Today's post is not going to be a really long one but I wanted to highlight some of my favorite books of 2021. I spent a lot of time reading last year and have created a list of 6 books that top my list of books that I read. Now I was using Goodreads to track my reading but have since created my own reading tracker book and have switched to using that because Goodreads doesn't allow you to reread books you have read before and track them as books read.
So with my current reading tracker (which you can see on instagram @wanderlust_canadian_) I can count books that I have read before. I started this tracker for 2022 and I have a feeling that I will need 3-4 of these books a year, which is totally fine with me. If you interested in getting a reading tracker yourself send me a message, I am willing to sell these books as well.
Below I have listed the title as well as author. I have also included the summary of each book.
*Reminder some of these books have trigger warnings, and they are all 18+.*
My Top 6 Books of 2021
The Spanish Love Deception by Elena Armas
A wedding. A trip to Spain. The most infuriating man. And three days of pretending. Or in other words, a plan that will never work.Catalina Martín, finally, not single. Her family is happy to announce that she will bring her American boyfriend to her sister’s wedding. Everyone is invited to come and witness the most magical event of the year.That would certainly be tomorrow’s headline in the local newspaper of the small Spanish town I came from. Or the epitaph on my tombstone, seeing the turn my life had taken in the span of a phone call.Four weeks wasn’t a lot of time to find someone willing to cross the Atlantic–from NYC and all the way to Spain–for a wedding. Let alone, someone eager to play along my charade. But that didn’t mean I was desperate enough to bring the 6’4 blue eyed pain in my ass standing before me. Aaron Blackford. The man whose main occupation was making my blood boil had just offered himself to be my date. Right after inserting his nose in my business, calling me delusional, and calling himself my best option. See? Outrageous. Aggravating. Blood boiling. And much to my total despair, also right. Which left me with a surly and extra large dilemma in my hands. Was it worth the suffering to bring my colleague and bane of my existence as my fake boyfriend to my sister’s wedding? Or was I better off coming clean and facing the consequences of my panic induced lie?Like my abuela would say, que dios nos pille confesados.
The Spanish Love Deception is an enemies-to-lovers, fake-dating, SLOW-BURN romance. Perfect for those looking for a steamy slow-burn with the sweetest Happily Ever After. I loved this book Catalina and Aaron's arguments are hilarious and I love the development of their romance. Found this one on TikTok as well. Definitely recommend reading this one.
Diver's Heart by K.A. Knight
*check trigger warnings*
The first time I met Tyler Lucas, I was seventeen. All it took was one summer to fall in love with him...but I fell hard, too hard, and not just for him...
A series of bad choices and actions causes me to leave him and our family behind. I have to find myself once again, and to do that I must dive deep.
At twenty-four, I'm a world-class diver and explorer, one of the best. But when my newest job collides with my past, will we be able to work together, especially with the stakes so high?
Down below, things can easily go wrong, and when they do, we only have two options—work together to survive, or fall apart and die.
Down we go, right into the abyss.
This is a reverse harem, spicy romance book, so make sure you check the trigger warnings. I loved this book. I have to say this is not a book I would have normally read but I seen it on TikTok and decided to give it a try. I have to say this is a book that I enjoy rereading as well. This book had so many surprises that I thoroughly enjoyed. Definitely recommend reading it.
Den of Vipers by K.A.Knight
*18+ Reverse Harem Romance. Warning this book contains scenes and references of abuse/assault that some readers may find triggering. Along with graphic sex scenes and violence. This is a dark book*
Ryder, Garrett, Kenzo, and Diesel—The Vipers. They run this town and everyone in it. Their deals are as sordid as their business, and their reputation is enough to bring a grown man to his knees, forcing him to beg for mercy. They are not people you mess with, yet my dad did. The old man ran up a debt with them and then sold me to cover his losses.Yes, sold me. They own me now. I’m theirs in every sense of the word. But I’ve never been meek and compliant. These men, they look at me with longing. Their scarred, blood-stained hands holding me tight. They want everything I am, everything I have to give, and won’t stop until they get just that. They can own my body, but they will never have my heart.The Vipers? I’m going to make them regret the day they took me. This girl? She bites too.
I loved this book. Again not a typical book for me to read but I again seen it on TikTok and had to read it. I am really glad that I did. I have reread it again this year already. Again this is a reverse harem, very spicy romance. It is also very graphic with violence and it does include scenes and references to abuse/assault. Make sure you check out trigger warnings. If you still aren't sure you can always send me a message and I can summarize what happens in the book if you want to make sure you actually feel comfortable reading it. To be fair I read this book and then immediately after read The Spanish Love Deception to have a change of pace. I recommend this book if you are comfortable reading it for sure.
