It’s that time of year again, when the year starts to wind down, new book releases become more and more sparse, and I start to look ahead at all of the shiny new releases coming in the next year. I started compiling this list awhile ago and it has absolutely exploded since then, as I’ve heard about more and more enticing new releases coming in 2021. This is not at all an exhaustive list–it’s a very specific one consisting of all the books I’m personally excited for, and that I hope will interest you too. Like previous years, there are a lot of past favorite authors represented on this list, but there are also a bunch of new-to-me authors that I’m intrigued by. And genre-wise, we’re all over the place, which is exactly how I like it.

I’ve included links to the Goodreads pages as well as synopses for all of these so that you can see if you want to add them to your TBR as well; you can also check out my 2021 shelf on Goodreads (feel free to add me on there if you haven’t already). One more caveat–I limited the list this time to books that already have both covers and release dates, since there were already SO MANY to choose from, and there will definitely be a Part 2 list coming when I’ve accumulated enough new options. (And although I’ve organized them in order of anticipated release date, all release dates are subject to change–a TON of release dates got switched around in 2020, and I’m assuming there may be some of that in 2021 as well).

Let’s get ready for 2021!

 

Lore by Alexandra Bracken (anticipated release 1/5/21) – I’ve never read anything from this author before, but as a huge fan of Greek mythology, I’ve been searching for a mythology-related fiction book that I could really get into. I was lucky enough to be approved for this eARC via NetGalley, so my review should be up before too long. Gorgeous cover, too.

Goodreads synopsis: Every seven years, the Agon begins. As punishment for a past rebellion, nine Greek gods are forced to walk the earth as mortals, hunted by the descendants of ancient bloodlines, all eager to kill a god and seize their divine power and immortality. Long ago, Lore Perseous fled that brutal world in the wake of her family’s sadistic murder by a rival line, turning her back on the hunt’s promises of eternal glory. For years she’s pushed away any thought of revenge against the man–now a god–responsible for their deaths. Yet as the next hunt dawns over New York City, two participants seek out her help: Castor, a childhood friend of Lore believed long dead, and a gravely wounded Athena, among the last of the original gods. The goddess offers an alliance against their mutual enemy and, at last, a way for Lore to leave the Agon behind forever. But Lore’s decision to bind her fate to Athena’s and rejoin the hunt will come at a deadly cost–and still may not be enough to stop the rise of a new god with the power to bring humanity to its knees.

Blood Heir by Ilona Andrews (anticipated release 1/12/21) – I don’t want to post the synopsis for this one, since it’ll probably spoil some aspect of its predecessor series (the Kate Daniels series, my all-time favorite UF/PNR). Suffice it to say that our main character this time is one of the side characters from the Kate Daniels world, and although Ilona Andrews has been self-publishing this on their blog for months now, I’ve been waiting to read it until it’s been edited and compiled into a full volume. I cannot WAIT to check in with some of my favorite characters and see what’s going on in this post-magic-apocalypse world.

Across the Green Grass Fields by Seanan McGuire (anticipated release 1/12/21) – I’ve loved every installment in McGuire’s Wayward children series, portal fantasy focused on teens who enter and sometimes are rejected from magical worlds, and I’m hoping that this one lives up to the rest.

Goodreads synopsis: Regan loves, and is loved, though her school-friend situation has become complicated, of late. When she suddenly finds herself thrust through a doorway that asks her to “Be Sure” before swallowing her whole, Regan must learn to live in a world filled with centaurs, kelpies, and other magical equines―a world that expects its human visitors to step up and be heroes. But after embracing her time with the herd, Regan discovers that not all forms of heroism are equal, and not all quests are as they seem…

A History of What Comes Next by Sylvain Neuvel (anticipated release 2/2/21) – I enjoyed Neuvel’s scifi novel Sleeping Giants and loved his creative novella The Test, and I’m intrigued by this first-contact historical SF concept.

