my favorite books i've read so far this year 🥀 mid year reading review 

THANK YOU for keeping the book title and author's name in the upper right of your videos the entire time you're talking about them (AND for repeating the title at the end.) It seems like a small thing, but I get so annoyed having to go back in videos to the beginning of a review (especially when I'm just guessing and clicking until I find it). I really appreciate that you do those things.

From the moment I read the prologue of Divine Rivals I KNEW it would become a favorite of mine. I mean, mixing history, mythology, light fantasy, and slow-burn romance with no smut? COUNT ME IN! I read it in two days and haven’t stopped thinking about it since (and I read it a few weeks ago lol.)

Storygraph is the best thing that has ever happened to my reading culture

This more spontaneous way of making videos is perfect, you should do it more often! I love your content 🤍

I absolutely loved Divine Rivals, and I'm so excited that the sequel was moved up and we'll get it many months sooner on December 26th! It's just a duology, so our hearts will be spared waiting for an additional installment after that. 💌

Putting so many books on hold at the library right now 😭😆

Finally storygraph getting the love it deserves.

Divine Rivals is probably the best book I've read all year. I loved it and cried for a while.

i love storygraph too!!! it's so much easier to input books and the app doesn't hang as often😅

Love this! I read 60 books so far this year. Here are my favorites: 1. LUNAR LOVE by Lauren Kung Jessen 2. SONG OF SILVER, FLAME LIKE NIGHT by Amelie Wen Zhao 3. HOW TO EXCAVATE A HEART by Jake Maia Arlow 4. WALDEN by Amy Berryman (it’s a play) 5. GHOST MUSIC by An Yu (this was a rec from you-thank you!) 6. TOMORROW, AND TOMORROW, AND TOMORROW by Gabrielle Zevin (also a rec from you, I think!) 7. SHE IS A HAUNTING by Trang Thanh Tran 8. DELICIOUS MONSTERS by Liselle Sambury 9. THE SEARCH FOR US by Susan Azim Boyer (comes out in October; I read an ARC) 10. WHERE YOU SEE YOURSELF by Claire Forrest 11. IF TOMORROW DOESN’T COME by Jen St. Jude 12. WHAT MY BONES KNOW by Stephanie Foo 13. BEING ACE Anthology edited by Madeline Dyer (read an ARC; comes out in October; I also have a story in here, so very biased) 😂 14. LOVE LETTERS FOR JOY by Melissa See 15. OUT OF CHARACTER by Jenna Miller 16. DISORIENTATION by Elaine Hsieh Chou 17. THOSE WE DROWN by Amy Goldsmith 18. GIVE ME A SIGN by Anna Sortino 19. DAMNED IF YOU DO by Alex Brown 20. IF I SEE YOU AGAIN TOMORROW by Robbie Couch 21. LOVE, THEORETICALLY by Ali Hazelwood 22. FOXGLOVE by Adalyn Grace

The fact that I read most of this because of you! You have great recommendations and I never would’ve found some of this if you didn’t share them. And not just the hits! I read through your misses and loved some of them too. Thank you Cari for your service and enjoy Europe!! Just gonna check out Cari Cakes ✨

"what are you, an orc?" had me dying laughing 😂

I read Big Swiss because of an earlier video of yours and LOVED it. Easy 5 stars for me!

Just finished work this is the best treat to celebrate!!! 🎉

I read Gideon the ninth on summer vacation two months ago and it BROKE me. It was such a funny book and then the end had me sobbing like the world was ending. It was such a good book though, I really liked the writing style and world building

The way the epic poem story goes in Harrow the Ninth ends up is a section i really like to re-read

I just hope that Emily wilde’s encyclopaedia of faeries is mentioned because it was such a wonderful book

Fav books for first half of the year are: The Stolen Heir Stardust in Their Veins The Tale of the Last Flower Bride Divine Rivals Silver in the Bone A Door in the Dark Court of the Undying Seasons The Book that Wouldn't Burn Immortal Longings Garden of the Cursed Cursed Crowns A Ruinous Fate Omen of Ice (Cari PLEASE read this cause I know how much you love snark and red head main characters 😆)

What a good start of the year Cari! Weirdly I don't care that much when I don't like a book like I'm just happy to read that when I look back I say ooh! I hated that book but I'm glad I read it. Also it's reader's day in my country, so happy day to everyone here!

