Top Ten New To Me Authors I Discovered In 2021

 

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl and this week's theme is new to me authors I discovered in 2021. I read 53 new to me authors in 2021, compared with just 9 that I had read from before, so it is very difficult to narrow it down to just ten. I discovered some really great authors last year but these are the ones I am most excited to read more from this year.

1. KA Tucker - I completely fell in love with KA Tucker's writing after reading The Simple Wild and can't wait to try out the books outside of that series.

2. Brittainy C Cherry - I read three of Brittainy C Cherry's books in 2021 and loved all of them so much.

3. Mariana Zapata - I finally read a Mariana Zapata after having it on my TBR for far too long. I will definitely be reading more soon.

4. Beth O'Leary - I really enjoyed The Flatshare and I have high hopes for Beth O'Leary's other books, I just need to get around to reading them.

5. Chloe Liese - I discovered the Bergman Brother's series in 2021 and fell in love with it. I just adore Chloe Liese's writing.

6. Christina C Jones - I read a book by Christina C Jones towards the beginning of 2021 and wanted to pick up more from her later in the year as I enjoyed it so much but never got around to it.

7. Rosie Danan - I didn't expect to like Rosie Danan's writing as much as I did when reading The Roommate but now I really want to check out her other books.

8. Tessa Bailey - I started the Hot & Hammered series last year and have been really loving it. I definitely want to finish that series soon and then see what Tessa Bailey's other books have to offer. I have high hopes.

9. Kandi Steiner - I fell in love with a Christmas novella by Kandi Steiner so now I really need to read more from her. I also started the PSU series, which was so much fun to read.

10. Heidi Swain - Heidi Swain was a real surprise as I picked up a Christmas book by her on a complete whim and fell down a bit of a rabbit hole. I ended up reading four of her books in December and now want to read all of them.

Those are ten of the best new to me authors I discovered in 2021. There are many more that I could have mentioned here but these are the ones that stood out the most. I can't wait to read more from all of these authors soon.

Who was your favourite new author discovery of 2021?

Sophie :)

Top Ten 2021 Releases I Didn't Get To

 

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl and this week's theme is 2021 releases that you wanted to read but didn't get to. With so many great books being published each year, it is hard to get around to all of the books I am anticipating. I am also just terrible at keeping up with new releases in general so I have quite a few still on my TBR that I hope to get to soon.

1. Concrete Rose by Angie Thomas - This is the prequel to The Hate U Give following Starr's father. I'm still really excited to read this one, I just haven't gotten around to it yet.

2. The Road Trip by Beth O'Leary - I read The Flatshare in 2021 so was super excited to read more from this author. This is one I hope to get to soon.

3. Sunkissed by Kasie West - I have read every one of Kasie West's contemporary novels so this was one of my most anticipated releases. I have since drifted away from YA and lost a bit of my excitement for this book but I would still like to pick it up.

4. One Last Stop by Casey McQuiston - This was super hyped prior to it's release, which made me excited for it to. I have heard great things but haven't gotten to it yet.

5. Reel by Kennedy Ryan - I discovered Kennedy Ryan in 2020 and completely fell in love with her writing. I was highly anticipating this release, I don't know why I still haven't picked it up.

6. The Mixtape by Brittainy C Cherry - Brittainy C Cherry is another author I discovered last year and fell in love with. I want to read everything she ever writes so I hope to get to this one soon.

7. It Happened One Summer by Tessa Bailey - This is one I wasn't really anticipating but after hearing so many amazing things, I'm now desperate to read it! I read a couple of Tessa Bailey's books last year and enjoyed them, so I 'm excited for this one.

8. Sweethand by NG Peltier - This was a debut that I was highly anticipating in 2021. The premise sounded like my kind of book and the cover is beautiful, I just never got to picking it up.

9. With You Forever by Chloe Liese - I read the first three books in the Bergman Brother's series in 2021 and really enjoyed them all. This is the fourth book in the series and I am so excited to finally get to it soon.

10. Freckles by Cecelia Ahern - Cecelia Ahern is one of my favourite authors but I am terrible at keeping up with her new releases. This book has such a unique premise, as do all of her books, and I can't wait to dive into this story.

Those are ten 2021 releases that I really meant to get to last year but just didn't get the chance to. I hope to get to at least some of them this year, hopefully pretty soon.

Have you read any of these? Which one should I pick up first?

Sophie :)

2021 Goals Review

 It's that time again when we look back at my goals for the past year I realise all of the ways I failed and all of the goals I forgot about. I set quite a few goals for my reading life in 2021 and I know for sure I didn't do so great with some of them. I liked to look back at the goals I set in the previous year before deciding on my goals for the current year as a way of seeing what I still need to work on.

Goodreads Reading Challenge

This is always my first goal every year as I find having a number goal to reach pushes me to keep reading throughout the year. I have set my goal as 50 books for the past 6 years so started of 2021 with that goal again. However, pretty early on I decided to be ambitious and change it to 100 books. This was going well until I got super slumpy and decided to lower it to 75, which is still more than I read in 2020. I did managed to read this goal as I read 80 books in 2021. I'm a little disappointed I didn't manage 100 but I am glad I managed to read more than the year before.

Buzzword Challenge

This was a new one for 2021 and was created by Kayla from BooksAndLala, stemming from her Buzzword Readathon. She compiled a list of buzzwords, one for each month of the year, and the idea was to either complete a readathon each month reading books with the buzzword in the title or, as I did, use it as a challenge to read one book containing the buzzword in the title each month. While this was a bit of a struggle some months, I'm pretty proud that I actually did manage to complete this challenge. 

Year Of Smut Challenge

This is a romance reading challenge that I wanted to do at the beginning of the year but quickly gave up on. I found I was putting pressure on myself to read books to fit a prompt rather than what I wanted to read. I have found that these challenges, at least when they are year long, don't really work for me.

Read From My Physical TBR

This is some thing I make as a goal every year. I have far too many unread books on my shelves, some of which have been there since 2014, and I always make it a goal to focus on reading those books. In 2021 I challenged myself to read at least one book a month from my physical TBR. Noone is surprised that this didn't happen. I only read 11 books from my physical TBR in 2021, which is really not great. 

