Book recommendations, my top ten from 2021

I used to spend my days giving book recommendations to customers and so I thought I would look through the books I read in the past 12 months and start the year by letting you know which ones I particularly enjoyed, just in case any of you are looking for a good read. 


Gravity is the Thing by Jaclyn Moriarty – these are in no particular order except that this was my stand out favourite from the year. The story of relationships, particularly between a brother and sister. A bit of a mystery too and an invitation to suspend belief. For me, this is of those books I will re-read every few years.

Away with the Penguins by Hazel Prior – a book about an elderly lady, Veronica, who loves Penguins and through various circumstances ends up travelling to the Antarctic. Particular about fashion and a bit deaf (but won’t admit it) Veronica is a “character”.There is a sequel, Call of the Penguins, which I also enjoyed.

The Last Library by Freya Sampson – I am drawn to books about bookshops and libraries and the title of this one drew me. Once I started it the main character, June, who has followed in her dear Mum’s footsteps and works in the local library, had me rooting for her.  

The Miseducation of Evie Epworth – Evie is 16 and lives with her Dad. She doesn’t know what to do with her life but she does know she doesn’t want her Dad to marry his girlfriend and sets about stopping it happening. With a cast of larger than life characters this one would translate to the TV very well.

The Appeal by Janice Hallett – if anyone had told me I could be drawn in by a book that   consists solely of emails I wouldn’t have believed them. Here your goal is to find out who is innocent and who is guilty simply by reading everyone’s emails. There is a group of people who know each other through amateur dramatics, work and family links and someone has been accused of murder.

The One Hundred Years of Lenni and Margot by Marianne Cronin If you add together the ages of Lenni and Margot you get 100. They meet in hospital and this is their story.

The Switch by Beth O’Leary This is lighthearted and actually made me laugh out loud a couple of times. Eileen and Leena, Grandmother and Granddaughter swap houses in Yorkshire and London and this is the story of what ensues.

Miss Benson’s Beetle The search for an elusive beetle, an unlikely companionship and a journey to the other side of the world and then some. A wonderful story, I wanted it to be true.

Mix Tape by Jane Sanderson Songs and bands from my youth in this one, a story of teenagers in love  in the 70s who reconnect in the present. What actually happened to send one of them to the other side of the world? What will reconnecting mean for them?

Brewed Awakening by Cleo Coyle  I think this was book 18 in the series? Set in a coffee house in New York Clare Cosi, the owner and master brewer, seems to attract crime line a magnet. I’ve always enjoyed these books. A good crime to solve interspersed by talk of coffee. I often read them in a coffee house and really get in the zone.