The Mid-Year Freak Out Tag- 2018 Edition #MidYearFreakOut #BookTag #Reading #Reviews #2018 #Blogging #Books

I came across this tag on the brilliant blog ChrissiReads. If you are not following her already then get over there now and show your support! I am trying to do more book tags as they are incredibly satisfying so I thought I would start with the Mid-Year Freakout tag. It is good to reflect on 6 months of reading, to acknowledge the good and bad reads to clear our minds for another busy summer of constant reading. Enjoy the tag, take part and link your posts to this one so I can read them.

Mid-Year Freakout Book Tag

Best Book Read So Far in 2018

I want to say this was a hard choice… but it wasn’t. If you haven’t read Ed McDonald’s Raven’s Mark series then you need to get on it. It is rare to see a sequel kick the original’s arse but here we are. So good!

Best Sequel

I thought I would go with Ravencry again but It Devours deserves this spot. Welcome To Night Vale is as absurd as it is brillaint. I wasn’t a fan of the first novel but It Devours was genius and I couldn’t get enough. A fresh start for the novelisation of the most random alternative universe I have ever discovered.

New 2018 Release You Have Not Read Yet

I know the hardback came out in 2017 but the paperback has just been released so still counts. More to the point, I cannot believe I still haven’t read this yet! I am a Joe Hill mega-fan. N0S4R2, Heart Shaped Box, Horns, The Fireman are all superb. Hill’s ghost story collection is brilliant as well. Why haven’t I picked up Strange Weather? I don’t actually know! I need to do some soul-searching 😀

Most Anticipated Read of 2018 That Hasn’t Come Out Yet

I hate that I still have about 7 weeks until this reaches my clutches. I have not shut up about this books for the last few weeks and I have no plans to stop. I am going to re-read Darien just to prep myself for this epic release. Fantasy at its best!

Biggest Disappointment

American Gods is a tricky novel because I don’t consider it a huge disappointment but it definitely did not meet my expectations, no where near. I had put this novel up on a pedestal because of its mythology roots and I was a bit meh about it. It isn’t bad by any means but I was massively underwhelmed after finishing it.

Biggest Surprise

I read this with Beth at BiblioBeth and we had a great time. It is skin-crawling Non-Fiction, much like Under The Knife, but it was excellent. Incredibly informative and unbelievably eye-opening. We were definitely impressed!

Favourite New To Me Author

Sarah Maria Griffin was a pleasant discovery and I was glad to be able to share my positive thoughts about her brilliant debut novel. This is a must read for all fiction fans and if this is Griffin’s mind just warming up then I can’t wait to see what she is capable of next!

Newest Fictional Crush

I don’t tend to fancy fictional characters so I’ll move swiftly on!

Book That Made You Cry

Broken Branches almost broke me! I connected with the narrative in all the wrong ways and it did upset me quite a bit. Great book though! M. Jonathan Lee is on the up and up and you should definitely check him out!

Book That Made You Happy

This made me happy because Danny is battling rudeness which is something that I, and many others, detest. This is a huge step forward for our culture and I hope Wallace’s words ring out far and wide!

Most Beautiful Book You Bought

This shouldn’t technically count because I haven’t actually bought it. I do stare at it everyday in the window of the bookshop, umming and arrghiing about whether I can afford it. It has almost become a ritual but one day I do intend on owning this book. This picture doesn’t do the real quality of this cover any justice at all.

Books You Have to Read in the Rest of 2018

Just seeing if you are still paying attention 😀

Thank you for coming by my blog for another book tag attempt. I can’t believe we are already over halfway through 2018. What a year for books it has been so far and it only gets better. I hope you enjoyed this tag and make sure you take part yourself if you haven’t already. Reading is such a huge part of my existence and it is always good to celebrate it whenever I can, pop back again very soon for more book tag posts like the NetGalley book tag which was a lot of fun to put together!