When I decided to start this blog figuring out what my first post was going to be about was difficult. Breaking the ice virtually is a difficult thing to do. So after much internal debate about whether this first post should be an About Me post or just a review of the latest book I finished (it was the Analects of Confucious for some reason reviewing centuries-old philosophy seems kind of pointless. At this point, Confuciousism is something that is almost incorporated into everyday life. Many people to an extent practice what he preaches without even realizing it) I decided since it was the beginning of the year I'd do my top ten from last year. I think that's a really good way to allow those of you reading this to get a good idea of what my reading style is.
Last year I decided I wanted to start reading books from the early to mid-twentieth century that had escaped my notice. I found in many of these books absolute treasures from some well-known authors and some that were not so well known. So the publication dates for this list are really all over the place and I honestly don't believe any books actually published in 2021 made the list. I also want to say before I get to the list that I decided to dub last summer "The Year of the Vampire", I read numerous and many fantastic vampire tales (none of which sparkled) over the course of last summer and to be honest it's been hard to not make this list simply one giant list of awesome tales of vamps from various writers throughout the twentieth century. So if you are a fan of vampires this list contains a couple of overlooked tales that I personally believe deserve to be considered "must-reads" for this niche genre.
As a side note, these books are not ranked in any particular order. I'd also like to add two honorable mentions that didn't quite make the list here Jay Kristoff's Empire of the Vampire and Miles Cameron's The Red Knight. Both of these books just missed being on this list because they are beasts of books being over six hundred pages apiece. I have a tendency to gravitate towards longer books but I know many people do not, that being said even for those that don't for fans of fantasy both of these books are exceptional.
A few years ago I stumbled upon the Gentleman Bastard series by Scott Lynch quite by accident. It wasn't even remotely like my normal reading style at the time but to be honest I had insomnia and decided to give it a shot. It now ranks as one of my all-time favorite series and really opened the door for me to explore a genre that has become one of my favorites. After rereading the series (for what seems like the hundredth time) last year I decided I wanted to find something similar, Among Thieves was one of the first books recommended. I ended up finishing Among Thieves in just a few hours! Anti-heroes are my weakness and Drothe is an exceptional anti-hero. Hulick's writing style is fast-paced and action-packed but he also pays attention to small details that many authors seem to overlook, he was especially good at creating a sense of place by using the reader's sense of smell, which I think is a weird thing to point out but when you really think about it it's an important aspect of really immersing the reader into a scene. I found that his descriptions of everything from the food served in Drothe's world to the stench of garbage was something that many books I've read over the years lacked. And I'm not gonna lie his descriptions of food made me ridiculously hungry.
Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo
Another anti-hero (seriously favorite type of character so ya know this will be a running theme) who captured my heart was Kaz Brecker. Really his whole gang but Kaz is absolutely amazing. His backstory is tragic, his rise in power is fueled by revenge, his feelings for Inej are complicated, and he's an absolute smartass. He's the best. I think I'm probably one of the few people who liked this duology (I hope to every god ever that Bardugo continues this series) more than her Grishaverse. I think I've read the first two books in that series and I've really had no inclination to read the rest (I will eventually it's just not a priority) I read these two books in the course of a weekend. I found Bardugo's writing far more mature in this series as well as her characters far more complex thus making them not just more relatable but likable.
As I said earlier I had what I like to call "The Summer of the Vampire" last year this being one of the two books on vampires that I found to be a crowning achievement of taking an old story (several old stories actually in Anno Dracula) and breathing amazingly original new life into it. Newman breaks don't just break down the fourth wall he shatters it. And I think what makes them so interesting in his version of Dracula, he's like no Dracula I've ever come across in books or movies and I found it to be such an original much-needed change on the typical Dracula. His writing style is incredibly unique as well. This was simply like no other Vampire book I've read.
The Holmes-Dracula File by Fred Saberhagen
Another wonderfully original take on Dracula meeting up with the world's favorite detective. I have to say that the reason I found this book so fun was because Dracula is really the perfect English gentleman in this. And oh yes there are many retellings of Dracula that we find him to be a gentleman but I found this one particularly interesting because he is just so annoyed over the bad press that he's received over the years thanks to Bram Stoker's book. And of course, it's got Sherlock Holmes in it so you really can't go wrong with this book as a fan of vampires or Holmes.
