It’s Kelly’s list!! She’s our resident “reader question/guess the book” guesser, and I LOVE her help with them. She’s got a ton of books under her belt!!
That said, as you’ll see in her not to us below, I think she suffered a bit from the same thing many of us went through over the last “Covid year” (or two…) – reading issues. BUT!!! She came up with an amazing huge list, and I love how she presents each “pick” to us.
But first… some highlights of her fun 2021 comments (even recs for books that didn’t make this list, but that she still recommended to us):
Maryse, you absolutely 💯% need to check out Flock and Exodus by Kate Stewart. You loved her book Drive. There are SO many who have read them and cannot forget them. They linger, in the BEST kind of way. And the audio is FANTASTIC! …Cannot wait to see what you think. I’ve loved many of Kate Stewart’s books but the Ravenhood series is her best. It is on my best reads ever list for sure.
I had a chance to read Dreaming by Shayne McClendon before this release day and OMG SO good. Starts off with a crazy situation and rolls into a fabulous love story. Definitely recommend.
I’m a voracious reader and am always looking for new books. I will admit to having a massive DNF folder. What are you reading now?
Tara Brown’s Single Lady Spy series is exactly this. I Loved this series! I think I have read the Single Lady Spy series at least 5 times. Let me know what you think.
She says:
Hi Maryse, hope I’m not too late to submit my fave 2021 book.list. It was a crazy year and with everything going on with Covid it made me feel completely out of sorts and angsty. These feelings were definitely reflected in my reading habits.
Looking back at 2021 I realized a few things:
Many of the books my favourite authors released in 2021 disappointed me with quite a few going into my DNF folder. 🙁
My DNF list was quite extensive.
I read a lot of sub par books and skimmed my way through too many just to get to the end.
Instead of reading new releases I found myself re-reading lots of books from previous years. This is especially true with book series. When the next book in a series comes out I always re-read the previous books to remind myself of everything that happened.
I REALLY like reading MM/MMF books.
I read a whole bunch of series this year especially paranormal/dystopian. I love when a book can take me out of my reality and into a whole new world.
I ended up with quite a few favourite books in 2021 and I’ve broken them down into various categories below:
Finally released!:
• Nightfall by Penelope Douglas. Anyone who is a fan of The Devils Night series had been waiting for Will’s book and it did not disappoint. The perfect end of the saga of all of them.
Audio Books:
I love Audio books and if you have the right narrators, the audio version can be even better than the book. So far I have only listened to books I have already read. There are so many details that I missed in the book. And if you get a narrator that can deliver an accent like French or Irish, it knocks it out of the park. My fave audio books this year:
- American Camelot series by Sierra Simone
- The Devils Night series by Penelope Douglas
- Like Us series – Books 1-9 – by Krista and Becca Ritchie
- Daisy Jones and the Six – this is one of my fave books so listening to the audio was amazing. I especially love how each character was narrated by different actors. Not the same ones reading multiple parts.
But hands down my fave audio books that I’ve ever listened to was:
- The Ravenhood series by Kate Stewart – a narrator can make or break a book for me but when the choice of narrator is spot on, holy cow does it make the experience! The amazing Joe Arden – Love you Joe! – made these books come alive for me. He voiced all the male characters with such different inflections but it was his absolutely perfect French accent of Tobias that blew me away. He took me on a ride!
Maryse, you absolutely 💯% need to check out Flock and Exodus by Kate Stewart. You loved her book Drive. There are SO many who have read them and cannot forget them. They linger, in the BEST kind of way. And the audio is FANTASTIC!
Fave author(s) of 2021:
I read multiple books by each of these authors and I’m generally a huge fan of all their books.
Kate Stewart – lots of love for her in 2021 but The Finish Line, the third book in The Ravenhood series, blew me away. (More about that and her above and below)
I’ve loved many of Kate Stewart’s books but the Ravenhood series is her best. It is on my best reads ever list for sure.
J.T. Geissinger – wow can she write an Alpha! Her men are yummy and the women the pick are strong and feisty. Her Queens and Monsters series are sexy, smart, well written and HAWT! Loved:
- Carnal Urges
I really liked book one with the H Kage but book two Carnal Urges was ah-mazing. This is Declan’s book who we originally meet in Beautifully Cruel, and OMG is he an Alpha and hot! I love him almost as much as Liam.