The good ol "oh no this is not wrapping up" got me too this year, every year... every year.

In italy it's pretty late: 02:25 am. I can't sleep and i'm very gratefull that this video is here. I really enjoy your voice and the soft tone calm me a lot. Thank u.

Just read The Bandit Queens and loved it. Yes the topics are hard, and they should be, but the author did such a great job making it easier to read with humor. Love these ladies! ❤ Thank you for the recommendation!

I've been feeling so unmotivated in my reading recently but this reminded me I really want to read Burial Rites!!! Gonna try to find a copy of it :)

hi cari! It's currently 1am over here and I can't sleep, this came at the perfect time :)

Ive just finished the Discovery of Witches series, its like adult twilight with some tudor history and kinda made up genetics. I loved it.

My favourite books that I've read so far this year are Priory of the orange tree - Samantha Shannon, The Stolen Heir - Holly Black, Gallant - V. E Schwab, Divine Rivals - Rebecca Ross, Dark Rise - C. S. Pacat, Emily Wilde's Encyclopeadia of Faeries - Heather Fawcett The Isles of the Gods - Amie Kaufman, and Once Upon a Broken heart - Stephanie Garber. I'm also currently reading This is how you lose the time war but I'm pretty much just hating it😅

Taking this opportunity to take a break from work with Cari 😂❤

I think it would be fun to hear a few of your favorite authors these days that you recommend, maybe authors you feel like you can rely on during a slump or has a great collection of books, or are new that you are looking forward to seeing more from! Great video as always btw!☺️

Found storygraph last year or so i think? I am in love with the graphs. Seeing all my reading stats makes me excited lol

I don't read as much books as I'd liked to, bc I often feel too tired/not in the mood/too focused of something else/in a distracting environment/etc etc, and while sometimes those reasons are valid, sometimes they are just.. excuses for being uninspired to read. After I listen to you talk about reading, though, my hands are just always start to itch and I immediately go to pick up a book. And I never regret it! So thank you for being inspiring

This has been a good reading year so far, I hope it continues to be one. Some of my book recs: The Jasad Heir (Fantasy/enemies to lovers, unhinged characters) Hello Stranger (Cute romance) The Dead Romantics (Romance) Divine Rivals (Absolutely loved it) Happy Place (Fav emily henry book so far) Almond (Korean short story, very emotional) Poppy War Series (A lot of pain) Mistborn (First book) Time is a Mother by Ocean Vuong (beautiful/poetry) How To Keep House While Drowning (Interesting view) Foul Lady Fortune (The first Chloe Gong book I really love)

i am at my limit of holds in the library and my bank account will not let me buy more books and my unending tbr just grew longer, i support this

I binge read the Half Bad trilogy by Sally Green and I was completely obsessed! It has amazing characters and interesting inner struggles and dynamics between the characters.

My favorites have been The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea, Heartstopper, The Priory of the Orange Tree, and The Dollmaker of Krakow❤ please read them oh my goodness. Also I love StoryGraph!

i can tell u, my all time favorite book that i’ve read this year is probably “one last stop”, and the “boys of tommen” series. this year has been a good reading year. i read 8 books but i read two of them twice so it says 11 books but not true at all. lol ilyyy ❤

I’ve been really appreciative of your recommendations on this channel. I have read a handful of books that you’ve discussed and they’ve been wonderful!

Temeraire is THE dragon series (outside of Dragonriders of Pern) it’s 9 hefty books

The incident that skyrocketed " This is how you lose the time war " was a viral tweet by Dickolas Nicholas of the Trigun fandom whose OTP is Vashwood. ( Vash x Nicholas D. Wolfwood ) Its a pretty funny incident within the fandom actually, I was in tears 😂

emily wilde stans RISE!!

Definitely will be adding some of these to my TBR! If you are looking for a new ya fantasy series, I’d recommend the glass alliance series by Joanna Hathaway. It has well developed political intrigue with romance throughout the series (it’s completed!)

