Hello bookish people,
So today, we are going to do a little game which is a famous booktube tag. It was created by Chami (her youtube channel), and it’s always a pleasure to watch these videos in June. This year, I decide out of the blue to do it.
The concept is simple: you have a series of questions about this first part of the year, and you answer them. Easy, peasy… or not. After you can tag anyone you want, I’m not going to do it, but don’t hesitate to tell me if you’re going to do it.
Let’s go!
Best books you read so far
There are many, but I’m going to say The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas that I read in March and One Last Stop by Casey Mcquiston that I read at the beginning of the month. I was diving in THUG as the story is true to reality, and that I recognised myself in Star. For One Last Stop, I was first happy to read a book from this author. Second, I love everything about it the characters, the plot, the atmosphere, everything!
Full review for THUG (here) and for One Last Stop (here)
Best sequel you’ve read so far
For this one, I couldn’t choose, so you have Rule of Wolves by Leigh Bardugo (read in April), The Mark of Athena by Rick Riordan (read in May and third book in the series), Take a Hint Dani Brown and Act your Age Eve Brown by Talia Hibbert (read in February and April, the second and third book in the trilogy), and finally Heartstopper Volume 4 by Alice Oseman (read in May.) I was surprised by some to like them that much; some were heartbreaking. Others were a pleasure to read, and I liked to discover more details of characters that are sides ones in other books in the series.
Full review for Rule of Wolves (here w/ spoilers) (here w/o spoilers), The Mark of Athena (here), Take a Hint Dani Brown (here), Act your Age Eve Brown (here) and Heartstopper Volume 4 (here.)
New Release you haven’t read yet
The ones that I have and that I am dying to read are Ace of Spades by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé, The Box in the Woods by Maureen Johnson, For the Wolf by Hannah Whitten and Ariadne by Jennifer Saint. You have two young adult mystery/thriller, one young adult fantasy and one mythology retelling. I want to read them as soon as possible, but it will depend on my Olympus TBR game.
You most anticipated releases for the second half of the year
I have a ton of them; I have a list in my reading journal. However, I will choose the two I’m dying to read, and they are entirely different. The first one is Our Violent Ends by Chloe Gong, which will be available on the 16th of November and is the second and last instalment of These Violent Delights published at the end of last year. The story was set in Shanghai in 1926. It was so atmospheric, I loved it, and I can’t wait to grab a copy of the second book and dive back right in. The second book is Under The Whispering Door by T.J. Klune, which will be available on the 21st of September. I discover the author this year with The House in the Cerulean Sea, and when I find out about that new book, I wanted to read it right away, but the waiting ends soon. I also need to read his other books, but this one first as I am prepared to cry.
Biggest disappointment of the year so far
I have some other, but one directly that came to my mind while writing this post is Firekeeper’s Daughter by Angeline Boulley. I didn’t like it as much as I would have liked. I liked how you discover the Ojibwe community with their traditions and everything. Still, I didn’t like the story in itself. I didn’t imagine it like that. Some actions don’t have any purpose for the plot, and I was constantly forgetting the main character’s age as I found her childish. Also, I feel like I miss a thing with this book as many people liked it, and I love the cover, so yeah, I am sad.
Full review of Firekeeper’s daughter (here)
Biggest surprise of the year so far
For me, it will be The Words I Never Wrote by Jane Thynne. Even if I wasn’t in the mood to read historical WWII fiction, I was surprised by the story’s construction. As some people know, I am not fond of dual timeline in historical fiction as I found them not well-done or there is no purpose for it. However, here I was amazed by how it was done. So yeah, this book enters in this category.
Fyll review of The Words I Never Wrote (here)
Favourite new author
I am not someone that read a book and the author become her favourite right away. I want to read at least another one before declaring this author my favourite. However, I have some on my list of why not: Alix E. Harrow, T.J. Klune, Angie Thomas, and Talia Hibbert.
Newest fictional crush
None! I am not someone who will have a fictional crush. When it happens, it’s because the book series become a TV show, and I like how the actor interprets a character that I like. If it’s that, I will say, “Fine, make me your villain.” as Ben Barnes had done a great job incarnate the Darkling.
Newest characters that I like
For this one, I only have one, and it’s Zoya. I discover her a lot more in the King of Scars duology by Leigh Bardugo, and I like her so much. As I find out about her, I found her fierce even if she has some vulnerability, and there is one thing that we have in common: the fact to hide everything. I liked her from the first chapter of King of Scars and was sad to not knowing her before but seeing her through Alina’s eyes.
Book that makes you cry so far
This is a tricky question for me as I am hypersensitive, so… I easily cry. However, two books make me really cry: Heartstopper Volume 4 by Alice Oseman and Home Body by Rupi Kaur. The first one is the most difficult one to read in the series: be prepared; some heavy trigger warnings. The second one because it resonates with me.
Full review of Heartstopper Volume 4 (here) and Home Body (here)
Books that make you happy so far
There are three The Authenticity Project by Clare Pooley, Act your Age Eve Brown by Talia Hibbert and One Last Stop by Casey Mcquiston. I don’t know what else to say!
Full review for The Authenticity Project (here), Act your Age Eve Brown (here) and One Last Stop (here)
Most beautiful books you had bought this year so far
There are three of them Firekeeper’s Daughter by Angeline Boulley, Winter’s Orbit by Everine Maxwell and Ace of Spades by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé. They are totally different, but I liked their colour schemes, and I don’t know I have a pull toward their cover. I just hope that I will not be disappointed by the two I have not read yet, like for Firekeeper’s Daughter.
What books you need to read by the end of the year?
The best thing will be to read all the books I have on my unread shelves by the end of the year, but I know that it will not be possible as I have too much of them. However, the rest of the year, my goals are to read the second book in the Shade of Magic trilogy by V.E. Schwab and finish the Greek/Roman mythology part of Rick Riordan’s books. Also, I want to continue the Series of Unfortunate Events series. Still, I don’t mind if I am not finishing it this year but at least read until the tenth book.
I’ve finish!! It was a good thing to do to see where I am at the near end of June. It was a pleasure to dive back into all the books I read since January and make a choice, even if sometimes it was difficult. I rediscover books that I forget that I read this year and not in 2020. It was funny to do!
As I say at the beginning, do not hesitate to do it if you want to as I am not tagging anyone, it means that I’m tagging whoever wants to do it.
See you soon,
Liz.
Books & Reviews 