Listen. I am exceptionally qualified for this post, because I started the freak-out early in 2020, so this is some professional level spazzing, and you’re welcome.

I totally honed my skills just for you all. You deserve the best, after all. I’m still not completely sure how it’s mid-year right now. Wasn’t it just March? You mean it’s almost July already? Did I fall into a wormhole? Slip into a coma? Am I being punked? OMG, IS ASHTON KUTCHER HERE?! No? Well … disappointing.

✦ BEST BOOK OF 2020 SO FAR ✦

It was so freaking hard to choose the best book so far, because there were so many great books I’ve read. Ultimately, I went with this one, because it’s one I wasn’t going to mention elsewhere in this tag, and I think I covered most of my favorites in other categories.

I didn’t love Moby Dick when I read it, but despite that, I went out of my way to grab Black Leviathan, which was pitched as Moby Dick with dragons. You know what? I loved it so much that I ended up recently picking up a copy to add to my shelves. The world here was just *chef’s kiss*. I’m low-key mad that it’s a standalone, because I want more. This world deserves to be lived in for a while.

My review

✦ BEST SEQUEL OF 2020 SO FAR ✦

I bought Dread Nation a few months after it came out and then just … sat on it? I actually kept forgetting I owned it. So when I saw Deathless Divide was coming out, I piggybacked them, and thank goodness for that, because this duology is … phew. It’s an emotional roller coaster.

This book has a little bit of it all: zombies, badass black women, ace rep, bisexual rep, fun fight scenes, emotional character deaths, and lots of character growth. For the better, I thought.

My review

✦ NEW RELEASES I HAVEN’T READ YET, BUT WANT TO ✦

       

I’m pretty sure we’ve already established that I’m a slacker, so this should surprise no one. I need to get my hands on Elysium Girls still (neither library I have a card for has it), and I’m on hold for Ashlords at the library still. I definitely need to get to these before the end of the year!

✦ MOST ANTICIPATED RELEASES OF THE SECOND HALF OF 2020 ✦

       

I feel like none of these should really be much of a surprise, because I’ve been yelling about the series for a while now. If you haven’t read Tristan Strong yet … what are you even doing with your life?! Same goes for the Nevermoor series. Harry Potter too problematic for you now? Good. Go read Nevermoor. You won’t miss anything about Harry Potter except the nostalgia once you do, because that book has it all.

✦ BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENTS ✦

   

I actually started reading Highfire as a request from my director, who was deciding whether it should be put on the shelf or not. I was super excited. The blurb sounded like the story was pretty much written just for me, and the first few pages I instantly fell in love. That didn’t last long, unfortunately. My director still talks about my official conclusion about this book, because it featured the phrase “full of dick and ball jokes,” and apparently, she expected a level of professionalism that I’m clearly incapable of, because she didn’t know me well enough yet. She loved it anyway, though, and proceeded to share it with the board and anyone who would listen because it tickled her so much. So yeah, needless to say, that was a big pass for me.

As for Wicked As You Wish, I’d heard such wonderful things about Rin Chupeco and had been wanting to read her work, so this was my introduction to her as an author. I just wasn’t feeling it. The world-building was confusing, and there were a lot of really random info dumps, including a scene where the character is basically scrolling Wikipedia to find out about something, and that’s how we, as the reader, learn about it, too, with several pages worth of Wikipedia-esque text. Just not my thing.

✦ BIGGEST SURPRISE ✦

With a title like that, I had absolutely no idea what to expect! This book was a real delight, though. It was super funny, in that cheesy, punny way that I absolutely love. It fits perfectly into middle grade, but there’s also little Easter eggs that parents will enjoy, which made it all the more fun. I especially loved how it low-key pushed the idea of STEM and science without being preachy, but instead, just showing the little ways that science can be used in daily life. I mean, it makes the argument that science is better than magic, and I’m not sure I 100% agree with that (the magic in this book is geared towards doing chores, and oof, I want that), but it was still a super fun read.

My review

✦ FAVORITE NEW-TO-ME OR DEBUT AUTHOR ✦

T.J. Klune

If you haven’t read this man yet, GO DO IT. Why are you still here? What are you waiting for? Get on that!

