Mid Year Book/Reading Tag - 2026
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I saw this hashtag roundup on Bailee's YouTube page and thought it would make a fun blog.
Some of these questions are really tough, and I couldn't just pick one, but I think I got a good collection of books here. Let me know in the comments if you have read any of them, and if you placed them on your own mid year reading list.
Best Book I've Read So Far
I ate this book up, and gave it 5 💜. Georgia Leighton is a must-read author for me, even though this is only her second book (check out her first, Spellbound). I just adore her stories and her writing style. I was delighted to be lucky enough to get an ARC for this book.
It's a fantastic book about found family and the strength of women when thrown into difficult, challenging and often dangerous circumstances. It has everything you could want from a fantasy book - fairies, magic, dragons, lady knights and kick ass FMCs - all three of them.
One of my favourite movies, both when I was a kid and to this day, is The Wizard of Oz. I have read and/or watched most things made about the Wonderful World of Oz, but for some reason, this one had slipped through the cracks. I think it was recommended to me on Amazon, and I was delighted to find it available on Kindle Unlimited.
This is a slightly spicy retelling of The Wizard of Oz. After crash landing in Oz, Dorothy meets many of the characters from Oz that we know and love, but they are different from the movie, and they are definitely not singing about being off to see the Wizard. This is Oz, but a darker, more dangerous and sinister world than we are used to. The second book in the series, East of Envy is coming out in November, and I can't wait.
It's currently available on Kindle Unlimited, or you can purchase it using the link below.
Best Sequel I've Read So Far
One of my favourite books of 2025 was Pearly Gates, which is a fabulous introduction to the wonderful world of Pearly. She is a deceased drag queen who has been working in the afterlife in sanitation, but she knows she's meant for more. She manages to switch roles temporarily with a spirit guide, with mixed results.
In this second book in the series, Pearly has a new set of souls to help, but she's struggling to know how to help them. So she comes up with a plan with her boss, she will take her charges to Paris, and if she can't change their lives in the time they are there, her boss can dish out whatever punishment she wants. She quickly realises that this was a foolish agreement as her charges are not making things easy for her, and there's a possibility she isn't going to succeed. She tries lots of different things to get her charges to open up to her so she can help them, with mixed results.
This book is a beautiful read. It's LGBTQ+ with lots of heart, many laugh out loud moments and is a super cosy book to dive into. You don't necessarily need to read Pearly Gates first, but I recommend that you do, not only to get a full understanding of the characters, but the more time you can spend with Pearly, the better.
This is the final book in a series of four historical-fiction mystery thriller. Lizzie Hardwicke is a young woman living in 1700s London as a prostitute and somewhat private investigator, helping the local Bow Street Runners team. She is able to finagle her way into different parts of society in her role as a high-class prostitute and so is able to do some digging into crimes in her area.
There is a little bit of a will they won't they romance thing going on, so if you like a little romance in your mystery thrillers, then this book has you.
Lizzie is an amazing, strong and determined FMC, and I am so sad this this book is the last one in the series. You do need to read the first three books before starting this one, but you won't regret it.
New Release I Haven't Read Yet, But Want To
Starside is all over BookTok and Bookstagram at the moment, and I am seriously suffering from FOMO. This is be the very first Alex Aster book, and I have the feeling I will be starting strong.
Most Anticipated Release For Second Half Of The Year
This is the second book in the Great and Terrible Land series (see above for the West of Wicked, first book in the series). The first book ended on a cliffhanger, so I can't wait to find out what happens.
This is the third and final book in the Pearly Gates series of books. The first two books in the series - Pearly Gates and The Midnight Croissant, were both favourite books for me, and the author Bonnie Solomon is an auto buy for me. The first two books are filled with so much heart and love, as well as so many laughs. The characters are fabulous, and of course the main character, Pearly, is one of the stand out characters in recent years. She is hysterical, very well meaning, and determined to make the people in her life happy and successful, especially her charges in her role as a spirit guide.
If you love LGBTQ+ stories about love, found family with lots of heart and plenty of giggles, then I can't recommend this series of books enough.
Coming to realise that I really enjoy dark academia, and The Divines has all the makings of being a perfect example of the trope. Given that the first book in the series, The Ordeals, was one of my favourite books of 2025, I am hoping for big things with this second book in the series. I don't know how many books are going to be in this series, but I'm hoping for a lot, as I love this world. It has everything you hope for from a dark academia story - magic, supernatural creatures, found family, and, not to mention, trials.
