Books I Read in 2021

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This list is generally chronological for when I read these books, so they’re not listed in relation to my rating of them. I’ve included a few words to describe each, after the cover photos (and links!), but have kept it brief since there are so many. Out of all of the books I read in 2021, there are a handful that stand out. Check out my next post for My Favorite Books of 2021! Happy reading! xo

I read around 60 books last year. I was a pretty active reader throughout 2021 until the fall when we decided to sell our house and moving took over my life. Around the holidays I made time to read again and remembered why I love it. I get sucked into a story, fall in love with the characters, and forget about the stress of everyday life.

Books Read 2021

The Hunting Party

by Lucy Foley | college friends, annual trip, Scotland, blizzard, murder | 4/5 stars

Cleo McDougal Regrets Nothing

by Allison Winn Scotch | politics, list of regrets, insightful, lighthearted | Rating 3/5

Don’t Look for Me

by Wendy Walker | missing mother, cold case, small town, grief | Rating 5/5

The Silent Wife

by Karin Slaughter | serial killer, corrupt police, cold case, intertwined love stories | Rating: 5/5

Behind the Red Door

by Megan Collins | memoir, woman kidnapped, unsettling connection, recurring nightmares | Rating: 3/5

The Summer Villa

by Melissa Hill | summer reunion, luxury retreat, face the truth, magic of friendship | Rating: 4/5

The Winter Sister

by Megan Collins | missing sister, parental care, guilt, searching for the truth | Rating: 4/5

Troubles in Paradise (Paradise series, #3)

by Elin Hilderbrand | St. John, hurricane, lighthearted drama, satisfying conclusion | Rating: 5/5

Stillhouse Lake

by Rachel Caine | husband serial killer, internet trolls and stalkers, remove lake house, warrior mother | Rating: 4/5

Beautiful Ruins

by Jess Walter | Italian coastline, Hollywood actress, foreign kindness, lovely mess of life | Rating: 3/5

The Other Wife

by Claire McGowan | isolation, new neighbor, remote cottage, lifelong secrets | Rating: 4/5

The Guest List

by Lucy Foley | remote wedding venue, friendly tension, murder, slow burn | Rating: 5/5

The Last Flight

by Julie Clark | perfect husband, chance meeting, plane crash, personal struggles | Rating: 5/5

The Wife Who Knew Too Much

by Michele Campbell | summer fling, dead wife, secret diary, greed | Rating: 4/5

Pretty Little Wife

by Darby Kane | college town, students vanishing, secrets missing high school teacher | Rating: 5/5

Last Couple Standing

by Matthew Norman | four couples, divorce, experimentation, messy love story | Rating: 3/5

The Last Time I Lied

by Riley Sager | childhood summer camp, missing girl, camp counselor, secrets | Rating: 5/5

The Whisper Man

by Alex North | serial killer, fresh start, whispering outside your window, small town | Rating: 5/5

Eight Perfect Murders

by Peter Swanson | bookstore owner, blog post, serial killer, impossible to crack | Rating: 3/5

Final Girls

by Riley Sager | last one standing, traumatic, new life, old secrets | Rating: 5/5

Thin Air

by Lisa Gray | private investigator, abducted child, cold case, searching for your past | Rating: 4/5

One by One

by Freida McFadden | long awaited vacation, lost in the woods, one vanishes, survival | Rating: 4/5

The Ghost Writer

by A.R. Torre | dark secret, grim outlook, one last book, unexpected kindness | Rating: 4/5

The Wedding Game

by Meghan Quinn | rom com, wedding, DIY contest show, lighthearted | Rating: 4/5

Found

by Erin Kinsley | missing child, silence, unexpectedly found, serial abductions | Rating: 4/5

Severance

by Ling Ma | apocalyptic satire, New York City, group of survivors, rituals and routines | Rating: 3/5

One for the Money

by Janet Evanovich | bounty hunter, blackmail, sexual tension, first chance | Rating: 4/5

The Girl in the Mirror

by Rose Carlyle | twin sisters, greed, transoceanic trip, lust | Rating: 5/5

Erotic Stories for Punjabi Widows

by Balli Kaur Jaswal | East-meets-West, community, secrets, friendship | Rating: 4/5

