Mid-Year Book Freak-Out Tag ~ 2025

Hola, mis amigos!!

lol autocorrect is so confused about my Spanish.

I’ve seen this tag floating around, and figured I might as well join the fun!! As for crediting where it came from, I think the last person I saw do it was Victoria at Bookworm Hollow. So, many thanks to Victoria!!

Onward!!!

Best book you’ve read so far in 2025:

Way to start out with a tough question. Don’t you realize it’s nearly impossible for a bookworm to choose JUST ONE book??

We’re gonna go with Dearest Josephine, I guess. I read it all in one sitting after getting home from work one day. My mind was entirely blown and I had no idea how the author was going to be able to wrap it all up. But then she did and it was so good I might have cried. ❤😭

Best sequel you’ve read so far in 2025:

Radiant, by Ashley Bustamante. This trilogy was *chef’s kisses* so good. Gorgeous covers, great plot….made me appreciate sunflowers and the color yellow….

New release you haven’t read yet but want to:

I’ve been working through the Starlore Legacy for…idk how many years now. I own the first six books and currently have my friend’s copy of Creed on my shelf lol. There will supposedly be twelve books in the series, and my pal Chuck Black is only publishing one per year. Do you have any idea how old I’ll be when the final book is finally out?? *sobs* Will I even care anymore??

Most anticipated release for the second half of 2025:

Glass Across the Seaaaaaa…I’m ready for you. You will be mine…my own…my preciousss…

If you read my post on anticipated books from two weeks ago, you already know all the reasons for it. I refer you to that post here to see all the other books I’m looking forward to. Actually, not all, but there may or may not be another post forthcoming about the ones that got left out.

But can I just mention how gorgeous this book is?? and that there will be fireflies in it?? I’m a big fan of fireflies…

Biggest disappointment so far in 2025:

Oh definitely The Applewhites Coast to Coast. Each successive book in that series got less and less worth it. But at that point I was committed, I had to know how it would end.

I’m not sure how I initially found the first book, but I read it some years ago and wanted to try it again. Then I discovered it was the first of a trilogy. Would not recommend. It’s the only book I’ve read this year that I gave a one star rating to. If you want a cross-country trip with kids and mayhem, go read The Vanderbeekers On the Road.

Biggest surprise so far in 2025:

I was pleasantly surprised by the Sunlit Lands trilogy. It was…a very intriguing read. Much cause for thought, but still a fantasy trilogy with fantastical elements. A cool combo, and I enjoyed it!! I also discovered that there are two lil novellas that fit between the novels that are only available on kindle…and now I want to read those too.

Favorite new author so far in 2025:

Pepper Basham!! Her books are so fun!!

Newest fictional crush/ship so far in 2025:

Elm and Ava from Color Theory…🌻 oh how I love Elm.

😍ALL SHIPS FROM DEAREST JOSEPHINE😍

Ollie and Poppy from The Bookshop of Dust and Dreams…✉📚

Alex and Tessa/Cody and Izzy from Riverbend friends…they’re so sweet…❤❤❤

Newest favorite character so far in 2025:

Can I say Elm from Color Theory??

Elm should technically belong in the ships/crush category, but I loved how developed of a character he was. He wasn’t a flat character for love interest purposes only. He developed and furthered the plot and I loved that for him. He managed to be an incredibly fun character despite his backstory.

Books that made you cry so far in 2025:

there were more than I thought…can I just say that I recommend most, if not all of these?? they were good…

Dearest Josephine was so good it made me cry, Chasing Jupiter was sad yet hopeful, Easy Target was a tragic look at bullying, Coral deals with mental health, Sweep was…a story of sacrifice, same with The Bookshop of Dust and Dreams, Light and Air dealt with tuberculosis, and Life in the Middle is about a girl whose parents split up (and honestly I can’t talk about the part that really made me cry. it’s too spoiler-y).

Books that made you happy so far in 2025:

Dangerous question, mon ami (lol is this just the post for foreign language cameos of the word “friend”??). You asked for multiple, you shall receive multiple.

Again I must mention Dearest Josephine. James Ponti in general. The My Favorite Color series. Authentically Izzy (the Lord of the Ring references!! ❤). Love and Other Great Expectations, cuz it was set in Great Britain and I got to imagine British accents for a lot of characters. Just assume the books that made me cry also made me happy (i’m weird like that). The Color Theory books. And that’s a lot, so I’ll be done now.

No pictures, bc that would take me foreverrrr and take up all the space on your screen. Sorry pals.

Favorite book-to-film adaptation you saw so far in 2025:

Anne of Green Gables (1985), ofc. It’s one of my favorite movies ever. It gets less and less accurate the further you get into the three movies, but I love the first two. I’ve never seen the last one, where Gil goes off to war, have any of you?? Is it worth it?? Also Anne With an E, is that worth it?? I have questions…

Favorite bookish post you’ve done so far in 2025:

I’ve published a grand total of seven posts so far, and only two of them are bookish. So between my Book of the Month post and my Books I’m Looking Forward To post, I’d have to say my favorite is Books I’m Looking Forward To. This one has also been fun, but not sure I can count it yet. 😉

Most beautiful book you’ve bought so far in 2025:

I bought The Unraveling of Emlyn DuLaine as my book of the month in February, and it is by far the prettiest book I bought this year. The Nightmare Virus was also very aesthetic, but it wasn’t meant to be…pretty, y’know?? It’s got more of a dangerous vibe going. Unraveling is sooo gorgeous and I can’t wait to see how the sequel looks.

Honorary mention to a book I didn’t buy, but is a lovely edition nevertheless. Someone donated this beautiful copy of Little Women to my library, and I snapped it right up. This is my…fourth copy of Little Women. I started with an abridged version when I was younger, then I found a less aesthetic but supposedly un-abridged copy in the back of the library where books are sold. Then one of my friends was getting rid of her Little Women, and as it was decidedly prettier than mine, I took it off her hands. Then while transferring tabs from one book to the other, I discovered that mine was still abridged!! major letdown there. So now I have this beauty in its unabridged and aesthetic glory!!!

Books you need to read by the end of 2025:

I’ve had Alloy of Law on my shelf from the library for over a month now, and done no more with it than skim the first page. I read the Mistborn trilogy a few months ago, and then my cousin recommended the Wax and Wayne books. I’ll get to it one of these days. Brandon Sanderson just feels really intimidating, I guess.

Other than that, I don’t have anything that I *need* to read, unless you count all the anticipated books that will be published between now and 2026.

Coda

And that’s the highlight of my books so far!!

Have you read or heard about any of these?? Can you recommend the third Anne of Green Gables movie?? Thoughts on Brandon Sanderson??

Always,

Ava 📚