Mid-Year Book Freakout Tag 2020

Welcome to another Mid-Year Book Freakout Tag! I've read 92 books so far this year, which I'm very happy about, but it does mean that it was tough to narrow down the choices for my answers. This tag as it's one of my favourite tags to see on Booktube/Book Blogs. So, without further ado, let's get on with it!

1. Best book you've read so far in 2020

With the Fire on High by Elizabeth Acevedo

I actually just finished this today and it immediately became my favourite book of the year so far. Usually, this spot is taken by a fantasy book so this is pretty unusual for me, but this book was just surpassed everything I expected. With the Fire on High follows Emoni, a senior in high school, who is also a mum to a 2-year-old girl. She is juggling school, being a mum, while also trying to pursue her dream of becoming a chef. This book was so pure and wholesome, but it also delved into so many deeper topics such as race, sexuality, absent parents, disability, slurs, shootings. Emoni was such a wonderful character and she honestly felt so real to me. I also adored her 'Buela and Malachi. If you want a diverse contemporary that will warm your heart then definitely pick this one up.

2. Best sequel you've read so far

Words of Radiance by Brandon Sanderson

The Stormlight Archive is fast becoming my favourite Brandon Sanderson series that I've read so far. As this is the second book in the series, I won't say much about it except that the world and characters in this book are fantastic. I especially love Kaladin and Shallan, and it was so good to see a lot of characters finally meet and start interacting with one another. Yet another Sanderson series I recommend, especially if you like high fantasy!

3. New release you haven't read yet, but want to

The City We Became by N.K. Jemisin

In all honesty, I don't know a whole lot about this book and I kind of want to keep it that way. I'm highly anticipating reading this book as I read N.K. Jemisin's Broken Earth Trilogy a couple of years ago and loved it. I'm so excited to see what this new book from her is like!

4. Most anticipated release for the second half of the year

The Gilded Ones by Namina Forna

This book sounds amazing: Sixteen-year-old Deka lives in fear and anticipation of the blood ceremony that will determine whether she will become a member of her village. Already different from everyone else because of her unnatural intuition, Deka prays for red blood so she can finally feel like she belongs. But on the day of the ceremony, her blood runs gold, the colour of impurity and Deka knows she will face a consequence worse than death. This fantasy sounds so unique and I believe it's a west-African-based fantasy, which I just haven't read enough of! I'm highly anticipating this book.

5. Biggest disappointment

Infinity Son by Adam Silvera and A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness

I've sadly had a few disappointing reads so far this year, but I think the most disappointing in terms of how much I was looking forward to them was Infinity Son and A Discovery of Witches. Infinity Son sounded like an incredible X-Men-type sci-fi and it was written by Adam Silvera, whose books I've enjoyed in the past. Unfortunately, this book was just so lacking in world-building for me and the characters fell so flat. A Discovery of Witches sadly felt like an adult Twilight and the characters were so bland. The main love interest was horrendously possessive and, honestly, not much happened in a book that was nearly 700 pages long. Overall, I found both of these books a bit of a chore to read and I'd expected to give both of them 5 stars.

6. Biggest surprise

The Two Lives of Lydia Bird by Josie Silver

This is an Adult Contemporary novel about Lydia Bird whose fiance is killed in a car accident. The book then follows Lydia dealing with grief, but when she falls asleep her life continues as though her fiance had never died. I honestly didn't expect too much from this book and I was so pleasantly surprised by it! This book deals so so well with grief and loss, as well as friendships and sibling friendships. I will say that I didn't particularly love the ending, but overall this was such a compelling contemporary that I do recommend.

7. Favourite new author (Debut or new to you)

Nic Stone and Holly Jackson

I've read so many new-to-me authors that this was difficult to choose, so I've narrowed it down to two. One is Nic Stone who wrote Dear Martin, a fantastic contemporary that deals with racism in America, as well as being beautifully written. Another author is Holly Jackson who wrote both books in the series that starts with A Good Girl's Guide to Murder. Her thrillers are fantastic and the plot twists were so unexpected that I just couldn't put the books down. 

