A year in books: a review

So as 2021 draws to a close, I thought this would be a good year to reflect on my reading. Last year I managed to read 75 books. I did set myself a challenge to read 100 books this year, but about September I realised that maybe I was being quite optimistic and wouldn’t hit that mark…( 2 operations, starting back at work and a new job full time after recovering from said operations, theatres re-opening – that’ll take some time away from reading!). However despite all that, this year I did still manage to read a total of 90 books! So not only did I beat last years number, but I was only 10 books off 100. Which I think considering all that’s gone on, I don’t think is bad at all!

I may not have kept up with any monthly book updates, but I’m proud of my reading accomplishments this year. Whilst I won’t go over every single book I’ve read, I’ll try and cover a broad range from the good, the bad, and the weird and wonderful. But with 90 books to choose from, we may still be here a while. So get yourself a drink, a snack, a pet or toy to keep you company, and get cosy as we dive into my year of books.

(Any books I’ve already written a blog post about, I will link next to the rating, so feel free to have a read of some of my already written reviews whilst you’re here!).

Let’s begin with a full list of every book I read and their ratings:

JANUARY:

• Caraval – Stephanie Garber – 5 stars (See my review here)
• Legendary – Stephanie Garber – 5 stars
• The Architect’s Apprentice – Elif Shafak – 3 stars (See my review here)
• Finale – Stephanie Garber – 5 stars
• The Cruel Prince – Holly Black – 4 stars
• Escape – Emma Eggleston – 3 stars
• Theatrical – Maggie Harcourt – 4 stars

FEBRUARY:

• Legendborn – Tracy Deonn – 5 stars
• The Wicked King – Holly Black – 5 stars
• The Cousins – Karen McManus – 3 stars
• Mary Poppins – P.L. Travers – 2 stars
• The Queen of Nothing – Holly Black – 5 stars
• Red, White & Royal Blue – Casey McQuniston – 5 stars
• City of The Plague God – Sarwat Chadda – 5 stars (See my review here)

MARCH:

• You and Me on Vacation – Emily Henry – 2 stars
• Super Fake Love Song – David Yoon – 3 stars
• Bridge of Clay – Markus Zusak – 5 stars (See my review here)
• Kingdom of the Wicked – Kerri Maniscalco – 5 stars
• Plays from Vault 3 – Christopher Adams compiled/various artists (people who wrote the plays!) – 5 stars
• A Little Princess – Frances Hodgson-Burnett – 5 stars
• The Girl on the Train – Paula Hawkins – 5 stars
• Splinters of Scarlet – Emily Bain Murphy – 5 stars
• City of Bones – Cassandra Clare – 5 stars
• Time Lord Fairy Tales – Justin Richards – 5 stars

APRIL:

• A Dark and Hollow Star – Ashley Shuttleworth – 4 stars
• Vox – Christina Dalcher – 1 star
• Barakah Beats – Maleeha Siddiqui – 5 stars (See my review here)
• Matilda – Roald Dahl – 5 stars
• Noughts and Crosses – Malorie Blackman – 5 stars
• Breakfast at Tiffany’s – Truman Capote – 3 stars
• The land of stories – Chris Colfer – 1 star

MAY:

• Mythologica – Stephen P. Kershaw – 4 stars
• Indivisible – Daniel Aleman – 5 stars (Two blog posts for this one – see why I was excited for this book here, and see what I thought & my review after reading here).
• The lost sister – Holly Black – 4 stars
• Heroes – Stephen Fry – 4 stars
• Lord of Shadows – Cassandra Clare – 5 stars
• When Breath becomes air – Paul Kalanithi – 4 stars
• Uncommon type – Tom Hanks – 4 stars
• Clockwork Angel – Cassandra Clare – 5 stars
• Amina’s voice – Hena Khan – 3 stars
• Things a Bright Girl can Do – Sally Nicholls – 4 stars
• The stars and the blackness between them – Junauda Petrus – 3 stars

JUNE:

• World mythology in bite sized chunks – Mark Daniels – 4 stars
• Percy Jackson and the lightning thief – Rick Riordan – 5 stars
• The gilded ones – Namina Forna – 5 stars
• You will get through this night – Daniel Howell – 5 stars
• Heartstopper vol 4 – Alice Oseman – 5 stars
• The ballad of songbirds and snakes – Suzanne Collins – 5 stars
• Ace of Spades – Faridah Abike-Iymide – 5 stars
• The Silent Patient – Alex Micaelides – 3 stars
• The Magician’s guild – Trudi Canavan – 5 stars