Read More Diversely

I wanted to make a conscious effort in 2021 to read more books by authors who are not white, as this is something I have not done in the past and felt that it was a very important change. I started off the year doing well with this goal but I'm really ashamed to say I did very poorly the rest of the year. This isn't good enough and I need to do better.

Try New Things

This is one that I just completely forgot about. I wanted to read at least one book from a genre or subgenre that I had never read before each month in order to push myself out of my comfort zone. I tried historical romance for the first time but that was really it. 

Participate In Readathons

I wanted to participate in a readathon every 1-2 months in 2021 in order to become more of a part of the book community online. I have discovered that readathons are not really great for me. I tend to feel a lot of pressure to read and then end up not reading as a result. I think I only took part in two readathons in the year and didn't involve myself in the community in any way during those.

Other than my Goodreads challenge and the Buzzword challenge, I didn't really do great with my goals in 2021. I struggled a bit with my motivation to read at quite a few times over the year so I think a lot of my failure in my goals is to do with me just picking up anything that would make me want to read. I will definitely be looking at these goals and incorporating some of them into my goals for this year.

How did you do with your 2021 reading goals?

Sophie :)

Most Disappointing Reads Of 2021

I hate talking negatively about books but when recapping the year it's hard to avoid talking about the books that let you down. Last year I did a least favourites of the year, but I decided to go back to doing disappointing instead of least favourite this year as I never want to claim that a book is bad. Books are so subjective that what I dislike, someone else loves. So, instead of talking about the books I liked least in 2021, I thought I would share the books I had high expectations for that ended up disappointing me. These are not necessarily books I disliked, most of these were three star reads, just books I expected more from.

 

1. Take Me Home Tonight by Morgan Matson

It pains me that this was probably my most disappointing book of the year as it was also my most anticipated. I love Morgan Matson and was excited to get a new release from her after a little while. Take Me Home Tonight follows two best friends as they spend a night in New York City and all sorts of chaos ensues. I really thought with a New York City setting, a great Morgan Matson friendship and her brilliant writing that this would be another hit for me, but it sadly wasn't. It was just too unbelievable and chaotic for me and I really didn't enjoy the friendship between the main characters. There was also a really weird and unnecessary subplot that I often wonder if I dreamt. This just wasn't for me at all.

2. We Are Inevitable by Gayle Forman

Another new release by an author I have loved in the past and another disappointment. We Are Inevitable follows Aaron who is running a bookstore in a small town with her father and feels like he is being left behind. This was the perfect book for so many people but it was not the book for me. I was incredibly bored for most of it and really hated our main character. Aaron basically hates everyone so is incredibly rude to everyone and that is something I just can't stand. I didn't like a lot of his choices or actions and that really made it hard for me to enjoy the rest of the book. I also had some issues with the way addiction was discussed at points. 

3. The Wedding Date by Jasmine Guillory

I had such high hopes for this one and it just didn't live up to my expectations. This follows Alexa and Drew who get stuck in an elevator together and while there Alexa agrees to be Drew's fake girlfriend for his ex's wedding. Stuck in an elevator, fake dating and weddings are three things I love in my romance books. However, these things were all only part of the story for the first quarter of the book. After that it was just boring and repetitive. I stopped caring about this couple after the first trips to see each other. This could have been my perfect book had it taken place over just the weekend of the wedding but the rest of it I just didn't care about.

4. The Hating Game by Sally Thorne

I know this is a majorly unpopular opinion so please don't hate me! This is one of the most hyped books in the romance community so when I finally picked it up in 2021 I went into it with very high expectations. I think that is where my problems came from. This is an enemies to lovers, workplace romance following Lucy and Josh, work rivals who are competing for the same promotion. I enjoyed this book enough, I gave it 3.5 stars, but I couldn't work out why everyone loved it so much. I thought it was an average enemies to lovers, workplace romance with decent characters but nothing particularly special. The hype made this one a disappointment for me.

5. The Soulmate Equation by Christina Lauren

Christina Lauren have been a bit hit or miss for me since I discovered them in 2020, so it shouldn't have been much of a surprise that I didn't end up loving their latest release. However, I was super interested in this premise and had heard some great things about it so did end up going in with high expectations. It follows a single mother who signs up to a new dating app that finds your soulmate based on a DNA sample. When she receives one of the highest matches ever with the founder of the company, she agrees to fake date him in order to get the company more publicity. This was fine but nothing all that special. I was bored for a lot of it and didn't enjoy the conflict and how that was handled. Another one that a lot of people enjoyed but it just wasn't for me.

There was probably a lot of unpopular opinions there but those are five books that were disappointing for me in 2021. As I said, they were not necessarily bad books but just didn't live up to my expectations. Books are so subjective that they can't possibly appeal to everyone and that's what makes it so exciting that there are books out there for everyone to fall in love with. 

Have you read any of these books? What did you think of them?

Sophie :)

My Favourite Books Of 2021

 It is finally time to talk about my favourite books that I read in 2021! This is one of my favourite posts to do as I love gushing about the ten books I absolutely adored in the past year. I read some really great books in 2021 and had a lot more 5 star reads than I did last year, which made it hard to narrow down my favourites. Unlike in previous years, every book on this list I gave 5 stars! As I loved all of these books, I couldn't really put them in any kind of order, other than my top two.

1. The Simple Wild by KA Tucker

This is easily my favourite book I read in 2021 and one that really caught me off guard. I had heard great things about it so ended up picking it up on a whim when I wasn't sure what I wanted to read next and then completely fell in love. The Simple Wild follows Calla as she moves to Alaska for the summer to spend time with her estranged father, who she has just discovered has cancer. When she first arrives, she meets surly pilot Jonah and the two develop an instant rivalry. This is their absolutely adorable enemies to lovers romance, set in the most beautiful Alaskan town, with some more serious and emotional topics mixed in as we see Calla coming to terms with her father's diagnosis. I had so many emotions reading this! We had the highs of Calla and Jonah's developing relationship and some really great banter that came with that, and then the next minute my heart was breaking. I really did adore this book.