8. Newest fictional crush

Meh, I don't usually get these and I don't have any love interests in mind from any of the books I've read.

9. Newest favourite character

All the characters from House of Earth and Blood by Sarah J. Maas, but especially Bryce and Danika.

10. A book that made you cry

House of Earth and Blood by Sarah J. Maas

Of course, I had to mention this book on this list. I really enjoy Sarah J. Maas's other books so I was highly anticipating this book this year and I wasn't disappointed. Despite this book being a little bit too long, everything in it contained was amazing. Bryce Quinlan had the perfect life—working hard all day and partying all night—until a demon murdered her closest friends, leaving her bereft, wounded, and alone. When the accused is behind bars but the crimes start up again, Bryce finds herself at the heart of the investigation. She’ll do whatever it takes to avenge their deaths. This urban fantasy was incredible. The characters were so fleshed out and the world was absolutely fascinating and unique. Honestly though, the best thing about this book was the last 300 pages. I pretty much read that final part of the book in one sitting because I could not put it down. If you like adult urban fantasies then pick this one up!

11. A book that made you happy

Nyxia: Uprising by Scott Reintgen

I read the first book in the Nyxia Triad series a few years ago now when it first came out and it was easily one of my favourite books from that year. This year I finally continued on with the trilogy and Scott Reintgen did not disappoint. This is a YA sci-fi series that follows Emmett who is recruited by a corporation to enter a competition to be the chosen humans who will go down to a newly discovered planet, called Eden. This is a fast-paced, unputdownable thriller sci-fi that constantly surprises the reader. The characters are all diverse and very realistic. This is the third book in the trilogy and it was probably one of the best finales I've read. If you like sci-fi mixed with a Hunger Games-like contest, then I recommend this book.

12. Favourite book to film adaptation you saw this year

I haven't seen any yet.

13. Favourite review you've written this year

I don't have any favourites for this year!

14. Most beautiful book you've bought so far this year (or received)

Complete Fairy Tales by Hans Christian Anderson and Run Rebel by Manjeet Mann

Both of these books are just stunning 😍

15. What books do you need to read by the end of the year?

SO MANY BOOKS. I have a very large TBR Pile. To name a few I definitely want to get to soon though, I'll limit it to the top five I want to read this year:

1. Scythe by Neal Shusterman

2. Oathbringer by Brandon Sanderson

3. The Passage by Justin Cronin

4. The Black Prism by Brent Weeks

5. The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet by Becky Chambers

So many books! Let me know if you've done this tag and if you've read any of these books! :) 

OWLs Magical Readathon 2020 Wrap-Up

So, the OWL's Magical Readathon is officially over now and I'm extremely happy to say that I passed all of the OWL exams and completed all the prompts to get 12 OWLs! Not only this but I actually managed to complete 22 books instead of the 12 needed. This means I can definitely do any career but I will be aiming for Magizoologist and Animagus Training in the NEWTs in August. I also passed the prompt for the Dragon Tamer course as well.

Anyway, as I said I completed all 12 prompts and received an OWL in every subject, although what I read did differ slightly from my original TBR (which can be found here). I found that some books fit different prompts better than others in the end, and some books didn't end up fitting any prompts at all. So, without further ado, here is my OWL Readathon Wrap-up!

Ancient Runes - Heart Rune: A Book with a Heart on the Cover or in the Title

Heartstopper Volume 1 by Alice Oseman

Star Rating: 5 stars

This stayed true to my original TBR so I re-read the graphic novel Heartstopper Volume 1 by Alice Oseman. As I said, this was a re-read for me and I thoroughly enjoyed reading it for a second time. This graphic novel series follows Charlie Spring and Nick Nelson in a UK Secondary School, and their experience with coming out.

