If anything GOOD came out of 2020, it was books. I read some AMAZING stories last year, and this year is looking to be just as good, if not better. There are so many books that I am not-so-patiently waiting for, but I am going to give you just a glimpse with my top 5 most-anticipated books of 2021:
1. The Finish Line (The Ravenhood Duet #3)
by Kate Stewart
The Ravenhood Duet was my Top Read of 2020 so when Kate Stewart announced that the extended epilogue that she was working on was turning into a full length third novel? Well, that immediately became my #1 most-anticipated read of 2021! In The Finish Line, we'll be getting inside Tobias's head for the first time and I can't wait for it. He really had to work for my affections in The Ravenhood Duet as my loyalty was clearly to Sean and Dom (Oh Dom...my poor heart!) I am still not over the duet and I have a feeling that I am going to be just as lost after reading The Finish Line. I've already warned my family that I'll be clearing my calendar as soon as this book hits my Kindle. Here is what to expect, and yes, you definitely need to read The Ravenhood duet before picking up this one.
Blurb:
Secrets and Lies...
I’ve lived the entirety of my life wrapped up in subterfuge for one purpose—revenge.
Through the years, I lived more as an enigma than a man.
For so long, I denied I had a beating heart of my own.
Until her. Until she unearthed the starving vessel inside, forced me to acknowledge it, forced me to understand that I’m capable of bleeding the same as any other.
For that, we paid. We're still paying.
Yet, she demands it still, the useless heart of the ruthless thief and shameless villain she fell for. My fear is, I’m no longer that man.
With the lies I’ve told, the life I’ve led, my mistakes are beginning to catch up with me, day by day, one by one.
This is my last chance, and I have no intention of losing her again, but as the deception of my past starts to unravel and close in, shedding my humanity may be the only thing that can save us both.
Maybe it’s already too late.
2. The Stray Prince (Royals #2) by Ella Fields
A King So Cold by Ella Fields was another of my Top Reads of 2020 and Lord Zad moved toward the top of the list of my favorite book boyfriends of all time. So obviously, I'm a little excited to see more of Zad, Audra and their fantastical world in The Stray Prince. Again, you must read A King So Cold first, and even if you're not a fan of paranormal or royal romance, I urge you to give this one a try. It's not my typical genre either, but A King So Cold was one of my top reads OF ALL TIME and I expect nothing less of book #2.
Blurb:
Treacherous, sexy, and highly addictive. USA Today bestselling author Ella Fields delivers the conclusion to Audra’s story in this fast-paced dark fantasy romance.
I have your queen. If you wish to see her again, you know what you need to do...
After months of burgeoning peace, Queen Audra is doing her utmost to help Rosinthe further cleanse itself of the stains her father left in his wake. With the steadfast lord of the east at her side, and her estranged husband returning to his duties in the Sun Kingdom, it would appear that order has finally been restored.
But nothing is ever as it seems.
A mystical land has awakened, and after being locked unto itself for many years, its king wants more than answers. He and his realm are in need of something else, and he’ll stop at nothing to retrieve it.
Hearts will break. Blood will spill. Desire will destroy. When two worlds collide, can love endure when vengeance must reign?
Contains dark themes. Recommended for 18+ and that book one, A King So Cold, be read first.
3. Restless Things (Folkestone Sins #3)
by Samantha Lovelock
I never would have imagined that the Folkestone Sins series is Author Samantha Lovelock's debut. This series begins with Fragile Things and Fractured Things, and it is an addictive page-turner filled with mystery and suspense. We were left with quite the cliffy at the end of book 2 and I cannot wait to see how this story unfolds with Restless Things. Again, make sure to start at the beginning as you won't want to miss a thing.
Blurb:
Sometimes in ruin, we find our truth.
Sunday
Payne Emerson is the boy I grew up with. The one who kept all of my secrets.
My life was perfect, until that one fateful night it all fell apart.
And I became invisible.