The First Mistake

by Sadie Jones | domestic suspense, perfect family, the best friend, psychological thriller | Rating: 4/5

Separation Anxiety

by Laura Zigman | baby sling, family dog, self-help writer, anxiety | Rating: 3/5

The Darkest Flower

by Kristin Wright | PTA mothers, elementary school poisoning, gardening, privilege | Rating: 5/5

The Push

by Ashley Audrain | psychological drama, new mother, devastating incident, second guessing | Rating: 4/5

The Wife Upstairs

by Rachel Hawkins | Jane Eyre retelling, new twists, mysterious resident, rags-to-riches | Rating: 4/5

Good Company

by Cynthia D’Aprix Sweeney | family friends, secrets, theater, bighearted story | Rating: 3/5

Finlay Donovan is Killing It

by Elle Cosimano | struggling writer, mistaken contract killer, witty, motherhood | Rating: 5/5

Mother May I

by Joshilyn Jackson | perfect life, mysterious woman, missing child, revenge | Rating: 4/5

Leave the World Behind

by Rumaan Alam | strangers, city wide blackout, houses guests, suspense | Rating: 3/5

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo

by Taylor Jenkins Reid | Hollywood actress, ambition, tell-all, tragedy | Rating: 5/5

It Ends with Us

by Colleen Hoover | romance, domestic abuse, no dating rule, love triangle | Rating: 5/5

People We Meet on Vacation

by Emily Henry | friends, nothing in common, annual trip, contemporary romance | Rating: 4/5

Outlawed

by Anna North | modern western, female-led, outcasts, a treacherous plan | Rating: 3/5

Mexican Gothic

by Silvia Moreno-Garcia | mysterious letter, Mexican countryside, unexplained illness, ghosts | Rating: 5/5

Midnight Library

by Matt Haig | between life and death, another chance, regrets, self discovery | Rating: 4/5

The Hunting Wives

by May Cobb | elite clique, southern small town, irresistible neighbor, body discovered | Rating: 4/5

Every Vow you Break

by Peter Swanson | dream honeymoon, remote island, secrets, worst nightmare | Rating: 4/5

Malibu Rising

by Taylor Jenkins Reid | annual party, family drama, surfing, secrets | Rating: 5/5

The Maidens

by Alex Michaelides | new professor, murder, university secret society, Greek mythology | Rating: 4/5

The Last Thing He Told Me

by Laura Dave | disappearance, step-mother, mystery/domestic suspense, family | Rating: 5/5

The Lost Apothecary

by Sarah Penner | 1791 apothecary, present day investigation, secrets, friendship | Rating: 4/5

The Guncle

by Steven Rowley | grief, parenting your niece and nephew, Palm Springs, humor and heart | Rating: 4/5

Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine

by Gail Honeyman | social struggles, routine, co-worker’s big heart, uplifting | Rating: 5/5

Arsenic and Adobo

by Mia P. Manansala | family restaurant, food critic, poisoning, lighthearted whodoneit | Rating: 4/5

The Strange Journey of Alice Pendelbury

by Marc Levy | strange neighbor, fortune-teller, journey, destiny | Rating: 4/5

Burden of Truth

by Robin James | small town, big city lawyer, town secrets, cover-up | Rating: 5/5

In Five Years

by Rebecca Serle | friendship, five-year plan, dream into the future, chance meeting | Rating: 4/5

The Girl Who Died

by Ragnar Jonasson | grief, remote village in Iceland, teacher, murder | Rating: 4/5

Not a Happy Family

by Shari Lapena | family secrets, wealthy parents, murder, three adult children | Rating: 5/5

Survive the Night

by Riley Sager | overnight cross country road trip, serial killer, lies, 1990’s | Rating: 5/5

The Vanishing Half

by Brit Bennett | twin sisters, separation, racial influence, lifelong consequences | Rating: 4/5

Golden Girl

by Elin Hilderbrand | summer, hit-and-run accident, nudges, heartfelt | Rating: 5/5

In a Holidaze

by Christina Lauren | holiday rom com, lifelong family friends, winter cabin, time loop | Rating: 4/5

The Wrong Family

by Tarryn Fisher | homeless, perfect marriage, roommates, unexpected twists | Rating: 3/5