The 2026 Mid-Year Book Freakout Tag

The halfway mark is here. 2026 is going by fast. While this year had its ups and downs, I'm still sad to see it go. I do think the fall season holds better things for me, though. Like hope, cooler weather, a few new releases coming out that I'm anticipating, and a couple of other good things that I can't think of on the spot but that I know just make autumn the better time of year overall. 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 actually had a great reading year so far, as of June 20, when I'm writing this post. I've reached my 2026 reading goal. I'm hoping I can double my numbers by the end of the year, however, I'm not changing my Reading Challenge goal on Goodreads. I don't want the pressure.

As of June 20, I’ve read 48 books! That's 14 more than last year's Mid-Year Book Freakout Tag. And, I'm thinking I might be able to read two more before the end of the month, getting me on track to reading 50 in the first half of 2026. That will make reading 50 in the latter half of the year entirely possible, which means I could reach 100 books for the first time since college. Wow!

BEST BOOK YOU’VE READ SO FAR IN 2026

This was a tough question to answer. While I've read some really great books, I'm on the fence of whether or not I've found one to obsess over like I usually do around this time each year. BUT, I will say, the book I chose, Captive Traitor King by Brigid Kemmerer, is fantastic! It's the sequel to Warrior Princess Assassin, and it has a polyamorous MMF relationship between an assassin, a king, and a princess. I found the second installment to be just as addicting as the first. I'm sad that I have to wait for book three, especially since I read a NetGalley copy and now I have to wait even longer.

 

BEST SEQUEL YOU’VE READ SO FAR

Well, funnily enough, the answer to this question is very similar to last year's. I had the Beasts of the Briar series by Elizabeth Helen listed. Since the books are now releasing at a slower pace, I just have one book to share this time. Frozen by Stardust is the fifth book in the series, and I am super excited for books six and seven, which are releasing super soon. I think book six comes out in July.

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

I think I've read most of the new releases that are top on my priorities list. There are a few that aren't quite at the top that got pushed to the side, though. Half City by Kate Golden is a book I've heard fantastic things about, and I own a gorgeous edition (featured below). It's been compared to Buffy and Supernatural, which sounds amazing! Some others I need to get to include This Kingdom Will Not Kill Me by Ilona Andrews, Starside by Alex Aster, and The Crown of War and Shadow by J.R. Ward.

MOST ANTICIPATED RELEASE FOR

THE SECOND HALF OF THE YEAR

The second half of 2026 is actually kind of meh compared to the first half. Yes, there are books I'm excited for, but now that I've read two of the ones I was really looking forward to, there isn't a lot that I'm foaming at the mouth to get my hands on. The only big ones are the next two books in the Beasts of the Briar series. Which, to be fair, I am very, very excited about. I'm also dreading the series coming to an end. It's sad to think about. The only other two books that are close to the level of excitement of these two include The Knave and the Moon by Rachel Gillig and Defy the Dusk by Danielle L. Jensen.

BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENT

Now, this wasn't really a difficult answer at all, sadly. Sarah Glenn Marsh's Our Rogue Fates was blurbed by Sean Astin. Yeah, that's right, Samwise Gamgee. That's crazy! So, once I heard that, I really wanted to read it. Plus, the description sounded like a lot of fun. But, the book did not live up to my expectations. There were some really questionable decisions made by the main characters and the writing overall just wasn't for me.

BIGGEST SURPRISE

Blood of Hercules by Jasmine Mas was my biggest disappointment in last year's Mid-Year Book Freakout, so you can imagine my surprise when I went into Bonds of Hercules trying to be cautiously optimistic even though I'd heard some things that alarmed me. However, when I finally got into this, it was great. It read super easy, the characters were fun, and I'm now actually anticipating the spinoff. I think lowering my expectations from the first book really helped. Plus, the hype for book one was a little overwhelming last year.

FAVORITE NEW AUTHOR

It's kind of crazy that I haven't talked about Melissa K. Roehrich yet. I spent an entire four weeks binge-reading her books. Well, six of her books. I read the first two installments of the Legacy series, realized I needed to read the Lady of Darkness series so I wouldn't be spoiled, and then devoured all five of those plus a couple of novellas. I haven't yet gone back to finish the Legacy series. Not because I don't want to, but because I have found it difficult to pick up the ebook versions for some reason, so I'm trying to wait on my preordered special Aurora Crate editions to ship. We'll see how much longer I can hold off. Her books are definitely for fans of the larger, more epic romantasy worlds, like Throne of Glass, ACOTAR, From Blood and Ash, and Fourth Wing.