Credence by Penelope Douglas
*Credence is a full length, stand-alone romance suitable for readers 18+.
From New York Times bestselling author, Penelope Douglas, comes a new standalone! Three of them, one of her, and a remote cabin in the woods. Let the hot, winter nights ensue...Tiernan de Haas doesn’t care about anything anymore. The only child of a film producer and his starlet wife, she’s grown up with wealth and privilege but not love or guidance. Shipped off to boarding schools from an early age, it was still impossible to escape the loneliness and carve out a life of her own. The shadow of her parents’ fame followed her everywhere. And when they suddenly pass away, she knows she should be devastated. But has anything really changed? She’s always been alone, hasn’t she?Jake Van der Berg, her father’s stepbrother and her only living relative, assumes guardianship of Tiernan who is still two months shy of eighteen. Sent to live with him and his two sons, Noah and Kaleb, in the mountains of Colorado, Tiernan soon learns that these men now have a say in what she chooses to care and not care about anymore. As the three of them take her under their wing, teach her to work and survive in the remote woods far away from the rest of the world, she slowly finds her place among them. And as a part of them. She also realizes that lines blur and rules become easy to break when no one else is watching. One of them has her. The other one wants her. But he…He’s going to keep her.
This book was amazing. Lots of controversy around this book when I first decided to get it. I found this one on TikTok as well. This was a really good book and I truly enjoyed it. It has been added to my reread list. Make sure you check trigger warnings for this book as well.
It Happened One Summer by Tessa Bailey
Piper Bellinger is fashionable, influential, and her reputation as a wild child means the paparazzi are constantly on her heels. When too much champagne and an out-of-control rooftop party lands Piper in the slammer, her stepfather decides enough is enough. So he cuts her off, and sends Piper and her sister to learn some responsibility running their late father’s dive bar... in Washington.
Piper hasn’t even been in Westport for five minutes when she meets big, bearded sea captain Brendan, who thinks she won’t last a week outside of Beverly Hills. So what if Piper can’t do math, and the idea of sleeping in a shabby apartment with bunk beds gives her hives. How bad could it really be? She’s determined to show her stepfather—and the hot, grumpy local—that she’s more than a pretty face.
Except it’s a small town and everywhere she turns, she bumps into Brendan. The fun-loving socialite and the gruff fisherman are polar opposites, but there’s an undeniable attraction simmering between them. Piper doesn’t want any distractions, especially feelings for a man who sails off into the sunset for weeks at a time. Yet as she reconnects with her past and begins to feel at home in Westport, Piper starts to wonder if the cold, glamorous life she knew is what she truly wants. LA is calling her name, but Brendan—and this town full of memories—may have already caught her heart.
I loved this book. I really enjoyed the dynamic between Piper and Brendan and how their love grew. I definitely recommend this book to anyone who loves a small town-enemies to lovers-grumpy and sunshine romance. I found this one on TikTok as well and the second one of this series comes out March 1, 2022. I can't wait to read it and continue the story.
Fix Her Up by Tessa Bailey
Georgette Castle’s family runs the best home renovation business in town, but she picked balloons instead of blueprints and they haven’t taken her seriously since. Frankly, she’s over it. Georgie loves planning children’s birthday parties and making people laugh, just not at her own expense. She’s determined to fix herself up into a Woman of the World... whatever that means.
Phase one: new framework for her business (a website from this decade, perhaps?)
Phase two: a gut-reno on her wardrobe (fyi, leggings are pants.)
Phase three: updates to her exterior (do people still wax?)
Phase four: put herself on the market (and stop crushing on Travis Ford!)
Living her best life means facing the truth: Georgie hasn’t been on a date since, well, ever. Nobody’s asking the town clown out for a night of hot sex, that’s for sure. Maybe if people think she’s having a steamy love affair, they’ll acknowledge she’s not just the “little sister” who paints faces for a living. And who better to help demolish that image than the resident sports star and tabloid favorite?
Travis Ford was major league baseball’s hottest rookie when an injury ended his career. Now he’s flipping houses to keep busy and trying to forget his glory days. But he can’t even cross the street without someone recapping his greatest hits. Or making a joke about his… bat. And then there's Georgie, his best friend’s sister, who is not a kid anymore. When she proposes a wild scheme—that they pretend to date, to shock her family and help him land a new job—he agrees. What’s the harm? It’s not like it’s real. But the girl Travis used to tease is now a funny, full-of-life woman and there’s nothing fake about how much he wants her...
I loved this book as well. It is a brother's best friend, fake dating romance. I really loved Georgette and how she grew over the course of the book. Well worth a read. Definitely recommend.
I have already reread The Spanish Love Deception and Den of Vipers this year but I plan on reading the rest again.
If you ever need recommendations for books message me I have lots of ideas.
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