Goodreads synopsis: Over 99 identical generations, Mia’s family has shaped human history to push them to the stars, making brutal, wrenching choices and sacrificing countless lives. Her turn comes at the dawn of the age of rocketry. Her mission: to lure Wernher Von Braun away from the Nazi party and into the American rocket program, and secure the future of the space race. But Mia’s family is not the only group pushing the levers of history: an even more ruthless enemy lurks behind the scenes. A darkly satirical first contact thriller, as seen through the eyes of the women who make progress possible and the  men who are determined to stop them…

The Bride Bet by Tessa Dare (anticipated release 2/9/21) – I really dove into historical romance in 2020, and although I still can’t bring myself to love most of the covers, Tessa Dare was one of the writers that really got me through this rough year. This is the fourth book in her Girl Meets Duke quartet, which I’ve really been enjoying so far, and I highly recommend checking it out if you’re interested in historical romance but don’t know where to start.

Goodreads synopsis: Once upon a time, two sworn enemies – the bookish daughter of a scholar and the devilish heir to a duke – made a pact: If they were both still single in ten years, they would marry each other. It was a joke, Nicola thought. A duchess? Her? But when the Duke of Westleigh returns a decade later, he’s serious. He needs an heir, so he’s holding her to their marriage bargain—diamond ring, lavish gown, engagement ball, and more. Nothing Nicola says can dissuade him. When she calls him arrogant, he praises her honesty. When she makes social stumbles, he catches her fall. And when she gets exasperated, the duke can’t seem to get enough. For reasons she can’t fathom, he claims that no other woman will do. He’s betting he can change her mind, with logic and passion. She’s betting she can change his mind, just by being herself. And as the clock ticks down to a wedding day, neither is counting on losing their heart.

First Comes Like by Alisha Rai (anticipated release 2/16/21) – This is the third installment in Rai’s Modern Love series, and since she’s one of my absolute favorite romance authors, this one is at the top of my TBR. Luckily, I was approved for an eARC via NetGalley, so I’ll be reading and reviewing this one soon. The main character is also one of my favorite side characters who’s appeared in several past books.

Goodreads synopsis: Beauty expert and influencer Jia Ahmed has her eye on the prize: conquering the internet today, the entire makeup industry tomorrow, and finally, finally proving herself to her big opinionated family. She has little time for love, and even less time for the men in her private messages—until the day a certain international superstar slides into her DMs, and she falls hard and fast. There’s just one wrinkle: he has no idea who she is. The son of a powerful Bollywood family, soap opera star Dev Dixit is used to drama, but a strange woman who accuses him of wooing her online, well, that’s a new one. As much as he’d like to focus on his Hollywood fresh start, he can’t get Jia out of his head. Especially once he starts to suspect who might have used his famous name to catfish her… When paparazzi blast their private business into the public eye, Dev is happy to engage in some friendly fake dating to calm the gossips and to dazzle her family. But as the whole world swoons over their relationship, Jia can’t help but wonder: Can an online romance-turned-offline-fauxmance ever become love in real life?

 

The Echo Wife by Sarah Gailey (anticipated release 2/16/21) – I enjoyed Gailey’s contemporary fantasy Magic for Liars, and am very curious about this scifi thriller.

Goodreads synopsis: Martine is a genetically cloned replica made from Evelyn Caldwell’s award-winning research. She’s patient and gentle and obedient. She’s everything Evelyn swore she’d never be. And she’s having an affair with Evelyn’s husband. Now, the cheating bastard is dead, and the Caldwell wives have a mess to clean up.
Good thing Evelyn Caldwell is used to getting her hands dirty.

 

A Court of Silver Flames by Sarah J. Maas (release date 2/16/21) – I’m not going to lie, Maas’s A Court of Thorns and Roses series is one of my favorite fantasy/romance series, and although I’m not the biggest fan of Nesta from previous books (I’m not the biggest fan of either of Feyre’s sisters after how they treated her), I’m still looking forward to the reappearance of other favorite characters. And who knows–maybe Maas can pull off a great redemption arc for Nesta. Anything is possible?

