My top book recommendations based on what I loved reading lately — Authorized use of photo by Ed Robertson via Unsplash

Thanks to more free time, courtesy of the pandemic, I fell back in love with reading. Reading is one of my favorite ways to escape from reality, and I needed that these past two years. When I was younger, I always had my nose buried in a book. I typically brought books everywhere, and I was sad when I found myself too exhausted to read for pleasure during college and grad school.

Fast forward a few years, and I’m a bookworm again. I know this post is a little different from what I write about on my blog, but I hope you’ll enjoy these book recommendations as much as I enjoyed reading the books. Here are 12 Amazing Books I Wasn’t Able To Put Down This Year.

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Table of Contents

Book Recommendations

1. The Infernal Devices by Cassandra Clare

The Infernal Devices is a prequel series to Clare’s popular series The Mortal Instruments. It’s another Shadowhunters series that follows a teenage shapeshifter named Tessa Gray as she arrives in Victorian London to live with her brother. In London, she discovers secrets about her background and family, falls in love with two Shadowhunters, and helps the Nephilim take down an evil inventor with a vendetta against her friends. I love Clare’s work, and this series is one of my favorites. The epilogue is especially touching.

2. The Selection Series by Kiera Cass

The Selection Series follows teenager America Singer, a musician living in an unequal caste system, as she enters a competition to win the heart of Maxon Schreave, prince of fictional Illéa. This competition was designed to bring harmony among the eight castes and give one of the girls the opportunity to become royalty. America is coerced by her family to enter the competition and is randomly selected to participate. Despite her initial reservations about the process, she ends up falling for Maxon, and he returns her feelings as they survive the war, death, and destruction together.

3. The Ruby Red Trilogy by Kerstin Gier

The Ruby Red Trilogy is about a British teenager named Gwendolyn Shepard who can travel through time. She grew up believing she was a regular girl, until one day, she finds herself randomly traveling through time. She later discovers she is a part of a secret time-traveling society that spans generations, and her newfound talent takes her on mysterious adventures throughout history with the help of a swoon-worthy companion.

4. The Off-Campus Series By Elle Kennedy

The Off-Campus Series follows four hockey players at Briar University that live together in an off-campus house. Each book is about a different boy in the house and his relationship with the girl he falls for. At the beginning of each book, all of the boys are the typical macho athletes with a player reputation, but their entire demeanor changes after they start to fall in love. Kennedy nails the dialogue between characters and the college atmosphere. These books are addicting, so get prepared for a wild ride!

5. Love & Gelato By Jenna Evans Welch

Love & Gelato is about a teenager named Lina who moves to Italy to live with her father after her mother passes away from cancer. Lina has never met her father before, and he didn’t know she exists. Originally, she isn’t happy about the move, but she quickly falls in love with Italian culture, food, and her next-door neighbor, Ren. Together, Ren helps her discover family secrets and how to move on with her life after her mother’s death.

6. The Second Mrs. Astor By Shana Abe

The Second Mrs. Astor is based on the true story of Madeleine Force Astor and John Jacob Astor, a famous couple from the early 1900s who were passengers on the Titanic. Their relationship caused a scandal at the time because of their lengthy age gap and John’s previous divorce, but they had a whirlwind of a relationship regardless. Madeleine catches John’s eye after he watches her perform in a play in Maine, and it was love at first sight. They married a few months later and go on a honeymoon across Europe and Asia together before John died in the Titanic shipwreck. It’s a heartbreaking novel of romance, old money, death, and survival.

7. Apples Never Fall By Liane Moriarty

Apples Never Fall is a mystery novel that follows an Australian family and their quest to uncover where their mother disappeared to. On the surface level, the Delaney family is a happy bunch known for their tennis academy, but underneath the quaint family dinners and perfectly manicured lawn lie secrets and deception. When the mother disappeared, half of her children blamed their father. And somehow, it all leads back to a stray girl named Savannah that the mother and her husband welcomed into their home the previous year.

8. The Hush, Hush Series By Becca Fitzpatrick

The Hush, Hush Series is about a teenager named Nora Grey and her relationship with a fallen angel named Patch. With Patches help, Nora learns more about her angelic roots and the weird experiences she often finds herself in with other mystical beings. Despite how hard Nora tries to stay away from Patch, she is drawn to him while navigating high school, friendships, her mortal enemy, and her strained relationship with her mother.

9. The Bridgerton Series By Julia Quinn

The Bridgerton Series follows the eight Bridgerton siblings and their relationships with their significant other. Each book is about a different sibling and how they fall in love during the Regency Period in England. The books are full of romance, adventure, and mystery. Each couple has to overcome an obstacle to be together, but that is what makes the books so addicting.

10. My Body By Emily Ratajkowski

My Body covers Emily’s experience with her sexuality, the modeling industry, her relationships, the paparazzi’s portrayal of her, men’s fetishization of her, and so much more. The essays included in this book share everything from Emily losing her virginity to her time on set filming the Blurred Lines music video. This book opens the reader’s eyes to what a life in the spotlight and the modeling industry is really like, the importance of saying no, and the toxic expectations the beauty and fashion industries place on women. A very powerful, enlightening read.

11. Fangirl By Rainbow Rowell

Fangirl is about a college student named Cath who writes fanfiction from the comfort of her dorm room. She’s attending college with her twin sister, who has a completely opposite personality, and while her sister adjusts to college easily, Cath struggles to find her way. To make matters even worse, her sister doesn’t want to be roommates, have the same friend group at their new school, or discuss fanfiction anymore. But with the help of a new friend, a budding relationship with a cute boy, and a boost of self-confidence, Cath finds what it takes to thrive in college without entirely letting go of her beloved fanfiction website.

12. Saint Anything By Sarah Dessen

Saint Anything follows Sydney, a teenager desperately trying to escape her brother’s bad reputation after a drunk driving incident that left a boy crippled. On her first day of school, she meets Layla and her family, who run the local pizzeria near her new school, and she finally feels a sense of belonging while in their presence. It’s not long before Sydney grows close to Layla’s older brother, Mac, and begins a relationship with him that gives her a true sense of clarity.

Thank you so much for reading, and I hope you enjoy these books!