Top Reads of 2021 (Lizzie)

It’s the end of November 2021 and my last Weekend Reads post, so I wanted to make it a favorite reads of 2021. I’ve read so many great books this year! And I've read a few new authors I intend to keep following. Have you read any of these?

Here are my favorite reads of 2021 (more in order read than favorites among favorite). 

(These are all clean. Most are YA, fairytales, or fantasy romance.)

A Time to Rise by Nadine Brandes 

Lots of tears in this brilliant series but so worth it! The series starts with A Time to Die.

Dawnsong by Brynn Shutt

A delightful short story by new-to-me-author. I love the illustrated cover and look forward to more in this series.

The Reluctant Godfather by Allison Tebo

A surprising and adorable Cinderella retelling.

Secrets of the Mist by Morgan Busse

A great steampunk tale with a bit of a zombie twist. I am eagerly awaiting book 2.

Death of Mungo Blackwell by Lauren Brandenburg

A delightful, quirky contemporary story.

Firethorn Crown by Lea Doue: I finally finished this series! Delightful reads

Power On by H.L. Burke

I loved this YA superhero story. I am a sucker for a redemption story.

Healer's Rune and Guardian Prince by Lauricia Mutuska. I am very ready for more of this series! I really connected with the heroine in the second book and really liked the potential love interest.

Traitor by Laurie Lucking

A sweet story of a princess sent away from home for an arranged marriage. I'm always happy to have another book by our very own Laurie Lucking.

Princess of Shadows by A.G. Marshall

A great "Princess and the Pea" retelling with Sleeping Beauty thrown in. Humorous with a hint of danger and interesting magic and, of course, romance.

Here are some of the authors I read multiple books from. I have a link to the author page on amazon and one or two book covers.

Tara Grayce

I love all her books and read a bunch this year! I am looking forward to more Eleven Alliance books and more fae books. I liked the bits of Shakespeare and mythology in her fae books. Some I read include Lost in Averell; Eleven Alliance books; Sword Maiden, Stolen Midsummer Bride; Bluebeard and the Outlaw

Melanie Cellier 

I confess I have seen her books around for a while and have been curious around them. I am glad I finally got around to readying some! I enjoyed The Princess Search and Crown of Secrets and look forward to finishing the Hidden Mage series soon and reading more.

K.M. Shea

Another author whose books I have seen around and heard good things about. I devoured her urban fantasy series with Magic Forged, Magic Redeemed, and Magic Unleashed; plus the Snow White duology; and enjoyed her Beauty and the Beast retelling.

Kenley Davidson

I was drawn to her amazing Faceless Mage cover and was so happy to discover it was a clean fantasy book and was just as amazing as the cover promised. I love Kenley's writing style, the character depth, the storylines, and especially the noble heroes. She writes fairytale retellings and fantasy romance. I am looking forward to reading more of her books! So far I've read Faceless Mage, Unseen Heir, Stolen Thorn Bride, Traitor's Mask, Golden Heart, and Piroutte.

That's a long list, but hopefully it will give you some new reads or remind you of books you've enjoyed. Have you read any of these? What were you favorite reads this year?

Top Reads So Far of 2021 (Lizzie)

Can you believe it's late March already? I figured it was a good time to do a quarter-year favorite reads round up. I've been intentional about reading more this year, and I'm glad because I've loved to so many of the books I've read!

Here are my top reads of 2021 so far. 

1) The Healer's Rune and Guardian Prince by Laurica Matuska

It took me a bit to get into this story since it starts at a rough place with the heroine's friend being martyred by the cruel Rhuddan elves who've abused their treaty with the humans to enslave them, and who've just about killed off the other two races (one is extinct), but once in, there was plenty to keep me reading. (I actually read the series twice, which I seldom do). When Sabine's friend challenges her to seek the truth just before she dies, it sets her on a dangerous path. Sabine is a healer, and I loved her integrity and devotion to healing even though it put her in danger and caused her to help people who'd been horrible to her. With beloved or not-beloved but still well-developed secondary characters and a fascinating world with surprises and mysteries to solve, I highly recommend this series. I really connected with Sabine and am looking forward to book 3 (especially since the romance hinted at in book 2 will hopefully continue). 

2) A Castle Awakened by Sharon Rose

Another book that I absolutely loved was A Castle Awakened by Sharon Rose. It has such a classic knights, castle, and princess feel while being unique as well. I loved heroic Lord Tristan and cheered as the proud Princess Beth learned kindness from him. Tristan, who claimed a mysterious, abandoned castle in the woods, has to deal with an equal mysterious young lady rescued from attackers by his men. Unfortunately, the young lady, who unconvincely claims to be a peasant, refuses to reveal her identity. I also enjoyed the prequel A Castle Sealed and am looking forward to book 2, A Castle Contended.

