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Fantasy Bingo 2022: The Results are in

It’s that time again. April has rolled out a new Fantasy Bingo Challenge, so I thought I’d take a look at how I did for 2022. I’m still digging into the books I’d like to read for 2023, so stay tuned for that post.

This year’s bingo card was a bit trickier than last year’s. I wanted to substitute two squares but that isn’t allowed, so I have one square unfinished. I’ve found some new favorites, including a few books I decided I needed own. It also sent me down the rabbit hole of trying to find books like the ones I liked, which proved to be impossible.

But let’s dive into what I liked, didn’t like, and what was surprisingly good.

Stats

Out of the 24 books I read:
– 22 were reviewed (one still to come)
– 12 were 4.5 – 5 stars
– 10 were in the 3.5 – 4 star range

I found some new authors or series I want to read more of and a few I’d rather not read again. I finished the book but wasn’t enamored with writing style (again, all subjective).

What I liked:

  • Gardens of the Moon by Steven Erikson – 5 stars
  • The Thirteenth Tale by Dianne Setterfield – 5 stars
  • The Midnight Library by Matt Haig – 5 stars
  • Vita Nostra by Marina & Sergey Dyachencko – 5 stars
  • The Atlas Six by Olivie Blake – 5 stars
  • Kings of the Wyld by Nicholas Eames – 5 stars
  • Tooth and Claw by Jo Walton – 5 stars
  • The Hollow Places by T. Kingfisher – 4.75 stars
  • Leviathan Wakes by James SA Corey – 4.75 stars
  • Circe by Madeline Miller – 4.75 stars
  • Sailing to Sarantium by Guy Gavriel Kay – 4.5 stars
  • Prince of Thorns by Mark Lawrence – 4.5 stars

The most surprising book I liked was The Hollow Places and Vita Nostra, because those aren’t my style of books at all. One’s bordering on horror, although there’s enough humor in there to cut it, and the other is confusing and still makes me want to chew my fingernails down to the quick.

While not reviewed, my self-pubbed book, Protection of the Pack by Heather Graham is a fun easy read (I hope to review it soon). The other book, Slouch Witch by Helen Harper is even better. I also didn’t review S. by Doug Dorst because I can’t even fathom how to review a story within a story within a story. But it’s really good and a fun adventure to read.

What I Liked Less:

  • The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater – 4 stars
  • Urban Fantasy Anthology by Peter S. Beagle – 4 stars
  • The Labyrinth’s Archivist by Day Al-Mohamed – 4 stars
  • The Mask of Mirrors by MA Carey – 3.75 stars
  • The Probable Future by Alice Hoffman – 4 stars
  • Witchmark by CL Polk – 4 stars
  • Smoke Bitten by Patricia Briggs – 4 stars
  • Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett – 4 stars
  • The Mask of Mirrors by MA Carey – 3.75 stars
  • Piranesi by Susanna Clarke – 3.75

These are solid books that I was able to finish. I’m not going to share the list of books I DNF’d, because reading is subjective, so it doesn’t matter. The one square I couldn’t finish was Set in Africa. I tried. Oh man, I tried. But after the fifth book, I just gave up.

Full Reviews list

For those wanting to know what I thought on the books I reviewed, here are links to every one of the reviewed titles:

I’m doing it again, although I may be getting a bit fatigued by the finding the books part of the process. We’ll see though. I can only do my best, right?

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