporary apartment has free cable and I haven't signed into any TV subscription apps since it's the apartment complex's TV and I'm leaving soon. I was worried with The Office being off Netflix, though, that I wouldn't be able to watch it for a while, so I'm glad I had this show to comfort me through another big life change. Haha.

Currently Reading/June TBR

I have a lot I want to get to this month, but I'm sure I'll only get to four or five. I need to read King of Scars for my book club, I'm still reading A Clash of Kings over the course of 2021, and The Covenant graphic novel is short, therefore it'll help me reach my 15-book goal. I also want to re-read the Dark Elements and Harbinger series by Jennifer L. Armentrout since the final book comes out June 1st and I feel like I've forgotten a lot of details since last summer.

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Okay, well, that’s the month of May, plus some June sneak peeks, all wrapped up into one post. Do you have a wrap-up post for last month? If so, share in the comments!