Last year, I decided to join in with the r/Fantasy bingo, and now I’ve finally completed it. For 25 prompts, it took me a long time since most of the books I read overlapped with prompts and I wasn’t allowed to use a book by the same author. I used Storygraph to keep track of the books I read and the prompts each book qualified for. Some prompts had a ton of books while I struggled to find a book for other prompts. I tried to read from my owned TBR as much as possible, combined with all the tours and ARC reviews, so I was limited in choice. But I’m glad I finally read more books from my own shelves and I’ll definitely do the same thing this year.
Below is the full image with book covers and a list of all the books.
Completed bingo card
The books
Five Short Stories
The book I thought I was going to read A Thousand Beginnings and Ending edited by Ellen Oh
The book I actually read The Infinite Library by Victor Fernando R. Ocampo
Read the review
I had a few more anthologies and single short stories I could’ve picked to complete the prompt but The Infinite Library is a single-author short story collection and it’s a good one.
Set in Asia
The book I thought I was going to read Black Water Sister by Zen Cho
The book I actually read Black Water Sister by Zen Cho
Read the review
One of the few where I actually read the book I thought I would. This was one of my most anticipated releases of the year so it felt wrong to not use it in any of the prompts.
A Selection from the A-Z Genre Guide
The book I thought I was going to read The House of Shattered Wings by Aliette de Bodard
The book I actually read Rosemary and Rue by Seanan McGuire
I had to do some shuffling here, mostly because I read three books by Aliette de Bodard and could only pick one for on this list. I had trouble finding a title for Gothic Fantasy so I added The House of Shattered Wings to that prompt. That meant I had to find a new one for this prompt. My friend Aurelie asked if I wanted to buddy read Rosemary and Rue with her after finishing Seven Mercies and The House of Shattered Wings. Of course, yes! And it fit the prompt. We’ll likely do more buddy reads for the next bingo as well.
Found Family
The book I thought I was going to read The Infinity Courts by Akemi Dawn Bowman
The book I actually read The Infinity Courts by Akemi Dawn Bowman
Read the review
I already read this one before I finished my list so it was an easy pick. I could’ve picked others but I really enjoyed the book so I wanted to keep it on the list.
First Person POV
The book I thought I was going to read Fallible Justice by Laura Laakso
The book I actually read The Thirteenth Hour by Trudie Skies
Read the review
How could I not add the best book I’ve read this year on the list? I loved everything about The Thirteenth Hour (which is telling because a lot of bad things happen in the book) and I’m waiting for the sequel.
Book Club or Readalong Book
The book I thought I was going to read Lud-in-the-mist by Hope Mirrlees
The book I actually read Rosewater by Tade Thompson
Read the review
Lud-in-the-mist was my first pick but when one of the book clubs announced they’d be doing Rosewater, another one on my TBR, I jumped on it. I usually don’t join book clubs because I’m a mood reader and I had to push through the book because my mood didn’t align with the book at the beginning. But as I read on, it became interesting enough I just had to know how it would end.
New To You Author
The book I thought I was going to read Incendiary by Zoraida Cordova
The book I actually read A Wizard’s Guide to Defensive Baking by T. Kingfisher
I picked up A Wizard’s Guide to Defensive Baking shortly after I saw it nominated/winning awards. I wasn’t feeling well and needed something light. This book is perfect for those days.
Gothic Fantasy
The book I thought I was going to read The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova
The book I actually read The House of Shattered Wings by Aliette de Bodard
As said before, I switched The House of Shattered Wings to this prompt because I didn’t find time to read The Historian but hopefully I’ll get to it soon.
Backlist Book
The book I thought I was going to read Legendary by Stephanie Garber
The book I actually read Thorn of the Night Blossoms by JC Kang
I started reading Legendary so long ago, I’ll probably have to start over again. And for some reason, I just haven’t been in the mood for it yet. But nightly companions turned assassins? Heck yes!
Revenge-Seeking Character
The book I thought I was going to read Queen of the Conquered by Kacen Callender
The book I actually read Seven Mercies by Laura Lam and Elizabeth May
Read the review
I got an ARC for Seven Mercies which I didn’t expect at all. Seven Devils was one of my favourite reads so I was looking forward to it.
Mystery Plot
The book I thought I was going to read Legendborn by Tracy Deonn
The book I actually read Witchmark by C.L. Polk
Another comfort read. I had read The Midnight Bargain earlier in 2021, too early for the start of the bingo, so I could read anything else by C.L. Polk for my list. I had the copy of Witchmark on my phone so I started reading. And didn’t stop until there were no more pages left. I’ll still read Legendborn especially since it’s going to be adapted now.
Comfort Read
The book I thought I was going to read The Elite by Kiera Cass
The book I actually read The Elite by Kiera Cass
More comfort reads! Healthwise, 2021 definitely was a challenge for me, even without a pandemic. I read all three Selection books in quick succession of each other and I’m glad I did. The books might have lost their magic if there was too much time in between. But afterwards, I was a little burned out on the world so I stopped after a few chapters of The Heir.
