Author: cottoncandybookwitch

august readathon TBRs

in books

HEY HEY YEAH YEAH LET’S DO THIS!! As you will recall from my recent event sign up post for August, I…will be very busy reading this month. Which is fine, obviously I like to read. I have somehow managed to sign myself up for 4 events, 3 of which are readathons or other events with prompts, so today I’ll be sharing my reading plans for those readathons.

arc august

I hope to read a bunch of ARCs this month, and hopefully most of them will overlap with prompts for other readathons, so I’ll try to skip repeats.

However, here are some of the (mostly) eARCs I hope to finally knock off my TBR:

  • The Summer of Everything – Julian Winters
  • How to Be Remy Cameron – Julian Winters
  • Kingdom of Souls – Rena Barron
  • Ninth House – Leigh Bardugo (I got an eARC of it; don’t freak out!)
  • Rent a Boyfriend – Gloria Chao
  • Watch Over Me – Nina LaCour
  • Charming as a Verb – Ben Philippe
  • Early Departures – Justin A. Reynolds
  • Horrid – Katrina Leno
  • These Violent Delights – Chloe Gong
  • Ghost Wood Song – Erica Waters
  • You Don’t Live Here – Robyn Schneider

I’m embarrassed to list any more but…I have a lot.

diversify that shelf readathon

This readathon is technically only from August 10-19, but I think I might extend it all month because I have a ton of books to fit into these prompts. I also may not do every prompt.

  • Diverse Middle Grade: GHOST SQUAD by Claribel Ortega – I’m about halfway through this book about two little girls who accidentally awaken malicious spirits and threaten their entire town with shenanigans. There are also witches and a fat cat.
  • Different Culture Than You (Latinx): CEMETERY BOYS by Aidan Thomas – This book also deals with witches, and is about Yadriel, a transboy who wants to become a brujo like the rest of the men in his family, but can’t because of his family’s prejudices. His tries to initiate himself on his own, but tragedy strikes his family, and he is the only one who can fix it.
  • By a Black author: LET ME HEAR A RHYME by Tiffany D. Jackson – I’ve loved Jackson’s previous books, ALLEGEDLY and MONDAY’S NOT COMING, and keep meaning to read this one, which has to do with music.
  • Middle East Inspired: GIRL, SERPENT, THORN by Melissa Bashardoust – I found GIRLS MADE OF SNOW AND GLASS really interesting and have been looking forward to another book by this author, and this one is sapphic AND Persian-inspired!! Eeeeee!
  • Focuses on identity: STAY GOLD by Tobly Smith – I don’t remember the premise of this one, honestly, but it’s about a transboy, so I definitely want to read it, and the cover is full of pastels.
  • Diverse Contemporary: YOU SHOULD SEE ME IN A CROWN by Leah Johnson – I started this rivals to lovers between two prom queen contenders last month but haven’t read much of it since, so I’m still counting it for this readathon.
  • By a Latinx author: WE SET THE DARK ON FIRE by Tehlor Kay Mejia – I read this one earlier in the year but didn’t end up liking the second half, but I think I might not have been in the mood for it and sometimes when I read a book a second time I end up liking it more, so I’m going to give this one another shot.
  • East Asian Inspired: THE POPPY WAR by R. F. Kuang – I’ve already started this fantasy based on the opium wars in China but at first I wasn’t sure if I would continue it because it’s very dark and I didn’t know if I was in the mood for that given the pandemic. However, when I saw it was the Subtle Asian Book Club pick, that encouraged me to keep reading it.
  • POC on cover: GROWN by Tiffany D. Jackson – If I’m remembering correctly, this upcoming release is a thriller based on the R. Kelly scandal? But I’ll for sure read another hard-hitting Tiffany Jackson thriller ANY day.
  • OwnVoices: SURRENDER YOUR SONS by Adam Sass – OwnVoices mlm thriller about a bunch of boys who get stuck on an island where they’re supposed to go through conversion therapy and have to try to escape.
  • Diverse book with 300+ pages: NOW THAT I’VE FOUND YOU by Kristina Forest – I’ve been anxiously awaiting another book by the author of I WANNA BE WHERE YOU ARE, one of my favorite contemps in recent memory. I will read anything by this author.
  • Book by an AOC you’ve wanted to read for a while: CLAP WHEN YOU LAND by Elizabeth Acevedo – Like everyone else, I really liked Acevedo’s debut, THE POET X. I still haven’t read either of the other books I have by her even though I’ve wanted both since the deals were announced.
  • Pick a book randomly: WHO I WAS WITH HER by Nita Tyndall – This is a sapphic book about a bisexual girl who’s in love with her soccer rival, who then dies. I am ready for this book to emotionally eviscerate me.

