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!

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