Created in 2016, the Mid Year Freak Out Tag has become a staple on the booktube channels I watch so I’m excited to return to it again this year. But last year, Leandra The TBR Zero created a Mid Year Calm Down tag and I decided to combine them and do both this year. So here’s hoping that works out well.
As of June 24th, I’ve read 111 books this year, which is kind of wild. I swear my reading has slowed down, but somehow I’ve really kicked into another gear in the last two months. And now, going into the official questions of the Mid Year Freak Out Tag…
Best Book You’ve Read So Far
I present to you my favorite books in four different genres because actually picking just one was not going to be feasible. So we have Braiding Sweetgrass because it truly challenged and helped re-shape my world view. Then Blood Over Bright Haven by M.L. Wang because I’m honestly not sure I’ve ever read a better standalone fantasy novel with so much societal commentary. Shield of Sparrows stole my heart so immediately that I think it’s my favorite romantasy of the year so far. And then finally, Can’t Get Enough by Kennedy Ryan… Absolute perfection. As per usual. Kennedy is everything.
Best Sequel You’ve Read So Far
An interconnected romance sequel totally counts, right? I’m going with In a Rush here because I devoured this book and I still think about it. I’m in love and I never want to leave the Kate Canterbary rotary circles. Actually, when is the last time I found myself re-reading Boss in the Bedsheets anyway? I think last year?? That’s unacceptable.
Please allow me to acknowledge that I am stretching the definition of sequel for Beneath These Cursed Stars because it is essentially a spinoff first book in a duet of a duet, BUT you absolutely could not read it by itself so I vote it counts. And maybe it’s recency bias, but I’m in love with this series and can’t wait for the final installment.
New Release You Haven’t Read Yet But Want To
The fact that I haven’t read four of my most anticipated books of the year yet is absolutely wild, but at the same time, my terror of reading these books is so high. Because what if they don’t deliver? I will be devastated.
Most Anticipated Release for the Second Half of the Year
I just wrote about this, so I’m not going to belabor the point and will just share three:
Biggest Disappointment
In the sense that I really wanted all of these to be my latest obsession, but for whatever reason, despite me really enjoying them, they just aren’t my newest obsession:
Biggest Surprise
Arguably most surprising is Welcome to the Hyunam-Dong Bookshop because me and literary fiction aren’t exactly close friends and yet this is one of my favorite books of the year. I just saved it to talk about in this spot instead of up top. This book is considered healing fiction in Korea and honestly, perhaps I need to be reading more of that. I loved this book so, so much. Competing for second place in terms of most surprising would be The Reformatory because what do you mean I have a horror book on my favorites of the year list? But I do. Tananarive Due is so talented and this book was awful to read, but so, so good. The craft you can see in this book is just wild. I loved it so much. And then finally, we have Binding 13, which on the one hand, are we surprised about? Maybe not. But also, yes. Because reading about teenagers who are dealing with child abuse is not exactly my idea of a good time and yet, I fell in love with Johnny and Shannon’s story. I want them to be so happy together forever, even if they are children.
Favorite New to You Author
My favorite new to me authors from this year are Chloe Walsh, Ava Rani, and Jodi McAlister for sure because I’ve already read three books from each of them. Julie Olivia has solidified her spot on a favorite author from last year. The authors I’m intrigued to read more from that I’ve read only one book from so far are Hwang Bo-Reum, Robin Wall Kimmerer, Bal Khabra, M.L. Wang, Nisha J. Tuli, and Hannah Cowan.
Newest Fictional Crush
And in this moment as I was putting together this list, I realized that this year the thing I want is just someone to take care of me while I take care of so much other stuff… Because my list is Jack from Love, Theoretically by Ali Hazelwood, Maverick from Can’t Get Enough by Kennedy Ryan, Miles from Promise Me Sunshine by Cara Bastone, Ryan from In a Rush by Kate Canterbary, and Xavier from The Charmer by Ava Rani. So… if you’ve got more love interests like that, hit me up with your recommendations.
Newest Favorite Character
This is such a great question. I’m a little obsessed with Felicity from Beneath These Cursed Stars by Lexi Ryan at the moment. Lily Fireball from Not Here to Make Friends by Jodi McAlister was fascinating, but I’m not sure if I could call her a favorite character. Johnny and Shannon feel almost like cheating, but I’m truly obsessed with the two of them and want to wrap them in bubble wrap so that nothing can ever hurt them, from Binding and Keeping 13. Meg from The Other March Sisters has me wanting to read more books about women working with plants to heal or do magic. Also, Gigi Harrington from Two Secrets to Surrender by Grace Callaway was honestly everything? I love her.