The Russian Cage by Charlaine Harris (anticipated release 2/23/21) – This is the third installment in Harris’s Gunnie Rose series, which is a sort of fantastical alternate universe Western featuring a tough, gunslinging protagonist. I really liked the first book An Easy Death, but was let down by its sequel; I’m hoping I enjoy this one more than I did its predecessor.

Burning Girls and Other Stories by Veronica Schanoes (anticipated release 3/2/21) – this weird, fabulist short story collection sounds like it’s right up my alley; when Kelly Link is cited as a readalike, I generally have to pick it up.

Goodreads synopsis: When we came to America, we brought anger and socialism and hunger. We also brought our demons. In Burning Girls and Other Stories, Veronica Schanoes crosses borders and genres with stories of fierce women at the margins of society burning their way toward the center. This debut collection introduces readers to a fantasist in the vein of Karen Russell and Kelly Link, with a voice all her own. Emma Goldman—yes, that Emma Goldman—takes tea with the Baba Yaga and truths unfold inside of exquisitely crafted lies. In “Among the Thorns,” a young woman in seventeenth century Germany is intent on avenging the brutal murder of her peddler father, but discovers that vengeance may consume all that it touches. In the showstopping, awards finalist title story, “Burning Girls,” Schanoes invests the immigrant narrative with a fearsome fairytale quality that tells a story about America we may not want—but need—to hear. Dreamy, dangerous, and precise, with the weight of the very oldest tales we tell, Burning Girls and Other Stories introduces a writer pushing the boundaries of both fantasy and contemporary fiction.

Down Comes the Night by Allison Saft (anticipated release 3/2/21) – This book sounds SO GOOD. I was lucky enough to be approved for an eARC via NetGalley, and I’m anxious to get to it soon as it strikes me as a good atmospheric winter read.

Goodreads synopsis: Wren Southerland is the most talented healer in the Queen’s Guard, but her reckless actions have repeatedly put her on thin ice with her superiors. So when a letter arrives from a reclusive lord, asking Wren to come to his estate to cure his servant from a mysterious disease, she seizes the chance to prove herself. When she arrives at Colwick Hall, Wren realizes that nothing is what it seems. Particularly when she discovers her patient is actually Hal Cavendish, the sworn enemy of her kingdom. As the snowy mountains make it impossible to leave the estate, Wren and Hal grow closer as they uncover a sinister plot that could destroy everything they hold dear. But choosing love could doom both their kingdoms.

Act Your Age, Eve Brown by Talia Hibbert (anticipated release 3/9/21) – this contemporary romance is the third installment in Hibbert’s Brown Sisters series, and as I’ve really enjoyed the other two (particuarly the second book, Take a Hint, Dani Brown) I’m definitely planning to pick this one up.

Goodreads synopsis: Eve Brown is a certified hot mess. No matter how hard she strives to do right, her life always goes horribly wrong—so she’s given up trying. But when her personal brand of chaos ruins an expensive wedding (someone had to liberate those poor doves), her parents draw the line. It’s time for Eve to grow up and prove herself—even though she’s not entirely sure how…Jacob Wayne is in control. Always. The bed and breakfast owner’s on a mission to dominate the hospitality industry—and he expects nothing less than perfection. So when a purple-haired tornado of a woman turns up out of the blue to interview for his open chef position, he tells her the brutal truth: not a chance in hell. Then she hits him with her car—supposedly by accident. Yeah, right. Now his arm is broken, his B&B is understaffed, and the dangerously unpredictable Eve is fluttering around, trying to help. Before long, she’s infiltrated his work, his kitchen—and his spare bedroom. Jacob hates everything about it. Or rather, he should. Sunny, chaotic Eve is his natural-born nemesis, but the longer these two enemies spend in close quarters, the more their animosity turns into something else. Like Eve, the heat between them is impossible to ignore—and it’s melting Jacob’s frosty exterior.

 

Peaces by Helen Oyeyemi (release date 4/6/21 ) – every Helen Oyeyemi book always sounds amazing to me, and this one is no exception (hint: there might be a Helen Oyeyemi book coming up on my Top 10 TBR for 2021 as well). Also, her covers are always gorgeous.

