2021 Mid-Year Book Freak Out Tag! 📚🥰

Hello lovelies! 🥰

It’s here! My favorite tag of the year is finally here! 🥳 I love watching videos, posts, pictures, etc. of the Mid-year Book Freak Out tag and I finally sat down and wrote mine!

This photo represents what I’ve been doing: forever reaching for a new book.

Here are a few stats: 
I have read 53 books out of my goal of 70, which means that I am 15 days ahead of schedule. 
Last year I managed to read 57 books in the year. I am such a slow reader and these 53 books are really a huge achievement for me! 🥳

In 2020, I didn't really have all-time favourite books or books I was obsessed with, whereas in 2021, I have discovered so many new authors and so many amazing books which pleasantly surprised me (but let's not get ahead of ourselves). 
The 53 books make a total of 18 432 pages, which is mind-blowing if you think about it 🤯. 

So, without further ado, let's dive into my 2021 mid-year book freak out tag! 🥰

1. BEST BOOK YOU’VE READ SO FAR IN 2021

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My whole brand is loving Legendborn by Tracy Deonn. I can’t believe I’ve only read this wonderful book only this year. I think I convinced or more like harassed so many people that they gave in so I would stop talking about this book. My sister gifted it to me on Christmas because it was published late 2020 and I had heard good things and the synopsis really intrigued me. But I did not expect to fall head over heels in love with this book. I – even scoured internet and I found a signed special edition!!! I was THRILLED. How could someone sell that? I cannot recommend this book enough or explain why it means so much to me. If you still haven’t read it, please do! For more details, here’s my review!!

2. BEST SEQUEL YOU’VE READ SO FAR IN 2021

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I read so many great sequels but the two that stood out the most to me were Act your Age, Eve Brown by Talia Hibbert and Always Only You by Chloe Liese. 
I get teary-eyed just thinking about how amazing both of these books were in terms of autistic representation. Seeing these neurodiverse women getting into a relationship and seeing that they were deserving and worthy of love was truly life-changing. Do yourself a favor and read both of these, especially since they are perfect summer reads! 

3. NEW RELEASE YOU HAVEN’T READ YET, BUT WANT TO

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Oh sooo many! Some are sitting on my shelves, and some are in my wishlist but these are the ones I want to read soon!

4. MOST ANTICIPATED RELEASE FOR THE SECOND HALF OF THE YEAR

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The first half of the year was amazing in terms of new releases (you can see a list of my most anticipated releases here) but some of books I can't for in the second  half of the year are: 
Lore Olympus because I'm a sucker for a good Hades and Persephone retelling and I love the webtoon so much.I can't wait to finally hold the printed version in my hands! 

You've Reached Sam: I have an eARC for this one and I only heard amazing things. It's marketed as inspired by the movie Your Name which made me cry sooo hard. That is kind of why I haven't read it yet. I am not emotionally ready.

So Many Beginnings.  A Little Women retelling with black girls? yes, yes this is what I want. 

With You Forever by Chloe Liese. As previously stated, I have a new obsession with Chloe Liese and I can't wait to read this book, especially since it has the marriage of convenience trope + the grump/sunshine dynamic. I am going to lose it.

A Shadow in the Ember by Jennifer L. Armentrout. I can't wait to find more about the universe painted in  the From Blood And Ash universe and I'm obsessed with everything JLA writes so I'm sure this won't disappoint.

5. BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENT

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The Ones We’re Meant to Find by Joan He. No one wanted to love this book more than I did. I was following the author on Twitter, entered giveaways, heard the gushing reviews, saw all the pretty special editions and bought it as soon ad it was released. I also couldn’t resist that cover. Unfortunately, I don’t know why but I was just disappointed by that *big reveal* that everyone talked about, I also didn’t care for the characters and what was happening to them. There’s also the fact that a lot of things didn’t make sense to me by the end. I wish the book were a little longer to expand on some aspects and explore the futuristic setting more/

6. BIGGEST SURPRISE

The Poppy War by R. F Kuang. This book???? Oh. my. God. Cherelle @A Bolt out of the Book is obsessed with this series with good reason because I have never read a book as amazing as this one. I am still in awe of how amazing it is and I am hoping to read the next one in August. My heart still hasn’t recovered.

I fell down a historical -romance-rabbit-hole I never want to get out of. Bringing Down The Duke and The Viscount Who Loved Me made me believe in love. I am ready to give up spinsterhood. Seriously.

There’s also the awakenong provided by Your Dad Will Do by Katee Robert:

Spoiler: it did. It totally did.

7. NEW FAVOURITE AUTHOR (DEBUT OR NEW TO YOU)

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I AM OBSESSED WITH Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé. She wrote the first draft of Ace of Spades when she was 1, in her first year of college. She’s brilliant. We are the same age and I resonate with so many of the issues she talks about on social media and the shared experience of being a Black girl in predominantly white areas/schools. I realized I needed more authors who “get” me and she definitely is that for me. Reading Ace of Spades is a life-changing experience. If you haven’t read it yet, please do!

8. UNDERRATED GEMS YOU’VE DISCOVERED RECENTLY

Excuse Me While I Ugly was SO MUCH BETETR than I anticipated and I feel like it’s not being talked about as much as it should be. This was such a breath of fresh air in the YA contemporary scene. That also makes me think that I still haven’t written a review for the book, which is criminal.

9. REREADS THIS YEAR

I am not part of the team that rereads because because I am such a slow reader and my TBR is never-ending so I do not have the time. But who knows? That might change in the future, who knows?

10. BOOK THAT MADE YOU CRY

You Should See Me in a Crown by Leah Johnson and Ace of Spades by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé had me bawling my eyes out because I could see so much of myself in these books and these characters and that made me so emotional.

11. BOOK THAT MADE YOU HAPPY

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Did anyone say “serotonin“? these books will give that to you!!

12. Favorite posts you have done this year?

I did *not* post often this year but I am very proud of the posts I published!

• Let’s talk about giving bad reviews on ARCs! – Discussion Post
• Act Your Age, Eve Brown by Talia Hibbert – Book review aka my new favourite romance! 
• Shadow and Bone Meet and Greet – My experience!
• Blood Like Magic by Liselle Sambury – Book review!

Feel free to post your own take on the tag in the comments so I can do some blog hopping! 🥰