Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by the lovely Jana @ That Artsy Reader Girl. Each week a new theme is suggested for bloggers to participate in. This week’s prompt is Best Books I Read In 2021.

Hello Readers! If you celebrate Christmas, I hope you had a lovely holiday. The countdown for 2022 is on, and I’m hoping to spend this last week relaxing and reading more after the busyness of the last month.

Attempting to pick just ten favorite reads for 2021 was HARD. I had so many four and five-star reads, this list could be twice as long. And unlike last year, I did not have a clear favorite book in 2021. I had many. So while this list counts down to number one, the top three could hold the number one spot. I narrowed down my top choices by my level of excitement after reading them. 😉

I rated each book on my list with five stars, but I’m also not including rereads in this list. Otherwise, The Scorpio Races and In a Holidaze could hold spots on here, as well. One thing I did discover while working on this post, several of my choices had lower ratings on Goodreads. I need to let that be a reminder that books I prefer are not always what’s popular. So many times I let a lower Goodreads rating keep me from picking up a book.

Let’s wander in!

(Link to add on Goodreads through the book title.)

10

Chain of Iron by Cassandra Clare

Synopsis:

Cordelia Carstairs seems to have everything she ever wanted. She’s engaged to marry James Herondale, the boy she has loved since childhood. She has a new life in London with her best friend Lucie Herondale and James’s charming companions, the Merry Thieves. She is about to be reunited with her beloved father. And she bears the sword Cortana, a legendary hero’s blade.

But the truth is far grimmer. James and Cordelia’s marriage is a lie, arranged to save Cordelia’s reputation. James is in love with the mysterious Grace Blackthorn whose brother, Jesse, died years ago in a terrible accident. Cortana burns Cordelia’s hand when she touches it, while her father has grown bitter and angry. And a serial murderer is targeting the Shadowhunters of London, killing under cover of darkness, then vanishing without a trace.

Together with the Merry Thieves, Cordelia, James, and Lucie must follow the trail of the knife-wielding killer through the city’s most dangerous streets. All the while, each is keeping a shocking secret: Lucie, that she plans to raise Jesse from the dead; Cordelia, that she has sworn a dangerous oath of loyalty to a mysterious power; and James, that he is being drawn further each night into the dark web of his grandfather, the arch-demon Belial. And that he himself may be the killer they seek.

Goodreads
My Review

Despite Clare’s tendency to leave her readers on cliffhangers of sorts, I still enjoyed the second installment in the The Last Hours series. Now I’m just anxiously awaiting the next one.

9

The Last Thing He Told Me by Laura Dave

Synopsis:

We all have stories we never tell.
Before Owen Michaels disappears, he manages to smuggle a note to his beloved wife of one year: Protect her.

Despite her confusion and fear, Hannah Hall knows exactly to whom the note refers: Owen’s sixteen-year-old daughter, Bailey. Bailey, who lost her mother tragically as a child. Bailey, who wants absolutely nothing to do with her new stepmother.

As Hannah’s increasingly desperate calls to Owen go unanswered; as the FBI arrests Owen’s boss; as a US Marshal and FBI agents arrive at her Sausalito home unannounced, Hannah quickly realizes her husband isn’t who he said he was. And that Bailey just may hold the key to figuring out Owen’s true identity—and why he really disappeared.

Hannah and Bailey set out to discover the truth, together. But as they start putting together the pieces of Owen’s past, they soon realize they are also building a new future. One neither Hannah nor Bailey could have anticipated.

Goodreads
My Review

I was so impressed with this one. I thought it was well-written and refreshing, different from what I’ve been reading. Although, I don’t read very many thrillers or mysteries. It was the third book I’ve read and enjoyed by the author.

8

The Other Black Girl by Zakiya Dalila Harris

Synopsis:

Twenty-six-year-old editorial assistant Nella Rogers is tired of being the only Black employee at Wagner Books. Fed up with the isolation and microaggressions, she’s thrilled when Harlem-born and bred Hazel starts working in the cubicle beside hers. They’ve only just started comparing natural hair care regimens, though, when a string of uncomfortable events elevates Hazel to Office Darling, and Nella is left in the dust.

Then the notes begin to appear on Nella’s desk: LEAVE WAGNER. NOW.

It’s hard to believe Hazel is behind these hostile messages. But as Nella starts to spiral and obsess over the sinister forces at play, she soon realizes that there’s a lot more at stake than just her career.

A whip-smart and dynamic thriller and sly social commentary that is perfect for anyone who has ever felt manipulated, threatened, or overlooked in the workplace, The Other Black Girl will keep you on the edge of your seat until the very last twist.

Goodreads
My Review

Another thriller I was so impressed with…. maybe I should read more thrillers. I knew this might be a polarizing book, but I’m still surprised by the lower rating. I thought it was so cleverly done.

