Favorite Reads of 2021!

 I'm typing this post one-handed while cuddling our sweet 3 week-old baby girl with the other.  So please ignore any typos and chalk it up to my being a new-mom-of-two.  :-)

Happy New Year!  I know many people are looking forward to saying "farewell" (or maybe "good riddance!") to 2021.  Looking back, for our family, there were hard and beautiful moments alike, just as with every year.  Our daughter turned 1 in March!  My dad passed away in April.  I got a new tiny niece in August, amidst some severe health issues for her mom.  Thank God, they're both doing well now!  At the end of November I worked my last shift at the job I've had for almost 6.5 years.  It was a bittersweet day.  I'm blessed to get to be a stay-at-home-mom, but I'm definitely missing my work family a bit.  And our second sweet daughter made her arrival the beginning of December!

In the midst of all of that, I actually got to do a bit of reading!  So this is some of my favorite books that I read (or reread) this year, though for a change, not all of these were published in 2021.  And a couple of them are rereads that I still just really enjoyed.  So in no particular order, here's my list!  Oh, and if you click on the titles, it should send you to Amazon to read more about the books.  

Follower of the Word Trilogy by Morgan L. Busse

This series totally sucked me in!  I read the first one (I think I got it 

on a Kindle deal or something) and immediately had to get the other two!

Definitely one of my favorite series of the year!  Though I will say that reading

them all in a row, the second one felt super short to me, and the third one seemed 

to drag just a little, but still.  So. Good.

A Midnight Dance by Joanna Davidson Politano

This one also sucked me in!  All of Joanna's books that I've 

gotten to read have.  She's become an auto-read for me.  :-)

Autumn by the Sea by Melissa Tagg

I'm not normally big on rom-coms, but I have to make

an exception for Melissa's books!  I couldn't help but love Sydney and Neil.

Also, one of the very best meet-cutes ever, in my opinion. 

Full Disclosure by Dee Henderson

This is one of my rereads for the year.  Dee Henderson

has long been one of my favorite authors and I really enjoyed 

getting to revisit Ann and Paul's story.

Let It Be Me by Becky Wade 

The second book in the Misty River series!  It's late, I'm 

a little sleep deprived, and I read this book 7 months ago, so I'm honestly

not entirely sure what to say about it.  Haha!  But I remember really enjoying it!

Taken by Dee Henderson

Another reread!  And yes, another by Dee Henderson.

I love several of the conversations Matthew and Shannon

have throughout the course of the novel and their relationship in general.

The Secret Life of Sarah Hollenbeck by Bethany Turner

This book probably gets "longest book title of the year" haha!

I loved the honesty and dry humor in this story!  And it also gave me some 

food for thought, which I almost always enjoy.

To Write a Wrong Jen Turano

I'd like to talk with anyone who reads Jen's books and doesn't laugh

out loud at least once.  Seriously.  My toddler just looked at me a couple times,

when I actually took a minute to read while she was awake.

When Twilight Breaks by Sarah Sundin

This book was an interesting - and at times heart-breaking - 

look at Germany before the US joined WWII.  I always love 

the characters in Sarah's novels and it holds true for this one!

Jewel of the Nile by Tessa Afshar

This one is another "I know I read it, but my brain

isn't working at full capacity right now" kind of comments.

I know it was a delightful read, with suspense, intrigue (and I was right!),

romance, and a cantankerous cook.

If For Any Reason by Courtney Walsh

I haven't read all of Courtney's books, yet, but this one is 

definitely one of my favorites!

So those are my favorites for the year!  What does your list look like?  I'm always up for recommendations, though my reading time is indubitably more limited than it was - for a very good reason.  :) 

  

Bookish Thoughts: Autumn by The Sea

 

"I think Maggie would say that's what love does.  It keeps hoping even when the answers don't come easily.  It invites strangers in.  It doesn't give up.  Love keeps searching." - Neil MacKean

Description:

Abandoned as a toddler, Sydney Rose has spent years wondering who she really is, homesick for a life she’s never lived. When a private investigator crashes into her world, she finds herself heading to a tiny seaside town in Maine to meet a woman named Maggie, who’s searching for the granddaughter she lost decades ago.

If not for Maggie, Neil MacKean might still be back in Scotland, bereft and alone. Instead, he has a full life in Muir Harbor with an adopted family he loves and a blueberry farm to run. But the farm is struggling and strange occurrences have him concerned. Worse, Maggie’s once again caught up in the past, convinced she’s finally found her long-lost granddaughter.

