Hi everyone! I haven’t done a book tag in SUCH A LONG TIME but I’ve been super excited about so many books this year! This has been such a slow year for me, but I’ve actually read some pretty good books so far!
1. How much have you read?
I’ve read a whopping 18 books so far this year (seriously, it’s been slow) and honestly I was surprised by this. Especially with social isolation, I totally thought I would have read more, but I’m at less than half of what I read last year! I feel like I just haven’t been in the mood for reading as much, and I have so much other work to get done. I am hoping to read more throughout the rest of the year!
2. Best book you’ve read so far
I loved so many books this year but my favorite has to be Chain of Gold! I LOVE all of Cassandra Clare’s books but this really impressed me. I’m really happy with the new cast of character’s and the plot with Grace Blackthorn seems like something interesting to explore in the next book! I love James and Cordelia, and I’m also excited to see what happens to them and their relationship, especially with that (kind of) plot twist at the end!
3. Best sequel you’ve read so far
Surprisingly, I haven’t actually had many sequels this year! I was looking at my Goodreads, and realized that the first sequel I’ve read, is the book I’m currently reading right now. Which is…Aurora Burning! I am loving it a lot though, but still haven’t gotten to the end (with the supposed infamous cliffhanger)! I’m absolutely love the relationship between Aurora and Kal and of course, the others as well. I can already tell that there’s going to be a lot of action in this one, and I’m hoping to finish it soon!
4. New release you haven’t read yet, but want to
I’ve wanted to read Song of Wraiths and Ruins for the LONGEST TIME, but somehow I never though to read it! I swear I’ve seen it everywhere, but I just never had any time on my hands to read it. I borrow a lot of books from the library with (huge) wait times and 14 day loans, so with my slow reading this year, I haven’t had that much flexibility in my reading!
5. Most anticipated release for the second half of the year
I need Blood and Honey in my hands RIGHT NOW after loving Lou and Reid in Serpent and Dove! Their relationship is really interesting with the divisions between the witches and witch hunters, and I’m looking forward to seeing more of them! I’m so unbelievably jealous with everyone with e-arcs and I don’t know how I’m going to wait any longer for it.
6. Biggest Disappointment
I was so so disappointed by Bone Crier’s Moon! I fell in love with the concept of the book and bought it for it’s beautiful cover, but couldn’t make myself like it! I couldn’t connect with any of the characters, and the main romantic relationship made absolutely no sense. Now it’s literally just going to gather dust on my shelf.
7. Biggest Surprise
I was really surprised by Sorcery of Thorns! I actually read An Enchantment of Ravens last year, and stopped at a couple chapters after getting distracted with something else. I felt like Sorcery of Thorns was so much more captivating than her other books, and it is definitely one of my favorite standalones of all times. The relationships and friendships throughout the story really propel the plot forward, and there is a ton of action that kept me hooked.
8. Favorite New Author
My new favorite author has to be Shelby Mahurin! I fell in love with the world of Serpent and Dove and her writing is really good! I loved the snarkiness of Lou mixed with the “properness” or Reid, and like I said before, the characters really made the story amazing. I’m obsessed with any book with hate-to-love in it, and this was no exception.
9. New Fictional Crush
There are SO MANY! I can’t just list one, so I’ll go ahead and list some of my favorites. I am absolutely in love with Tyler from Aurora Rising, Ruhn from House of Earth and Blood, and Kasta from The Kinder Poison.
10. Newest Favorite Character
Technically it isn’t a new favorite character because it’s a reread, but I’m still going to make it count since he wasn’t a favorite character on my first read. And it’s the Darkling. I am obsessed with him as a villain, and I’m totally rooting for him and Alina even with that ending (no spoilers though)! His strange obsession with Alina is really intriguing and I’m super interested in rereading the rest of the series!
11. Book that made you cry
Okay this is a repeat of one of the books mentioned before, but I think this is the only one that made me cry a little. The ending of House of Earth and Blood is PHENOMENAL and I’d seriously recommend it to anyone who’s looking for a new fantasy to add to their TBR. It has a bit of a slow start, but the pacing quickens rapidly at the end, which is definitely a 5 star in my eyes.
12. Book that made you happy
A lot of books made me happy this year, but I’m going to cheat again and say that my reread of ACOMAF made me the most happy. It’s such a feel-good book and my obsession with the characters makes me smile every time I pick it up! Feyre’s development is amazing and the Inner Circle has to be one of my favorite bookish “gangs” of all time.
13. Most beautiful book you’ve bought so far this year (or received)
There are so many beautiful books I bought, but my favorite has to be the Fairyloot editions of The Cruel Prince and The Wicked King. I mean just look at them!
13. What books do you need to read by the end of the year?
I have so many books I want to get to, but here are just three of my top ones! These books have been on my back-list for months (or even years) and I’m just hoping to get to them by the end of the year (after continuously promising myself I would get to them every single month)!
And that’s it for this tag! This was so fun to do and I’m definitely going to try to do more of them in the future! Let me know your answers to any of these questions, or if you agree/disagree with any of my choices!
Happy Reading!
-Allison
oh man!! good luck with the books you want to read by the end of the year! Priory is SUCH A CHUNKER that scares me too! but I though King of Scars was okay, and I have City of Brass on my tbr for July and it’s definitely an anticipated 5 star read!
