Fifteen Favorite Fantasy Reads of 2021
2021 is winding to a close, and it’s time to share my annual post about all my favorite fantasy reads from the year!
This is always both simultaneously one of my favorite and least favorite posts to write. Favorite because I love looking over the books I’ve read, reminiscing about the stories I loved and the characters I met, and recommending them. Least favorite because it’s a lot of fiddly work and because it’s always impossible to put them in an order I’m completely happy with. But, I’ll try.
I read 81 books this year! Not quite as many as last year, but some of my reads this year were on the longer side, and I got a TON more authoring work done this year than last year.
My pages read stats for this year were pretty close, too. 23,054 vs last year’s 23,557.
My average book length this year was 284 pages vs last year’s 273.
My longest book this year was The Wise Man’s Fear clocking in at 994 pages vs last year’s Keeper of the Lost Cities: Lodestar which was only 668 pages.
The books on this list are my fifteen favorite fantasy reads. Also, as in years past, only full-length novels qualify for this list (though I didn’t read many things shorter than novel-length this year, so that really didn’t help me pare it down much). Note to self: read shorter books. I also try to only include books that were new reads for me (which is why the Lord of the Rings, while clearly being the best books I read this year, won’t be included below because it’s about the 47th time I’ve read them). Also, two of the books I’ve read this year are my own… and that would be cheating.
Interestingly enough, very few non-indie books made my list this year. I read some great traditionally published fantasy as well… but either they were re-reads or they just didn’t stand out as much.
I did read quite a few books that I loved to bits that weren’t fantasy (which does make things a little easier). If you want to see all the books I read this year, you can do so at the button below.
If you missed last year’s line-up, or want a reminder of what books made the cut last year, you can find my list of favorite 2020 reads below.
Let’s dive in, shall we?
Right off the bat, as per usual, I’m breaking my own rules and starting with two honorable mentions:
A Game of Stars and Shadows by Kara Jaynes
Technically, this is kind of in a “fantasy adjacent” genre, but I pretty much devoured the first four books in this series in the first half of the year and now anxiously await book 5.
I really enjoyed this urban-sci-fi-dystopian-fantasy mashup. Stories that have a little bit of everything and don’t fit into a neat little box are my favorites. In this series we have a sort of dystopian future Earth, where pollution has become a massive problem and Earth is on the brink of dying completely. Elves have arrived from a distant planet to help, but being elves, they are being all high and mighty about it and not explaining what their end goal is to anyone, so the humans think of them as invaders.
I’m not usually a fan of dystopian fiction because I’m always comparing it to The Giver, and it never quite hits that feel for me, because all dystopian fiction these days appears to be full of angsty teens. But this one is super unique and fun and a really neat blend of space ships and magic and I loved it!
The Supervillain Rehabilitation Project by H.L. Burke
Reformed (the first book in this series) made the top 15 list last year, and this year I read books 2-4. It is such a fun, frolick-y type of series. Superheroes without being Marvel or DC and having all sorts of different feeling dynamics? Yes, please! I love it to pieces. I need to read book 5, and am excited to dive into the YA spin-off series, as well. They are short, sweet reads and I love watching the characters grow and all the normal family dynamics that the author allows to weave into the books. It is positively delightful.
15
Emberhawk/Silverblood by Jamie Foley
Book 1
excellently done “enemies to lovers” trope / intriguing magic system / elementals / alternating POVs / epic feel / political intrigue /
Book 2
very good sequel // stakes get higher // lots of characters all going in different directions throughout the story kept the pacing hopping // I missed getting to hang out as much with Kira and Ryon, as Brooke and Lysander took the center stage, though I did enjoy getting to know them better // personally felt that character development stalled out a bit and the pace was almost too fast // I'm very concerned about Felix // did NOT see that ending coming!
14
Jane Austen’s Dragons by Maria Grace / Narrated by Benjamin Fife, books 1-3
You can read my full review of the first book in this series HERE
But suffice to say, that this trilogy retelling Pride and Prejudice… but with dragons! is exactly my cup of tea.
While book 1 stays fairly true to the story (even using some of the lines and dialogue from the original) books 2 and 3 start to twist and turn the story quite a bit, deviating from the original just enough to let these books stand on their own as something unique and fun, but still staying true to the heart of Pride and Prejudice.
