Favorite Romance Books of 2021

I read and adored Cate C. Wells’ The Tyrant Alpha’s Rejected Mate. Fear not, despite this terrible title, the book is anything but. Loads of self-respect for the heroine and a good grovel from the alpha. It isn’t just random smut, but intelligent pack and world building. Kudos for the characterizations as well. I’m keen to try out other books by this author. A solid A+.  

The Last Wolf by Maria Vale was a late find for me, but probably will be always among my top 3 werewolf series ever (right after Patricia Briggs’ series and Kelley Armstrong’s series). It has a brilliant face-off between ancient wolves of the wild and the more modern shapeshifters. This entire UF series is intense and wonderful. A+ is my rating.

Clayton and Dallas by Rachelle Mills was a surprisingly good rejected mates story but with a twist. The heroine picks herself up and finds a new life for herself. It was an interesting book about mate bonding, i.e. whether it can be resisted or not. Rya has been rejected by her true mate, but she is moon-blessed and hence, she can forge a new mate bond. Both books are about her coming into power, the third one (Cassius) can be skipped. I liked Rya, though I can't say so for Dallas, her second chance at true mate, who seems over polite then over territorial then over loving then over shy.... His characterization isn't the best but he's supportive of heroine Rya always so that's a plus. My rating is A-.

Sherry Lynn Ferguson is an author to follow! Someone recommended her work as a good follow-up to Georgette Heyer, and I have to agree. In Quiet Meg, garden architect Charles falls for client Margaret, and what an intense, shockingly sensuous love at first sight it is. Both try to resist the attraction, esp. becaause Margaret is being pursued by a very wicked earl who has the power to destroy both their families. (A bit implausible that some girl could be so beautiful that everyone keeps falling for her, but I do remember similar episodes from college, so perhaps not all that strange?) This had very good and historically accurate prose, and had lovely depictions of the life of Dutch communities in old England. I will rate it as A-.

Unequal Affections by Lara S. Ormiston was a Pride & Prejudice retelling. I’ll just say, a besotted Darcy is a priceless thing. *swoons* If you think this is fan-fiction, yes it is, but it's very well done. Rating is A-.

Kristin Coley’s The Pack was a were clan feud over a new college girl. It was YA but hot even without actual explicit action and was super well-written. I will give it an A-.

Bitterburn by Ann Aguirre was a sensuous Beauty and the Beast retelling with a dark folklore makeover. Sometimes over simplistic and veers off into modern fantasy or YA tones, other times, there are innovative twists in the tale with a Robin McKinley outlook. Good package overall, a B+.

Anna Carven’s Dark Planet Warriors series is good. I started off with Book 7, Electric Heart, which can be read as standalone. Alien meets human in a dictatorial colonial Africa-inspired world, and there are bonding themes going on as well. B+ is my rating. 

The Last Legacy by Adrienne Young is a dashing YA series about a girl returning to her coastal home-town to claim her birthright. Except her family is like the local coastal mafia. This isn’t fantasy, but the seafaring atmosphere is done well, and the OTP is pretty good. Rating is B+.

Kelly Armstrong’s Rockton series is a thriller wild ride series. There’s this ghost town where people can vanish into whenever they want to escape the real world’s problems. But the ghost town has criminals of its own and pretty soon the sheriff and the new transferred cop are dealing with all kinds of murderous horrors, including cannibalism. You need a bit of breather in between the books as they can be downright crazy and scary. A good OTP, even if the plot gets a bit implausIble at times. My rating for the series will be an A-.

Anna Elliott’s Twilight of Avalon series (Twilight of Avalon, Dark Moon, Sunrise of Avalon) was a pretty good retelling of Tristan/ Isolde, with only a little of magic/ witchiness. It's a brutal account of the period and does get a bit melodramatic at times. Before each dialogue line, there's a lot of thinking and posturing too. But OTP is strong even if not very romantic. And it was a unique under-represented perspective for Isolde, I give it an A-.

Addison Cain’s Corrupted was a jarring shock to the senses. This was actually the 5th book in the series, so no idea if reading from scratch makes it better. But if you can get over the first 50% (which contains multiple graphic assult scenes), you will be astonished by the second 50% which is very good retribution work. Unfortunately, this ends on a cliffhanger and next book is out only in March 2022. Alien ScifiR, not exactly weres, but “alphas”, “betas” and “omegas” have their own roles. Rating is A-.

Michelle Diener’s In a Treacherous Court reminded me a lot of Judith Riley’s Serpent Garden, with steaming chemistry between king’s highly regarded guard and a portrait artist who mistakenly stumbles on a political secret. Rating is B+.

Martha Keyes impressed me with her Wyndcross, a different take on Georgette Heyer’s Cousin Kate. Kate receives an unexpected invitation to stay with a childhood friend very near to her old home. The only problem? The charming young man she finds herself falling for is earmarked for her friend. It doesn’t end there, there’s some extra shenanigans for which I am docking a point. But overall, a solid series to look forward to, rating B+. 

Wolfsgate by Cat Porter has kissing step-cousins but is well-written and sensuous. From the blurb: A fateful shipwreck leaves the young and wealthy Lord Brandon presumed dead, and his estate in England lies abandoned and ripe for the picking. Years later, his step-cousin Justine finds him alive and drug-addicted, and against his family’s wishes, boldly brings him home to reclaim his inheritance. Rating is B+.

Gwen Rowley’s Gawain has a Shrek type of theme going on, with crone turning enchantress and back-to and being forcibly wed to everyone’s favorite knight, Gawain. Medieval era fare which is surprisingly good and R-rated, it captured the medieval feel surprisingly well. I give it a B.

Lucy Smoke’s Sick Boys series had me interested in the bully trope with RH themes, no mean feat. College bullies (3 of them) meet tough girl who's had a hard life and then she teaches them a good lesson. Exceptionally well-written, though towards the end of Book 1 (Pretty Little Savage), it miffed me seriously, when the female MC gets assaulted. Haven’t yet gotten over that to read the sequel, Stone Cold Queen, but one of these days… Rating B+.

C.M. Nascosta’s Morning Glory Milking Farm deserves all the praise it is getting. Of course, it was hot. Minotaurs being “milked”? Ahem. The steam and plot just built and built, till I lost my patience and read the ending first to see where it all ends. Happy to report, it ends with an HEA for a very strong OTP.  My rating for this is B+.