I’ve just noticed that I haven’t done one of these posts since 2020. Ooops! Oh well, better late than never so here goes with this year’s mid year book freak out.
Best Book You’ve Read So Far in 2023
My favourite book of the year so far is (Aff link, see bottom of post for more details) Alice by Christina Henry. I loved the new take on the classic Alice in Wonderland and it was really interesting seeing what Christina Henry did with some favourite characters, as well as some new ones. I particularly liked Cheshire.
Best Sequel You’ve Read So Far in 2023
The best sequel I have read so far in 2023 has to be The Man Who Died Twice by Richard Osman (sequel to The Thursday Murder Club). This is a series I was sure wouldn’t be for me, but I eventually gave in and read the first book because of all of the hype and I was immediately converted. It’s very different from my usual thrillers and horror reads, but definitely a series worth reading.
New Release You Haven’t Read Yet, but Want To
This one would have to be Zero Days by Ruth Ware. I have read every book of hers and she has never let me down with how much I enjoy them.
Most Anticipated Release for the Second Half Of the Year
This has got to be Holly by Stephen King. I am always excited for a new Stephen King book, but this one is even more exciting than usual because it sees the return of Holly Gibney from past books.
Biggest Disappointment
That one has to be Haunting Adeline by H D Carlton. I DNF’ed it after a couple of chapters as it was boring me. I’m sure it’s a perfectly enjoyable book, but when I decided to read it, I did so because I had seen hundreds of people talk about how disturbing the book is. All I can say is those people clearly don’t read the sorts of books I do because the only thing disturbing about it was how slow it was.
Favourite New Author (Debut or New to You)
This has to be Aron Beauregard. He writes extreme horror and his books are not for the faint hearted, but what I really like about his books are there is more to them than just gore and shock value. Sure, that’s there but there is also a real story to Aron Beauregard’s books, where I find a lot of extreme horror books forget they need a plot.
Have you read any of these? Did you enjoy them? Let me know in the comments :))
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“He was grinning like a cat that’s found a particularly juicy mouse in a corner it can’t escape from.”
I’m going to have to check out Holly. I liked what you said about Haunting Adeline, “…the only thing disturbing about it was how slow it was.” Reminds me of when I go to the theater to see a scary movie and it’s not really scary but yet people are covering their eyes and screaming. And me, I’m sitting in the theater thinking they’ve obviously never seen any truly scary movies if they think this one is scary.
Haha, yes this is so me!
I rarely read horror so haven’t read any of these. The one horror book I’m currently reading happens to be quite slow-paced too though.