So…those are my very ambitious TBRs, which don’t even include all the books from the Latinx Readathon. What have I gotten myself into, y’all. Wish me luck!

August Event Sign ups

in blogging, books

Yes, we need a whole post for August event sign ups because I am being an overachiever and signing up for multiple readathons and events this month because I have no self control. Hopefully I have a good reading month this month and don’t fall into a slump, because I have a LOT of reading to do!

Here are the events I hope to participate in this August:

dewey’s readathon: reversathon | august 7-8

I am so excited about this event! I have loved participating in Dewey’s 24-hour Readathon events in the past, but haven’t been able to read for more than a couple hours of the past few. I am hoping to change that with reversathon and read the majority of the time, and maybe even stay up late reading, which I have not done since college, which is now almost five years ago, lol. Reversathon is different from other Dewey events because usually the 24 hours goes from 8am to 8am, but this time it’s from 8pm to 8pm.

diversify that shelf | august 10-19

This readathon, focusing on reading diverse books, is being held from August 10-19 by Noura. I wasn’t sure if I’d participate in this one initially because I’m not as good at short readathons anymore, but I may just try my best during the actual 9 days and then extend it to the whole month. There are prompts for this readathon, which I’ll make a TBR for closer to the event.

arc august | all month

I haven’t participated in ARC April or ARC August for a couple years, but I plan to change that this month! ARC August is a readathon happening from August 1-30 with the goal of knocking out some ARCs from your TBR! I plan to use it to read some upcoming ARCs that I want to read before release date. This readathon is hosted by Read. Sleep. Repeat.

latinx readathon

Latinx Readathon seems to be being mostly hosted on Twitter, with the goal of reading more Latinx literature! I’m not sure how many books I’ll end up reading for this one because most of the ones I have access to to fit the prompts aren’t ARCs, but we’ll see.

This is my tentative, smol TBR for the Latinx Readathon:

subtle asian book club

I wasn’t sure if I’d participate in this at first because I am already participating in so many, but the book club pick is THE POPPY WAR, which I already started reading a bit at the very end of July, so I figured I may as well participate since it’s for a whole month and the reading of it is broken up and doesn’t have to be done in a couple days or a week. I’m looking forward to seeing the discussion on this in the facebook group.

August readathon roundup

in blogging, books

Hello, and happy August! Last month, I really enjoyed participating in the Pop Culture Readathon, and was very excited to motivate myself to read through more readathons in August. The problem was, when I started looking for August readathons to participate in, there were just. So. Many. And even though I’d like to participate in all of them, one must not make oneself crazy over the number of readathons they are participating in.

Still, there are A LOT of great events happening this month, so for this post, I’m going to highlight a few of the ones I found really appealing and tell you about them and how you can sign up. So, without further ado, let’s get on to the readathons!

Short readathons

Diversify That Shelf – August 10-19 – Host: Noura – The goal of this readathon is to read more diverse books! There will be prompts for this readathon to help you pick your reads, but Noura says in her intro post that she wants it to be pretty low-key, and you can use the same book for multiple prompts! To sign up, just tag Noura in your TBR.

Avatar: The Last Page Turner – August 1-14 – This is a readathon themed around the show Avatar: The Last Airbender. There are 4 teams based on the type of bending (Water, Air, Fire, Earth) and prompts that go along with each. Check out the announcement video here.

Galleyathon – August 10-16 – The goal of this readathon is to clear your NetGalley (and Edelweiss) TBRs! There are prompts you can follow listed on their Twitter account. To participate, tag your progress tweets with #galleyathon

Dewey’s Readathon: Reverseathon – August 7-8 – I used to love participating in Dewey’s Readathon, a 24-hour readathon that usually happens in October and April. I haven’t been able to read much during it for the past couple years, but I really want to give their reverse readathon (meaning it starts at night instead of in the morning) a try this year. You can sign up here and even if you only read for an hour of the readathon, you still count as a participant!