Hope you're having a brilliant time in Europe. Love the rundown of the books you really liked and loved this year so far.

I loved Emily Wildes book and can’t wait for the new one!

This color/sweater suits you sooo well ! ❤

Requesting a forgot the plot video on Ninth House please!! 😅

Would love a 'most anticipated books' video especially for series with another book coming out soon.

i just finished divine rivals and i loved it!! in the weirdest way it was kind of cosy yet whimsical haha if you have any recs similar to the writing style / vibe of it i would love to know!

Can’t wait for your UK vlogs🫶🏼

crying bc i wasnt expecting to hear bigolas dickolas wolfwood’s tweet referenced in a cari video

I just finished the Fireborne trilogy and omg cannot thank you enough for recommending it.

Had read this is how you lose the time war before the twitter hype but i did get the audiobook for a long drive because of it. Nicely done

I fucking love the locked tomb series and what you said about not know what the hell is going on is so true! But it’s so worth it when you piece it together

My favourite RU-vidr ever - I’m so fussy but I love your videos and recommendations- EVERY TIME - love you! ❤

Hello cari i would like to thank you for the beautiful videos im from Egypt and your videos have helped me alot to improve my English, i wait for your videos every Friday i wish you good luck 👍

For Devine rivals I agree not quite grumpy and sunshine but more enemy’s to lovers, although loved the book, currently at the end of the second one and I just adore this series!

Loved this video! I always enjoy your recommendations. Have a great time in Europe!

top reads so far: the do-over by lynn painter; warcross duology by marie lu; emergency contact by mary hk choi; made in manhattan by lauren layne

Just finished into the drowning deep at your recommendation from my prior video - loved it! It was a nice change up from my typical fantasy/romance reads

so far this year i’ve loved Piranesi, The Wall, and Patricia wants to Cuddle :)

I recently just finished Legends and Lattes and like, man oh man, it makes me so happy.

You convinced me. I got “one for my enemy” 😂 I’m sooo excited to start it. Also side note, I loved all the stories you’ve been posting about your travel.🤍

29:30 Big Swiss will be adapted into a HBO minisseries starting Jodie Comer as Big Swiss btw!!! i'm already tuned in

I read Burial Rites a few years ago. I loved it and it is still in my head. It’s a beautiful, beautiful book about a terrible event.

Faves this year have been The Maiden by Kate Foster, The Bandit Queens by Parini Shroff, Last Night At The Telegraph Club by Malinda Lo, and Little Gods by Meng Jin

Omg please please read six crimson cranes! I love that book so much i’m kinda rereading it rn bcuz i want to read the 2nd book and i want to visit the world again becuz its been so long since i read it😆😆

Well, my favorite read was actually the Novella for The Serpent and the Wings of Night series. It's 6 Scorched Roses, I read that first before the Serpent and the Wings of Night. So many favorite reads so far (1.) 6 Scorched Roses (2.) The Serpent and the Wings of Night (3.) The Ashes and the Star-Cursed King (4) A court of blood and bindings (5) Fourth Wing

I’ve been reading a lot of comics and graphic novels this year since they’re easy to read on my phone during my breaks at work. I really enjoyed Skyward! Also may be entering my nonfiction era with audiobooks 🤓

I’ve just added another to my list. Since I found your channel not too long ago my list had increased 😂 but I love it. My faves so far were To Kill a Mockingbird, The midnight library (although I had some concerns), 1984, Vidas Secas (a Brazilian classic) and the non-fiction Africa Is Not A Country. Now I am reading a BR author talking about loneliness and love but I’ll dive into Isabel Allende’s Violeta next week during my vaca ❤

Have you ever read the Graceling series (by Kristin Cashore)?

idk if i understood it right on the video but the second book of six crimson cranes has been out since last year!!! pleaaaase read it, its sooo cute and i bet youre gonna love it :,)))) i even thought i had read it because you recommended it?? im confused lmao

Can’t wait for you to read Six Crimson Cranes, i really liked it! ❤

A video explaining more in depth Gideo the Ninth would be ❤🎉

Video idea: books you’re excited to read/upcoming books

I'm surprised Yellowface and Serpent and the wings of night weren't on this list since it seemed like you really enjoyed them, but also i get the feeling that none of your 2023 reads have been all-time favourites (mine have been the same) and I'm sorry about that. Hopefully, things will pick up during the other half of the year, they usually do i feel.❤‍🩹

The Thursday Murder Club series by Richard Osman has been one of my favorite reads so far this year.

