Top 8 Books I Read in 2021
Well, it's that time of year again where I look back at the books I read throughout the year and highlight the top books. Check out my past top books lists:
This year has been an interesting reading year for me. I DNFd so many books that were actually well-written and somewhat interesting, but I just didn't feel in the mood for them at the time. This very moody reading had an interesting side-effect: I ended up reading so many books this year that I absolutely loved. So this year's list is going to be longer than usual!
Without further ado, I give you my list of the best books I read this year. Books that I loved and would highly recommend. In no particular order:
Heartscale by Lola Ford
Genre: Epic Fantasy
My Rating: 5 Stars
Heartscale is an excellent book exploring the relationships between dragons and humans in various different kingdoms. I had picked up and put down several books before reading this one, unable to find one that caught my interest. Then I picked up Heartscale and I was into it from the start.
It follows the story of two main characters who discover and form bonds with dragons.
Read the Rest of my Review Here
A Wizard's Guide to Defensive Baking by T. Kingfisher
Genre: Middle-Grade Fantasy
My Rating: 5 Stars
A Wizard's Guide to Defensive Baking by T. Kingfisher is a compelling fantasy adventure that follows a young 14 year-old girl whose power lies in her ability to magically enhance her baking skills. I found the story to be a page-turner and finished it in just over a day.
Amari and the Night Brothers by B. B. Alston
Genre: Middle-Grade Fantasy
My Rating: 5 Stars
Amari and the Night Brothers follows the adventures of a young girl named Amari who discovers that there is a supernatural world that exists right alongside and within the normal world she's so used to.
What follows is an excellent adventure where Amari learns to deal with an navigate her role in the supernatural world while at the same time learning to deal with and understand the racism and prejudice she faces in the real world.
Read the rest of my review here
Shimmerdark by Sarah Mensinga
Genre: Steampunk Fantasy
My Rating: 5 Stars
Sarah Mensinga has written another excellent fantasy book with unique world-building, excellent character development, a wonderful exploration of systemic problems within a society, and lots of magic and adventure!
The story and world became extremely interesting as Xylia and her friends got rescued from the island they'd been shipwrecked on and went back to their intriguing world. I particularly love how the steampunk-like technology is woven in with the magical powers that exist in this world.
Read the rest of my review here
Chronicles of the Bitch Wolf Queen Series by K. S. Villoso
Genre: (Dark) Epic Fantasy
My Rating: 5 Stars
A first person POV following Queen Taliyen as she struggles to save her son and her kingdom from so many threats that she couldn't even have imagined at the start of this series! It's fast-paced and action-packed, full of battles, political intrigue, and truly desperate/hopeless situations that Tali has to navigate. It's also full of amazingly well-crafted characters that feel real in all their imperfections.
I want to mention that even though amazon made the publishers change the title of the series from "Chronicles of the Bitch Queen" to "Chronicles of the Wolf Queen" you need to realize going in that it's a dark series full of mature subject matter. Changing one word in the title doesn't change the fact that the content and themes explored in the book are far from pg-13. And in this third and final installment there's much more of... everything that makes this series dark.
(I actually read the first book last year in 2020, but since I read 2/3 of them this year it made sense to feature the entire series for this year.)
Read My Full Reviews of Each of the Books here:
1: The Wolf of Oren-Yaro - 2: The Ikessar Falcon - 3: The Dragon of Jin-Sayeng
Genre: Historical Fantasy
My Rating: 4 Stars
It's like a period drama by Austen mixed with a naval adventure story (ala Horatio Hornblower) mixed with magical powers/superpowers. Very interesting combination and a well-written story.
Elinor Pembroke's power manifests one night while she's asleep... and she sets her room on fire. This is the interesting thing about the worldbuilding that reminded me a little bit of Temeraire, the author has put these powers into this historical time period and they're being used within the society like in the army, in fire brigades, etc.
Gunpowder Alchemy by Jeannie Lin
Genre: Steampunk
My Rating: 5 Stars
Gunpowder Alchemy is an excellent steampunk book set in 1800s China. In the midst of the Opium war a young woman named Soling, who is working as an assistant to a physician in a small town and trying to keep her family fed, ends up getting embroiled in the war between the Empire, the English, and a band of rebels that is growing into a dangerous army. She has to confront her past, her father's old position in the court, and her family's current disgrace. It's an immersive, well-told tale with amazing characterization at the heart of it that drives the story.
The Wrack by John Bierce
Genre: Epidemiological / Epic Fantasy
My Rating: 5 Stars
The Wrack is a unique fantasy novel that focuses on the spread of a disease called the Wrack and how it affects the people, their cultures, politics and the world at large. Even though the book is a work of fiction about a fictional disease in a world where magic exists I found the inner science nerd in me extremely excited while reading this book. I also love epic fantasy and I think the author pulls of an amazing feat by showing how the Wrack spreads across this entire world, showing the large, epic scale while still having so many beautiful, close, character moments.
I would highly recommend all of these books. If you want to discover more excellent sci-fi and fantasy with me check out my list of Hidden Gems and join my newsletter. You can also join the conversation and let me know about excellent books you've found in the new goodreads group: Fantasy and Sci-Fi Hidden Gems.
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