2021 was a year with some amazing books, and I could easily put all of them in my list of favorites. I made some hard choices instead and this year I’m picking the three that I liked the most.
Fine Print: Book One – Stjepan Šejić
Last book to be reviewed in 2021, and it instantly made it into my list of favorites. This book has everything I’ve come to expect and love from Šejić’s work: gorgeous artwork, snappy dialog, believably flawed characters, and of course lots and lots of beautifully rendered erotica and outright sex. I’m looking forward to Book 2 when we get to see the fallout from Lauren’s ill-advised contract with two Cubi (one succubus and one incubus) who are both fighting for the title of High Caller (ie: best at giving humans out-of-this-word sex at the cost of ever being able to love anyone again.)
The Past Is Red – Catherynne Valente
I’ve been wanting to know “and then what happened?!” ever since I finished Valente’s short story “The Future Is Blue”. Would the residents of Garbagetown ever forgive Tetley Abednego for saving what’s left of civilization? Would any of them ever realize that what she destroyed was an impossible hope? And would the eternally cheerful and heartbroken Tetley ever find love again?
The answers are no, not really, and it’s complicated.
The continent-sized floating island of Garbagetown – with a separate neighborhood for each type of trash – remains a fascinating setting with endless ideas for how everything we throw away in the present will be used in the post-apocalyptic future. Valente’s writing is filled with whimsy, with a dark undertone as she brings to light everything that makes humanity awful and also wonderful.
The Last Graduate (Scholomance Book 2) – Naomi Novik
Another sequel, and another one that I’ve been dancing with impatience to read ever since finishing the first book. The Scholomance is a deliciously horrifying school for magic users, and Novik has created a complex setting and a host of characters that kept surprising me with how much I cared about them. September can’t get here fast enough; after the cliffhanger ending of Book Two, I desperately need to find out how El is going to save her terrible decision One True Love and either a) transform the world or b) fulfill her destiny as the destroyer of all magical enclaves. Or possibly both.