Hello everyone! So I was tagged by the amazing Siobhan to do this fun tag which is great for having a think about the 62 books I’ve read so far this year! I cannot actually believe it’s mid-July already, this year is going way to fast for my liking!

Best Book You’ve Read So Far This Year:

This is a really tricky one as I’ve really enjoyed a lot of books this year! I think at the moment its a three way tie between The Tattooist of Auschwitz by Heather Morris, Circe by Madeline Miller and The Hunters by Kat Gordon.

Best Sequel You’ve Read So Far This Year

This one is much easier for me to answer – it’s definitely Us Against You by Fredrik Backman which is the sequel to The Scandal (Beartown in the US). It was so good to return to these characters and find out how their lives have progressed since the traumatic events of the first book.

New Release You Haven’t Read Yet But Want To

I think the new release that I’m most eager to get to is the new Karin Slaughter stand alone book Pieces Of Her. I’ve been approved to read it early on Netgalley and I’m having such a hard time not dropping my current reads and just starting it now because I am such a huge fan of Slaughter’s work! It’s released here in the UK on August 9th.

Most Anticipated Release for the Second Half of the Year

My favourite book of all time is The Book Thief by Markus Zusak so I think my most anticipated release is his upcoming book – Bridge of Clay. It is about five brothers and their absentee father and it sounds great.

 Biggest Disappointment 

This one has to be The Cows by Dawn O’Porter. I really wanted to love this book because I really like and admire the author. I’ve always enjoyed her TV and magazine work but her novel just didn’t impress me at all. The story and characters were odd and it took some really strange twists and turns. Basically I just really did not enjoy it.

Biggest Surprise 

I think my biggest surprise has been Within the Walls by Dre Keeton. I honestly just had no clue what to expect from this book and anything involving romance makes me wary because I can’t stand cheesiness! However the romance in Within The Walls was really well done and the story was fascinating and felt original.

Favourite New Author (Debut or New to You)

I’m going to go with a new-to-me author because I very recently read my first ever Stephen King book – The Outsider and I really loved it. I have always been slightly wary of King’s novels because I am not a big horror fan. I’m a total baby when it comes to horror actually. The Outsider, however, sounded a bit more along the lines of a thriller despite there being some horror elements. I thought it was great and I’ve bought Mr Mercedes by King to read next!

Newest Fictional Crush

I really loved The Wicked Deep by Shea Ernshaw earlier this year and I think my newest fictional crush is Bo! He’s brooding and surly which I very much enjoy but also a bit of a romantic at heart! Plus it’s a super good book.

Newest Favourite Character

I really loved Beck and August from A Thousand Perfect Notes by C. G. Drews. It’s a really great read with humour but also a great deal of darkness and the characters have really stuck with me ever since finishing it.

Book That Made You Cry

I found Sing, Unburied, Sing by Jesmyn Ward a really emotional book to read and it certainly made me shed a few tears. I think it was the juxtaposition between the gorgeous lyrical prose and the incredibly brutal story that made it such a tough read emotionally. It’s a beautiful book that I would highly recommend.

Book That Made You Happy

I very much enjoyed reading The Last Romeo by Justin Myers. I read a lot of dark, gritty books so it made a nice change to read something a bit lighter and with a healthy dose of humour. It’s a fun read about James, a 34 year old Londoner trying to find Mr Right using unconventional means and blogging about this exploits. It wasn’t a perfect book but it was really good!

Favourite Book-To-Movie Adaption You Saw This Year

I don’t actually think I’ve seen any this year yet – I haven’t been to the movies in ages! I am looking forward to watching Love, Simon after I’ve finally gotten around to reading the book. Also I just started watching Anne With an E on Netflix which is the latest Anne of Green Gables adaption and I’m really enjoying it. I did read the book when I was little but I’m not a superfan like many others so I don’t remember much about it which is making watching the series even better!

Favourite Post You’ve Written This Year

Well I’ve really been enjoying the Top Ten Tuesday posts that I have been doing just because I find them really fun to write! I think my favourite has been Top Ten Tuesday: Best Character Names because I find names in fiction and the reasoning behind them fascinating!

The Most Beautiful Book You’ve Bought This Year 

I think this really has to be Circe by Madeline Miller. It is honestly such a gorgeous book with lovely shiny copper colours everywhere!

What Books Do You Need To Read By The End Of The Year

Ahhhh, so many! I definitely want to give Wuthering Heights another try later this year and I would like to get another few classics in. I also really need to read A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J Maas because the bookstagram community seems to adore it!

Well that was really fun! I shall tag some lovely book bloggers below but anyone feel free to join in this really great tag!

LuceRebecca

Bri’s Book Nook

Cosy Book Corner

Mel To The Any

ReadingEveryNight

RomWeasley