2. People We Meet On Vacation by Emily Henry

My second favourite book of the year was less of a surprise after Emily Henry's 2020 release made it on to my favourites list of that year. People We Meet On Vacation is the story of Poppy and Alex, two best friends who took a summer trip together every year for ten years, until one summer changed everything and the two hadn't spoken since. However, two years after that summer and starting to feel stuck in a rut in her life, Poppy reaches out to Alex and convinces him to take one last trip with her. We get to see their friendship develop through chapters flashing back to their previous summer trips, while we see the friendship turn into something more on their current trip. I adored their friendship, it was so much fun spending time with them in both the past and present and I was really rooting for them to repair their friendship. The friends-to-lovers romance was so sweet as it was clear to see just how much these characters cared for one another. I also really loved books about travel in 2021, probably as it wasn't really possible in real life, so the travelling aspect of this book was a lot of fun as they visited so many different places over the years and we got a small glimpse into all of those trips. I just love Emily Henry's writing and can't wait to read more from her.

3. Eleanor & Grey by Brittainy C Cherry

This was my first Brittainy C Cherry, despite having heard great things about her books for a while now, and I'm so glad I started with this one as it is my favourite of hers that I have read so far. In Eleanor & Grey we are following our main characters as they develop an unlikely friendship as teenagers and help each other through some very difficult times. The two are then forced apart and completely lose touch. In the second half of the book, they are brought back together as Eleanor becomes the nanny to Grey's children, but he is nothing like the boy she used to know as he grieves the loss of his wife. This book broke my heart! While they are both dealing with really difficult situations in the first half of the book, their developing friendship and then relationship is the sunshine in all of the sadness, both in their lives and for the reader. To see them brought back together and not be that sunshine again was just so sad. Grey is so broken and his children are really struggling to cope with their loss and it is heartbreaking. However, I loved seeing how things developed with Eleanor came into their lives and how she helped all of them. I still struggle to talk about this book without just gushing.

4. Destination Anywhere by Sara Barnard

This was another surprise, although it really shouldn't have been as Sara Barnard is one of my favourite authors. I didn't have high hopes, despite loving the author, as I haven't been loving YA anymore. While I think this is technically classed as YA, it didn't read like that at all. Destination Anywhere follows Peyton who has always really struggled to make friends and has dealt with a lot of horrible bullying over her time in school. After things with her new 'friends' take a turn for the worst, Peyton buys a one way ticket to Canada to run away from her life. This is the story of her travels around Canada as she makes friends along the way, while also telling the story of the developing friendship that pushed her to run away through flashbacks. As I said before, I really loved reading books involving travel in 2021 and I think that is a big part of why I loved this book so much. I loved experiencing Peyton's travels around Canada with her and it made me want to book a trip to the places she visited. The flashback chapters were really hard to read about as they detailed the horrific bullying Peyton had to endure. However, that made the fun travelling chapters even more enjoyable as they were usually a bit of light relief from the hard stuff. Sara Barnard can do no wrong for me.

5. From Lukov With Love by Mariana Zapata

I have been wanting to read this book for so long but never got around to it until 2021, and now I wish I had discovered it sooner. This is enemies to lovers and involves figure skating, I should have known I would love it. From Lukov With Love follows Jasmine who has spent most of her life training to compete in figure skating but after losing her doubles partner to another skater, her career has come to a standstill and her time to compete is running out. When her long time rival is in need of a new partner and reaches out to her to join him, she knows he is her only option, even if she despises him. If they want to compete in the upcoming season, the two need to put in some intense training sessions and after spending so much time together, they start to wonder if they really hate each other after all. This was the perfect enemies to lovers as it was such a slow burn and I loved every second of it. We really got to see these two go from absolutely despise each other, to being able to sort of tolerate each other, to maybe actually friends and then eventually, after waiting for it for so long, lovers. I adored these characters and their romance. I also really liked the insight into the figure skating world, as well as the interesting family dynamic in Jasmine's family. There was a lot to enjoy in this book and I loved it all. I will definitely be reading more Mariana Zapata soon.

6. Thirteen by Steve Cavanagh

Now for something completely different. This is a thriller that I was not expecting to love as much as I did. It is following a lawyer who becomes involved in a high profile case in which a famous actor is accused of murdering his girlfriend and head of security. However, the serial killer who committed the crime is on the jury. This is one of the most messed up thrillers I have ever read, as I typically stick to more domestic or psychological thrillers. It was full of twists and turns that kept me reading and had me desperate to know what was to come. It is so cleverly written and I was very impressed by my first experience of Steve Cavanagh's writing, especially as someone who doesn't typically read this kind of book.

7. The Only Plane In The Sky: An Oral History Of 9/11 by Garrett M Graff

Let me get this straight; I didn't enjoy any part of this book. It was, however, one of the most intense and powerful books I have ever read. The Only Plane In The Sky is an account of the events of September 11th 2001, told through interviews collected by the author. It is the most thorough account of that day that I have ever come across and features excerpts from interviews with everyone you possibly think of. Being only six years old at the time, I don't remember much of that day. Listening to this audiobook gave me a small idea of how terrifying the whole situation must have been for those all around the world watching these events unfold. It may not have been an enjoyable read, but it is definitely one that will stick with me for a long time.

8. Forever Wild by KA Tucker

I debated putting this one on the list as I had already included the first book in the series as my favourite book of the year, but this is one of my favourite things I read in 2021. This is a novella in the Simple Wild series and follows Calla and Jonah as they celebrate their first Christmas together. As a Christmas lover, this was completely perfect for me. I loved being with these characters again and it really felt like I was spending Christmas with them all. I obviously can't say too much without spoiling parts of the other books but this was everything I could have asked for and had me feeling every emotion.

9. Southern Storms by Brittainy C Cherry

Another Brittainy C Cherry book made it on to the list, are we even surprised? Southern Storms follows a woman who moves to a small town when fleeing an abusive marriage and finds herself drawn to the town's grumpy loner. Of course, as all her books seems to be, this was a heartbreakingly beautiful book with a romance I was really rooting for. Both Kennedy and Jax are very broken characters dealing with a lot of difficulty in their past and through finding each other they start to learn to let others in. Their romance was incredibly sweet, despite Jax's bad boy demeanour, and I loved watching their relationship develop. I really enjoyed the small town setting as well, especially the antics of some of the neighbours. This was a hard book to read but I really loved it.

