2021 Wrap Up - The Best of the Year
I can't believe 2021 is over! It was another crazy year for me including four
months of furlough, starting a new job, moving house (twice!), finishing my master's degree, and breaking my ankle! That aside, it was also a brilliant year of reading and Bookstagramming :) I didn't want to make this post a mushy, emotional post but...Bookstagram and this blog have helped me so much with my confidence and anxiety, and I feel like, without the friends I've made through both platforms and the escapism in my books, I would have struggled with this chaotic year. So thank you to everyone who has supported my reading in any way.
Now to the books! In 2021 I read 90 books, reviewed 35 books in collaboration with authors/publishers/book tours, gave 5 stars to 31 books, and filled 4 bookcases with books!
For this post, I decided to recap on all of the books I gave a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating to, to hopefully give you all something new to explore next year! You can click on the title of the book to see my review on Instagram.
*These books are listed in no particular order*
Dance of Thieves and Vow of Thieves by Mary E. Pearson
- Enemies to lovers trope
- Bad-ass female characters
- Spy living with the family
- Spicy reverse harem
- Enemies to lovers and friends to enemies to lovers trope
- Hidden powers
- Princes of hell and witches
- Enemies to lovers trope
- Spicy NA
- Epic high fantasy
- Multiple POV and multiple plot lines
- Sapphic romance
The Bridge Kingdom and The Traitor Queen by Danielle L. Jensen
- Enemies to lovers trope
- Assassin in the place
- Complex war tactics
Chosen to Fall and Fated to Burn by Emmie Hamilton (gifted)
- Chosen one trope
- Loyal friends
- Full of secrets
- Runaway girls
- Unlikely friendships
- Subtle magic
- Strong friendships and teamwork
- Interesting magic system
- Good mental health representation
- Loosely based on the Cinderella fairytale
- Enemies to lovers/forced marriage
- Full of magic
- Strong underlying messages about mass farming, animal cruelty and the environment
- Beautiful earth magic
- Evil chickens
- Epic high fantasy
- Complex war tactics
- Bad-ass female protagonist
- Mysterious high fae
- Denstined one trope
- Dream walking magic
- Independent female protagonist
- Really unique magic system
- Vampire-like enemies
- Enemies to lovers trope
- Hidden powers
- Stolen bride
- Multiple POV complex plot
- Dystopian moral dilemma theme
- Highly developed technology
- Sleeping beauty retelling
- Creation of a villain story
- Sapphic romance
Covet by Tracy Wolff
- School for supernaturals
- Destined mate trope
- Memory loss
- Interesting magic system
- South Asain and Middle Eastern influence
- Raw topics (rape, prostitution and homophobia)
Ready Player One by Ernest Cline
- Virtual reality
- Misfit friends
- Full of 80s pop culture references
- Enemies to lovers trope
- Secret assassin in the palace
- Dark magic
A Court of Silver Flames by Sarah J Maas
- SPICYYYYYY
- Heartbreaking self-growth and beautiful friendships
- Mental illness representation
- Spice
- Enemies to lovers trope
- Betrayal and hidden powers
- Whimsical Queen of Hearts retelling
- Creation of a villain story
- Forbidden romance
For more information on any of these books, please feel free to fill out a form below or message me on Instagram :) I hope you all had an amazing 2021 of reading and I'm so excited to see what books I discover this year.
