Welcome to my best books list for 2021, on this next to the last day of the year. As part of @KimberlyFayeReads Top 10 of 2021 this is supposed to be a list of my 10 favorite books of the previous year. I have NEVER had any luck at reducing this list to 10. Not ever in 10 years of trying. So this isn’t my Top 10. Instead, it’s every book this year I gave either an A++ or A+ rating to over the course of the year, plus one I gave a Starred Review to in Library Journal but made the mistake of not writing up for Reading Reality.
There are some trends in this list over the years. There’s more SF and Fantasy than any other genre, has been for a while, and the trend looks likely to continue. (Yes, I’ve already read ahead. A bit. Just a bit.) The rest of the list is a mix of mystery/thriller – whether historical or contemporary- and one lone work of women’s/relationship fiction that was utterly awesome and even more so when considering it was the author’s debut novel. She’s set a high bar for herself and I’m looking forward to her future work. But that’s tomorrow’s post!
![A Spindle Splintered (Fractured Fables, #1) by A Spindle Splintered (Fractured Fables, #1) by](https://i0.wp.com/www.readingreality.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/56179356._SX315_.jpg?w=204&h=323&ssl=1)
![Isolate (The Grand Illusion #1) by Isolate (The Grand Illusion #1) by](https://i0.wp.com/www.readingreality.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/56179346._SX315_.jpg?w=204&h=310&ssl=1)
![The Album of Dr. Moreau by The Album of Dr. Moreau by](https://i0.wp.com/www.readingreality.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/55077550._SX315_.jpg?w=204&h=327&ssl=1)
![day zero by c robert cargill audio day zero by c robert cargill audio](https://i0.wp.com/www.readingreality.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/day-zero-by-c-robert-cargill-audio.jpg?w=204&h=204&crop=1&ssl=1)
![blacktongue thief by christopher buehlman audio blacktongue thief by christopher buehlman audio](https://i0.wp.com/www.readingreality.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/blacktongue-thief-by-christopher-buehlman-audio.jpg?w=204&h=204&crop=1&ssl=1)
![A Tip for the Hangman by A Tip for the Hangman by](https://i0.wp.com/www.readingreality.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/53437454._SX315_.jpg?w=204&h=309&ssl=1)
![son of the storm by suyi davies son of the storm by suyi davies](https://i0.wp.com/www.readingreality.net/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/son-of-the-storm-by-suyi-davies.jpg?w=204&h=314&ssl=1)
![Murder Under Her Skin (Pentecost and Parker, #2) by Murder Under Her Skin (Pentecost and Parker, #2) by](https://i0.wp.com/www.readingreality.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/56748837._SX315_.jpg?w=204&h=311&ssl=1)
![Elder Race by Elder Race by](https://i0.wp.com/www.readingreality.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/50663055._SX315_.jpg?w=204&h=327&ssl=1)
![white top by ml buchman white top by ml buchman](https://i0.wp.com/www.readingreality.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/white-top-by-ml-buchman.jpg?w=204&h=316&ssl=1)
![A Master of Djinn by A Master of Djinn by](https://i0.wp.com/www.readingreality.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/55077706._SX315_.jpg?w=204&h=314&ssl=1)
![The Ladies of the Secret Circus by The Ladies of the Secret Circus by](https://i0.wp.com/www.readingreality.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/54404792._SX315_.jpg?w=204&h=315&ssl=1)
![jade legacy by fonda lee audio jade legacy by fonda lee audio](https://i0.wp.com/www.readingreality.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/jade-legacy-by-fonda-lee-audio.jpg?w=204&h=204&crop=1&ssl=1)
![junkyard bargain by faith hunter junkyard bargain by faith hunter](https://i0.wp.com/www.readingreality.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/junkyard-bargain-by-faith-hunter.jpg?w=204&h=204&crop=1&ssl=1)
![The Witness for the Dead (The Goblin Emperor, #2) by The Witness for the Dead (The Goblin Emperor, #2) by](https://i0.wp.com/www.readingreality.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/55077679._SX315_.jpg?w=220&h=340&ssl=1)
![The Last Daughter of York by The Last Daughter of York by](https://i0.wp.com/www.readingreality.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/56555532._SX315_.jpg?w=220&h=330&ssl=1)
![taste of ginger by mansi shah taste of ginger by mansi shah](https://i0.wp.com/www.readingreality.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/taste-of-ginger-by-mansi-shah.jpg?w=220&h=329&ssl=1)
![Project Hail Mary by Project Hail Mary by](https://i0.wp.com/www.readingreality.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/54493401._SX315_.jpg?w=220&h=331&ssl=1)
![The Jigsaw Man by The Jigsaw Man by](https://i0.wp.com/www.readingreality.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/53331565._SX315_.jpg?w=220&h=333&ssl=1)
![What the Devil Knows (Sebastian St. Cyr, #16) by What the Devil Knows (Sebastian St. Cyr, #16) by](https://i0.wp.com/www.readingreality.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/54614563._SX315_.jpg?w=220&h=332&ssl=1)
The Album of Dr. Moreau by Daryl Gregory
The Blacktongue Thief by Christopher Buehlman
Day Zero by C. Robert Cargill
Elder Race by Adrian Tchaikovsky
Isolate by L.E. Modesitt Jr.
Jade Legacy by Fonda Lee
The Jigsaw Man by Nadine Matheson
Junkyard Bargain by Faith Hunter
The Ladies of the Secret Circus by Constance Sayers
The Last Daughter of York by Nicola Cornick
A Master of Djinn by P. Djeli Clark
Murder Under Her Skin by Stephen Spotswood
Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir
Son of the Storm by Suyi Davies Okungbowa
A Spindle Splintered by Alix E. Harrow
The Taste of Ginger by Mansi Shah
A Tip for the Hangman by Allison Epstein
What the Devil Knows by C.S. Harris
White Top by M.L. Buchman
The Witness for the Dead by Katherine Addison
Great list! I loved Project Hail Mary myself!