10. Sounds Like Me: My Life (So Far) In Songs by Sara Bareilles

This is one that I read at exactly the time I needed to read it. It is a collection of essays about her life, her journey in discovering music and her career so far. They cover a whole array of topics including her childhood, her personal struggles and her songs. I related a lot to her personal struggles and found a lot of what she discusses struck a chord with me. I just love Sara Bareilles and her music so it was lovely to get to know her more through this book.

Those are my top ten favourite books of 2021! I read some really great books last year and some of these I know I will be thinking about for years to come. 

What was your favourite book of 2021?

Sophie :)

2021 End Of Year Book Survey

 This survey, created by Perpetual Page Turner, is one of my favourite things that I do every year. It's a great way of looking back at the year's reading and is just a lot of fun to do. It is a pretty lengthy survey though, so let's get into it.

Reading Stats

Number Of Books You Read: 80

Number Of Rereads: 0

Genre You Read The Most From: Romance

Best In Books

1. Best book you read in 2021?

The Simple Wild by KA Tucker. I wasn't expecting to love this as much as I did but I adored it. It is the one book that has stuck with me since I read it and I think about it all the time.

2. Book you were excited about and thought you were going to love more but didn't?

Take Me Home Tonight by Morgan Matson. I love Morgan Matson and after waiting so long since her previous release I was so excited about this one. However, it just really wasn't for me. I was so sad that I didn't love this like I wanted to.

3. Most surprising (in a good or bad way) book you read?

Thirteen by Steve Cavanagh. This is so completely different to what I normally read that I wasn't expecting to love it like I did. I was completely hooked the whole time I was reading and I'm now interested in reading more books like this.

4. Book that you "pushed" the most people to read (and they did)?

I don't really push people to read books I love because I'm worried they won't like them. I did get a couple of my friend to read The Duke And I by Julia Quinn after they loved the show.

5. Best series you started in 2021? Best sequel? Best series ender of 2021?

The obvious answer is The Simple Wild series but I also started and have been really enjoying the Bergman Brothers series by Chloe Liese. I love the Bergman family and all three of the books in the series that I have read have featured adorable romances.

6. Favourite new author you discovered in 2021?

I read so many amazing new-to-me authors in 2021 that I have a whole post planned talking about them. If I had to choose just one, I would probably have to say Brittainy C Cherry. I fell in love with her after reading Eleanor & Grey and then continued loving the other books I read from her.

7. Best book from a genre you don't typically read/was out of your comfort zone?

I have mentioned it already but definitely Thirteen by Steve Cavanagh. Definitely not my usual type of book but I loved it.

8. Most action-packed/thrilling/unputdownable book of 2021?

I can't say Thirteen again so I'll go with The Guest List by Lucy Foley. I definitely couldn't put this one down, I had to keep reading and find out how it all ended.

9. Book you read in 2021 that you would be most likely to re-read next year?

I think Forever Wild by KA Tucker will be something I re-read every Christmas season to get me into the festive mood. It's such a lovely, cosy festive novella that gives me the chance to spend Christmas with some of my favourite characters.

10. Favourite cover of a book you read in 2021?

Wild At Heart by KA Tucker. I love the covers of all the books in this series.

11. Most memorable character of 2021?

Penelope Featherington is my favourite character in the Bridgertons series (both book and TV series), I just love her.

12. Most beautifully written book of 2021?

Clap When You Land by Elizabeth Acevado. This is written in verse and is so beautifully written.

13. Most thought-provoking/life changing book of 2021?

The Only Plane In The Sky by Garrett M Graff. This was such a powerful and thought-provoking book detailing the events of 9/11.

14. Book you can't believe you waited until 2021 to finally read?

Don't Look Back by Jennifer L Armentrout. I have owned this book since 2014 but only just picked it up in 2021. I need to stop having books on my TBR for that length of time.

15. Favourite passage/quote from a book you read in 2021?

I still don't keep any notes of quotes that I enjoy, I need to start doing this.

16. Shortest and longest books you read in 2021?

Shortest: The Babysitter by Jack Harbon

Longest: The Only Plane In The Sky: An Oral History Of 9/11 by Garrett M Graff

17. Book that shocked you the most?

I'm going to have to say Thirteen by Steve Cavanagh again.

18. OTP of the year (you will go down with this ship!)

I'm obviously going to choose Calla and Jonah from The Simple Wild for this.

19. Favourite non-romantic relationship of the year?

Eleanor's relationship with Grey's children in Eleanor & Grey by Brittainy C Cherry. I loved seeing their relationship develop.

20. Favourite book you read in 2021 from an author you read previously?

I couldn't choose just one for this so it's between Destination Anywhere by Sara Barnard and People We Meet On Vacation by Emily Henry. Both authors I loved and really adored their newest releases.

21. Best book you read in 2021 that you read based solely on a recommendation?

Pretty much everything I read is based on recommendations from booktube and bookstagram so I can't really choose just one.

22. Newest fictional crush from a book you read in 2021?

Ivan Lukov from From Lukov With Love by Mariana Zapata. I loved him so much.

23. Best 2021 debut you read?

I think Shipped by Angie Hockman was the only 2021 debut I read.

24. Best worldbuilding/most vivid setting you read in 2021?

I promise I read other books in 2021 but I can't not say the Alaskan setting of The Simple Wild series. Particularly in Wild At Heart and Forever Wild, I felt like I was living in the town with them.

25. Book that put a smile on your face/was the most fun to read?

People We Meet On Vacation by Emily Henry. I had so much fun reading this book.

26. Book that made you cry or nearly cry in 2021?

A lot of book made me cry in 2021, but nothing made me sob quite like The Simple Wild by KA Tucker.

27. Hidden gem of the year?

Destination Anywhere by Sara Barnard. I haven't heard anyone talk about this book but I absolutely loved it.

28. Book that crushed your soul?

Eleanor & Grey by Brittainy C Cherry definitely had moments that crushed my soul.