Goodreads synopsis: When Otto and Xavier Shin declare their love, an aunt gifts them a trip on a sleeper train to mark their new commitment–and to get them out of her house. Setting off with their pet mongoose, Otto and Xavier arrive at their sleepy local train station, but quickly deduce that The Lucky Day is no ordinary locomotive. Their trip on this former tea-smuggling train has been curated beyond their wildest imaginations, complete with mysterious and welcoming touches, like ingredients for their favorite breakfast. They seem to be the only people onboard, until Otto discovers a secretive woman who issues a surprising message. As further clues and questions pile up, and the trip upends everything they thought they knew, Otto and Xavier begin to see connections to their own pasts, connections that now bind them together. A spellbinding tale from a star author, Peaces is about what it means to be seen by another person–whether it’s your lover or a stranger on a train–and what happens when things you thought were firmly in the past turn out to be right beside you.

Of Women and Salt by Gabriela Garcia (anticipated release 4/6/21) – This one sounds like a female-led, topical literary fiction book that will make waves in 2021.

Goodreads synopsis: In present-day Miami, Jeanette is battling addiction. Daughter of Carmen, a Cuban immigrant, she is determined to learn more about her family history from her reticent mother and makes the snap decision to take in the daughter of a neighbor detained by ICE. Carmen, still wrestling with the trauma of displacement, must process her difficult relationship with her own mother while trying to raise a wayward Jeanette. Steadfast in her quest for understanding, Jeanette travels to Cuba to see her grandmother and reckon with secrets from the past destined to erupt. From 19th-century cigar factories to present-day detention centers, from Cuba to Mexico, Gabriela Garcia’s Of Women and Salt is a kaleidoscopic portrait of betrayals—personal and political, self-inflicted and those done by others—that have shaped the lives of these extraordinary women. A haunting meditation on the choices of mothers, the legacy of the memories they carry, and the tenacity of women who choose to tell their stories despite those who wish to silence them, this is more than a diaspora story; it is a story of America’s most tangled, honest, human roots.

Hummingbird Salamander by Jeff Vandermeer (anticipated release 4/6/21) – I’m really glad that Vandermeer’s newest is a standalone unrelated to his previous works–not because I didn’t like them (I do! I’ve given several of his books 5-star ratings) but because I’ve been struggling to continue on in the world of his previous book Borne despite how much I enjoyed it (I have yet to pick up either The Strange Bird or Dead Astronauts; both are glaring at me from my TBR shelf as I write this). I like the idea of delving into something entirely new from him.

Goodreads synopsis: Security consultant “Jane Smith” receives an envelope with a key to a storage unit that holds a taxidermied hummingbird and clues leading her to a taxidermied salamander. Silvina, the dead woman who left the note, is a reputed ecoterrorist and the daughter of an Argentine industrialist. By taking the hummingbird from the storage unit, Jane sets in motion a series of events that quickly spin beyond her control. Soon, Jane and her family are in danger, with few allies to help her make sense of the true scope of the peril. Is the only way to safety to follow in Silvina’s footsteps? Is it too late to stop? As she desperately seeks answers about why Silvina contacted her, time is running out—for her and possibly for the world.

Broken (in the Best Possible Way) by Jenny Lawson (anticipated release 4/6/21) – I’ve listened to two of Lawson’s previous memoirs/essay collections on audio, and I plan to do the same with Broken, as I find her unique voice and humor lend themselves well to audio.

Goodreads synopsis: As Jenny Lawson’s hundreds of thousands of fans know, she suffers from depression. In Broken, she explores her experimental treatment of transcranial magnetic stimulation with brutal honesty. But also with brutal humor. Jenny discusses the frustration of dealing with her insurance company in “An Open Letter to My Insurance Company,” which should be an anthem for anyone who has ever had to call their insurance company to try and get a claim covered. She tackles such timelessly debated questions as “How do dogs know they have penises?” We see how her vacuum cleaner almost set her house on fire, how she was attacked by three bears, business ideas she wants to pitch to Shark Tank, and why she can never go back to the post office. Of course, Jenny’s long-suffering husband Victor―the Ricky to Jenny’s Lucille Ball―is present throughout.

