The purpose of this tag is to discuss the books you have read so far in the year. So far, I have completed 35 books this year:
1. best book so far:
The best book I had read so far this year was Josh and Hazel’s Guide to Not Dating by the author duo Christina Lauren. I won’t say much about this since I’m going to talk about it in a couple of the other categories.
2. best sequel so far:
Since I have only read a few sequels so far, I am going to choose Girls in Pants: The Third Summer of the Sisterhood by Ann Brashares. This really stands out to me because of how much better I was able to enjoy it compared to when I tried to read the series back in middle school. I understood the characters much better and I loved every minute with them.
3. new release you have yet to read but want to:
Again, but Better by Christine Riccio. I picked this book up on the day it came out, but I just wasn’t in the right place to read it despite my excitement. Because of my love for Christine and her content, I really want to wait until the right time to read this book.
4. most anticipated release for the 2nd half of the year:
Twice in a Blue Moon by Christine Lauren. I am dying to read all of their books with the fun new adult covers.
5. biggest disappointment:
The Vincent Boys by Abbi Glines. The book was just total garbage. I’m all for romance, it’s really all I’ve read this summer. But I want romance with a bit of plot. The characters need to have drive and have some kind of life outside of the love interest. This was just a whole lot of trashy scenes… but I finished it because I had already spent the money.
6. biggest surprise:
I didn’t actually mean to read Ender’s Shadow by Orson Scott Card. I haven’t read Ender’s Game but my brother has, and he began listening to it with me in the car so I just listened too. And by the time we got home I was hooked and listened to the rest of the book with him. The world gave me the same feeling that I got back when I was first starting to read and I was unfamiliar with any tropes. It was mysterious and new, and I am so glad I read it. I enjoyed feeling like a new reader again. It definitely took me out of my reading comfort zone and into the unknown territory of SciFi.
7. favourite new author:
Christina Lauren hands down. There is something about the way they can write dialogue and human interaction. While all characters need to be exaggerated, their characters feel like they could be real people. I am even able to spot them in people that I know.
8. newest fictional crush:
Josh from Josh and Hazel’s. He’s just a really nice guy and such a good foil for Hazel’s awesomeness.
9. new favourite character:
Hazel from Josh and Hazel’s, duh. Josh would be nothing without Hazel, so I couldn’t make him a favourite without making her one. Hazel is eccentric and a bit crazy, but it’s a kind of crazy I can relate to and see in myself. It’s the kind of crazy that comes with being yourself. I loved every second with Hazel.
10. book that made you cry:
Roomies by Christina Lauren. More Christine Lauren?? It’s the last one, I swear. Another relationship that I really enjoyed. But they were more like happy tears.
11. book that made you happy:
The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman. Neil Gaiman in general just makes me happy. I could read his grocery list and it would probably make me happy… But the story was just wholesome and sweet and it left me with that feeling in my stomach like something good had been accomplished that day.
12. favourite book to movie adaptation:
I actually haven’t watched any movies based on books I have read… But I did watch Crazy Rich Asians based on the book of the same name by Kevin Kwan which made me sob something terrible, so I would count it as a favourite, I think.
13. favourite review you’ve written:
I really like my review of The Vincent Boys on my Goodreads. Short and sweet, I wrote it while very angry about the book in the shower after finishing it.
14. most beautiful book you bought this year:
Stain by A.G. Howard. I’m not usually a fan of purple but the cover is so harmonious.
15. a book that I need to read by the end of the year:
So many… too many… but one that comes to mind is Clockwork Princess by Cassandra Clare. I have just put off the series for too long and it’s time for me to finally have my heart broken just like the rest of the reading world.
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