firewhiskeyreader

Somehow this list wound up being the hardest to put together. I usually come up with a list of twelve books to include on this list and so even though it’s #Top10of2k20, I still chose 12. But…. These twelve are all from January 1 – June 30th so you may have to indulge me with another post like this halfway through the year, or maybe I’ll go ahead and content myself with the seasonal posts. We shall see. Anyway, let’s get into it!

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The Devil Comes Courting by Courtney Milan

Synopsis:

Captain Grayson Hunter knows the battle to complete the first worldwide telegraphic network will be fierce, and he intends to win it by any means necessary. When he hears about a reclusive genius who has figured out how to slash the cost of telegraphic transmissions, he vows to do whatever it takes to get the man in his employ.

Except the reclusive genius is not a man, and she’s not looking for employment.

Amelia Smith was born in Shanghai, and taken in by English missionaries. She’s not interested in Captain Hunter’s promises or his ambitions. But the harder he tries to convince her, the more she realizes that there is something she wants from him: She wants everything. And she’ll have to crack the frozen shell he’s made of his heart to get it.

Why It’s On My List:

It’s Courtney Milan. So… That’s really enough said for me. She’s one of my favorite authors. And I know she’s been looking forward to taking her historical romance series away from England.

Release Date: February 9, 2021

A Court of Silver Flames by Sarah J. Maas

Synopsis:

Nesta Archeron has always been prickly-proud, swift to anger, and slow to forgive. And ever since being forced into the Cauldron and becoming High Fae against her will, she’s struggled to find a place for herself within the strange, deadly world she inhabits. Worse, she can’t seem to move past the horrors of the war with Hybern and all she lost in it.

The one person who ignites her temper more than any other is Cassian, the battle-scarred warrior whose position in Rhysand and Feyre’s Night Court keeps him constantly in Nesta’s orbit. But her temper isn’t the only thing Cassian ignites. The fire between them is undeniable, and only burns hotter as they are forced into close quarters with each other.

Meanwhile, the treacherous human queens who returned to the Continent during the last war have forged a dangerous new alliance, threatening the fragile peace that has settled over the realms. And the key to halting them might very well rely on Cassian and Nesta facing their haunting pasts.

Against the sweeping backdrop of a world seared by war and plagued with uncertainty, Nesta and Cassian battle monsters from within and without as they search for acceptance-and healing-in each other’s arms.

Why It’s On My List:

Because I’m trash for SJM. (I mean, if we’re being honest.) Also, Sarah has said a couple of times that this book is going to really lean into the romance aspect and like, I’m obviously here for that.

Release Date: February 16, 2021

First Comes Like by Alisha Rai

Synopsis:

Beauty expert and influencer Jia Ahmed has her eye on the prize: conquering the internet today, the entire makeup industry tomorrow, and finally, finally proving herself to her big opinionated family. She has little time for love, and even less time for the men in her private messages—until the day a certain international superstar slides into her DMs, and she falls hard and fast.

There’s just one wrinkle: he has no idea who she is.

The son of a powerful Bollywood family, soap opera star Dev Dixit is used to drama, but a strange woman who accuses him of wooing her online, well, that’s a new one. As much as he’d like to focus on his Hollywood fresh start, he can’t get Jia out of his head. Especially once he starts to suspect who might have used his famous name to catfish her…

When paparazzi blast their private business into the public eye, Dev is happy to engage in some friendly fake dating to calm the gossips and to dazzle her family. But as the whole world swoons over their relationship, Jia can’t help but wonder: Can an online romance-turned-offline-fauxmance ever become love in real life?

Why It’s On My List:

Alisha Rai is one of my all-time favorite authors and the amount of self-restraint it is taking for me to wait to read this one even though I have an ARC is astonishing. I am so keen to dive into this, like I can’t even explain to you. But I wanted to be able to talk about it on my 2021 Best of List so…

Release Date: February 16, 2021

Love at First by Kate Clayborn

Synopsis:

Sixteen years ago, a teenaged Will Sterling saw–or rather, heard–the girl of his dreams. Standing beneath an apartment building balcony, he shared a perfect moment with a lovely, warm-voiced stranger. It’s a memory that’s never faded, though he’s put so much of his past behind him. Now an unexpected inheritance has brought Will back to that same address, where he plans to offload his new property and get back to his regular life as an overworked doctor. Instead, he encounters a woman, two balconies above, who’s uncannily familiar…

No matter how surprised Nora Clarke is by her reaction to handsome, curious Will, or the whispered pre-dawn conversations they share, she won’t let his plans ruin her quirky, close-knit building. Bound by her loyalty to her adored grandmother, she sets out to foil his efforts with a little light sabotage. But beneath the surface of their feud is an undeniable connection. A balcony, a star-crossed couple, a fateful meeting–maybe it’s the kind of story that can’t work out in the end. Or maybe, it’s the perfect second chance.

