AnAverageLife’s Top 10 Titles of 2021

This year was a difficult one for reading motivation, my current average book rating is 3.9. Even so, of the 53 titles I finished over the past year I awarded five star ratings to 19 of them! I’ve painfully narrowed those down to my top 10 below;

10.  Demon – Matt Wesolowski

The latest in Scott King’s Six Stories continues this series five star streak.

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9. False Witness – Karin Slaughter

A fantastic standalone novel from the queen of crime fiction.

REVIEW HERE

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8. The Watchers – A M Shine

I adored this scary twist on traditional Irish folklore.

REVIEW HERE

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7. Dead Ground – M W Craven

After a late start to the Poe series I’m now a full fledged addict!

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6. Near The Bone- Christina Henry

My ultimate fairytale reteller Christina makes it to the top 10 again!

REVIEW HERE

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5. The Once & Future Witches – Alix E Harrow

A truly epic tale with a magical, diverse heart.

REVIEW HERE

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4. Cunning Folk– Adam Nevill

Never found a Nevill novel I haven’t loved.

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3. Mirrorland – Carole Johnstone

An intense, imaginative debut

REVIEW HERE

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2. The Night Will Find Us– Matthew Lyons
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1. The Last House On Needless Street- Catriona Ward

OF COURSE this was my number one of 2021, no question about it.

REVIEW HERE

Did you pick up any of my top ten last year? Do you plan to?

Let me know your thoughts or drop the links to your own reviews in the comments so I can take a look!

Roxanne

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Book Review; Real Easy- Marie Rutkoski

Page Count 320

Publication date January 2020

Publisher Headline, Tinder Press

GoodReads link

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Synopsis

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It’s 1999 and Samantha has danced for years at the Lovely Lady strip club. She’s not used to mixing work and friendship―after all, between her jealous boyfriend and his young daughter, she has enough on her plate. But the newest dancer is so clueless that Samantha feels compelled to help her learn the hustle and drama of the club: how to sweet-talk the boss, fit in with the other women, and make good money. One night, when the new girl needs a ride home, Samantha agrees to drive: a simple decision that turns deadly.

Georgia, another dancer drawn into the ensuing murder and missing person investigation, gathers information for Holly, a grieving detective determined to solve the case. Georgia just wants to help, but her involvement makes her a target. As Holly and Georgia round up their suspects, the story’s point of view shifts between dancers, detectives, children, club patrons―and the killer.

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Book Review; Sundial – Catriona Ward

You can’t escape the desert. You can’t escape Sundial.

Page Count 352

Publication date March 2022

Publisher Viper

GoodReads link

Synopsis

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You can’t escape the desert. You can’t escape Sundial.

Rob fears for her daughters. For Callie, who collects tiny bones and whispers to imaginary friends. For Annie, because she fears what Callie might do to her. Rob sees a darkness in Callie, one that reminds her of the family she left behind. She decides to take Callie back to her childhood home, to Sundial, deep in the Mojave Desert. And there she will have to make a terrible choice.

Callie is afraid of her mother. Rob has begun to look at her strangely. To tell her secrets about her past that both disturb and excite her. And Callie is beginning to wonder if only one of them will leave Sundial alive.
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Book Review; Wendy Darling – A C Wise

Page Count 352

Publication date June 2021

Publisher Titan Books

GoodReads link

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Synopsis

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For those that lived there, Neverland was a children’s paradise. No rules, no adults, only endless adventure and enchanted forests – all led by the charismatic boy who would never grow old.

But Wendy Darling grew up. She left Neverland and became a woman, a mother, a patient, and a survivor. Because Neverland isn’t as perfect as she remembers. There’s darkness at the heart of the island, and now Peter Pan has returned to claim a new Wendy for his lost boys…

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Book Review; The Watchers- A.M Shine

Page Count 240

Publication date October 2021

Publisher Aries; Head of Zeus

GoodReads link

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Synopsis

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You can’t see them. But they can see you.This forest isn’t charted on any map. Every car breaks down at its treeline. Mina’s is no different. Left stranded, she is forced into the dark woodland only to find a woman shouting, urging Mina to run to a concrete bunker. As the door slams behind her, the building is besieged by screams.

Mina finds herself in a room with a wall of glass, and an electric light that activates at nightfall, when the Watchers come above ground. These creatures emerge to observe their captive humans and terrible things happen to anyone who doesn’t reach the bunker in time.

Afraid and trapped among strangers, Mina is desperate for answers. Who are the Watchers and why are these creatures keeping them imprisoned, keen to watch their every move?

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Continue reading “Book Review; The Watchers- A.M Shine”

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