 

Malice by Heather Walter (anticipated release 4/13/21) – I will never not be a sucker for a fairy tale retelling, or for a villain protagonist. This is another one that I was lucky enough to be approved for an eARC via NetGalley, and I’m really excited to check it out.

Goodreads synopsis: Once upon a time, there was a wicked fairy who, in an act of vengeance, cursed a line of princesses to die. A curse that could only be broken by true love’s kiss. You’ve heard this before, haven’t you? The handsome prince. The happily-ever-after. Utter nonsense. Let me tell you, no one in Briar actually cares about what happens to its princesses. Not the way they care about their jewels and elaborate parties and charm-granting elixirs. I thought I didn’t care, either. Until I met her. Princess Aurora. The last heir to Briar’s throne. Kind. Gracious. The future queen her realm needs. One who isn’t bothered that I am Alyce, the Dark Grace, abhorred and feared for the mysterious dark magic that runs in my veins. Humiliated and shamed by the same nobles who pay me to bottle hexes and then brand me a monster. Aurora says I should be proud of my gifts. That she . . . cares for me. Even though it was a power like mine that was responsible for her curse. But with less than a year until that curse will kill her, any future I might see with Aurora is swiftly disintegrating—and she can’t stand to kiss yet another insipid prince. I want to help her. If my power began her curse, perhaps it’s what can lift it. Perhaps, together, we could forge a new world. Nonsense again. Because we all know how this story ends, don’t we? Aurora is the beautiful princess. And I— I am the villain.

Second First Impressions by Sally Thorne (anticipated release 4/13/21) – Sally Thorne wrote one of my all-time favorite contemporary romances, The Hating Game, and I also enjoyed her most recent release 99 Percent Mine. I’m not actually sure how I feel about the synopsis of this one, but I trust Thorne’s writing.

Goodreads synopsis: Ruthie Midona has worked the front desk at the Providence Luxury Retirement Villa for six years, dedicating her entire adult life to caring for the Villa’s residents, maintaining the property (with an assist from DIY YouTube tutorials), and guarding the endangered tortoises that live in the Villa’s gardens. Somewhere along the way, she’s forgotten that she’s young and beautiful, and that there’s a world outside of work—until she meets the son of the property developer who just acquired the retirement center.

Teddy Prescott has spent the last few years partying, sleeping in late, tattooing himself when bored, and generally not taking life too seriously—something his father, who dreams of grooming Teddy into his successor, can’t understand. When Teddy needs a place to crash, his father seizes the chance to get him to grow up. He’ll let Teddy stay in one of the on-site cottages at the retirement home, but only if he works to earn his keep. Teddy agrees—he can change a few lightbulbs and clip some hedges, no sweat. But Ruthie has plans for Teddy too. Her two wealthiest and most eccentric residents have just placed an ad (yet another!) seeking a new personal assistant to torment. The women are ninety-year-old, four-foot-tall menaces, and not one of their assistants has lasted a full week. Offering up Teddy seems like a surefire way to get rid of the tall, handsome, unnerving man who won’t stop getting under her skin.

 

People We Meet on Vacation by Emily Henry (anticipated release 5/11/21) – I really loved Henry’s Beach Read, which came out in 2020, and also her fabulist YA book A Million Junes. I’m glad that she’s writing more contemporary romance; this ones sounds like more of a friends to lovers romance (versus Beach Read, which was my preferred trope of enemies to lovers) but it still sounds great.

Goodreads synopsis: Poppy and Alex. Alex and Poppy. They have nothing in common. She’s a wild child; he wears khakis. She has insatiable wanderlust; he prefers to stay home with a book. And somehow, ever since a fateful car share home from college many years ago, they are the very best of friends. For most of the year they live far apart—she’s in New York City, and he’s in their small hometown—but every summer, for a decade, they have taken one glorious week of vacation together.