Loved listening to the audio versions of these. Benjamin Fife is quite fantastic at what he does. I look forward to listening to the other books in this series.
13
Deadwood by Kyle Robert Shultz
sequel / evil pinocchio who possesses all things wooden / Todd’s dysfunctional family / heart-stopping moments / laugh-out-loud humor / JULIO!!! hearts / also much screaming at the end of the book (by me) / I love this series so much, Todd and Amy are so much fun to hang out with, and Julio and Meg are so sweet and funny and dear / I felt like the stakes were rather higher and the danger quite a bit greater than we’ve seen in the Afterverse or Crocket and Crane before, so that was heartstopping but fun!
12
Traitor by Laurie Lucking
absolutely beautiful // I loved returning to this world // Princess Penelope is such a messed up little bundle of nerves, she's darling and I love her, even if she's constantly trusting all the wrong people // Prince Vander!!!!! HE IS THE BESTEST EVER! // Princess Dionne was such a little clandestine spitfire, the perfect little sister character // Victoria is a ray of sunshine // the plot was more straightforward and though I had a feeling I knew what was coming, I'm still amazed at HOW MUCH of the plot ended up being in the last 20% of the book // kind of a slow-burn plot that is very character driven and builds extremely slowly (but not at all in a way that is boring, it's just not extremely action-packed) and then absolutely explodes all over the place at the last minute, but still gets nicely wrapped up to my extreme satisfaction
11
Keen by Laura L Zimmerman
Fun YA // banshees are cool // I’ve never read anything featuring a banshee before, so that was neat // love the faerie world sitting next to a high school, wish we could have gone through the veil and learned more about the other side // pretty much exactly what I was in the mood for for an "end of summer" read
This was one of those sweet YA reads that I tend to be in the mood for in the summer. It’s got that girly teenage rom com feel to it, like Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, or Gilmore Girls, but it has a lot more depth to it, and fae courts and danger and fantastical magical elements as well.
10
Moonscript by HSJ Williams
ELVES! // the characters are fantastic -- Tellie! Errance! Tryss! Kelm! THE Daisha! (also Coren and Leoren and Casara... and even Daran in his suitably despicable way is one of those villains you enjoy hating because he's not a moron but you still very much want him to LOSE) // beautiful writing // world-building was fun // beautiful allegory that wasn't heavy-handed // ending made me cry all the happy tears // also, I was a bit upset at A THING THAT HAPPENED... but then when it DIDN'T REALLY HAPPEN I was not upset anymore. So there's that
9
Midnight for a Curse by EJ Kitchens
Absolutely gorgeous Beauty and the Beast retelling // loved how much the library played a key role // loved the idea of "Beauty" being semi-illiterate and needing a reading spell // what if the Beast WANTED TO STAY cursed? // some interesting secondary characters throughout // epic climactic resolution... and I'm suddenly intrigued to learn more about the villainess who I HATED throughout the book, but there was this WOW moment right at the end that brought things full circle in a way I hadn't expected
8
Ashen by H.L. Burke
beautiful // hints of Cinderella retelling // ending felt a little abrupt/rushed // Lizbete is so sweet, I love her to pieces // Brynar is also fantastic // Elin is my favorite snarky kind of terrifying small child character of ever // epic lava monster // a lot of screaming near the end (by me, not the characters) // d'awwwww
7
Masque by W.R. Gingell
beauty and the beast retelling / political intrigue / murder mystery / very different take on the whole “Belle being held captive by the Beast” element / I liked how active and impish the Belle character is / I loved the Beast!
6
The Dragon Librarian by Marc Secchia
gorgeous writing style // linguistic perfection // loved the character of Auli // a lot of intrigue and mystery surrounding the main character // cannot wait to read book 2! // also, really happy there is a book 2, because for a while there I was convinced this was going to be a stand-alone prequel // did NOT see the connections to Dragon Friend coming! That was… WOW!
5
Witchblaze by Rabia Gale
*incoherent screaming and sobbing*
Arabella has quickly become one of my favorite heroines // I spent most of this book wanting to smack both Bella and Trey and shout, "just KISS already!" at them // Beatrice!!!! *sobs* // so much backstory got unpacked in this book and I loved it // but THAT ENDING! NOOOOOOOO!
