Favourite Books Of 2021
It’s been another year of lockdowns and restrictions. Luckily, my favourite way of avoiding frantically doomscrolling the end of the world is by burying my head in a book and pretending that it’s not happening. It’s far more satisfying when the evil wizards stay on the page, rather than trying to run countries…
Strange The Dreamer Duology – Laini Taylor
Lazlo Strange, war orphan and junior librarian, gets the opportunity to join the hero called Godslayer and cross half the world to get to the mythical lost city of Weep.
Laini Taylor’s writing is so vivid that this duology has stuck in my mind, even though I read it all the way back in January 2021. Lazlo as a main character is likeable and charming, and the mystery that surrounds the lost city of Weep is intriguing.
A lot of the reviews that I’ve read have been divisive about the prologue, but I personally found that it added a new layer of tension to the story. I’ve never flipped back to a prologue before but this time I found myself rereading the prologue again and again to see if there were any clues that I had missed.
This duology has a firm space on my shelves, and I will definitely be rereading them again. I also have Laini Taylor’s Daughter of Smoke and Bone Trilogy ready to read in 2022.
This Savage Song Duology – V.E Schwab
Kate Harker is a human who wants to be monstrous, while August Flynn is a monster trying to be human. In a city at war, overrun with monsters, they must decide whether to become heroes or villains.
I could wax lyrical about V.E Schwab’s writing for days if you let me. She is one of my favourite authors and I’ve loved everything that she’s ever written, and these books were no exception.
The Monster’s of Verity Duology is a perfect example of her writing. All of the characters were complex individuals and there was no definite line of good and evil. The worldbuilding was impressive without being overwhelming, and the slow build was worth it for the emotional payoff at the end.
The Fifth Season Trilogy – N.K Jemisin
Essun’s husband brutally murders their son and kidnaps their daughter while the empire collapses and a great rift threatens to darken the sky for centuries. Now, Essun has to pursue the wreckage of her family through a deadly, dying land.
I found that this trilogy sat in that strange place between sci-fi and fantasy which can be tricky to pull off. The magic system and worldbuilding was complex and it took me some time to situate myself in the world, but oh was it worth it.
These books are completely different to anything else that I’ve ever read, and I think that they’ll just get better and more impressive with each reread.
The President’s Hat – Antoine Laurain
Daniel Mercier can hardly believe that President Mitterrand sits down to eat at the table next to him. The thrill continues when Daniel realises that Mitterrand’s black felt hat has been left behind…
This wasn’t my usual type of book, but it was lent to me by my Mum who insisted that I would love it, and I definitely did. It could almost be argued to be a fantasy book, but the magic of this story is in the way that it was written. Each character was so full of life. It was a joy to follow them through the story and I felt genuinely sad to leave them behind at the end.
I’ve gone on to read almost all of Antoine’s books over the year and they are all incredible, but The President’s Hat holds a special place in my heart.
The Raven Boys – Maggie Stiefvater
Blue sees the soon-to-be-dead apparition of Gansey. She is drawn to him, and to his quest to find the Welsh King Glendower, but can she stop herself from fulfilling the warning that she will cause her true love to die?
I actually bought this book years ago (maybe even a decade ago?) but I have always put off reading it because it seemed like it would be a generic YA novel with too much emphasis on romance for my tastes. However, after finally picking it up, I was pleasantly surprised to find that this was a well-rounded book. The fantasy plot elements are intriguing, and the romance plot adds to the characters lives rather than overpowering them into simple love interests.
I’m looking forwards to finishing off this series, hopefully this year.
Skyward – Brandon Sanderson
Spensa dreams of becoming a pilot and helping her people fight the aliens who threaten to extinguish human life from the planet where they are trapped.
I’ve been a fan of Brandon Sanderson’s fantasy novels for years, so I trusted that his YA sci-fi novels would be just as good, and I wasn’t disappointed. I honestly found Spensa kind of annoying to start with, but that did mean that her emotional growth throughout the first two books was more visible and satisfying. The third book has just recently been released, so I’m looking forward to getting back into this world again soon.
The Marionettes – Katie Wismer
Valerie Darkmore, witch and student, is about to complete her initiation to become a prestigious Marionette who is sworn to serve the vampires.
Paranormal Romance isn’t my usual genre. For me, with any romance book there is a fine line between plot which is just there to drive the romance, and a good book that happens to have a strong romance plot. The Marionettes falls into that first camp and is filled with strong worldbuilding and complex characters, with the added bonus of a delicious slow burn romance.
The Hating Game – Sally Thorne
Lucy Hatton and Joshua Templeman are trapped in an office together for 40 hours a week, playing a never-ending game of one-upmanship. When a new promotion comes up for grabs, Lucy has to win or she’ll resign. There’s no way that she’s letting Joshua Templeman become her boss.
Again, romance novels aren’t my go-to genre, but The Hating Game has been across the whole of Bookstagram and BookTok since it was released, so when I found it for 99p I thought I would give it a go. Many of the reviews that I’ve seen have called it cliché and full of common romance troupes, and I don’t disagree. However, because I read so few romance novels I didn’t mind at all. I can see how, if you read in this genre widely, The Hating Game might be nothing special for you, but I really enjoyed reading something different.
Stardust – Neil Gaiman
Tristan Thorn will do anything to win cold Victoria’s heart, even fetch her a star that fell from the night sky. But to reach it, he must enter the unexplored lands of Faerie, where nothing is what he imagined.
Honestly, this book really frustrated me. I loved the premise, I adored the setting and the worldbuilding, and this book will stay with me for a long time. However, I felt like there was something missing. The characters seemed more like puppets than real people, and some of the choices that they made seemed stiff and wooden rather than natural. Ultimately, this book left me unsatisfied. But the worldbuilding and the idea was so compelling that I have to include it in this list anyway.
I managed to make it to my 100 book goal on New Year’s Eve, and I’m glad to have found some new favourites amongst those. I’ve set my goal for another 100 books in 2022, so hopefully I can add some more favourites to my shelves as well as reread some that are already firm favourites.
Happy New Year, and good luck for whatever your 2022 goals are!
P.S You can find me on Goodreads here