7

Damnation Spring by Ash Davidson

Synopis:

Colleen and Rich Gundersen are raising their young son, Chub, on the rugged California coast. It’s 1977, and life in this Pacific Northwest logging town isn’t what it used to be. For generations, the community has lived and breathed timber; now that way of life is threatened. 

Colleen is an amateur midwife. Rich is a tree-topper. It’s a dangerous job that requires him to scale trees hundreds of feet tall—a job that both his father and grandfather died doing. Colleen and Rich want a better life for their son—and they take steps to assure their future. Rich secretly spends their savings on a swath of ancient Redwoods. Colleen, desperate to have a second baby, challenges the logging company’s use of herbicides that she believes are responsible for the many miscarriages in the community—including her own. Colleen and Rich find themselves on opposite sides of a budding conflict that threatens the very thing they are trying to protect: their family. 

Told in prose as clear as a spring-fed creek, Damnation Spring is an intimate, compassionate portrait of a family whose bonds are tested and a community clinging to a vanishing way of life. An extraordinary story of the transcendent, enduring power of love—between husband and wife, mother and child, and longtime neighbors. An essential novel for our times.

Goodreads
My Review

Aaaand, here’s another one that I’m so surprised isn’t getting more positive attention. I thought this debut was phenomenal. A perfect novel. Was it happy? No. Was it layered with great characters and well-researched?? Yes! It’s definitely more of a literary novel.

6

The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller

Synopsis:

Achilles, “the best of all the Greeks,” son of the cruel sea goddess Thetis and the legendary king Peleus, is strong, swift, and beautiful, irresistible to all who meet him. Patroclus is an awkward young prince, exiled from his homeland after an act of shocking violence. Brought together by chance, they forge an inseparable bond, despite risking the gods’ wrath.

They are trained by the centaur Chiron in the arts of war and medicine, but when word comes that Helen of Sparta has been kidnapped, all the heroes of Greece are called upon to lay siege to Troy in her name. Seduced by the promise of a glorious destiny, Achilles joins their cause, and torn between love and fear for his friend, Patroclus follows. Little do they know that the cruel Fates will test them both as never before and demand a terrible sacrifice.

Goodreads

The hype for Miller’s books is huge. And I quickly understood why when I finally read her debut. This was a heartbreakingly beautiful novel. Now I just need to read Circe.

5

Slanted and Disenchanted by Lisa Czarina Michaud

Synopsis:

She hates her family. He’s hiding behind his teenage sex life. They form a band as an escape.

On tour, can they start over….or will all secrets come out on the open road?

Carla Bucchio never cared about things like boyfriends and SATs. If she did, maybe life at 20 would be more exciting than developing photos on Long Island. When she chooses the guitar over a social life, it only makes sense because no one talks to her anyway.

Music may be Pete Albrecht’s life but what good is his talent if he has no one to share it with? When he’s not getting bitched about coffee at work, he’s getting nagged about college by his girlfriend. What would they say if they really knew about him?

At the outset of the new millennium where boy bands and backup dancers have saturated pop culture, the two college dropouts start a rock band. Despite his girlfriend’s manipulations and her mother’s drunken disapproval, they form a secret connection through the music.

Before heading out on their cross-country tour, tragedy turns the world upside down forcing them to decide if the band is just a teenage dream or their gateway to freedom…and to each other?

Slanted and Disenchanted is the provocative first book in Lisa Czarina Michaud’s coming-of-age 3-part Disenchanted series. Told with wry humor with nostalgic 90’s undertones, it explores sexual tension in friendships, the confusion of adulting, the love and chaos of family….and the soundtracks that get us through it all.

*contains strong language, sexual references and content, and emotionally abusive content.

Goodreads
My Review

I was invited to read this little gem of a novel by the author. And unlike the other books on my list that have lower reviews, this one has high reviews—just not very many. It deserves so much more attention. I’m eagerly awaiting her next book.

4

The Soulmate Equation by Christina Lauren

Synopsis:

Single mom Jess Davis is a data and statistics wizard, but no amount of number crunching can convince her to step back into the dating world. Raised by her grandparents–who now help raise her seven-year-old daughter, Juno–Jess has been left behind too often to feel comfortable letting anyone in. After all, her father’s never been around, her hard-partying mother disappeared when she was six, and her ex decided he wasn’t “father material” before Juno was even born. Jess holds her loved ones close, but working constantly to stay afloat is hard…and lonely.

But then Jess hears about GeneticAlly, a buzzy new DNA-based matchmaking company that’s predicted to change dating forever. Finding a soulmate through DNA? The reliability of numbers: This Jess understands. At least she thought she did, until her test shows an unheard-of 98% compatibility with another subject in the database: GeneticAlly’s founder, Dr. River Pena. This is one number she can’t wrap her head around, because she already knows Dr. Pena. The stuck-up, stubborn man is without a doubt not her soulmate. But GeneticAlly has a proposition: Get to know him and we’ll pay you. Jess–who is barely making ends meet–is in no position to turn it down, despite her skepticism about the project and her dislike for River. As the pair are dragged from one event to the next as the “Diamond” pairing that could make GeneticAlly a mint in stock prices, Jess begins to realize that there might be more to the scientist–and the science behind a soulmate–than she thought.

