Hi! I’m supposed to be studying right now because I have two reports due at the end of the month but, instead, I’m here, freaking out about books. As usual.

I’ve seen so many booktube videos of this and I feel like I’m missing out, so I wanted to join in the fun here! And also stress myself out trying to remember everything I’ve read so far. So… the book freak out tag.

BEST BOOK YOU’VE READ SO FAR IN 2020

Spoilers for what will (probably) be my next blog post but Clap When You Land by Elizabeth Acevedo is absolutely the best book I’ve read this year. I cannot stress enough how much you need to read this book if you haven’t already.

BEST SEQUEL OF 2020

I- I haven’t actually read a single sequel in 2020, and it’s taken this tag to make me realise that. But, if this redeems me at all, I’m desperately checking the post every day for copies of Good Girl, Bad Blood and One of Us is Next so I’m assuming that one of them may be my best (and hopefully not only) sequel of the year…

NEW RELEASE YOU HAVEN’T READ YET BUT WANT TO

All Your Twisted Secrets by Diana Urban has been catching my eye for months now. It looks twisty and creepy and absolutely my type of book. I’m definitely hoping for a This Lie Will Kill You, One of Us is Lying kind of thing.

MOST ANTICIPATED RELEASE OF THE SECOND HALF OF THE YEAR

I feel like there are a million books coming out in the second half of the year that I want to read, but the first one that springs to mind is Skyhunter by Marie Lu. She could literally write an instruction manual and it would be my new favourite book so her brand new, dystopian, action thriller is absolutely my most anticipated read of 2020.

BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENT

Hart and Seoul by Kristen Burnham. I wrote a review of this book for Netgalley, but couldn’t bring myself to share it on here as I hate being overly negative. When I read this book, I was hoping for a cute, funny romance and the entire thing just kind of fell flat. I found it problematic and honestly a little difficult, so it was really disappointing after getting my hopes up so high.

BIGGEST SURPRISE

The Rules by Tracy Darnton. This book was pitched for fans of three books that I absolutely love (One of Us is Lying, We Were Liars, and A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder) so, in that respect, I was really hoping I’d like it. I wasn’t entirely sure when I read the blurb, though, and I was really worried that it wasn’t going to be as exciting as I hoped. This book turned out to be one of the best books I’ve read this year and I absolutely take back those doubts- it’s fast-paced, full of twists and a definite page-turner.

FAVOURITE NEW AUTHOR

Based on my reads so far this year, an author that I’m really excited about is Hina Belitz, author of To Lahore With Love. I absolutely loved this book (except for the fact that the recipes in every chapter made me hungry for the entire story…) and would definitely give anything she comes out with a try.

NEWEST FICTIONAL CRUSH

Hmmm, this one is surprisingly difficult. Maybe Xavier from Loveboat, Taipei.

NEWEST FAVOURITE CHARACTERS

I didn’t want to repeat any books in this tag but I don’t think I could possibly say anyone except Camino and Yahaira from Clap When You Land. Read. This. Book. Please!

BOOK THAT MADE YOU CRY

The Kingdom of Back by Marie Lu. I’m pretty sure I cried during the book, but I know for certain that I cried during the author’s note…? I should probably be ashamed to admit that but, as mentioned re. Skyhunter, literally any book she writes could become my new favourite book. *fangirling over*

BOOK THAT MADE YOU HAPPY

Again, Again by E. Lockhart, another one of my auto-buy authors. This probably isn’t one of the happiest books I’ve ever read (in fact, it’s pretty not-happy-at-all for the most part) but it had sweet moments and it mostly just makes me happy that E. Lockhart came out with a new five-star book this year.

FAVOURITE BOOK-TO-MOVIE ADAPTATION YOU’VE SEEN THIS YEAR

Umm. I’m not sure if re-watching a movie should count, especially if I’ve seen the movie a million times, but I probably need to go with Love, Rosie for this. It’s so different from the book but the characters are completely spot on. Also, it’s adorable.

FAVOURITE REVIEW YOU’VE WRITTEN THIS YEAR

When I look back at my reviews, I’m almost never happy with them, so this is kind of tough! One that I kept pretty short and sweet was Not Your Idol vol. 1, so maybe that. Also, before this year, I never even considered reviewing a manga, so that was a fun thing to try.

MOST BEAUTIFUL BOOK YOU’VE BOUGHT OR RECEIVED THIS YEAR

I’ve got a couple of gorgeous new hardbacks this year, but the gold, Penguin Classics style ARC of Anna K is absolutely the prettiest book I got this year. I like the book’s final cover and I like the US ARCs, but when I opened up my parcel from ReadersFirst and saw this gold cover, I would not shut up about it.

BOOK YOU NEED TO READ BY THE END OF THIS YEAR

Six of Crows. And about a million others, but mostly Six. Of. Crows.

Hope you enjoyed my bookish meltdown! I’d love to hear what your favourite book of 2020 so far is, so definitely leave a comment and let me know, if you’d like to help me expand my already worryingly large TBR pile.