Mid Year Freak Out Tag 2019

Hello! Hello! Hello!!! Every year I think I’ll do a Mid-Year Freak Out Tag but then the year suddenly ends 😂  These 7 months have gone by in a blur! I’ve read 45 books till now but if I go according to the actual mid year mark, I will have to say approx 34-35. So, in this blog post, I’ll mention the books I’d read till June and make a separate July Wrap Up post (I’ve read some really good ones this month) and give a few liners review of each of them! 😁

 

1. Best Book I’ve Read So Far: The Song of Achilles

Oh my goddess! What a book! I don’t know why I put it off for so long. I loved the book and cried like a baby! You can read my review here.

 

2. Best sequel I’ve Read So Far: Kingdom of Copper

City of Brass was great. Kingdom of Copper took my breath away! I can’t wait for Empire of Gold 😍 To read my review, click here.

 

3. New release I haven’t read yet, but want to: King of Scars and We Hunt The Flame

I remember being superr hyped up for King of Scars when it was coming out but I still haven’t read it *nervous laugh*. I just don’t get the time from all that procrastinating 😝. Nikolai was such a magnetic character and I can’t wait to meet Nina again. We Hunt The Flame is another book which has been quite high on my tbr for a while now and I’m hoping to pick it up soon! 🙈

 

4. Most anticipated release of the second half of 2019: Wilder Girls, Ninth House and The Beautiful

I’m superr pumped for the books coming out later this year. I already did a blog post for my Top 5 new release. You can check it out here. I love Renee Ahdieh’s books and exquisite writing style and I can’t wait to read this Vampire based book!

 

5. Biggest disappointment: The Farm

I’d a few books which I didn’t like very much and were like 2 star reads but I was genuinely looking forward to The Farm because of the amazing plot but it just fell short on so many counts *sigh*. You can read my review here.

 

6. Biggest surprise: Erotic tales for Punjabi Widows

I went into this book with literally no expectations. The title and the plot seemed pretty interesting but what was more intriguing was that it was selected for Reese Witherspoon’s book club. This book was amazing! This will most definitely go on my top reads of 2019. You can read more review here. I would urge everyone to pick up this book as this has something for everyone. Also, if possible, listen to the audiobook. The narration is hilarious and on point 🙌

 

 

 

7. Favourite new-to-me or debut author: Spin the Dawn

Before I picked this up, it had already made quite a splash on bookstagram and after being pitched as Project Runaway meets Mulan, my interest was immediately piqued! With effortless writing, Elizabeth Lim has created such a magnificent world. It is so much more than Project Runaway and Mulan though! It’s about family, magic, the journey and the destination. There is deceit and everything  is not what it seems And also, well, just look at that cover *drool*. Check it here on Goodreads. I’m really looking forward to the 2nd one!

8. Newest fictional crush: Kal, Dara and Eden

I’ve always been a very selective person when it comes to crushes, in reality as well as in the fictional world. I wouldn’t say Kal (Aurora Rising), Dara (City of Brass) and Eden (Spin the Dawn) are my new crushes but they all are characters who I want to protect and whose lines just sorta made me swoon. You can check my review for Aurora Rising here and for Kingdom of Copper here.

 

9. Favourite character: Patroclus, Fin and Nahari

Fin

I loved these characters! I literally wanted to smother Patroclus (The Sing of Achilles) with hugs and keep him safe from everything! Fin (Aurora Rising) is a tech whiz and superr sarcastic! Nahari from City of Brass is such a great character. There is so much character development and her quick wit and her being a con woman is such s breath of fresh air in fantasy books. I can’t wait to see Fin and Nahari in their respective new books.

 

 

 

10. Book that made me cry: The Song of Achililes

Art from Poikas.deviantart.com

My heart was like an over bashed pinata after reading this book! The characters, the writing, the setting and just about everything 😭😭😭. I am really apprehensive about reading Circe after this because what if that book doesn’t live upto TSoA. I’ll be gutted! Also, Circe has been picked up for a TV series! I need TSoA on the big screen too 😭😭

 

11. Book that made me happy: Red, White and Royal Blue

Now, this book has garnered so many mixed reviews but I loved it! It was so cute and it had various elements which are really important in today’s day and age! You can check a concise review here.

 

12. Book to movie adaptation: 🤷‍♀️

I don’t remember watching any movie based on a book this year 🙈

 

13. Favourite blog post of 2019: Becoming Book Review

I haven’t written many blog posts this year but I’m hoping to write a few before this year ends! I’ve majorly written reviews and one of my favourite has been my review of Becoming by Michelle Obama. The reason I like it is because Michelle Obama is this huge presence in the world and I’ve tried my best to analyse her novel and write a review which I felt does justice to the book!

 

14. Favourite review I’ve written this year: City of My Heart

Confession time: I didn’t like this book. At all! But, why do I like this review? The reason is that, even though I didn’t like it, I’ve given the pros and cons of the book, pointing towards people who would like it and I haven’t been rude either towards the contents of the book or towards the author/ translator, unlike some people who believe in bashing the book and authors for no reason at times 🤷‍♀️. Check my review here.

 

15. Most beautiful book I’ve bought or received so far this year: Kingdom of Copper, The Handmaids Tale and The Priory of the Orange Tree

 

I was incredibly lucky to receive all these books. Kingdom of Copper was given to me by Harper Collins India for review and Bloomsbury India gave me a signed ARC of The Priory of the Orange Tree for review (read the review here). Meanwhile, a restaurant in Jaipur gifted me this gorgeous copy of The Handmaids Tale! 😍

 

16. Books I need to read by the end of the year: A Gathering of Shadows, Nevernight, The Poppy War, Mistborn, The Furies etc. 🤦‍♀️

There are so many books which I want to read before 2019 ends but where is the time 😭😭 At the moment, I would be content to read just these books before the year ends! I was lucky to get AGoS from bookchor and won Nevernight during a book fair 😍.

 

Pick up any prompt from here and tell me your preference!

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Bye for now!