JULY:

• Rebel rose – Emma Theriault – 3 stars
• These violent delights – Chloe Gong – 5 stars
• The invisible life of addie larue – Victoria Schwab – 5 star
• Zara hossain is here – Sabina Khan – 4 stars

AUGUST:

• Caraval – Stephanie Garber – 5 stars
• Hani and Ishu’s guide to fake dating – Adiba Jaigirdar – 5 stars
• Hana Khan carries on – Uzma Jalaluddin – 4 stars
• Legendary – Stephanie Garber – 5 stars
• Illuminae – Jay Kristoff – 2 stars
• Indivisible – Daniel Aleman – 5 stars
• Are You Watching – Vincent Ralph – 4 stars
• A Thousand Ships – Natalie Haynes – 5 stars
• Autoboyography – Christina Lauren – 5 star
• Clockwork Prince – Cassandra Clare – 5 stars
• This Lovely City – Louise Hare – 3 stars

SEPTEMBER:

• The devil and the dark water – Stuart Turton – 4 stars
• A good girls guide to murder – Holly Jackson – 4 stars
• The Prison healer  – Lynette Noni – 5 stars
• It’s not about the burqa – Mariam Khan – 5 stars
• The midnight library – Matt Haig – 4 stars
• The hundred and one dalmatians – Dodie Smith – 4 stars
• The great gatsby graphic novel – F.Scott Fitzgerald (adapted by K. Woodman-Maynard) – 5 stars
• The fault in our stars – John Green – 5 stars
• Blood like magic – Liselle Sambury – 5 stars
• The woman in black: angel of death – Martyn Waites – 4 stars
• House in the cerulean sea – T.J. Klune – 5 stars
• Once upon a broken heart – Stephanie Garber – 5 stars

OCTOBER:

• Before the coffee gets cold – Toshikazu Kawaguchi – 3 stars
• Are we all lemmings and snowflakes – Holly Bourne – 3 stars
• Piranesi – Susanna Clarke – 5 stars
• Clap when you land – Elizabeth Acevedo – 5 stars
• Serpent and dove – Shleby Mahurin – 4 stars
• The house on cold hill – Peter James – 2 stars
• We were liars – E. Lockhart – 2 stars
• All our hidden gifts – Caroline O’Donaghue – 4 stars
• The boy in the back of the class – Onjali. Q. Rauf – 5 stars
• Scythe – Neil Shusterman – 5 stars

NOVEMBER;

• Jade fire gold – June CL Tan – 5 stars
• The cursed carnival and other calamities – Rick Riordan and various other authors (authors of Rick Riordan Presents books) – 5 stars
• Aristotle and Dante dive into the waters of the world – Benjamin Alire Saenz – 5 stars
• Nevermoor – Jessica Townsend – 5 stars
• Am I normal yet – Holly Bourne – 5 stars
• My best friends exorcism – Grady Hendrix – 2 stars

DECEMBER:

• The seven husbands of Evelyn Hugo – Taylor Jenkins Reid – 4 stars
• This poison heat – Kalynn Bayron

Looking back, I think that’s quite a list! A mix of genres, age ranges, and star ratings – and quite a diverse list! How I’m going to do this next part, is just mentioning a couple of books for each star rating, from 1 to 5 stars – a total of 10 books in total. Also, it goes without saying, but what I say is by no means the be-all and end-all. A book I love may be a book someone else hates, and vice versa. Books are totally subjective and so are what people think of them.

1 Star Books

Vox – Chrstina Dalcher

I was so looking forward to this read. I really wanted to enjoy it, the premise sounded super interesting, and at the start, it was quite a chilling read. By 50 pages in, sadly that interest stopped. I spent the whole book waiting for the ‘epic’ read everyone had been raving about but for me that never came. I actually nearly gave up reading this book a couple of times but powered on to see how everything would get concluded and if the book would get any better. I also felt there were a few issues with the book that didn’t sit right with me. The story, world and characters didn’t feel anywhere near developed enough or real enough for me; I struggled to connect or have any empathy or feelings – which is one of the amazing things a book can do! I, unfortunately, spent most of the book being always at least mildly annoyed at the main character for being so whiny…given her circumstances, yes I would be too, but when there were arguments of ‘what makes a real man vs her husband’, and having to read comments and internal thoughts of her dragging down and slating other women all the time, my patience was wearing thin. Surely in this messed-up dystopian world and life they’re all having to endure, suffer and struggle with, I’d have thought women would want to support and be there for each other! So reading the lead character criticise other women for every little thing when they’re just trying to live and get through the day did not instil me with much joy for her. Furthermore, we as a society now are trying to promote women building each other up, so if a book can’t do that, where we find a lot of inspiration and ideas, how can we expect people in life to? The book had no real progression for a long time, it was very slow with not a lot happening – fine, I’ve read and loved slow-burners before, but this didn’t have any content to make up for it – and then at the end, everything moved at a rapid pace to get tied up and have a nice conclusion and happy every after in the last 50 pages, which felt rushed and too unrealistic, even by my standards. Essentially, this book had a lot of potential but was just a big letdown for me, which was really sad after me being very excited to read it!