Why It’s on My List:

I’m so in love with Kate Clayborn’s writing, it’s not even funny. Jess said something about how Kate writes big emotions and like, yes. That’s exactly it.

Release Date: February 23, 2021

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Act Your Age, Eve Brown by Talia Hibbert

Synopsis:

Eve Brown is a certified hot mess. No matter how hard she strives to do right, her life always goes horribly wrong—so she’s given up trying. But when her personal brand of chaos ruins an expensive wedding (someone had to liberate those poor doves), her parents draw the line. It’s time for Eve to grow up and prove herself—even though she’s not entirely sure how…

Jacob Wayne is in control. Always. The bed and breakfast owner’s on a mission to dominate the hospitality industry—and he expects nothing less than perfection. So when a purple-haired tornado of a woman turns up out of the blue to interview for his open chef position, he tells her the brutal truth: not a chance in hell. Then she hits him with her car—supposedly by accident. Yeah, right.

Now his arm is broken, his B&B is understaffed, and the dangerously unpredictable Eve is fluttering around, trying to help. Before long, she’s infiltrated his work, his kitchen—and his spare bedroom. Jacob hates everything about it. Or rather, he should. Sunny, chaotic Eve is his natural-born nemesis, but the longer these two enemies spend in close quarters, the more their animosity turns into something else. Like Eve, the heat between them is impossible to ignore—and it’s melting Jacob’s frosty exterior.

Why It’s On My List:

Hot mess + Talia Hibbert? Yes, please, sign me up! I can’t wait for this one. Thankfully there are other books to keep me company in the meantime, but like…. I need this book.

Release Date: March 9, 2021

The Intimacy Experiment by Rosie Danan

Naomi Grant has built her life around going against the grain. After the sex-positive start-up she cofounded becomes an international sensation, she wants to extend her educational platform to live lecturing. Unfortunately, despite her long list of qualifications, higher ed won’t hire her.

Ethan Cohen has recently received two honors: LA Mag named him one of the city’s hottest bachelors and he became rabbi of his own synagogue. Taking a gamble in an effort to attract more millennials to the faith, the executive board hired Ethan because of his nontraditional background. Unfortunately, his shul is low on both funds and congregants. The board gives him three months to turn things around or else they’ll close the doors of his synagogue for good.

Naomi and Ethan join forces to host a buzzy seminar series on Modern Intimacy, the perfect solution to their problems–until they discover a new one–their growing attraction to each other. They’ve built the syllabus for love’s latest experiment, but neither of them expected they’d be the ones putting it to the test.

Why It’s On My List:

The Roommate was one of my favorites of last year and there’s something about Naomi that captivated me from the moment we met her. I can’t wait to have a whole book about her.

Release Date: April 6, 2021

People We Meet on Vacation by Emily Henry

Synopsis:

Poppy and Alex. Alex and Poppy. They have nothing in common. She’s a wild child; he wears khakis. She has insatiable wanderlust; he prefers to stay home with a book. And somehow, ever since a fateful car share home from college many years ago, they are the very best of friends. For most of the year they live far apart–she’s in New York City, and he’s in their small hometown–but every summer, for a decade, they have taken one glorious week of vacation together.

Until two years ago, when they ruined everything. They haven’t spoken since.

Poppy has everything she should want, but she’s stuck in a rut. When someone asks when she was last truly happy, she knows, without a doubt, it was on that ill-fated, final trip with Alex. And so, she decides to convince her best friend to take one more vacation together–lay everything on the table, make it all right. Miraculously, he agrees.

Now she has a week to fix everything. If only she can get around the one big truth that has always stood quietly in the middle of their seemingly perfect relationship. What could possibly go wrong?

Why It’s On My List:

Beach Read was also a favorite of 2020 and I can’t wait to see what Emily Henry does in the adult romance genre. This one is an estranged friends to lovers and that sounds ideal. I am high key excited for this one!!

Release Date: May 11, 2021

Malibu Rising by Taylor Jenkins Reid

Synopsis:

Malibu: August 1983. It’s the day of Nina Riva’s annual end-of-summer party, and anticipation is at a fever pitch. Everyone wants to be around the famous Rivas: Nina, the talented surfer and supermodel; brothers Jay and Hud, one a championship surfer, the other a renowned photographer; and their adored baby sister, Kit. Together the siblings are a source of fascination in Malibu and the world over–especially as the offspring of the legendary singer Mick Riva.

The only person not looking forward to the party of the year is Nina herself, who never wanted to be the center of attention, and who has also just been very publicly abandoned by her pro tennis player husband. Oh, and maybe Hud–because it is long past time for him to confess something to the brother from whom he’s been inseparable since birth.

