Lili Lost in a Book: 2023 Mid-Year Book Freakout Tag

It's that time again for one of my favorite tags! The Mid-Year Book Freakout Tag was originally created back in 2016 by Ely and Chami on YouTube. This year Jesse the Reader did a revamped version of the tag so I've added some of those questions at the end (after the original 15 questions) as well. (I didn't include all of the questions because they were either already covered in the OG questions or because I will cover them later in a separate post, so if you want to see all the revamped questions make sure you check out Jesse's video!)

1. Best book you've read so far in 2023.

I loved this book so much! It was fun and action-packed, and I just really loved the whole multiverse thing.

2. Best sequel you've read so far in 2023.

Another book I loved! I love the world and the characters of course, but one other thing I loved about this book was that it had this sort of murder mystery thing going on. I didn't love the trope at the end with the whole miscommunication thing, but overall, I loved this book. But we all know what a fangirl I am when it comes to the Shadwohunters. Lol.

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

I didn't even know None Shall Sleep was going to get a sequel! I'm excited to read this, though! It sounds good!

4. Most anticipated release for the second half of 2023.

Out of all the books I could list here, this novella is the one I am looking forward to the most! I mean, this is a crossover featuring Gin from Elemental Assassin and Gwen from Mythos Academy!!! Ahh! I am SO freaking excited!!!

5. Biggest disappointment.

I wasn't a fan of the protagonist, and the secondhand embarrassment she gave me was unreal 😬

6. Biggest surprise.

I am so surprised at how much I enjoyed this one! It was a lot of fun and I loved the added ghost element it had going on.

7. New favorite author.

These books were so much fun! The author explained all the science things well and in a really fun way! I just really enjoyed them!

8. Newest fictional crush.

I haven't developed a new crush yet this year. While I have revisited old crushes in books I've read this year, I haven't encountered anyone new. The one who came close is Parker from Paradise-1. I really liked him, and I really liked this book in general. It was a solid horror sci-fi.

9. Newest favorite character.

I really liked Asterin in Only Bad Options, so I was glad to see that we got more of her in this one. There is more to her than first meets the eye... I won't say too much more about it because spoilers, and this book isn't even out yet. Lol. But I loved her!

10. Book that made you cry.

No book has made me cry yet. But this is a book that should've. Cassandra Clare books usually tend to make me cry at one point or another, but I noticed that this series didn't do that. There were some sad moments, some heartfelt moments, but I never cried.

11. Book that made you happy.

This novella made me extremely happy. It was in Lorelei's POV and I really enjoyed following her and her complicated relationship with Tucker. It was action-packed but it was also so freaking cute! I loved it!

12. Favorite book-to-movie/TV show adaptation you've seen this year.

I don't think I've seen any book-to-movie/TV adaptations this year that wasn't anime. Lol. But the anime I have seen has been good! And Spy x Family was amazing! I loved it!! It was so freaking cute! I'm contemplating reading the manga, though now I sort of wish I'd read it first. Lol.

13. Favorite post you've done this year.

I helped throw a book-themed baby shower and it was so much fun! I talked a bit about it in this post, mostly about the decoration, but I also included the bookish gifts I got for the baby. (He is already 2 months old and he is the cutest! 😭)

14. Most beautiful book you've bought so far this year (or one you'd like to own).

So I technically bought this book last year, but I didn't actually get it till early this year. But omg it is SO pretty! I still need to read it though 😅

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

A couple of fantasy books... a Greek mythology retelling, a fairy tale retelling, and Cassie Clare's new adult high fantasy! I'm very excited for them all! I have the first two now, so I'm hoping to read them soon!

16. What's the best book recommendation you've received this year?

I think I first saw this book on BookTube somewhere... I'm pretty sure it was BookswithEmilyFox. But I loved it! It was interesting and pretty funny. I've been starting to read more and more nonfiction in the last year or two, and I'm glad I gave this one a shot because it will probably end up being one of my favorite books of the year.

17. What was your first DNF of the year?

This book was terrible. So terrible that I DNFd it at 23%. The premise sounded interesting but good god I could not take the racism or sexism in the book. The crew consists of 7 people and 2 of them are female, and at one point one of the guys was like, oh it's a good thing the women are both attractive because it could be a long year.... like they weren't 2 professionals there to do a job and instead were there to entertain him 🙃 I was out.

18. A new release from this year that you've read and your thoughts on it (good or bad).

This was one of the first books I read this year and I really enjoyed it. I love Jennifer Estep's writing and characters and I love that her books are always action-packed. I also really liked how she wrapped up this series, though it makes me sad that we've come to the end 😢

19. Do you feel your reading tastes have changed/shifted at all this year? (A new genre you love, a new favorite trope, or a new favorite theme?)

I've noticed I've been reading more adult than YA in the last couple of years, but I have a separate post in the works dedicated to the topic. I'm gathering data at the moment 🤓 Lol.

20. A book you've read so far this year that you feel embodies the vibe of your reading year.