Month-long readathons

Tropeical Readathon – August 1-31 – Registration closes August 8! This readathon is all about tropes. Tropeical Readathon is genre-based with boards and prompts for different genres of books. You can find more info here.

Meteor Shower Readathon – August to October – This readathon, which you can find at the handle @MeteorReadathon on Twitter, is being hosted to celebrate the release of MISS METEOR by Anna-Marie McLemore and Tehlor Kay Mejia by reading all their books leading up to MISS METEOR’s release!

Magicalathon – August 1-31 – Found at @Magicalathon on Twitter, this is a fantasy-based readathon. You can choose a team such as school of fae, school of assassins, and more, and read based on the prompts for that team.

Here & Queerathon – ALL YEAR – Oh hi, of course I have to plug in my own readathon. We are reading queer books either by queer authors or with queer rep ending on December 31! You can find more info on signing up under the tab for forms.

Latinx Readathon – August 1-31 – This is, of course, a readathon all about reading Latinx lit! They have a board with different prompts, which you can double up on, and you can sign up by filling out this form.

This is by no means a complete list of readathons happening in August because there are A TON, but I hope it’s enough to get you inspired and reading!

august goals

in personal

Okay, here we go *takes deep breath* I am going to actually post goals for August. Goals posts are usually some of my favorite posts to write and read, but the pandemic has left me feeling like setting goals and trying to stick to my usual level of motivation about things is pointless. However, I have come to the conclusion that we are probably going to be dealing with this for a long time, so I can’t be despondent forever, and having goals really helps me focus my mind and makes me feel good when I achieve them or even just work toward them.

So, this month, we are back to doing a monthly goals post.

goals

  • Read 5 novels. I was really proud of myself for reading 9 books in July, and in August I want to devote the energy I gave the graphic novels that helped me achieve that number to written novels I need to read.
  • Read 2 Book of the Month books. I have been enjoying my subscription to BOTM, but I definitely have not read all the books I’ve gotten from it. I also got my mom a gift subscription so we can read the same book and discuss, so for this month I hope to read one of my previous BOTM books and whichever book I pick for August.
  • Participate in ARC August. I used to love participating in Read. Sleep. Repeat’s ARC August & ARC April and always knocked a lot of ARCs off my TBR. I was thrilled to see they’re still doing ARC August, so I will for sure be participating.
  • Don’t spend money on anything non-essential. I have a few big expenses coming up and want to do better at saving money, too, and I know I need to cut down on non-essential spending. This means: no hair dye, no makeup, no planner stuff, no books.
  • Eat out less. Most of my money in July went to non-essential spending and eating out, so I also want to reduce the number of times per week I order in from restaurants.
  • Drink more water. I used to be really good about staying hydrated during the day but since the pandemic hit that has also fallen to the wayside and I mostly drink non hydrating things.
  • Stay up past 10 at least one night. Okay, I know I sound old with this goal, but I have a weird anxiety thing about staying up past a certain time. Once my brain decides it’s time to go to bed, I start feeling INCREDIBLY anxious if I try to stay up. So I basically want to prove to my brain that the world will not end if I stay up past a certain hour.

July rewind \\ is 2020 still here??

in Uncategorized

Hi, hello. Hi. Um. Quite a lot has happened in the world since I last did a monthly rewind on this blog, which was April apparently? And somehow IT IS STILL 2020 AKA THE YEAR THAT DRAGS ON FOR THE REST OF OUR LIVES (but, you know, hopefully…not). Anyway, onto the wrap up:

How’s life?

Wow I do not like quarantined life. Considering how much of an introvert I am this is kind of shocking still even to me, but I do not like having large amounts of time being stuck in my apartment on my hands. Fortunately, in July the library where I work switched to sidewalk service, so I go into work every other week. Things have been very quiet so far, but honestly I’m stupidly thrilled to be back at work and have something else to do with my time other than stare at the ceiling and bemoan my lack of hobbies and contemplate the horrible state of the world.