Jay, on the other hand, is counting the minutes until nightfall, when the girl he can’t stop thinking about promised she’ll be there.

And Kit has a couple secrets of her own–including a guest she invited without consulting anyone.

By midnight the party will be completely out of control. By morning, the Riva mansion will have gone up in flames. But before that first spark in the early hours before dawn, the alcohol will flow, the music will play, and the loves and secrets that shaped this family’s generations will all come bubbling to the surface.

Why It’s On My List:

Daisy Jones is my favorite book of all time. I can’t wait to read this book from TJR.

Release Date: May 25, 2021

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How to Find a Princess by Alyssa Cole

Synopsis:

Makeda Hicks has lost her job and her girlfriend in one fell swoop. The last thing she’s in the mood for is to rehash the story of her grandmother’s infamous summer fling with a runaway prince from Ibarania, or the investigator from the World Federation of Monarchies tasked with searching for Ibarania’s missing heir.

Yet when Beznaria Chetchevaliere crashes into her life, the sleek and sexy investigator exudes exactly the kind of chaos that organized and efficient Makeda finds irresistible, even if Bez is determined to drag her into a world of royal duty Makeda wants nothing to do with.

When a threat to her grandmother’s livelihood pushes Makeda to agree to return to Ibarania, Bez takes her on a transatlantic adventure with a crew of lovable weirdos, a fake marriage, and one-bed hijinks on the high seas. When they finally make it to Ibarania, they realize there’s more at stake than just cash and crown, and Makeda must learn what it means to fight for what she desires and not what she feels bound to by duty.

Why It’s on My List:

I mean, (a) Alyssa Cole, (b) I really loved the scenes with Beznaria in How to Catch a Queen, and (c) this cover is really fantastic. Alyssa’s luck with covers is astonishing and I’m grateful.

Release Date: May 25, 2021

Reel by Kennedy Ryan

We really don’t know much about Reel, including a release date beyond Spring of 2021, but (a) it’s Kennedy Ryan and (b) it’s Kennedy Ryan. Seriously though, I believe we know that it’s about a producer and an actress? Or an actress and a director? I’m not totally sure. But there’s definitely a Hollywood element. And also, I’m really excited to learn more.

One Last Stop by Casey McQuiston

Synopsis:

For cynical twenty-three-year-old August, moving to New York City is supposed to prove her right: that things like magic and cinematic love stories don’t exist, and the only smart way to go through life is alone. She can’t imagine how waiting tables at a 24-hour pancake diner and moving in with too many weird roommates could possibly change that. And there’s certainly no chance of her subway commute being anything more than a daily trudge through boredom and electrical failures.

But then, there’s this gorgeous girl on the train.

Jane. Dazzling, charming, mysterious, impossible Jane. Jane with her rough edges and swoopy hair and soft smile, showing up in a leather jacket to save August’s day when she needed it most. August’s subway crush becomes the best part of her day, but pretty soon, she discovers there’s one big problem: Jane doesn’t just look like an old school punk rocker. She’s literally displaced in time from the 1970s, and August is going to have to use everything she tried to leave in her own past to help her. Maybe it’s time to start believing in some things, after all.

Why It’s On My List:

I loved Red, White, and Royal Blue because Casey McQuiston’s writing style is funny and engaging and I liked the messy nature of their characters. I’m really looking forward to this f/f romance from them!

Release Date: June 1, 2021

Slow Burn by Olivia Dade

There’s no synopsis yet, but we know it’s about Alex and his assistant, whose name I’m blanking on. Laura? Maybe. Anyway, I’m high key excited because I loved Alex in Spoiler Alert and I’m super excited to see how this romance goes.

Release Date: June 15, 2021

Okay, I just can’t seem to resist a quick honorable mentions section for the books coming out after July 1st, just in case you don’t know about them yet.

• Last Guard by Nalini Singh – July 20th
• Isn’t it Bromantic? by Lyssa Kay Adams – July 20th
• Devil in Disguise by Lisa Kleypas – July 27th
• The Heart Principle by Helen Hoang – August 17th
• The Dating Playbook by Farrah Rochon – August 17th
• Battle Royal by Lucy Parker – August 17th
• Hell’s Belles #1 by Sarah MacLean – August 24th
• The Devil You Know by Kit Rocha – August 31st
• The Brightest Star in Paris by Diana Biller – October 12th
• Well Matched by Jen DeLuca – October 19th

Okay, I’m going to force myself to be finished now, but there are so many books to look forward to in 2021. It’s an embarrassment of riches if we’re being honest. Please tell me where to find your list like this or comment with the ones you’re most looking forward to, especially if you think I should be too!

xx