When my brother died, my parents looked right through me. My lonely feet stumbled and I finally fell.
Nobody truly knows how deep the darkness within me dwells, nobody except him.
I’m afraid of the fire he ignites within me. Afraid it will burn through the walls I’ve built to shelter my bruised and wounded heart.
What if I can’t find my way back?
I can’t lose myself again.
Payne
Sunday Easton is the first girl I ever kissed. The one who holds my heart in the palm of her hand.
When her world collapsed, I tried to be there for her. We were young, I was powerless.
And I became invisible.
She confessed her sins and I kept her secrets, holding tight to her small hand in the dark. Now we don’t talk about the heat that burns between us.
I’m the only one who truly sees her and I’m done pretending.
Will she ever trust me enough to let go?
I’ll never let her disappear.
★ Restless Things is the first book in Payne and Sunday's story and the third book in the Folkestone Sins series - it can't be read as a standalone. This is a dark, mature high school/new adult romance. This is a dark, mature high school/new adult romance. It contains situations and flashbacks that may trigger some readers, drug use, mental health issues, language that may be offensive, and scenes of a sexual nature (all consensual).
4. After Rain Falls (River of Rain #2) by C.E. Ricci
I am still not over Follow the River, the first book in this duet, and I can't wait for the conclusion to River and Rain's story. This is one of the most angst-filled, heartbreaking M/M romances that I've ever read, and I'm almost scared to see where this story will take us. I know that it's probably going to hurt to read this one, but I am so ready for it and I need it NOW.
Blurb:
Love has never been important to me. Not because I didn't want it, I just never imagined feeling something so powerful.
There was a point where I thought I felt it years ago for the person I trusted most in the world, only to have it shatter in a thousand pieces.
But now he's back in my life and I'm certain I was wrong.
Because nothing compares to the way I feel about River Lennox. Nothing could have prepared me for the war we waged against one another to turn into a battle to not only find ourselves, but each other.
Our prison sentence became our sanctuary from anything—or anyone—who dared to rip us apart. He crawled under my skin, into my heart, and made a home for himself there despite my efforts to stop him.
But it doesn't matter now. Not when I find myself being thrown into a chess game I never asked to play with decisions forced on me that no one should have to make.
It's not just life and death.
It's love and hate.
The past and the future.
Except…when my past comes knocking with a thirst for vengeance, I start to question if I have a future at all
5. Don't Kiss the Bride by Carian Cole
I have loved every book that Carian Cole has ever published, and to say that I am excited for her latest release would be an understatement. We saw just a small glimpse of this hero in Carian's last book, Asher, and it was just enough to make me want more. Nobody can write forbidden, taboo romance like Carian Cole. Her stories are so original and well-written, and just this blurb alone makes me want this book in my greedy little hands.
Blurb:
I guess you could say I was a damsel in distress, and he was my knight in shining armor.
But more accurately, I was a girl with a lot of bad luck, and he was a guy with a lot of muscles and tattoos.
Jude “Lucky” Lucketti wasn’t just a sexy, brooding construction worker. He was my own personal hero who seemed to be in all the right places at the right times. Like when my car broke down and I needed a ride home, and when I face planted on the sidewalk right in front of him and had to be taken to the emergency room.
Those weren’t exactly my best moments, but they were his.
We became friends, and it didn’t matter that he was sixteen years older than me. We had a lot in common—like our love of old rock music and vintage fast cars, and our aversion to relationships.
When he approached me with a crazy idea to help me out, I couldn’t say no.
The arrangement was supposed to be temporary. A marriage on paper and nothing else.
It should’ve been easy, but it wasn’t.
Because here I am, eighteen years-old, still in high school, and married to a man I was never supposed to fall in love with.
We had just one rule—no kissing the bride.
But we broke that rule, and it sealed our fate forever.
This is just the tip of the iceberg that is my 2021 TBR list...What books are you most looking forward to?