My Top 12 Reads of 2021
Well, it’s been an interesting year. We started off entering another round of lockdowns and I was still working from home. I had tonnes of time to read because things still weren’t opening up. Then halfway through the year, vaccines gave us a bit of freedom and I went back to the office (bummer). Silver lining: all my commuting to and from work gave me a lot of time to get into audiobooks again! Because of that, I absolutely crushed my reading goals this year and am ending the year not at 60 books like I’d planned, but at a nice odd 109! Let’s take a look at some of the best reads I experienced this year, starting with my top read:
Ninth House // Leigh Bardugo
This was my favourite read this year. Let’s call it the year I discovered Leigh Bardugo and she became my new favourite author. Ninth House was such an immaculate read because it combined a lot of my favourite things: horror, dark academia, and fantasy. Following a young woman with supernatural abilities and a rough past on her journey into a new life at Yale, things could not have taken a more interesting turn. Through secret societies, dark magic, and ancient powers I could read in this world for forever. I cannot wait to read more in the Galaxy Stern series and I very impatiently wait for the sequel’s release date.
2. Legendborn // Tracy Deonn
This book is very highly underrated. I’ve seen a few people here and there on TikTok recommending it but as the whole, no one is as obsessed with this book as they should be. I went into it expecting excitement, I came out with my mind blown to smithereens. King Arthur mythology combined with ancestral “root” magic and a kickass heroine who not only has to fight ancient ghosts but modern day bigotry? I could not get enough. And once again, I impatiently wait for the sequel. This book definitely re-awakened my love for Arthurian lore and I’m currently planning my trip to Wales… yeah, it was that good.
3. Six of Crows // Leigh Bardugo
Returning to Leigh with one of the best fantasy duologies I’ve ever read. Six of Crows has such a unique feel to it with a cast of characters you can’t help but love and the excitement of an impossible heist. It’s also the first fantasy book that I’d read that had so much diversity in characters. I would die for these characters (and if Leigh kills one of them in the third book, I riot). Set in the same world as her other Grishaverse novels, this book will definitely be a comfort read for me.
4. A Thousand Ships // Natalie Haynes
This is probably the best retelling I’ve ever read (sorry Madeline Miller, you’ve been temporarily unseated). It’s an Iliad retelling except from the women’s view of the Trojan War, from goddesses to Queen’s to peasant girls, we read of the horror that this war brought to their doorsteps on both sides of the Trojans and the Greeks. It was horrific and beautiful and I bawled my eyes out.
5. Republic of Shame: Stories from Ireland’s Institutions for Fallen Women // Caelainn Hogan
This was one of the few non-fictions I read this year and it was eye opening. It’s a short book, with brilliant writing, but was very hard to read. It highlight’s the history of the Homes for Fallen Women and the Magdalene Laundries that young unwed mothers were sent to for their “sins”. It highlighted the neglect and abuse that took place at these homes, the shady adoptions of all of these children, the unfair separation of mother and child, and the rampant sexual abuse and hypocrisy of the priests at many of these small Irish communities and the reckoning that The Church is now facing due to the discovery of mass graves at some of these sites. The journalistic skill in this book was unmatched and I think the author did an amazing job paying tribute to the victims and the survivors.
6. The Rose Code // Kate Quinn
Kate Quinn is one of my favourite historical fiction authors and I was so excited at her new release this year. The Rose Code blew through all my expectations and became my favourite book of this author to date. Highlighting the women’s war we follow the lives of three codebreakers from Bletchley Park during their budding friendship, love in war, and tragic betrayals. If you haven’t read it yet and that’s your genre, pick it up immediately.
7. The Final Revival of Opal & Nev // Dawnie Walton
After a few disappointments, I wasn’t a huge fan of the Oral History version of writing but this book completely turned my idea of that on it’s head. This book follows from the POV of our main character, the reporter of this story and her dive into the history behind the famous duo that destroyed her family. Because of that neat little tidbit, this was already interesting. I loved hearing about Nev’s latent talent but the true attraction was Opal and her rise to fame in a time when a Black Woman had to fight 10 times as hard to be recognized for her greatness. I loved how fame did not stop Opal from fighting for what was right. It was kind of refreshing as there’s a lot of stories where celebrities give up on their fights in order to keep their comforts. But the real draw to me was our reporter, her story and her own fight against the past was heartbreaking and inspiring. I loved this book.
8. The Gilded Wolves // Roshani Chokshi
This book was unlike any fantasy and I absolutely loved it. First of all, it’s set in our world in the beautiful city of Paris in the 1800s during the World Fair and the unveiling of the Eiffel Tower. Yet it draws on biblical lore, greek mythology, and egyptian mythology to tell a story of a treasure hunt for the ages. We follow a group of misfits (again the diversity was magnificent) as they steal from secret societies and end up on a treasure hunt that they never would have imagined. I laughed, I cried, I raged. It was such a glamorous escape.
9. Portait of a Scotsman // Evie Dunmore
I was not a fan of the romance genre until I entered the crazy year that was 2020 and needed a little more fluff in my life to escape all the doom and gloom and now it’s one of my favourite escapism genres. The reason for that? Evie Dunmore. Her historical romances won me over last New Years with her A Rogue of One’s Own story. Continuing in her series of Extraordinary Women, she released her third novel this fall and Scotsman quickly climbed up the ladder of romances that I fell in love with this year until it got to the top. These books follow a group of suffragettes in the 1800s as they fight for equality and find love along the way. Hattie was my least favourite in past books and yet her and Lucian’s story was almost the best one of all. Her happy-go-lucky attitude vs. Lucian’s grumpy Scottish disposition was adorable and there was a lot more action and danger in this one.
10. The Midnight Library // Matt Haig
This book was a self-discovery journey for me. Focusing primarily on mental health, this book gave me hope during a tough time. We follow our heroine as she finds herself in the Midnight Library, the place between life and death and she can open any book she wants, relive her life without each regret, and choose for herself which one would have been the best life to live. It was an emotional read but a beautiful journey and this book will definitely stay in my mind for a very long time.
11. The Book of Life (A Discovery of Witches Trilogy)// Deborah Harness
Yes, I jumped aboard the A Discovery of Witches train. The series was cheesy but addictive and the final book kept me on the edge of my seat and I want to just spend the rest of time reading it again and again. A witch falling in love with a vampire in a world where that’s forbidden, time travels to Elizabethan England and a fight against time with Queen’s Gambit style excitement. I am in love with this series and I will most likely reread it twice in the new year.
12. The Vines // Shelley Nolden
This book released this summer and isn’t very well-known, however, it should be. The Vines is somewhat a psychological thriller combined with historical fiction with a bit of sci-fi thrown in. We follow two POV’s. The first is Finn, who discovers a secret on the abandoned North Bear Island in New York that his family has done experiments on for generations. The second is Cora, who has lived an exceptionally long-time because of her immaculate immune system and the specific magic of the island. However, there’s horrors she has faced that Finn will soon discover that will chill him to the bone and have him re-evaluating his entire family legacy. (If you’re not into coronavirus/global pandemic plot-lines, do not read). It is somewhat apocalyptic as it does touch on current day issues but it was such a thrilling read.
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I’m looking forward to the adventures I will have this year and I hope you all had some amazing reads and that this might inspire you to pick up a few of my own favourites. Cheers to 2021 and here’s to an amazing 2022!