2023 Mid-Year Book Freak Out Tag

Whew - this year is flying by! According to Goodreads, I'm behind in my reading, and this is not a surprise to me. I've read some amazing books this year, though, so hopefully I have enough to share in this tag today. I love the mid-year freak out tag so consider yourself tagged, and please leave me a link if you have posted yours or come back to me and give me a link after you've posted!

1. Best book you’ve read so far in 2023?

The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi by Shannon Chakraborty - I can't imagine this book will be topped this year. It's wonderful.{My review of The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi}

 

2. Best sequel you’ve read so far in 2023?

In an Absent Dream by Seanan McGuire - This is book #4 in the Wayward Children series and a reread. I really need to get back to my reread of the series! {My reread review of In an Absent Dream and my original review of In an Absent Dream.}

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

Ugh! My list of books I haven't read just continues to grow. Here are a few highly anticipated books I still haven't read.

Hell Bent by Leigh Bardugo - I really enjoyed Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo and even reread it at the beginning of the year so I would be ready to read Hell Bent, but I still haven't read it!

Lost in the Moment and Found by Seanan McGuire - I'm planning to read this as soon as I finish my reread of the Wayward Children books which I just mentioned I need to get back to!

Deep as the Sky, Red as the Sea by Rita Chang-Eppig - This was just released the last week of May, and I can't wait to read it!

4. Most anticipated release for the second half of 2023?

Black Sheep by Rachel Harrison - I think Black Sheep is probably the release I'm most looking forward to reading!

5. Biggest disappointment?

In the Lives of Puppets by T.J. Klune - Oof. This one hurts because it just didn't meet my expectations. I know there is an audience for this. T.J. Klune is such a great writer, and I love the messages in his books. I just don't personally like the types of tropes that were used in In the Lives of Puppets. {My review of In the Lives of Puppets}

6. Biggest surprise?

Chlorine by Jade Song was the biggest surprise for me. It's a literary fiction/horror novel which is absolutely what drew me in, but the structure and the experience was such a surprise for me. The horror was late to emerge, and the way the story disturbed me and captivated me made it such a great read. {My review of Chlorine}

7. New favorite author?

I'm going to have to say Emily Henry. I've read two books by Emily Henry that I loved this year and I plan to read more!

8. Newest fictional crush?

Once again I have no idea how to answer this one! Most of the books I read have characters that I shouldn't be crushing on.

9. Newest favorite character?

I struggled with my answer to this one because I've read several amazing books with amazing characters this year, but I'm going to go with Luffy from One Piece. I honestly need to devote a lot more of my reading time to One Piece. Luffy's dream is to be the King of the Pirates, and he's out in the world being a pirate, gathering his crew, and living his dream. His loyalty to his crew is something I love. (This is the third pirate book on this post 😆)

10. Book that made you cry?

Both of these! I don't have a clue how Emily Henry does it, but she made me cry reading both Book Lovers and Beach Read and I don't think they are supposed to be sad!

11. Book that made you happy?

The The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi by Shannon Chakraborty made me so happy. So, so happy. Every word was perfect for me. {My review of The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi}

12. Favorite book to movie adaptation you’ve seen so far this year?

I'm cheating because this was a video game not a book before being adapted, but it's so good! I'm obsessed with The Last of Us.

13. Favorite review you’ve written this year?

Not a review, but my favorite post so far this year is my Most Anticipated Debut Novels of 2023 post.

14. Most beautiful book you bought this year?

Tress of the Emerald Sea by Brandon Sanderson is absolutely the most beautiful book I have bought so far this year.

15. What books do you really need to read by the end of this year?

I think my goal right now is to not have any need to read books. I want to get back to extreme mood reading and using my TBR jar. No review copies, no new releases pressure... Just me and a stack of books that sound good at the moment.

And that's it for my 2023 mid-year freak out! I can't wait to read yours if you post one!

Most Anticipated Books for the 2nd Half of 2023

I am very excited about today's Top Ten Tuesday. I feel like I've been under a rock lately so I'm really looking forward to seeing the posts in the community this week. I'm cheating and including 12. Let me know if any of these are on your radar or if you add them today!

The Narrow by Kate Alice Marshall

Looking Glass Sound by Catriona Ward

Black Sheep by Rachel Harrison

Bookshops & Bonedust by Travis Baldree

The Nighthouse Keeper by Lora Senf

The Reformatory by Tananarive Due

Defiant by Brandon Sanderson

Wild Spaces by S.L. Coney

Red Rabbit by Alex Grecian

Good Bad Girl by Alice Feeney

The River We Remember by William Kent Krueger

Foxglove by Adalyn Grace

Recent Updates and Currently Reading | June 25

Hello, friends! I hope you all are having an excellent weekend. We have had a weekend full of fun. ❤️ Friday we went to play virtual sports which was a blast. It's basically sports video games on a movie screen where you are actually hitting golf balls or throwing baseballs, footballs, dodgeballs, etc. into the screen. Our favorite was playing dodgeball against zombies. 😆 Then we spent most of yesterday at the pool.

My 14yo and I are playing a game called Subnautica. I cannot explain why it's so scary. 😆 "Descend into the depths of an alien underwater world filled with wonder and peril. Craft equipment, pilot submarines and out-smart wildlife to explore lush coral reefs, volcanoes, cave systems, and more - all while trying to survive." It's so much fun, but you truly get that feeling like you are going to run out of air or get attacked by the creatures of the vast deep. The good news is if you die, you just respawn lol.

