My Most Anticipated Reads of 2021

22 Jan 2021

Folks, these are the best of the best books coming out in the next year, from a group of authors that all make me go immediately heart-eyes. Some of them I’ve already read because I was lucky enough to get my grabby hands on them in ARC form, and for some I’m tapping my fingers impatiently on my pre-order receipt. I’m truly amazed at the creativity of all the books coming out this year, and the warmth and heart in the characters that spills over even from the book descriptions. We’ve got romance novels, fantasy, YA and thriller: something for everyone!

I linked each title so you can pre-order them from my local indie bookstore if you like (they can ship right to you!) but feel free to check them out at the retailer of your choice, too.

Cool Characters

WRECKLESS by Katie Golding (May 25) – Normally, I say I devoured a book, but I felt like this book devoured ME. There were scenes in this that left me literally breathless, and the intensity! I wish all romance novels could capture this level of passion and emotion. Both main characters are adrenaline-junkie motorcycle racers, but it doesn’t matter if you know about anything motorcycle related–watching them race against each other is just crazy fun. I adored Massimo for his utter devotion to the woman he loved, and the way he helped her refind her inner badass after a motorcycle crash gave her a crisis of confidence. This is one of those couples you simply never forget. My full review is HERE.

THE INTIMACY EXPERIMENT by Rosie Danan (April 6) – An ex porn star teams up with hot rabbi to teach a seminar on Modern Intimacy. This is one of those premises that’s so crazy it just might work. Danan’s first, The Roommate, had a male porn star who was so endearing I wanted him to be my best friend and also maybe sort of shag my brains out. And his heroine compulsively laminated her to-do lists. These are the kind of characters I’m here for, folks, and the sex positivity ain’t hurting a thing.

FLASH FIRE and yes also UNDER THE WHISPERING DOOR by TJ Klune (July 13 & Sept 21) – The staff at my local bookstore handed me Klune’s The House in the Cerulean Sea and said, “Every bookseller here agrees that every word of this is basically perfect.” I read it. Every word of it was basically perfect. (It’s Office Space meets Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children meets Monsters Inc. and if that sounds crazy it’s just because you don’t realize how flawlessly that combination can be executed). Ever since that, I’ve been inhaling TJ Klune’s backlist as fast as I can cram them into my Kindle. His characters are so BIG and endearing as holy hell and even his most suspenseful worlds somehow feel safe because there’s so much hope and kindness in every breath of them. I am convinced that TJ Klune is the antidote to the soul-poison that was 2020, and I’m so grateful he has written so many books.

Laugh Out Loud Funny

THE WISTERIA SOCIETY OF LADY SCOUNDRELS by India Holton (June 15) – I fangirled so hard over the premise in this book deal announcement that like a year later, the publisher sent me an ARC. It’s prim and proper English ladies who also happen to be pirates captaining their flying houses to rob a bank or blow up a manor or three, in between tea and cakes. The execution turned out to be even better than the hype, and it’s laugh out loud funny all the way through, never breaking the eyelash batting nonchalance of its tone, whether it’s discussing skirt lengths or the best way to defenestrate an assassin. This matriarchal pirate society is also a very sly satire on the patriarchy. It’s a little longer on the laughs than the romance, but I was really in need of a laugh when I read it, and I bet most of you are, too. It’s the perfect escapist romp for when adulting is just too much. My full review is HERE.

MEET YOU IN THE MIDDLE by Devon Daniels (Feb 2) – This is a romantic comedy featuring two political staffers from opposite sides of the aisle. Despite their rough start, Ben turns out to be a perfect gentleman and even a better friend and coworker. I was absolutely in stitches at their inter-office prank war! It’s written with such teasing honesty, too, that people from every party will find something to laugh about in themselves. I think this is the absolute perfect time for a novel like this, when our new president is calling on our nation to come back together and find common ground. But despite the premise, you should note this book is a whole lot more focused on the com and the rom than the politics. It’s a grin-inducing read that had me laughing and awwing all the way through. A perfect heart-healing book for this very special moment in history. My full review is HERE.

Cool Settings

THE KNOCKOUT RULE by Kelly Siskind (Feb 24) – One of the hardest things in writing romance is keeping it fresh when there are a million love stories in the world. Siskind is the master of this, always choosing fascinating settings or occupations to showcase her (always quirky and likeable) characters. This one is about a sweet boxer, which is the sexiest of professions in my book.

ROSALINE PALMER TAKES THE CAKE by Alexis Hall (May 18) – Okay, apparently I have a thing for adorably British gay love stories (see also: TJ Klune) and Alexis Hall writes grumpy/sunshine and irresistibly endearing with the best of them. His new book has a British bake-off tv show where a baker falls for a shy electrician and what was the rest of the description again? I was busy whipping out my credit card to pre-order.

THE EX TALK by Rachel Lynn Solomon (Jan 26) – My entire Twitter feed is in deep and abiding love with this author, but she’s a new one to me. However, an NPR romance novel between rival radio show co-hosts is always a slam dunk for me!

LOVE AT FIRST by Kate Clayborn (Feb 23) – I liked Clayborn’s first series for its depth of characterization, but what turned me into a pre-order level of fangirl was the layered metaphors about hand-lettered fonts in her standalone, LOVE LETTERING. This balcony-to-balcony love story is perfectly timed for many of the quarantine love stories coming out of NYC this past year.

SECOND FIRST IMPRESSIONS by Sally Thorne (April 13) – Thorne’s first book, The Hating Game, was an instant top favorite to me because of the irresistible sexual tension. I’d have a pre-ordered her next book even if it were about the best shape of square to make a cardboard box, but I was happy to find that this book promised the most bizarre, delightful setup. It’s about a woman who runs a retirement home (and protects endangered tortoises!). It’s also one of those books about assistants being terrorized by demanding bosses–except the love interest in question is the assistant to two 4ft tall elderly retirement home residents who keep him RUNNING, while he charms off their socks (and the socks of their retirement community manager). I can’t say as that’s a setup I’ve read in a romance before! It sounds funny and weird and I so can’t wait.

Page-Turners

THE DARKEST FLOWER by Kristin Wright (June 1) – This is Big Little Lies meets John Grisham, only with a lady lawyer. None of which is my usual genre or preference, but I ended up glued to the pages of this domestic thriller/mystery, dying to know who had poisoned the smoothie at the PTA meeting. Also, the romantic subplot in this was smokin’ and I easily could have devoured another 100 pages of those two. This page-turner should be an insta-buy for fans of Liane Moriarty. My full review is HERE.

THE HOLLOW HEART by Marie Rutkowski (Sept 14) – The first book in this duet, The Midnight Lie, had me texting friends OH MY GOD THE PROSE! THE METAPHORS!!!! after only three pages. Then the ending had me SCREAMING. Before seeing it done, I wouldn’t have believed you could completely wrap up an ending, have it end perfectly for logic, theme, and metaphor, and still set up such a steep I-NEED-IT-NOW cliffhanger setup for book two. Bravo, Rutkowski.