Thanks Mel! and I KNOW! priory is so intimidating that it’s literally been on my shelf for over a year haha.
I’m super glad you enjoyed the others as well! Hopefully we’ll both get to City of Brass and love it! 🙂
The Priory of the Orange Tree terrifies me as well! It’s so hyped, but at the same time, the book resembles an actual brick and I’m not sure how willing I am to invest in it. Hope the rest of the year goes well for you!
Yes! That’s the only reason why I haven’t gotten to it yet! I totally agree with you that it’s such a big investment, even though I know I’m going to like it.
Happy reading to you as well!
Oh my, the Fairy Loot’s editions are wonderful!! 😍 And I have a lot of those books on my TBR, they aren’t a priority right now sadly, because so many books and so little time! But I really hope to read Serpent & Dove and The City of Brass at least this year!
Yes they’re lovely!! I always have WAY too many books on my TBR, and it’s always hard to narrow things down!
I do hope you enjoy Serpent and Dove, and hopefully we’re both able to get to City of Brass this year!
I hope you get to read, and enjoy, the three books that you want to by the end of the year. I seriously can’t wait to get them read too. And I can’t believe that I haven’t read some of these yet, especially House Of Blood & Earth (which sounds incredible) and Chain Of Gold, although in that case I’m planning to reread The Infernal Devices first which is kind of why. I have such high hopes for both though.
Thanks Charlotte! And you HAVE TO READ House of Earth and Blood and Chain of Gold (they’re so good)! But I totally agree that it’s a good idea to read The Infernal Devices first. I went straight into it, and it did take me a little bit to adjust back into that world.
Hope you like both when you get a chance to read them!
That wonderful to hear and it’s been so long since I first read them that I definitely did think it was probably best to refresh my memory with a reread first. I have such high hopes for those books though!!
Thank you 💞
I agree with so many of these! Aurora Burning was an amazing sequel, Sorcery of Thorns was such a nice surprise and House of Earth and Blood made me cry too 🙂
I know! They were all such amazing surprises! I’m so glad you agree with me on so many of these.
A Song of Wraiths and Ruin was sooo good! I hope you can get ahold of it soon!
Yes! I’ve only heard good things about it! I’m so glad you ended up enjoying it too 🙂
I’ve been seeing A Song of Wraiths and Ruin around a lot lately, I need to check it out. I’m doing this tag next week, so fun!
Yes I’m hoping it’s as good as everyone says it is! I’m excited to see your thoughts on this tag next week!
Oh nooo, Aurora Burning has a cliffhanger?! Why does that not surprise me? But ugh. Next year is so far away. Glad to hear you enjoyed Sorcery of Thorns so much! I’m just starting it, and I’m hoping to love it. :3 It sounds perfect for me. I still need to read The City of Brass, too! Glad I’m not the only one.
Yes! I just finished it last night and IT HAS THE BIGGEST CLIFFHANGER!
I hope you love Sorcery of Thorns just as much as I do! And I hope we both love City of Brass when we get to it 🙂
I also need the Blood & Honey ASAP! 😍 Also, I have been waiting to read A Song of Wraiths and Ruin to but shipping is not the best at moment. Hope you have a lovely day!
Yes! I ALWAYS need more Lou and Reid (and Ansel)! I hope you get A Song of Wraiths and Ruin soon too! I know a lot of stuff is getting delayed because of COVID.
Hope you have a great day as well 🙂
Oh glad aurora burning was so good, really want to read it! I’m really shipping aurora and Kal as well. And definitely looking forward to blood and honey! And I’m keen to read sorcery of thorns as well
Yes I hope you get to all of those books! Aurora Burning, Sorcery of Thorns, and Serpent and dove were some of my favorite reads of the year.
Bone Crier’s War was a HUGE disappointment to me too!! I really loved Crescent City, it was a 5 star read for me. City of Brass is so good!! I’m hoping to get to book two this month!
Yes! And the cover was so pretty :(. I absolutely loved Crescent City (as I do with literally ALL of SJM’s books) and I’m super glad you enjoyed city of brass!
Lovely post….however I am not able to like the post…..it has been really slow for me too…I have been in a reading slump I am sure you know that! We should be celebrating we have managed to come to the seventh month 😂
Any book recommendations for me ? Or any of your all time favs
I want to read something different than something originally read
Yes I know! I honestly should be reading more because of social isolation haha.
I would totally recommend Six of Crows! Or Sorcery of Thorns, Serpent and Dove, Aurora Rising, Crescent City, or Chain of Gold as my favorites from this year!
Oh I loved Chain of Gold, too! I created a ‘Chain of Gold TBR’ (shared on my blog) and read everything that led up to it–TID and all the short stories. It helped me to enjoy it even more–knowing who all the characters were. It was so much fun diving back into the Shadowhunter world! Happy Reading!
Oh that’s a nice idea! I totally forgot about the characters, so I probably should have done that haha.
Happy reading to you as well!
I am currently reading Priory but I am not too far into it, maybe 10 pages but it’s ok so far!
I hope you end up enjoying it! I honestly need to get to it too, but the size is so intimidating haha
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