Have you/are you posting the Mid-Year Freak Out Tag this month? If so - can you please send me your link? You can just pop your link into my comments here or anywhere or email me? I just really want to see what everyone is loving right now! I may try to round them all up into a post to share ❤️📚 (Here's my post from last year if you need the questions. I didn't start this tag, but I love it.)

Finished Reading

Night's Edge by Liz Kerin - This is both a dnf and a recommendation. Night's Edge is fun and interesting and well written. It's like a zombie apocalypse book, but the plague is vampires. I'm in a terrible headspace right now and there's a lot of blood and some scenes aren't leaving my head which will absolutely appeal to the right horror readers. I'm just not that reader at the moment, and my review won't gain anything by me continuing to read it. If a mother/daughter vampire plague novel sounds like a book you need, pick this one up!

Below by Laurel Hightower ⭐⭐⭐⭐★ - I enjoyed this one, and it was a quick read which is perfect for me right now. Review soon!

Currently Reading

The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern - After dnf'ing two books in a row last week, I threw out the entire TBR and started listening to this from my library. I think I'm going to love it.

What Lies in the Woods by Kate Alice Marshall - This was another pick out of my TBR jar. All of my green papers are 2023 purchases, and I'm so glad I pulled What Lies in the Woods! I love Kate Alice Marshall's books so much.

Added to the TBR

She Started It by Sian Gilbert - This was my June Book of the Month pick. I don't know much about it, but it sounded good when I picked it!

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This post is being shared as part of The Sunday Salon at Readerbuzz, Book Date’s It's Monday! What Are You Reading? and Caffeinated Book Reviewer's The Sunday Post.

Recent Updates and Currently Reading | June 4

Do you have a TBR jar? I have a vase filled with colored papers containing a lot of my unread books. Each color represents a genre so I can still select based on my mood. I don't get to use my jar very often, but I try my best to keep it filled with books I've purchased.

We started watching Silo on Apple TV. I'm enjoying it so far. The actors are great, and it's cool getting to revisit the series. It feels a little weird to be in a dystopian world since we don't get many stories like this one any more.

This week's update is super short since I still have a lot of work stress that is occupying my mind. We set up a new bird feeder yesterday so I'm hoping to sit outside today, calm the mind, and enjoy some reading.

Posted Last Week

Book Review | City of Ghosts by Victoria Schwab ⭐⭐⭐⭐★ - I enjoyed this middle grade horror - recommended!

Finished Reading

56 Days by Catherine Ryan Howard [dnf] - I was really in the mood for a thriller this week so I pulled a thriller paper out of my TBR jar. For some reason I didn't realize this book was set during COVID. I knew there was a lockdown but I didn't realize it was THE lockdown. Anyway. I only made it 40 pages. There were references to other things like the Challenger explosion and 9/11, and that wasn't the mood I was going for at all. I need fictional escapes right now. I was worried about what else the author was going to rely on so I noped out.

Currently Reading

Night's Edge by Liz Kerin - I'm enjoying this! This is actually a pandemic book, too, but it's vampires - not COVID - so it's all good! The blurb on the cover says it's going to break my heart into pieces, but for now my heart is happy.

Below by Laurel Hightower - We are reading this over on the Horror Spotlight discord. This is my first Laurel Hightower book - I'm excited about it!

Added to the TBR

The Frugal Wizard’s Handbook for Surviving Medieval England by Brandon Sanderson - My beautiful kickstarter edition of The Frugal Wizard's Handbook for Surviving Medieval England has arrived. It's so colorful throughout the whole book!

Below by Laurel Hightower - I'm trying to be a frugal wizard as well right now so I grabbed the ebook of this novella. Already regretting not having a physical copy. :)

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This post is being shared as part of The Sunday Salon at Readerbuzz, Book Date’s It's Monday! What Are You Reading? and Caffeinated Book Reviewer's The Sunday Post.

Review | City of Ghosts by Victoria Schwab

Source: personal purchase. This is a review of my reading experience.

City of Ghosts is a middle grade horror novel by Victoria Schwab.

Cassidy Blake's parents are The Inspecters, a (somewhat inept) ghost-hunting team. But Cass herself can REALLY see ghosts. In fact, her best friend, Jacob, just happens to be one.

When The Inspecters head to ultra-haunted Edinburgh, Scotland, for their new TV show, Cass—and Jacob—come along. In Scotland, Cass is surrounded by ghosts, not all of them friendly. Then she meets Lara, a girl who can also see the dead. But Lara tells Cassidy that as an In-betweener, their job is to send ghosts permanently beyond the Veil. Cass isn't sure about her new mission, but she does know the sinister Red Raven haunting the city doesn't belong in her world. Cassidy's powers will draw her into an epic fight that stretches through the worlds of the living and the dead, in order to save herself.

Yay! I'm so happy to have finally read City of Ghosts. I have so many Schwab books that I still haven't read including this trilogy. To be fair, I bought the rest of the trilogy after my son loved this first book, but I have no good excuses for not having read them myself.

We had a bad storm here, and I needed a horror to lose myself in, and this book called out to me.

City of Ghosts is a middle grade horror novel, but it definitely has wide appeal. It has my favorite MG elements: ghosts and friendships.

Cassidy Blake has the ability to walk between worlds and see ghosts. There was a wonderful balance between the living and the dead. City of Ghosts is creepy but also an entertaining story and well crafted.

I'm absolutely adding City of Ghosts to my list of recommended middle grade horror books.

⭐⭐⭐⭐★
4/5 stars

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