While we love classic literature, some quirky ‘new releases’ of today are just as worthy. When we pick a book and dive right in, we understand if it will make it to classics or not. And some of these new releases we saw in 2021 fit right into this box. Goodreads has picked the 10 most popular novels from 2021 that need to be added to your ‘to-be-read’ list. Scroll down and jot it down!
The Maidens by Alex Michaelides
Debut Date: June 15, 2021
Goodreads Rating: 3.68/5
The protagonist of Alex Michaelides’s second novel, The Maidens, is a psychotherapist, as was the protagonist of his debut, The Silent Patient, published in 2019 whose main character makes an appearance in this novel, too. Mariana, the heroine of The Maidens, runs a busy group therapy business in London. Despite its modern location, the novel is a gothic thriller with its atmosphere of ritualistic murders, old mythology and the venerable college. It is an absolute must-read if you’re into dark academia!
Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir
Debut Date: May 4, 2021
Goodreads Rating: 4.55/5
Ryland Grace, an astrobiologist who is particularly prepared for the interstellar mission to rescue the sun, awakens millions of miles from Earth with dead crewmates and little to no knowledge of what he is doing or how he is doing it. Because of the more far-fetched – literally – character of this novel, things do veer off into the merely hypothetical, but Weir skilfully keeps all the plates spinning. If you like The Martian, you’ll enjoy this problem-solving hero of Hail Mary, and his scientific exploits.
The Wife Upstairs by Rachel Hawkins
Debut Date: January 5, 2021
Goodreads Rating 3.78/5
A modern day Jane Eyre, Hawkins’ newest thriller, is presented as a dog walker to the elite and sometimes petty criminals in modern-day Alabama. Jane quickly gains the social capital to advance from a dog walker to an equal within the neighborhood, and she is soon welcomed on committees and at parties by mimicking the style and mannerisms of the status-conscious women around her. What happens throughout this re-enactment? Read to find out!
The Push by Ashley Audrain
Debut Date: January 5, 2021
Goodreads Rating: 4.14/5
In Ashley Audrain’s debut novel, we meet Blythe Connor, a woman whose parenting experience is not what she expected it to be. Blythe is determined to be the loving, kind, and generous mother she never had. Still, she can’t shake the unpleasant, persistent feeling that her daughter, Violet, is not like other children. What will come out on top? Which comes first, nature or nurture?
Klara and the Sun By Kazuo Ishiguro
Debut Date: March 2, 2021
Goodreads Rating 3.84/5
Kazuo Ishiguro, the 2017 Nobel Laureate in Literature, has released his first book, which evolved to be one of the most popular novels of 2021 and was widely read. The author of Klara and the Sun examines mankind through the viewpoint of non-humans. Klara is an Artificial Friend, one of several in a busy city street business. The solar-powered robot doll isn’t the most recent model – they would be the flashy new B3s, more technically impressive, with higher cognition and recall – but she’s still very capable, with an inquisitive and inquiring disposition that would make her a perfect companion for the right human youngster. How will Klara solve the mystery that is humanity?
The Last Thing He Told Me by Laura Dave
Debut Date: May 4, 2021
Goodreads Rating: 3.99/5
Before Owen Michaels departs, he smuggles a letter to his wife of just a year: “Protect her.” Despite her uncertainty and dread, Hannah Hall recognizes the note’s intended recipient: Owen’s sixteen-year-old daughter, Bailey, who sadly lost her mother when she was a child. Bailey, who is adamantly opposed to her new stepmother. What is Hannah going to do? The Last Thing He Told Me is a fast and gripping thriller about the significance of family and identity that everyone needs to check out.
The Lost Apothecary By Sarah Penner
Debut Date: March 2, 2021
Goodreads Rating: 3.8/5
Nella Clavinger, the one-woman operator of a business buried deep behind a cupboard wall at the base of a twisting alleyway in the deepest depths of London in 1791, is the narrator of Sarah Penner’s stunning debut The Lost Apothecary. The other voice belongs to Caroline Parcewell, who is celebrating her tenth wedding anniversary in modern-day London. She sets out to learn more about it with time on her hands and a longstanding interest in archives and ephemera, the unseen secrets of regular people. What she discovers, however, is more than she could have anticipated – a mystery that will send her on a collision course through the millennia. How will this secret be revealed in the book?
People We Meet on Vacation By Emily Henry
Debut Date: May 11, 2021
Goodreads Rating: 4.16/5
Poppy and Alex, two close friends who met in college, are the focus of People We Meet on Vacation. They go on a vacation together every summer, but after a rift, they stop talking. Poppy invites Alex to accompany her on vacation after two years to repair their friendship. One of the most popular novels we saw last year, we are ready to read this delightful and heartwarming book.
Malibu Rising By Taylor Jenkins Reid
Debut Date: May 27, 2021
Goodreads Rating: 4.16/5
Malibu Rising takes place over the 24 hours leading to Nina Riva’s annual end-of-summer bash. The only person who isn’t looking forward to the year’s biggest party is Nina, who has never liked to be the focus of attention. Malibu Rising is a narrative about one memorable night in a family’s life: the night they each have to pick what they will conceal from the ones who created them as well as what they will leave behind.
The Four Winds By Kristin Hannah
Debut Date: February 2, 2021
Goodreads Rating: 4.34/5
Elsa is from a wealthy family, yet her life is limited and protected. She was diagnosed with a serious disease as a youngster, and her family regards her as an invalid. She’s also extremely straightforward. She later meets Rafe Martinelli and gets pregnant. They marry and raise their two little children on his parents’ property. Then comes the Great Depression, and, in Texas, the Dust Bowl, with agriculture failing and the land itself becoming virtually uninhabitable. What happens next? This historical fiction will undoubtedly grab you by the guts!
Which of the most popular novels of 2021 have you read, and which one are you going to add to your TBR? Tell us in the comments below!
Liked learning about the most popular novels of 2021? Don’t miss adding these 7 quirky books to your reading list!
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