It’s one of my favorite times of year – when I get to round up all my favorite reads from the past year! Reading is one of my favorite pastimes, and I consider it a large personal goal of mine to convince everyone I know to read more. I have a lot to cover, so let’s get into it!
Summary
My total for this year was 76 books – while I didn’t cross the 100 book mark this year, I just barely surpassed my 75-book goal. I love rounding up my favorite reads at the end of each year – I try to really reserve my 5-star ratings for books that deserve it. This is my third year-end summary: see my favorite reads from 2020 here and 2019 here!
Some thoughts on what I like to read:
- My favorite genres are fantasy, YA, mystery/thriller, and sci-fi, and I also like a good romance every so often.
- I love a book with beautiful imagery, lots of action, and strong/interesting relationships between characters. (I love to cheer for a friendship or romance.)
- Unlikable protagonists don’t bother me, but I hate unrealistic ones. I want characters who make decisions that are consistent with their personalities.
- I love a good plot twist (or betrayal), especially when I totally don’t see it coming but feel like I should have.
Some thoughts on how I like to read:
- Almost every single book I read, I checked out through my local library (using the Libby app) for free. Occasionally, I read ARCs through Netgalley. I usually only buy books that I’ve already read and loved.
- I read primarily using my Kindle paperwhite, but also through the Kindle app on my phone. It’s nice to have a device that’s only for reading, since I get easily sidetracked on my phone.
A few quick takeaways from my 5-star reads:
- Apparently, fantasy and sci-fi are my favorite favorites because all my 5-star reads fall into those genres. (If that isn’t your speed, I have a few other genres featured in my honorable mentions! You can also check out all of my other book-related blog posts here.)
- I ended up with 16 5-star ratings out of 76 books read. That means just over 20% of the books I read this year were 5-star reads!
- That being said, 10/16 of my 5-star reads were second/third/fourth books in a series, so I think that finishing up series was a big reason that average is higher than normal. (For reference, last year I had 13 5-star reads out of 110 books – so just over 10%). 3 were first books in a series, and 3 were stand-alones.
- I liked new releases this year! 9/16 were 2020 or 2021 releases.
Note: this post may contain affiliate links (i.e., if you click my link and make a purchase, I’ll make a small commission at no additional cost to you). Read my full disclosure policy here.
Just a note: many of my favorite books this year were books from a series – when this is the case, I always include the synopsis of the first book in the series, even if that isn’t the one I read. Additionally, all links here are through Bookshop.org, which is an online book store that supports independent booksellers. Finally, books marked with an asterisk were released in 2021.
1. Legendborn
Fantasy, YA (link). I really loved this stunning Arthurian-inspired fantasy by Tracy Deonn. It is a great example of YA done well – it features great pacing, a diverse cast of characters, good world-building, and a well-developed and realistic main character.
After her mother dies in an accident, sixteen-year-old Bree Matthews wants nothing to do with her family memories or childhood home. A residential program for bright high schoolers at UNC–Chapel Hill seems like the perfect escape—until Bree witnesses a magical attack her very first night on campus.
A flying demon feeding on human energies.
A secret society of so called “Legendborn” students that hunt the creatures down.
And a mysterious teenage mage who calls himself a “Merlin” and who attempts—and fails—to wipe Bree’s memory of everything she saw.
The mage’s failure unlocks Bree’s own unique magic and a buried memory with a hidden connection: the night her mother died, another Merlin was at the hospital. Now that Bree knows there’s more to her mother’s death than what’s on the police report, she’ll do whatever it takes to find out the truth, even if that means infiltrating the Legendborn as one of their initiates.
She recruits Nick, a self-exiled Legendborn with his own grudge against the group, and their reluctant partnership pulls them deeper into the society’s secrets—and closer to each other. But when the Legendborn reveal themselves as the descendants of King Arthur’s knights and explain that a magical war is coming, Bree has to decide how far she’ll go for the truth and whether she should use her magic to take the society down—or join the fight.