Sophia DeWinter is a fabulous character and a wonderful FMC, and the supporting characters are wonderful. I hope we get to know more about them in this second book.
Biggest Disappointment
I heard about this book through NetGalley when I was able to get an ARC for it. Then, BooksWithGray on BookTok whose videos I watch for recommendations talked about it I knew I had to move it up my tbr list. I don't know if I was the book itself, or if I just wasn't in the right mindset to really enjoy it, but I just couldn't get into this book at all. I liked the two main female characters, and the world they live in sounded quite different and new, but I just couldn't get into it. This is the first book in a trilogy so I might try again before the second book comes out.
Biggest Surprise
I did not know what to expect when I started to read this. The story blurb intrigued me when I requested it on NetGalley, and I was lucky enough to get a copy. Totally surprised when I totally ate it up.
It was originally published in 1956, and it's about a young woman named Kathrin who lives a quiet and uneventful life in Germany with her sister-in-law and her husband, who is away a lot fighting for the Third Reich during World War II. When he is away, he leaves his wife and sister alone to run the family farm, but since it's just the two of them, things go undone. So he arranges for a Russian POW to come to the farm to help with much of the heavier work.
When Kathrin and the POW, Alexei, start to bond, people begin to talk and grow suspicious of the truth about their relationship. The consequences of this are disastrous.
I was totally enraptured with this book, and didn't expect to love it as much as I did. I just felt for Kathrin and her situation, and given the world she was living in, she found herself in a very precarious and dangerous situation.
Do yourself a favour and read this book. It will have your heart pounding, and there might be some tears as well.
Favourite New Author
So far this has been the year I discovered Leigh Bardugo. Her books are amazing and extraordinary. This may not be news to many people, but after reading a couple of her books so far this year, I know I'll be reading more. After I finish the two series I have already started, of course.
She writes characters who are well fleshed out, and you have no problem seeing them in your mind's eye. She is amazing at slowly and carefully raising the stakes of a situation, letting the sh1t hit the fan, and then watching the characters scramble and work out how to get themselves out of it.
Leigh has a lot of good book series available by the looks of it. I have already started Ninth House (Alex Stern Trilogy), and I have heard lots of good things about her Shadow and Bone series. Lots to explore and enjoy.
Newest Favourite Character
This was the other Leigh Bardugo series I started this year. Alex Stern from Ninth House is such a fantastic FMC. To start with, her actual first name is Galaxy. Wouldn't like that name for myself, but it is an awesome name for a character in a dark academia book like this. She has had a very sad and tragic life until she is invited to attend Yale, and winds up investigating when she finds herself mixed up with a suspicious murder. I have the second book in the series, Hell Bent, on my Kindle and the third book, Dead Beat, is going to be published on 15th September 2026, so I better get reading.
Books That Made Me Cry
Although this is an uplifting, mostly happy and cheery book, not to mention laugh-out-loud funny, there are some sad and poignant moments that definitely brought a tear or six to my eyes. Pearly is a wonderful character who can make you laugh out loud and break your heart, and there are a few of those moments in this book.
Most Beautiful Book I've Gotten This Year
I mostly read ebooks and audiobooks, so I can't really comment on beautiful books, although I love the covers for The Midnight Croissant and West of Wicked. They are both so bright and vibrant.
Which Books Do I Need To Read By The End Of This Year
I read the first book in this series, Ninth House, in April, and adored it. Hell Bent is the second book in the series, and I have the ebook waiting on my Kindle and the audiobook on Libro.fm. The third book in the series, Dead Beat, is coming out on 15th September 2026, and I really want to dive in when it comes out. It's the final book in the trilogy, and I can't wait to find out what happens in this story.
I just finished reading the first book in this series, The Knight and the Moth, and absolutely adored it. The book ends on a bit of a cliffhanger, and I can't wait to read about how things play out. I totally fell in love with these characters, especially the gargoyle, and really want to dive into the wonderful world Rachel Gillig has created. This is the first book by Rachel Gillig that I have read, and it definitely won't be the last.
This is the second book in the We Solve Murders book series. The first book is fabulous, and I am so excited to dive back into this world, especially to meet these characters again.
Honourable Mentions:
I just finished this book last month, and just wow. I immersive read the book by reading the ebook while listening to the audiobook, although this time I upped the game with my discovery of dramatised audiobooks. Why did I not know that these things exist? They really up the game in immersive reading. I love the sound effects and the music in the background, as well as having a full cast for all the characters.
What are your favourite books from the first six months of the year? Let me know in the comments.