Arithmancy - Balance/Opposites: Read Something Outside Your Favourite Genre

Heartstopper Volume 2 by Alice Oseman

Star Rating: 5 stars

Again, this book stayed the same and I manged to read the second volume of Heartstopper!

Astronomy - Night Classes: Read the Majority of this Book when it's Dark Outside

Heartstopper Volume 3 by Alice Oseman

Star Rating: 5 stars

And then I read the final Heartstopper volume that's out right now. Again, this stayed the same as my TBR and I managed to read it all in the evening. I loved all three of these graphic novels and I highly recommend reading them! They're all available online from the author too!

Care of Magical Creatures - Hippogriffs: Creature with a Beak on the Cover

Our Zoo by June Mottershead

Star Rating: 3 stars

For this prompt, I read Our Zoo by June Mottershead which is non-fiction book about the creation of Chester Zoo. This was really interesting and it's fascinating to see how zoos were run in the mid-1900s. My only issue with this book was the animal deaths and lack of animal care that happened by certain people in the book (not by Chester Zoo). If you're interested in the history of Chester Zoo then I'd definitely recommend giving it a read!

Charms - Lumos Maxima: White Cover

Ink by Amanda Sun

Star Rating: 2 stars

For this prompt, I read a book that I've had on my ereader for about 5 years. Unfortunately, this YA book really hasn't aged well. It follows a girl who moves from America to Japan and ends up meeting a mysterious guy. In all honesty, it felt like another Twilight romance but with the difference of it being set in Japan with Japanese mythology, rather than vampires. The characters felt bland and two-dimensional and the only character I liked wasn't really in the book that much. It also wasn't an own voices book (although I initially thought it was), which made me a little uncomfortable as I can't say how accurate any of the representation is. I think if you like paranormal romances with a broody love interest then you might like this.

Defence Against the Dark Arts - Grindylows: Book Set at Sea or at the Coast

The Iliad by Homer

Star Rating: 3 stars

For this subject, I was initially going to read both The Iliad and The Odyssey, but I only ended up reading The Iliad. This epic poem follows the Trojan War and some of the battles that occurred. To be honest, I think I would have enjoyed this more if I'd had a different translation. The translation I had was a bit strange and used the Roman names for the Gods, even though the characters were Greek? The story itself was interesting but I just didn't enjoy the translation of this.

Divination - Third Eye: Assign Numbers to your TBR and Let a Random Number Generator Pick Your Next Read

The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath

Star Rating: 3 stars

This prompt stayed true to my TBR and it's also the first Sylvia Plath book I've ever read. Before this, I'd only read her poetry and found it okay. This book was really fascinating and explored some truly unlikeable characters. I will say that it wasn't too memorable for me but it was definitely worth the read.

Herbology - Mimbulus Mimbletonia: Title that Starts with an M

Marley & Me by John Grogan

Star Rating: 2 stars

For Herbology, I ended up reading Marley & Me by John Grogan. This book was on my TBR for about 10 years and I'd always looked forward to reading it. Unfortunately, this book wasn't for me. I love animal stories, don't get me wrong, but this is also a part-biography of the people and it focused a lot on their lives. I also really really disliked the use of choke chains and certain training techniques (like kicking the dog when he tried to jump up?), and it just made me very uncomfortable. I know this book is beloved so it might just be me, but yeah, it just didn't sit well for me.

History of Magic - Witch Hunts: Book Featuring Witches or Wizards

A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness

Star Rating: 2 stars

This is the first prompt I actually ended up changing fully. So, because I didn't read The Odyssey, I didn't want to read Circe yet. So, I changed this prompt to A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness. I've heard mixed things about this book and the TV Show that came out a couple of years ago. Unfortunately, this book wasn't really for me. I really liked the description of settings, but that's about it. It's mostly a paranormal romance, but I didn't really like many of the characters. The male love interest felt very toxic and to excuse that, it was just repeated that he was a vampire so that makes it okay? It was also very slow and nothing really happened. I loved the main characters Aunts and their house; that was probably my favourite part of the whole book. Sadly, I won't be continuing with the rest of this series.