The Land of Stories – Chris Colfer

I wanted to love this book more. It sounded like something I would love – 2 kids fall into their fairytale storybook and have to go on a quest to get items connected to all the fairytales to get home, but sadly the book did not hit the mark for me. Normally I don’t think the age a book is aimed at, is a barrier to me enjoying it. There are loads of children’s books and middle-grade books `I love! So I don’t think the target audience for this book is what stopped me from enjoying it. I think this is just one of those books where it’s not quite my cup of tea and I can’t understand why. After reading others’ reviews of the book, it seems that I’m not the only person to have encountered this! The idea of this book was lovely – magic, adventure, the kids having an escape from a life that’s really not too great for them at the moment, and getting to meet their favourite fictional characters at the same time. I just think parts of it felt a little flat to me, and there was a lot of ‘convenience’. For a quest that’s meant to be tricky, they sure get their hands on a lot of clues and items straight away and with no real challenge at all. I did, however, like some of the twists on some of the fairytale characters and how this world the kids were thrown into was darker than they initially thought when they were reading the stories.

2 Star Books

Mary Poppins – P.L. Travers

I adore the Disney film of Mary Poppins, and hadn’t read this book in so many years, since I was about 13 I think, so re-visited thus for a book club read. This book is SO different to the film. I know they always are, but this is exceptionally so. I know P.L. Travers was originally very much against the Disney film because she didn’t want Mary Poppins changed and – ‘disneyfied’, but honestly I wouldn’t compare the two at all because of how different they are. This book is still filled with magic and adventures and imagination – so I am sure children would adore it…but rather than the book being one continuous story, it feels like a lot more short stories, of just odd days and adventures the children had with Mary Poppins. I am also very much aware that once again, I am not the target age range for the book; it is a children’s book and therefore it is a rapid and quite a simple read, in terms of language, depth and character development. I assumed this would be the case going in, so it hasn’t disappointed me, but if you’re an older reader looking to read it, just keep that in mind. Finally, sadly I cannot post this review without mentioning how there are a few sentences in the book that are just racist, plain and simple. I understand this book was written in the 1930s, and times were different then, but reading those sentences now, do not sit right with me and left me feeling quite uncomfortable. The end of the book was left quite open, obviously setting up for the following books in the series, but as curious as I am to see where the rest of the series leads, I’m not curious enough to actually read them for myself. I think children would enjoy reading about a magical nanny taking children on magical adventures, but this book was not one I can say I enjoyed, and I’ll stick to the Disney film in future!

My Best Friends Exorcism – Grady Hendrix

I was so excited to go into this book. I love a horror/thriller read, this book was advertised to me as perfect for fans of Stranger Things, and a really chilling read…and then I was just left so disappointed. I got through the whole book, waiting for this amazing read I’d heard people rave about, but I never got there! The premise started off brilliantly – a group of teenage girls in the woods, one ends up separated and when they see her again, something is clearly not right…and that’s where the spookiness stops. There was no real ‘horror’ element, and it felt like I was reading a book just about high school drama. After the initial premise, the book takes an excessive amount of time to get anywhere. There were hundreds of pages where we get drip fed some possession elements from time to time, but I was just always waiting for anything spooky/exorcism related and the book just kept falling short. The last third of the book does deliver a fair chunk of time dedicated to the exorcism itself – that section, granted, I enjoyed. But after spending so long reading the book without any horror atmosphere at all, I was already so let down that the small chunk of the book I enjoyed didn’t make up for the rest of my reading experience. I understand this book may be a popular choice for readers who don’t usually like horror but want to try it, as it’s a very quick and easy read, but for someone who went in wanting a scary story, this was not the one for me.

