Hello there! We're about half-way through July and I've consumed enough Mid-Year Book Freak Out tags to feel compelled to create my own rendition. However, I always struggle with at least half of the questions so to make things a bit easier, I thought I'd just share five of my favorite reads from the first half of 2021.

This year, while being exhausting and emotionally draining, has surprisingly been a pretty decent reading year for me. Out of the 23 books I've read, more than half have been over 4 stars which has never happened before - the only downside, it's made this list a bit hard to narrow down. 

when we were infinite by kelly loy gilbert
review
The first book that comes to mind for the most life-changing read of 2021 has to be When We Were Infinite. It's one of those stories that captured so many aspects of my own experiences and placed them into the lives of fictional characters. While Beth was one of the most frustrating characters to read, it was the first time I was in the head of someone whose thought processes mirrored so closely to my own and that made the novel all the more impactful.

soulswift by megan bannen 
review
Ever since I heard of Soulswift, I knew it was going to blow me away - yet I still underestimated just how much I would love this story. I read the entire 400+ page book in one morning because of how addicting the story, characters, and overall world was. It truly had the perfect blend of YA fantasy banter that warms your heart alongside a discussion of serious topics that make the reader pause and think. With this novel, Megan Bannen has solidified her place as one of my favorite YA authors.

the ones we're meant to find by joan he
review
You might have seen this statement from anyone who's read The Ones We're Meant to Find but it is truly one of those stories that absolutely blows your mind away. I read this right before its release and months later truly cannot wrap my head around how masterful the writing and storyline is. Joan He introduces a futuristic world that doesn't seem far from our own and challenges each individual to try and comprehend the weight of our decisions through honestly life-changing characters - this is one of those stories that you can reread hundreds of times and still gain something new.

      

the bone maker by sarah beth durst
review
The Bone Maker made the list because it was honestly just a great time. I used to be the biggest adult fantasy fan in high school/early college but somewhere along the lines got really intimidated by all the OG "best" fantasy series out there that I "had to read" in order to be a real fan. Maybe I got into my head, but Sarah Beth Durst really made adult fantasy accessible with this novel and I just fell in love with the rusty crew of characters who just wanted to finish the job and retire. It felt really refreshing to journey alongside these characters as they combatted their own morals versus the greater public. 

the song of achilles of madeline miller
review
If you've read this book, it doesn't need any explanation for why I've included it on this list. The Song of Achilles is beautifully written and absolutely broke my heart. Madeline Miller has this way of reconstructing familiar stories and making you sympathize on a whole new level and now I can never view Achilles the same. The story captures the innocence of youth that's ultimately tainted by the greed of war and how individuals are forced to play roles for the sake of other's lust for power. 

   

While I'm still in the midst of a reading slump and feel incredibly unmotivated when it comes to books, recapping on these favorites has made me grateful for the wonderful stories that I have consumed over the past six months. Hopefully I kick this reading slump out of the way and can jump into new and exciting adventures for the rest of 2021!

What are your favorite reads of 2021? Did you attempt the Mid-Year Book Freak Out tag? 

"It's not about cruelty. It's about power. Without power, all you have is anger and spite. Cruelty comes when you have the strength to turn your anger on someone else."

isbn: 9781529100730 | pages: 461
     publication date: June 06, 2021 | source: net-galley/physical copy from publisher
     genre: adult, fantasy | trigger warnings: author's note
rating: 6.8/10

    A M A Z O N    |    G O O D R E A D S    |    B O O K S H O P * 
B O O K D E P O S I T O R Y    |    B A R N E S A N D N O B L E S

a story of faith and cultures
The Wolf and the Woodsman is a book that pushes both its characters and readers on how far they're willing to go and how much they're willing to sacrifice for their faith. Set amidst Hungarian history and Jewish folklore, this story is absolutely captivating with an atmosphere and cast that slowly grabs its reader and pulls them into a cold and cruel world. Évike is a wolf-girl who has been shunned her entire life for her mixed blood and lack of gifts. When the king's Woodsmen come to claim a seer, Évike is disguised and sent into the forest as tribute, betrayed by her people, and forced to the same fate as her mother. 

