The Best of 2021: Favourite Reads
2021 was a big year for The Geeky Waffle. We added four new shows to our network, and expanded our website in so many ways, all thanks to the hard work of our talented hosts and contributors. This week, we’re taking a look back at all the highlights of 2021 as we look to the future of the Waffle in 2022.
I’m an avid reader, and have been for most of my life. Because of that, one of the things I’m proudest of in 2021 is that we brought book reviews to The Geeky Waffle. To wrap up the first of hopefully many years of book coverage on the site, I present my Top 5 Reads for 2021.
In the interest of not being here all day, I’m keeping the books to releases from this year, and ones we covered on the site. Otherwise I would wax poetic about how much I loved the Cruel Prince series, or how the Ember in the Ashes books moved me to tears in many different ways, or how the Hollow Crown duology and the Wrath and the Dawn duology each gave me the Reylo HEA my heart had been missing.
5. Ice Planet Barbarians
Alright so technically, this is not a new release from this year. But it did go viral on Tik Tok this year, which is how it even came to my attention. The popularity of the books meant that the first book received a print run through Berkley Publishing this past November so in a way it did come out this year!
Ruby Dixon’s 22 novel (and 8 novella) series kept me sane throughout Summer 2021. The earnest, romantic - and very steamy - tale of a group of stranded human woman and the giant alien men who fall in love with them was jst the thing we all needed this year. It’s little wonder romance is as popular as it is when it’s escapism at its finest, and the entire Ice Planet Barbarians series was a balm in increasingly confusing, frustrating times.
Consider this once again my appeal for either the entire series to come out via traditional publishing, or else in one bound volume with a map and a family tree.
4. Wendy, Darling
Wendy, Darling was an unexpected gem this year. What was initially billed as a feminist take on the Peter Pan story wound up exceeded expectations in every respect.
The book, which follows Wendy Darling throughout her life, from the adventure to Neverland, to her second adventure when she must return to save her daughter, unites both characters and reader through the power of Neverland itself. It is a place full of magic and wonder that anyone reading the book will well-remember from their own youths.
Unlike Peter’s message of never growing up, author A.C. Wise’s beautifully written book is a treatise on not only why growing up is a good thing, but a necessary one too.
3. All The Feels (and Spoiler Alert)
Though the first book in the series, Spoiler Alert, technically came out last year, I didn’t actually read it until 2021, which made the follow-up All the Feels one of my most anticipated reads for the year. And it in no way disappointed.
These books are set firmly in the fandom world for Gods of the Gates, a series that both is and isn’t Game of Thrones, right down to the disappointing finale. While the first book is more about fandom, and all those ins and outs we all know so well, the second book is a little more removed, but in no way less about any of that.
Alex and Lauren are a couple that really shouldn’t work on paper. Any given moment between them before they develop feelings for each other would be the last straw for any real world person. But Olivia Dade stuffs All the Feels so full of the delightful fanfic tropes so many of us love and has them play out in real time to fantastic, knee-weakening effect.
2. The Rising Storm
Really, Star Wars: The High Republic deserves a list all its own. And maybe it will get one some day. But for now, I’ve put The Rising Storm, the second adult book in the first phase of the initiative on this list because it’t not only my favourite High Republic book, it’s my favourite Star Wars book full stop.
The action is engaging and doesn’t drag. The longer story arcs are furthered. Most importantly, the characters (of which there are many) are given the space to grow and develop within this book, not depending on the sequel or on pre-existing material to give context for who they are as people.
On that note, The Rising Storm is also so character driven, which is not a given for adult-aimed Star Wars books, which tend to focus more on the plot. By the end, you come away feeling like you know everyone more intimately. Which now has me terrified for the third wave of books.
1. The Love Hypothesis
Where do I even begin with The Love Hypothesis? It healed something in me that I didn’t know needed healing. The sight of the cover alone makes me happy - and not just because it speaks very clearly to its fanfiction origins. It’s the book I wish I had written myself.
But then again, no. Because then I wouldn’t have been able to experience it.
It takes the work of a brilliant writer to make a story like this feel grounded. For those who are familiar with fanfiction, Reylo fanfiction in particular, we all recognize the familiar beats and descriptions. But Ali Hazelwood writes such a compelling narrative that after a while, it stops becoming a novelty to notice and instead simply becomes a part of the fabric of the story, which is a beautiful angsty one, and not to be missed.
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I realize now most of these were romance novels, but 2021 was a hell of a year and we do what we must to get through it!
If you followed along on our book reviews this year, thank you. We hope you’ll join us again in 2022 for even more! In the meantime, let me know what your favourite book of 2021 was in the comments!