Mid-Year Book Freak Out Tag 2020 Edition

Hello, everyone! Today I am coming to you with one of my favorite tags! I am going to be sharing with you some highlights of my reading so far this year! I have been reading so much romance this year, and loving it! I've discovered a lot of new to me authors, and new tropes that I didn't even know about! Let me know what your favorite book is so far this year! Without further ado, here is my 2020 edition of this tag!

How much have you read this year?

This year I have read 50 books! I literally cannot believe this stat! I have had a lot more opportunities to read because I have worked from home, but also my husband and I have been in competition to read more this year. He has been a great motivator, because I want to beat him. He currently is ahead of me by 1 book, but I plan to win by the end of the year!

Best book you've read so far in 2020?

The best book I've read so far this year has to be a tie between The One by John Marrs and Pretty Girls by Karin Slaughter. I literally cannot choose between these two books. I read them pretty early in the year, and I can't stop recommending them, or thinking of them. They are both considered thrillers, but they are so different. The One is a very fast paced, thriller about a world that has a genetic test that has a way of telling you who your soulmate is. It follows a lot of different characters in different stages of life. It also explores how knowing who their soulmate is changes their lives for the best or the worse. This book is just really fascinating, and fast paced. I really enjoyed it! Pretty Girls is about this woman whose husband dies, and she finds out these horrible, horrible things about him and his interest. She is then, on the hunt to find out who her husband really was. She is also trying to solve a case on this missing girl, who might be tied to her own missing sister's case from like 20 years ago! It's actually way more interesting than that description, but I never want to spoil things about thrillers, so just trust me, it is amazing! It's very graphic, and if you are triggered by things, I would do some research on the trigger warnings for this book, because it definitely goes 'there.' If you like thrillers, and true crime, I would definitely check this book out!

Best sequel you've read so far in 2020?

The best sequel I've read this year has to be The Governess Game by Tessa Dare. Tessa Dare writes incredible historical romance. If you are interested in getting into historical romance, I would recommend trying this series. It's actually what I did, and I am obsessed with historical romance now! This book follows a friend of the character from the first book in this series, The Duchess Deal. You do not need to read these in order, I just really like to! I really loved the characters in this book, as well as the romance. The hero in this story is very grumpy, but has a heart of gold. He has been charged with taking care of these young, some what troubled girls, and he has no idea what he's doing because he's never had to take care of anything but himself in his life. I loved his relationship with the girls, he's liked convinced he can't love them, or be a role model for them, but comes to many sweet realization by the end of the book, with the help of the heroine, and the girl's new governess! I really loved this book, and this series!!

A new release you haven't read, but want to?

I recently got The Guest List by Lucy Foley from book of the month, and I really hope that I get to read it soon! I've heard great things about it!

Most anticipated release for the second half of the year?

I am really looking forward to One by One by Ruth Ware, as well as He Started It by Samantha Downing. There are probably a whole bunch of other books, but a few dates have been moved to next year, because of everything with the pandemic, so I only want to list those that I know are coming out this year!

Biggest disappointment?

One of the books I was disappointed by this year was A Nearly Normal Family by M. T. Edvardsson. This was my first courtroom thriller. Not a lot of the book takes place in a court room, but that was kind of how it was advertised to me. I didn't enjoy a lot about this book. The characters were boring, and didn't have a lot of depth. The plot was not interesting, and the twist, or 'who done it' was just not exciting, or thrilling. I just wanted a little more from this book. I do know that it is a translation, and so some of the court stuff is different from the U.S system that I am used to. That part was interesting, but because it is a translation, it isn't fleshed out that well, it's kind of expected that the reader know it.

Biggest surprise?

