i’ve read 64 books so far this year, let’s talk about them | midyear book freakout tag

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Hi friends!

I think by now you know how much I love the mid year book freakout tag. I try and do it every year since I’ve been blogging and it’s always a fun experience to sit and reflect on the past 6ish months of the reading year. If you are interested, I have already done this tag as a video on my booktube channel so check that out if you want to see my face and a little bit more of a chatty tag response video.

It’s currently the 4th of July and I have a read a total of 64 books:

It’s been a pretty awesome reading year so far, with my average rating 4.0 stars.

Let’s get cracking!

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best book you’ve read so far

Like always, I am not going to limit my answers to one book per question because I LITERALLY CANNOT.

I’m going to be honest with you all, I only have given 13 books 5 stars this year so far in 2023. I feel like that’s quite low for me? So, I’m going to mention all of them because they have all been absolutely fantastic books and I. am so happy that I have read them. But before I do that, the absolute best book I have read so far is Bunny by Mona Awad. Magnificent. I read it for the first time this year and then reread it a month afterwards. Incredible. So worth the hype.

But the other 12 books are: Slewfoot by Brom, Lapvona by Ottessa Moshfegh, Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel (reread), The Oleander Sword by Tasha Suri, The Secret Service of Tea and Treason by India Holton, Elektra by Jennifer Saint, Icebreaker by Hannah Grace, Babel by R.F. Kuang, And Every Morning the Way Home Gets Longer and Longer by Fredrik Backman, Time is a Mother by Ocean Vuong, The Marriage Portrait by Maggie O’Farrell, and Furies: stories of the wild, wicked, and untamed (anthology).

These books I wholeheartedly recommend (except maybe Lapvona because that was disgusting) and urge you to read!

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best sequel you’ve read so far

I have three books for this. One I haven’t technically finished and it’s not technically a sequel but a prequel but I think you all will forgive me. The Oleander Sword by Tasha Suri was truly fantastic. Such a wonderful sequel to The Jasmine Throne, which was book one in The Burning Kingdoms Trilogy. It is queer, epic fantasy with an interesting magic system and even more intricate and fascinating political context. Tasha Suri writes exceptional women – they are complicated and complex, ruthless and merciless, and so human. I love them so much. I am both excited and terrified for the next installment.

The next book I would have to say is The Secret Service of Tea and Treason by India Holton. Oh, what a joy this book was. If you don’t know, The Secret Service of Tea and Treason is book three in the Dangerous Damsels series and it is a light fantasy, set in the Victorian period (I think…or was it Regency?) AND it has some of the best romantic and sexual tension I have ever read. THE PINING, THE ‘I’M NOT IN LOVE WITH YOU’ BUT ACTUALLY ARE SO IN LOVE. So perfect. Women pirates with flying houses and witches and spies…what more could you want?

The last is technically a prequal and it is A Day of Fallen Night by Samantha Shannon. This is the prequel to The Priory of the Orange Tree which I read last year and absolutely loved. Although I have not yet finished this as I am writing this – it is spetacular. It is entirely character driven and so wonderfully written. These characters are given so much time and space to develop and showcases the writing talent of Samantha Shannon herself.

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

I have so many but I’m only going to mention three because that won’t overwhelm me. The one that is of top priority is Clytemnestra by Costanza Casati. This is a mythological retelling focusing on the titular character, Clytemnestra, the Queen of Mycenae and wife of Agamemnon (who goes on to lead the Greeks to ‘victory’ against the Trojans) and sister to Helen of Troy. Clytemnestra is a character that fascinates me, ever since I read Elektra by Jennifer Saint.

Another is Love, Theoretically by Ali Hazelwood because it’s Ali Hazelwood. Do I need to say more?

And lastly, Yellowface by Rebecca Kuang. I haven’t yet yead it but I am so looking forward to it. R.F. Kuang is a master of her craft and I have loved everything she has written.

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biggest surprise

Hmm. The three books I’m going to mention are books that I read for the Women’s Prize for Fiction Longlist (reading vlog playlist here) and i was not expecting to love them as much as I did. Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver was absolutely fantastic. The Marriage Portrait by Maggie O’Farrell is one of the best books I have read this year. It was not at all what I imagined and it was stunning. STUNNING. Cursed Bread by Sophie MacIntosh was depraved, chaotic, messy, dramatic, no plot and all the vibes. Another very big surprise!

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most anticipated release for the second half of the year

I have a few but not too many because I don’t want to overwhelm myself lol. Here we go: Resonance Sruge by Nalini Singh, Family Lore by Elizabeth Acevedo, Thornhedge by T. Kingfisher, The Vaster Wilds by Lauren Groff, Starling House by Alix E. Harrow, Alecto the Ninth. byTamsyn Muir, and A Power Unbound by Freya Marske.

SO MANY FANTASTIC RELEASES!

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favourite new author (debut or new to you)

Easy.

You guessed it.

Mona Awad.

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biggest disappointment so far this year

I don’t even have to think about this.

I read Stone Blind by Natalie Hynes and it was so dull and boring and not at all Medusa’s story. I found the writing to be so incredibly mediocre – I was very unimpressed and disappointed. Similarly, Funny You Should Ask by Elissa Sussman was such a stupid romance novel. The hype for this confuses me – no sexual tension or chemistry, a plotline that was so glaringly ridiculous, and writing that I did not vibe with at all. Also, Sorry, Bro by Taleen Voskuni was earth-shatteringly disappointing. This book didn’t know what it wanted to do and there was aspects of the bi rep that felt wierd to me.

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newest fictional crush

The older I get, the worse I think this question is lol. I don’t really have a crush? Maybe Slewfoot.

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newest favourite fictional character

Not necessarily new – but the women of The Oleander Sword by Tasha Suri – Malini, Priya, and Bhumika?! Incredible women in fantasy.

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a book that made you cry

The easy answer is And Every Morning the Way Home Gets Longer and Longer by Fredrik Backman. I actually filmed myself reading this book which you can watch here. I essentially breakdown – what a gorgeous novella about love, ageing, and family.

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a book that made you happy

All of them? I love reading and I love books. I think I said that last year. But I will say that The Secret Service of Tea and Treason by India Holton was a joyous reading experience. I love these characters so much – they are truly comfort characters for me. This book was a magnificent conclusion to the series and I love them.

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most beautiful book you’ve brought so far this year (or received)

I don’t know actually. Maybe Clytemnestra by Costanza Casati as well as Elektra by Jennifer Saint and The Marriage Portrait by Maggie O’Farrell. ALSO A Day of Fallen Night by Samantha Shannon is stunning. Dragons on front covers?! Always a gorgeous sight.

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what books do you need to read by the end of the year?

Alas, one of the most challenging questions.

Obviously, the ones that I’m most excited for mentioned above. Would also love to finish The Shadow Rising by Robert Jordan, the rest of the Thomas Cromwell trilogy, and All’s Well by Mona Awad, just to name a few.

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And that’s it ! I always have so much fun when I do this! I hope you enjoyed! I’ll have the questions below if you would like to comment!

And that’s it for today, friends.

Remember to follow me on instagram and youtube if you want to see more of me!

Until next time, happy reading!

All the love,

allie

xx

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