Mid-Year Book Freak Out Tag: 2020 Edition

After writing a whole post on all of our feelings about tags, we figured that we should deliver on our promise and do what’s possibly our favorite tag, the Mid-Year Book Freak Out Tag! We did this tag last year as well, so if you’re interested in what our answers were in 2019 for some reason, feel free to check that post out!

This year we were tagged multiple times to give our answers, so thank you so much to Sophie @ Sophie’s Corner and Marie and Nyx @ Drizzle & Hurricane Books for giving us the motivation we needed to answer these questions merely in July, and not towards the end of September! This tag was created by Chami & Ely and we’re so glad they came up with all these questions, because it’s such a fun way to check in on our reading experiences for the first half of the year!

Malka:

Just as a little summary before we get started, so far this year I have read 45 books, making me way ahead of my 50 book goal, but very much behind on my 100 book goal. I do have some graphic novels and shorter works that I plan on reading in the next few weeks so that I can still reach my 100 book goal, but we’ll see what happens! Most of my reads were really good, and I think that you can tell that just by reading through my answer!

Chana:

I’ve read 99 books so far this year. I’m very happy with the number itself, but in regards to my actual reading challenge I am forever behind. I’ve been having a lot of reading slumps lately, but what with the general state of the world right now, it is what it is! I have a bunch of books that I am looking forward to reading, so once I get back into the reading mood again, I know that some fantastic reads await me!

1. Best book you’ve read so far in 2020

Malka:

This question was actually very difficult to answer because I’ve read so many amazing books that are all so different from one another. I think I’m picking Dear Edward because it was an unexpected, but super compelling story. I think it depicted the aftermath of a traumatic experience really well in such subtle ways and I really just enjoyed reading and learning more about what was happening in both the present and past timelines. I don’t know if I’d say this book was my favorite of the year, but it definitely was one of the best! (Other contenders for this title are mentioned for other prompts. Some weren’t mentioned because I’ve mentioned them in other posts and I didn’t want to get too repetitive!)

Chana:

This book is absolutely beautiful inside and out! I love the writing so so much, and the plot was also so creative. The worldbuilding, the characters, the relationships!! I literally have no complaints about this book, and I highly recommend it to everyone!

2. Best sequel you’ve read so far in 2020

Malka:

Honestly, if I hadn’t read any other sequels, this book would probably be a contender for best book of the year. If you’ve read my gushing review you’ll know all about just how much I love this book!

Chana:

This book has caused me pain and it will definitely hurt you too, but it’s SO GOOD! It was such an incredible follow up to The Poppy War, the plot just kind of jumps off a cliff headfirst and even though you feel as though you splatted on the bottom at the end of it, you also know that you’re going to be hurt even more in the finale. Highly recommend.

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

Malka:

Honestly, I’m probably going to start reading this book today, that’s how excited I am for this book! I just got my copy a few weeks ago, but I was waiting to finish up some of the books that I had been in middle of reading before starting this one. Now that I’m no longer reading 10 books at once, I’m free to start this one with the knowledge that I can give it my undivided attention! (That is not strictly true because I’m in middle of a romance or two as well, but I’m pretty much always in middle of a romance in e-book form. The Black Flamingo will have my undivided attention in physical form.)

Chana:

I’ve been looking forward to this book since Alice Oseman announced it! I love her books so there was no doubt that I was planning on reading this one. However, shipping from the UK to the US at this time takes forever so I am still eagerly awaiting my pre-order.

4. Most anticipated release for the second half of the year

Malka:

I would sell my soul for this book! I am so excited for it! (And the fact that I was rejected for it on NetGalley crushed me.) I have a very particular brand of romance that I tend to love, and this book sounds like it will have everything I love in a book! Can September 15th please get a move on it? (Or can my pre-order miraculously arrive 6 weeks early?) I will just say that you should not be fooled by this cover. I have heard Things TM about the steam level in this book, and I’m excited! But I also know that a lot of people were surprised by how smutty this got, so I figured I’d put out the disclaimer.

Chana:

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Am I supposed to only choose one??? I want to read all of these, and I want to read them now.

5. Biggest disappointment

Malka:

Ooopf, this book. You’ll be seeing it in my July wrap up because I read it this month, and then you’ll probably never see it again! This book was set to be an average read, but then it took a super ableist twist. I saw that twist coming from the very beginning, and hoped and prayed that it would somehow surprise me and not take that route, but it did. (And besides being ableist the twist ending literally made no sense given the buildup, but to say more would be a spoiler). So yes, this book disappointed me greatly.

Chana:

I wrote a review about this book, but it was quite disappointing. I’m a big fan of comic book nerd culture, fanfiction, and TJ Klune, and though this book had all of those, it just didn’t manage to deliver for me.

6. Biggest surprise

Malka:

This book was surprising in several ways! The first surprise was how much I utterly adored this book. From the very beginning I just knew that it would be a 5 star read. It also has a lot of mystery elements to it, which I don’t tend to like, so the fact that I enjoyed finding out different pieces was also a nice surprise! I know I keep mentioning this book, but I really need more people to read it! It’s diverse, it covers a ton of important topics, it’s fun, and I highly recommend it! It surprised me with how much I loved it, and if you pick it up hopefully you’ll love it as well!

Chana:

Pet really took me by surprise because I honestly wasn’t seeing so many people talk about it, so I had no idea what to expect. This book was really something else. While reading it I felt like I was reading a book that would be read in classrooms in the future just because of all the fantastic symbolism, writing, and the general message of the book. It’s also on the shorter side of books, so if you’re looking for a quick but meaningful read, I’d suggest Pet!

