Get ready to start your 2021 TBR list with these book picks. We’ve rounded up dozens of the most anticipated books of 2021 we’re looking forward to. From historical fiction from the best-selling author who brought us The Alice Network, to rom-coms and domestic thrillers that will have you talking all year long, this list promises not to disappoint.

See our list of the most anticipated thrillers of 2021>>

Dog Flowers: A Memoir by Danielle Geller (Jan 12, 2021)

In this moving memoir, Danielle Geller returns home to the Navajo reservation after her mother’s death, to uncover her mother’s life story through traditions, heritage, shared stories, and photographs. Geller uses her experience as a librarian and archivist to string together her family’s troubled history.

You’ll be instantly sucked into Geller’s family story through her vulnerability and transparent writing style.

Waiting for the Night Song by Julie Carrick Dalton (Jan 12, 2021)

Something happened to Cadie Kessler when she was a child that she’s never been able to forget. Her estranged best-friend Daniela is the only other person that knows the secret, and the pair swore long ago to never tell a soul. But when Cadie receives an urgent message from Daniela, the women are forced to face the consequences that the truth could bring.

Nature, friendship and allegiances are at the heart of this compelling debut novel that we know you’ll love.  

If I Disappear by Eliza Jane Brazier (Jan 26, 2021)

Sera is obsessed with true crime, so when her favorite true-crime podcast host goes missing, she feels she’s found her calling and sets out to help find Rachel. As Sera discovers clues within previous podcasts, she finds herself heading to an isolated ranch outside of Rachel’s hometown. The ranch doesn’t feel right, and Sera knows she’s on the right track. But can she uncover the truth before she goes missing next?

The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah (Feb 2, 2021)

No. 1 New York Times bestselling author, Kristin Hannah takes us back to the heart of the Great Depression, Texas, 1934, when the dust bowl threatened to bury everything that farmers and generations before them had painstakingly worked to build. Like so many of her neighbors, Elsa Martinelli must make the choice between the land she loves and moving west in search of a better life. 

This amazing story of courage and heart-wrenching sacrifice will stay with you long after you’ve turned the last page.  

The Survivors by Jane Harper (Feb 2, 2021)

Kieran Elliott has never completely moved on from the reckless choices that changed the course of his life, in spite of his young, vibrant family and a new life far away. But when his struggling parents call him home, the past threatens to haunt him once again. A body is soon discovered on the beach, raising questions, resurfacing dark memories, and exposing secrets that begin to swirl around the seaside community, leaving Kieran wondering if anything will ever be the same.

This bestselling author doesn’t disappoint with her latest thriller mystery. It’s worth the wait!

Infinite Country by Patricia Engel (Mar 2, 2021)

Elena and Mauro have been together since they were teenagers in Colombia, a country torn apart by years of war and violence. As their family grows, they move to the US with tourist visas, but once settled, they get a taste of a real future in America. Three children later, they choose to let their visas expire, a decision with heavy consequences – Mauro gets deported and Elena must make a painful choice that could destroy the family forever.

This novel is timely and touching, about the American Dream and the sacrifices made by those who seek it.

The Committed by Viet Thanh Nguyen (Mar 2, 2021)

After being emotionally scarred from working as a spy, and having to attend a re-education camp, the man with two minds just wants to start a new life in Paris. The Sympathizer meets new perils in his life as he must overcome assimilation into French culture in the 1980s and having a handle on his new business: drug dealing. Divided loyalties and a guilty conscience will be brought to life through violence, friendships, addiction, and two sides of war. 

You will absolutely fall into the mysterious charm of The Sympathizer with this book.

Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro (Mar 2, 2021)

Klara just wants to be someone’s friend. It is literally her one job as an Artificial Friend with amazingly high-quality observational skills. When Klara is finally chosen for a sickly child, the AF finds herself observing our world through a lens not usually looked through. Kindness and love are important and fought for in this novel, a concept that is not usually associated with a solar-powered robot. Through the power of the sun, literally and figuratively, Klara learns what it means to grow as a human. 

You’ll find more than friendship in this worldly view of humanity.

The Rose Code by Kate Quinn (Mar 9, 2021)

It’s the 1940s and England is on the brink of war with the Nazis, just as three very different women answer their country’s call to Bletchley Park, a top-secret location where the best minds in the business have come together to break German military codes. Osla, a wealthy socialite; Mab, from the impoverished east end of London; and Beth, a local spinster, defy all odds as they face the impossible demands of war. An encrypted letter, a royal affair, and an asylum are just some of the obstacles the trio will face.

Kate Quinn does it again with this gripping historical fiction and you won’t want to put it down. 