29. Most unique book you read in 2021?

Rush by Kandi Steiner is pretty unique as it is written like a season of a TV show, which was a lot of fun.

30. Book that made you the most mad?

Nothing really made me that mad but I guess Lost Girls by Robert Kolker did a bit as I got really frustrated by the way this was written.

Looking Ahead

1. One book you didn't get to in 2021 but will be your number one priority in 2022?

A Promised Land by Barack Obama. I had planned to read this in 2021 and did start it but wasn't able to finish before my library hold expired. There's still a massive hold list for the audio at my library but I would like to get to this as soon as I can.

2. Book you are most anticipating in 2022 (non-debut)?

Book Lovers by Emily Henry. I have loved everything I have read by Emily Henry so I'm excited for her next release.

3. Series ending/sequel you are most anticipating in 2022?

Obviously it is going to be Running Wild by KA Tucker. I can't even tell you how excited I am to see these characters again.

4. One thing you hope to accomplish in your reading/blogging life in 2022?

I say this every year but I would really like to be able to get on top of blogging and have things planned and written in advance to make it more manageable. In term of reading, I would really like to discover more about what I love in certain genres, specifically what I love in romance.

I would say that pretty much covers my whole reading year. This is such a fun way to look back at my reading in 2021 and look ahead to 2022. 

What question in the survey do you find the most interesting?

Sophie :)

2021 Bookish Statistics

 One of my favourite things about the new year is getting to look back at the year before and examine my bookish statistics. I'm really not a statistics person normally but I love looking back at my reading this way. I find it so interesting to see how my reading has changed over the years. My reading has changed a lot in this past year in particular, so I'm interested to see how these statistics differ from last year.

Number Of Books Read...

- In Total: 80

- Under 250 Pages: 19

- Between 250-300 Pages: 6

- Between 300-400 Pages: 41

- Between 400-500 Pages: 13

- Over 500 Pages: 1

Number Of Pages Read...

- In Total: 23, 999

Number Of...

- Physical Books: 5

- eBooks: 25

- Audiobooks: 33

- Mixed (eg Physical & Audio): 17

- Rereads: 0

- DNFs: 6

- New Releases: 12

- Backlist Titles: 68

Number Of Books Rated...

- 5 Stars: 10

- 4.5 Stars: 1

- 4 Stars: 21

-3.5 Stars: 5

- 3 Stars: 33

- 2.5 Stars: 3

- 2 Stars: 6

- 1.5 Stars: 0

- 1 Star: 0

(1x Not Rated)

Authors Read...

- New To Me: 53

- Read Previously: 9

Number Of...

- Adult Books: 64

- YA Books: 8

- NA Books: 8

- MG Books: 0

- Romance: 50

- Historical Romance: 5

- Contemporary/Women's Fiction: 13

- Fantasy/Sci-Fi/Dystopian/Paranormal: 1

- Mystery/Thriller: 3

- Non-Fiction: 8

This & That

- Longest By Pages: The Only Plane In The Sky: An Oral History Of 9/11 by Garrett M Graff

- Shortest By Pages: The Babysitter by Jack Harbon

- Longest By Title: The Only Plane In The Sky: An Oral History Of 9/11 by Garrett M Graff

- Shortest By Title: Set by Alexandria House

- Longest On My TBR: A Groom With A View by Sophie Ranald

- Shortest On My TBR: Forever Wild by KA Tucker

- First Read Of 2021: The Flatshare by Beth O'Leary

- Last Read Of 2021: Christmas At Carly's Cupcakes by Jessica Redland

Some of these statistics are expected while others are a bit of a surprise. My page numbers are not dramatically different to previous years, my average page length was a little shorter at around 300 pages and I didn't read as many longer books. I really got into audiobooks in 2020 so it is no surprise to me that I read more than half of my 2021 books on audio, whether that be solely audio or along with a physical or ebook copy. My ratings were a bit of a surprise to me. I had more 5 star reads than previous years but I really didn't think I had read so many 3 star reads. My biggest change in 2021 is definitely the age demographic of the books I am reading. This was the first year I really didn't read much YA, having been an almost exclusively YA reader for so long. Being in my late twenties, it was probably about time this change happened. Unsurprisingly, I read predominantly romance in 2021. This was definitely expected but I didn't realise how little I had read outside of the romance genre. 

This definitely gives me something to think about ahead of making my 2022 goals.

What is your favourite statistic to look at when it gets to the end of the year?

Sophie :)

All The Books I Read In 2021

 Who would have thought that 2021 would have been just as odd a year as 2020. I got pretty ambitious at the beginning of the year and decided to increase my Goodreads goal for the year from 50 books to 100, and while that was a bit too ambitious for me as I ended up lowering it to 75, I did manage to read 80. I had a good reading year overall and one of my favourite things is looking back at everything I read over the year.

January

- The Flatshare by Beth O'Leary - ★★★★

- Only When It's Us by Chloe Liese - ★★★★ 

- The Duke And I by Julia Quinn - ★★★ 

- Holding Up The Universe by Jennifer Niven - ★★★ 

- One To Watch by Kate Stayman-London - ★★★ 

- Inevitable Conclusions by Christina C Jones - ★★★★ 

- Dream A Little Dream by Giovanna Fletcher - ★★★ 

- Sounds Like Me: My Life (So Far) In Song by Sara Bareilles - ★★★★★ 

- Dear Ava by Ilsa Madden-Mills - ★★★ 

February

- Clap When You Land by Elizabeth Acevado - ★★★★ 

- Higher Love by Alexandria House - ★★★ 

- Set by Alexandria House - ★★★ 

- Eleanor & Grey by Brittainy C Cherry - ★★★★★ 

- The Wedding Date by Jasmine Guillory - ★★ 

- Worship by Jack Harbon - ★★★★ 

- The Babysitter by Jack Harbon - ★★★ 

- Year Of Yes by Shonda Rhimes - ★★★★ 

March

- Southern Storms by Brittainy C Cherry - ★★★★★ 

- Time Between Us by Tamara Ireland Stone - ★★★ 

- Settling The Score by RS Grey - ★★ 

- Always Only You by Chloe Liese - ★★★★ 

- Don't Look Back by Jennifer L Armentrout - ★★★★ 

- What The Most Successful People Do Before Breakfast by Laura Vanderkam - ★★★ 

- The Viscount Who Loved Me by Julia Quinn - ★★★★ 

- Good Girl by Piper Lawson - ★★★ 

April

- The Simple Wild by KA Tucker - ★★★★★ 

- Fix Her Up by Tessa Bailey - ★★★ 

- The Reason I Jump: The Inner Voice Of A Thirteen-Year-Old Boy With Autism by Naoki Higashida

