Portobello Book Blog

Well, did everyone have a good Christmas? I hope that you got lots of lovely new books to enjoy! Here we are with my final selection of Top Reads for 2021. This time there are just a few I’m including but they are all brilliant! There are a couple of festive reads in there so make a note for next year if you prefer to read seasonally. Click the titles under the book covers if you’d like to read my reviews.

The Impossible Truths of Love by Hannah Beckerman

A Town Called Solace by Mary Lawson

A Christmas Wish on a Carousel by Lottie Cardew

The Post Box at the North Pole by Jaimie Admans

So that’s it for 2021. I think it may have been a record reading year for me with around 170 books completed. I guess that’s what happens when there’s nothing else to do in the midst of a pandemic. I escape into books. And on that note, you’ll no doubt have noticed that most of the books I’ve selected for my Top Reads this year have been predominately romantic, feel good fiction or ‘up-lit’ if you prefer. There has been a lot of debate over the past month about how this genre doesn’t get the same respect as other genres considered more ‘worthy’ perhaps. Well, as you can see, I have a lot of respect for books that help me escape, make me smile and make me feel happy. And there’s nothing wrong with that. There is room for all kinds of tastes when it comes to reading. Read what you like and enjoy what you like!

There’s going to be a couple of changes on the blog next year. The main one is that I’m not going to do an A-Z of books reviewed. It takes me ages to update and, to be honest, not many people look at it. The search function to find reviews will still be there and I’ll still, for now, do an A-Z of all the author spotlights I do.

Here’s to a great reading year in 2022. I wish everyone a very Happy New Year and let’s hope we can finally get back to some kind of normality soon. Until then, we can always escape into books!