The Best of 2021 – Maggie’s List
2021 was a rollercoaster of a year for me – and I would imagine for many others. Regardless of where on the political spectrum you fall, you were no doubt affected by the controversies surrounding the events at the U.S. Capitol in January, the vaccine debates that have raged the world over since the spring and the ongoing pandemic. Fortunately, romance is a diverse enough genre to have a little something for everyone and this year I found some angsty reads, some books that made me think, and some books that made me laugh. All of them reminded me that however hopeless things seem, love always finds a way.
Our Darkest Night by Jennifer Robson
It is the Autumn of 1943. To survive the Holocaust, Antonina Mazina, a young Jewish woman, poses as the wife of Nico Gerardi, a young man who was studying for the priesthood until circumstances forced him to leave the seminary and run his family’s farm.Their love story, set against a backdrop of terror and hardship, is a gorgeous, haunting, lyrical tale that you will remember long after you have read the last page.
Buy it at: Amazon, Audible, or your local independent retailer
Wild Woman and the Blues by Denny S. Bryce
Sawyer Hayes and Honoree Dalcour were born decades apart but their lives are united by an amazing mystery. When Sawyer sets out to get answers about that past, he discovers more than he could ever have expected. We discover a story filled with beauty, mystery, danger and romance.
Buy it at: Amazon, Audible, or your local independent retailer
Just Last Night by Mhairi McFarlane
The publisher’s blurb for Just Last Night is extremely vague in describing the contents of what is a captivating and heartfelt tale about grief, how we deal with the inevitable secrets that are revealed when a loved one dies and how love can occur with the most unexpected of people at the least opportune time. I loved this story of heartache, romance and redemption and strongly recommend it.
Buy it at: Amazon, Audible, or your local independent retailer
When Stars Rain Down by Angela Jackson Brown
When Stars Rain Down is a lyrical tale of family, friendship and romance. Taking place during the Jim Crow Era South, it celebrates how love can bloom even under the most difficult of circumstances. Opal Pruitt and Cedric (Stank) Perkins have an absolutely gorgeous romance and the setting is memerizing, showing us the horror humans can inflict on each other and the courage it takes to stay loving in a world full of hate.
Buy it at: Amazon, Audible, or your local independent retailer
Homebound by Lydia Hope
I love science fiction romance and this story about Simon, stranded on Earth and enduring incredible suffering and Gemma McKinley, a young woman who has been physically and emotionally battered by life, discovering love in exceptionally bleak circumstances is a great one (Technically this is a 2020 release but I didn’t hear about it till 2021).
Buy it at: Amazon
Blind Tiger by Sandra Brown
The 1920s bootleg scene makes an unusual backdrop for the love story of a lawman trying to solve a horrific murder of which he is the accused and the savvy bootlegging lady determined to give her family the best future possible.
Buy it at: Amazon, Audible, or your local independent retailer
The Dating Playbook by Farrah Rochon
This second installment in the The Boyfriend Project series is funny and sweet and delightful and every other superlative you can think of. Taylor Powell and Jamar Dixon are terrific people who make a wonderful couple and their love story is well worth a read.
Buy it at Amazon, Audible or your local independent retailer
Once More Upon a Time by Roshani Chokshi
If you love fairytale romance at all, this funny, sweet novella which turns many tropes upside down in the best way possible is a must read.
Buy it at Amazon, Audible or your local independent retailer
The Matzah Ball by Jean Meltzer
For the last decade, Rachel Rubenstein-Goldblatt, daughter of one of the world’s most prominent rabbis, has made a living as Christmas romance novelist Margot Cross.When her publisher insists she write a Hanukkah story, she has no choice but to reconnect with Jacob Greenberg, her Jewish summer camp arch-nemesis who just happens to be the genious behind several popular Hanukkah celebrations. Sparks fly when these long time enemies find themselves together once more. This is a funny, festive story that’s filled with holiday cheer.
Buy it at Amazon, Audible or your local independent retailer
The Heart Principle by Helen Hoang
The author packed a lot into this angsty novel about violinist Anna Sun and business mogul Quan Diep, who discover love amidst a whole bunch of trouble. What the book lacks in sunny lightheartedness it more than makes up for with its tender, genuine love story.
Interesting list Maggie! I love that we all have such different tastes which makes for some fabulous choices for our readers at AAR.
I just love that cover for Wild Woman and the Blues. Great list!
I’ve only read one book from your list – The Matzah Ball, which I thought was funny, a little angsty and a decent romance. Right now I’m reading The Holiday Swap by Maggie Knox and I like it so far. I haven’t read a lot of romance this year because I’ve been devoted to reading mystery and thrillers mostly. I do have Blind Tiger and Wild Woman and the Blues on my tbr list though.
Blind Tiger is Brown at her best. She is very hit or miss for me but this was an out of the ball park home run. It has a decent mystery at the heart of it, as well as a nice romance.
I’ve never read any Brown. Would this be a good place to start?
This one takes place in the early 1900s, so in that sense it is a little different from her usual fare. Most of her books are contemporaries. Here are the ones we’ve given B+ or above to:
Envy
Deadline
Lethal
Mean streak
Seeing Red
Rainwater (historical)
My personal favorite from the above is Lethal. I recommend being careful with her backlist – she has some real clunkers, some of them with misogynistic heroes. Brown defines hit or miss for me. Some of her books are fantastic, (like Lethal, Blind Tiger and Rainwater) and others make you wish you had never picked them up.
I agree with this list, although I haven’t read Rainwater. Envy is perhaps my favorite Sandra Brown book,and I highly recommend the audio narrated by Viktor Slezak. I love Envy’s book-within-a-book format. Very effective.
I also enjoyed Smash Cut and Smoke Screen. The latter is also narrated by Slezak.
I haven’t read either of these. I will definitely give them a try
My favourite Sandra Brown novels are from when she was writing category romances back in the 1980s. I still have my paperback copy of ‘Fanta C’ (Loveswept #217 published in 1987) about a widowed single mom and her helpful next door neighbor.
I’m frustrated with myself for not picking up the audio of Blind Tiger recently when it was on sale at Audible. I haven’t read it yet.
I have a love/hate relationship with sales. I love saving money, hate the time constraints on them.:-)
Great list Maggie! Two of my favorites from this year are in your list: Just Last Night and The Heart Principle, and Homebound was certainly interesting. I’ll be checking out several more of yours including The Matzoh Ball and Dating Playbook. Thank you!
You’re welcome! I think if I were doing favorite couple I would probably pick Anna and Quan although the pair from Just Last Night is a close second. The Matzah Ball and Dating Playbook had a lot of humor, so if you are looking for some laughs, definitely check those out.
I loved a lot of these too!
Great minds think alike :-) Looking forward to seeing your list.
Nice list Maggie. I always enjoy Jennifer Robson’s books.
Me, too! I think she and Lauren Willig do the best historical novels. I loved Band of Sisters and would have included it but it wasn’t very romantic.