The (Very Late) 2021 Mid Year Book Tag - #AmReading #Reviews

As you've no doubt noticed, the year is more than half over, and I've had a lot to post about, so have ended up using days besides Fridays to post as it is.  With that in mind, originally I wasn't going to bother doing this tag.  But then Darlene did it on her blog, and tagged any of her readers who wanted to join in, and... Well, my regular readers will be familiar with my weakness for these tags, so won't be surprised to hear that was all I needed to hear to convince me to stop resisting and just go ahead and do the tag anyway.  I wanted to post it before we get too much further in to 2021 though, hence having it go live on what's officially not a posting day for me.

 

Of course, despite the fact we're already in August, if you want to play along too, you should feel free to do so.  I mean, it's never too late to share book recommendations, is it? So, feel free to play along, either in the comments section of this post, or on your own blog.  And, don't forget, if you do the latter be sure and let me know, because I'd hate to miss your post.

Now, on to the questions, as well as my answers and reviews for them.

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1. Best Book You’ve Read So Far in 2021
 

 Kingfall (The Kingfall Histories, #1) by David Estes

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

My review: "I've been longing to get to read this book, and let me tell you, it was well worth the wait, and I was not disappointed. Vivid descriptions, well-rounded characters, excellent worldbuilding, and a gripping plot, all merge together to make this an amazing read. The story captured me from the first words, and only the essential nature of real life commitments, and the need to sleep, prevented me from devouring it from start to finish, otherwise it wouldn't have taken me nearly so long to finish reading. Now I'm eagerly anticipating the second book in the series, and strongly considering ensuring I clear my calender for a couple of days after its release so I can binge read it in the way I would have liked to do with this one. If you love a good fantasy story - especially one filled with magic, demons, and dragons - you need to read this book. And if you get the audio version, I can assure you the narrator does a fantastic job."

2. Best Sequel You’ve Read so far in 2021
 

 Skin Taker (Chronicles of Ancient Darkness, #8) by Michelle Paver

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

My review: "This is an awesome continuation of the series, as well as being an excellent book in its own right. I have absolutely loved these books so far, and this one was most definitely no exception. The characters are well rounded and believable, the plot is exciting and gripping, and the world building is amazing. I had planned to take my time with this book, reading just a small amount before bed each night, but got so into it it was difficult to put it down, and I could easily have read it all in one sitting if I’d allowed myself to do so."

3. New Release You Haven’t Read Yet But Want To
 

There are several books I want to read.  Some actual new releases, some only new to me.  It would take too long to list them all here, and even longer to try and narrow down a few to mention, so I'm not going to even bother trying.

 

4. Biggest Disappointment
 

Highfire by Eoin Colfer

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

My review: "The plot concept was fascinating, and the characters were intriguing. It’s just a shame that the book was spoiled for me by overuse of foul language and crude comments, which I think were supposed to be funny, but were not the least bit amusing to me. Had it been the occasional bit of cursing, and the odd crude comment or joke, I might still have enjoyed the book, but as it was I felt like most of the book was made up of those things, and it ruined it for me."

5. Biggest Surprise
 

Mech Warrior: Born of Steel (Metal Warrior #1) by James David Victor
 My rating: 4 of 5 stars

My review: "I read this book for the "Febookary" reading challenge, where you have to read a book you might not usually pick up; this book was recommended to me when I asked someone for a recommendation for my Febookary book. It turned out to be a really good read, with a fascinating plot, and interesting characters. The actual writing itself could use a little attention (there are some issues like how we're told how people are reacting, rather than being shown, for example) but it was an otherwise great book, and I'm even feeling some enthusiasm about reading the rest of the series."

6. Favorite New Author
 

I haven't read any new to me authors I've loved enough to add to my favourite authors list so far this year.

 

7. Newest Fictional Crush
 

I don't have any new fictional crushes.  Sorry to disappoint you and all that.

 

8. Newest Favorite Character
 

I don't have any new favourite characters from books I've read this year to be honest.  The books have had great characters, but no one character stands out as being my favourite.

 

9. Book That Made You Cry
 

Two books immediately spring to mind, so I'm going to mention both of them.

 

A Ghost and His Gold by Roberta Eaton Cheadle
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

My review: "This is a thrilling and gripping read, with a wonderful cast of compelling characters, not to mention a fantastic plot. The author clearly did a lot of research, and reading the details of the war going on when most of the events in the story take place is fascinating, despite the disturbing nature of some of the unfortunately entirely factual occurrences. I only hesitate to give this book the full five stars because the way the different stories were told required some getting used to, so it took me some time to get in to the book (though I was thoroughly enthralled by the tale once I got used to the way it was being told). Also, I felt the definitions being presented as footnotes rather than simply in a glossary of terms at the end of the book interrupted the flow of the story - something possibly more noticeable to me due to the need to rely on a screen reader to read the book."

 

And...

 

Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

My review: "The concept was intriguing, but the plot was a bit slower than I'd have liked in places, and many of the plot points were predictable. Not to mention the fact the young Jacob was way more naive than you'd expect a 23 year old to be in those days, and most of the characters weren't as well-rounded as they should have been. However, I did enjoy the book, even if I didn't love it anywhere near as much as some seem to, and am a little uncertain as to why it's such a, "Must read," book. Regardless, reading this book was an emotional experience, because it was difficult to read about the cruelty to both animals and people knowing that kind of thing did happen back then. Plus, my heart went out to the older Jacob, since I know what it's like to lose the ability to do certain things for yourself, and can imagine how difficult it must be for him being in his 90s, in a nursing home, and unable to do much for himself."

10. Book That Made You Happy
 

Pass the Turkey: The Small Dog's Christmas by Sue Vincent
 My rating: 5 of 5 stars

My review: "This is a delightful book filled with entertaining and sweet stories and poems."

 

11. Most Beautiful Book You’ve Bought This Year
 

 The Midnight Library by Matt Haig
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

My review: "Even though the concept sounded sort of interesting, I was unsure if I wanted to read this when I first heard about it, and though I put it on my to-read shelf, it was with little enthusiasm. But then I was in a book club meeting where someone was gushing about how awesome it was, and literally the next day saw it as an option to get in the two for one sale on Audible, so I thought I'd grab it, and see if it was any good. I went in to it with low expectations, despite the assurances from this person in my book club that it was an awesome read, and was pleasantly surprised, because it really was. The idea of being able to explore the questions about what would have happened if you'd done even one thing differently was an interesting one, and I liked how the fact even one small difference in your life can have a domino effect was taken in to consideration when the main character was exploring all these different lives. I also found the philosophical musings and quotes throughout fascinating, and thought the concept of depression and mental illness was handled well. In short, I'm most definitely glad I did give this book a chance, because I found it to be an excellent read, which really makes you think about how you look at things in your own life."

 

12. Books You Need to Read by the End of The Year
 

I'm not sure how to answer this one.  I mean, there are obviously several books I want to read.  But I generally randomly pick my next read when I'm ready to start it, so I don't have an actual list of the order I plan to read them in, which means I don't know which ones I plan to read during the rest of 2021 myself, so can't really tell you.

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So, how about you? What would your answers be?