Muggle Studies - Book from the Perspective of a Muggle (a Contemporary)

A Thousand Perfect Notes by C.G. Drews

Star Rating: 3 stars

For this prompt, I read a book I received in an Illumicrate box a couple of years ago. This book follows Beck, a young concert pianist, and what happens when he meets August, who turns his life upside-down. I really liked that this wasn't really a love story and that it's more a story of family and family interactions. I also liked that this wasn't a book that just wrapped up easily because it felt so much more realistic. I will say, the abuse in this book was horrible and difficult to read, so if you can't read about physical/mental abuse from parents, then I wouldn't read this book as it's quite dark. I ended up giving this 3 stars in the end and I'll probably end up unhauling it; it was fine but it wasn't anything spectacular for me, unfortunately.

Potions - Shrinking Solution: A Book Under 150 Pages

Shadow by Amanda Sun

Star Rating: 3 stars

This book is a prequel to Ink which I read for the Charms prompt. I actually enjoyed this prequel more than the actual book, but it still wasn't the best. I only really liked the chapters from Katie and found the chapters from Tomohiro a bit boring. I won't be reading anything else from this series.

Transfiguration - A Book that includes Shapeshifting

Crescent City by Sarah J. Maas

Star Rating: 5 stars

Again, this stayed true to my original TBR and I read Crescent City/House of Earth and Blood by Sarah J. Maas. This is her first adult fantasy series and was easily my most anticipated book of the year (for good reason). This book was definitely slower-paced than her previous books but it definitely paid off with the last 150 pages. Absolutely amazing and I highly recommend if you enjoy urban fantasies.

I also read Temeraire by Naomi Novik in order to complete the Dragon Tamer additional qualification!

Other books read this month that weren't used for the readathon:
The Flatshare by Beth O'Leary - 4.5 stars
Death Note Volume 1 by Okba & Obata - 5 stars
Timeshock by Timothy Michael Lewis - 2 stars
Beach Read by Emily Henry - 5 stars
Death Note Volume 2 by Okba & Obata - 5 stars
Death Note Volume 3 by Okba & Obata - 4.5 stars
Scrublands by Chris Hammer - 3.5 stars 
The Bromance Bookclub by Lyssa Kay Adams - 4 stars

Nyxia by Scott Reintgen - 5 stars


So, those were the books I read for this readathon and all of the OWLs I passed! Let me know if you took part and feel free to share your blogs/videos with me! As I said in my TBR post, this amazing readathon was created by Book Roast on Youtube. The readathon took place between April 1st and April 30th and will happen again next year! Keep an eye out for August when the NEWT Readathon will start!

OWLs Magical Readathon 2020 TBR

This amazing readathon was created by Book Roast on Youtube. Once again, Gi has gone all out and not only created reading prompts for each subject but has also created wizarding careers to choose from so people can decide what OWLs to take. The readathon starts on April 1st and lasts until April 30th. During this time everyone will be taking their 'OWL Examinations'. To see her announcement video explaining the readathon in more detail you can click here. You can also find all the reading prompts and career paths in that video too.

My plan is always to do all of the OWLs and also as many NEWTs as possible, but I decided to pick the Magizoologist career this year. This means I only technically have to do 4 prompts but as I said, I plan to read a book for each prompt.

So, below are all the subjects and reading prompts as well as my TBR! I'm trying to use this readathon to get to a fair few of my backlog books that have been on my TBR a long time (as well as a couple of newer releases). This TBR is subject to some change if I find that the books don't fit the prompts as well as I hoped!

Ancient Runes - Heart Rune: A Book with a Heart on the Cover or Title

Heartstopper: Volume 1 by Alice Oseman. This one is pretty self-explanatory, this graphic novel has heart in the title.