- An Offer From A Gentleman by Julia Quinn -★★★.5

- We Are Inevitable by Gayle Forman - ★★ 

- Destination Anywhere by Sara Barnard - ★★★★★ 

- The Wreckage Of Us by Brittainy C Cherry - ★★★★ 

- Twice In A Blue Moon by Christina Lauren - ★★★ 

May

- The Roommate by Rosie Danan - ★★★★ 

- People We Meet On Vacation by Emily Henry - ★★★★★ 

- Wild At Heart by KA Tucker - ★★★★ 

- Make It Sweet by Kristen Callihan - ★★★ 

- Forever Wild by KA Tucker - ★★★★★ 

- Take Me Home Tonight by Morgan Matson - ★★ 

- The Secret Note by Lauren Rowe - ★★ 

- Love Her Or Lose Her by Tessa Bailey - ★★★★ 

June

- Shipped by Angie Hockman - ★★★ 

- Romancing Mister Bridgerton by Julia Quinn - ★★★★ 

- Once Ghosted, Twice Shy by Alyssa Cole - ★★★ 

- The Locker Room by Meghan Quinn - ★★★ 

- Like You Love Me by Adrianna Locke - ★★★ 

July

- Ever After Always by Chloe Liese - ★★★★ 

- Dating In The Dark by Alexandra Bishop - ★★ 

- From Lukov With Love by Mariana Zapata - ★★★★★ 

- Hollywood Roommates by Elizabeth Briggs - ★★★ 

- Being Hospitable by Meka James - ★★★ 

- Birthday Girl by Penelope Douglas - ★★★★ 

- The Hating Game by Sally Thorne - ★★★.5

- The Last Summer Of The Garrett Girls by Jessica Spotswood - ★★★★ 

- To Sir Phillip, With Love by Julia Quinn - ★★★ 

August

- The Ex Talk by Rachel Lynn Solomon - ★★★ 

- Until Friday Night by Abbi Glines - ★★★ 

September

- Hate Notes by Vi Keeland & Penelope Ward - ★★★ 

- Lessons In Corruption by Giana Darling - ★★★.5

- Dark by Penelope Bloom - ★★.5 

October

- The Guest List by Lucy Foley - ★★★★ 

- Pucked by Helena Hunting - ★★★ 

- Final Girls by Riley Sager - ★★★ 

- Rush by Kandi Steiner - ★★★ 

- The Tourist Attraction by Sarah Morgenthaler - ★★★.5

- Thirteen by Steve Cavanagh - ★★★★★ 

- Thicker Than Water by Tyler Shultz - ★★★ 

November

- Lost Girls: An Unsolved American Mystery by Robert Kolker - ★★ 

- The Soulmate Equation by Christina Lauren - ★★★ 

- The Only Plane In The Sky: An Oral History Of 9/11 by Garrett M Graff - ★★★★★ 

- Fighting For Your Life by Lysa Walder - ★★★ 

- The Christmas Blanket by Kandi Steiner - ★★★★.5

- A Groom With A View by Sophie Ranald - ★★.5

December

- Falling For Christmas by Kate Hewitt - ★★★ 

- Underneath The Christmas Tree by Heidi Swain - ★★★.5

- Call Me Maybe by Cara Bastone - ★★★★

- Mince Pies And Mistletoe At The Christmas Market by Heidi Swain - ★★★★

- Sleigh Rides And Silver Bells At The Christmas Fair by Heidi Swain - ★★★★

- Snowflakes And Cinnamon Swirls At The Winter Wonderland by Heidi Swain - ★★★

- Christmas At Carly's Cupcakes by Jessica Redland - ★★★

There we have every single book I read in 2021. I read the most I have ever read in a year with 80 books in 2021, now I just have to top that this year. I will be sharing a lot more about my 2021 reading year over the coming days, including some statistics and my favourite books of the year. 

Did you read any of these books in 2021? What was your favourite?

Sophie :)

December 2021 Wrap Up

 And just like that, it's the end of 2021! December has been another crazy month to finish the year off with, as it always is. Despite having so much going on over the month, I still managed to read a total of 7 books in December. I read almost exclusively Christmas books, which was great, discovered a new author whose books I binged and, most importantly, really loved reading again. So let's chat about the final seven books I read in 2021.

Falling For Christmas by Kate Hewitt -

This is a Christmas novella about a woman who leaves a Christmas party after her ex brings his new girlfriend and ends up driving for miles with no destination in mind, when she ends up stranded and completely unprepared in a small town. She is rescued by the local carpenter and has no choice but to stay in his house with him over Christmas. This was a fun festive novella but really nothing particularly special. I enjoyed the small town setting and I like a snowed in together story, but the romance wasn't that well developed so I couldn't fall in love with it.

Rating: 3/5

Underneath The Christmas Tree by Heidi Swain - 

This is a cozy, festive read about a woman who returns to her late father's Christmas tree farm to spend one last Christmas before she sells her shares. This is not something I would typically pick up. It is much more women's fiction than romance, although does feature a romance, but turned out to be exactly what I wanted. The Christmas tree farm is the perfect setting for festive fun and I loved being immersed in this little community. It was lovely to get to know all of these characters as our main character does and just fall in love with the place along with her. The romance was a dull, which did affect my rating, but it wasn't the main aspect of the book. Overall, this was a lovely Christmas read and just what I needed at the time.