Funny, warm, and full of heart, The Soulmate Equation proves that the delicate balance between fate and choice can never be calculated.

Goodreads
My Review

I read this one back in March, but it still managed to find a spot on my top ten. I know CLo can be a hit or miss for some readers, but so far I’ve enjoyed every book I’ve read by them.

3

People We Meet on Vacation by Emily Henry

Synopsis:

Two best friends. Ten summer trips. One last chance to fall in love. 

Poppy and Alex. Alex and Poppy. They have nothing in common. She’s a wild child; he wears khakis. She has insatiable wanderlust; he prefers to stay home with a book. And somehow, ever since a fateful car share home from college many years ago, they are the very best of friends. For most of the year they live far apart—she’s in New York City, and he’s in their small hometown—but every summer, for a decade, they have taken one glorious week of vacation together.

Until two years ago, when they ruined everything. They haven’t spoken since.

Poppy has everything she should want, but she’s stuck in a rut. When someone asks when she was last truly happy, she knows, without a doubt, it was on that ill-fated, final trip with Alex. And so, she decides to convince her best friend to take one more vacation together—lay everything on the table, make it all right. Miraculously, he agrees.

Now she has a week to fix everything. If only she can get around the one big truth that has always stood quietly in the middle of their seemingly perfect relationship. What could possibly go wrong?

From the New York Times bestselling author of Beach Read, a sparkling new novel that will leave you with the warm, hazy afterglow usually reserved for the best vacations.

Goodreads
My Review

While Beach Read was my clear favorite book of 2020, PWMOV was just shy of matching that level. But I absolutely still enjoyed it.

2

Eight Perfect Hours by Lia Louis

Synopsis:

In this romantic and heartwarming novel, two strangers meet in chance circumstances during a blizzard and spend one perfect evening together, thinking they’ll never see each other again. But fate seems to have different plans.

On a snowy evening in March, 30-something Noelle Butterby is on her way back from an event at her old college when disaster strikes. With a blizzard closing off roads, she finds herself stranded, alone in her car, without food, drink, or a working charger for her phone. All seems lost until Sam Attwood, a handsome American stranger also trapped in a nearby car, knocks on her window and offers assistance. What follows is eight perfect hours together, until morning arrives and the roads finally clear. 

The two strangers part, positive they’ll never see each other again, but fate, it seems, has a different plan. As the two keep serendipitously bumping into one another, they begin to realize that perhaps there truly is no such thing as coincidence. With plenty of charming twists and turns and Lia Louis’s “bold, standout voice” (Gillian McAllister, author of The Good Sister), Eight Perfect Hours is a gorgeously crafted novel that will make you believe in the power of fate. 

Goodreads
My Review

I adored this novel! It was one of my most anticipated reads for the year, and I’m so happy it lived up to Louis’ previous romance, Dear Emmie Blue.

1

The Bodyguard by Katherine Center

Synopsis:

She’s got his back. 
Hannah Brooks looks more like a kindgerten teacher than somebody who could kill you with a wine bottle opener. Or a ballpoint pen. Or a dinner napkin. But the truth is, she’s an Executive Protection Agent (aka “bodyguard”), and she just got hired to protect superstar actor Jack Stapleton from his middle-aged, corgi-breeding stalker.

He’s got her heart. 
Jack Stapleton’s a household name—captured by paparazzi on beaches the world over, famous for, among other things, rising out of the waves in all manner of clingy board shorts and glistening like a Roman deity. But a few years back, in the wake of a family tragedy, he dropped from the public eye and went off the grid.

They’ve got a secret. 
When Jack’s mom gets sick, he comes home to the family’s Texas ranch to help out. Only one catch: He doesn’t want his family to know about his stalker. Or the bodyguard thing. And so Hannah—against her will and her better judgment—finds herself pretending to be Jack’s girlfriend as a cover. Even though her ex, like a jerk, says no one will believe it.

What could possibly go wrong??? 
Hannah hardly believes it, herself. But the more time she spends with Jack, the more real it all starts to seem. And there lies the heartbreak. Because it’s easy for Hannah to protect Jack. But protecting her own, long-neglected heart? That’s the hardest thing she’s ever done.

Goodreads
My Review

I almost feel like my number one choice isn’t even a fair one since it won’t even publish until July of 2022, but when I realized I wouldn’t be able to include it next year’s favorites since I read it in 2021, I just went for it. I. LOVED. THIS. BOOK.

Do we share any favorites? What was your favorite read of 2021? Let me know in the comments!

Happy Wandering!