- Beautiful Creatures
- Savage Hearts
Lauren Gilley – what can I say about her but wow can this woman write! I love her MC series but really got into two of her paranormal series. Love that she writes lots of MM/MMF into her books. She is featured in multiple categories this year.
Heart of Winter, Edge of the Wild and Blood of Wolves features a full cast of characters and various relationships with multiple POV
- Hell Theory series especially Vanish Into Light
My Love of all things MM/MMF:
What can I say except I’m drawn to really good and steamy MM or MMF books. Not only were all of these hot but really well written with fleshed out characters:
- Free fall by Sara Cate – MMF
- Out of Nowhere by Roan Parrish – MM
- This is Not the End by Sidney Bell – a fabulous and deep MMF book
- Lauren Gilley -see above books
- Serpent in White by Nyla K.- another MMM book I loved
- In Silence She Screams by Amo Jones – an MMF book by the trigger queen herself Amo Jones
New to me authors:
- Katie Moore – You’re my Home – an angsty MM book that was beautifully written
- Jennifer Hartmann
Still Beating and Lotus are not for the faint of heart. Lots of triggers – LOTS! I especially loved Lotus. My heart broke so many times throughout the entire book but the end made it worth it.
Favourite Series:
I am in love with this dystopian series. I gobbled up books 1-4 and features one of my favourite duos of all time – Opie and Bitzy
- Ascension series by Laura Hall (pen name of LM Halloran)
- The Inheritance Games and The Howthorn Legacy by Jennifer Lynn Barnes
more of a YA duet but a thoroughly enjoyable experience I was able to buddy read with my 14 year old daughter
But my 2021 Absolute Favourite Everything is:
Kate Stewart hands down!
My vocabulary isn’t extensive enough to accurately describe how The Ravenhood series affected me. I gutted me, it thrilled me, I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it almost daily. It made me swoon and broke my heart and I’m still trying to figure out if I liked the ending.
I read Flock and Exodus in 2020, and The Finish Line was released in early 2021. I have reread these books and listened to the audio multiple times. I’m also a part of her Facebook crew and I’ve never experienced so many divided opinions about who the h should have ended up with
…this series is probably one of the best she has written. Try it because if not you are missing out big time! And I’m sure I’m not the only one who will agree.
Very Honorable Mentions:
- All Rhodes Lead Here by Mariana Zapata – what can I say except it is Mariana Zapata
- Biker Schmiker by Bella Jewel
- Death by Laura Thalassa
- One Year Home by Marie Force <— It was my fave of the duet
- Homecoming King by Penny Reid – finally Jackson’s story
I’m always inspired by other readers fave of the year books so hopefully I inspire others the same way and they pick up a few new books to enjoy.
MARYSE’S NOTE TO OUR FELLOW READERS: Have a Best of 2021 list for me? Send it to me here. 🙂
P.S. Like Kelly’s reading style? Find more of here favorites here:
➔➔➔ Looking for more of our favorite recommendations? Browse our “Ultimate Favorites Lists” here. Are you in the mood for a certain kind of story? Browse our favorite “genre/trope categories” here and our reader favorites lists too.
➔➔➔ Looking for my must-read recommendations? Browse my 5 star and 4.5 star and 4 star reviews or my favorite book lists here 😀
Maryse thank you for posting my list! 🤞 I influence some readers to pick up a new book and/or a new to them author.
This is an amazing list, and I will ABSOLUTELY read the Ravenhood series. I am missing out, I know it. She’s one of my favs too!
Maryse, some have complained the beginning is slow going but IMO it’s not slow at all. Either way, I hope you read the series and love it as much as I do.
Love this list!!! Also yes, I will never get over the Ravenhood series too.
Shaheen, I know right? I’m kind of obsessed with it. Have you listened to the audio?
Not yet, but after seeing your recommendations, I definitely will.
Cool list Keely!
I also enjoyed Hell Theory series by Lauren Gilley. Great world building and writing.Shame series did not get much play.
Mony I totally agree with you. Have you tried her Sons of Rome series? Paranormal and 4 books so far. Almost finished the 4th. SO good