A Book That Made You Cry
I always struggle to remember the books that made me cry, but I know I’ve been a cry baby this year. So let’s check my reviews…
Okay, these are at the very least the books where I made a specific note about crying that I could find. Please note, not all of these books are actually sad. In fact, every single one of these has an HEA. I’ve been totally fine this year, I swear.
A Book That Made You Happy
This is always such a weird question for me to answer because like, so many of the books I read made me happy. That’s at least half the reason I read, generally. But thinking through books that made me like… laugh out loud, here are a handful of those that I haven’t mentioned yet elsewhere:
Most Beautiful Book You’ve Bought/Received This Year
If you haven’t seen the full first edition printing of Shield of Sparrows, you’re missing out. It is hands down the most gorgeous book on my shelf. Well, maybe my special edition of In a Jam. Okay, so probably second.
Books You’re Prioritizing for the End of the Year
I really need to finish some series. I had five on my bingo board at the beginning of the year to finish and I’ve finished one.
Now Let’s Calm Down
Thankfulness: What 2025 has given me thus far
I’m really grateful to 2025 for the nonfiction reads it’s brought my way, which feels like a weird thing to say. In the Freak Out Tag section, I specifically shouted out Braiding Sweetgrass because it’s phenomenal and really is one of my favorite books of the year. But I’ve also really gotten so much from What My Bones Know by Stephanie Foo. And I absolutely adored John Green’s Everything Is Tuberculosis because it really made me think about global health in a way that I never have before. This has been a hard year and I’ve been really appreciating the way that I’ve leaned on nonfiction a couple of times instead of my usual approach of escaping into a contemporary romance or twelve. (Not that I haven’t also done that!)
Also, for the first couple of months of the year, my best friend and I were buddy reading books together and that was so much fun. We stalled out after The Reformatory because it was phenomenal but so heavy, however, I think we’re hopefully going to get back in the swing of buddy reading again soon. (Maybe after Bachelor in Paradise…)
Relaxation: The Most Relaxing Book
Deciding what to put here was a challenge because like, what do we mean by relaxation? But what I decided to go with are the books that I’ve turned to when life has been too much. So we have our usual staples, Burn for Me, White Hot, and Wildfire by Ilona Andrews, but also, I’ve found myself turning time and time again to Kindle Unlimited contemporary romance novels. One of the ones that stands out for me as a book that really came in at the right time was This Wild Heart by Karla Sorensen. Sometimes those books just really hit the spot and are exactly what you need.
Hydration: A book that I needed
There are two books that came to mind immediately for this, both of which I’ve mentioned already in this post, but I could talk about them a million times. Those books are Braiding Sweetgrass and Welcome to the Hyunam-Dong Bookshop. The audiobook for Braiding Sweetgrass feels like a meditation almost. I highly recommend. And the content of Welcome to the Hyunam-Dong Bookshop was perfect for me.
Nourishment: A book that energized me
Both of these books made me actively giddy, so I’m going to go with the two of them.
Familiarity: An author I’ve returned to
I have re-read so many Ilona Andrews titles this year, so they’re an old staple. But this year I’ve also been on a real Ali Hazelwood kick. I’ve also read several titles from Elsie Silver, Karla Sorensen, and Julie Olivia. Then, I’ve also read all three books in a trilogy from Ava Rani and Jodi McAlister. So, I’ve actually had many authors I’ve found myself returning to again and again, which doesn’t even count the authors that I’ve loved and was so excited for their new releases.
Healthy risk: Outside of my comfort zone read/new-to-me author
I feel like I’ve already mentioned this above when I talked about The Reformatory because that is so wildly outside of my comfort zone. But arguably, so is Blood Over Bright Haven by M.L. Wang and I loved that one too.
Reflection: Changes in my reading taste
I do think I’ve been more willing to explore in the nonfiction realm, not just sticking to my tried and true memoirs. Otherwise, other than my very small willingness to dabble with the books I mentioned above, I think I’m still staying right in my cozy contemporary romance zone. You can really tell that if you look at my genre blanket.
Detox: A book/habit I am leaving behind
I really think I’ve been doing a better job DNF’ing this year. I don’t always record them because sometimes I decide to put a book down after like five pages, but I’m really proud of myself for getting better about this!
Positivity: Anticipated book(s)/events
I cannot wait for Romance Con in September! I’m really looking forward to being reunited with Dani!
Looking ahead: Personal plans/goals
I am really hoping that I can get my Netgalley percentage up to 80% this year. I’ve stayed in the 72-76% range for like over a full year and just cannot bring myself to read enough to get to 80%. But I really want to get there.
Closing Thoughts
What are you most looking forward to in the second half of the year? I would love to know!
xx
firewhiskeyreader 