Meghan’s Top Books of 2021

Hello friends, and happy Thursday! I hope you’re all well. Today I’m going to be talking about the best books I read in the year 2021.

I think for the most part, I read a decent about of 5 star reads. There were some that came close, but for the sake of this post, I’m only going to be showcasing my 5 star reads. What I like about this year is that my first and last reads of 2021 were both 5 star reads. I feel like I bookended the year really well.

Star Daughter by: Shveta Thakrar was the first read of the year for me and it was such a fun, cozy read. I loved the world and I thought for a standalone was really rich with world-building and character development. Read my review.

My next 5 star read was Born a Crime by: Trevor Noah. I love Trevor Noah’s stand-up and his book really held some of that humour while also taking on heavier topics. I could listen to him talk about anything really. Read my review.

I rated this on a 5 star on Goodreads but a 4.75 on Story Graph but I’m still counting it. Whatever Happened to Interracial Love? by: Kathleen Collins was a short, yet inviting read on interracial love and the writing was just really powerful. Read my review.

Take a Hint, Dani Brown by: Talia Hibbert, this and Act Your Age, Eve Brown are at a tie because I loved both books and they were both 5 star reads for different reasons. Take a Hint I loved because of Dani. I truly related to her and I can’t forget about Zaf, uh what a sweet guy. Read my review.

Cemetery Boys by: Aiden Thomas was such a sweet, sweet read. I fell in love with the characters immediately. Julian was the best, I truly loved his character. And even though the ending was cheesy and a reason I’ve read people didn’t really care for, I loved it. Read my review.

Concrete Rose by: Angie Thomas; I think I liked the prequel more than The Hate U Give, this had so much heart and so many lessons to learn. Read my review.

Punching the Air by: Ibi Zoboi & Yusef Salaam, again this was a 5 star read on Goodreads but I rated it 4.75 on Story Graph. I really loved the artwork that that was added to this to really enhance the story; plus this was written in verse, which just hit differently. Read my review.

A Stranger in Town by: Kelley Armstrong, another 5 star Goodreads rating, 4.75 on Story Graph. This series has me under its spell. Armstrong writes such compelling characters that I’m in awe. This also takes place in a remote town in the Yukon so the setting is completely different to the ones I’m used to. Read my review.

I’m Judging You by: Luvvie Ajayi Jones. THIS BOOK. I’ve never had a book make me laugh and cry so much. Wow, this was such a fun, yet hard hitting novel and I encourage everyone to read it because we could all do a little better. Read my review.

The Mask Falling by: Samantha Shannon. I started this series last year and the previous books were all 4/5 star reads so it’s no surprise that this has ended up on this list this year. The world building just keeps getting better and better and I love being in this world. Read my review.

Act Your Age, Eve Brown by: Talia Hibbert. Now the reason I loved this one was for the nero-diversity rep. I love how Hibbert explored autism and the spectrum; it was really eye-opening for me and I just loved that so much. Plus the romance was cute. Read my review.

Pumpkin by: Julie Murphy, the last 5 star on Goodreads and 4.5 on Story Graph. I loved the first two books in this trilogy, but this one was so sweet and loving and I devoured it in a few days, which I don’t normally do. Read my review.

Wendy, Master of Art by: Walter Scott. I don’t normally read graphic novels, but I completely fell in love with Wendy. I wasn’t prepared for how much I was going to love her and her stories. I felt so many emotions when reading this, such a fun graphic novel. Read my review.

The Inexplainable Logic of my Life by: Benjamin Sáenz. This book was so well written and full of love I couldn’t help but fall in love with it. I don’t have a review up on my blog yet, but it will be coming soon.
Natalie Tan’s Book of Luck & Fortune by: Roselle Lim. This was my last book of the year and I read it super fast and I was just amazing and brought in by the writing and the descriptions of food. Everything from the plots to the characters I just loved and I’m really glad that I could read it as fast as I did for it to be the last read of the year. I don’t have a review up yet for this one, but it will be coming soon.

---

And that’s a wrap for me! What was you best book(s) of 2021? Did we read any of the same books? Let me know!