3 Star Books

Super Fake Love Song – David Yoon

This book was such a sweet read! This book had been on my radar for a while, and I was really looking forward to reading it, and I am so glad it didn’t disappoint! A book about a ‘nerd’ (for want of a better word), who is full of self-shame and just wants to be cool, fit in and get the girl? I’m sure that’s a story all of us can relate to in some small way. This was a really quick, lighthearted read that I flew through. I loved the characters and felt my heart going out to them; I think at school it definitely takes a lot to be your true authentic self – especially with how mean kids can be! So I think it’s really good to have a book published that covers this. My heart did hurt for Sonny’s friends a little, however, because as Sonny changes himself for a girl, and actually finds that he likes elements of his ‘new personality’, his friends feel a bit downhearted, as they actually like and accept who they are, and don’t like the way Sonny almost pressures them into changing with them. I just loved how this book feels like it’s one for the nerds out there (That’s ME!), and love how even though it was a little predictable and nothing hugely groundbreaking, it did have a lot of heart to it. The book covered finding out who you really are and exploring your personality, being yourself and being proud of that, trying new things (who knows, you may like them!), it had strong male friendships, and boys actually telling each other they love each other – something that is MASSIVELY underrated…and the main purpose of the book: you don’t & shouldn’t need to change for love.

Are We All Lemmings and Snowflakes – Holly Bourne

Holly Bourne is quickly becoming an ‘automatic buy’ author for me; the way she writes about mental illness is very raw and honest and she absolutely does not glamorise mental illness nor shy away in her writing. The book was a really easy read so I flew through it all in 24 hours. At times I did find it a really hard read because of how close to home it hit, and for the most part, I did find it a really good read. I just did also find myself a little underwhelmed – something I think hit me harder because of how much I have loved Holly Bourne’s other books. The majority of the book was really nice to get character development on everyone, see their journeys of how they came here, how they affect each other, how they’re learning, growing and changing…and then the ending just felt very abrupt, rushed and sudden. I totally understand mental health is ever-growing and changing, and there’s not one ‘quick-fix’ for mental illness, but the ending just felt like it was sprung upon us. I also felt the ‘be kind’ concept and theme in the latter half was a lovely idea – to be kind to yourself first is such an important message! And yes of course we should all try our best to always be kind to others as you don’t know what people are going through…but I feel that the follow-through just didn’t hit the mark. Having the main characters believe the ‘cure’ to their mental illnesses is kindness is a lovely idea, but not one I could get on board with when I was reading it.

4 Star Books

Theatrical – Maggie Harcourt

Well, I couldn’t very well not include a book I read this year that was centred around theatre, could I? This book was adorable. It’s very much a comfort read, and when I was reading it, it felt like a warm hug in book form. It was sometimes quite predictable, a little cheesy…but I loved it anyway. I know I’ve repeatedly said I don’t like romance in books…but when it’s all set in and around theatre – I think even I can make an exception. This read brought me a lot of comfort, but also made me cry on multiple occasions – because it is all about theatre, and I’m sure you all know by now – theatre is my home. And especially in the last year and a bit, I was missing it hugely (I am SO glad we have it back now!) When I was reading this, theatres were still closed so it was nice to be able to revisit theatre through literature. Theatrical did a great job at bringing theatre to life in the writing; hearing how a show comes together from the barest bones to the final rehearsal, to the excitement, nerves and pride of an opening night. I felt all the emotions and all the magic whilst reading and it filled my heart with so much love. I really love how this book focused on how Hope really wants to be a stage manager; this book is fantastic at highlighting all the hard work put in by everyone to make a show happen – on stage, off stage, within the show, the theatre itself…I’m pretty sure every team and department I can think of got mentioned at least once, and I think it’s really lovely that the people who may not always get the recognition they deserve, got mentioned for their hard work making theatre happen. I found the characters sweet and I was rooting for them all and hoping their show would do well; whilst some parts of the book were predictable, it didn’t make the book boring for me and I still thoroughly enjoyed it and wanted to keep reading. It was a nice and easy read, and I loved every second. It was heartwarming and it brought me the magic of theatre I love so much. I will add that I don’t think you need to have an interest or understanding of theatre to read and enjoy this book, but it’s even more of a comfort read if you do. I’m sure when I’m feeling in need of a pick me up, and some TLC, I’ll return to this sweet story again.

