The Stories So Far: a look at the first half of 2021 ♥

What a year so far, eh, folks?

2021 has been a doozy for me. Between current events, politics, a cornucopia of health struggles, and way too much time playing video games, this has been my slowest reading year since 2016! Just for reference…

• In 2016, I read 23 books
• In 2017, I read 208 books
• In 2018, I read 311 books
• In 2019, I read 316 books
• In 2020, I read 187 books
• And in 2021, with the year just over halfway through, I have read 26 books so far.

But hey, that’s okay! Not only has it been one helluva year, but I’ve been in the second worst reading slump of my life — until a few weeks ago, that is. I don’t know what flipped my switch, but of the 26 books I’ve read in 2021, 17 of them were in June and July! I’ve been reading everyday lately and it’s felt absolutely grand, so I thought I’d celebrate with my first wrap-up post of the year!
(Hopefully, I can get back to regular monthly wrap-ups from here on out!)

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January:

• A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas (reread) ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
  • Another reread of a favorite, nothing new to say here.
• Love in the Wild by Emma Castle ⭐⭐⭐⭐
  • This was a very cheesy, but sweet take on Tarzan.

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February:

lol, nope, nada

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March:

• New Order: A Decluttering Handbook for Creative Folks by Fay Wolf ⭐⭐⭐
  • I don’t remember this well, but I think it had some good stuff.
• Long Shot by Kennedy Ryan ⭐⭐
  • I was tremendously unimpressed and hated the hero.

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April:

• The Way of the Househusband, Vol. 4 by Kousuke Oono ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
  • A cute, fun series.
• Lovesickness by Junji Ito ⭐⭐⭐⭐
  • One of my favorite things Junji Ito has done, this one was dark, creepy, and sad.
• Trick ‘r Treat: Days of the Dead by Michael Dougherty ⭐⭐⭐⭐
  • How could I not enjoy a graphic novel about one of my favorite fictional characters of all time, little Sam?
• Dolls by Mav Skye ⭐⭐⭐💫 (3.5)
  • I remember really liking elements of this and the first story being hella creepy!

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May:

• Goosebumps: Secrets of the Swamp by Marieke Nijkamp ⭐⭐⭐⭐
  • I really love these little Goosebumps revamp graphic novels. They’re so fun and diverse!

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June:

• The Way of the Househusband, Vol. 5 by Kousuke Oono ⭐⭐⭐⭐
• Hate to Want You by Alisha Rai ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
  • The ANGST and the pining! Love ♥
• Long Distance by Whitney Garden ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
  • Absolutely precious.
• Little Nightmares, Vol. 1 by John Shackleford ⭐⭐⭐
  • Sigh. I’m still disappointed in this one.

• Mercy: The Fair Lady, the Forst, and the Fiend by Mirka Andolfo ⭐⭐⭐⭐
  • While it left me feeling a little lost at times, this is an incredibly beautiful graphic novel with some very badass character designs.
• Moon Called, Vol. 1 & Vol. 2 by Patricia Briggs & David Lawrence ⭐⭐
  • Love the story of the actual book, hated this adaptation.
• Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke by Eric LaRocca ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
  • Absolutely one of my favorite reads of the year so far — I loved it so much, it even brought me back to reviewing. 🥰

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July:

• DCeased by Tom Taylor ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
  • I don’t reach for superhero comics, but I couldn’t pass this one up, and boy, was it dark.
• Something is Killing the Children, Vol. 1 & Vol. 2 by James Tynion IV ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
  • Volume 1 was a reread before moving on to Volume 2, and wow, I love this series. It surprises me that I enjoy it, given how much it relies on my only major trigger, but it’s worth the heartache for how good the story is.
• 1000 Storms by Tony Sandoval ⭐⭐
  • After loving some of Sandoval’s other stuff, this was a huuuuge letdown. Way too much over-sexualizing of a child character and the story was just rambling and weird, but not in a good way.
• Cheer Up: Love and Pompoms by Crystal Frasier ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
  • This is one of my favorite things I’ve read so far this year. It’s so queer, so cute, and so sweet, and I can’t recommend it enough!

• Wait for Night by Stephen Graham Jones ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
  • This is a short horror story you can read for FREE here on TorDotCom’s website, and it was absolutely fantastic.
• The Backstagers, Vol. 1 by James Tynion IV ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
  • I’m on a roll with these James Tynion IV graphics lately, because damn, I loved this. So gay and so cute.
• Hide and Don’t Seek by Anica Mrose Rissi ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
  • As one of so many people who grew up on Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark, I’ve spent the rest of my life chasing the exact feeling those collections gave me, and this might be the closest I’ve come to that feeling so far.
• Sick Bastards by Matt Shaw ⭐⭐⭐💫 (3.5)
  • I’ve wanted to branch out into more of the extreme horror subgenre lately, and decided to pick up this one. It wasn’t as gore-filled as I expected it to be, and the most disturbing element was the gratuitous incest, but I can’t deny that the plot was really intriguing and I loved the ending!

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— destiny ♥

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