Arithmancy - Magical Qualities of Numbers 2: Balance/Opposites. Read Something Outside of your Favourite Genre

Heartstopper: Volume 2 by Alice Oseman. I decided to just try and read all three this month since they're super quick to get through and I haven't read the third one yet. This is a YA contemporary graphic novel and my favourite genre is Adult fantasy so it's definitely outside of my favourite genre!

Astronomy - Night Classes: Read the Majority of this book when it's Dark Outside

Heartstopper: Volume 3 by Alice Oseman. Again, since this is a quick graphic novel, I plan to just read this one evening.

Care of Magical Creatures - Hippogriffs: Creature with a Beak on the Cover

Our Zoo by June Mottershead. I picked up this non-fiction book from Chester Zoo last year and it follows the family that started the zoo. Very excited to read it and it has penguins on the cover so that fulfils this prompt to have a beak on the cover.

Charms - Lumos Maxima: A Book with a White Cover

Ink by Amanda Sun. I've had this ebook for quite a long time so I think it's finally time I picked it up. This is a book set in Japan and I believe it has to do with Japanese Gods, which is something that really interests me. Again, pretty self-explanatory as it has a mostly white cover.

DADA - Grindylows: Book Set at Sea or on the Coast

The Iliad and The Odyssey. Basically, I chose these books as I've been meaning to get around to them for years anyway, but also because I want to read Circe by Madeline Miller, and I know you need an understanding on The Odyssey to fully appreciate that book. Since I'm not sure that The Iliad is set at sea or on the coast, I've decided to read both of the books as I know The Odyssey is definitely set (in part) at sea!

Divination - Third Eye: Assign Numbers to your TBR and Assign a Random Number Generator to Pick your Next Read

The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath. As said in the prompt, I assigned my TBR numbers and used a random number generator to get the next read. I got number 136 which was The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath.

Herbology - Mumbulus Mimbletonia: Title that Starts with an M

Marley & Me by John Grogan. Again, pretty obvious why I chose this one! I've had this on my TBR since my mum read it back in the 00's. I know it's going to make me cry but I do love animal books.

History of Magic - Witch Hunts: Book Featuring Witches/Wizards

Circe by Madeline Miller. And here it is! As I mentioned in my DADA prompt, I want to get to Circe this month.

Muggle Studies - Book from the Perspective of a Muggle (Contemporary)

A Thousand Perfect Notes by C.G. Drews. I received this contemporary in an Illumicrate box a couple of years ago and have never been too inclined to pick it up. This is definitely a good excuse to read it though.

Potions - Shrinking Solution: Book Under 150 Pages

Shadow by Amanda Sun. This is a novella set before Ink (which I'm reading for the Charms prompt), and one of the few books I own that are under 150 pages. This book is 69 pages.

Transfiguration - Book that Includes Shapeshifting

Crescent City by Sarah J. Maas. I had to fit this in somewhere. I've been desperate to read this since it came out but I'm currently in the middle of Words of Radiance (a 1000+ page fantasy), so I didn't want to start another huge fantasy at the same time. I've heard this book has shapeshifters in and I'm massively looking forward to seeing what an Adult fantasy is like from Sarah J. Maas!

And that's my TBR for the OWLs! I'm hoping to read a lot more in April than I have in March (since I've spent most of this month moving house and unpacking), so I think I can get all this done! I might swap out one or two books if I think they don't fit the prompt well enough, but I'll talk about that more in my wrap-up. Let me know if you're participating below and what books you plan to read!