Act Your Age, Eve Brown by Talia Hibbert (Mar 9, 2021)

Eve has tried to straighten out her life. Really, she has. But no matter what she does, she finds – or often creates – disaster at every turn. So, when she accidentally ruins an expensive wedding and unintentionally runs into the B&B owner with her car, she finds herself scrambling, once again, to clean up the mess. Jacob’s arm is broken and Eve, he swears, is hellbent on ruing his life. But as she flutters around trying to make everything better, he can’t help it. He’s falling for the crazy lady before him and he will fight that feeling with everything he’s got.

Hilarious, witty, and so much fun – this rom-com is a great way to start off the new year.

A Million Reasons Why by Jessica Strawser (Mar 23, 2021)

Caroline has everything she’s ever wanted. The big, happy family, a great career, and an adoring husband. But when DNA test results force her to question every reality she’s ever known, her life is flipped upside-down. Sela suffers from kidney failure and she’s reeling from her mother’s recent death. Her only hope is her half-sister, who she just discovered thanks to a mail-in DNA test. But just as Sela finds a glimmer of hope at a new life, Caroline finds hers slipping away. Can forgiveness come in time to save a life?

You’ll love this exploration of family, motherhood, and the power of compassion.

The Five Wounds by Kirstin Valdez Quade (Mar 30, 2021)

Amadeo Padilla finds himself in a predicament when his fifteen-year-old daughter, Angel, shows up on his doorstep pregnant. Through the eyes of the Padilla family, four generations to be specific, there is a real glimpse of what family is all about. Each member of the family has a role and does what they think is right for the others, whether it is communicated that way or not. Sacrifice and redemption play right alongside survival in this book to show the reality of familial love, support, and mess-ups. 

It’s hard not to keep up with Padilla Family, every family is crazy in their own ways. 

The Hill We Climb and Other Poems by Amanda Gorman (Mar 30, 2021)

January 20, 2021, marked the day that Amanda Gorman delivered a poetry reading at the presidential inauguration of the 46th president of the United States, Joe Biden. Her poem, “The Hill We Climb” is only one of the moving masterpieces included in her collection of American poetry.

You’ll find nothing but inspiration and hope through this amazing young girl. 

Second First Impressions by Sally Thorne (Apr 13, 2021)

Ruthie takes her job very seriously. She runs the front desk at the Providence Luxury Retirement Villa, tends to residents’ demands, and guards the endangered tortoises in the garden. With all her responsibilities it’s easy to forget she’s young, beautiful, and needs to get a life. So, when the Villas fall under new ownership and two eccentric residents need a personal assistant, she hires the spoiled, lazy son of the new owner – Teddy, whom his father offers up to learn responsibility. Does Teddy stand a chance as an errand boy for two 90-somethings? Can Ruthie let her guard down long enough to start living a life of her own? And could there be love hiding somewhere in all of this?

It’s easy to adore this hilarious book about finding love in the most unexpected of places.

The Good Sister by Sally Hepworth (Apr 13, 2021)

Rose has always been her twin sister Fern’s protector. And Fern needed one – she always saw the good in people, but their mother was a sociopath who left secrets and scars in her wake. Now, adults, Rose is married and yearns for the child she can’t have. Fern is a librarian – odd and unsocial. But the pair still possess their bond of siblings and dark family secrets. When Fern decides to help her sister become a mother, the pair face choices together and apart that could destroy their family forever.

Chilling and mysterious. If you’re looking for a new edgy thriller, this one’s for you.

The Last Thing He Told Me by Laura Dave (May 4, 2021)

“Protect her.” Those are the last words that Hannah’s Hall husband has left before he disappears. She knows it refers to his daughter, her stepdaughter, Bailey. But why? After his disappearance, it becomes clear to Hannah that her husband, Owen Michaels, isn’t who he says he is. Bailey might know the secret of their past, but in trying to find the truth the two girls find themselves building a new future. Will they be able to figure out the truth behind his disappearance?

You’ll be thrilled with this family and mystery dynamic!

While Justice Sleeps by Stacey Abrams (May 11, 2021)

Avery Keene just got promoted, whether she likes it or not. From legendary Justice Howard Wynn’s law clerk to his legal guardian and power of attorney after he slips into a coma, Avery finds herself in the maze of clues about a high-profile case that has been left behind by Justice Wynn. A chess game that Avery must finish might lead her into danger as the thrilling politics try to creep up on her.

You’ll find that the truth always comes out. 

The Chosen and The Beautiful by Nghi Vo (Jun 1, 2021)

Jordan Baker has, what seems like, it all in her 1920s American society. Coming of age as queer and Vietnamese has made her exotic to her friends, but also has closed the doors she wants so desperately to open. A magical and cultural retelling of Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, Jordan stands on the threshold of our world and Gatsby’s world.