Worried for Maggie, Neil is suspicious of the city girl who shows up at the farm. But there’s something about Sydney that tugs on him, drawing out secrets he never meant to share. While Neil grapples with the future of the farm, Sydney wrestles with a past that’s messier than ever. Together, they’re pulled into a mystery complete with a centuries-old legend, unexpected danger . . . and a love as deep and wild as the sea.

About the Author:

Melissa Tagg is the USA Today bestselling, Christy Award-winning author of swoony and hope-filled small-town contemporary romances. She's also a former reporter, current nonprofit marketing strategist, and total Iowa girl. Melissa has taught at multiple national writing conferences, as well as workshops and women's retreats. When she's not happily lost in someone else's book or plugging away her own, she can be found spoiling her nieces and nephews, watching old movies, and daydreaming about her next fictional hero. Connect with Melissa at melissatagg.com. 

My Thoughts:

I don’t typically read much rom-com, but I always make an exception for Melissa Tagg’s books.  When I saw this one would start a new series, I was both intrigued and a little sad - I love the Maple Valley folks.  I knew I could come to love these new people as well, it would just be a change from the familiar.  And come to love them, I did indeed!

As I’ve come to anticipate, this book drew me in right away!  I loved the richness of the setting, the colorful characters, and another quirky town that I got to explore with Sydney.  I’m honestly not sure which of the new characters I loved the best.  Obviously, Sydney and Neil are the leads, but I also couldn’t help but want to hug Maggie.  And I enjoyed the glimpses into the lives of the sisters, Lilian and Indi.  The setting almost seemed a character itself, the beautiful coast of Maine and a blueberry farm.  

Simply due to the plot, there are so many questions that are asked and answered throughout the story.  I so enjoyed how Ms. Tagg chose to reveal some of the answers while also leaving a few to lead into another story.  There is beauty, both in the answered and the unanswered, the asking and the wondering.  I loved how that all played into the mundane and the everyday of the story.  I don’t know if I’m explaining my thoughts well, so you might just have to read the book yourself to understand what I’m hoping to convey in a few sentences, when it took the author a few hundred pages to play it out.   

Overall, I would highly recommend this book if you enjoy rom-coms!  Or even if they’re not your normal fare, you might consider giving it a try.  You may find yourself more than pleasantly surprised.

Amazon

Barnes & Noble

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Bookish Thoughts: Hostile Intent

 

I just discovered that I set up this post the beginning of November and never hit "publish" - oops! Well, here it is now!

Description:

Ava Jackson entered the military shortly after high school, but her mother's illness has forced her to request an early discharge. She already lost her father while deployed, and there's no way she's going to let her mother die alone. But after a visit to the nursing facility where her mother lives, Ava is attacked walking back to her car. Fortunately, FBI Special Agent Caden Denning arrives in time to help fight off her attacker.

Caden reveals to Ava that she may hold the key to the murders of three families, and he needs her help before anyone else is harmed. The hits show a pattern, and clearly the killer has an agenda. But if Caden and Ava can't discover what it is, Ava may be next on the hit list.

About the Author:

Lynette Eason is the bestselling author of the Danger Never Sleeps, Blue Justice, Women of Justice, Deadly Reunions, Hidden Identity, and Elite Guardians series. She is the winner of three ACFW Carol Awards, the Selah Award, and the Inspirational Reader's Choice Award, among others. She is a graduate of the University of South Carolina and has a master's degree in education from Converse College. Eason lives in South Carolina with her husband and two children. Learn more at www.lynetteeason.com.

My Thoughts:

I'm a big fan of Lynette Eason's books and was super excited for this newest one, especially as I've been hoping for a book for Caden ever since he first appeared in "Collateral Damage." Needless to say, I wasn't disappointed! This book kept me guessing from the very first page and I often found myself debating between racing to the finish or savoring as I read. 

I always really enjoy Ms. Eason's writing style and how the mystery and suspense play out. It's seldom over the top, though I do tend to give her books more license for that, than I might a TV show. In this one, I loved the puzzles and questions, the hunt for answers and the CIA angle was intriguing! I will say as far as "over the top" goes, that I found the ending a little along those lines. I realize that people can do astounding things with enough adrenaline pumping, but part of the chase at the end just seemed a little much.

I also really enjoyed the friends-to-more romance and how it was handled amidst a stressful story. I've loved getting to know Caden in the other books and was so happy to see him find his "happily ever after." 

Overall, if you enjoy romantic suspense, I would greatly recommend this book and the others in the series as well!

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Barnes & Noble

Goodreads

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