The Bone Ships by RJ Barker
I am not going to lie I walked past this book about a hundred times at my local Barnes and Noble. I'd pick it up, read the description, and put it back. Ships made out of dragon bones and pirates, it sounded like it would end up being cliche. I finally picked it up because my husband pointed out that every time I went into the store I wandered over to it read the back once again, and put it down once again. So for all intents and purposes without my husband being annoyed with my being nitpicky I'd have never read this, which would have been a damn shame. There is absolutely nothing cliche about this book. Barker's world is incredibly unique even for a fantasy novel. And his world-building is easily one of the finest I've ever read. His characters are also absolutely some of the best written, Joron especially. Joron's character progress is just, well, it's fucking perfect, he is one of the most complete characters I've ever read. In the end what really made this one of my favorite books is that it's got heart. I don't think I have another way to describe it other than that. What I was expecting was some run-of-the-mill fantasy book with pirates and dragons what I got was a beautiful story about one man's journey to find himself and the badass woman who gave him the push he needed to do so. I teared up at the end of it. To be honest, if I had to say which of these ten were my actual favorite of last year this one would be it.
From the Dust Returned by Ray Bradbury
This was simply one of the sweetest commentaries on the family I've ever read. I hugged this book when I was done with it because this book was just a giant hug.
The Fairy Godmother by Mercedes Lackey
Full disclosure: I judge books by their cover and this one is one that ranks at the top of my "I would never read this" list. After reading this I decided I should probably break this habit because this book was hilarious and unique among a niche genre that has gained a lot of traction. I love retellings especially of fairy tales and I think that because I do love this very specific genre I have a tendency to be very picky about them. Instead of making just cosmetic changes to the world of fairy tales, Lackey changes almost everything about them while still keeping them recognizable as the tales they are meant to represent. What makes her version of these tales so unique is the very point of the Tradition at the heart of this story is to do exactly that, keep the story intact while the Fairy Godmother must find clever ways to make them a little more bearable to the would-be victims of the Tradition. And really this book is just a lot of fun, with a "And they lived happily ever after" ending, which I am a complete sucker for.
Bride of the Water God by Mi-Kyung Yun and translated by Heejeong Haas
Yes, I absolutely 100% went in search of this manga series after watching The Bride of Habaek on Netflix (if you like K-Dramas and haven't watched it yet you should stop what you are doing and go watch it it was fantastic). I have no regrets. As a reader of manga for just about twenty years, I am confident when I say that this is one of the most beautiful mangas ever drawn. The art in this is on par with (maybe even slightly better than) the art of CLAMP. Ranking somewhere right beneath the art of Yoshitaka Amano. I found some of the translations to be rough but not so much that the point of the story is lost. Currently, I'm only on the fourth (or maybe the fifth) manga in the series so I can't comment on the overall story but so far it's a wonderful tale of a cursed god and the human bride he has taken.
The Dark Descent of Elizabeth Frankenstein by Kiersten White
Mary Shelley's Frankenstein is one of my all-time favorite books, and like with stories of Dracula, I read every retelling of Frankenstein I come across. It's probably one of the only books that I read retellings of because I find it fascinating that there are so many different interpretations of the message Shelley has in the original book. And really I don't have to read retellings of the story to see that, just a few weeks ago a friend posted on Facebook what he thought Shelley's message was which resulted in three hundred comments plus debating the book. Needless to say, I, like everyone on that ridiculously long post have my own take on it and if I had to write a retelling of Frankenstein the way I interpreted it, this would absolutely be the book I wrote.
I'm just going to throw it out there and get it over with, I can't stand the Dresden Files, I've tried, I actually own the first five or six books and have read at least three of them, and every time I finish one and say; welp that was anticlimatic a fan will say, "The next one, read the next one, it gets a lot better." The thing is there are seventeen books in the Dresden files and I have only so much time to devote to discovering which book it is that Harry Dresden becomes less of a whiny self-absorbed borderline incel asshat. Okay maybe borderline incel is a little much, but c'mon there's only one type of man that reminds everyone that he's a "gentleman" at every opportunity. I can imagine you are all wondering what this has to do with Midnight Riot? Well, as I read it is was very difficult to not compare it to Dresden Files because this is exactly what I had been looking for in an urban fantasy book and everything Dresden fans claim Dresden is and is most certainly not. Peter Grant is funny, resourceful, and has an innate curiosity that I found relatable. The incorporation of the Gods and Goddesses of the Rivers found in and around London was highly original and Aaronvitch never loses sight of the fact that this is a murder mystery. He incorporates both the supernatural side of things and the police work side of things in a manner where neither overwhelms the other and weaves a truly suspenseful "whodunnit" plot. When we finally do discover who the murderer is it is a moment of "OMG how did I miss that!?" And "OMFG NO WAY!" And if you are a fan of The Rook duology (one of my all-time favorite series) this book will be right up your alley.
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