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:
Top 8 Books I read in 2021
Top 5 Books I read in 2020
Top 3 Books I Read in 2019
Top 5 Books I Read in 2018
Top 3 Books I Read in 2017
It's been a year of cozy reads for me overall and I continued the mood-reading trend that I began last year so even though I only read 14 books this year (I know, it's not much, but I wrote like 3 books) five of those 14 turned out awesome! Here they are in the order in which I read them:
The Lord of Stariel by A. J. Lancaster
Genre: Faerie/Historical Fantasy
The Lord of Stariel is a cozy, almost slice of life fantasy about a girl who returns to her family home for a funeral. She didn't leave on such good terms so there's a lot of awkwardness between her and her family, and it's the day-to-day interactions between her and the rest of the family that makes this book.
There's magic, of course, and fae, and plots and dangers, but for me the main draw was the cozy feel and slow pace.
Read the rest of my review here.
The Brightest Shadow by Sarah Lin
Genre: Progression Fantasy
The Brightest Shadow by Sarah Lin is a progression fantasy with an epic fantasy scope and feel. The world-building in this is excellent, and despite the huge number of pages I've already read I know there's already so much built up and waiting to be uncovered and explored. I also really enjoyed most of the characters and the perspectives they bring to this story.
Cinnamon Bun by Ravens Dagger
Genre: LitRPG
Cinnamon Bun is "A Wholesome LitRPG". It's an adventure story where a young girl is sitting in class when a little magical message pops up in front of her inviting her to accept a mission to purge the world of a great evil. When she accepts, she is transported to a different world, a fantasy videogame world.
Instead of being a warrior or mage or something her "class" is Cinnamon Bun and she gets skills like cleaning and friend-making. She also definitely doesn't want to kill anything, and I love the way that her morals were incorporated into the story.
Miss Percy's Pocket Guide to the Care & Feeding of British Dragons by Quenby Olson
Genre: Historical Fantasy
Miss Percy's Pocket Guide to the Care and Feeding of British Dragons is basically like a Jane Austen novel, but the main character inherits a dragon egg. The egg hatches. She has to deal with it while also dealing with her growing realization that the life she's settled into isn't exactly the life she wanted. Her inheritance changes her life, slowly but surely, but I loved that Mildred doesn't immediately become some hardened adventurer at the drop of a hat. She remains true to her character and reacts to the change in her life in realistic ways, making the book more charming than ever and adding another excellent thread of her personal growth into the plot.
Blackwood Marauders by K. S. Villoso
Genre: Epic Fantasy/Sword & Sorcery
Blackwood Marauders follows the (mis)adventures of Luc - a boy who was born on a slave ship and rescued by a man who came to be an amazingly loving father. He grew up on a farm with his father, his father's wife, and their son Alun and had a happy life. It was only when he signed up at the academy so he could study to join the army that things started to go wrong.
I can't overstate how much I loved these first couple of chapters where Luc struggles with his identity and the discrimination he faces because of it. This is why I love K. S. Villoso's books. I get to read epic fantasy with deep, meaningful explorations like this.
Well, those are my top reads of the year. I hope you check some of these awesome books out and find something enjoyable in their pages! I absolutely loved all of them and would highly recommend them.
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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