Mid Year Book Tag

2024 has been such a better reading year than 2023. I have read quite a few 5 star rated books this year and I have been more selective about the advanced reader copy requests I have submitted. Many of the books I have read have felt very personal to me and in fact, they match the 2024 bookscope predictions I did for the 12 zodiac signs this year. You can read that blog post here.

In this blog I will be answering some questions as part of the Mid Year Book Tag that will help me reflect over the last 6 months and prepare for the rest of the 2024 reading year.

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Best Book I’ve Read So Far This Year

This is a hard question to answer because I have read so many books this year that I have added to my all time favourites shelf. I have decided to choose The Witches of Santo Stefano by Wendy Webb because it really spoke to me. I loved the rustic Italian setting and the folk magic in this story. It was also a multi-generational story about ancestral healing, which I’ve read a lot of this year, but this book did it with charm, mystery, and bewitchment.

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An Advanced Reader Copy You Want to Read

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Most Anticipated Release for the Second Half of the Year

I cannot wait to read the next book in the All Souls series by Deborah Harkness. While I’m not a fan of her writing style, her stories spoke to me on a very deep level and I am really excited to delve back into her dark glamorous world. I also hope we will see the television series adapt this book too.

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Biggest Disappointment So Far?

Even though I gave this book a 4/5 star rating soley for its plot and grand ideas, the saccharine writing style turned me off a little and the slow pace along with the overly descriptive world building slightly disappointed me. I was expecting a more straight forward magical story, but instead got a very rich fantasy that I struggled to finish. I have read better magical Paris books than this, and I do think I will revisit it again in the future when I have a reading slump, but it did not meet my expectations overall.

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Biggest Surprise?

I normally don’t go for cozy witchy stories as I find them a little too sweet and simple, but The Crescent Moon Tea Room surprised me because the publisher, Atria normally doesn’t publish these types of stories, and the story was in fact simple, but the charm and feel good nature of it with its cutsey magic really wowed me, so much so that I gave it a 5/5 star rating. I am more inclined now to give these types of book a chance.

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Favourite New-To-You or Debut Author?

I have read a lot of new authors this year, but I am most excited for Anna Rasche and what else she will publish because her debut The Stone Witch of Florence was amazing and her background as a gemologist will offer a treasure trove of ideas for future stories.

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Book That Made You Cry?

The Witches of Santo Stefano made me teary eyed in parts.

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Book That Made You Happy?

This book made me happy because I finally read a book about Croatia that wasn’t entirely about their homeland war. I was happy to read a book set entirely in that country that really captured the essence of the people, place, and culture.

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Best Book to Tv/Film Adaptation?

I haven’t watched any book adaptations this year, but I am most excited for the Netflix adaptation of We Used To Live Here because it was the most intriguing mind bending book I have ever read.

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Most Beautiful Book Cover So Far This Year?

The mystical and moody aesthetic of this cover perfectly captures the essence of this beguiling mystery.

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That’s it for now, and I hope that the rest of 2024 continues to be an incredible reading experience.