Rating: 3.5/5

Call Me Maybe by Cara Bastone -

Now that I have an Audible membership again, I have been wanting to try out the many Audible Originals. I had heard great things about this one so decided to pick it up. It follows a woman who sparks up a friendship with the customer service representative she ends up on the phone to for hours while trying to get her business website fixed. It seems like such an odd concept but I thought it worked so well. Vera and Cal end up getting to know each other through this phone call and the connection they have is so clear, even without them ever having me. It was such an adorable romance, with two really great characters that were such fun to follow. There is a bit of a twist at the end that I managed to work out pretty early on but it was still a lot of fun to read about. This was written for audio so the audiobook was a full production with sound effects and everything. It was the most fun and immersive audiobook that made for a great reading experience. I can't wait to listen to more like this.

Rating: 4/5

Mince Pies And Mistletoe At The Christmas Market by Heidi Swain -

I have gone down a Heidi Swain Christmas rabbit hole. I want to read every Christmas book she has written because they give me all of the cozy festive vibes. This one follows a woman who drops out of university and returns to her home town to run a market stall for her friends cafe over Christmas, but things get complicated when she discovers she is working next door to her ex-boyfriend. This one was just as festive as my first Heidi Swain as the stallholders all come together to make this the best Christmas ever and save their struggling small town market. It was just so sweet and I loved it. Again, this is more women's fiction but does involve a romance. The romance takes a definite backseat and while it was quite sweet, I wasn't all that bothered about it. What I really loved was getting to known all of the characters in this small town and experiencing the magic of Christmas alongside them. It seems that this is all I want this festive season.

Rating: 4/5

Sleigh Rides And Silver Bells At The Christmas Fair by Heidi Swain - 

Yet another Heidi Swain Christmas book! This is in the same series as the previous book and follows Anna who takes a job at Wynthorpe Hall in an attempt to avoid Christmas. However, when the Christmas plans at the hall change, Anna finds herself thrust into the festivities she has tried so hard to avoid for many years. This is a really adorable found family story featuring a great cast of characters who all bring so much to the story. Anna has had a really tough past and the characters in this sweet little town all help her to move on from that and look to the future. There is also some change and uncertainty at Wynthorpe Hall involving the owner's youngest son, Jamie, who has an instant connection with Anna. This was another fun and heartwarming Christmas story from Heidi Swain, with an adorable romance and lots of festive spirit. It was another perfect read to get me in the Christmas mood.

Rating: 4/5

Snowflakes And Cinnamon Swirls At The Winter Wonderland by Heidi Swain - 

When I say I fell down a Heidi Swain rabbit hole, I mean I really fell down a Heidi Swain rabbit hole. This was my fourth and final Heidi Swain Christmas book of the month and it takes us back to Wynthorpe Hall for more festive fun. This follows Hayley, the Wynthorpe Hall housekeeper who we met in the previous book, after her engagement has ended dramatically and she has moved into the Hall with others. Also moving to the Hall for this Christmas season is Gabe, a friend of Jamie who has come to work in the grounds and has baggage of his own. This has all of the heart, mayhem and festive fun I have come to expect from these books and it was great to spend another Christmas season in Wynthorpe Hall with the characters we met in the previous book. I didn't love this one quite as much as the others I have read this month, which I think is a lot to do with the romance. Hayley has just ended her engagement when she meets and feels a connection to Gabe, which is fine and I would have enjoyed a nice slow burn romance between them. What we actually got was a lot of angst followed by everything moving very fast. I also felt as though Gabe's past wasn't explored as much as it could be. I enjoyed the festive activities and the side characters just as much as I knew I would, but the rest fell a bit flat for me.

Rating: 3/5

Christmas At Carly's Cupcakes by Jessica Redland - 

I moved on from Heidi Swain to something with similar vibes. This is another women's fiction-y Christmas book with a bit of a romance thrown in. This follows Carly who own a small town bakery and has given a job to her struggling younger sister, despite her lack of skills in the baking department. She is also discovering her long held feelings for her childhood best friend who is coming home on leave from the Army over Christmas. This was a little all over the place for me and didn't quite hit the mark. I liked the small town bakery setting and loved seeing how all of the business owners worked together and became good friends. I liked the family aspect and how Carly was trying to help out her sister. I also liked the idea of the childhood friends to lovers romance. However, all of these aspects of the story felt half done and could have all been executed better. I constantly felt while reading that Carly's sisters storyline would have been better told from Bethany's point of view as it felt like the main focus of the story and took away from Carly's own storyline. The romance was really poorly executed, in my opinion, as Liam, the love interest, didn't appear until the last quarter of the book meaning we had such little time to see the couple together that is was difficult to be invested in them. It also meant that everything moved very quickly and felt rushed. This could have been great but ended up being pretty average.

Rating: 3/5

Those are the very last 7 books I read in 2021. I would say a load of Christmas books and a Heidi Swain marathon was a pretty good way to end my reading year. As I said, I have really fallen back in love with reading in December, which I am hoping will continue into the new year. I have also been getting back into blogging and I'm ready to jump back into things with the end of year content in January!

What was the best book you read in December?

Sophie :)

Five Christmas Reads At The Top Of My TBR

 I am all about the Christmas romance in the month of December and my list of Christmas books I want to read is pretty extensive. I thought I would share the five that I really hope to get to before the end of the month, mainly to help me not forget about them among the mountain of other books on my TBR. 

1. The Boss Who Stole Christmas by Jana Aston - This was on my list last year but I never got to it. This is the first in a series of Christmas novellas and features an employee-boss workplace romance.

2. Mistletoe And Mr Right by Sarah Morgenthaler - This is the second book in the Moose Springs, Alaska series that I started a couple of months ago. This follows the best friend of the heroine from book one and has the typical Christmas movie/book storyline of the rich person buying the small town.

3. The Fake Santa Apology Tour by Julie Olivia - A heroine who only dates fake Santas ends up snowed in with her grinchy santa-lookalike enemy in a small town. This sounds like a lot of fun.

4. A Cross-Country Christmas by Courtney Walsh - A Christmas road trip with her brother's best friend, who she also happens to have had a crush on for years, this definitely sounds like my kind of thing.

5. Kiss The Girl by Melanie Jacobson - This is a small-town, fake dating romance following our heroine who has returned to her hometown temporarily and has vowed never to fall for a small-town guy.

