**I cut the stems on flowers that I’ve been growing outside. The yellow, orange, and pink petals blend together and will create a beautiful bouquet. I cut each stem to my desired length and then place them in the vase and fill it up with water. I place the vase on the counter and admire my work. The time it took to raise the flowers from seed to stem, and the craft of arranging them just so. I take another moment to admire my work then head outside to read.**

It is that time of the year: Our mid-year book freakout tag. This creeps up on me every year and I never know how the year has gone so fast. I’ll be using all the same questions from last year and I’m interested to see how I answer each one. I feel like I haven’t really read any great books this year so I’m really hoping the second half brings some better books. But let’s get right into the questions.

• Best Book You Have Read So Far in 2025?

My favorite book of the year is actually the first one I finished, which is The Most Wonderful Crime of the Year by Ally Carter. I read a ton of Ally Carter’s books years ago then never continued on for some reason. So when I saw she had a Christmas book I decided it was time to give her another shot after previously loving her books. And this one was sooo good too! It’s about two authors who get invited to an estate by an unknown guest who turns out to be a famous mystery writer who invited them and a small group of others to her house. The next morning, she disappears from a locked room so our two main characters have to work together to solve the mystery of what happened to her. I thought this book was really entertaining. I do think at times the romance took over a bit at times, but I just enjoyed the story so much it didn’t bother me too much. She is actually releasing another Christmas mystery this year that I will definitely be reading.

• Best Sequel of 2025 So Far?

This is more of a story set in a series compared to a sequel, but I’m still counting it, which is The Same Backward As Forward by Jennifer Lynn Barnes. I love The Inheritance Games series so of course I was going to read all the novellas and short stories set in the world. This book is two perspectives following two characters from the world. I don’t want to say too much for spoilers, but it was interesting to read more about these two people and learn more about their backstory. I haven’t read many sequels this year, but I did enjoy this one.

• New Release You Haven’t Read Yet, But Want To?

Sparking Fire Out of Fate by Brigid Kemmerer! This is one of my most anticipated 2026 releases so I really need to get to it before the year is over. This is the third and final book in the Forging Silver series, which is a spinoff from A Curse So Dark and Lonely. This new series has magic and characters fighting for their kingdoms and bonds and betrayals. I’m interested to see how the series ends so I can’t wait to finally read it.

• Most Anticipated Release For the Second Half of the Year?

So many! Trust Fall by Lynn Painter, Dead Beat by Leigh Bardugo, Dangerous Impulses by Jennifer Lynn Barnes, and The Lodge by Natasha Preston are probably my top ones though. These are all authors I love and some are continuations of series I like so I am so excited for these to come out.

• Biggest Disappointment?

Happily Never After by Lynn Painter. I don’t know what happened with this one, but it lacked the typical Lynn Painter charm. I feel like there was really nothing to this book. It’s about a guy who works as an objector at weddings so people can get out of it without causing a scene, so the mmc does this for the fmc’s wedding. He later recruits her to help him and they work together on weddings. I feel like the romance was purely physical attraction and there was no chemistry whatsoever. I just didn’t like the romance or the characters and I was really disappointed by this one. I would also say Violet Thistlewaite Is Not a Villain Anymore by Emily Krempholtz. This is a cozy fantasy about an villain who decides to start over. The cover is what originally drew me in and the story sounded promising. Unfortunately, I did not like this book at all. It was boring, the characters were unlikable, and the romance was another where it felt purely like physical attraction, specifically for the love interest, while the main character seemed to hardly have any feelings for the love interest whatsoever.

• Biggest Surprise?

While I didn’t love this book, We’ll Prescribe You a Cat by Syou Ishida surprised me. I’m not a huge fan of Japanese translated fiction, so I was going into this expecting to not like it. While I didn’t love it, I actually didn’t mind it. It’s about this place that people are referred to, a “clinic for the soul” because people are seeking help, but their prescription that they are given? Cats. Each cat has unique properties and side effects like medication and we read about a few people and their experiences going to the clinic. I thought the story was unique and different and I actually didn’t mind the book.

• Favorite New Author (Debut or New to You)?

I think I’d have to go Carissa Broadbent. I haven’t had the best reading year, so all of my reads have been authors I’ve previously read from or new ones I didn’t care much about. But I read Daughter of No Worlds this year and enjoyed it so I’d probably go with Carissa Broadbent. I have the rest of the series and one of her other books, so I really need to get a move on.

• Newest Favorite Character?

Staying in theme with the last question, I’d have to say Tisaanah and Max from Daughter of No Worlds. I like that Tisaanah is a caring character but incredibly strong and perseverant. And Max has gone through a lot and has closed himself off but still cares. I thought these two were great leading characters for the series.

• Book That Made You Cry?

When I originally starting writing this post, I mentioned that I didn’t really have an answer. I had maybe one or two that made me feel a bit emotional, like The Same Backward As Forward by Jennifer Lynn Barnes, but then I ended up finishing my read of Firefly Lane by Kristin Hannah in that time. And let me tell you, that was rough. I was not expecting to cry at all during this book, but I was very emotional during this one.

• Book That Made You Happy?

The Off Limits Rule by Sarah Adams is probably the book that I’d say for this. Sarah Adams just has so many feel-good books. I love what I’ve read from her so far and will continue to pick up her books.

• Most Beautiful Book You Bought This Year?

After a year of looking at them, I finally bought the Acrylipics Defy the Night editions by Brigid Kemmerer. They are really nice and I got them when there was a sale so I didn’t have to spend that much, which was an added bonus. These books have sprayed edges that align when shelved together as well as page overlays with scenes from the series. This is an all-time favorite series of mine so it’s nice to have special editions of it. I wish I could find a special edition of this or the Cursebreakers series with new covers though. That’s my favorite part of a special edition.

• Books to Read By the End of the Year?

Top five, off the top of my head, are Sparking Fire Out of Fate by Brigid Kemmerer, Part of Your World by Abby Jimenez, Great Big Beautiful Life by Emily Henry, Onyx Storm by Rebecca Yarros, and Drawn Together by Juliana Smith, but there are probably more.

Once again, we have made it to the mid-year necessity posts. Before we know it, we’ll be on the end of year posts. I love tags like this and always find it fun to hear what everyone else answers so feel free to share your own answers!

xoxo,

Just another reader