After reading Ren's post re: this tag, I decided I'd join in on the fun! (Note: the original tag was created by ReadLikeWildfire and Earl Grey Books; it has since gone through several variations!) I always find myself wanting to go all out for the mid-year book freak out tag, but I kind of always forget to actually do it. And then suddenly it's a new year. This year, I was determined! Out of pure luck, I remembered to do it. I'm very proud of myself.


There have been SO many great books this year. Being under quarantine for a good quarter of the year meant I had a bit more free time on my hands than usual, so I ended up getting A LOT of reading done. Which is great, because the year has otherwise been bleak and still completely unpredictable. Of the books that came out in 2020, these ten are my personal favourites. (You're lucky I narrowed it down to 10. This is bonkers, I know.)

This year has, weirdly, not really been a year of sequels for me! (Except ones that were previously listed.) That doesn't mean that the second half won't be buried with them (here's looking at you, Cassandra Clare and Krista and Becca Ritchie) though! As for the so-far, I really adored The Crow Rider and Path of Night. (And I am officially a stan of both Kalyn Josephson and Sarah Rees Brennan.) 

Just as there have been so many newly released fantastic books that I've read, there are a ton of newly released books that I haven't read. (Gulp. A LOT. I though 2019 came in hard with amazing and eye-catching publications, but 2020 is truly sinking right in.) This honestly doesn't even scrape the surface, but these five are my priority reads when it boils down to my next trip to the library or a bookstore. You know, when 'rona lets up.

Not me going the "I couldn't pick one so instead I picked ten as a compromise" route again. Oh, don't look at me like that! I promise. It wasn't me.

Aside from the Queen of Disappointment herself (2020, come on down!) these five books were a bit of a disappointment for me. Does this mean that any of them were inherently bad? Nope. They just didn't work for my personal preference and that is 100% okay.

Don't get me wrong, I expected to enjoy all of these books. BUT, I didn't expect to be as fond of them as I was. (See also: might be obsessed with a couple. Oops!)
Kalyn Josephson is one of the newest new-to-me authors. I devoured both The Storm Crow and The Crow Rider in record breaking time. So, hello, new queen. Also, side note, how stunning are the covers for this series? I'm in love.
As a longtime fan of Addicted, Calloway Sisters, Like Us, etc, the Bad Reputation Duet was a God damn dream. Embarrassing or not, I may as well get 'property of Krista & Becca Ritchie' tattooed on my forehead. That being said, I never necessarily had a crush on either Garrison or Willow in the original series--but after seeing them grow into the spotlight, their adult years, their relationship, and what not, I've found myself massively crushing on both of them. Figures! My destiny was to fall in love with every character that these two make.
Honestly, I really loved Woven in Moonlight as a general thing. Like, a lot. Ximena is probably my all time favourite character of 2020, but I genuinely loved so many characters from this debut. With Cassandra Clare's Chain of Gold, similar to any and all characters by KB Ritchie, it was just as obvious that I was destined to fall in love with/root for all characters I might met between the lines: Anna Lightwood and Matthew Fairchild, for starters, but not limited to only them.

Maybe it's because I'm getting older and am growing more sentimental. Maybe it's because I've been cooped up far too long indoors. Regardless, I've gotten a bit more prone to growing teary eyed at a lot more than I used to.
Also known as "book that made you happy and emotional and maybe caused you to cry only a little less than the books that made you cry" because reasons.
I ended up going with covers, and their beauty. Namely, covers that I haven't squealed about on here enough. (Although, if you follow me anywhere else you've probably already witnessed my babbling praise over these designs.)

I've had these two at the top of my TBR for ages. The good news is they are both on hold at my local library. The bad news is, that library has not made them available yet. (They've been mostly closed since March, obviously, but also I think that the people who were ahead of me in the queue have just not brought them back yet since all late fees have been waived until August.)
Okay, fine, I cheated: this is a show. Same difference, okay? It's totally valid. Considering how much I loathed the book's sequel, Hidden Bodies, the show did a surprisingly brilliant job of reworking the source material in a smart way. Season two of You may not have the same feeling of darkness and intrigue of season one, but it's still creepy and indulgent. Basically, it's everything that book two should have been.