I also went home a few times (once the stay at home order was lifted in my state), was gifted a glorious iPad, and got to spend some quality socially distanced time with a friend. The iPad has definitely improved the quality of my quarantined weeks and is getting a LOT of use. I did also manage to fix the virus problem on my actual laptop, which makes it a lot easier to use.

Really the only other thing of note to happen was that I made a lot of bad quarantine hair dye decisions that resulted in green hair and had to dye it dark brown again to fix it. I should have gone with my gut and just done pink again and would have thus avoided the whole green hair debacle that resulted from dyeing it blue, which I had never previously attempted.

Overall, life is okay I guess, and I, like the rest of the world, am just trying to survive and hang in there.

What i read

I actually managed to read this month! Quarantine really put a damper on my reading, which was unfortunate considering how much more time I had to read had I been able to focus for more than 20 seconds. However, in July, I participated in the Pop Culture Readathon: 90s Edition and managed to read 9 whole books.

1. Be Dazzled – Ryan La Sala
2. The Fell of Dark – Caleb Roehrig
3. Stella Diaz Has Something to Say – Angela Dominguez
4. Check, Please – Ngozi Ukazu
5. Cinderella is Dead – Kalynn Bayron
6. Heartstopper 1 – Alice Oseman
7. Heartstopper 2 – Alice Oseman
8. Heartstopper 3 – Alice Oseman
9. Check, Please 2 – Ngozi Ukazu

Hello, new favorite book^^^

My favorite book was probably CINDERELLA IS DEAD, which is a diverse, queer retelling/continuation of Cinderella. I loved the writing style and the unique twist the author gave to the story, and I can genuinely say it was a version of it I haven’t seen. To be honest though, I had a really great reading month and the only disappointment was CHECK PLEASE 2, but even with that book there were things I liked about it.

Blogging highlights

My posts:

Around the blogosphere:

  • Cielo shared 10 upcoming Latinx books for the rest of 2020
  • Tanya wrote about the recent controversy involving the performative diversity displayed by the Reading Rush organizers
  • Sofia added a lot of books to my TBR with her list of favorite romances of 2020
  • Kayli shared her mid-year update, and you know I love a good update
  • Sabrina wrote a fun post about bookish coincidences
  • Leelyn discussed Storygraph and what it had to say about her reading habits
  • Malka talked about her journey with the romance genre, which was very relatable
  • Charvi gushed about one of my fave reads of the year, FELIX EVER AFTER

How was July for you? Tell me all about it!

www wednesday // 7-29-20

in books

WWW Wednesday is a book blog meme hosted by Taking On A World of Words where book bloggers answer these questions:

  • What are you currently reading?
  • What are you reading next?
  • What did you just finish reading?

just finished

Check, Please: vol. 2: Sticks & Scones by Ngozi Ukazu

I’ve been excited for Check, Please 2 for an entire YEAR because of the ending of book 1, and I think buying both of them was an excellent use of my Amazon points because I basically got them for free. Anyhoo. I liked this book ok, but overall I didn’t like it as much as Check, Please 1 because I felt like the narrative switched from Bitty being a happy and well-adjusted self-loving gay to him and Jack having to prove to others and themselves that they were model gays, basically, and therefore deserving of love and respect. It felt like it changed to the narrative that straight people expect from a queer story, and that really disappointed me.

Currently reading

You Should See Me in a Crown & The Poppy War (not shown) & Sal & Gabi Break the Universe (not shown)

I just started reading THE POPPY WAR and am not sure how I feel about it yet. I also started YOU SHOULD SEE ME IN A CROWN and am finding it a bit slow to get into, but I still have hope for it. Oh, and I’m reading Sal & Gabi Break the Universe for a program at the library (I’m going to be doing book talks for a September video for Hispanic Heritage Month).

Reading next

Clap When You Land and/or With the Fire on High by Elizabeth Acevedo

Honestly I’m really not sure what I’m reading next because I need to work out which readathons I’m participating in and look at my TBR. I am tempted to read CLAP WHEN YOU LAND and/or WITH THE FIRE ON HIGH by Elizabeth Acevedo because my work bff has been reading those and they have both been burning holes in my TBR for too long considering how much I loved THE POET X.

Tell me all about your recent/upcoming reads in the comments, please!!

7 atmospheric &/or melancholy reads that will enhance your FOLKLORE listening

in books

Hello, and HAPPY TAYLOR SWIFT DAY!!!

