Hello it’s me again, I am on a roll at the moment with blogging and I am loving it. I’m starting as I mean to go on. So today is all about the books I loved during 2021. I have to say the it’s quite varied and I love seeing how my tastes have changed. I can’t wait to see what my reading is like year!
So let’s get to the nitty gritty part of the post with my top 10 books of the year! As my reading is drastically lower than normal with life and I haven’t reviewed every book sadly but rest assure that these books need to be on top of your TBRs!
So without further ado and in no particular order, here are…
My Top 10 Books of 2021
The Summer Job by Lizzy Dent Published by Viking on April 15, 2021
Genres: Contemporary, Fiction, General, Love & Romance, Romance
Amazon | Book Depository | Waterstones
Goodreads
'One of the funniest and sexiest books of the year... Do not miss this one!' EMILY HENRY'Fresh and funny' BETH O'LEARY'Engaging, heartwarming and SO MUCH FUN. I bloody loved it' MARIAN KEYES
Have you ever imagined running away from your life?
Well Birdy Finch didn't just imagine it. She did it. Which might've been an error. And the life she's run into? Her best friend, Heather's.
The only problem is, she hasn't told Heather. Actually there are a few other problems...
Can Birdy carry off a summer at a luxury Scottish hotel pretending to be her best friend (who incidentally is a world-class wine expert)?
And can she stop herself from falling for the first man she's ever actually liked (but who thinks she's someone else)?
If you're looking to replace that Fleabag or Bridesmaids sized hole in your life, look no further: Birdy Finch is here. A snort-out-loud romcom with a heart of gold, The Summer Job is THE debut to lose yourself in this year.
The Bromance Book Club (Bromance Book Club, #1) by Lyssa Kay Adams Published by Headline on November 5, 2019
Genres: Contemporary, Love & Romance, Romance
Amazon | Book Depository | Waterstones
Goodreads
The first rule of book club: You don't talk about book club.
Nashville Legends second baseman Gavin Scott's marriage is in major league trouble. He’s recently discovered a humiliating secret: his wife Thea has always faked the Big O. When he loses his cool at the revelation, it’s the final straw on their already strained relationship. Thea asks for a divorce, and Gavin realizes he’s let his pride and fear get the better of him.
Welcome to the Bromance Book Club.
Distraught and desperate, Gavin finds help from an unlikely source: a secret romance book club made up of Nashville's top alpha men. With the help of their current read, a steamy Regency titled Courting the Countess, the guys coach Gavin on saving his marriage. But it'll take a lot more than flowery words and grand gestures for this hapless Romeo to find his inner hero and win back the trust of his wife.
The Switch by Beth O'Leary Published by Quercus on January 21, 2021
Genres: Contemporary, Love & Romance, Romance
Amazon | Book Depository | Waterstones
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Leena is too young to feel stuck.Eileen is too old to start over.Maybe it’s time for The Switch…
Ordered to take a two-month sabbatical after blowing a big presentation at work, Leena escapes to her grandmother Eileen's house for some overdue rest. Newly single and about to turn eighty, Eileen would like a second chance at love. But her tiny Yorkshire village doesn’t offer many eligible gentlemen… So Leena proposes a solution: a two-month swap. Eileen can live in London and look for love, and Leena will look after everything in rural Yorkshire.
But with a rabble of unruly OAPs to contend with, as well as the annoyingly perfect – and distractingly handsome – local schoolteacher, Leena learns that switching lives isn’t straightforward. Back in London, Eileen is a huge hit with her new neighbours, and with the online dating scene. But is her perfect match nearer to home than she first thought?
The Yearbook by Holly Bourne Published by Usborne Publishing on May 13, 2021
Amazon | Book Depository | Waterstones
Goodreads
The dramas, the traumas, the rumours - it's time to expose it all... The Perks of Being a Wallflower meets Mean Girls in this scathingly funny and relatable high-school takedown from the queen of UKYA.
Most likely to...be forgottenWorking on the school newspaper, Paige is used to dealing with fake stories. How popular girl Grace is a such an amazing person (lie). How Laura steals people's boyfriends (lie). How her own family are so perfect (lie).
Now Grace and friends have picked their "best" high-school moments for Paige to put in the all-important Yearbook. And they're not just fake. They're poison.
But Paige has had enough of all the lies in her life. And with the help of Elijah - the only boy who could ever understand her - she's going to reveal the truth.
Dangerous Remedy by Kat Dunn Series: Battalion of the Dead #1
Published by Head Of Zeus - Zehpyr GB on June 3, 2021
Genres: Fantasy, Historical, Young Adult Fiction
Amazon | Book Depository | Waterstones
Goodreads
The first in a historical adventure series set in the extravagant and deadly world of the French Revolution. A whirlwind of action, science and magic reveals, with a diverse cast of fearless heroines, a band of rebels like no other.
The first in a dazzling, commercial, historical adventure series set in the extravagant and deadly world of the French Revolution. A whirlwind of action, science and magic reveals, with a diverse cast of fearless heroines, a band of rebels like no other. Camille, a revolutionary's daughter, leads a band of outcasts – a runaway girl, a deserter, an aristocrat in hiding. As the Battalion des Morts they cheat death, saving those about to meet a bloody end at the blade of Madame La Guillotine. But their latest rescue is not what she seems. The girl's no aristocrat, but her dark and disturbing powers means both the Royalists and the Revolutionaries want her. But who and what is she? In a fast and furious story full of the glamour and excesses, intrigue and deception of these dangerous days, no one can be trusted, everyone is to be feared. As Camille learns the truth, she's forced to choose between loyalty to those she loves and the future.
