midyear book freakout tag '25
Best book you’ve read so far in 2025.
This is such a tough question because ‘best’ can mean so many things and doesn’t necessarily correlate with ‘favorite,’ but I think I have to go with The Tainted Cup by Robert Jackson Bennett because there was a lot of praise and hype around this book, and it completely lived up to all of it. Plus I’m absolutely a sucker for murder mysteries in fantasy settings. (My one nitpick is that I hated all the Sherlock Holmes comps because that felt like a marketing thing where they picked the most famous detective to entice potential readers. Ana was an eccentric detective, but comparing her to Holmes didn’t sit right with me. But otherwise on all levels that actually matter the book was truly excellent.)
Best sequel you've read so far in 2025.
I read Rachel Reid’s Game Changers series, and specifically The Long Game as a sequel to Heated Rivalry was fantastic. I wish more books would explore established relationships because there’s so much untapped potential there. I really enjoyed how Shane and Ilya’s relationship was strong but they still had problems and issues to work through. It’s just nice to see couples who love each other deeply and can face challenges together, rather than just ending a story when the couple gets together.
New release you haven't read yet, but want to.
Oh, so many! But the next book I’m planning to read is A Drop of Corruption by Robert Jackson Bennett. I’ve been desperately awaiting my library hold to become available since I read Tainted Cup earlier this year, and I finally got a copy.
Most anticipated release for the second half of the year.
I’ll highlight two. The main one I’ve had my eye on since I was looking at 2025 releases is Hot Wax by ML Rio. The other is To Clutch a Razor by Veronica Roth (sequel to When Among Crows). This is a rare case where, while I thought the first book worked as a standalone, I’m actually quite excited for an unexpected sequel.
Biggest disappointment.
Great Big Beautiful Life by Emily Henry. I went in with pretty low expectations, but this ended up annoying me enough that I gave it one star. As part of the minority who didn’t like Evelyn Hugo, I knew going in this might not work for me (since it’s also about a journalist interviewing an older celebrity about their life), but there was so little development of that celebrity’s life, and the romance that it was marketed under wasn’t developed as well as I thought it could’ve been, so the result was a book that tried to do a few things and didn’t manage to do any of them well.
Biggest surprise.
When Among Crows by Veronica Roth! I’d honestly forgotten about Roth after DNFing Divergent over a decade ago and never really planned on reading anything else by her, but I saw some trusted reviewers praising this book and decided to give it a go, and I’m glad I did.
Favorite new author. (Debut or new to you)
Definitely Robert Jackson Bennett. I’ve had a few of his books on my TBR for a while, and Tainted Cup lived up to all the considerable hype, so I’m excited to explore some of his completed backlist series. Honorable mentions to Alice Coldbreath, whose historical romances have been a nice change of pace from dukes and assorted gentry MCs; and Everina Maxwell, who single-handedly made me excited to read more sci-fi after Winter’s Orbit.
Newest fictional crush.
I’m too aroace for this question.
Newest favorite character.
I’ve been working my way through an older murder mystery series about a character named Nell Sweeney, who is an Irish governess in post-Civil War-era Boston. I love her competence and compassion and independence and her mysterious dark past that she’s fought to distance herself from. She’s one of the more complex female characters in a historical book that I've read, and I'm really enjoying the series so far.
Book that made you cry.
I don’t think any of the books I’ve read this year have made me cry, actually. But a book that did touch my heart was The Keeper of Lonely Spirits by EM Anderson, which follows an immortal old man who hunts ghosts.
Book that made you happy.
I really enjoyed Free From Falling by EL Massey. Matts and Sydney were such a delight!
Favorite book to film adaptation you saw this year.
Looks like I’ve only read one book so far this year that’s been adapted, and it was a re-listen of the Daisy Jones and the Six audiobook. I thought the miniseries adaptation was just okay.
Most beautiful book you've bought so far this year (or received).
I haven’t bought a lot of books this year, for once! I’m prioritizing books I already own and borrowing a lot from the library. I did find a copy of the next Temeraire book I need to read in the cover style I like (Empire of Ivory), so that was nice. Always appreciate a book with a dragon on the cover. I also somehow managed to accidentally buy two books that were signed by their authors, which was a fun surprise.
What books do you need to read by the end of the year?
So, so many! Beyond the ones already mentioned, I definitely have a lot of sci-fi I want to get to (Project Hail Mary, The Left Hand of Darkness, Ocean's Echo, a couple books by Stina Leicht). I'd also really like to start Becky Chambers' Wayfarers series. Oh, I'm also absolutely going to read the newest KJ Charles books (Copper Script, which came out earlier this year, and All of Us Murderers, which is coming out this fall).
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