2019 | End of Year Book Survey

Number of Books You Read: 180

Number of Re-Reads: 23

Genre You Read the Most From: Fantasy

1. Best Book You Read in 2019?

The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch

2. Book you were excited about and thought you were going to love more but didn't?

After the End by Amy Plum and The Flame in the Mist by Renee Ahdieh

3. Most surprising (in a good way or bad way) book you read?

A Blade So Black by L.L. McKinney or Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton

4. Book you "pushed" the most people to read (and they did)?

Dark Matter by Blake Crouch

5. Best series you started in 2018? Best Sequel of 2019? Best Series Ender of 2019?

Best series started: The Gentleman Bastards Series by Scott Lynch

Best sequel: Vengeful by V.E. Schwab

Best series ender: Morning Star by Pierce Brown

6. Favourite new author you discovered in 2019?

I think Moira Young or Hank Green

7. Best book from a genre you don't typically read/was out of your comfort zone?

The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs by Steve Brusatte

8. Most action-packed/thrilling/unputdownable book of the year?

Confessions by Kanae Minato, Into the Drowning Deep by Mira Grant, and If We Were Villains by M.L. Rio

9. Book you read in 2019 that you would be most likely to re-read next year?

I try to leave it at least a year before I re-read anything, but I might re-read Lair of Dreams by Libba Bray since the final book is coming out soon!

10. Favourite cover of a book you read in 2019?

The Loneliest Girl in the Universe by Lauren James

11. Most memorable character of 2019?

Jean and Locke from the Gentleman Bastards series.

12. Most beautifully written book read in 2019?

Muse of Nightmares by Laini Taylor

13. Most thought-provoking/life-changing book of 2019?

A Heart in a Body in the Word by Deb Caletti or Girls on the Verge by Sharon Biggs Waller

14. Book you can't believe you waited until 2019 to finally read?

Three Dark Crowns by Kendare Blake

15. Favourite passage/quote from a book you read in 2019?

It's probably something from the Strange the Dreamer duology.

16. Shortest and longest book you read in 2019?

Shortest book: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button by F. Scott Fitzgerald (64 pages)

Longest book: Needful Things by Stephen King (933 pages)

17. Book that shocked you the most?

The Girl in Red by Christina Henry (and it shocked me in a good way!)

18. OTP of the year? (you will go down with this ship!)

Not a huge shipper, but probably the relationship in Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston

19. Favourite non-romantic relationship of the year?

All of the friendships in The Gentleman Bastards series

20. Favourite book you read in 2019 from an author you've read previously?

In an Absent Dream by Seanan McGuire

21. Best book you read in 2019 that you read based solely on a recommendation from somebody else/peer pressure, etc.?

Desperate Measures by Katee Robert

22. Newest fictional crush from a book you read in 2019?

I didn't read any good ones this year that stood out!

23. Best 2019 debut you read?

The Luminous Dead by Caitlin Starling

24. Best worldbuilding/most vivid setting you read this year?

Truthwitch by Susan Dennard

25. Book that put a smile on your face/was the most fun to read?

Pumpkin Heads by Rainbow Rowell

26. Book that made you cry or nearly cry in 2019?

A Heart in a Body in the World by Deb Caletti and The Tattooist of Auschwitz by Heather Morris

27. Hidden gem of the year?

Am I Normal Yet? by Holly Bourne

28. Book that crushed your soul?

The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo or Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer

29. Most unique book you read in 2019?

Heartstopper by Alice Oseman

30. Book that made you the most mad? (doesn't necessarily mean you didn't like it)

Where We Belong by K.L. Grayson (and I didn't like it!)

1. One book you didn't get to in 2019 but will be your number one priority in 2020?
Semiosis by Sue Burke

2. Book you are most anticipating for 2020 (non-debut)?

Crescent City by Sarah J. Maas

3. 2020 debut you are most anticipating?

Where Dreams Descend by Janella Angeles

4. Series ending/a sequel you are most anticipating in 2020?

The King of Crows by Libba Bray

5. One thing you hope to accomplish or do in your reading/blogging life in 2020?

I want to read over 100 books again this year, and I would like to make time to blog more.

6. A 2020 release you've already read and recommend to everyone (if applicable):

None right now! I'm trying to catch up on my backlog still.

Let me know if there are any books I should get to soon, or if you have any thoughts on the books mentioned above!

Note: This survey comes from the wonderful Perpetual Page Turner!