When Breath Becomes Air – Paul Kalanithi

As a nurse who loves reading, this book really affected me. I knew before going in that this would be an emotional read, but I didn’t expect it to affect me as much as it did. I can only imagine what it must be like, to be a neurosurgeon who suddenly is being treated for the very thing that Paul treats others, himself. This is a beautiful, heartbreaking read from start to finish. Paul tells his story of how he loved literature and was always looking for the meaning of life in words, to how he also loved medicine, and when he became a medical professional, he sought these same answers in his profession as a neurosurgeon also. He asks himself and tries to answer continuously throughout the book – what makes life worth living? What do you do when life is interrupted? This isn’t just a story of a neurosurgeon and his terminal illness up to his death. It’s a story of his life, his family, his career – all written in such an empathetic and poignant way. What really adds to just how heartbreaking this story is that Paul sadly passed away before finishing the book, and his wife wrote a passage to conclude the book. Reading her words, how Paul impacted her life, his daughter’s life, and everyone who met him…it was more moving than I can express. Paul’s memoir is incredibly thought-provoking, eye-opening and a book I think everyone should read.

5 Star Books (and a bonus book too because I couldn’t resist!)

Legendborn – Tracy Deonn

This book was completely unique and just incredible in every way. Based on the legend of King Arthur, but in a fresh and different way to anything I’ve ever read before. It captured my attention from start to finish and now that I have finished it I just want to jump straight back into the world, be reunited with the characters and see what happens next. The book was magical and beautifully written – the story was brought to life around me and I could so easily visualise all that was happening and being narrated. The characters are realistically written with so much depth to them and are morally grey – you simply cannot help but love them. There were some really complex themes in the book – grief and trauma – not only how it can impact someone but how people deal with that, Bree coming to terms with her own family’s history and how her ancestors’ history is still important in her lifetime; as well as this, Tracy Deonn also does not shy away from the racist discrimination that Bree is subject too – something I don’t think I have ever read in any fantasy book before. A magical story with plot twists that on more than one occasion I had to put the book down to take in what I just read, I went into this with an open mind not knowing what the book would entail, and I have finished it with a desperate need to read more. It was captivating, stunning, exciting, tense, dramatic…everything I love in a fantasy book and even more. A unique book that is so deserving of all the praise it has previously received and has quickly become a book I avidly love. I am very impatiently awaiting the next book in the sequel!

Jade Fire Gold – June C.L. Tan

Do you ever read a book so good you don’t quite know how to put it into words? That was the issue I had with this book. I was lucky enough to win an ARC (Advanced Readers Copy) of Jade Fire Gold by June C.L. Tan and WOW. I didn’t know much going in, except it was a magical, fantasy book based off East Asian mythology and folk tales, but honestly? That’s all I wanted to know because from the first chapter, I was instantly invested in this story. This book has everything. Unique magic, a beautifully written and fleshed out universe, it’s got strong, well-developed characters you love to love and love to hate, strong family bonds, strong friendships, found family (extra win for me!), there’s action-packed parts, emotional parts, a dash of romance but not so much I want to gauge my eyes out (I actually found myself enjoying the romance! I’m rooting for the romance! Who am I!?)…and it is FULL of plot twists. Even until the last chapter I was on the edge, wondering how everything is going to get tied together. And let me say – I did not successfully or correctly guess a single prediction at any point. And I LOVED it. This book has everything and more! It’s so unique and so beautifully written. This book is absolutely my cup of tea; a fantastic read I would easily re-visit and recommend.

Bonus book: Piranesi – Susanna Clarke

I always find it a bit frustrating when people read books and say ‘the less you know going in, the better’, but when it came to this book, I can now see why – and I am now one of those people who will say that. I went into this knowing nothing and WHAT a book it was! I loved the mystery, the intrigue, the wondrous feelings the book gave me! It was a beautiful read from the way it was written to the gorgeous character of Piranesi. It was an absolutely fantastic read from start to finish. I especially loved really getting into Piranesi’s head and learning and growing (and being confused), all along with him. I’d seen this book in bookstores countless times and always been drawn to it, but only bought and read a copy really recently. My biggest regret is not reading it sooner because it really did take me by surprise and I loved it more than I could have ever imagined. It’s an incredibly remarkable read and now I just can’t recommend it enough. Whatever you’re expecting – Piranesi will still surprise you. Piranesi. What. A. Book. Worth all the praise, hype and awards it received – and more.

And there we have it! I actually found it really hard deciding what books to choose to write about, especially the higher up the star ratings I got! If there is a book I’ve read this year that I’ve not written about but you’d be interested to read my thoughts on, please do let me know and I will be more than happy to do a post about it! If I had all the time in the world, I’d have loved to have written about every single book I read this year, but alas – I am just one person!

I feel really quite proud of myself for my reading list this year, and am looking forward to seeing how my reading is next year…one thing is certain though – with so many books still on my TBR and so many new and exciting books being released every day, I’ll never be stuck for choice!