2-3. The Well of Ascension/The Hero of Ages (Mistborn)
Fantasy (link, link). I read the first book in this trilogy in 2020. It didn’t quite meet my 5-star mark, but the second and third books both blew me away! This series is a great introduction to fantasy, or a great bridge from shorter or YA to epic fantasy. The world-building and magic system are rich and complex, and the story is a fun Ocean’s Eleven meets My Fair Lady meets classic good v. evil fantasy battle vibe. One of my favorite things about this trilogy (and all of Sanderson’s writing), is the way that plot twists are written in a way so that they are both surprising and believable – major reveals are set up far in advance but still, I never see them coming.
For a thousand years the ash fell and no flowers bloomed. For a thousand years the Skaa slaved in misery and lived in fear. For a thousand years the Lord Ruler, the “Sliver of Infinity,” reigned with absolute power and ultimate terror, divinely invincible. Then, when hope was so long lost that not even its memory remained, a terribly scarred, heart-broken half-Skaa rediscovered it in the depths of the Lord Ruler’s most hellish prison. Kelsier “snapped” and found in himself the powers of a Mistborn. A brilliant thief and natural leader, he turned his talents to the ultimate caper, with the Lord Ruler himself as the mark.
Kelsier recruited the underworld’s elite, the smartest and most trustworthy allomancers, each of whom shares one of his many powers, and all of whom relish a high-stakes challenge. Then Kelsier reveals his ultimate dream, not just the greatest heist in history, but the downfall of the divine despot.
But even with the best criminal crew ever assembled, Kel’s plan looks more like the ultimate long shot, until luck brings a ragged girl named Vin into his life. Like him, she’s a half-Skaa orphan, but she’s lived a much harsher life. Vin has learned to expect betrayal from everyone she meets. She will have to learn trust if Kel is to help her master powers of which she never dreamed.
4. The Empire of Gold (Daevabad Trilogy)
Fantasy, YA-ish (link). The third book in the Daevabad Trilogy was another one I had been looking forward to reading. The series really shines when it comes to world-building, character development, and relationship-driven action. The conclusion to the series was satisfying and superbly well-written.
Nahri has never believed in magic. Certainly, she has power; on the streets of 18th century Cairo, she’s a con woman of unsurpassed talent. But she knows better than anyone that the trade she uses to get by—palm readings, zars, healings—are all tricks, sleights of hand, learned skills; a means to the delightful end of swindling Ottoman nobles.
But when Nahri accidentally summons an equally sly, darkly mysterious djinn warrior to her side during one of her cons, she’s forced to accept that the magical world she thought only existed in childhood stories is real. For the warrior tells her a new tale: across hot, windswept sands teeming with creatures of fire, and rivers where the mythical marid sleep; past ruins of once-magnificent human metropolises, and mountains where the circling hawks are not what they seem, lies Daevabad, the legendary city of brass, a city to which Nahri is irrevocably bound.
In that city, behind gilded brass walls laced with enchantments, behind the six gates of the six djinn tribes, old resentments are simmering. And when Nahri decides to enter this world, she learns that true power is fierce and brutal. That magic cannot shield her from the dangerous web of court politics. That even the cleverest of schemes can have deadly consequences.
After all, there is a reason they say be careful what you wish for…
5. The Once and Future Witches
Historical Fantasy (link). In this book by Alix E. Harrow (one of my favorite authors), suffragettes meet Salem-era witches, and magic happens. Harrow excels at writing feminist adventure stories chock-full of powerful and realistic ladies. The prose is beautiful and the book is well-researched.
In 1893, there’s no such thing as witches. There used to be, in the wild, dark days before the burnings began, but now witching is nothing but tidy charms and nursery rhymes. If the modern woman wants any measure of power, she must find it at the ballot box.
But when the Eastwood sisters–James Juniper, Agnes Amaranth, and Beatrice Belladonna–join the suffragists of New Salem, they begin to pursue the forgotten words and ways that might turn the women’s movement into the witch’s movement. Stalked by shadows and sickness, hunted by forces who will not suffer a witch to vote-and perhaps not even to live-the sisters will need to delve into the oldest magics, draw new alliances, and heal the bond between them if they want to survive.
There’s no such thing as witches. But there will be.
6. The House in the Cerulean Sea
Fantasy (link). Reading this book feels like a nice, warm hug. This story by TJ Klune is simply charming and features a lovable cast of characters. It’s a heartwarming story about a unfulfilled man who travels to an island of “dangerous” children (including an amorphous blob and the antichrist) and finds a family, and it was such a great comfort read. It’s a great fantasy for people who don’t like fantasy, and is one of those books that people of almost any age could read and enjoy.