Those are five of the Christmas romances on my TBR this year that I am most interested in at the moment. I am really excited for all of these and I'm hoping I can get to at least a few of these before the end of the month.

What is your favourite Christmas book?

Sophie :)

November 2021 Wrap Up

 Well, 2021 is almost over! I know I say this every month but it really is crazy how fast this year is flying in. November was another busy month that caused me to put blogging to the bottom of my priority list. Despite being on holiday from work for some of the month, thing in my personal life took a challenging turn and my priorities had to change a lot. This is likely to be the case for the foreseeable future, however I am hoping to get more organised with blogging and bookstagram in the New Year which should help.

Back to November though, I read a total of 5 books, three of which were non-fiction for Nonfiction November. They covered pretty much the whole rating scale, one being a stand out favourite that will most likely make my favourites of the year list.

Lost Girls: An Unsolved American Mystery by Robert Kolker -

This was my first read for nonfiction November, a true crime novel detailing the case of the online escorts who became victims of the long island serial killer. This is a case I had never heard anything about so thought it would be a good first true crime nonfiction read as I would be super interested in learning about something totally new. Unfortunately, I really didn't enjoy this book. It focused much more on the lives of the girls than the mystery itself, which is an interesting idea and makes a point of humanising people who may have been seen as simply victims previously. However, I don't feel it was done particularly well. The way it was written is incredibly jarring and confusing as the reader is introduced to so many different people in a very short period of time, all of whom have quite similar stories, and then continuously flips between each girl's story. I found it very hard to keep track of who was who. This book also focuses so much on the issues in these girls' lives and the family drama. I found this really took away from the fact this was a real crime that is still yet to be solved and made it into some kind of soap opera. Overall, this was a disappointing read and after reading a 400+ page book about this mystery I still don't know anything about it.

Rating: 2/5

The Soulmate Equation by Christina Lauren -

After discovering Christina Lauren last year and really enjoying a lot of their work, this was one of my most anticipated releases of the year. It follows a single mother who, on a total whim, signs up to a new app that promises to find your soulmate based on DNA. When her results come back as an unprecedented 98% match with the app's founder, the pair agree to fake date in order to gain publicity for the app ahead of it's official launch. I really like the premise of this as it sounds like a much more light-hearted and romantic version of The One by John Marrs, which I read and enjoyed but definitely had a different vibe. I also love a fake dating trope, especially when it is also enemies to lovers as this is, and I typically like single parent romance. This really should have ticked all my boxes, but ended up being a bit of a disappointment. I was bored for a lot of it and considered DNFing as it has such a slow start. I struggled to find the desire to keep reading but found my enjoyment of the relationship developing helped me get through it. While there were aspects I enjoyed, such as the relationship and our heroine's daughter, they just weren't enough for me to love it. I expected more from this author duo but this one just wasn't for me.

Rating: 3/5

The Only Plane In The Sky: An Oral History of 9/11 by Garrett M Graff -

This was my absolute stand out of the month. Another nonfiction November read, this is an account of all of the events of September 11th told by the people who experienced it first hand. This is probably the most comprehensive account of that day, and the days following, that you could ask for. It has accounts from those inside the Towers at the time of the attacks and family members of those who died both in the Towers and on planes, those inside the Pentagon and family member of those who lost their lives in that attack, family members of the passengers on Flight 93, air traffic controllers and those working in the airports, first responders involved in all three attacks, government officials and those who worked with them, and so many more that I can't list without being here forever. It was incredibly informative but also emotive and intense. It was such a powerful read and as someone who is too young to remember that day in anymore than very faint memories, it gave an idea of just how horrific that day was for those all over the world. 

Rating: 5/5

Fighting For Your Life by Lysa Walder -

My third and final nonfiction read of the month was, of course, some form of medical memoir. This is a memoir of a London paramedic, in which Lysa Walder shares just some of the most memorable jobs she has had within her role. I have read a lot of books like this so I am pretty critical but I didn't particularly enjoy this book. This was very much an account of the most shocking calls the author has been to and seemed to be much more about the shock factor than human emotion. I started to wonder at one point if any of the stories were going to involve the patient actually living in the end. While this may be more exciting to read about for some, as someone with experience in this area this definitely gives a very inaccurate view of the job. Though much of the role of a paramedic does involve really shocking calls with life threatening emergencies, so much of the job is about being caring and compassionate individuals, which was not something that came across at all in this book. In fact, some of the language used made the author seem not very caring or compassionate at all at points. Overall, this did have it's interesting parts but did not showcase the role of a paramedic well in my opinion.

Rating: 3/5

The Christmas Blanket by Kandi Steiner -

I was planning to save my Christmas reads until December but I just couldn't wait that long. This is a short novella following a woman who gets stuck in a blizzard on her way home for the first time in four years to see her family for Christmas. However, when she is rescued by her ex-husband things get awkward as the two are stuck in his cabin together through the storm. I absolutely loved this novella. It was such a sweet second-chance romance, with the chemistry between the main characters being apparent from the beginning. It was a very cozy, festive read and my only complaint is that I wish it had been longer. I could have read a full length novel of these characters. 

Rating: 4.5/5

A Groom With A View by Sophie Ranald - 

My last read of the month was one that I have owned in my ebook library for far too many years but never got around to picking up. It follow a woman who has been in a long term relationship for years with no plans to get married until one drunken night the pair end up engaged. While she has very little interest in the wedding plans, her husband-to-be becomes wrapped up in planning the perfect, extravagant wedding, with the help of his mother, who does not think she is good enough for his son. I knew nothing about this going into it so didn't realise that this is really not my kind of book. It's definitely more Women's Fiction than romance, which isn't usually my thing, and I hate the meddling mother-in-law that makes the life of her son's significant other absolute hell. Despite not being my kind of book, this was fine and I enjoyed it enough, until something happened at the end that I wasn't a fan of. I probably should have DNFed this when I realised it wasn't my cup of tea.

Rating: 2.5/5

Those are all of the books I read in November. A bit of a mixed bag, both in terms of genre and enjoyment, but a couple of really great reads in there. I am so excited to get to all of the Christmas romance in December, so definitely leave me some good recommendations.

What was the best book you read in November?

Sophie :)