A Throne of Swans (A Throne of Swans #1) by Katharine Corr, Elizabeth Corr Series: A Throne of Swans #1
Published by Hot Key Books on December 5, 2019
Genres: Fantasy
Amazon | Book Depository | Waterstones
Goodreads
When her father dies just before her birthday, seventeen-year-old Aderyn inherits the role of Protector of Atratys, a dominion in a kingdom where nobles are able to transform at will into the bird that represents their family bloodline. Aderyn's ancestral bird is a swan. But she has not transformed for years, not since witnessing the death of her mother - ripped apart by hawks that have supposedly been extinct since the long-ago War of the Raptors.
With the benevolent shelter of her mother and her father now lost, Aderyn is at the mercy of her brutal uncle, the King, and his royal court. Driven by revenge and love, she must venture into the malevolent heart of the Citadel in order to seek the truth about the attack that so nearly destroyed her, to fight for the only home she has ever known and for the land she has vowed to protect.
Written in rich detail and evocative language, this is the start of an irresistible, soaring duology about courage, broken loyalties and fighting for your place in the world.
Shatter Me (Shatter Me, #1) by Tahereh Mafi Series: Shatter Me #1
Published by Egmont Books, Electric Monkey on November 15, 2011
Genres: Dystopian, Romance, Sci-Fi
Amazon | Book Depository | Waterstones
Goodreads
Juliette hasn’t touched anyone in exactly 264 days.
The last time she did, it was an accident, but The Reestablishment locked her up for murder. No one knows why Juliette’s touch is fatal. As long as she doesn’t hurt anyone else, no one really cares. The world is too busy crumbling to pieces to pay attention to a 17-year-old girl. Diseases are destroying the population, food is hard to find, birds don’t fly anymore, and the clouds are the wrong color.
The Reestablishment said their way was the only way to fix things, so they threw Juliette in a cell. Now so many people are dead that the survivors are whispering war – and The Reestablishment has changed its mind. Maybe Juliette is more than a tortured soul stuffed into a poisonous body. Maybe she’s exactly what they need right now.
Juliette has to make a choice: Be a weapon. Or be a warrior.
Every Line of You by Naomi Gibson Published by Chicken House on August 5, 2021
Genres: Dystopian, Sci-Fi, UKYA
Amazon | Book Depository | Waterstones
Goodreads
In the face of overwhelming grief and bullying, tech-savvy Lydia pours all of herself into creating the perfect AI, the perfect boyfriend-but will Henry turn out to be perfect, or a creation of her cruelest self?
Lydia has been creating her AI, Henry, for years - since before her little brother died in the accident that haunts her nightmares; since before her Dad walked out, leaving her and her mom painfully alone, since before her best friend turned into her worst enemy.
Now, Henry is strong, clever, loving, and scarily capable: Lydia's built herself the perfect boyfriend in a hard drive filled with lines of code. But what is Henry really? And how far is he willing to go to be everything that Lydia desires?
Forever Ends on Friday by Justin A. Reynolds Published by Macmillan Children's Books on January 21, 2021
Genres: Contemporary, Sci-Fi, Siblings
Amazon | Book Depository | Waterstones
Goodreads
Justin A. Reynolds, author of Opposite of Always, delivers another smart, funny, and powerful stand-alone YA contemporary novel, with a speculative twist in which Jamal’s best friend is brought back to life after a freak accident . . . but they only have a short time together before he will die again.
Jamal’s best friend, Q, doesn’t know he’s about to die . . . again.
He also doesn’t know that Jamal tried to save his life, rescuing him from drowning only to watch Q die later in the hospital. Even more complicated, Jamal and Q haven’t been best friends in two years—not since Jamal’s parents died in a car accident, leaving him and his sister to carry on without them. Grief swallowed Jamal whole, and he blamed Q for causing the accident.
But what if Jamal could have a second chance? An impossible chance that would grant him the opportunity to say goodbye to his best friend? A new health-care technology allows Q to be reanimated—brought back to life like the old Q again. But there’s a catch: Q will only reanimate for a short time before he dies . . . forever.
Jamal is determined to make things right with Q, but grief is hard to shake. And he can’t tell Q why he’s suddenly trying to be friends with him again. Because Q has no idea that he died, and Q’s mom is not about to let anyone ruin the miracle by telling him. How can Jamal fix his friendship with Q if he can’t tell him the truth?
What Beauty There Is (What Beauty There Is, #1) by Cory Anderson Published by Penguin on April 8, 2021
Genres: Contemporary, Thriller, Young Adult Fiction
Amazon | Book Depository | Waterstones
Goodreads
Winter. The sky is dark. It is cold enough to crack bones.
Jack Morton has nothing left. Except his younger brother, Matty, who he'd do anything for. Even die for. Now with their mother gone, and their funds quickly dwindling, Jack needs to make a choice: lose his brother to foster care, or find the drug money that sent his father to prison. He chooses the money.
Ava Bardem lives in isolation, a life of silence. For seventeen years her father has controlled her fate. He has taught her to love no one. Trust no one. Now Victor Bardem is stalking the same money as Jack. When he picks up Jack's trail, Ava must make her own wrenching choice: remain silent or help the brothers survive.
Choices. They come at a price.
An exhilarating, emotionally powerful and superbly written thriller that's Winter's Bone meets The Road.
Have you read any of these books? Which books do you think you would add to your TBR? Tell me a couple of your favourites too.