Until two years ago, when they ruined everything. They haven’t spoken since. Poppy has everything she should want, but she’s stuck in a rut. When someone asks when she was last truly happy, she knows, without a doubt, it was on that ill-fated, final trip with Alex. And so, she decides to convince her best friend to take one more vacation together—lay everything on the table, make it all right. Miraculously, he agrees. Now she has a week to fix everything. If only she can get around the one big truth that has always stood quietly in the middle of their seemingly perfect relationship. What could possibly go wrong?

 

One Last Stop by Casey McQuiston (anticipated release 6/1/21) – I think that after the fantastic and much-beloved Red, White, and Royal Blue, everyone has been clamoring to see what McQuiston will come out with next. This sounds like a cute contemporary but with a time-travel twist, which I’m definitely on board for.

Goodreads synopsis: Cynical twenty-three-year old August doesn’t believe in much. She doesn’t believe in psychics, or easily forged friendships, or finding the kind of love they make movies about. And she certainly doesn’t believe her ragtag band of new roommates, her night shifts at a 24-hour pancake diner, or her daily subway commute full of electrical outages are going to change that.

But then, there’s Jane. Beautiful, impossible Jane. All hard edges with a soft smile and swoopy hair and saving August’s day when she needed it most. The person August looks forward to seeing on the train every day. The one who makes her forget about the cities she lived in that never seemed to fit, and her fear of what happens when she finally graduates, and even her cold-case obsessed mother who won’t quite let her go. And when August realizes her subway crush is impossible in more ways than one—namely, displaced in time from the 1970s—she thinks maybe it’s time to start believing.

 

When Night Breaks by Janella Angeles (anticipated release 6/8/21) – Angeles’s Where Dreams Descend left off on an intriguing cliffhanger, and I’m very interested to see where she takes the sequel; I’m hoping for more magic from badass protagonist Kallia and more dimension to the love triangle set up in the first book.

 

Darling by K. Ancrum (release date 6/22/21) – I discovered K. Ancrum’s writing this year when I picked up the fantastic The Wicker King, a YA contemporary with sort of a woven-in fantastical narrative that focused on the relationship between its two troubled protagonists, and fell in love. Again, I love a good retelling, and I find Peter Pan retellings particularly interesting because there’s so much to explore and dissect; I can’t wait to see what Ancrum does with this one.

Goodreads synopsis: On Wendy Darling’s first night in Chicago, a boy called Peter appears at her window. He’s dizzying, captivating, beautiful—so she agrees to join him for a night on the town. Wendy thinks they’re heading to a party, but instead they’re soon running in the city’s underground. She makes friends—a punk girl named Tinkerbelle and the lost boys Peter watches over. And she makes enemies—the terrifying Detective Hook, and maybe Peter himself, as his sinister secrets start coming to light. Can Wendy find the courage to survive this night—and make sure everyone else does, too?

Reign by Cora Carmack (anticipated release 7/6/21) – Similarly to Where Dreams Descend, a great cliffhanger was set up in the previous book Rage, and I can’t wait to see where Carmack takes this fantasy/romance trilogy. I’m hoping to see protagonist Aurora truly come into her power and see how she navigates a growing conflict on a greater scale.

 

A Psalm for the Wild-Built by Becky Chambers (release date 7/13/21) – Becky Chambers wrote one of my all-time favorite science fiction books, The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet, and every time she comes out with something new it instantly goes on my TBR. I’m actually not in love with the premise of this one, but I trust her writing.

Goodreads synopsis: It’s been centuries since the robots of Earth gained self-awareness and laid down their tools. Centuries since they wandered, en masse, into the wilderness, never to be seen again. Centuries since they faded into myth and urban legend. One day, the life of a tea monk is upended by the arrival of a robot, there to honor the old promise of checking in. The robot cannot go back until the question of “what do people need?” is answered. But the answer to that question depends on who you ask, and how.
They’re going to need to ask it a lot.

