Welcome to the Love Bytes Reviewers’ Best of 2021
Another year has passed in which books have brought all of us a much needed escape and sense of comfort. Our Love Bytes team reviewed approximately 1,300 LGBTQ+ books in 2021, from contemporary romance to fantasy, paranormal, historical, adventure, mystery, comedy and everything in between. Each day for the next few weeks, we will feature one of our reviewers’ top picks from books and audiobooks published in 2021. These lists highlight how diverse our tastes in reading are, and offer something for everyone. With thousands of fantastic new books each year, written by hundreds of creative and talented authors, it’s so difficult to narrow our lists down. We all have many favorite authors not featured here and wish we could acknowledge them all.
Jay’s 2021 Favorites
We’ve made it through another tough year & books have again been an escape for many including myself. There’s been some amazing books this year and I’m sure I’ve missed some. I’ve realized this year has been more about reading books revolving around the fantastic for me – whether it’s ghosts, magicians, and other supernatural characters. So, here goes my list:
The Ghosts of Lies (Medium Trouble #1) by Alice Winters
Winters has always been an excellent writer of humor, but some of it doesn’t have as broad appeal as I would think. I generally like her writing but can see how some of her books are too over top. Though this series has found a fine balance. A good mystery that keeps you guessing and a quirky lead who isn’t too far out there, though seeing ghosts and helping people who could be about to die, is a serious job. The writing is crisp and refreshing without devolving into silliness.
Fairytales from Verania (Tales of Verania #4.5) by TJ Klune
There are several books that Klune has released this year (including a NYT bestseller) but this one stands out for me. I’m not always a fan of short stories, but this is a wonderful representation of the wide variety of writing style of this author. The stories encapsulate the books from Verania series, from funny/silliness to extremely serious. The first three are fun but the final story, David’s Dragon, is a masterclass in storytelling. It will thrill you and just demolish you by the end. Such a well-written, well-crafted story. I still think about the story so many months later and I still feel gutted.
Dead Serious Case #1 by Vawn Cassidy
A drag queen ghost haunting the main lead? Sign me up. Cassidy writes a rich, who-dun-it with aplomb, creating characters that could easily go over the top but providing a humanity to them that warms the heart. Maybe I relate to the main lead too much as he really likes to be a loner, choosing to be a coroner with the dead, until they start talking back. Thrust into action, he grows and learns a lot about himself. Gaining a cop boyfriend in the process is the icing on the cake.
Grumpy Bear by Slade James
Having gone to ‘gay’ camp for many years in my 20s/30s, this one was a fun read. There’s some stretching of truth that happens at these camps, but it is a great background for a series. In this kickoff book, the two leads are adorable in very different ways and it’s always fun to read a story were someone’s heart softens over time.
Blindspot (Daydream, Colorado #1) by A.M. Rose
A town of supernatural hidden from the world, Rose’s world building is amazing in this first book of the Daydream, Colorado series. The characters are all so likable, you just want to live in this town. Some serious trouble is heading to the town, and several are working to figure out how to continue to protect the town. The start of some very good story arcs, this first book was a joy to read.
Gone But Not Forgotten (TIN #1) by Charlie Cochet
Having written several other books between, Cochet is back to her famous THIRDS universe, starting a new series centered around the TINS agency. That she continues to flourish writing in this universe demonstrates how brilliant her world building was set up for great stories after all these years. Her characters are still sharp, snarky but grounded and continue to be interesting with story arcs big and small around these series.
Wormwood Summer (San Amaro Investigations #1) by Kai Butler
Another first book in a series that has amazing world building, Butler has created solid characters that are great play on the many myths around supernatural worlds and creatures. The characters are fun, and Parker is a delight. He’s over his head many of the times but keeps above water. A play on the poor detective/investigator, this has both good times and bad, balancing them so well. It helps to read the free book written as a prequel, this book drops you right into the wonderful supernatural world but keeps it’s grittiness.