Book Lists
My reading goal for 2021 was 52 books. I figured that no matter how busy my life got, I could at least manage one book a week. But then one of my co-workers and I got into a little bit of a competition with each other and I ended up reading 135 books instead. And, as always, I’m here to tell you which ones I liked the most.
1. These Violent Delights by Chloe Gong I hate Romeo and Juliet, but for some reason, I tend to love retellings of it. In this version, set in Shanghai in the 1920s, Juliette is the heir to a ruthless Chinese gang and Roma is fighting to one day take charge of a rival group of Russian gangsters. But their blood feud has to take a backseat to the sudden wave of “madness” taking over the city and causing people to tear out their own throats. This book was bloody and suspenseful and romantic and I highly recommend reading it and then immediately grabbing the sequel, Our Violent Ends. 2. The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune A friend of mine recommended this book and it happened to be on Hoopla, so I decided to give it a listen. I ended up listening to the entire book in one day, only pausing it when absolutely necessary. It is one of the funniest, most heartwarming, wonderfully characterized books I’ve read in years and it will likely remain one of my favorites for years to come. 3. Firekeeper’s Daughter by Angeline Boulley This was one of the first books I read in 2021, and I wasn’t sure anything would knock it from the #1 spot. I assumed it was just going to be your usual coming-of-age story about a girl trying to figure out what to do with her life after high school. But when her best friend is murdered in front of her (Not a spoiler! It happens almost immediately!) everything she’s ever known is torn apart and she’s forced to take part in a dangerous investigation. I know this was Angeline Boulley’s debut novel, but you can tell she’s been writing for a while, because this book was so amazingly well-written. 4. Ace of Spades by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé One of the book podcasters I follow described this book as Get Out meets Gossip Girl. Now, I haven’t watched either of those, but I know enough about them to understand the comparison. This book has everything you could want in a thriller about rich kids at an exclusive private school and I was absolutely here for it. 5. The Serpent King by Jeff Zentner This was the last book I read in 2021. I picked it up because Jeff Zentner is supposed to be the 2022 keynote speaker at a conference I attend every year, so I figured I should familiarize myself with some of his work. I almost always go into books without knowing anything about them, and based on the title, I assumed The Serpent King was going to be a fantasy novel. It absolutely is not. Nevertheless, I was invested in the three main characters from the beginning and I think it’s safe to say Zentner is one of the best character writers I’ve read in a long time. Also, if you read this one, I recommend keeping some tissues on hand, because I ugly-cried for about the second half of the book. 6. At Any Cost: A Father’s Betrayal, a Wife’s Murder, and a Ten-Year War for Justice by Rebecca Rosenberg This book pissed me off more than anything else I read this year. The writing was great, but the subject matter was infuriating. It tells the true story of Rod Covlin, who murdered his wife and then spent the next decade manipulating his children (and everyone else around him) to keep himself out of jail. As a true crime junkie, this book was right up my alley, but be warned: some of the things Covlin does, and convinces others to do, are absolutely disgusting. 7. Broken (in the best possible way) by Jenny Lawson I will read anything Jenny Lawson writes, and I will love every single word. I pre-ordered this book the second it was available, and read the whole book the day it arrived. 8. Dividing Eden by Joelle Charbonneau I grabbed this one because I liked Joelle Charbonneau’s Testing trilogy. This book is nothing like those books, but in my opinion, it’s better. It tells the story of twins who are forced to fight each other to inherit a throne neither of them wants. But they both have dark secrets that only the other can use against them. I definitely liked one twin more than the other, but I still found myself constantly flipping between which one I was rooting for throughout the story. 9. Ordinary Grace by William Kent Krueger This one was recommended by one of my aunts, and I was surprised by how much I loved it. It started out as just a regular small-town family drama and then became so much more. It’s impossible to know which characters to trust and who to feel sorry for. All of the characters were so well-written and I sobbed through several chapters. 10. Wolf Hollow by Lauren Wolk This is one of the best middle-grade novels I’ve ever read. I even ended up feeling sorry for the antagonist by the end, because Lauren Wolk makes her characters so believable that you can’t help but want the best for every single one of them. Y’all know how much I hate writing blurbs, so the rest of these I’m just going to list. 11. The Girl Who Drank the Moon by Kelly Barnhill 12. Clap When You Land by Elizabeth Acevedo 13. Gather the Daughters by Jennie Melamed 14. The Survivors by Jane Harper 15. Girl, 11 by Amy Suiter Clarke 16. The Invention of Wings by Sue Monk Kidd 17. Unbecoming by Jenny Downham 18. A Blade So Black by L.L McKinney 19. The Maidens by Alex Michaelides 20. The Devil Crept In by Ania Ahlborn 21. Dear Martin by Nic Stone 22. These is My Words by Nancy E. Turner 23. Her Name Was Rose by Claire Allan 24. ‘Til the Well Runs Dry by Lauren Francis-Sharma 25. 22 Britannia Road by Amanda Hodgkinson I hope you enjoyed my list of my favorite books I read in 2021. Let me know if you have any recommendations for next year’s reading, and here’s to hoping 2022 is better all around.
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Jacinta M. CarterProfessional Book Nerd Archives
December 2018
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