 

A Lesson in Vengeance by Victoria Lee (anticipated release 8/3/21) – this one is being recommended for fans of Wilder Girls and Ninth House, so naturally I’m 100% on board; I’ve never read from this author before so I’m very much hoping it doesn’t disappoint.

Goodreads synopsis: Felicity Morrow is back at Dalloway School. Perched in the Catskill mountains, the centuries-old, ivy-covered campus was home until the tragic death of her girlfriend. Now, after a year away, she’s returned to graduate. She even has her old room in Godwin House, the exclusive dormitory rumored to be haunted by the spirits of five Dalloway students—girls some say were witches. The Dalloway Five all died mysteriously, one after another, right on Godwin grounds. Witchcraft is woven into Dalloway’s history. The school doesn’t talk about it, but the students do. In secret rooms and shadowy corners, girls convene. And before her girlfriend died, Felicity was drawn to the dark. She’s determined to leave that behind her now; all Felicity wants is to focus on her senior thesis and graduate. But it’s hard when Dalloway’s occult history is everywhere. And when the new girl won’t let her forget.

It’s Ellis Haley’s first year at Dalloway, and she’s already amassed a loyal following. A prodigy novelist at seventeen, Ellis is a so-called “method writer.” She’s eccentric and brilliant, and Felicity can’t shake the pull she feels to her. So when Ellis asks Felicity for help researching the Dalloway Five for her second book, Felicity can’t say no. Given her history with the arcane, Felicity is the perfect resource. And when history begins to repeat itself, Felicity will have to face the darkness in Dalloway–and in herself.

 

The Heart Principle by Helen Hoang (anticipated release 8/17/21) – The release date for this one was pushed back from 2020 to 2021, and I bet it will be well worth the wait. Hoang wrote one of my favorite contemporary romances, The Kiss Quotient, and since fan favorite Quan is the protagonist of this newest installment in the series, I have high hopes.

Goodreads synopsis: To most people, Quan Diep is nothing but a surly-looking, underachieving playboy. The problem is he’s not any of those things. And now that he’s the CEO of an up-and-coming retail business, he’s suddenly a “catch,” and the rich girls who never used to pay any attention to him are looking at him in a new way—especially Camilla, the girl who brushed him off many years ago. Anna Sun dislikes Quan Diep almost as much as germy bathroom door handles. Or so she tells herself. She will never admit that she has a secret crush on him, especially because he only has eyes for her charismatic and newly engaged younger sister Camilla. Over the years, Anna has worked hard to overcome her OCD, but she’ll still need to find a way to bury her anxieties and seduce Quan so he doesn’t ruin her sister’s engagement, and with it, a crucial real estate development deal. Slowly, Anna breaks down Quan’s dangerous and careless exterior while peeling off her own tough, protective shell. But when Quan discovers Anna’s true intentions, he’s forced to confront his own hurtful past and learn to forgive, while Anna must face her greatest challenge: truly opening herself up to love.

 

Under the Whispering Door by TJ Klune (anticipated release 9/24/21) – I found Klune’s The House in the Cerulean Sea to be a really sweet and enjoyable read, and this one sounds like it’ll be in a similar vein.

Goodreads synopsis: When a reaper comes to collect Wallace Price from his own funeral, Wallace suspects he really might be dead. Instead of leading him directly to the afterlife, the reaper takes him to a small village. On the outskirts, off the path through the woods, tucked between mountains, is a particular tea shop, run by a man named Hugo. Hugo is the tea shop’s owner to locals and the ferryman to souls who need to cross over. But Wallace isn’t ready to abandon the life he barely lived. With Hugo’s help he finally starts to learn about all the things he missed in life. When the Manager, a curious and powerful being, arrives at the tea shop and gives Wallace one week to cross over, Wallace sets about living a lifetime in seven days. By turns heartwarming and heartbreaking, this absorbing tale of grief and hope is told with TJ Klune’s signature warmth, humor, and extraordinary empathy.

 

What books are on your radar for 2021?? Let me know if any of these made your list (or if you have any good ones that I missed!) in the comments!