Mid-Year Freak Out Book Tag

I thought this would be a fun little tool to use to look back over the first part of 2020. I saw this one over on One Book More’s blog, and it seemed to have been created by Moon Creations.

What is the best book that you’ve read so far in 2020?

King of the Crows by Russell Day.

No doubt about it. Epic in scope, but with personal story at its heart. If I really start talking about it, I won’t shut up. I talked about it a little here.

What has been your favorite sequel of the first half of the year?

That’s a tough call, there’ve been a few. But I think I’m going to go with:

Burning Bright by Nick Petrie

As I said here, I should’ve read this shortly after I read The Drifter in the summer of 2018. The third in the series, Light It Up is coming soon.

Is there a new release that you haven’t read yet but you’re really excited for?

Broken by Don Winslow

Winslow’s The Border stands between Broken and me–so hopefully, I can get to this novella collection by September.

What is your most anticipated release for the second half of the year?

er, um…that’s a good question. I should probably say Betty by Tiffany McDaniel, because her debut novel was sood and I frequently have pretensions about being all literary and hoity-toity, proving that being an English Major wasn’t just a passing fancy. But if I’m being completely honest, there’s no contest:

Peace Talks and Battle Ground by Jim Butcher

(it’s not cheating to say that–it was one book that was split into two…). I’m a rabid Dresden fanboy and we’ve been waiting so long!

What is your biggest disappointment so far?

Blood Storm Magic by Jayne Faith

The Ella Gray series in general. I really enjoyed the way this series started, and while I never figured these would be in the Toby Daye/Harry Dresden league, I didn’t expect that I’d get to the stage where I was disappointed in them, but I hit there. I haven’t even posted about it yet, guess I spoiled that one, eh?

What is your biggest surprise so far?

Highfire by Eoin Colfer

Highfire. I never expected Colfer to write a novel about a Dragon for adults–if anything, I expected something along the lines of Screwed or Plugged. So that’s surprise number one. Surprise number two is that the dragon is a Drunken, Netflix-binging, Lousiana swamp-dwelling, crotchety one. Funny and full of heart–entertaining from snout to tail.

Runners-Up: The Audiobooks Back to Reality by Mark Stay & Mark Oliver, narrated by Kim Bretton and The In Between by Michael Landweber, narratoed by Brittany Pressley and Mark Boyett.

Who is your favorite new to you, or debut, author?

Darynda Jones, author of A Bad Day for Sunshine

Darynda Jones has several novels published already, and I don’t think I’d heard of any of them until I was finished with this intro to her new series. She’s the favorite new to me author and the book has a couple of strong contenders for favorite new characters of 2020, as I stated here.

Who is your favorite fictional crush from this year?

Elvira from The Finders by Jeffrey B. Burton

I’ve never gotten into the whole Book Crush thing–I’m already in a long-term relationship. Still, I have to admit, as happily committed as I am, there’s something about Vira, the tough, spirited, brilliant Golden Retriever with a troubled past that just makes me want to make her part of my pack.

But please, no one tell this girl that I said that:

What are 6 books that you want to read by the end of the year?

Other than Betty, Peace Talks, and Battleground, right? Five upcoming releases and one book I’m tired of beating myself up for not having read yet (not unlike Burning Bright above, I should have read the Cartmel book in the Fall of ’18)

Annihilation Aria by Michael R. Underwood, Dead Perfect by Noelle Holten, A Killing Frost by Seanan McGuire
Last Stand in Lychford by Paul Cornell, Next to Last Stand by Craig Johnson, The Run-Out Groove by Andrew Cartmel

As usual, I’m not tagging anyone in this—but I’d like to see what you all have to come up with.