My 21 Favorite Books of 2021
Another year in the books. Oh, 2021…what a year you were. I know I shared more in my birthday post yesterday about how it’s been hard to reconcile this good parts of this year with the bad parts on the macro scale. But on the micro scale, I think I refound my freedom as a reader. It’s so easy, especially in my line of work, to fall into the comparison game and get FOMO. This year, I really let myself read what I wanted to read and it felt GOOD.
2021 was the year of Romance for me. I read a TON of Romance from across all kinds of subgenres. I need to read even more in 2022! But for someone who reads a lot, I still had a hard time pulling my 21 favorite books from the year. I did read 150 books which is completely wild, given all the continuing changes and anxieties of the year.
What makes a book a favorite for me? A book that taught me something. A story that really stayed with me. Writing that became unputdownable. Characters that made me feel seen. Book taste is so personal so while these are the books that stayed with me this year, I don’t expect it to be the case for everyone. But here are the books that made an impression on me and stayed with me in 2021!
Concrete Rose by Angie Thomas
This was one of the first books I read this year and it has remained one of my favorites. I think it’s one of Angie Thomas’ best. Maverick is one of my favorite book characters of all time! If you’ve read The Hate U Give, this is the story of Starr’s father when he was in high school. It’s so good.
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Good Talk by Mira Jacob
Another book I read early on that has stayed with me throughout the year. It’s a graphic memoir about a mother trying to explain the United States in the lead up and aftermath of the 2016 election. It’s fascinating and important to see the world so clearly from a child’s POV and how adults struggle to make sense of it for them and themselves.
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You’ll Never Believe What Happened to Lacey by Amber Ruffin
A must read Non-Fiction piece and I HIGHLY recommend the audio. It’s a written by comedian Amber Ruffin about the very real racism her sister has faced in their hometown and working in a corporate office. It’s raw, funny, and very very real. I hope it helps people to realize to think before they speak and analyze the microaggressions and internalized racism they have.
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A Court of Silver Flames by Sarah J. Maas
This is one of those books that doesn’t need my help to promote. It won the Goodreads Choice Award for best Fantasy and I definitely disagree. SJM will always sell books. The reason it is on my list is because it’s a book that made me feel so incredibly seen with the main character’s journey. It will always be a special story for me.
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Madison Kate Series by Tate James
Have I screamed about this series enough? The Madison Kate series is a dark romance and something totally outside my comfort zone…usually. But it provided me so much escapism during a very stressful season and definitely made me laugh, smile, swoon, and stress. Be sure to check trigger warnings if you are planning on reading it!
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Legendborn by Tracey Deonn
Another book I for sure haven’t screamed loudly enough about but I LOVE THIS BOOK. It’s a King Arthur retelling set at a university in North Carolina within the world of elite fraternities and secret societies. It’s got magic, intrigue, and a little bit of love. I’m obsessed with it.
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The Off Campus Series by Elle Kennedy
This is not a new series at all but it’s one I discovered this year. Is it perfect? Far from it. It’s a New Adult college hockey romance and follows 4 roommates at a fictional Ivy League University. It just made me smile and I swooned over all the guys. Interestingly, I would say it’s written with the male gaze, so take it with a grain of salt, but it’s another fun, swoony, escapist romance.
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The Guncle by Steven Rowley
I will love this book forever. it is so special to me because it made me think of my best friend and me. If you’ve been reading for a while, you’ll know I’ve made my love for this book pretty well known since I read it in May. It’s sweet and glamorous and explore grief in such an honest way. Plus it’s funny as heck.
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Happily Ever Afters by Elise Bryant
I read a lot of fantastic YA this year and Happily Ever Afters snuck up on me to become a favorite. I read it on audio and kept finding more chores and longer drives to go on to keep listening. It’s about a young girl who gets into a special Arts High School. She wants to be a writer and struggles to find her identity amid the competition at school.
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Firekeeper’s Daughter by Angeline Boulley
One of the few mystery/thrillers I read this year and holy moly did I love it. I tandem read the physical copy with the audio and I think that really helped my reading experience because it kept me engaged on a very detailed story. It’s about the opioid epidemic in an Indigenous community and I truly loved the depth of the story as well as the intrigue.
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The Summer of Broken Rules by K.L. Walther
There’s nothing like finding the perfect summer romance and this filled up my heart and soul. It’s a YA/New Adult novel set on Martha’s Vineyard while a family is preparing for a huge family wedding while also mourning the death of one of their own. It’s so fun and beautiful and perfectly summery.
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The Charm Offensive by Allison Cochrun
This book is what The Bachelor Franchise wishes it could be! It’s about a crew member on set of a Bachelor-esque dating show falling for the lead guy aka The Bachelor. It’s fun, sexy, witty, and utterly charming.
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Mom Jeans and Other Mistakes by Alexa Martin
A lot of women’s fiction books I read don’t make much of an impression on me but Mom Jeans and Other Mistakes is a book I’ll keep thinking about. It’s about two friends who are in totally different places in their lives but move in together to raise one of their daughters in a loving home. It answers the question, “Why can’t we just live with our best friends?” it’s SO GOOD and I just loved it.
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A Lot Like Adios by Alexis Daria
It’s no secret I love Alexis Daria’s books and this friends to enemies to lovers romance made me SWOON. I loved it so much and the steam arrives very early on. Gabe is a DREAMY love interest and I adore the Primas of Power series.
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The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood
Everyone loved this book this year and for good reason. It’s steamy, funny, and just good fun. I loved Olive and Adam.
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Seven Days in June by Tia Williams
Not a romance, shocking I know. But WOW does this book make you feel. It’s about two writers who knew each other when they were longer and have used their relationship with each other for inspiration for years. Now, they reunite after failed marriages and moments of their career for one blissful, tragic week.
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The Fastest Way to Fall by Denise Williams
I adore Denise Williams and she made me feel so seen with Britta’s story. Is it my favorite romance of the year? No, but Britta as a character made me understand a lot of the trauma around body image and body positivity i’ve struggled with for years.
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Fix Her Up by Tessa Bailey
A backlist title that, from Goodreads, not a lot of people seemed to like lol but I LOVED. Travis Ford has my heart. And it’s Tessa Bailey so the spice DELIVERS. Such a fun book that was totally unputdownable for me and helped introduce me to a new favorite author.
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Tokyo Ever After by Emiko Jean
I almost made it through the year without adding any new royal fiction to my favorites list but then, Tokyo Ever After happened. I ADORED this book so much. It’s about an American girl who finds out her father is the Crown Prince of Japan. She goes to get to know him for a school break and it’s just so good. It’s like the Princess Diaries but better.
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Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner
I can’t recommend this memoir enough. It deals deeply with grief but I found it to be incredibly beautiful and raw. Plus, the way food is written about in this memoir made me want to try so many new dishes. It’s fantastic.
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And there we have it. 21 of my favorite books I read in 2021. If you made it this far, I just want to thank each and every one of you for your support this year. Read & Wright continued to grow this year and I am even more excited to see where we go in 2022. In the last two years, I’ve been so proud of this community and as we enter another uncertain year, I hope we can continue to find joy and escape in books.
Happy New Year, my friends. Thank you for spending another year with me.
