I read 130 books in 2021. My goal was 120.
- Longest book: Beneath the Stain by Amy Lane (660 pages)
- Shortest book: The Holiday Hookup by Baylin Crow (60 pages)
- My average rating for 2021: 3.6 stars (same as 2020 – good to see I’m consistent!)
- Favourite series of 2021:
Dragon Spirit by C I Black
D’Vaire by Jessamyn Kingley - Favourite authors of 2021:
Nicky James
Roan Parrish
C I Black
Dianne Duvall
Cara Dee - My five star books from 2021:
Shatter by Jocelynn Drake and Rinda Elliott
The Segonian by Dianne Duvall
Cry Wolf by Charlie Adhara
Up Close and Personal by Jay Hogan
Best Laid Plans by Roan Parrish
Zyon by Michelle Frost and Michele Notaro
The Endless Road to Sunshine by Nicky James
The One That Got Away by Nicky James
Small Change by Roan Parrish
Luckless by Cari Z
Lucky by Garrett Leigh
Heart of the High King by Jessamyn Kingley
Reinventing Cato by Barbara Elsborg
In the Wreckage by Hailey Turner
Finding Zach by Rowan Speedwell
Cliff’s Descent by Dianne Duvall
The Other Side of Here by E M Lindsey
Beneath the Stain by Amy Lane
Archangel’s Light by Nalini Singh
Unshackled by Cara Dee
In the Absence of Light by Adrienne Wilder
King of the Dark by Ariana Nash - Most disappointing book of 2021:
Spellbound Dreams by Jessamyn Kingley
Some of my favourite quotes from 2021:
“You wanna come?” Sophie offered. “I can try to finagle you some tickets. We could wrap you in a feather boa and call it a joint bachelor party.”
Cry Wolf by Charlie Adhara
“I would rather you wrap me in boa constrictor and call time of death,” Cooper said, “than attend a haunted Halloween gala, my god.”
Sophie turned to Park. “You know, it’s never too late to call off this engagement. You’re a catch, you’ll find someone.”
Park sighed. “I was cursed by an old witch to find him charming.”
“That’s some dark magic,” Sophie said,
“I just want you to get the wedding you want. Whatever that may be.”
Cry Wolf by Charlie Adhara
“Okay,” Cooper said. “I appreciate it. And if I ever wake as an aging silent film star obsessed with her past, I might take you up on that. But in the meantime, I’m more likely to want to get married in the sea lion pool, corpse included, than here in this building.”
“It’s your lack of hyperbole that really made me fall in love with you. Wrote half my vows about it.”
But that didn’t change the fact that one of them was shedding walls to reveal literal fluffy goodness and the other was shedding walls to reveal…well. The person Cooper had always been, he supposed. Three percent less of a dick? Five on a good day?
Cry Wolf by Charlie Adhara
“That’s the third hug of the day, you know,” he said, curiosity burning in his expression. “My diary entry tonight is going to be rife with exclamation marks and hearts.”
Cry Wolf by Charlie Adhara
Rain lashed at the flimsy windbreaker Ed had grabbed by mistake, pissing through the material like it was a semipermeable membrane, soaking him through to his irritated skin in under thirty seconds flat. Fucking Auckland’s, fucking subtropical, fucking weather.
Up Close and Personal by Jay Hogan
Ridiculously sexy and nice. Ed hadn’t been prepared for that. Nice was his kryptonite. You could say all you liked about hot bodies, sexual chemistry, guys strong enough to hold and fuck you against a wall. But nice? Nice was a highly undervalued personality trait in Ed’s mind. Nice came with respect, manners, caring, and loyalty, if you were lucky.
Up Close and Personal by Jay Hogan
Sandy’s eyebrows shot up so fast, Tony would surely find them waggling atop his espresso machine the next morning and Sandy would be condemned to drawing them in place for the remainder of his life like some Jean Harlow wannabe on a bad day.
Against the Grain by Jay Hogan
“No jokes about the elderly?” I asked as we got to the elevator. “Yesterday you were full of cheek about my age.”
Elements of Retrofit by N R Walker
“Can you remember yesterday?” he asked, wide-eyed. “Your medication must really work.”
I pressed the button for the lobby. “You’re such a little shit.”
We stood in front of a wall with a painting that looked like it had been done by a five-year-old. Monkey. A five-year-old monkey who had been given a box of Crayola, a blank canvas, and LSD.
Elements of Retrofit by N R Walker
Don’t you hate it when people say, ‘no pun intended’? Intend your puns, you cowards.”
Hardwood by K M Neuhold
I have a gag reflex that’s as delicate as a sheet of tissue paper in a thunderstorm.
Puppuccino by Allison Temple
I didn’t mean for it to come tumbling out of my mouth the way it had, like some sprawling awkward octopus of a statement that was technically supposed to be a request.
Show Me by Neve Wilder
A stranger who had half a foot and several stone on me, even if I did fight like a psychotic Inspector Gadget.
Lucky by Garrett Leigh
“Hope I didn’t give them a massive tip by accident.”
Lucky by Garrett Leigh
“Why? I’m sure they deserve it. It’s pissing down out there.”
“Is it?” I flicked a glance to the window and saw that it was indeed wanking it down, which seemed symbolic of the world we were hiding away from.
The road to Elle 