Hi hi hi! I knew that I’d been away from my blog for a while, but I didn’t realise just how long it’d been until I saw that the last post I made was in August 2022… It’s been a very busy year and I finished last year with an embarrassingly low GR challenge result but, now that everything’s finally settling back down, I figured it was the perfect time to come back!

It’s a few weeks late but I saw this tag going around and had to jump on board. Without further ado, the Quarter Year Crisis Book Tag:

How many books have you read so far?

I’ve read fifteen books so far this year! I’m (almost) on track for my end-of-year goal, but it’s definitely been an up-and-down few months of reading; some months, I’ve read a handful of pages, and others, I’ve read four books in one week. I have so many good books on my TBR at the moment so I’m hoping to pick up speed in the next month or so…

Have you already found a book you think might be a 2023 favourite? If not, what was your favourite book you read that wasn’t quite five stars?

I’ve read a few books so far that I already know will likely be included in my favourite reads of the year, but the one that I’ve been forcing on everyone I know is Divine Rivals by Rebecca Ross (which I expect to be posting a review of next month…!). It’s magical, immersive and beautifully written with a romance that I adore and a cast of characters to fall in love with, and I absolutely recommend to anyone who enjoys fantasy.

Any 1-star books / least favourite book of the year?

There are a million books on my TBR and my reading time has become limited in the past couple of years, so I’ve made a habit of DNFing books very early on if I can’t see myself getting into them – and, for that reason, I haven’t read a single book below three stars this year! I’m sure there will be a few later in the year that fall short of expectations but, so far this year, I’m very happy to say that I haven’t had any huge reading disappointments.

Most read genre so far?

It’s actually a tie between two (quite unsurprising) genres: YA thriller and YA fantasy. YA fantasy is my favourite genre ever, but YA thrillers are my go-to books to get out of a slump or if I plan on settling in and reading a book in one or two sittings, so it’s completely understandable that these two have completely dominated my reading so far this year.

A book that surprised you?

I was hoping not to re-use any answers, but the book that surprised me the most was actually Divine Rivals… I really wanted to enjoy it when I was approved on NetGalley but, from the description, I expected it to be very trope-driven rather than plot-driven. And, yes, there were plenty of tropes thrown in there, but the story itself completely surpassed my expectations.

A book that’s come out in 2023 already that you want to read but haven’t yet?

Unseelie by Ivelisse Housman! This has been on my most-anticipated list since it was announced early last year and I cannot believe that I haven’t purchased a copy yet. I’ve been on a book-buying-ban for a few months but I can’t wait to finally get my hands on this and completely devour it.

One goal you made that you’re succeeding at

I’ve been reading largely for blogging purposes or to keep up to date with the currently-hyped books and trends for the past few years and I found that I lost a lot of the enjoyment of reading, so my number one goal this year (that I’m currently succeeding it!) was to read for enjoyment’s sake again. I’m focusing on genres that I love, and books by authors that I love, and I’m definitely finding my passion for books again that I worried I was losing.

One goal you made that you need to focus on

I’d like to read a little more adult fiction this year because I’ve been getting a huge amount of recommendations from friends and colleagues that I haven’t got round to, and I haven’t actually read a single adult book so far this year (oops).

And that’s the tag! I’m so excited to be back on here again but have not been keeping up to date with everything in the book-blogging world, so please let me know any other new tags that you’d recommend 🙂

Happy reading!