Dazzling and exclusive are the only words you need to pick up in this book.

Somebody’s Daughter by Ashley C. Ford (Jun 1, 2021)

This is a must-read memoir of a Black girl growing up in Indiana and is one of the most deeply layered memoirs I’ve read in a very long time. It touches on Ashley C. Ford’s complicated and sometimes emotionally unstable relationship with her mother while reflecting on a childhood without her father, who was incarcerated. The writing feels so tender to Ashley C. Ford’s inner child.

A reminder to allow childhood memories without questioning them or trying to pick them apart as an adult now.

The Secret Keeper of Jaipur by Alka Joshi (Jun 22, 2021)

Malik has exceeded expectations for his life and is now on his way to work in Jaipur’s Royal Palace. On the opening night of his latest project, a state-of-the-art cinema, the balcony tragically collapses and blame is placed where it is convenient. Malik believes that there are much darker things at work, though. He sets out to uncover the truth covered by a web of lies in this delightfully cultural atmosphere.

This book will take you into a whole new world of culture and mystery.

Survive the Night by Riley Sager (Jun 29, 2021)

Have you ever been stuck in the car with a guy you barely know and suspect of being a serial killer, the same serial killer who just killed your best friend? Charlie has. On the long drive home to Ohio from their college campus, Charlie can’t help but mistrust Josh Baxter. She just wanted to get away, but now she is stuck in the car, with who she assumes is the Campus Killer, and someone could cut the tension with a knife. 

You’ll be on the edge of your seat with this unexpected thriller!

Gods & Monsters by Shelby Mahurin (Jul 27, 2021)

Lou has spent her whole life running, but she has finally found her voice and she is ready to take back what is rightfully hers. No longer the girl that everyone once knew, the darkness that has set over her will take everything in her life to drive it out. Not even love alone can save her. The third book of the series, Gods and Monsters is seductive, breathtaking, and follows a brutally heartbroken heroine to depths of her soul and back. 

You’ll find a broken heart is ironically a great motivator.

Once There Were Wolves by Charlotte McConaghy (Aug 3, 2021)

Inti Flynn is hoping to find peace and healing in Scotland. She, along with her sister Aggie, is leading a team of biologists to reintroduce fourteen gray wolves to the dying landscape of the Highlands. Both sisters needed to get out of Alaska, they needed to escape their harm stricken past. However, when Inti begins to let her guard down, a farmer is found dead. She knows she must protect the wolves, as they have thrived in their environment, but if the wolves didn’t kill the farmer … what, or who did?

You’ll find a unique romance and connection with the narrator in this new thriller.

Billy Summers by Stephen King (Aug 3, 2021)

Billy Summers has one last hit. The best killer for hire around, Billy only does the job if the target is truly a bad guy. Billy wants out of the business, but he has one last hit. This complex hero has one last shot to avenge the crimes of an evil man, and everything will go wrong.  

You can’t ever be disappointed with Stephen King’s unique worlds and characters. 

Afterparties by Anthony Veasna So (Aug 3, 2021)

Seamlessly transitioning between the lives and stories of Cambodian-Americans, Afterparties explores the ideal of race, sexuality, friendship, and family. From best friends to brothers to a love affair to a child and mother, these varying relationships are powered by emotion, community, and struggles. 

If you’re interested in a variety of connections that are uniquely uniting, get excited for this book!

A Slow Fire Burning by Paula Hawkins (Aug 31, 2021)

Three women who are full of simmering resentment are linked to a young man who is found murdered in a London houseboat. Laura, a one-night stand, Carla, the grief-stricken aunt, and Miriam, the nosy neighbor, are all out for revenge. Each woman is holding back secrets. Which one could be capable of trying to find peace through this rageful deed?

This is a must-read if you’re a detective on the side of your daily job.

The Heart Principle by Helen Hoang (Aug 31, 2021)

Quan Diep is on the road to success as CEO of a new high-profile retail business, suddenly making him the object of all the single ladies’ desires. Camilla has certainly noticed him, the girl who brushed him off several years ago. So has her sister Anna, who claims to detest him. But who is she fooling? Can she keep up the charade, keep him from falling for her engaged sister Camilla, and keep a critical real estate deal afloat all at the same time?

You’ll love this sizzling new romance with all its anguish, desire, perfectionist characters and enigmas.

These Toxic Things by Rachel Howzell Hall (Sept 1, 2021)

When a client of Mickie Lambert dies, she fulfills Nadia’s last wish and begins to curate twelve mementos that were collected from flea markets across the country. However, these souvenirs mean a lot to someone else, too. Mickie Lambert is driven to find the truth behind these odd treasures when she starts to receive threatening messages to leave Nadia’s past alone. A sinister past might be inescapably intertwining with her own. 

