#rather than trying to list five for each & every one like some disillusioned overachiever

[sinterblackwell]

mid-year book freakout tag

hello!! this tag is mostly prevalent on booktube and not in the deep recesses of the internet that is tumblr, but i feel most comfortable talking about books on this app for some reason, so i just thought that this would be very fun.

let’s begin!!

1. best book you’ve read so far in 2022

- echo by thomas olde heuvelt

2. best sequel you’ve read so far in 2022

i’ve been reading quite a few series this year so it made this question a little hard to answer when i first saw it, so much so that i literally compiled a list of all the sequels i read and tried to rank them in order of best to…least best. (it fell apart very quickly). this one is for sure in the top three!!

- castor (sons of the fallen, #2) by jaclyn osborn

one ☝🏽 word: dragons

3. favorite reread

- when my heart joins the thousand by a.j. steiger

4. genre(s) you’ve been loving/reading the most

- paranormal & fantasy

the thing about it, too, is that since i first read the monstrous series by lily mayne, and then especially after catching up to the sons of the fallen by jaclyn osborn, i’ve just found myself so immersed in worlds of fantasy and mythical creatures alike; it’s been very difficult to take myself out of that headspace and go back to real world settings, and that’s something that riding into 2022, i didn’t expect. i’ve always loved fantasy, and i have considered it like an escape for a long time, but now that wish for escapism has just increased tenfold.

5. new release you haven’t read yet, but want to

- a lady for a duke by alexis hall

this book came out in may but by the gods, it is a 2022 release and i will read it soon.

6. most anticipated release for the second half of the year

- raiden (sons of the fallen, #6) by jaclyn osborn

as i’m writing this, there officially is just three more days until i see the nephilim brothers again, im so hyped.

7. biggest disappointment

if i know a book is not doing it for me, i don’t really have any hard feelings because most of the time, i knew what i was getting into so i wouldn’t be surprised if i wasn’t vibing with the story. however, there’s this recent read i tried to pick up, feeling oddly excited about it just because i was in that kind of mood to take a risk and i….had so much trouble with the writing, it pained me so much.

a: the dead romantics by ashley poston

to this day, i don’t know what i expected from it because on the surface, i already knew i might not love the book and yet i read the first chapter and it was like getting my heart broken. and for what?? i have no idea, but for some reason, there was something about this book that made me want to like it and yet i couldn’t even finish it. it apparently made people cry reading and i’m one of them; but it was all out of bitter disappointment so alas….

8. biggest surprise

- soul eater (monstrous, #1) by lily mayne

i wasn’t in a reading slump, per se, but from february to april, i had been consistently reading up to seven books. not out of choice, but out of pure coincidence as these seemed to be the highest count of books i could read in a single month during this time. i don’t know why that was, but it just is.

this book, though, just as i had already reached the seven book count in may, made me completely grow obsessed with this series. the fact that it had five published books already and was still ongoing completely disrupted what became this expected reading goal and i love that.

also it’s about monster fucking. there’s really good plot and a sweet as hell romance for each book (moth & charlie, my loves) but again….monster fucking. a series where human survivors in a dystopian setting fall in love and have sex with monsters who entered their world through a tear in time & space was what pulled me out of my semi-reading slump….that was not on my bingo card for this year.

9. favorite new author

- lily mayne

i have to give her a lot of kudos for everything she’s done (see: above) plus!! her writing!! it really is pretty brilliant, she deserves the semi-popularity i’ve noticed from her books’ ratings on goodreads.

10. fictional crush

- junichi takayama from the lore & lust series by karla nikole

i am obsessed with him. if there’s one thing to convince you to read his & jae’s book (“the awakening”), it’s him. it’s this dominican-japanese angel who has a killer sense of style and an attitude to match. the fact that his book doesn’t nearly get enough hype….very disappointed.

10. newest favorite character

- mina rahman from a show for two by tashie bhuiyan

at first, i didn’t think i felt much about her character and then i saw her get guilt-tripped over things that weren’t even her fault and i realized at the point that i would destroy the world for her happiness, i mean—

listed: main characters who deserved better (and she does get that but all that conflict….yikes)

11. book that made you cry

- fragile remedy by maria ingrande mora

(see here).

12. book that made you happy

- café con lychee by emery lee

happy tears, y’all. this book literally had me sob in happy tears near the end, what in fresh hell is that about?

13. most beautiful book you’ve bought so far this year

- the midnight girls by alicia jasinska (x)

14. what book do you need to read by the end of the year?

- flip the script by lyla lee

this author’s social media presence is completely out of this world, like she’s engaged as hell when it comes to connecting to her readers and she succeeds at it. her promotion of this book, specifically, made me feel very excited for what this story has in store and then a booktuber’s (@/perpetualpages) review of the book (x) has me even more hyped. i have a copy of my own that i can read at any time so i do hope to pick this up very soon.

15. favorite book community member

- @/ perpetualpages

#❣️ #this took me two whole months? 😭 what is wrong with me?? #why do i put so much effort into things that is likely to only be enjoyed by me?? #have to spread the word about these books and this was still fun to write so maybe yeah it is worth it #also the key here to breaking past my procrastination was just talking about one book for each prompt #rather than trying to list five for each & every one like some disillusioned overachiever #long post #booklr