In no particular order these are my Top 10 books that I read in 2021. All the books on my list this year received 5 stars reviews from me!
Tien has been hiding that fact that he's gay from his mother and father. Struggling for the word in Vietnamese to tell them and struggling with revealing something not knowing how they will react. His mother and him bond over stories, specifically Fairy Tales.
Father Patrick has been a priest since his mom died and a girl broke his heart when he was just out of college. He has put all his energy into helping his church, which includes the Pre-K program that he just discovered needs more money in order to run next year. Sasha and her friend Hannah run a party planning business and have decided to help Patrick raise the money he needs to keep the Pre-K open. Sasha puts all her energy into helping Patrick while trying to keep her crush for him a secret.
After a failed date Darcy and Elle have both come to realizations. Darcy will never let her brother set her up again and Elle realizes she's looking for her soul mate and it is definitely not Darcy. But after a chance encouter with Darcy's brother, Elle confronts Darcy and the two agree to a fake relationship to help them both. Darcy with her brother who wants Darcy to fall in love again and Elle with her family who can't accept her for who she is. But with any fake dating romance the two really start to fall for each other.
In a seemingly post apocalyptic world Morgan works at her boring (which she likes) job while hunting Imps on the side for her friend Annie's drug business. When an exciting new gig job app called Huntr is being tested on the market Morgan is forced into trying it out because she is a brush baby. Someone who grew up outside of the protective bubbles that keep the horrors of the world out of peoples minds. Aside from the occasionally creature that sneaks in. This new "job" leads her to new friends and reconnections with old ones.
The God of Death is out of a job, a boy has been born that will create the cure to death. The God of Death is fired and cast down to live as a mortal. She decides to stop immortality from being created, and sets out to kill the baby who will one day make her job obsolete. But as time wears on Laila Starr the God of Death made mortal lives life for the first time.
The Charm Offensive by Alison Cochrun
Dev has been working on the Bacheloresque Ever After for six years. After a breakup with a coworker he is diving into the new season. But this seasons Prince Charlie is a socially awkward tech guru who needs more help than his handler can provide. Dev is reassigned to help Charlie and make this season a success. Dev tries to get Charlie to connect with the woman and find the happily ever after that Dev works so hard to create each season. As the two work together Charlie and Dev become closer, opening up to each other in ways they don't normally.
In the near future an anti-science political atmosphere has led scientist to beg and plead for any amount of money to do their research. After an advanced alien civilization made contact, you would have thought the earth would have changed for the better. However after seeing how terrible humanity really was the offer to join all of the universe was withdrawn. However a group of scientists desperate for money use the Space Shot, jokingly called Money Shot to explore the universe and find aliens they can use to make money. By making interspecies porn under the code name of the XXX-Plorers Of Planet Earth.