The 2023 Mid-Year Book Freak Out Tag

It's almost July! This year has been crazy! A lot has happened in such a short period of time. I'm getting used to my new job, I got a new place, I went to ApollyCon again, and I'm in the midst of planning an international trip! 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 a person's reading year. I’ve had a pretty great reading year so far. I've read over 50 books, which is fantastic. I'm hoping I can reach 100 by the end of 2023, but it's not the end of the world if I fall short. That's why I set my Goodreads goal so low at 30 books. I hate the pressure.

As of June 18, 2023, I’ve read 54 books and completed my Goodreads Challenge. I’m not going to change my goal from 30 books, but, like I said, reaching 100 by the end of the year would be awesome. I haven't done that since early college, I believe. I think I can do it as long as my momentum stays consistent. And, like I said this time last year, I'm also hoping to read more books on my TBR shelves in the coming months. I've been reading a ton of Kindle Unlimited ebooks, so it'd be nice to mark more physical books off my list.

BEST BOOK YOU’VE READ SO FAR IN 2023

I'm not cheating with this question, but I do have a very close runner-up, so I wanted to list them both.

Margaret Rogerson's Mysteries of Thorn Manor, the follow-up novella to Sorcery of Thorns, was delightful! I gave it 4.5 stars! (I rarely give five stars, just FYI.) The only reason it didn't get five stars was because it was too short! I just wish Rogerson had written a full-length sequel. I want it so bad! The close runner-up read is Untainted by Lilian T. James. I also gave this one 4.5 stars! It reminded me a lot of SJM's Heir of Fire.

BEST SEQUEL YOU’VE READ SO FAR

It took some time for me to figure this one out, mostly because I've read very few sequels to great series this year. I've mostly been reading a lot of bingeable KU romances, so those aren't always the best when it comes to sequels.

I decided to go with City of Ruin by Charissa Weaks. The first book, The Witch Collector, was a good time, and it reminded me a lot of From Blood and Ash mixed with Raven Kennedy's Plated Prisoner series. Book one really focuses on the two main characters, Raina and Alexus, but book two adds more POVs to the story, which I loved. There were a couple of scenes that confused me in this book, so I think I only gave it four stars, though.

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

This one is a big one. I've been waiting on this book for so long, as have many, many others. But, now that it's actually here, I find myself putting it off for a very specific reason.

From the Grave by Kresley Cole is the last book in the Arcana Chronicles. I want to know how this series ends, but first, I need to reread books 1-3, and then just plain read books 3.5-5. I just haven't been in the mood to reread, which sucks. I'm crossing my fingers I won't be spoiled before I get to this one.

MOST ANTICIPATED RELEASE FOR

THE SECOND HALF OF THE YEAR

There's one major 2023 release that I'm desperate for, and I think we all know what that is. But there are a couple of others that I also really want to get my hands on.

A Soul of Ash and Blood comes out very soon (July 18th, and I've already taken the day off work!), so I'm cheating and listing three others that are coming out/likely to come out before the end of 2023. The other books I'm most anticipating are The Midnight Kingdom by Tara Sim (August), Gold by Raven Kennedy (December), and Zodiac Academy #9, which doesn't have a title or a release date yet. I'm just hoping it comes out before 2024. I think it will, but there's a part of me that doubts.

BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENT

I don't think I had a book that disappointed me as much as last year's did, but there is one that comes to mind when I think about books I wanted to love more.

To Bleed a Crystal Bloom by Sarah A. Parker was not good. At all. I'd heard so many great things about it, but yikes. It was just a mess. It's a dark Rapunzel retelling, but the love interest knew the female main character when she was a baby and raised her as a child, so it's gross. Plus, the overuse of flowery, metaphoric language was annoying. There are two secondary characters that I'd like to know more about, but I just don't want to read the next however-many sequels.

BIGGEST SURPRISE

I first thought there wasn't anything that surprised me so far this year, but I actually do have one.

Rebecca Ross's A River Enchanted was a whimsical, lyrical, fantastical tale that I very much enjoyed. I didn't think it would be something I would vibe with, but I read it to prep for ApollyCon and as part of my book club. And, even though it's a story with two romantic pairings, it was definitely a good book to break up some of the romantasy reads I'd been devouring on Kindle Unlimited.

FAVORITE NEW AUTHOR

Ugh. This was not an easy question. In fact, I do not like this question this year.

I have way too many new authors I discovered in 2023, primarily due to Kindle Unlimited and my reading for ApollyCon. Since Untainted is my second-favorite book of the year so far, I'm going with Lilian T. James as my favorite new author, but there are so many others I also enjoyed, like Charissa Weaks, Harper L. Woods, Amber Nicole, Rebecca Ross, Ashlyn Drewek, Andrea Stewart, J. Bree, and even Rebecca Yarros (though I did think Fourth Wing was a tad overhyped).