I may as well forewarn you all now: you can probably expect a lot of Taylor Swift content coming up when everyone makes their own FOLKLORE book tags and readathons come up and other content. I am not sorry, because the past few years have made me a huge Taylor Swift stan and honestly, my life has improved a lot since becoming a TS stan.

ANYWAY. This post is here to help inspire your reading picks to accompany your FOLKLORE listening as you dive deep into the album and imagine yourself crying in the woods with the leaves crinkling under you wearing your ex girlfriend’s favorite cardigan. So, I present to you atmospheric and/or melancholy reads that have the mood of FOLKLORE. Enjoy!

the devouring gray – Christine Lynn Herman

While thinking about books that fit the mood of FOLKLORE, THE DEVOURING GRAY immediately came to mind. This book is a bisexual anthem about a town with a mysterious history, very creepy woods, a monster, and lots of angsty romance. TDG is full of moody bisexuals who would definitely listen to FOLKLORE while researching the town’s history and trying to find a way to defeat the Beast that’s gobbling people up and making the forest sick.

house of salt and sorrows – erin a. craig

HOUSE OF SALT AND SORROWS is a very eerie retelling of the Twelve Dancing Princesses where the “princesses” all live in an old manor by the sea and they seemed to be cursed because the sisters keep dying. This book made me coin in my mind the genre “ocean gothic”–i. e. eerie and dark ocean books with death and ghosts.

summer of salt – katrina leno

Okay, this book doesnt *exactly* fit the vibe of atmospheric and melancholy, but I think the characters in this book would definitely listen to FOLKLORE. SUMMER OF SALT is a sapphic book about a girl waiting to receive the magical powers that have been passed down to women in her family for generations. However, when something bad on the island happens involving a legendary bird, the summer visitors to the island turn to the magical family and look for someone there to blame.

sawkill girls – claire legrand

The slow, sleepy-but-eerie pace of this book reminds me of FOLKLORE a lot. Think “Exile.” Marion, Zoe, and Val all live on Sawkill Rock, where there is an urban legend of a monster in the woods, only Val knows it might not really just be an urban legend after all.

the last true poets of the sea – julia drake

I am so annoyed at myself for not having finished this one even though I really liked the part of it I read. This sad, sapphic book about shipwrecks and mental health struggles is perfect for FOLKLORE. “Cardigan” belongs on a playlist about Orion and Liv’s relationship. Sarcastic, moody Violet, our MC who is trying to find the right words to say to her brother who is in the hospital for a suicide attempt, would probably listen to “Betty” on the plane to Lyric, Maine, where she and Liv attempt to uncover the real story of how Violet’s family founded the town after a shipwreck.

the sky is everywhere – jandy nelson

I know this book is really old and has a love triangle, but it will always be one of my favorites. The lyrical writing just brims with raw emotion, and I promise it will destroy you. It’s about Lennie, who just lost her sister, and her relationships with two guys–one with her sister’s boyfriend, and one with a new boy in town.

extraordinary means – robyn schneider

Actually, a lot of Robyn Schneider’s books would go well with FOLKLORE, but this one stuck out to me because it definitely has a strong melancholy vibe because it’s set at a boarding school for sick teens. I don’t remember much about the plot to be honest, but I do remember I really liked it and even gifted it to the person I was dating at the time.

There were so many books I could’ve picked for a melancholy/atmospheric themed list, but these ended up being the ones that especially stood out to be relevant to read while listening to FOLKLORE! I hope I’ve managed to add some books to your TBR, and that you get to listen to FOLKLORE as many times as your heart desires this weekend!

here & queerathon: thoughts & reflections on hosting a readathon

in here & queerathon

Hello! Here & Queerathon is still happening and you can still sign up! I started the Here & Queerathon pretty much on a complete whim without much forethought or planning at the very last second in December 2019 (wow, that was about 20 years ago, am I right?)

The whole world has gone through a lot of ups and downs so far this year, and I definitely have also, which has caused the readathon to kind of fall to the wayside for me. I do have about 10 participants currently, and 25 followers on the Twitter account, which I know I haven’t been doing a good job of keeping up with, and I have a lot of thoughts about how I’d do things differently in the future and I want to share some of those today.