7. Favorite new author (debut or new to you)

Malka:

At first I really had no idea who I’d choose for this prompt. I’m very hesitant about calling authors favorites, and have really strict criteria for choosing to call them such. One of my rules is that I have to have loved more than one of their books. And as I just finished The Glass Hotel this past week, and I’ve already read Station Eleven and loved it, I am now willing to call Emily St. John Mandel a favorite author and look forward to all her upcoming releases. (Also, I know I’m cheating with this answer, since Emily is neither a debut or new to me, but just let me have this. I read this book this year. Emily wrote the book. Now she’s a favorite author. I say it counts, so it does!)

Chana:

So when I choose a “favorite” author I have to have enjoyed almost every one of their books that I’ve read. So while I did read Wild and Crooked last year, I read the rest of Leah Thomas’s books this year and I really enjoyed all of them! I love how character-driven her books are, and I also love how creative her plots are. Every one of her books has something a little weird about it, and “contemporary but weird” is becoming one of my favorite genres.

8. Newest fictional crush

Malka:

I honestly adore Lucas Karlsson so very much! This book was so wonderful and had the most adorable romance, and so much of that was because of how fantastic and caring Lucas is. This book also has absolutely no miscommunication in it! Do you understand how rare that is in a romance?? To put things in perspective, for every 1,000 unicorns out there, there is ONE single romance without miscommunication. But I digress, the reason I love Lucas so much not only has to do with his great communication skills, it also has to do with how thoughtful and kind he is. The lengths he went to make the protagonist, Tess, happy was just so sweet! Since he’s my new standard for a book boyfriend, all the other romance books out there better be scared!

Chana:

Sksksks, I don’t really get fictional crushes? So this question is going to have to be blank for me.

9. Newest favorite character

Malka:

I think I’m going to go with Fitz from Time of Our Lives for this question. He was probably my favorite thing about the whole book. I love how much he enjoyed learning and sharing obscure words since I relate hard to anyone who geeks out about anything nerdy that no one else really cares about. I thought he was complex and fun, and since he made me enjoy the book so much, I decided that he’s one of my new favorite characters!

Chana:

Avatar Kyoshi is just the coolest person ever! Her character arc is perfection, and I just love everything about her. The Shadow of Kyoshi came out yesterday and I can’t wait to read it so that I can experience more Kyoshi perfection 🥰

10. Book that made you cry

Malka:

I haven’t cried from any of the books I read this year! Last year when I did this tag, I said it was because I’m a heartless monster, but in reality I think it’s because I enjoy reading happy books, which aren’t attempting to make me cry, but rather to make me smile!

Chana:

I don’t cry when I read books, but if I did I would probably cry because of how bad this one was.

11. Book that made you happy

Malka:

Almost every book I mentioned in this tag that I’ve already read has made me happy. I’ve read some really great books this year! But I think that Lord of Scoundrels was just so much fun that I had to pick it, since it made me squeal with cuteness and happiness. It’s been several months since I read this book, and it’s still on my mind and still a book I’d recommend. In fact I recommended it to Nimika @ Wordhaven and she really enjoyed it as well! So read this book if you’re looking for something to make you smile! There are lots of shenanigans and good angst (yearning, not drama) and even though this is an older book, I’m so glad that I discovered it this year!

Chana:

I don’t read very many happy books (pain and suffering is much more my brand), but You Should See Me in a Crown was a happy exception that I adored. Ugh, just looking at the cover makes me happy!!

12. Most beautiful book you’ve bought so far this year (or received)

Malka:

I could have chosen a few books for this answer, but honestly this book is my absolute favorite! I love the bright orange, the illustrations, the flowers, the shadows. Just everything about this cover is perfection, and it makes me so happy to look at it!

Chana:

The hardback of this book is so so pretty! I love looking at what’s under the cover of a book even if it’s the tiniest little extra detail it’s perfect, but this book goes above and beyond!

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

Malka:

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I couldn’t pick just one book for this when I’ve been steadily adding to my TBR for the past few months! I chose these three because I hope that by the end of the year I’ll have read at least 2/3 of the books pictured here!

I was really excited for Heidi’s Guide to Four Letter Words when I first got it, and in fact, I picked it up right away! But I wasn’t in the right mood for it when I tried reading it the first time, so now I’m waiting until the mood strikes to pick this one up to try again! As for Patron Saints of Nothing, that was recommended to me by two bloggers, Camillea @ Camillea Reads and Caitlin @ Caitlin Althea, so for that reason alone, I need to read this book ASAP! And I read the first few pages of The Opposite of Always a few months back and thought it was really good, but that was when I was busy with school and didn’t have the time to read longer, more hard-hitting books, which I could tell from the beginning, sums up this book!

Chana:

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These are all books that have been recommended to me, or that I’ve seen around the blogosphere and decided to recommend to myself! Unsurprisingly, they’re mostly fantasy, with a depressing contemporary added in for flavor! I did actually start The Never Tilting World like a month ago, but then I fell into a reading slump and didn’t continue, so one of my goals for this year would definitely be to finish reading it!

14. Favorite book community member

Read our Book Blogger Award nomination post to get a whole list of fantastic bloggers that we love! We can’t just choose one!

What has been your favorite book this year? What book do you need to read before the end of 2020? Which book surprised you the most?