2021 was another long year, but amongst the chaos I managed to read almost 80 new books… Here are the ones that I’m still thinking about at the end of the year:
Salka was born with two hearts and the potential to do magic which, in her mother’s home of Heyne Town, makes her an outcast. They live an uneasy life in a village of other outcasts, where no-one trust anyone else (least of all themselves), as Salka tries her best to avoid the evil temptations of her second heart.
One of the first books I read in 2021, this really surprised me. The plot was completely unique and the characters beguiling, but it was the unwavering pace of the building anticipation which kept me hooked until the end: ‘The Second Bell’ by Gabriela Houston
Clairvoyance is illegal and Paige Mahoney has it in staves. To avoid arrest (and execution) Paige works for crime lord Jaxon Hall, breaking into people’s dreams for information. But one wrong move finds her transported to the secret city of Oxford where clairvoyants are being kept enslaved and used as food for otherworldly beings. Her only chance of escape is her ‘Master’ Warden, but can she trust the very creature who has enslaved her?
I devoured this whole series with barely a moment to breathe between each book. The physical dangers Paige faced kept me constantly on my toes and her internal struggles pulled at my heartstrings. Combined these endless complications kept my eyes firmly glued to the page.
Xingyin has lived her whole life on the safety of the moon, but the moon is her mother’s prison and she was supposed to be trapped there alone… When Xingyin is forced to flee and forge a new life for herself in the celestial realm, she swears that she will find a way to free her mother. She will need all the friends she can find to complete her task, but making friends is difficult when one cannot reveal their true identity.
The setting of this book is the main reason it has earned a place on this list. Each and every aspect is enthralling; from the hierarchy and politics, to the creatures and monsters, to the scenery, history, and mythology. That the entire plot is based on love and honour is only an added bonus that leaves you with a warm feeling as you read: ‘Daughter of the Moon Goddess’ by Sue Lynn Tan
Scholomance is deadly; the wrong turn will kill you. Yet for El, the chance to learn within its walls is a far safer bet than watching her mother drain herself to protect them both from the monsters that are drawn to her daughter’s magic. To be alone is to die and El isn’t very good at making friends. If she showcased her dark power then she could have any allies she wanted, but El doesn’t know if she can trust herself to wield it safely.
I wasn’t drawn to the plot of this book, thinking it was just another standard magic school trope, but I love Naomi Novik so I picked it up anyway – and I’m glad I did! Scholomance is unlike any magic school that has been written before and El’s struggles drew me in. Rooted in survival, the politics of the school, and the way El turns them upside down, kept the plot moving.
WARNING: this book has a cliff-hanger ending and if you think reading book two will solve this then you would be very very wrong!
Joe Tournier has no memories. He doesn’t remember his wife, he doesn’t remember why he was on a train from Edinburgh, he doesn’t remember anything about his life in London. But when he gets a postcard signed ‘M’ (which has apparently been waiting at the post office for one hundred years) the lighthouse on the front is eerily familiar.
Having loved all of Natasha Pulley’s previous books, I expected great things from this one. Her approach to time travel and alternate realities is a magnificent web and I can only marvel at the brain that thread it all together: ‘The Kingdoms’ by Natasha Pulley
Escape to the Bookshelf 