The Books I Loved in 2021 (So far)

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Books are magic. October is magic. What better time to start blogging about books than in the magical month of October?

As I shift into blogging about mental health and my personal journey, I’ll be sprinkling in habits, hobbies and coping mechanisms that I’ve tried along the way. One of my favorite pastimes these days is reading. Actually, from the time I could read, reading was my favorite hobby. I’ve always been a strong reader and always loved escaping in a great book. My 20’s were lacking in time I spent in the pages of a book, and my 20’s were also my downward spiral into hot mess express-ville. More on that another day.

When I was struggling to quit drinking, there was a book I really wanted to read, but at the time, I didn’t care for the idea of buying books. I still had a lot of my books from when I read frequently, and at that point, I had no desire to crack them back open or buy more and have to store them. So, anyway, I didn’t want to buy this book. I ended up begging my dad to buy me a kindle so I could read this book without actually having another book to stack around my house afterwards.

My wonderful dad bought me a kindle, which came with a 3 month trial of KindleUnlimited, and the rest is history. Get your own free trial of KindleUnlimited by clicking Kindle Unlimited Membership Plans. KindleUnlimited is worth its weight in gold. It’s cheaper than the cost of most books (ONE BOOK) and it is FULL of amazing reads, some of which we’ll be getting to in a moment. Once I got my hands on that kindle, between KindleUnlimited and being on a fresh sobriety journey, I reKINDLED (LOL) my love for reading and I couldn’t be more thrilled to be reunited with one of my first loves. Books

I wrote a short blog post about my kindle and KindleUnlimited last year, so instead of continuing my love fest here for you, you can read about it HERE.

Annnnnyyyyyyway. It’s good for my overactive brain to get lost in other worlds. I love a book that grips me so hard, when I look up I have to blink myself back to the real world. I love an author who keeps me guessing until the bitter end, but I also like to stroke my ego a little when I can figure out what’s going to happen in a psychological thriller. (The girl in cabin 13…..I did NOT see that ending coming)

I’ll be recapping my monthly reads at the end of every month. Sprinkling in some bookish things throughout the month, I’m sure. But for today’s post, I’m going to recap my favorite reads of 2021 so far. One last fun fact, though, is I now buy real books again. I was a fool to think I’d never be laying in bed, sniffing the sweet scent of literature and crying onto real pages. Though 85% of my reading is still done on my kindle app on my phone.

These are my favorite books I read this year. Not ALL of them. That’s why they’re all 4+ stars. When we merge into monthly recaps, you’ll see I’m not always this generous and reading books I’m thrilled with.

The Butterfly Garden (The Collector, 1)The Collector’s Series by Dot Hutchison

Read on KindleUnlimited

This was the first book/series I read in 2021. This series gets a lot of hate in the reviews, but I really think this was a must-read series. Is it messed up? YES. Are you scared of the authors brain after you read it? YES! But, it is a wild ride, kept me guessing and wanting to know what was going to happen.

The series itself is very sandalone-esque from book to book, but every book ties into each other beautifully. One thing I love when an author is able to do in a series, is to flow their story from one book to the next without blunder, and she does that, while also telling insane stories. I’ll be reading this series again.

The Girl in Cabin 13 by A.J. Rivers

Read on KindleUnlimited

The ending of this book…….WOW. I am a firm believer of no spoilers, so that’s all I’m going to say. Spoilers truly infuriate me so I will forever do my best not to ever be that girl.

This was a good book, a crazy ending, but I wont be rereading. I would recommend it, though, if you like thrillers.

The Sugarlake series by Emily McIntire

Read on KindleUnlimited

OKAAAAAAAY…..I forgot how much I loved spicy romance books until I stumbled upon Emily McIntire talking about her book on Instagram reels. Her series is available on KindleUnlimited and it is GOOD. Very spicy, so if that is not your thing, skip it. But the story is so good, and well blended from one book to the next. Actually, I am SO impressed by her ability to continue the story throughout this series. It is so well written, in that sense, and I really enjoyed these characters.

Verity by Colleen Hoover

Not available on KindleUnlimited

AMAZING. This book was such a page turner, I’d recommend this to everyone to give it a try. This was my first Colleen Hoover book I ever read, and from what I understand, this isn’t her typical style, but she NAILED this one. It was unlike anything I had read at that time yet. So good.

It Ends with Us by Colleen Hoover

Not available on KindleUnlimited

This book is a must read. I do personally think it could possibly offend or trigger someone who is/was a victim of severe gaslighting and abuse, BUT I think it is a really great message to the masses on the subject.

The story itself is really amazing. The writing is great and overall I would definitely recommend.

