Blogmas (Day Twenty) | Year in Review 2021 | Book Tag

I love any excuse to reflect on my year of reading, so the Year in Review tag is perfect for me! It was originally created by dominish_books on Booktube and I was tagged by Kristen is Fully Booked.

Your favourite book of the year

There were a few contenders for my best book of the year, but Piranesi truly stands out for me. I read it at the beginning of the year and nothing has been able to surpass it as my favourite, which is no surprise because this is such a unique book. I loved the writing, first and foremost, and the world. I am in awe of Susanna Clarke’s imagination!

Your favourite series started this year but not finished

There were so many! I even wrote a blog post about this recently, so check that out if you want to see them all. The Green Bone Saga was the series that instantly came to mind, especially since the last book just came out and I absolutely loved Jade City.

Your favourite series finished this year

Though I finished a few amazing series this year, the Raybearer Duology is the only true answer to this question. Raybearer is one of my favourite books ever and Redemptor managed to live up to it. I loved the direction where this story went and that the found family aspect just got stronger and stronger!

Your favourite new author discovered this year

As soon as I read The Inheritance of Orquidea Divina, I knew that I needed to read everything that Zoraida Cordova has written, which is one of my goals for 2022! There is something about her writing that stays with her and works perfectly for magical realism.

Your favourite new character of the year

While adored both characters in A Psalm for the Wild-Built, it was the robot who has my heart! Becky Chambers has this magical way of creating memorable characters who burrow their way into your heart.

This is a strange one because there is a secret character from Project Hail Mary who I absolutely adore but can’t talk about. If you know, you know!

Your favourite new release of the year

Kazuo Ishiguro is one of my favourite authors and Klara and the Sun surpassed all of my expectations. It gave me similar feelings to Never Let Me Go, which is my favourite book of all time. I have discovered I love books about AI or clones- it is such an interesting subject to explore, especially in terms of ethics.

Your favourite reread of the year

I am not a big rereader, but I did reread Magic Lessons before picking up The Book of Magic, the last book in the Practical Magic series. If possible, I loved Magic Lessons even more the second time around. The way that Alice Hoffman has connected all of these books is brilliant and I am such a sucker for a good prequel!

Your biggest surprise of the year

I went into Finlay Donovan is Killing It not expecting much because it didn’t sound like something I would love, but that turned out not to be the case. I am so glad that I listened to the hype on this one. I loved Finlay and all of the side characters.

Your biggest disappointment of the year

Lost in the Never Woods is definitely not the worst book I have read this year, but it is the one that left me feeling most disappointed. I absolutely adored Cemetery Boys and I tend to like Peter Pan retellings, but this one just didn’t work for me. I wasn’t invested and the pacing felt off. That said, I will read whatever Aiden Thomas writes next!

The one book from this year you’d recommend to anyone

The Empire of Pain is a work of nonfiction that I would universally recommend. It is both well-researched and accessible. It is obvious that Patrick Radden Keefe took this topic seriously, which makes the reader feel the same way.

Razorblade Tears is one of those books that I could see myself recommending to a wide variety of readers! There is so much to love about this book and it is fast-paced, compelling, and surprisingly heartwarming. The only warning I would give is that it is rather violent!

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