MID-YEAR BOOK FREAKOUT TAG

2020, for most people, has been a year that has essentially been 'on pause.' I feel like I have no idea what day of the week it is, never-mind what month we are in. I think it's the forty-fifth and Febmaprijulary. I suppose I can be thankful because I have been working throughout the Lockdown and Quarantine because I am a key-worker in my day-to-day life and my job does require me to know the date. As a result, it baffles me that we have essentially half-way through the year. It barely started five minutes ago. I feel like I want a refund for the year 2020. That being said, we are half-way through the year and that means dusting off an old favourite tag; the Mid-Year Book Freakout Tag.

Ordinarily, this would have been something that I would have filmed for my channel. However, since I've taken a step back from YouTube, I'm posting it to my blog. So let's get into the questions...

1. BEST BOOK(S) YOU'VE READ SO FAR IN 2020

• JACKDAWS - KEN FOLLETT
• REBECCA - DAPHNE DU MAURIER
• HOUSE OF EARTH AND BLOOD - SARAH J. MAAS

2. BEST SEQUEL THAT YOU'VE READ SO FAR IN 2020

• SUPERNOVA (RENEGADES BOOK 3) - MARISSA MEYER
• BEFORE THE DEVIL BREAKS YOU (THE DIVINERS BOOK 3) - LIBBA BRAY
• THE KING OF CROWS (THE DIVINERS BOOK 4) - LIBBA BRAY

3. NEW RELEASE YOU HAVEN'T READ YET BUT WANT TO.

• HOUSE OF DRAGONS - JESSICA CLUESS
• BOOKISH AND THE BEAST - ASHLEY POSTON

4. MOST ANTICIPATED RELEASE FOR THE SECOND HALF OF 2020.

• A DEADLY EDUCATION - NAOMI NOVIK
• THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF KATHRYN JANEWAY - UNA McCORMACK
• THE INVISIBLE LIFE OF ADDIE LARUE - V.E. SCHWAB
• KINGDOM OF THE WICKED - KERRI MANISCALCO

5. BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENT.

• A DISCOVERY OF WITCHES - DEBORAH HARKNESS
• THE WRECKAGE - ROBIN MORGAN-BENTLEY

The Wreckage was a bitter disappointment. I listened to the audiobook because Emilia Fox was one of the narrators. I hated the other narrator's style and I felt as if Emilia's own performance was sub-par when compared to her performances in Melmoth and Jackdaws. I didn't like the characters or the story at all either.

6. BIGGEST SURPRISE.

• JACKDAWS - KEN FOLLET
• THE PRIORY OF THE ORANGE TREE - SAMANTHA SHANNON
• HOUSE OF EARTH AND BLOOD - SARAH J. MAAS

All of these books were ones that I picked up on a whim or because I fell for the hype but put off reading. Jackdaws was an absolute surprise because I simply picked it because I wanted an audiobook for a work shift and something narrated by Emilia Fox. I absolutely fell in love with this book and was on tenterhooks throughout. The same goes for House of Earth and Blood. I listened to the audiobook because, again, I needed one for work and I had just recently bought the book because it had £5 off the marked price in Waterstone's. I was so surprised by how much I loved it. The Priory of the Orange Tree was a surprise from how much I was less intimidated by it once I started it. It is one brick of a book and it is quite the intimidator. Once I started reading it, I was surprised by how easily I managed to get into the world and the story.

7. FAVOURITE NEW AUTHOR. (DEBUT OR NEW TO YOU)

• BRANDON SANDERSON
• KEN FOLLETT

Both of these authors are new to me - Sanderson is more of a new author from last year and a continuation into this year. Follett is new from reading Jackdaws. I definitely want to read more of his WWII historical fiction novels. They all sound so intriguing with such strong female characters that I want to dive in headfirst into his books.

8. NEWEST FICTIONAL CRUSH.

• SAM O'NEILL (THE DIVINERS)

Lambchop. Baby vamp. Baby doll. Can I have Sam call me those names, please?

9. NEWEST FAVOURITE CHARACTER.

• FELICITY CLARIET

I honestly couldn't think of a character that I loved from any of the books that I read but Flick came to mind from Jackdaws. I loved how she was able to take charge, take command, prove misogynistic men of the era wrong and she was able to keep her cool when everything was going to Hell in a handbasket around her.

10. BOOK THAT MADE YOU CRY.

• HOUSE OF EARTH AND BLOOD - SARAH J. MAAS

There was one scene where I was ready to drop everything that I was doing and simply listen to the audiobook because I couldn't believe what was happening. I was ready to cry. I didn't cry but it was the closest that I ever came to crying. 

11. BOOK THAT MADE YOU HAPPY.

• BALLET SHOES - NOEL STREATFEILD
• FALLING KINGDOMS - MORGAN RHODES

These books are purely for Emilia Fox fangirl reasons. Ballet Shoes because she was in the BBC adaptation starring Emma Watson and Victoria Wood. I re-read the book at the beginning of the year because I wanted to and I wanted an Emilia related read (before I decided to do my Emilia Fox related reads for March). Falling Kingdoms made me happy because the sisters Emilia and Cleo reminded me of Morgause and Morgana from my old Role-Play Game from years ago on Livejournal and I could see parts of the book being related storylines that I wanted to explore or had explored in the RPG. It was pure crack for me that way and that's how I probably got a lot more out of it than anyone else. Plus, there was a princess called Emilia.

12. FAVOURITE BOOK TO MOVIE ADAPTATION THAT YOU SAW THIS YEAR.

• PRIDE AND PREJUDICE - JANE AUSTEN
• THE ROUND TOWER - CATHERINE COOKSON

I read Pride and Prejudice for the first time this year and watched it on New Year's Eve when incredibly hungover. Again, I only read and watched it (specifically the Colin Firth BBC version) because Emilia Fox starred as Georgiana Darcy. I'm cheating with The Round Tower because I haven't read the book (yet) but I thoroughly enjoyed watching the miniseries. I loved how Vanessa and Angus developed together. Emilia and Ben Miles were so precious together in this and I felt so much for Vanessa. I want to read the book now. 

13. MOST BEAUTIFUL BOOK THAT YOU'VE BOUGHT SO FAR THIS YEAR.

• REBECCA (40TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION) - DAPHNE DU MAURIER
• A GAME OF THRONES (ILLUSTRATED EDITION) - GEORGE R.R. MARTIN
• INKHEART (10TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION) - CORNELIA FUNKE

14. WHAT BOOKS DO YOU WANT TO READ BY THE END OF THE YEAR?

ALL. OF. THEM. DUH! Seriously! My TBR is out of control. To be fair, most of my purchases this year have been re-purchases of books that I already own in nicer editions so I'm technically not adding to my TBR.

I would love to continue on with the series that I have started; Mistborn, Red Rising, Trials of Apollo, The Kane Chronicles, Snow Like Ashes, A Court of Thorns and Roses and a Darker Shade of Magic. In terms of other books that I own, I would love to read My Plain Jane, The Fellowship of the Ring and Persuasion.


There you have it guys, the Mid-Year Book Freakout Tag. Be sure to let me know what your answers would be in the comments below. I love how this tag is a little bit of everything, likes, dislikes, favourites and pretty books. Gotta love that.