130. I read 130 books this year. I have no idea how this compares to previous years because I only recently started using Goodreads to keep track (as opposed to just as a book shopping list). So for now I’ll just say, “look at me go!”

But seriously, if you are interested, you can see my whole 2021 list HERE.

Overall, my 2021 bookshelf had romance on the brain. All types. Every flavor. Teen, Adult, Holiday, Gay, Straight, Sweet-and-PG, Smutty Housewife porn, and just downright DIRTY. More than a few people died. A lot, a lot of people took road trips. I fell in love with quite a few authors and even more characters. I saw myself in places I didn’t expect including several that made me downright uncomfortable (will be working on that in 2022) and didn’t find a connection in places I really wanted to.

And, I discovered a new favorite hobby (quick? game?): screenshotting those moments, those turns of phrase that just smack you in the face, tear up your gut, and squeeze your heart. You’ll be seeing those in 2022. 

Until then, in no particular order is a rundown of 13 of the books that hit my cold, dead heart right in the feels. (And, because no author deserves to be ranked. You wrote a book. You put it out there. That’s a huge F-ing deal! Congratulations. Stand up and take a bow.)

The Best Little Christmas Shop
Maxine Morrey * @scribbler_maxi

Admittedly this book found its way to my Kindle in a Holiday reads binge-add. And then it sat there because the cover had me thinking it was going to be another cookie-cutter snowy winter day tub read. So when I finally got around to reading it (after I read a ton of other cookie-cutter reads with sexier covers) I was pleasantly surprised, actually thrilled, to see a woman I could relate to. A woman trapped in a man’s world trying to figure herself out. The saying is true… don’t judge a book by its cover. (But definitely buy the wine with animals on the label.)

Only the Pretty Lies
Rebekah Crane * @rebekahcrane42

When you are someone that questions the status quo you don’t always remember to keep learning as you are fighting until it smacks you in the face. For me, this story hit that feeling right in the kill shot.

One to Watch
Kate Stayman-London * @__ksl

A fish out of water that should be in the story. Basically a body-positive plus-size bachelorette. But you can’t just sub in an inclusive element and hit play. You still have to look at the whole picture. The whole person.

The Tourist Attraction (Moose Springs, Alaska #1) 
Sarah Morgenthaler * @sarahmorgenthaler.author

These quirky characters emerge from their winter thaw in the most bizarrely entertaining way. I honestly enjoyed my visit to Moose Springs and all of its colorful residents. A perfect mind-vacation to get you out of your own status quo.

Kiss and Don’t Tell
Meghan Quinn * @meghanquinnbooks

100% I picked this one because of the cover. Surrender yourself to the highly unlikely premise (girl traveling alone stumbles across a tricked-out vacation home filled with pro hockey players), silence your stranger danger alerts, and enjoy the adventure. Simply put, I just really enjoyed this one, I kind of want to be friends with these guys. And, I’ll be thinking about that shower scene for a long time to come.

Beach Read
Emily Henry * @emilyhenrywrites

Emily Henry get out of my head! That’s really all I have to say about that… she’s got my number and she keeps calling. It freaks me out how eerily matched to my life her books are at the exact moment I pick them up. Pick one up… enjoy the adventure.

Love, Comment, Subscribe
Cathy Yardley * @cathyyardley

Super successful and totally young social media influencers struggling – gah! Who wants to read that? Apparently me. Totally sucked in by the Nerd Herd. Enjoyed the set-up, the world-building, and obsessively shipping Lily and Tobin.

The Summer Job
Lizzy Dent * @lizzy.dent

Trope alert: Let’s switch places for the summer, what could go wrong? Pretending to be a world-class wine expert – as the person who openly buys wine based on the animals on the label (Rooster is always a safe bet!) I’m IN to see how this tale goes off the rails. And, spending some time in the Scottish countryside wasn’t bad either.

Such a Fun Age
Kiley Reid * @kileyreid

This book (the hardcover version – OG style!) was loaned to me by a friend and I immediately fell right down the rabbit hole. If this story doesn’t make you check yourself from the jump, might I suggest turning off the radio and reading in silence? (And, not at all to belittle the strength and power of this novel, I do have to acknowledge the Halloween costume choices for the kid. Yaaaassss!)

The Distance from Me to You
Marina Gessner * @ninadegramont

Recent HS grad lies to her parents and sets off to hike the Appalachian trail – ALONE! This should have been unbelievable and unrelatable but McKenna’s journey to find herself hit home in some very unexpected ways. And, since I’m never going to be making this hike I enjoyed the visit on the path less traveled.

There You Were: A Pride & Prejudice Variation
Michelle Ray * @mraywriter

My first Jane Austen Variation. And it won’t be my last. I loved the realistic spin on Lizzie’s struggles. Unknowing what to expect from the characters and the world was a mental pleasure. As much as I love Elizabeth Bennett v.1 she was truly a work in progress, girl could have benefited from a lot of the modern self-help hacks to get out of her own way. This Sliding Doors version of an alternate reality for her hit the right notes.

Conventionally Yours
Annabeth Albert * @annabeth_albert

A love story set at a gaming convention… um, yeah, that’s not my jam. Or is it? I still don’t entirely understand how this card game works but the I loved dipping into the niche world, I rooted for the perfect-yet-broken lovers, and I kinda want to be besties with the circle of eccentric characters that surround them.

Buy the Shoes: Essays on Relationships, Motherhood and the Stories in Between
Angela Smith * @popsiculture

As a regular reader of popsiculture.com, I was pretty confident I was going to enjoy the read. What I didn’t expect was the emotions this curated selection of essays brought out from a book about motherhood, divorce, and being a badass bitch in me, someone who is arguably only one of those things. . 100% biased because I can’t say enough good things about Angela, but I can’t wait to read more wherever she publishes it.