Mid-Year Book Freak Out Tag – 2025 – Past Midnight Book Reviews & More

It’s that time again! I already freaked out seeing this being posted on other blogs. How can it be mid-year?! Are we ready for the last half of the year? I don’t think I am.

BEST BOOK YOU’VE READ SO FAR IN 2025

There’s been so many good books this year! Here are some of my highest rated books this year 4.5-5 stars.

Bat Eater and Other Names for Cora Zeng by. Kylie Lee Baker
Sunrise on the Reaping by. Suzanne Collins
The Knight and the Moth by. Rachel Gillig
Nightshade by. Autumn Woods
Den of Liars by. Jessica S. Olson
A Desert of Bleeding Sand by. Lucia Damisa
Oathbound by. Tracy Deonn
Rebel Witch by. Kristen Ciccarelli
Holy Terrors by. Margaret Owen
The Scorpion and the Night Blossom by. Amélie Wen Zhao

BEST SEQUEL YOU’VE READ SO FAR IN 2025

There were a few sequels I loved but I’m going to pick Oathbound by. Tracy Deonn. I can’t believe I thought this was the last book lol. It’s not!

NEW RELEASE YOU HAVEN’T READ YET, BUT WANT TO

A few new releases I’m waiting to get a library copy of:

Great Big Beautiful Life by. Emily Henry
Never Thought I’d End Up Here by. Ann Liang
Atmosphere by. Taylor Jenkins Reid

MOST ANTICIPATED RELEASE FOR THE SECOND HALF OF THE YEAR

Brimstone by. Callie Hart
Thief of Night by. Holly Black
Fallen City by. Adrienne Young

BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENT

On Wings of Blood by. Briar Boleyn – I gave this book a chance because it was all over booktok and it was messy and entertaining but it didn’t blow me away. It doesn’t help that I don’t like the MMC.

BIGGEST SURPRISE

I thought I would be dragon-ed out with all the dragon books I have been reading, but I actually really loved A Fate Forged in Fire by. Hazel McBride and will be getting a hardcopy of it for my shelf so I can re-read it!

FAVORITE NEW AUTHOR (debut or new to you)

I kind of love all the mauve shades of these book covers, but these new to me authors really caught my interest!

Of Flame and Fury by. Mikayla Bridge
Thorn Season by. Kiera Azar
Embrace the Serpent by. Sunya Mara
Nightshade by. Autumn Woods

NEWEST FICTIONAL CRUSH

Alex Corbeau-Green from Nightshade by. Autumn Woods – hot, rich, tattooed, smart, plays rugby, kind of the guardian of his 6 younger sisters and his mom who is dealing with some mental issues.

NEWEST FAVORITE CHARACTER

Bartholomew the gargoyle in The Knight and the Moth by. Rachel Gillig – because he is so funny and silly.

Alissa from Thorn Season by. Kiera Azar because she’s a young lady at court and she’s not fragile. She’s savvy, cunning and strong!

Saphira from Embrace the Serpent by. Sunya Mara – I just thought her talent with gems and being a jewelsmith was cool! She’s also a strong character.

BOOK THAT MADE YOU CRY

This two books made me emotional and made me shed a tear or two. Sunrise on the Reaping by. Suzanne Collins and Holy Terrors by. Margaret Owen.

BOOK THAT MADE YOU HAPPY

The Exception to the Rule by. Christina Lauren – I just realized looking through all the books I’ve read this year, not a lot of them make me feel “happy” LOL, because they are dark. But this one was short and sweet.

THE MOST BEAUTIFUL BOOK YOU’VE BOUGHT SO FAR THIS YEAR (or received)

The Fairyloot version of The Floating World by. Axie Oh is the prettiest book on my shelf. I had debated subscribing to the YA Fairylook Subscription because it’s so expensive that I passed it up on the first email I got. Then two months later I got another email saying a spot opened up again and I said to hell with it, I’m going to join just so I can get first dibs on any exclusives they have during the year.

WHAT BOOKS DO YOU NEED TO READ BY THE END OF THE YEAR?

I’m just choosing three arcs I have on Netgalley that I need to read in the second half of this year.

The Scammer by. Tiffany D. Jackson
And the River Drags Her Down by. Jihyun Yun
Wild Reverence by. Rebecca Ross

FAVORITE BOOK TO MOVIE ADAPTATION YOU’VE SEEN THIS YEAR

I haven’t seen any book to movie adaptations this year. But I did see that We Were Liars is on Prime Video and I read this a long time ago, before I made a blog and I know there is a significant plot twist but I don’t remember much of the book. According to Goodreads I gave it 3 stars but no written review. So I’m watching this series because I actually have the arc for the sequel and it would be nice to remember what happens.