Back in June, I made a list of my Top 25 Books of the First Half of 2020. In a few weeks, after I squeeze every minute of reading time I can out of 2020, I’ll make another list for my Top 25 Books of the LAST Half, to round out the year. Will this post be less rambly than the first one? PROBABLY NOT! I LOVE BOOKS!

Until then, here’s another roundup I’ve been wanting to do: talking about my most anticipated (adult) romance novels of 2021!

I limited it to 20 books, and to books specifically marketed as romance; if I forgot to mention your book here I’m sorry! I have a small brain and these were the first 20 that occupied it. Know that I am legit excited about any and all romance novels except for ones that involve Nazis or glorify toxic behaviors without accountability!!

Also: while most of these are published by mainstream publishers (the Big 5, or 4 now, since the Penguin Random House/Simon & Schuster merger…yay capitalism), one of my reading goals for 2021 is to read more self-pub titles and titles from indie publishers. So hopefully my actual Best Reads of 2021 posts will include more of those.

Obviously we have the most information about books coming out in the first half of 2021; I still threw in ones we don’t know much about yet, too. I’ve included covers and synopses from the publishers when available, and then provided my own succinct, very eloquent summaries for lazy scrollers like me. (You’re welcome!!)

Here we go! Listed in order of publication date:

1. The Ex Talk, Rachel Lynn Solomon (January 26; Berkeley)

Shay Goldstein has been a producer at her Seattle public radio station for nearly a decade, and she can’t imagine working anywhere else. But lately it’s been a constant clash between her and her newest colleague, Dominic Yun, who’s fresh off a journalism master’s program and convinced he knows everything about public radio. 

When the struggling station needs a new concept, Shay proposes a show that her boss green-lights with excitement. On The Ex Talk, two exes will deliver relationship advice live, on air. Their boss decides Shay and Dominic are the perfect co-hosts, given how much they already despise each other. Neither loves the idea of lying to listeners, but it’s this or unemployment. Their audience gets invested fast, and it’s not long before The Ex Talk becomes a must-listen in Seattle and climbs podcast charts.  

As the show gets bigger, so does their deception, especially when Shay and Dominic start to fall for each other. In an industry that values truth, getting caught could mean the end of more than just their careers. 

Anita’s tl;dr: PUBLIC RADIO NERDS BANG IN SEATTLE!!