Mid-Year Freak Out Tag: 2021 Edition

Can you believe that 2021 is almost over?! Almost 4 months and we will be in 2022. Does anyone else still feel like they are stuck in March of 2020? Will I ever stop feeling this way? Stay tuned to find out. Anyway, it is that time of year again! Well, I am a little late this year, but I have done this tag the past two years and I am not going to break my streak now. It is time to FREAK OUT with the Mid-Year Freak Out Tag. And this year, I have a lot of freaking out to do because, if you haven’t noticed I have been in a multi-month long reading and life slump.

BUT, if you have followed me for a while you know that I always have confidence and belief that I can still reach my goals. Again, stay tuned to find out!

Anyway, now for the embarrassing reality of numbers. Every year I set my Goodreads goal for 50 books… let’s see how I am doing.

15 books behind schedule! I am KILLING it! Last year I was only 3 books behind schedule and I didn’t even complete my goal then. Do I still have hope? ABSOLUTELY! You can never get rid of my hope! Hey, Hope is the only thing stronger than fear… right? ; )

Okay, not that you know how poorly I am doing, and how much ground I need to make up. Let’s get into the questions, shall we?

Best Book Read in 2021

I haven’t actually read a lot of books so far this year… unfortunately. Only 16! So, I haven’t exactly found THAT book. That book that will be my favorite of the year. But I did read Girls of Paper and Fire by Natasha Ngan and I really loved it. The world-building was so full and luscious. And even better, the characterization was there as well, which, as we all know, is most important for me. I will be eagerly looking forward to reading the sequel! Whenever I end up picking up a book again…

Best Sequel You Have Read so far in 2021

Hey look, the same book I put last year! But this time I have actually finished it… a year later! This was a reread of Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins because it is my favorite series, so why not. But, it is also the only sequel I read this year, so that helped with the decision to put it with this prompt as well.

New Release You Haven’t Read yet, but Want To

I have had my eye on this book ever since the cover reveal last year. What can I say, I am a sucker for pretty book art. But now I finally have my hands on a copy of The Ones We’re Meant to Find by Joan He, and it is at the very top of my TBR. I have heard nothing but good things about this book.

Most Anticipated Release for the Second Half of 2021

I am always immediately drawn to thriller and paranormal books, so when I learned about To Break a Covenant by Alison Ames, I was totally stoked! It is about a group of witches and a haunted mine, what can be better? All I see on Goodreads from early readers are positive things.

For all the most anticipated releases in YA for all of 2021, look at this post by Perpetual Page Turner! Also, check out this post on She Reads for even more!

Biggest Dissapointment

I have mentioned this before, but with Red Rising by Pierce Brown being one of the first books I added to my TBR when I created my Goodreads account all those years ago, now that I have finally read it, I am severely disappointed. It was a 2 star read for me. I was intrigued in the beginning and then I wanted to fall asleep for the other 85% of the book. Nothing happened. They fight. Grrr, aggression. That’s it.

Biggest Surprise

My biggest surprise read was Kingdom of the Wicked by Kerrie Maniscalco for the sole reason that I hated Stalking Jack the Ripper. I did find a lot of the same issues in this book that I did in Stalking Jack the Ripper in regards to characterization, but I think the world and the princes of hell helped a lot.

Check out my review of Stalking Jack the Ripper here!

Favorite New Author

I tend not to read in the middle-grade category, but I have been trying to read more lately because I am thinking of starting to write in that age category myself. So, I wasn’t expecting much when I picked up We Dream of Space by Erin Entrada Kelly. However, I ended up thoroughly enjoying it. I loved the premise it surrounded and I love the look at how the flight and crash of the Challenger spaceship impacted young people. Erin Entrada Kelly was able to interest me in a story meant for younger audiences. I love that quality and hope I can have that in my work as well.

Newest Fictional Crush… Setting

I don’t really have any fictional crushes… I’m sorry! So, for this prompt, I will be talking about my favorite setting in a book that I have read so far this year, and that will be Lock Every Door by Riley Sager. I am going to be honest, no matter creepy the idea of living in an apartment with all those weird rules, I would absolutely think about taking that chance simply to live in such a fancy and famous apartment building. It was a fun setting to read about. 10/10 would recommend.

Newest Favorite Character

In this case, I am going to talk about my favorite characters! The two main characters from A Song Below Water by Bethany C. Morrow, Tavia and Effie, are my absolute favorite characters this year. I love reading about strong friendship, and sisterly, bonds between characters, and this relationship was one of the strongest I have ever read. So if you value those relationships in books, read this!

Book That Made you Cry

Reading a book written by one of the Exonerated Five was really special, and I am so glad Yusef Salaam gave readers a small peak into their brain. Punching the Air by Ibi Zoboi and Yusef Salaam follows a young black boy who was wrongfully incarcerated. You get a deep look into the mind of this character and it is absolutely heartbreaking. With the verse style of writing, I was swept away by the emotions of the story. I highly recommend this book to everyone.

Book That Made you Happy

This hasn’t been my favorite read of the year, but From Twinkle, with Love by Sandhya Menon was such an upbeat novel with a positive message, I had to mention it here. I think It was a little too young in the writing, and the main character, Twinkle, was uncommunicative, which frustrates me a lot while reading, but I loved the ending, and the lessons all the characters learn on the way.

Most Beautiful Book you Bought so far This Year

I don’t think I have to say much about this cover. I like books. Library of the Unwritten by A. J. Hackwith has that. Like, does this cover not make you want to immediately pick this book up? Because I added this to my cart before I even read the description.

What Books do you Need to Read by the end of the Year

Oh, so many books I have to read. Every year I create my list of books I really want to read in that year. Well, if you look over my 21 Books to Read in 2021, you will see that I have read exactly one of them! Yay, go me! Only 20 more to go! Almost there.

These are the books I will prioritize over the next couple of months. Here I have pictured only 5 of them because all of the book covers would take over the entire post.

Well, I feel thoroughly freaked out. There are so many books I still want to read over the rest of the year! But I am going to look at this in a positive light. THERE ARE SO MANY BOOKS I GET TO READ OVER THE REST OF THE YEAR! There is nothing better than having a lot of books to read!

How was your first portion of the year? Are you excited about anything you have to read over the last couple of months of 2021? Let me know in the comments below!

Thanks!