Linus Baker leads a quiet, solitary life. At forty, he lives in a tiny house with a devious cat and his old records. As a Case Worker at the Department in Charge Of Magical Youth, he spends his days overseeing the well-being of children in government-sanctioned orphanages.
When Linus is unexpectedly summoned by Extremely Upper Management he’s given a curious and highly classified assignment: travel to Marsyas Island Orphanage, where six dangerous children reside: a gnome, a sprite, a wyvern, an unidentifiable green blob, a were-Pomeranian, and the Antichrist. Linus must set aside his fears and determine whether or not they’re likely to bring about the end of days.
But the children aren’t the only secret the island keeps. Their caretaker is the charming and enigmatic Arthur Parnassus, who will do anything to keep his wards safe. As Arthur and Linus grow closer, long-held secrets are exposed, and Linus must make a choice: destroy a home or watch the world burn.
An enchanting story, masterfully told, The House in the Cerulean Sea is about the profound experience of discovering an unlikely family in an unexpected place—and realizing that family is yours.
7-10. The Way of Kings/Words of Radiance/Oathbringer/Rhythm of War (The Stormlight Archive)
Epic Fantasy (link, link, link, link). I don’t think I’ve ever rated every book in a series with five stars – until now. I actually tried to get into this series several times in the past few years and couldn’t do it. Once I finished the Mistborn trilogy, I was so impressed by Brandon Sanderson’s ability to craft stories and wanted to give this series another try. The books are long (like LONG), so I felt like I needed to know it would worth it before getting into it. The series is 100% worth the time commitment, and is shaping up to be one of my all-time favorites. A must-read if you like fantasy!
Roshar is a world of stone and storms. Uncanny tempests of incredible power sweep across the rocky terrain so frequently that they have shaped ecology and civilization alike. Animals hide in shells, trees pull in branches, and grass retracts into the soilless ground. Cities are built only where the topography offers shelter.
It has been centuries since the fall of the ten consecrated orders known as the Knights Radiant, but their Shardblades and Shardplate remain: mystical swords and suits of armor that transform ordinary men into near-invincible warriors. Men trade kingdoms for Shardblades. Wars were fought for them, and won by them.
One such war rages on a ruined landscape called the Shattered Plains. There, Kaladin, who traded his medical apprenticeship for a spear to protect his little brother, has been reduced to slavery. In a war that makes no sense, where ten armies fight separately against a single foe, he struggles to save his men and to fathom the leaders who consider them expendable.
Brightlord Dalinar Kholin commands one of those other armies. Like his brother, the late king, he is fascinated by an ancient text called The Way of Kings. Troubled by over-powering visions of ancient times and the Knights Radiant, he has begun to doubt his own sanity.
Across the ocean, an untried young woman named Shallan seeks to train under an eminent scholar and notorious heretic, Dalinar’s niece, Jasnah. Though she genuinely loves learning, Shallan’s motives are less than pure. As she plans a daring theft, her research for Jasnah hints at secrets of the Knights Radiant and the true cause of the war.
The result of over ten years of planning, writing, and world-building, The Way of Kings is but the opening movement of the Stormlight Archive, a bold masterpiece in the making.
11. The Raven King (The Raven Cycle)
Fantasy, YA (link). I have loved this entire series – it is such a great example of dreamy, lyrical prose. The entire series feels dream-like. This final book in the series concludes what the first three books set up in an immensely satisfying way. The writing style probably isn’t appealing to everyone, but it’s exactly the kind of book that I love to read.
It is freezing in the churchyard, even before the dead arrive.
Every year, Blue Sargent stands next to her clairvoyant mother as the soon-to-be dead walk past. Blue herself never sees them—not until this year, when a boy emerges from the dark and speaks directly to her.
His name is Gansey, and Blue soon discovers that he is a rich student at Aglionby, the local private school. Blue has a policy of staying away from Aglionby boys. Known as Raven Boys, they can only mean trouble.
