My Favorite Books of 2021 (and some old favorites)

   As we wrap up another year in the book world, I can't neglect to reflect on this year's Goodreads Reading Challenge, and particularly on the books that I really really loved from 2021.

  I had a pretty good reading year this year (one of the only areas of good, lol) as opposed to 2020 and 2019 respectively, surpassing my challenge of 25 with 30 - which I'm super proud of. I only hope I can keep up this momentum into the 2022!

  So, if you're on the hunt for some new books for your 2022 TBR, take a look below to see if any of my favorite reads this year grab your fancy!

(click on the links below to learn more about each individual book!)

SIX OF CROWS and CROOKED KINGDOM by Leigh Bardugo

  I am definitely late to the hype train on these, but they were certainly worth it! I was absolutely pulled into the world of Ketterdam, of Kaz and Inej and their crew, they quickly became those "can't put down" type books. I loved the fantasy teen gang and the fantasy heist aspect, also that these stories and Bardugo's other installments are set in a fantasy world inspired by Imperial Russia, very unique and highly enjoyable! I've been recommending these ones most highly from this year. 

THE FOLK OF THE AIR trilogy by Holly Black

  I absolutely devoured these books right away at the start of the year (in the dead winter months when reading time is the finest). I have never super been into the enemies-to-lovers trope until these books, and I was hooked into the trilogy from reading HOW THE KING OF ELFHAME LEARNED TO HATE STORIES first, a shorter story from the other MC's perspective. I loved, loved, LOVED Cardan and Jude, and even though I'm really not big into urban fantasy (like at all) I quite enjoyed the world Holly Black created as well. 

THE SKINJACKER TRILOGY by Neal Shusterman

This was one of the trilogies I devoured over summer, even while working a pretty busy summer at camp, I would take every spare minute and every evening I could to read these and wow! The concept was so incredible and the twists and turns had me on the edge of my seat the whole ride, not to mention it was so unnervingly dark for MG/younger YA? But I loved it?? Having these things dawn on you as you read, feeling breathless by the actions of children in the afterlife, it was such a thrilling series. Each Everlost book was utterly amazing and I would absolutely throw them at anyone walking by and demand they read them.

ALL THE WRONG QUESTIONS by Lemony Snicket

  I really, really love A Series of Unfortunate Events, and of course the whole Lemony Snicket style, so I was super pleased to discover (I believe last year) that he had another (albeit much shorter) series in the same universe, from the mouth of Mr. Snicket himself. They were short, easy reads but filled with signature Snicket moments and one particular passage that really stuck with me through the year...

“You cannot wait for an untroubled world to have an untroubled moment. The terrible phone call, the rainstorm, the sinister knock on the door—they will all come. Soon enough arrive the treacherous villain and the unfair trial and the smoke and the flames of the suspicious fires to burn everything away."

BURN by Patrick Ness

  It wouldn't be a complete reading year without a Patrick Ness book. I read three new-to-me books by him this year, and I liked them all, but I loved this one. It was a weird mash of stories, concepts, and genres which is something I personally adore but not everyone else does. Dragons, the 50's, cults, it was quite a voracious mix and I gobbled it up. 

THE COLDEST GIRL IN COLDTOWN by Holly Black

  Vampires aren't really my thing, but I loved Folk of the Air so much despite it being urban fantasy, that I figured I could give Holly Black the benefit of the doubt in this area. She did not disappoint. She has a real, amazing talent with horror, and how to create deep, visceral fear in the reader, and yet somehow make you feel for the same characters you are afraid of. The plot drew me in, and the characters compelled me, all in all, definitely worth a read, especially if you like vampire fiction.

OUR DARK DUET by Victoria Schwab

I finished off this duology early in the year, and I definitely shed some tears at book's end. I'm not sure what I was expecting, but it certainly wasn't the ending Ms. Schwab delivered. It's not the first time I've cried in her books, and I'm sure it won't be the last seeing as she has a new release coming in March this year. Suffice to say, Kate and August have my heart and deserved a life outside of monsters and menace and death. But the best books make you feel something and Our Dark Duet and its predecessor certainly do this.

And, last but not least, some old favorites that I was blessedly able to reread this year...

THE SCREWTAPE LETTERS by CS Lewis

  Aside from Narnia and The Great Divorce, this is probably my most favorite Lewis novel, which is saying a lot because he's written a lot of seriously awesome stuff so it makes it very hard to choose. The first time I read this was probably nearly a decade ago (yikes) and it still resonates, perhaps more a second time around, particularly since we were going through it in a Bible study setting. If you're a fan of CS Lewis but you haven't gotten to this one yet, definitely bump it to the top of your TBR. 

And THE LORD OF THE RINGS by JRR Tolkien

  This is my 7th reread of these beloved fantasy classics, the books that largely made me the person I am today. It's been awhile since my last go-round in Middle-Earth as recent years have been harder and harder to find reading time for new books, nevermind old, but I'm so thankful to have taken the time to dive into these again. My mental health went up SIGNIFICANTLY at the beginning of December when I started Fellowship, and I just finished Towers in a matter of days over Christmas. I'm about to jump into RotK again and I'm extremely excited but also sad to be coming to the end of this grand fantasy adventure yet again. IF by some unhappy chance you haven't given these books a go yet, I absolutely implore you to do so. The movies are incredible, but the source material is more incredible still, and rereading it again I'm noticing so much so, and noticing in deeper, more meaningful ways. So read it, goshdarnit!

YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE:

My Best Books of 2020

My Best Books of 2019

Why I Decided to Create a Reading Habit (and How You Can Too)

Have You Read Enough CS Lewis??

LET'S TALK. 

  Whew. Another year nearly over already! It feels like 2020-21 have passed in a barely discernable blur, but looking back at the books I've been through helps add some depth and space to that time. What were your favorite reads from 2021? And will you be adding anything from this list to your TBR? Let me know in the comments below!