2021 Wrap Up

The Secret History is a truly astounding novel that sent so many shivers down my spine. I can feel the chills just by thinking about it. As I said in my full review of this novel, this book was an experience that I am glad I had. It is truly thought provoking and an absolutely engrossing novel that had my hooked from the very beginning. “Beauty is terror,” one of the many great lines from this book that is both haunting and thought provoking. I hope anyone who reads this book had a similar experience as I did.

The Song of Achilles shattered my heart and I am all here for it. This novel is a Greek mythology retelling, featured beautiful descriptive writing, and features a heart shattering love story. How could I not enjoy this novel? I remember that while I was reading this book it felt like I was really there in the story. Madeline Miller did an amazing job describing settings and this definitely helped the overall story.

The Picture of Dorian Gray is one of the first books I wrote a review on and it feels like so long ago, but it’s only been a little under a year since I read it. This book’s ending made me audibly gasp and that made this experience so much better. The moral of the story was spot on and I loved the writing. This book was atmospheric and eery and yet it was also beautiful. I might reread this book in 2022 now that I think about it.

Sword in the Stars was a book that I thought was better than its predecessor, and that is not something that happens often. I enjoyed this book more than Once and Future because there was a lot more character development and the different setting offered another look at all the characters. I started out not liking Gwen, but after reading this book, she is probably in my top four favorite characters. This was the perfect King Arthur retelling that I needed in my life.

House of Hollow was a haunting novel that sent chills down my spine. The gruesome way Krystal Sutherland would describe settings and scenes, particularly the Halfway, made this book so good. Another thing that helped this story gain such high regard from me is that I couldn’t see the ending coming and I couldn’t solve the mystery. Sometimes, when you solve the mystery of a book that’s not necessarily something you’re supposed to figure out on your own, it ruins the experience. With this book, I did not see the twist coming and that made it so much better. I was sitting on the edge of my seat waiting for the grand reveal and my mind was blown.