NEWEST FICTIONAL CRUSH

This was a tough question. I have a few characters that come to mind, but I think Patroclus and Achilles from Jasmine Mas's Bonds of Hercules are a solid answer. They were the stars of the book, in my opinion. Now, if you'd asked me this after reading Blood of Hercules, I would've said heck no, but something changed in the sequel. I adored them. One of my other choices would have been Cain Hawthorne from Soul Sworn by Kate Dylan (out in November) and Callum from The Wolf King by Lauren Palphreyman. Honestly, The Wolf King would have been the answer to some of these tag questions, but I just know the author is going to pull a Tamlin-Rhysand situation, which I LOATHE, so I'm not getting my hopes up.

NEWEST FAVORITE CHARACTER

I used the UK paperback edition of Warrior Princess Assassin for this answer, as there isn't a ton of fan art of this character. I'm also cheating a little bit since I read this book last year. However, I did read the the second book recently, so it counts, right? Anyway, Asher is my newest favorite character. I just feel so bad for the poor boy and want him to be snuggled in blankets with chocolate and kittens and puppies and all things good to make him happy. Is that too much to ask, Brigid Kemmerer? Ugh. Let him be happy! 

BOOK THAT MADE YOU CRY

  I don't remember crying very much for any book I've read so far this year, but, there was one. Just one that I specifically remember crying during. And I hated that I was crying about it because the book made me very upset, and not in a good way. If you've read this, you'll know what I'm talking about. I have honestly never read something like this in a MFM duology. I never want to read something like it again. I also don't think I'll ever be able to trust this author ever again. Needless to say, I unhauled this duology. Waste of my time.

BOOK THAT MADE YOU HAPPY

I think the Game Changers series by Rachel Reid made a lot of people happy in December/January. I watched the show in December, but read the books in January and February. While I enjoyed the other five books, Heated Rivalry was my favorite. I still can't believe I hadn't read this book before the show aired. I had a huge MM hockey romance period back in 2024. I honestly think the first book, which is between a barista-esque guy and a hockey player, threw me off from reading the series. I don't like the baker/barista/bartender/anything-to-do-with-food-services trope in my romance books. It's a very niche turnoff. Lol.

FAVORITE BOOK ADAPTATION

YOU SAW THIS YEAR

I would have put Heated Rivalry on here, but technically, I watched that last year. The very last episode of the first season aired on Christmas day. I don't have an end-of-year freakout post, so it seems a shame not to mention it here. I will say, though, that Project Hail Mary was a good adaptation of Andy Weir's book. I had a couple of criticisms, but I could see myself rewatching this movie frequently. I already rewatch The Martian, Weir's other book, fairly often, so it wouldn't surprise me.

FAVORITE REVIEW YOU’VE WRITTEN THIS YEAR

I think my actual favorite review that I've written so far this year won't go live until November. (Spoilers: It's for Soul Sworn by Kate Dylan.) However, if we're just looking at the first six months of 2026, I'll go with Dhampira by Amy Pennza. This was a very fun, atmospheric, gothic vampire romantasy. I even decided to read Amy Pennza's backlist as well as her current release because I enjoyed it so much. So far, I've only read Dhampira and Wolfseeker, but I'll get to the others soon.

 

You can read my review of Dhampira here.

MOST BEAUTIFUL BOOK YOU’VE

RECEIVED SO FAR THIS YEAR

 There were three books that stood out to me for answering this question. The one pictured is the FairyLoot edition of Half City by Kate Golden, which is gorgeous! I'm usually not much of a red/black lover for my book designs, but something about this one just has me in a chokehold. And the endpaper art is beautiful as well! I still need to read it, but I've heard good things. The second book is also a FairyLoot edition. King of Ravens by Clare Sager is a beautiful book as well. And the third one is Charissa Weaks's blue author edition of The Witch Collector. It has character art on it and is so very pretty. I wasn't expecting it to be that pretty. I have photos in my previous Stacking the Shelves posts, if you're interesting in checking the covers out.

WHAT BOOKS DO YOU NEED TO READ

BY THE END OF THE YEAR

As I said last year, everything on my never-ending TBR! My biggest ops at the moment, though, include:

To Cage a Wild Bird by Brooke Fast

Starside by Alex Aster

Lore by Alexandra Bracken

This Monster of Mine by Shalini Abeysekara

The Empire of the Vampire trilogy by Jay Kristoff

The Arcana Chronicles by Kresley Cole 

The Atlas Six by Olivie Blake

These are the books I want to have completed by the end of the year. Will that happen? Unlikely. Some of them are things I'm in the mood for right now, but that may change a couple of months down the line. As long as I'm continuing to make progress on my physical TBR, I'll be satisfied.

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Alright, there you have it. My Mid-Year Book Freak Out answers for 2026. What would your answers to these questions be? Let me know in the comments below!