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid

Not available on KindleUnlimited

A MUST READ! The writing is mesmerizing. I wasn’t sure what to expect when I picked this book. I was only interested because I kept seeing it on Instagram. That being said, THERE IS A REASON this book is all over social media. It is SO GOOD. The plot twist….whoa. I didn’t expect to be so surprised.

Stillhouse Lake by Rachel Caine

Available on KindleUnlimited

A really amazing thriller. I devoured these two books in record time and neither disappointed. There are two more books in this series, which I have no read due to a couple reviews I saw saying it really deviates from the original story, but I have a friend who read all 4 and she said they are so good. I may go back and read the last two. Definitely add the first two to your TBR pile at least.

The Stillwater Girls by Minka Kent

Available on KindleUnlimited

A must read. This book stressed me out. I had no clue what was going on and then the ending was just….wow. This book is very emotional and also touches on maternal mental health, so that could be very triggering for some. Be aware if that is a trigger of yours.

All Rhodes Lead Here by Mariana Zapata

Available on KindleUnlimited

A GRUMPY CINNAMON ROLL. A GRUMPY CINNAMON ROOOLLLLLLLLLLLL! *Swoon* Actually, let me just add, a salt and peppered, grumpy cinnamon roll. *SIIIIGGGGHHHH*

This book is so fluffy and soooooo so sweet and good. I could ramble for pages over how sweet I found this book to be. The character development, the story, the characters, the setting, I loved it all. If you’re a fan of breezy, mildly spicy, reads then this is for you.

The Spanish Love Deception by Elena Armas

Available on KindleUnlimited

Pure fluff, pure sweetness, pure spice. It is so good, so breezy. A great read for anyone who enjoys a good ROM-COM or it’s also a great palate cleanser if you’ve been reading too much suspense or maybe more dramatic romance (LOL it’s coming…don’t worry)

The Perfect Marriage by Jeneva Rose

Available on KindleUnlimited

This is another heavily talked about book on social media, as well as two of my friends RAVING over it. They absolutely loved it. My expectations might have been too high from all of the praise, because I was left feeling a little let down, BUT also, it is a really great book. A real WTF moment at the end. Overall it’s a really great, easy read.

The Royals Next Door by Karina Halle

Not available on KindleUnlimited

What can I say? I’m a fluffy romance reader. I love it! This book is truly wonderful and I cannot wait to read the next instalment. The book is obviously modeled after Prince Harry and his wife, Megan Markle. It is so sweet, with a hunky body guard and a light, easy-flowing, storyline.

They Both Die at The End by Adam Silvera

Not available on KindleUnlimited

I can’t even explain how I feel about this book, besides I think it’s a must read. It’s so different from anything I’ve ever read, and with trying not to give anything away, I guess I’ll just leave it at that. The characters are devine, the story is emotional. It’s a great book.

Then She was Gone by Lisa Jewell

Not available on KindleUnlimited

This book gutted me. The end had me in tears, gave me chills, just ripped my heart out. This left me wondering how the author came up with such a chilling story and, honestly, I’m still disturbed by this book. That being said, I think the author is brilliant, in a terrifying way, and I went on to read another one of her books. (Next)

The Night She Disappeared by Lisa Jewell

Not available on KindleUnlimited

This authors brain is scary. How does she come up with these stories? She is magnificent in the same sense, though. Read this book and read this book STAT. It kept me 100% guessing till the very end. A great thriller and a thorough story with no holes. My favorite.

Zodiac Academy Series by Caroline Peckham and Susanne Valenti

Available on KindleUnlimited

THE GRAND FINALE. This series IS EVERYYYYYYYTHING! EVERYTHING. I started this book, and thought to myself, no one would ever be obsessed with this AND I AM EATING MY WORDS.

I have laughed, cried, screamed, and have fallen in love with characters and a world that is only beautifully captured in-between the pages of Zodiac Academy.

The sisters who wrote these books also have a beautiful, RAGING, fandom on Facebook. When I finished book 4, I was so torn to pieces, I went SCREAMING into the Facebook groups as fast as I could. I almost messaged the authors on Instagram to tell them that they ruined my life. I found this series in August and am already rereading. Guys….I barely ever reread, let alone turn around and start a book immediately after finishing it. I AM OBSESSED. I’ve dreamed about it, I listen to the author made spotify lists daily, I only frequent Facebook to browse their groups. I have a fictional boyfriend, who can turn into a mythical creature, which I won’t say what because it’s mildly spoiler-ish.

The story, the character development, the emotions, the love, the hate, the bullying, the CLIFFHANGERS!! It’s all so good. PLEASE, if you read it, come back here and tell me how you feel. And make sure you run as fast as you can to the Facebook groups for moral support.

These books get VERY spicy…..VERY, VERY SPICY. Do not read if you’re not into reading scenes so intense your mouth dries out.