Firstly, I definitely wouldn’t do an all year readathon again. I don’t know why I thought this was a good idea in the first place? But it would definitely be easier for me to maintain a readathon that happened a couple of times a year for probably a month at a time. I think this would also ultimately garner more interest because it would feel more immediate and people would feel more pressured to do it because it would be more limited time.

I would also enlist the help of other bloggers, preferably with more followers than I have. I think one of the biggest hurdles to readathon success in terms of the number of participants I had was that I have less than 1,000 blog followers and less than 300 Twitter followers. It would also be easier to divide up all the content I originally thought I would be doing and put less pressure on me to do it all in addition to regular blogging content.

I’d theme each month. To make it more interesting for people, I’d pick topics or themes, like maybe do a queer graphic novels month or a fantasy month. I might even pick some months where I would do actual prompts for people to base their reads off of.

I’d have multiple people manage the social media for the readathon. I thought I’d have a lot more time and inspiration to do Here & Queerathon-related posting, but that…did not occur.

In general, I’d just think things through more and plan out in detail, way in advance. A year-long readathon sounded great at first, but I quickly fell off the wagon in terms of promoting it and posting content related to it to keep things interesting for participants. I greatly overestimated my own motivation for running something all year when I started Here & Queerathon, even though I definitely had good intentions going into it.

I hope those who have been doing it have been enjoying reading queer books all year, and definitely encourage continued participation!

pop culture readathon update!

in Uncategorized

Hello friends! At the beginning of the month, I announced my intent and potential plans for participating in the Pop Culture Readathon, happening from July 1-July 30. So far, I’ve had a lot of fun participating, but have realized that most of the books I’ve completed fit prompts on the Teen Dream board, even though I originally planned to try to get bingo on both the Family Affair and Thrill Ride boards.

For today’s post, I just wanted to give a little update for which prompts I’ve completed for the Teen Dream board thus far:

  • Laney Boggs – A book involving an artistic element – BE DAZZLED, which I read at the beginning of the month, definitely fits the bill for this prompt. Ryan La Sala’s upcoming 2021 release (will we even make it to 2021??) is super artsy fartsy and is about Raffy, a gay cosplayer, who wants to compete in a major cosplaying competition and prove to his mom and himself that his crafty dreams are worthwhile, and finds love with an unexpected boy along the way.
  • You didn’t tell me you were taking me to a gay bar!! – queer centered book – I’m using THE FELL OF DARK by Caleb Roehrig for this prompt. Nearly EVERY SINGLE CHARACTER was queer, and there was even a PANSEXUAL VAMPIRE!!!!! This book was basically Buffy the Vampire Slayerbutmakeitgay and I was so here for it.
  • Clueless – read a retelling or a classic – I’m using CINDERELLA IS DEAD for this one, which is a continuation of the Cinderella story set 200 years after her death, where the fairytale is used to oppress women and girls. The heroine, Sophia, is forced with the other girls of the land to present herself at a ball where the girls must be chosen by a husband, even though she’d rather marry her best friend, Erin. This book crushed me in the absolute best way and I have still not recovered.
  • Drive me Crazy – fake dating trope – I’m currently reading 10 THINGS I HATE ABOUT PINKY, the third book in the wonderful Dimpleverse, about Pinky and Samir pretending to date over a summer. I just started this one and am already enjoying it.
  • Kid ‘n’ play – a book with a bromance – I’m counting CHECK, PLEASE! which is a graphic novel about a gay boy who bakes and plays hockey with his college team, on which there are many bromances.
  • Dianne Davenport – have your best friend choose your read – One of my work friends wanted me to read HEARTSTOPPER and I discovered we had a copy of book 1 at my library and I was ECSTATIC!! I read this book in about 45 minutes and was so there for the mutual queer but slightly clueless yearning. I felt this book so much and related to Nick’s struggles a lot and desperately need the rest of the series to magically appear next to me.

So basically, the readathon is going pretty well! I almost have a couple bingos, so hopefully I’ll get at least one over the next 9 days!

are you participating in any readathons this month?

mid-year book freakout tag

in Uncategorized

I know it’s July and not *technically* mid-year anymore, but I decided I wanted to do this tag after all this year because it’s a classic. I probably haven’t actually read enough books to do this tag (I’m at 24 books for the entire year and my GR goal is 25), so we’ll see how this goes, but I definitely still have books I want to gush about.

