There are 105 books on this list, and believe it or not I read many more that didn’t make the cut (the whole theme of “This Mom Loves” is recommending the things I actually like). I do want to explain for anyone new here (currently asking themselves how the h%&# I had time to read all these books) that my cancer treatment kept me off work for the first four months of 2021, plus of course I sat at home reading my way through various lockdowns…which means I have all the more recommendations to share with you!
If you enjoy my book recos I’d love for you to share this list with your own networks, and be sure to follow me on Instagram where I post great reads as I finish them so you don’t have to wait for a roundup…I’m planning to up the #bookstagram content this year! I also love to hear what great books you are reading, so be sure to tag/message me to let me know!
A final note before we get to it: these were books I read in 2021; while many were published this past year, some are older, and a few late-December reads will be on the next list.
Suspense/Thriller
The Babysitter by Phoebe Morgan
Invisible Girl by Lisa Jewell
The Good Sister by Gillian McAllister
The Other Passenger by Louise Candlish
The Woman Outside My Door by Rachel Ryan
The Girl in the Mirror by Rose Carlyle
The Tenant by Katrine Enberg
Lies Lies Lies by Adele Parks
Pretty Little Wife by Darby Kane
The Wife Upstairs by Rachel Hawkins
The End of Her by Shari Lapena
Don’t Look For Me by Wendy Walker
The Wrong Family by Tarryn Fisher
Something She’s Not Telling Us by Darcey Bell
The Perfect Child by Lucinda Berry
Tell Me My Name by Erin Ruddy
The Downstairs Neighbor by Helen Cooper
Every Last Fear by Alex Finlay
The Perfect Guests by Emma Rous
Final Girls by Riley Sager
Six Weeks To Live by Catherine McKenzie
The Last Thing He Told Me by Laura Dave
The End of Men by Christine Sweeney Baird
Home Before Dark by Riley Sager
Lying Next To Me by Gregg Olsen
Find You First by Linwood Barclay
Local Woman Missing by Mary Kubica
The Disappearing Act by Catherine Steadman
You Will Remember Me by Hannah Mary McKinnon
A Good Mother by Lara Bazelon
Hostage by Clare Mackintosh
When the Stars Go Dark by Paula McLain
The Damage by Caitlin Wahrer
Downfall by Robert Rotenberg (set in Toronto)
House on Fire by Bonnie Kistler
The Therapist by B.A. Paris
The Fiancée by Kate White
The Secrets of Us by Lucinda Berry
Such a Quiet Place by Megan Miranda
The Hunted by Roz Nay
The Almost Wife by Gail Anderson-Dargatz
Kill All Your Darlings by David Bell
No Bad Deed by Heather Chavez
Not a Happy Family by Shari Lapena
General Fiction
Yoga Pant Nation by Laurie Gelman (catch my IG Live video interview with Laurie here)
A House Full of Windsor by Kristin Contino (catch my IG Live video interview with Kristin here)
The Push by Ashley Audrain
Unraveling Oliver by Liz Nugent
Confessions of a Forty-Something by Alexandra Potter
Love Your Life by Sophie Kinsella
Eliza Starts a Rumor by Jane L. Rosen
The Book of Lost Names by Kristin Harmel
Indians on Vacation: A Novel by Thomas King
The Lies That Bind by Emily Giffin
Anxious People by Fredrik Backman
One to Watch by Kate Stayman-London
The Midnight Library by Matt Haig
What’s Mine and Yours by Naima Coster
Good Company by Cynthia D’Aprix Sweeney
The Chicken Sisters by KJ Dell’Antonia
Accidentally Engaged by Farah Heron
New Girl in Little Cove by Damhnait Monaghan (set in Newfoundland)
Maybe In Another Life by Taylor Jenkins Reid
The Cookbook Club by Beth Harbison
Mary Jane by Jessica Anya Blau
The Sea Gate by Jane Johnson
Seven Days in June by Tia Williams
Beach Read by Emily Henry
InstaMom by Chantal Guertin
Five Little Indians by Michelle Good
Where the Grass is Green and the Girls are Pretty by Lauren Weisberger
The Soulmate Equation by Christina Lauren
Cleo McDougal Regrets Nothing by Allison Winn Scotch
Family Law by Gin Phillips
Nonfiction
The Afrominimalist’s Guide to Living with Less by Christine Platt (catch my IG Live video interview with Christine here)
Hoda: How I Survived War Zones, Bad Hair, Cancer and Kathie Lee by Hoda Kotb
Breasts: The Owner’s Manual by Kristi Funk
Between Breaths by Elizabeth Vargas
American Daughter: A Memoir by Stephanie Thornton Plymale
Sisters First: Stories from Our Wild and Wonderful Life by Jenna Bush Hager and Barbara Pierce Bush
She Come By It Natural: Dolly Parton and the Women Who Lived Her Songs by Sarah Smarsh
The New Normal: A Roadmap to Resilience in the Pandemic Era by Dr. Jen Ashton
The Self-Care Solution: A Year of Becoming Happier, Healthier and Fitter…One Month at a Time by Dr. Jen Ashton
Share Your Stuff: I’ll Go First by Laura Tremaine
Girls & Sex by Peggy Orenstein
Remember by Lisa Genova
Between Two Kingdoms by Suleika Jaouad
Brag Better by Meredith Fineman
I Left My Homework in the Hamptons by Blythe Grossberg
The Actor’s Life: A Survival Guide by Jenna Fischer
Going There by Katie Couric
Best Wishes, Warmest Regards: The Story of Schitt’s Creek by Dan and Eugene Levy
Over the Boards: Lessons from the Ice by Hayley Wickenheiser
A Paris All Your Own: Bestselling Women Writers on the City of Light edited by Eleanor Brown
Science of Reading Books
For teacher friends or parents interested in how kids learn to read:
Reading For Life: High Quality Literacy Instruction For All by Lyn Stone
Know Better, Do Better: Teaching the Foundations So Every Child Can Read by David Liben and Meredith Liben
A Fresh Look At Phonics by Wally Blevins
Speech To Print by Louisa Moats
Overcoming Dyslexia by Sally Shaywitz and Jonathan Shaywitz
Essentials of Assessing, Preventing and Overcoming Reading Difficulties by David Kilpatrick
Language at the Speed of Sight by Mark Seidenberg
Proust and the Squid: The Story and Science of the Reading Brain by Maryanne Wolf
Reading in the Brain: The New Science of How We Read by Stanislas Dehaene
The Reading Mind by Daniel Willingham
Reader, Come Home by Maryanne Wolf
Aaaaand…….that’s it! Happy reading in 2022, everyone!