Blogmas Day 3: Almost Favorite Books

Hello and welcome to day 3 of blogmas! I am coming to you a little late in the day today, because I spent the day getting my booster shot, and then spending time with my family. Today, I am sharing some of my almost favorite books from 2021. 

I first saw this idea of “almost favorites” on The Book Place applied to authors. However, I am switching up the idea a bit.

When you read so many books in a year, you are bound to read lots of books that you enjoy, but for whatever reason, fall a bit short and don’t get on the favorites list. But these books are still so great and absolutely deserve to be read, so I wanted to take the time to highlight some of these almost favorite books! These are all books that I really loved, but for whatever reason, didn’t quite make the favorites cut.

The Rose Code by Kate Quinn

I absolutely loved this one! It was one of those books where the premise was just perfect for me, and it was executed so well. I talked a lot about it in my review, but I loved the central mystery of the book, and the way Quinn masterfully weaved the two different timelines together. It was perfectly plotted out. And I loved reading about the girls’ friendship and their work at Bletchley Park.

Trigger warnings: attempted rape, death, grief, depictions of bombs, parental abuse, patient abuse, vomiting, straightjacket, sexual assault, forced institutionalization, violence, war

The Lady’s Guide to Celestial Mechanics by Olivia Waite

YOU GUYS. I have seen this book on lists for years, I’ve seen so many people rate it highly and yet it still took me a long time to pick it up. But I am so glad that I finally got to it, because it was amazing! I was a little worried about the plot when they got together so early in the book, but it only dragged a little bit in the middle, because there were other plots that picked up. The third act breakup didn’t even annoy me! I highly recommend this book in general, but especially so if you are looking for a good f/f romance.

Trigger warnings: past spousal abuse, discussed death of a parent, imperialism, misogyny, sexism, racism,

The Housekeeper and the Professor by Yoko Ogawa

I wrote a review on how much I liked this one too. As a math person, I love getting to read fiction books where math is involved, and more importantly, appreciated so well. I think it’s a great literary fiction novel about the importance, strength, and beauty of human connection. I just love it a lot. If you are at all someone who likes optimistic literary fiction, then I would recommend this one.

Trigger warnings: mentions of a car crash, amnesia and memory loss

Act Your Age, Eve Brown by Talia Hibbert

I read all three of the Brown Sisters books this year, and loved them all! They are all so good. Act Your Age, Eve Brown didn’t quite make it onto my favorites list, but I loved it nonetheless. I loved Eve and Jacob so much on their own, and I loved their slow burn romance. It was sweet, sexy, and everything I could want from a romance novel. If you haven’t read it yet, you definitely should!

Trigger warnings: past child neglect and parental abandonment, car accident, ableism

Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel

Once again, I wrote a review for this one on the blog. It was definitely a bit rough to read a book about a pandemic during a pandemic. By definition, the topic is a bit of a downer. However, there is also so much hope and veneration for human connection. I thought the story was very well done. If you feel that you can handle it, I definitely recommend it.

Trigger warnings: pandemic, death, depictions of a cult, mentions of suicide, mentions of rape, guns, pedophilia, domestic abuse, violence

There you have it, my almost favorites from this year! Do you have any books you read this year that you would consider almost favorites? Let me know in the comments! As always, thank you for reading! Come back tomorrow and the next day to hear about my least favorite and most favorite books of the year.