BLOG PARTY: Nine Favourite Reads From the Past Year

July 11, 2021 by Jenna | Books, Co-Blogging, Features

It’s our NINE YEAR blogoversary!! I for one cannot believe we are celebrating nine years! It’s been a hectic 12 months but we wanted to share nine of our favourites books that we’ve read since our last blogoversary. And we’ll be giving away one of these books to one winner! See the end of the post for all the deets! For the rest of the week, we’ll continue celebrating with some other wonderful posts 🙂

1. A Pho Love Story by Loan Le

This book blew me away when I read it this year! If you love books about food and also feuding families, you will love A Pho Love Story. The characterisation is wonderful and the plot is fantastic. I highly, highly recommend this one!

2. Chain of Iron by Cassandra Clare

Of course this one would be on my favourites of the year. I love the Shadowhunter Chronicles and I’ve been waiting so long for this sequel trilogy to The Infernal Devices. I loved Chain of Gold last year and I also really enjoyed Chain of Iron

3. Get a Life, Chloe Brown by Talia Hibbert

I binge-listened to the Brown Sisters books this year and I absolutely loved them all, but I think Chloe might have been my favourite… probably because I thought the narration was the best on that one. But I did enjoy all three of the books!

 

4. Please Don’t Hug Me by Kay Kerr

I loved this own voices #LoveOzYA read about a teen girl who gets diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The character voice is raw, honest and hard-hitting and covers the inner thought processes in such a heartfelt way. It’s also an incredibly fun and amusing contemporary book which I really enjoyed.

5. Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir

This was actually a second chance book for me, as I DNFed it the first time. Then picked it up again after it was selected for The Name of the Book Club. Reading this space opera mystery book was a trip, as I had no idea what was going on but the strong character voice of Gideon pulled me through. It clicks into place as you near the end, and it completely blew me away!

6. The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemisin

An absolutely classic speculative fiction read that has been around for ages, but it’s taken me this long to actually read it! And oh boy, it was worth the ride. It’s such an intelligent, diverse, gritty, imaginative sci-fi that just hits you hard in the gut. I was so obsessed with the Broken Earth trilogy that I binge read the whole series in one month.

 

7. The Simple Wild by K.A. Tucker

This book surprised me with how it hit me emotionally. I love K.A. Tucker so I knew I’d enjoy this, but I underestimated how much. The banter and sass, the setting, the characters! I loved everything.

8. Only When It’s Us by Chloe Liese

Another romance! Chloe Liese is fast becoming one of my new favourite authors. She writes inclusive romances that are cute and funny and make you feel all the emotions. I love her characters and the family shenanigans.

9. A Dance with Fate by Juliet Marillier

Book two in the Warrior Bards trilogy! This book was just wonderful. I love these characters and they go through some amazing growth. I just want to gush about it so much. See my review for some more coherent/ actually useful thoughts.


International Giveaway – Win one of our favourite reads!

To celebrate our 9 year blogoversary, we’re giving away one of the books we featured in this post! Fill out the form below to be in the draw.

  • No fake entries – we check! Verified entries only. Giveaway ends 30 July 2021 and winner will be chosen randomly and emailed directly.
  • Book depository must ship to your country and winner must be over 18 (or have parental permission to enter). We don’t take responsibility for lost or stolen parcels. Please also keep in mind that shipping delays may impact on how soon you receive your prize. If you are concerned about the status of your parcel, please check Book Depository’s shipping estimates before getting in touch with us.

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway


Thanks for joining us on our 9 year blogoversary party! Here’s to another great year of blogging and reading.

The following two tabs change content below.
Jenna is an Aussie blogger and reader who loves to indulge in great books and great food. She is a doctor (of philosophy) and can usually be found fangirling about something, devouring delicious food, or taking a nap. You can find her on Twitter @readwithjenna and on Instagram @readingwithjenna.

Tags: , , , , ,


14 responses to “BLOG PARTY: Nine Favourite Reads From the Past Year

  1. John Smith

    “Leave a comment below with your favourite book of the year so far.” I very much enjoyed Jonathan Stroud’s “Hero Of the Valley.” It wasn’t published this year, but it’s very good.

    I assume that if I were lucky enough to win the contest, I would be able to choose a book from the list of your favourites, and I think I would pick “Gideon the Ninth.”

  2. Megan S.

    YAYYYY! Happy blogiversary – I’m so happy for you <3
    My fave book of the year so far has been Foundryside 🙂

Leave a Reply to Shannon @ It Starts at Midnight Cancel reply

CommentLuv badge