Midway through the year! Can you believe it? I just posted my most anticipated adult fiction books for the second half of 2021 if you missed that and it’s really messing with my brain that we could possibly be at the midway point. I’m working on my YA second half post so look for that in the coming weeks!
Reading has slowed down a little bit this summer because I’ve been trying to soak up every moment and we’ve been having lots of summer adventures with the cousins. I’m okay with that, honestly, even though I can feel the weight of my TBR squarely on my shoulders. There’s just so many books I want to read!!
Anyways here’s some mini reviews of books I’ve read semi recently. If you are looking for some good reads, check out my favorite books of 2021 so far.
Other can’t miss posts:
What I’ve Been Reading Lately
Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links which means that if you click on a link and purchase something I’ve talked about or recommended, I’ll receive a very small percentage of the sale. Please see my disclosure policy for more info
The Siren by Katherine St. John
Legitimately the most perfect beach read! A frothy escape full of glamour, secrets and a pinch of suspense. I couldn’t stop turning the pages to see how it was all going to end up. I wouldn’t say it was super surprising in any way when it comes to what was going to happen but seriously juicy and compulsively readable. The multi-POV worked really well in this book as it raced toward the big reveal.
One Last Stop by Casey McQuiston
I really loved so much about this new romance — the found family, the whole time loop thing, the romance between them, the NYCness of it all. However if I’m being honest, at certain points, I felt like it slogged a little bit. Like I’d really start finding myself antsy reading it (not in a good way, like in a skimming a little bit more) until it would hit its stride again.
I LOVED the secondary characters so much — a true highlight of this book. I loved them individually but collectively this book was such an ode to found family and finding where you belong. I felt that so much in this book — it felt so, so authentic. That feeling of realizing you are exactly where you are supposed to be with people who truly are your people.
Really fun romance though, loved the writing. Would have probably rated it 5 stars had it not dragged for a decent chunk. I do recommend this f/f time loop romance full of diverse, wonderful characters.
You May Also Like: The Audible Alternative I’m Obsessed With
How The One-Armed Sister Sweeps Her House by Cherie Jones
Oof this one was a heavy one — heartachingly so with all the traumatic things that happen in it. An impressive literary fiction book that will definitely stick with me as we see the aftermath in a small beach town in Barbados when a rich white tourist is murdered and the reverberations it has on many locals.
Well-written and full of captivating, complex characters — you could feel the pain of the characters when it came to their trauma, the poverty, the violence they’ve endured, etc. I appreciated their backstories, too. The writing, and how things were revealed with the multi POVs, was so perfect to me as a reader — I couldn’t put it down.
It is relentlessly sad and deals with some really tough traumas so be aware if you pick it up!
You May Also Like: How I Find Time To Read
Where The Rhythm Takes You by Sarah Dass
Lovers of contemporary YA, don’t miss this modern day Persuasion retelling set in Tobago. Everything about this worked for me — from the vivid Caribbean setting to the fabulous second chance romance. I loved the whole cast of characters and really had fun on the adventures they ended up on. I found the family aspect of this story really touching and poignant — the loss from years before, being afraid to move forward because of it, holding on to everything related to her mom with a vice grip, etc.
You May Also Like: New YA Books by Black Authors
We Are Inevitable by Gayle Forman
Gayle Forman is one of my all time favorite authors and I am happy to tell you I loved her latest! The romance wasn’t my FAVE in this one compared to her others but literally everything else about this book was perfection — and a perfect summer read!
It blends some hard-hitting things with some really lighthearted, uplifting things– you guys HAVE to meet the Lumberjacks and Chad!! Seriously cackling at times, dabbing my eyes at others. It’s compulsively readable and a perfect length for these breezy summer days. These characters are messy and imperfect and REAL.
But THIS year especially I feel like it was the perfect summer read because, after a long year and half that we’ve all been through, it felt a lot like a balm to my weathered & weary soul that is beginning to heal, process and BREATHE a little bit easier this summer. Much like the main character in this book begins to.
This book, at its heart, is an ode to community — something that has looked a little bit different for us lately — and something a lot of us are eagerly diving headfirst towards and appreciating even more.
Watching a community rally around a failing bookshop and a family hanging on by a thread is the uplifting, feel-good HEALING kind of read I needed this summer. Especially as it reminds us of the magic of bookstores and book people — something I have SORELY missed in real life lately as much as I am so grateful for online book spaces.
You May Also Like: Best YA Book Series To Binge
An Emotion of Great Delight by Tahereh Mafi
Listen — nobody is as sad as I am about how this one missed the mark for me. I LOVED her Shatter Me series and thought her foray into contemporary with A Very Large Expanse Of Sea was incredible. This one just didn’t do much for me.
Her writing is as beautiful and visceral as ever. I appreciate Tahereh sharing the raw and vulnerable truth of the post-9/11 world for Muslim teens, families and communities. But this book, aside from feeling things because of the power of her writing, didn’t do much for me.
I love slice of life, super character driven novels and so this appealed to me initially as I was reading and I was really into it but then I just didn’t feel the payoff was really there. And the ending was sooo abrupt! I honestly feel like if the ending wasn’t like that I might have felt more satisfied and enjoyed it more.
People Like Her by Ellery Lloyd
Listen, it looks like the people of Goodreads did not like this one but it got me out of a reading slump where I was having a hard time concentrating on books because it kept me turning the pages.
It was one of those more outlandish thrillers about awful people (who you will hate) but I enjoyed it. While over the top, I did like the commentary on social media and the influencer world while furiously reading to see what was going to happen next as this mom influencer’s life is being stalked and slowly unraveled by SOMEONE. Kept me on my toes!
I thought it was super fun, though horrifying at times, and kept my attention but isn’t like anything mind-blowing. Just a fun read — definitely a good book for vacation or something.
What have you been reading lately? Have you read any of the ones I have — what did you think?
Alice says
I will have to pick up the siren! I just read the lions den by the same author and it was so delightful unexpected twisty and sinister. I loved it!