Right from the get-go, this story was immersive with so much atmospheric tension both from the danger of the woods and from the unknown that comes with being taken by the Woodsmen. Évike is one of those characters who embraces her status as the outcast and literally survives this book through sheer determination and will. Her strength is astounding and that's what makes her so admirable and impactful as the main character. 

the power of fear and heritages
Both Évike and Gáspár are tested beyond their capabilities throughout this book on different fronts and it was both fascinating and rewarding to see them work through their differences. I loved how (for the first time in what feels like forever) we have two characters who don't seek to change their beliefs and personalities to fit someone else but continously challenge each other to become better human beings. The discussion of religion and of ethnic and cultural cleansing also delved deeper into the horrible acts committed throughout history and opens up this space for conversation for both the characters and the readers to examine personal biases and why the fear of someone else plays such a huge role in hatred.

There are honestly so many thoughts I have for this book and all I want to do is dive back in because I know there's so much I can still learn from Évike's story. For a debut, Ava Reid absolutely blew me away and I'm waiting eagerly for her future works.

disclaimer: I received a physical copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are 100% my own. 

Hello friends! It's been a hot second since I've attempted to write a blog post. With the end of the school year, it seems I've fallen into a slump when it comes to motivation and I definitely want to change that mindset before summer fully kicks into gear. 

Last year I participated in MythTake's Make Your Mythtaker readathon and while the concept was super interesting, I didn't actually read many of the books on my tbr. This year, the readathon is happening in July and I'm hoping it'll be what I need to pull me out of this slump. Most of the books on this list have been on my tentative tbr in previous months so I hope it'll be a good jump start into finally tackling that massive pile. 

The concept this year is to choose a PATH or PANTHEON and if you're interested in the other prompts, you can check out the twitter thread. I decided to embark on the path of beauty because the prompts seemed the easiest to cater to my shelves 😅 but I'll definitely be saving the other prompts to challenge myself in the future for fun.

freyja - a book w/ an animal on the cover
the tangleroot palace by majorie liu
Originally, I had two books picked out for this prompt but I figured putting a collection of short stories was a little less daunting than a 400+ page adult fantasy novel. I've read the first three volumes of Majorie Liu's Monstress graphic novels which are simply beautifully gruesome stories so I'm very excited to see what this collection holds.

hathor - a book ft. art
picture us in the light by kelly loy gilbert
I've included two audio books in an attempt to see if stepping outside my reading comfort zone will help me get back into reading. I adored Kelly Loy Gilbert's When We Were Infinite which I read earlier this year and have heard amazing things about Picture Us in the Light from a friend. 

      

kichijōten - a book ft. music
kpop confidential by stephen lee
Audiobook #2 and the one that I'm most on the fence about. Despite being a kpop fan, I've kind of avoided books that were mainly focused around the music genre so naturally this wasn't a book I was drawn to when it first came out. However, I was able to find the audiobook of this on hoopla so I figured I'll give this a try and see how it goes.

osun -  a book w/ feminist themes
she who became the sun by shelley parker chan
This book is part of the holy sapphic trinity of 2021 (image) and has been on my radar ever since I first heard about its premise last summer. I was lucky enough to get approved of an arc, but like most of my e-arcs they get lost until right before release date...

*power - swap a prompt for a beautiful cover
the dragon of jin-sayeng by k.s. villoso
This is one of the most stunning covers ever and another book that I'm ashamed I haven't read yet. I adore this trilogy and honestly the only reason I have been avoiding this finale is because I'm scared of what will happen...

      

The bottom line of this tbr is mostly that I'm a scaredy cat when it comes to reading books I know I'll love so here's to hoping this readathon will come in and change my mindset. If you're participating in #pathorpantheon or any other readathons this month please let me know what you plan on picking up!