Sometimes it’s easier to leave the past in the past, but it sure does make for a thrilling future.

Rock Paper Scissors by Alice Feeny (Sept 7, 2021)

After ten years of marriage, Mr. and Mrs. Wright have it all wrong, or so it seems. Adam Wright is a workaholic that suffers from face blindness, he can’t recognize friends, family, or even his own wife. Amelia has written a letter to Adam every anniversary but has never let him read them. That is until they win a weekend getaway to Scotland. This trip might be just what their marriage needs, or it may be the breaking point. One of them is lying, and someone doesn’t want them to live happily ever after. 

You’ll be trapped inside this book for days!

Beautiful World, Where Are You by Sally Rooney (Sept 7, 2021)

Boy and Girl meet world, after meeting each other. Alice meets Felix and asks if he would like to travel to Rome with her. Alice’s best friend, Eileen, is getting over a break-up and seems to find her way back to her childhood friend Simon. Pretty simple it seems like. Yet, the world is catching up with these young couples and desire and delusions might just be the thing to lead them very far apart or bring them closer together.

You can experience that spontaneous and passionate love all over again in between these pages.

Harlem Shuffle by Colson Whitehead (Sept 14, 2021)

Ray the striver and Ray the crook are very different people, but very much the same person. Ray the striver is a family man, a salesman, an expectant second child’s father. Ray the crook is the past version of Ray the stiver, descending from a line of uptown hoods and crooks. After being roped into a heist that goes south, Ray must navigate his double life while avoiding getting killed, saving his cousin, and maintaining his reputation as a family man.

A crime novel so eloquently set in the 1960s it will dazzle you with humourous morality and a glimpse of race and power in Harlem. 

Apples Never Fall by Liane Moriarty (Sept 14, 2021)

One night, a stranger named Savannah knocks on the door of Stan and Joy Delaney’s house. Now the four grown Delaney children are wondering what happened after their parents let Savannah into their house as both their mother and Savannah are missing. They love each other dearly, but when they reexamine their childhood memories could it be possible that one of them is the most obvious suspect of their missing mother?

You’ll find it hard to pull yourself away from this unique family drama.

Under the Whispering Door by TJ Klune (Sept 21, 2021)

Wallace might be dead. He suspects he might be when a reaper comes to collect him from his own funeral. He feels it’s a for-sure thing when Hugo, the owner of a peculiar tea shop, offers to help him cross over. He has one week to cross over, but Wallace is going to live the life he wasn’t ready to leave behind … in seven days.

Live life to the fullest, you may never get a second chance to right those regrets.

Cloud Cuckoo Land by Anthony Doerr (Sept 28, 2021)

The heroes of Cloud Cuckoo Land move across continents and galaxies and times. They desire to know the world around them and somehow are all interconnected. Anna and Omeir are separated by the siege of Constantinople. Seymour is an attack on a public library in modern-day Idaho. Konstanance is on her way to an exoplanet, decades from now. All from completely different and yet the same worlds, and they find a way to each other through the ancient text of the story of Aethon. 

Centuries and planets can’t keep these characters apart.

The Book of Magic by Alice Hoffman (Oct 5, 2021)

This story begins in a library, how perfect. Jet Owens finds herself in danger when she hears the deathwatch beetle, a calling for death. Yet, the curse that has plagued the Owens family for years is awakening once again and it will take three generations of Owens’ to use their magic in order to break it. They have to if they want to save a young man’s life. Love won’t protect the family from hidden secrets about their magic, but it might just save them in the end. 

You’ll have a new found want to feel connected to your family with this novel, even if you don’t have magical abilities. 

Oh William! by Elizabeth Strout (Oct 19, 2021)

Lucy Barton is, first and foremost, a writer. Yet the only thing she’s never been able to read is her ex-husband, William. It isn’t surprising when William asks Lucy to join him on a trip to investigate a recently uncovered family secret. The two have stayed connected for years, even after the divorce. Neither of them can see what’s coming, though.

They will learn about the invisible forces that hold people together, even if they have grown apart. 

Wish You Were Here by Jodi Picoult (Nov 30, 2021)

Diana had her life planned and on track, but when a virus detains her boyfriend from their romantic Galapagos getaway, Diana finds herself alone on the island. She must learn to venture outside her comfort zone and unexpectedly forms a connection with a local family when a teenager with a secret opens up to her. Will Diana be able to win the survival of the fittest in the birthplace of Darwin’s theory of natural selection and evolution, even if it’s only against herself?

You’ll want to take new risks after reading this inspiring tale.