But Blue is drawn to Gansey, in a way she can’t entirely explain. He has it all—family money, good looks, devoted friends—but he’s looking for much more than that. He is on a quest that has encompassed three other Raven Boys: Adam, the scholarship student who resents all the privilege around him; Ronan, the fierce soul who ranges from anger to despair; and Noah, the taciturn watcher of the four, who notices many things but says very little.
For as long as she can remember, Blue has been warned that she will cause her true love to die. She never thought this would be a problem. But now, as her life becomes caught up in the strange and sinister world of the Raven Boys, she’s not so sure anymore.
12. Morning Star (Red Rising Saga)
Sci-Fi (link). I read Red Rising and Golden Son back in 2019 (see my review here!) and lost steam before finishing Morning Star. This year, Scott read the series and suggested (several times) that I go back to it, and I’m glad I did! Featuring friendships you want to root for, fast-paced action, and plenty of space warfare, it was a thrilling conclusion to one of my favorite series.
Darrow is a Red, a member of the lowest caste in the color-coded society of the future. Like his fellow Reds, he works all day, believing that he and his people are making the surface of Mars livable for future generations.
Yet he spends his life willingly, knowing that his blood and sweat will one day result in a better world for his children.
But Darrow and his kind have been betrayed. Soon he discovers that humanity already reached the surface generations ago. Vast cities and sprawling parks spread across the planet. Darrow—and Reds like him—are nothing more than slaves to a decadent ruling class.
Inspired by a longing for justice, and driven by the memory of lost love, Darrow sacrifices everything to infiltrate the legendary Institute, a proving ground for the dominant Gold caste, where the next generation of humanity’s overlords struggle for power. He will be forced to compete for his life and the very future of civilization against the best and most brutal of Society’s ruling class. There, he will stop at nothing to bring down his enemies… even if it means he has to become one of them to do so.
13. To Sleep in a Sea of Stars
Sci-Fi, Space Opera (link). This was a highly-anticipated book for me, mostly because Christopher Paolini’s Eragon series was one of my first big fantasy reads (probably back in middle school?). I am so glad that this book delivered – it was obviously well-thought out and heavy on the science, but without any of the pacing problems that can come with hard science sci-fi. Plot driven and with lots of action, it offered a believable take on a first-contact story.
Kira Navárez dreamed of life on new worlds. Now she’s awakened a nightmare. During a routine survey mission on an uncolonized planet, Kira finds an alien relic. At first she’s delighted, but elation turns to terror when the ancient dust around her begins to move.
As war erupts among the stars, Kira is launched into a galaxy-spanning odyssey of discovery and transformation. First contact isn’t at all what she imagined, and events push her to the very limits of what it means to be human.
While Kira faces her own horrors, Earth and its colonies stand upon the brink of annihilation. Now, Kira might be humanity’s greatest and final hope…
14. The Last Graduate (The Scholomance)*
Fantasy (link). Naomi Novik always delivers. I had been eagerly looking forward to this book since reading A Deadly Education back in 2020 (one of that year’s 5-star reads!), and it did not disappoint! The ending was literally stupid good – a cliffhanger that still makes my soul hurt a little bit to think about (but in a good way). It’s laugh-out loud funny and the kind of book I hated to stop reading.
A Deadly Education is set at Scholomance, a school for the magically gifted where failure means certain death (for real) — until one girl, El, begins to unlock its many secrets.
There are no teachers, no holidays, and no friendships, save strategic ones. Survival is more important than any letter grade, for the school won’t allow its students to leave until they graduate… or die! The rules are deceptively simple: Don’t walk the halls alone. And beware of the monsters who lurk everywhere.
El is uniquely prepared for the school’s dangers. She may be without allies, but she possesses a dark power strong enough to level mountains and wipe out millions. It would be easy enough for El to defeat the monsters that prowl the school. The problem? Her powerful dark magic might also kill all the other students.
15. Gods & Monsters (Serpent & Dove)*
Fantasy (link). An enemies-to-lovers fantasy romance with a forced marriage ticks basically all of my boxes, and this series was so fun to read. (I LOVE the “oh-no-we-have-to-get-married-hope-we-don’t-fall-in-love” trope!) The third and final book in the series was such a good read – and I have a sort of pact with myself that if a book can make me cry, it probably deserves 5 stars.