NEWEST FICTIONAL CRUSH

Ack! Another difficult question! There are just too many options!

I'm going to go with Rainer from Jessica Wisecup's Between Wrath and Mercy and Jaren from Untainted, both are dedicated to their respective partners, though Jaren is a little... intense. The boys aren't too hard on the eyes, either, if you know what I mean. That might be a silly statement since they're book characters, but I think this art will sway you to my side. Both are pieces from the Bookish Box editions of each title. I know Rainier was created by Jemlin (left), but I'm not sure who drew Jaren. Also, I'll give shoutouts to Thorne from FORAW, Gabe from The Bonds that Tie series, Graeme from Malum Discordiae, and Caelum from What Lies Beyond the Veil.

NEWEST FAVORITE CHARACTER

Mephi from Andrea Stewart's Drowning Empire series is 100% my new favorite character for 2023. I mean, look at him! He's adorable! He's a made-up creature in that series, so it's hard to describe him. I always kind of pictured them as little otters with horns, so this depiction is pretty accurate, in my opinion. Oh, Mephi, you did a very good. (Art by crispyjellies)

BOOK THAT MADE YOU CRY

I had a hard time thinking of an answer to this question, but as I was typing out my answer to the previous question, it came to me.

  While I didn't uncontrollably sob while reading The Bone Shard War, I did shed quite a few tears. This finale truly has a bittersweet ending that took me a couple of weeks to come to terms with. I still don't know how I feel about certain events, but I do know that they made me emotional, so kudos to the author for that.

BOOK THAT MADE YOU HAPPY

This was an easy one. I feel like it always will be with this particular series.

Once again, Mysteries of Thorn Manor wins! Just thinking about this one makes me smile. The characters, the magical books, the demon, the enchanted house. It all adds up to make a lovely story. Like I said earlier, though, I wish it had been longer.

FAVORITE BOOK ADAPTATION

YOU SAW THIS YEAR

I believe there are only three book-to-screen adaptations I saw this year: Heartstopper, Shadow & Bone season two, and Daisy Jones and the Six. I actually haven't read Daisy Jones, so that one is out, plus it wasn't a favorite, though it was entertaining enough. Heartstopper was cute, for sure, but Shadow and Bone season two is the clear winner. While I didn't love every decision that was made in the second season, it was still a very good time. I hope it gets renewed, but it seems unlikely with how dumb Netflix is about series renewals.

FAVORITE REVIEW YOU’VE WRITTEN THIS YEAR

The major 2023 review event that happened to me is that I received an early ARC of JLA's Fall of Ruin and Wrath! I begged some publishing friends for a copy, and they sent me one! My review is already live, and I'm excited to see what happens in book two. I just hope it releases in 2024, though that means JLA will have like four books releasing next year (two in the FBAA series, maybe the last Origin book, and then FORAW #2). I don't see how she does it.

 

You can read my review of FORAW here.

MOST BEAUTIFUL BOOK YOU’VE

RECEIVED SO FAR THIS YEAR

Unlike last year around this time, I've actually received a lot of beautiful books. And, while it wasn't hard to choose the #1 spot, it was difficult not to mention the dozen or so other pretty books I also got. It's just been a good six months for aesthetics all around.

 The Russian edition of From Blood and Ash is absolutely gorgeous! It has a color map, colored character artwork, a design on the naked hardcover, and a spectacular cover. The second book's cover was also revealed recently, and I'm very much looking forward to getting my hands on that one as well. And I just have to mention that the LitJoy Red Queen box set is a very, very close second.

WHAT BOOKS DO YOU NEED TO READ

BY THE END OF THE YEAR

Everything on my never-ending TBR! Ugh. But some of the highlights, which haven't really changed a lot from what I answered last year, are:

The Dragon Republic by R.F. Kuang

An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir

A Storm of Swords by George R.R. Martin

The Arcana Chronicles series by Kresley Cole

The Crave series by Tracy Wolff

The Kingdom of the Wicked trilogy by Kerri Maniscalco

These are the ones I want to have completed or at least, in the case of some of the longer series like Crave and Arcana, significantly made my way through. I'm also over halfway through ASoS, I just need to finish the rest. I also have a few others I'd like to get to, but the ones I've listed are more important in terms of how long they've been on my physical TBR.

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Alright, there you have it. My Mid-Year Book Freak Out answers for 2023. What would your answers to these questions be? Let me know in the comments below!