Published in 2021
The book I thought I was going to read SO MANY (probably Scales and Sensibility by Stephanie Burgis)
The book I actually read Scales and Sensibility by Stephanie Burgis
Read the review
Stephanie Burgis has magic powers, I’m sure of it. She somehow knows exactly the kind of stories I want to read without me even knowing it myself. Scales and Sensibility is such a book (Good Neighbors another). Who can resist a regency era, funny book with dragons? Stephanie Burgis writes fantasy of manners like no other.
Cat Squasher (500+ Pages)
The book I thought I was going to read Dragons of Darkness by Antonia Michaelis
The book I actually read Shards of Earth by Adrian Tchaikovsky
Read the review
I read Shards of Earth as part of the launch tour. It was a chonker, bigger than I had expected so I was glad when the story sped up in the second half. It’s my first Adrian Tchaikovsky book and I can’t wait to read more of his work.
SFF-Related Nonfiction
The book I thought I was going to read What Kings Ate and Wizards Drank by Krista D. Ball
The book I actually read What Kings Ate and Wizards Drank by Krista D. Ball
I knew I wanted to read this sooner rather than later. Food is an important element in my books, and while I’m writing a contemporary story now, soon I’ll go back to an older, less technologically advanced, fantasy world.
Latinx or Latin American Author
The book I thought I was going to read The Beautiful Ones by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
The book I actually read The Beautiful Ones by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
Read the review
The Beautiful Ones was already planned because I received the ARC so I was glad I could use one of Silvia Moreno-Garcia’s books for this prompt.
Self-Published
The book I thought I was going to read I don’t know which one I’m going to pick since I’ll be reading a ton of them this year
The book I actually read Voice of War by Zack Argyle
I could’ve picked a lot of other books for this prompt but it ended up being Voice of War.
Forest Setting
The book I thought I was going to read Graceling by Kristin Cashore
The book I actually read Fireborn by Aisling Fowler
Another book for a tour! I didn’t expect Fireborn to fit in with any of the prompts but I thought it suited this one when I finished it. 70% of the book, the main characters wander through a dark enchanted forest, so it fits, right?
Genre Mashup
The book I thought I was going to readWicked Fox by Kat Cho
The book I actually read Nectar For The God by Patrick Samphire
Read the review
Another one of my favourite reads. I sweat Patrick and Stephanie’s house is built close to a magic well because everything they do, is magic. No, it’s because they’re both excellent writers and they work hard on their stories. Let’s not attribute great art to magic. A lot of it is hard work. I think Nectar For The God is Patrick’s best book yet. Especially the later half of the book… I still get chills thinking about it. I know I’ll be studying this one to become a better writer myself.
Has Chapter Titles
The book I thought I was going to readClockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare
The book I actually read The Summoner’s Cry by Ana C. Reis
Ana and I have been following and supporting each other for a while so when she released her book, of course, I had to buy and read it. Only halfway through the book did I notice the chapter titles and thought about this prompt. I was just enjoying the story too much to pay close attention.
Title: __ of __ (and __)
The book I thought I was going to read Girls of Paper and Fire by Natasha Ngan
The book I actually read Girls of Paper and Fire by Natasha Ngan
Girls of Paper and Fire has been on my TBR longer than I dare to admit. So long, that the other two books in the trilogy are already out. I’m glad I finally read it and I can’t wait to dive into the second one. It’s not a fun or nice story but it’s powerful. And I’m here for it.
First Contact
The book I thought I was going to read Shards of Earth by Adrian Tchaikovsky
The book I actually read My Life As A Cat by Carlie Sorosiak
I had to find a new book for this prompt since I already used Shards of Earth for the Cat Squasher prompt. I borrowed this one from my sister in law and thought it might fit. Since the alien-in-cat-body has his first encounter with a human, and it’s the girl’s first encounter with the alien species, some other redditors thought it would fit.
Trans or Nonbinary Character
The book I thought I was going to read Murderbot series by Martha Wells
The book I actually read Our Bloody Pearl by D.N. Bryn
Our Bloody Pearl was another excellent book. The main character thinks of themselves as non-binary but they’re also disabled. Perl is one of the most interesting and well-written characters I’ve read in a long time.
Debut Author
The book I thought I was going to read Reverie by Ryan La Sala
The book I actually read Reverie by Ryan La Sala
I probably could’ve used other books for this prompt too, but I decided to stick to this one. This is another book from my way too long TBR and one of my goals was to read more those books. It was a fast read but it wasn’t that memorable. The concept itself is more interesting than the execution. Still, I enjoyed it.
Witches protagonist
The book I thought I was going to read These Witches Don’t Burn by Isabel Sterling
The book I actually read These Witches Don’t Burn by Isabel Sterling
I had a few options I could pick from this as well but it felt good reading books I bought years ago but never got around to. I’m glad I finally gave this one a chance. I’ll be honest, after seeing The Craft: Legacy I was definitely in the mood for more witchy teenage angst.
Fantastic post Tessa and yay for all these amazing fantasy reads!!