4
Truesilver by DJ Edwardson
You can read my full review of this delightful adventure HERE, but here is my final word on the subject:
If your heart is longing themes of friendship and forgiveness and nobility, for heroic characters that grow gradually into your affections, that you want to root for and fight alongside and persevere with all set against a back-drop of a vast new fantasy land to explore that is uniquely its own new world and yet also might seem somehow achingly familiar to those of us who love an older-school style of fantasy story-telling, then I guarantee you will love Truesilver.
3
Peaceweaver by Everly Haywood
This was... so beautiful. I need the hardcover version of this so badly, because my black and white kindle cover does not do it justice. So for now, I’m just going to steal the author’s picture.
One of my more recent reads, I couldn’t even put together a mini-review for it when I finished because I just wanted to hug it close for a while. There is political intrigue, magic, an assassin (or perhaps more than one?) hiding in the shadows, an inexplicable blight on the land, and in the middle of it all, a blind prince and a young healer who find romance in spite of all the darkness around them both.
I love, love, loved this story. Persis is such a sweet, strong heroine caught between powerful countries that teeter in an unsteady and begrudging peace. Caught up in the intrigue of court machinations, all she wants to do is the job she is good at: healing the prince from his mysterious malady. Falling for him along the way is neither part of her plan or an actual option.
But Prince Haryk is not what she expected, and when he mistakes her in their first meeting for his betrothed rather than his healer, she catches a glimpse deeper into his heart than he might have meant for her to see.
The love story in this book is both beautiful and powerful. It suffers a few setbacks along the way, and I was very very worried that it wouldn’t all work out. And I’m not going to tell you whether or not it does. But I will tell you that I loved this book.
The way this book blends mystery, danger, and a fantasy adventure into a love story is… breathtaking.
2
The City Between Series by W.R. Gingell
This series took over my life this Fall after it CLEANED UP and took home nearly half of all the Silmaril Awards this year. This is a series that had been on my radar for a while, and the first book was sitting on my Kindle waiting patiently. But I finally sat down and started reading them in October (they just sort of felt like they’d be a good October type of read) and absolutely could not put them down.
I finished the first four books in quick succession, then took a bit of a break to read some other things because I had to… and then dove right back into book 5, which I’m about to finish up here before the door closes completely on this year. I’m trying to pace myself a bit because the series is still being released (there are 10 books out now I think?!) but I don’t like waiting between books (hehe, play on words there!)
They are kind of an urban-fantasy-meets-crime-show sort of story, combining two of my favorite genres (fantasy & crime shows) in one epic mashup that is super fun.
Inventive, snark-filled, and covered over with a layer of magic as the fae and human worlds collide around the main character, I love this series so much.
** I do have to warn you that it’s dark. Dark in an “oh, there’s another gruesomely dismembered dead body over there” sort of way. I did say it felt like a crime show, right? So yes. That’s my disclaimer.
1
Entwined by Heather Dixon
I read this book in February and knew immediately that it would take the number one spot come December’s “fifteen favorites” recap. And I was not wrong. Here we are at the end of the year, and this book has remained as entwined around my heart as it was when I first read it.
This story is absolutely gorgeous. It is probably my favorite 12 Dancing Princesses retelling ever, and that’s saying a lot, partially because 12DP is one of my favorite fairy tales ever, and partially because I’ve read quite a few rather excellent retellings. But this one blows them all away.
I love the sisterly relationships woven throughout the story, and I love that the author managed to really introduce me to each one of the sisters and make me care for all of them. A tall order in such a large cast.
There were themes of family and fatherhood and grief and love and forgiveness and selfishness and selflessness and kindness and friendship all woven intricately into this tale. And I have to say that it’s the first time I’ve ever read a 12DP retelling that really focused on the dancing. I mean, the dancing and the types of dances the why behind the dancing in secret were such an integral part of this book.
And that’s my Fifteen Favorite Fantasy Reads of 2021 wrapped up!
Have you read any of these books, dear Reader? Did any new ones catch your eye? What are YOUR favorite fantasy books you read this year? I’d love to hear about them!