I'm going to just group all of the books in this series into this question, but the Ice Planet Barbarian series (1-6 is what I've read so far) is a huge surprise. I heard about this series a little bit before I started reading it, and got them on kindle unlimited, and I have been binge reading them all year. This series follows a group of girls that were abducted by aliens, with the intention of being sold to other aliens. Before they can get to their intended location, they crash land on an ice planet, and are left for basically dead. One of the girls finds these alien barbarians (think the blue aliens from Avatar) and that begins the romance between the human girls and the alien barbarians. This is considered to be a sci-fi romance, and it sounds weird! I know! Which is why it is a surprise, but they are addicting, and just good! The world building of the planet is actually really good, for how short these books are. The relationship between the characters, isn't quite as layered as some books, but in a book like this, I don't think you'll miss it. They are very smutty, so take that into consideration, if you don't like smut in your books, then this will not be for you, but I enjoy them so much! I actually got my husband to read the first book, and he enjoyed it also!

New favorite author?

This is a hard question, because I have read a lot of new to me authors. I'm going to cheat and choose two. The first author is J R Ward. I have been making my way through her Black Dagger Brotherhood series, and I am loving it! This is an adult vampire romance series, following these super buff, alpha vampire protectors. I've read the first 3 books, and I love them! This series was pitched to me as Twilight, but for adults. The second author is Tessa Dare. Like I mentioned in one of my previous questions, I absolutely lover her Girl Meets Duke series. I have bought the first book in all of her series, and I plan on reading a whole lot more of her books soon! I do have some honorable mention authors: Ruby Dixon, Nia Forrester, Julie Garwood. I want to read more from all of these authors, because I've rated at least one of there books 5 stars!

Underrated gems you've recently discovered?

Snowflake by Nia Forrester is a sports romance book I've read this year, and I thought it was really good. I haven't heard a lot of romance readers talk about her books, but I think if you like sports romance, you should check this book out! I got the ebook on Kindle Unlimited and the audio book on hoopla. The book is kind of a forced proximity trope. The characters are on thanksgiving break,and don't go home to celebrate, and decide to spend the week together. They get to know each other, and overcome the rumors, and initial judgement they have for each other. I really really liked this couple, and how they are their for each other throughout the book. This book is not a slow burn, but my love for it grew with each chapter, until by the end of the book, I was so sad I couldn't spend more time with these characters. I know their are more books in the series, and I think the author might write another book about this couple! I can't wait to read that!

Newest fictional crush?

Some many sweet hero's I've read about this year. I'm gonna cheat again and pick a couple of characters. Vektal from Ice Planet Barbarians don't judge me for choosing an alien, his character is so sweet, and so lovable! Drake, from Rebel by Beverly Jenkins. He is so swoon worthy, and flirty!

Book that made you cry?

I haven't cried in any of the books that I read, but a book that I find to be devastating is Pretty Girls by Karin Slaughter. This book is filled with so much horror. Not in the 'other world' sense, but in the 'I can't believe that humans treat other humans this way' sense. This book has some very heart breaking parts!

Book that made you happy?

The book that made me happy this year would have to be The Secret by Julie Garwood. This is a historical romance novel that follows a very head strong, and stubborn English woman that travels to the Scottish highlands to help assist her childhood best friend deliver her baby. I loved everything about this book. I love Scottish romance. I love how headstrong, and sweet the main character is. I love the romance, and female friendship. This book is just so sweet, and it has so many lovable characters in it!

Most beautiful cover you bought this year?

The most beautiful book I bought this year would have to be one of the Tessa Dare books I bought for her Girl Meets Duke series. I love all of those covers!

Book you need to read by the end of the year?

I have an entire blog post on the top 20 books I want to read from my backlist. I have only read like 5 of those, so the other 15, for sure I want to get to. It is full of fantasy books, which I haven't been in a mood to read lately, so I'm hoping I can get over that soon. I also have all of Riley Sager's books, and I haven't read any of them yet, so I really want to read at least one of them by the end of the year!

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Okay! So, that was the Mid-Year Book Freak Out tag! If you would like to see all of the books that I've read this year, and reviews of those books, go ahead and check out my good reads. I'm not exactly a skilled reviewer, but I try to write something about what I like and don't like about the books I'm reading. Don't forget to let me know what your favorite book is for the first half of the year!

Happy reading!