1. best book you’ve read so far in 2020

This is probably a toss up between THREE DARK CROWNS, which I finally read, and FELIX EVER AFTER. I loved both of them for very different reasons; TDC was a surprise for me because I’d been putting it off for so long, and FELIX I loved because I felt seen by the trans/nonbinary rep.

2. Best sequel you’ve read so far

I’ve only read one sequel this year, which was ONE DARK THRONE, and it was really killer…no pun intended. The cliffhanger at the end of THREE DARK CROWNS had me absolutely needing to read book 2 almost immediately because of the ending with Katharine (who I still love even though she’s evil), so I had to get all the rest of the series immediately.

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

Eeeeee I need to read YOU SHOULD SEE ME IN A CROWN!!!!! I ordered this one from Bookshop for one of my Blackout books because it was also one of my most anticipated releases of the whole year, and it’s taking forever and a half to get here. But I NEED this rivals to lovers queer book in my life PLEASE I AM BEGGING!!

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

The book that popped into my head for this is NOW THAT I’VE FOUND YOU by Kristina Forest, who wrote one of my favorite books from last year, I WANNA BE WHERE YOU ARE. I just loved her writing style and she made me remember what I love so much about YA contemporary, so I’m super psyched for her second book.

I’m also REALLY pumped for Tiffany Jackson’s new book, GROWN. I have loved two of her previous books, ALLEGEDLY and MONDAY’S NOT COMING, and can’t wait to read more from her.

5. Biggest disappointment

Honestly I’m not sure what to pick for this one because only one book I’ve read this year was genuinely terrible (VERY NICE). I guess if I had to pick one I’d say I’LL BE THE ONE just because even though I liked the story and romance, I wasn’t a huge fan of the writing style, but I would still definitely recommend that book to people.

6. Biggest surprise

I know I’m repeating books already but for sure THREE DARK CROWNS. I expected I would like it because the premise of three royals fighting to the death for the crown is exciting and one I like, but I wasn’t expecting it to be as amazing as it was.

7. Favorite new author

I’m going to pick Riley Sager for this one because I really liked both thrillers I read by him. I read both LOCK EVERY DOOR and HOME BEFORE DARK, but probably HOME BEFORE DARK was my favorite because it was more on the horror-y end of things. Both were about creepy houses, which is totally my jam, and both completely surprised me because they did not end at all how I guessed or expected.

9. Newest favorite character

I’m skipping 8, newest fictional crush, because I mostly read YA still and that would be weird because I’m 26.

Anyway.

I’d say Auggie from THE FELL OF DARK by Caleb Roehrig, aka gay Buffy the Vampire Slayer, for this one. He really made the story special with his sarcasm, horniness, and general awkwardness. He was so charming and I just wanted to hug him and protect him.

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10. A book that made you cry

I don’t usually cry during books so I don’t have an answer for this one.

11. A book that made you happy

Even though it’s a dark book, it still made me so happy to see so many bi characters in Christine Lynn Herman’s 2019 debut, THE DEVOURING GRAY. I had a lot of bi friends in high school so I felt very seen by that book even though it was paranormal.

12. Favorite book to film adaptation

I haven’t actually seen any this year I don’t think?

13. Favorite post you’ve done so far this year

Probably this post. I was inspired to write a letter to a book because I saw one of my favorite bloggers, Nut Free Nerd, do that, so I experimented with that style for my THREE DARK CROWNS review and loved writing a review that way.

14. The most beautiful book you’ve bought this year

I LOVE my physical copy of CINDERELLA IS DEAD, and I’m so glad I preordered it even though I had an eARC. It is just so gorgeous.

15. What book you need to read by the end of the year

YOU SHOULD SEE ME IN A CROWN. I know I already said I need to read this book, but I have a very bad habit of putting off my most anticipated reads, and I refuse to do it with this one. I also need to read 10 THINGS I HATE ABOUT PINKY by Sandhya Menon before the end of the year because I keep forgetting about it even though I am very excited for it, which doesn’t usually happen. I’ve just totally lost track of books and when they’re coming out this year.

If you want to do this tag, consider yourself tagged 🙂