Mid-Year Book Freakout 2020!

Best, Worst & What I Want to Finish

Hi hi hi! Me again, back atcha with more bookish content! Today I’m posting my “Mid Year Book Freak Out Tag”, a tag that circulates the book community around this time (can you believe it’s already the middle of 2020? Honestly, good riddance).

Since I’m pretty new to book blogging and haven’t built up many friends or followers yet, I figured this would be a great way to introduce myself and my reading tastes and give people a feel for the kind of stuff I like to consume!! (No, I don’t mean cake, I mean stories! 😉).

My gut reaction is to say that I haven’t read too many books that I’ve loved this year, but when I actually think back on what I have read, it hasn’t been half bad!! Without further ado…

Ugh, yes, I’m tragically predictable and also SJM trash. I was super nervous about this one because I had no idea what to expect and I thought it was gonna be hella high fantasy and I’d be NOT into it, but I was dead wrong. I loved Bryce, I loved Danika, I loved EVERYONE! I can’t wait for the next book in this series. (Please SJM, take pity!)

Best sequel you’ve read so far in 2020:

I don’t even fully remember why I randomly decided to pick these up, but I’m glad I did! I liked the first book and gave it 4/5, but I loved this one even more! Grey is such an interesting hero and I liked his storyline a bit more than Rhen’s. I really hope that the third book in the trilogy features heavily on Grey, because there’s so much more to watch!

New release you haven’t read yet, but want to:

I’ve heard SO much hype over this book, and I can’t even be mad about it. Enemies to lovers? Writing? Angsty and BEACHES? I’m all for it!! I ordered this the day it came out, and it’s still been sitting resentfully on my shelves, waiting for me to read. It’s on my July tbr, though, so don’t worry, cutie!! I’m comin for ya.

Most anticipated release for the second half of the year:

Oh gosh, how am I expected to choose?! There’s a TON of sequels coming out that I want to read, but need to read the first book before I can. Otherwise, here are three big ones that I’m super excited about. I’ve read Wicked Fox and loved it, so I’m excited that the sequel is coming out so soon, and American Royals is next on my TBR! Also, those covers?? Ugh, gorgeous!! Come faster, please!!

Biggest disappointment:

This one was a no brainer. I got about 50 pages into The Friend Zone before I just couldn’t stand it anymore. Our MC was rude – her snark didn’t translate into “charm” for me. I also thought that her “not like other girls” vibe was way too potent, and I’ve read that this book is a bit problematic in its representation of uterine fibrois, though I can’t speak on that because I don’t have it! Nonetheless, I’m disappointed that I was disappointed.

Biggest surprise:

THIS. BOOK!!! Amazing amazing amazing. I randomly picked it up late one night and just…didn’t stop reading. I’m gonna go on a little tangent here because I want everyone to read this.

This story is set in Germany post WWII and follows an alternate timeline in which the Axis powers won the war. Yael, a teenage girl and former death camp prisoner, is our MC, and she was one of the children that was experimented on during her time in the camp. Because of it, she now has special powers that allow her to skinshift. After escaping from the camp, she becomes part of the undercover resistance located throughout Europe, and is given a new mission: to win the annual motorcycle race between Germany and Japan in order to get close enough to Hitler to kill him, once and for all.

This story is heavy and heartbreaking and wonderfully random – there’s fantasy elements tied into the alternate historical fiction narrative. Yael’s internal struggle with her power and her history mingle with her current mission and the people she’s racing against, and it all mixes to make such a gut-wrenching and nail-biting story.

For more info (and a better explanation of what this book is about), read more about it on goodreads!

Favorite new author:

Queen Talia!!! I just finished Chloe Brown and am now in the middle of Dani Brown. These books are so fun and flirty, I can’t put them down! I think Talia’s dialogue and the way she builds a slow-burn yet steamy romance between two characters is super addicting, and I just had to have her on my auto-buy authors shelf ASAP! I can’t wait to finish off my collection by adding Eve Brown’s book to my shrine next year! (:

New fictional crush:

Say it with me now: Bryson Keller!! Oh, swoon. I had a feeling going into this that I’d fall for Bryson’s charms, and boy was I correct (for once!). Despite being “the popular jock” trope-y character, Bryson didn’t exhibit any of the asshole-y characteristics that you’d expect. He was sweet, attentive, and genuinely into exploring his relationship with Kai. I’m planning on reading anything Kevin van Whye puts out, now and forever more.

Newest favorite character:

You probably think I’m going to say Felix, and while I loved him too, I adored Ezra! He was so sweet and supportive, I could tell from page one that he was Felix’s forever friend. Their dynamic is the purest thing; Ezra would never let anything happen to Felix, as he clearly shows in this story! And he cuddles?? I’m in love.

Book that made you cry:

Am I typical yet? I think this is the first SJM book that I shed tears at, though I’m sure I was probably pretty close at the end of Kingdom of Ash. I cried at the end *you know which part*, it was so heartbreakingly perfect and I couldn’t help but shed some tears for our beloved characters. I don’t know if I’ll cry reading it the second time, but I know every time I need a kick to the heart, I’ll pick this one up and flip to the last 100 pages.

Book that made you happy:

Hehehe. I didn’t stop smiling reading this. ‘Nuff said.

Most beautiful book you’ve gotten:

Am I cheesy for saying Chain of Gold? I honestly haven’t picked up too many books this year, so I don’t have a huge selection to choose from. I also felt that this book needed to be featured on this list in some way or another, so here she be! I enjoyed this, but not nearly as much as I was expecting. Nonetheless, I’ll say that out of all the Shadowhunter covers, this might just be my favorite!

Books you still need to read:

Two of these are on my July TBR, and the other is one that I’m dying to read but haven’t had the balls to drop the money on it (Serpent & Dove). I might just have to, though, because time is tickin away before the sequel comes out on September 1st, and I want to be able to join the book community hype in real time!!

So, I hope this gave you a little more of an idea on my reading tastes and what I’m excited about for the rest of 2020! 🥰