2021 is about to finish out and I am looking back at the books I’ve read this year and what they meant to me. While you can read my full thoughts in each book’s review, here are the standouts of my reading year!

Best Book:

Tipping the Velvet by Sarah Waters

I read a lot of books that I would put firmly in the middle of my rankings this year, but Tipping the Velvet wins out by being some of the most crafted and polished. And I will always have a soft spot for period dramas about queer ladies.

Most Enjoyable Book:

The Sugared Game by KJ Charles

The entire trilogy of The Will Darling Adventures belongs here, but the second installment, The Sugared Game, was my favorite. Maybe not the most honed books (KJ Charles could use a copy editor with a sharper eye), but I adored the characters and the adventures they went on, and was sad to finish it out.

Worst Book:

I Am a Hero: Omnibus Volume 1 by Kengo Hanazawa

This zombie apocalypse manga is just squishy and gross on many different metrics. If it was just the body horror, I could possibly get past it, but the characters are just as foul.

Most Frustrating Book:

Die Vol 2: Split the Party by Kieron Gillen, Illustrated by Stephanie Hans

Despite containing a lot of ingredients that would usually appeal to me, this comic just left me wanting to smack all of the characters in their smarmy, egotistical faces.

Biggest Surprise:

I’ll Never Get Out of This World Alive by Steve Earle

Maybe I just have low expectations for artists working outside their usual mediums, but I was swept away by this thoughtful novel by a country music artist I grew up on.

So there it is, my year in books! I am jumping back in with another list for 2022, so if you have any book recommendations of things I absolutely must read this year, send them my way.