Mid-Year Book Freakout Tag 2025

Hello, readers! I’m not going to lie, 2025 has been a pretty busy year for me. So while I can definitely believe that we are already half way through it, I am very much looking forward to the second half of the year (which should hopefully be a lot more calm). Still, despite it’s complications, I managed to read a good chunk of books so far in 2025, and I’m looking forward to sharing my thoughts on them with you!

What is the best book you have read so far in 2025?

This is always the hardest question to answer, because I’ve been lucky enough to read a number of fantastic and enjoyable books this year. However, if I have to narrow it down to my favorite, I’d have to pick Funny Story by Emily Henry. It is just Emily Henry at her absolute best and I am a sucker for her romance stories.

What is the best sequel you have read so far in 2025?

I don’t know if a prequel can count as a sequel, but I’m taking this question to mean my favorite book that is a continuation of a previous instalment, and for that I have to answer Sunrise on the Reaping by Suzanne Collins. Truly fitting, honestly, because Catching Fire is the absolute best sequel I have ever read (and one of my favorite books of all time).

If I had to pick a book that is specifically a sequel, then it has to go to Girls of Storm and Shadow by Natasha Ngan. Ngan manages to expand the universe she first introduces in Girls of Paper and Fire so incredibly well here. I often find the sequels in trilogies can suffer from feeling like filler, but if anything, the stakes are heightened in this novel.

What is a new release that you haven’t read yet but want to?

I mean, if 2025 has taught me anything, it’s that if Emily Henry writes it, I am going to love it. I already have the audiobook for Great Big Beautiful Life downloaded, so now I just need to psych myself up to reading it.

What is your most anticipated release for the second half of the year?

There’s honestly been so many anticipated releases for me so far this year, but one of the ones I’m most excited that has yet to come out is A Theory of Dreaming by Ava Reid. I adored the first book in this duology, A Study in Drowning, so I’m certain to love this unexpected sequel.

What was your biggest disappointing book so far?

Don’t You Cry by Mary Kubica was just… not good. I need to stop reading her books. I was so hooked when I read Local Woman Missing, but since then, every Mary Kubica book I’ve read has been such a let down.

What was your most surprising book so far?

At this point, I’ve read a good amount of romantasy novels. And while I love reading this genre, I always approach a new romantasy story with a little apprehension. Because when it’s great, it’s really great, but when it’s not good… it’s bad. I had heard all the hype for Heartless Hunter by Kristen Ciccarelli, so I decided to pick it up. And I was so thrilled to learn the hype was not unfounded! The best kind of surprise!

Who is your favorite new author (debut or new to you)?

I really, really, really loved The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandanna. It was just the perfect feel-good, cozy, romantic read. This was my first novel by Sangu Mandanna, but it absolutely will not be my last!

Who is your new fictional crush?

So if you’ve read one of my mid-year book freakout tag posts before, you know I don’t really get fiction crushes (I don’t even get celebrity crushes). But if I had to pick a character from a recently read book, I’d have to pick Dylan Monroe from Dream On, Romona Riley by Ashley Herring Blake. She’s definitely my type, haha.

Who is your newest favorite character?

I’ve been obsessed with both Opal and Pepper from Late Bloomer by Mazey Eddings. They’re both so sweet, I just want to invite them over and pile them up under a mountain of fuzzy blankets and give them never-ending cups of lavender honey tea.

What books made you cry?

Look, I am a crier. A good car commercial can bring me to tears. So most books I’ve read this year made me cry at one moment or another. But the book that made me bawl my eyes out this year was Happy Place by Emily Henry.

What is a book that made you happy?

I had a really serendipitous time reading The Pairing by Casey McQuiston, as I listened to the audiobook during train rides as a travelled around Italy this summer. It was really fun and definitely made me happy to go to all these places and try these amazing foods (and wines!) while reading about them at the same time.

What is the most beautiful book you have bought or received so far this year?

I’m obsessed with the covers for the Emily Wilde series by Heather Fawcett, and the third novel, Emily Wilde’s Compendium of Lost Tales is no exception. We love a Canadian author!

I also had to mention A Study in Drowning by Ava Reid because the publisher, HarperCollins Canada, sent me a gorgeous special edition of this novel with incredible sprayed edges of shelves of books. I’m in love. 😍

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

I have been so anticipating V. E. Schwab’s newest novel, Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil. I am just holding out until the beginning of fall to pick this book up, because I know it’s going to be the perfect spooky season read!

What books are you looking forward to reading this year?

Let me know!