Fuck yeah Storygraph hype!! Audiobooks are my go-to way to read and Storygraph is so so so much easier to track my progress. It's amazing. If you ever have the inkling- Big Swiss in Audio was also a trip. There were a whole host of narrators. Wild.

I have Fireborn on hold with Libby and it’s going to take weeks! You must have started a trend with this book because I put it on hold right after you IG Reel 😅

If you love Tamsyn Muir, PLEASE read Floralinda and the Forty Flight Tower! It’s amazing!!!

I am reading dark water daughter and really enjoying it.

I feel like every book you mentioned (that I also read) was spot on- and I agree 100%!!! So happy to add a few to my tbr that I haven’t heard of thanks to this video, because I feel pretty confident I’ll like them 🎉 (maybe it’s the Cap in me? Lol ♑️)

Please mention the list of books covered in the description! For instance if it's already in my TBR I would be super interested in listening your view on it,

I abselutly love storygrapth, the only thing i miss is that u cannot categorise or make folders in my tbr log. Also amazing video

I think you would really like a series by T. Kingfisher called (saint’s of steel? can’t remember), but it starts with Paladin’s Grace. Cozy fantasy romance! Super cute, I’m not really a romance reader but this sold me, I loved the characters so much

Just bought 3 books! Thank you for the recs

Ok, time to read Sorcery of Thorns. I'm convinced.

Omg Am I the only One that I heard a voice at 20:02 ? Also I just finished “The last tale of the flower bride” and I really really liked it. Thanks for the rec!

I've been following your bookchannel because I've been a fan of your caricakes channel for ages, and thanks to you I've read so many good books! Funny thing is, I don't read YA books (unless they are cute fantasy books like Howl's moving castle or The girl who fell beneath the sea. Do they count as YA?), but all the non-YA books you recommend, I absolutely love. ❤

Hey I was wondering if you could do a review of the underland chronicles by Suzanne Collins, I recently reread the book series and I think they are highly underrated. They are officially for midle-graders, but the series delves into much deeper themes, like war and ptsd. I hope you can maybe do a review on them

Emily Wilde and Fireborne are books I really want to read. I started One for My Enemy and I was liking it well enough, but I just put it down and haven't picked it up again. 😅 I hope your reading has been better since making this video and that your trip is going well!!

Big Swiss - absolutely hilarious. Had to DNF Into The Drowning Deep because even though it was so good when a character died I just had to put it down for a break. Will pick it up again because I like the professor and main character. Will definitely read the Gideon the Ninth series! I read Tamsyns novel about the Princess in the tower and found it to be chuckle worthy at times with great writing. I’m just not too sure the characters in Gideon will be for me they seem the edgy type

I think you may really like Throne of Dark - Villains & Virtues (on kindle unlimited) It's an enemies - to lovers whimsical fantasy series!

I read Harrow the Ninth and kept screaming, "Am I being gaslit???" It was a wild ride for sure. Also, I really need to download storygraph now...

please do a more autumn content 🍂 please please :)

The weirdest book I've read this month was one involving mpreg and I was too ashamed to put it into my goodreads LMAO but lowkey wanna read the second book 👀

They Call Her Sofia by Doris Ladino is great!

So Storygraph is like fantasy football for booktubers? LOL Always a pleasure, Cari!

I hope you are having a wonderful trip!

Love your videos, I love watching the passion and excitement you have of when explaining the books. Do you read science fiction? If so, do u take recommendations?😅

I think you and your videos are the cure to depression :)

August is bad reading month for me, I DNF so many books and I think I'm in the slump. But my favourites of the year are Fourth Wing, My Dark Vanessa, The Will of the Many, The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea and A River Enchanted is by the same author as Divine Rivals and I hope one day you'll read it too, I think it's so underhyped.

I really should pick up Time War. If it's good enough for Cari!