My introduction to Klune’s work was The House in the Cerulean Sea earlier this year, and I immediately fell in love. His characters are so easy to love, his plots are character-driven but fun, and the banter he writes is so perfect I can’t even. I’ve since read The Extraordinaries, too, which is definitely not a genre I would normally read and it’s very character driven, so I thought I’d have problems with it, but nope. The protagonist, Nick, has ADHD, and he was basically me as a teenager except gayer and I absolutely loved everything about the book.

I haven’t had a chance to go check out his backlist yet, but needless to say, I will for be doing that in the near future.

✦ FAVORITE CRUSH ✦

Serefin || Wicked Saints

Ahhh, my murder king. When I was reading the book, I posted this on Twitter, and I think it still totally stands:

I’m still 100 pages from the end of Wicked Saints, so this may be a little premature, but I’ve decided that I’m obviously going to marry Serefin, okay? You’re all invited to celebrate with me & my murder king. I promise we’ll keep the bloodshed to a minimum. Probably. #amreading

— Sammie (@srbetler) March 30, 2020

Serefin actually gets a love interest in book two, which I’m fine with. I’ll marry him for political convenience, he can have his boo on the side, and we’ll finally clean up his kingdom and live happily ever after. I love his snark, of course, but also how he genuinely is trying to do the right thing for his people and make the best out of the lousy situation he was born into.

✦ FAVORITE CHARACTER ✦

Murderbot || The Murderbot Diaries

I mean … socially awkward murder robot. What’s not to love here? I have so many favorite characters, but now that we’re opening back up from COVID again and I’m interacting with the public more, I’m really feeling Murderbot right now lol. Being social is awkward and hard, and humans are silly and confusing.

✦ BOOK THAT MADE ME CRY ✦

The Of Blood and Bone series just completely destroyed me. I’m pretty sure I aged ten years in the couple of weeks it took to complete this series, back to back. All my poor little character babies. They went through so much. <3 AND MY FAVORITE CHARACTER. I WASN’T PREPARED. My poor heart. T_T And just when I thought it was finally over and I could relax? Gwynne just ripped my soul out of my chest and stomped on it. If you look really closely (it’s small, so I know it may be hard to see), you may still find boot prints on it.

My review of the first two books

My review of the third book

✦ BOOK THAT MADE ME HAPPY ✦

Middle grade comedy is so hit or miss for me, because the comedy is sometimes so crass and juvenile that I’m just like … nah. Miss me with those fart/poop jokes, thanks. The kids may love it, but it’s just never going to be my thing.

This series, though, was freaking hilarious. I loved that the theme was basically expect the unexpected. Poor Ben tries so hard, but he never quite succeeds at things. Not like you’d expect. The superpower aspect is really fun (hint: not all superpowers are useful). Despite being funny and a comedy, it also manages to pack in a surprising amount of heart and depth.

My review

✦ BOOK TO MOVIE ADAPTATION ✦

I actually haven’t read the Witcher books yet, so … who knows. Maybe I’ll hate them? I think not, but I just convinced my director to order them for the library and I called dibs, so hopefully I’ll get to read them soon.

Not gonna lie, when my husband insist we watch this series, I absolutely rolled my eyes. I mean, Henry Cavill is pretty hot, but eye candy does not a series make. I did end up loving this series, though, and the depth of the world and the characters. I probably honestly would’ve never tried the books if I hadn’t watched the series, so that’s a win, right?

✦ FAVORITE BLOG POST OF MINE ✦

✦ FAVORITE REVIEW I’VE WRITTEN
THIS YEAR ✦

✦ BOOKS I NEED TO READ BY THE END OF THE YEAR ✦

       

I can’t believe I haven’t read these yet. I’m as disappointed in myself as you are, trust me. I’ll probably wait until I get my hands on Aurora Burning, and then I’ll read those two together. I got Sorcery of Thorns for Christmas, so I have no idea why I haven’t picked it up yet. No excuses. And Mistborn? If I don’t read it soon, my husband will probably smother me in my sleep. He’s been trying to get me to read it for, like, SIX YEARS. Our 11th wedding anniversary is coming up, so I thought it’d be a nice gift to finally, you know, read it.

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