3) Dawnsong by Brynn Shutt

One Guard, One City, Many Secrets. Unravel them all today. I adored this novelette by Brynn Shutt (and love the cover!). A city guards risks her job trying to help orphans in a city suffering from a plague and ends up meeting a kind new captain of the guard. The story feels like a prequel to a series, and I am looking forward to the next books! I loved the characters and am curious to find out the mysteries hinted at. 

4) Lost in Averell by Tara Grayce

This was a fun portal fantasy where a teenage girl manages both being a high schooler in the US and a princes in a fairytale world. When a classmate accidentally travels through the portal into the fairytale world (which is really quite dangerous to those who don't know it, humans in particular), she and a friend set out to find him and end up involved in a larger plot against the humans, unicorns, and dragons of their world. This was a cute story, and I'd enjoy reading more set in this world.

5) Out of Time series, starting with A Time to Die, by Nadine Brandes

This is one of those series that made me cry so much but which I still absolutely loved. The main character, Parvin, grows a lot during the series, and the hero was so lovable. It was a bit traumatic in places, just to warn you, but definitely worth it. The story is set in a world ravaged by natural disaster and disease and now separated into halves by a wall. There are very high tech, wealthy cities, and very poor ones. Everyone is supposed to be born with a clock that tells how long they have to live. Those numbers determine how much schooling and medical care you get and much else. If you don't have a clock, you're a radical and can be thrown through the wall to the dangerous West. Parvin and her twin brother have been secretly sharing their clock for the last almost eighteen years, and one of them will die on their eighteenth birthday. Parvin's sure she'll die, and her attempts to finally start living well before she dies have unexpected and far-reaching consequences, including getting her thrown through the wall.

Have you read any of these? What are your favorite reads of 2021?

Top 3 Books of 2018 (Lizzie)

Do you ever think about a book and know you read it but can't quite remember what year it was you read it? Well, I'm pretty sure I read these books this year and not last year. If I wasn't sure when I read it, or if it was a short story, I omitted it to make the choosing easier. My list focuses on the fantasy books I read, since this is a fantasy blog. However, I couldn't help but mention some of the other full-length books I loved.

Top 3 Fantasy Books Read in 2018

1. The Restorer (Sword of Lyric)

With adventure, relatable characters, great spiritual truths, and a fascinating fantasy world, this was an unexpected gem. I'm looking forward to reading the next in the series, which I bought as a Christmas gift to myself. You can read my review of it here.

2. Tinsel in a Tangle by Laurie Germaine

I loved this book when I came across it in a writing critique group and even remembered to hunt for it years later to see if it had been published. A contemporary YA with a twist, the twist being that the main character is a Christmas elf (well, mostly an elf) living in a fairly modern town (Santa's workshop and elves can have phones and snow mobiles too, after all), it's a delightful, funny romance. Laurie Germaine was a guest on our blog earlier this year. You can read her post here.

3. Masque

Resourceful and witty heroine, strong hero, humor, cleverness, murder, mystery, wonderful British language, and a Beauty and the Beauty-style love curse, Masque was a delightful read. It reminded me of Jen Turano's Ladies of Distinction series, only with an intriguing world of magic rather than the intriguing, though equally foreign, world of 1880s Park 5th Avenue. Masque also gets an award for one of my favorite covers of 2019!

Top Non-fantasy Books of 2018

In no particular order, here are some of my other favorite reads from this year.

1. Where We Belong by Lynn Austin I absolutely loved this historical fiction about the adventures of two sister who educate themselves and travel in a time when that was frowned upon. With romance, exotic locations (Egypt and a monastery in Sinai), and ancient Biblical texts, I loved the history and the characters.

2. and 3. The Silent Songbird by Melanie Dickerston and More than Meets the Eye by Karen Witemeyer Two thoroughly enjoyable books by two of favorite historical romance authors.

4.  No God but One: Allah or Jesus by Nabeel Qureshi My only non-fiction book on the list, I actually read this one twice, which isn't something I do too often. I learned a lot from Qureshi's studies into his former faith of Islam and the faith his research led him to embrace: Christianity. It taught me a lot about who the Christian God is and how he is a God of love and relationship.








5. The Tainted Coin by Mel Starr Another fantastic medieval murder mystery in the Hugh de Singleton Chronicles, only this time with buried treasure and kidnapped ladies to add to the adventure.

Have you read any of these books? Do any spark your interest? What were your favorite reads of 2018?