January 2021 Book Recommendations
January 2021 Book Recommendations: What to Read & What to Skip
Welcome to my regular round up of mini book reviews for my January 2021 book recommendations! Included in this collection is a sequel to one of my all time favorite contemporary romances, a Pride and Prejudice retelling, and a recent Book of the Month fave!
In my list of January 2021 book recommendations, I include everything I’ve read recently no matter what. I like to share both my five star reads and any misses to help you get a better idea of what you should read or might want to skip.
As always, I love to hear if you agree or disagree with my ratings! Let me know in the comments what you thought of my January 2021 book recommendations.
I’m linking up with Modern Mrs Darcy as usual to share what we read this month!
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January 2021 Book Recommendations
Physical Books:
Well Played by Jen DeLuca
The sequel to Well Met (possibly my all time favorite contemporary romance??) was high on my TBR list for 2021. Thankfully, my library was able to snag a copy and I read it in 2 days!
Well Played shifts the focus to Stacey as she deals with a restlessness associated with still living with her parents and staying in her hometown. When she starts developing a relationship over email with one of the members of the faire acts, she hopes that their virtual connection will translate into real life over the summer.
I’m completely addicted to epistolary novels where a lot of communication is through letters, texts, etc. So, it’s no surprise this was a hit! Stacey had a lot of growing to do herself as well, so I enjoyed following along as she decided what’s best for her. 4 Stars | Amazon | Bookshop.org
This Time Next Year by Sophie Cousens
The perfect read for a new year. Quinn and Minnie were born seconds apart on New Years Day, but only one of them grew up hearing horror stories of how a name and monetary prize were stolen. Minnie’s mom blames all of Minnie’s bad luck on the fact that another mom stole the name she loved and the prize money for the first baby born in the new year. When Minnie happens to meet Quinn in real life decades later, she is programmed to hate him.
This was a recent Book of the Month pick and it was a hit! It was fun reading how Quinn and Minnie approached their new association with completely different eyes. 4 Stars | Amazon | Bookshop.org
West End Girls by Jenny Colgan
When I saw a new Jenny Colgan pop up on TLC Book Tours, I immediately requested a copy to review. I later realized this was published years ago in the UK, but its only now available in the US. Lizzie and Penny are polar opposite sisters given the chance of a lifetime to live for free in a relative’s flat in London. However, they realize the city isn’t quite as glamorous and shiny as they expected.
Honestly, trying to come up with my thoughts on this one is a bit difficult, so is forgettable too harsh a word to use? I adore her writing, but I guess I would recommend essentially every other book of Jenny’s over this one? 3.5 Stars | Amazon | Bookshop.org
Save For Later!
eBooks (reading from Netgalley / Library):
Ten Rules For Faking It by Angie Hockman
Another novel this month that starts out with a cursed birthday. Everly knows bad things happen on her birthday, but when she catches her boyfriend cheating and then accidentally rants about it on the radio show she produces, its worse than even she expects. However, to bring in ratings, she agrees to a Bachelorette-style dating event where listeners will help choose her next man.
Throughout the process, she grows closer to the station manager, Chris, and starts to wonder if he’s actually the one she’s looking for.
I had pretty high hopes for this, but ended up picking up other books over it a lot. I think I started to get the characters confused with This Time Next Year, so you may have better results if this is the only rom com you’re reading! 3.5 Stars | Amazon | Bookshop.org
Unmarriageable by Soniah Kamal
A Pride and Prejudice retelling that is truly faithful to the original! If you’re a fan of Jane Austen’s novel, you’ll enjoy this modern take that strongly echoes the characters and events of P&P. The Pakistani setting brought a unique flair and the story meanders along at about the same pace as the original.
Alys Binat and her sisters are living with the fallout of their family’s financial ruin, but everyone handles it a bit differently. Alys and Jena are teaching English lit at a local school, which gives Alys a chance to show the girls there is more to their lives than just the hopes of marriage. When the family is invited to a grand local wedding, the two older sisters become entwined with eligible bachelors. While Jena is falling in love, Alys falls into a mutual dislike with the other man. 3.5 Stars | Amazon | Bookshop.org
If you’d like to track and analyze your reading, check out my Reading Tracker!
What was the best book you read recently?
For more mini book reviews, check out What I Read in December 2020!
I like the premise of This Time Next Year. Sounds like all of these were fun reads!
This Time Next Year sounds really really good – it’s high on my TBR (awaiting it from the library!).
I too enjoyed Unmarriageable when I read it and thought it was such a faithful P+P retelling.
Looks like you’re having a fantastic start to your 2021 reading year!
Here’s what we’ve been reading lately including books (physical and audio) that are getting me to escape {The Chicken Sisters, Black Buck, and My Dear Eliza} to name a few and quiet my mind, my husband is finishing up Darker Shade of Magic series, and read alouds with our kids.
https://www.everyoneslibrarian.com/blog/quick-lit-january-2021
Thanks for sharing! I also really love epistolary type of novels.
I still have to read Well Met, which is on my to read list! I also have This Time Next Year on the TBR list as well!
i quite liked well met so i’ll have to get to well played asap. the time next year sounds so unique!
I keep seeing West End Girls pop up on the main library page whenever I login and it’s caught my eye but never enough to want to check it out so I will probably continue to skip over it for now. Well Played sounds cute– do you need to read them in order?
I think I’ll put Well Played on my TBR!
Er..Well Met. The first one.
This Time Next Year sounds amusing. Thanks for sharing and enjoy your month!