The Mid-Year Freak Out Tag

I have a huge weak spot for tags and I love completing them, so I was excited when I saw Sibby from Novelties tag me in the Mid-Year Freak Out Tag! I’ve been seeing this one going around and it looks like a lot of fun. This tag has been around for basically forever and was originally created by Earl Grey Books and Chami!

So far in 2019 I’ve read 100 books which for me translates to 29,931 pages. My longest book has been the re-read of Illuminae I did and the shortest book was The Good Listener. I don’t typically provide star ratings in my reviews, but on Goodreads my average rating for the year is 3.69. Now onto the tag that features only books I’ve read this year!

best book you’ve read so far in 2019

• I’ve had a lot of favorites this year, which is really abnormal for me, but if I’m only picking one it definitely has to be You’d Be Mine by Erin Hahn. Read my review of this perfect novel to find out why.

best sequel you’ve read so far in 2019

• I prefer standalone novels so I don’t read too many series. This year so far I’ve actually only read 8 sequels and my favorite was My Plain Jane by Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton, and Jodi Meadows.

new release you haven’t read yet, but want to

• With the Fire on High by Elizabeth Acevedo was my Book of the Month back in May, but for some reason I haven’t read it yet even though I’m dying to!

most anticipated release for the second half of the year

• Hands down my most anticipated is The Liar’s Daughter by Megan Cooley Peterson which releases in September.

[Related – Ten of My Most Anticipated Releases From the Second half of 2019]

biggest disappointment

• I know that a ton of people loved Amelia Westlake Was Never Here by Erin Gough, and I really wanted to, but there were things that made me wildly uncomfortable while reading it. Check out my full review to learn what went wrong.

biggest surprise

• Historical fiction is a genre I tend to stay away from, so The Valiant by Lesley Livingston sat on my shelf for two years before I finally read and really loved it!

favorite new author (debut or new to you)

• There are so many this year! It’s incredibly hard to narrow it down, but I’m going to say Becky Wallace thanks to her book Stealing Home. It’s literally everything you could want in a contemporary novel. Read my full review!

newest fictional crush

• I’m an adult so crushing on young adult characters makes me feel weird and seems inappropriate and I don’t read enough adult fiction to choose a character from there so I’m going to skip this one.

newest favorite character

• Alice from Let’s Talk About Love by Claire Kann is the most perfect character to ever exist and you can’t change my mind. Read my full review to see me gush about her more!

[Related – Seven of My Favorite Queer Characters]

book that made you cry

• How it Feels to Float by Helena Fox hit me real hard. Read my full review and see the short playlist I put together for the book.

book that made you happy

• Not enough people are reading The Goodbye Summer by Sarah Van Name and that’s such a travesty! This book deals with some difficult topics but I loved it so so much. Read my full review to learn more and please pick this one up!

most beautiful you’ve bought or received

• I haven’t bought or received any fancy editions yet this year, so I’m going to share my favorite cover of the year so far which is Midsummer’s Mayhem by Rajani LaRocca! Read my full review to see why I loved this adorable and magical middle grade novel.

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

• So. Many. I currently have 22 books that have been sent to me for review that I haven’t read yet (thank you publishers!). They are:
  1. Zenith by Lindsay Cummings and Sasha Alsberg
  2. Nexus by Lindsay Cummings and Sasha Alsberg
  3. Bloodleaf by Crystal Smith
  4. Season of the Witch by Sarah Rees Brennan
  5. The Merciful Crow by Margaret Owen
  6. Truly Madly Royally by Debbie Rigaud
  7. Hello Girls by Brittany Cavallaro and Emily Henry
  8. The Importance of Being Wilde at Heart by R. Zamora Linmark
  9. Color Me In by Natasha Diaz
  10. She’s the Worst by Lauren Spieller
  11. Have a Little Faith in Me by Sonia Hartl
  12. The Liar’s Daughter by Megan Cooley Peterson
  13. The Babysitters Coven by Kate Williams
  14. The Tenth Girl by Sara Faring
  15. Six Goodbyes We Never Said by Candance Ganger
  16. The Speed of Falling Objects by Nancy Richardson Fischer
  17. Aphrodite Made Me Do It by Trista Mateer
  18. Orpheus Girl by Brynne Rebele-Henry
  19. A Constellation of Roses by Miranda Asebedo
  20. Day Zero by Kelly deVos
  21. When the Stars Lead to You by Ronni Davis
  22. Catfishing on CatNet by Naomi Kritzer

Thank god for spreadsheets….

favorite book community member

One of my absolute favorite bloggers is Shon from Books and Bugs! They are incredibly nice, authentic, and supportive.

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That’s it for the Mid-Year Freak Out Tag! From the books I need to read before the year ends, which one are you most looking forward to? Are there any you’ve read yet that you think I should prioritize? Let me know in the comments!