Two years ago, Louise le Blanc fled her coven and took shelter in the city of Cesarine, forsaking all magic and living off whatever she could steal. There, witches like Lou are hunted. They are feared. And they are burned.
Sworn to the Church as a Chasseur, Reid Diggory has lived his life by one principle: thou shalt not suffer a witch to live. His path was never meant to cross with Lou’s, but a wicked stunt forces them into an impossible union—holy matrimony.
The war between witches and Church is an ancient one, and Lou’s most dangerous enemies bring a fate worse than fire. Unable to ignore her growing feelings, yet powerless to change what she is, a choice must be made.
And love makes fools of us all.
16. The Atlas Six
Fantasy (link). This book (especially the ending) blew me away. Another book that proves I love any book in which schooling and magic intersect. Almost every single character is awful (but in a good way); it does a great job of exploring the dark side of magical gifts like telepathy and empathy in a way few books do.
The Alexandrian Society, caretakers of lost knowledge from the greatest civilizations of antiquity, are the foremost secret society of magical academicians in the world. Those who earn a place among the Alexandrians will secure a life of wealth, power, and prestige beyond their wildest dreams, and each decade, only the six most uniquely talented magicians are selected to be considered for initiation.
Enter the latest round of six: Libby Rhodes and Nico de Varona, unwilling halves of an unfathomable whole, who exert uncanny control over every element of physicality. Reina Mori, a naturalist, who can intuit the language of life itself. Parisa Kamali, a telepath who can traverse the depths of the subconscious, navigating worlds inside the human mind. Callum Nova, an empath easily mistaken for a manipulative illusionist, who can influence the intimate workings of a person’s inner self. Finally, there is Tristan Caine, who can see through illusions to a new structure of reality—an ability so rare that neither he nor his peers can fully grasp its implications.
When the candidates are recruited by the mysterious Atlas Blakely, they are told they will have one year to qualify for initiation, during which time they will be permitted preliminary access to the Society’s archives and judged based on their contributions to various subjects of impossibility: time and space, luck and thought, life and death. Five, they are told, will be initiated. One will be eliminated. The six potential initiates will fight to survive the next year of their lives, and if they can prove themselves to be the best among their rivals, most of them will.
Most of them.
Honorable Mentions:
- Dearest Josephine (magical realism; a woman falls in love across time)
- A Court of Silver Flames (fantasy-romance; number 5 in Sara J Maas’s ACOTAR series)
- Winterkeep (fantasy; number 4 in Kristin Cashore’s Graceline series)
- Ready Player One & Ready Player Two (sci-fi; adventure video game treasure hunt)
- Ariadne (mythology; a spellbinding retelling of the Greek myth)
- A Master of Djinn (historical fantasy; detectives in alternate history Egypt)
- Beach Read (romance; rival writers fall in love at the beach)
- Dark Rise (fantasy; arthurian-inspired tale where heroes and villains are reborn)
- Howl’s Moving Castle (fantasy; laugh-out-loud funny and heartwarming, fun for the whole family)
- The Inheritance Games (YA; a Knives-Out style inheritance mystery)
Finally, I’d like to wrap up with a few goals for my 2022 reading:
- Re-read some favorites. I’m working my way back through the Throne of Glass series, and I have plans to go back to a few other favorites, like The Night Circus (and maybe The Starless Sea), Lore, and The Ember in the Ashes series (which I love and unreasonable amount). Maybe Red Queen? Maybe Recursion? Maybe Circe/A Song of Achilles? I have a lot of favorites, friends.
- Read more nonfiction. I think I only read one nonfiction book last year, and it was literally about potty training. I’m hoping to read more nonfiction this year for sure!
- More epic fantasy. I finally made the jump and am looking forward to starting series like the Lord of the Rings, Shades of Magic, and Wheel of Time this year! (Although reading the Stormlight Archive books this year really killed my number of books read per month – I averaged about 1-2 books rather than my usual 5-8 while reading them.)
- Submit more reviews. I always rate books after I finish them (thank you, Kindle, for connecting to my Goodreads account), but would like to get into the habit of reviewing books more, so I can remember them better.
Pin this Post: The Best Books I Read in 2021
