Mid-year Freak Out -nominated by @ShortBookScribe

Nicola from the fantastic Short Book and Scribes blog has nominated me for the mid-year freak out tag. I’ve really enjoyed doing this as it has made me revisit some of the books I have read so far this year, so thank you for the nomination Nicola! If you haven’t already do go and check out her fabulous blog http://shortbookandscribes.uk

So here are the questions and my answers:

1.) Best book you’ve read so far in 2017

Ooh tricky one I have read so many fabulous books! I’ll have to go with One Little Mistake by Emma Curtis and Zodiac by Sam Wilson.   They have both really stuck in my mind and I have been recommending them to everyone.

One Little Mistake is a thriller about the little mistakes we can make it life and the huge impact they can have.  It’s also about who we can trust and what is most important in life.

A fast paced dystopian novel following a murder investigation in a world where a person’s star sign determines who you are and what you can do.  I found it absolutely fascinating!

2.)  Best sequel of 2017 so far

I’m a huge fan of novels set in the second world war and I absolutely loved this book.  It was fascinating to hear about events from the German point of view and I enjoyed reading about the love story that develops.

3.) New releases you haven’t read yet, but want to

Oh goodness where to start? I’m going to go with The Child by Fiona Barton as it is the one I’m most excited to read as I have heard great reviews for it.

4.) Most anticipated release of the second half of 2017

I’m a huge fan of Rachel Joyce and love her books, so I’m really looking forward to reading her new one.

5.) Biggest disappointment of 2017

I’m in the minority for not liking this one. I just found it a little slow and a little unrealistic towards the end.  That said it is one of the beast books I have read for describing what life was like for ordinary Londoners during the Blitz.

6.) Biggest Surprise

I didn’t expect to like this book as much as I did.  I loved the main character, Vinny, and enjoyed reading about his exploits.  It was also really interesting to read about the IRA problems from the Catholic point of view.

7.) Favourite new author (debut or new to you)

A fantastic book about life in a small English village during world war two and how their ladies choir help them overcome their darkest times.  Told mainly from the diary entries of four different people in the village, this is a fascinating fly on the wall account of village life and all the drama that can be involved.

8.) Newest fictional crush

I loved bumbling, slightly geeky Benedict from Invincible Summer.  I think it helped that the description of him reminded me of another Benedict I’m rather fond of….

9.) Newest favorite character

I loved Martha from The Finding Of Martha Lost who i thought was such a sweet, unassuming though slightly naive character.  The journey she goes on throughout the book is very touching, and I really wanted her to have the happy ending I felt she deserved.

10.) A book that made you cry

I found this book very poignant and quite heartbreaking at times.  The story is told from two different points of view, Ruby when she was first born and her life with her mother, and Ruby in the present day trying to find out what happened to her mother. The combination told in tangent is a very emotional read and did make me cry at times.

11.) Books that make you happy

I found My Sweet Revenge utterly hilarious.  The main character is very real which helped add to my enjoyment as some of the stuff she does, particularly when trying to lose weight, is stuff I have done so I could really relate to her.  It made me laugh out loud loads of tines whilst reading it and I really recommend it.

12.) Favourite movie adaptation of 2017 you’ve seen.

I haven’t seen any movie adaptions yet but I’m looking forward to seeing Their Finest Hour which I’ll hopefully see very soon.

 

13.) Favourite review you’ve written this year

I enjoyed writing this review as firstly I really enjoyed it and thought it was a fascinating memoir.  It is always easier to write a review for a book you really liked!  Secondly the subject of nursing meant I could mention it in my review which gave me something different to talk about.

14.) Most beautiful book you’ve bought or received this year.

I thought this cover was very beautiful! All metallic sparkles which looked fabulous against the dark blue, really stunning.  It was definitely one of those books I kept taking off the shelf to look at.

15.). Books you need to read before the end of the year

I’ve heard great things about all these books from fellow bloggers and I am really hoping to get to read them soon!

 

Nominations!

Despite the lovely Lorraine’s best efforts I can’t figure out how to tag people in this post so I will have to hope they see this! I have no idea if they have already been nominated but I have gone for bloggers who I’m really interested to hear their answers to the above questions.

1.) Lorraine at The Book Review Cafe

2.) Kate from The Quiet Knitter

3.) Dee from Novel Deelights

4.) Amanda from My Bookish Book Blog

5.) Claire from Brizzle Lass books