Hello bookish friends and welcome to the social highlight of the year (🤔), the #R3COMM3ND3D2021 after show party! The annual-ish recap of everything #R3COMM3ND3D where we get to gaze fondly upon the books that were chosen by forty-eight brilliant bookish types (plus me) and announce the winner or…*audible gasp*…winners!

Of course, if you’re new to the blog you may be wondering what #R3COMM3ND3D is, so allow me to explain. It’s about sharing the book love. It’s a chance for authors, book bloggers and bookstagrammers to shout about three (yes, *only* three) books they love. They can be written by any author, in any genre and published in any way (traditionally, indie press or self-published). But there is a catch. All three books must have been published in 2021.

Waaaaaay back at the start of November book blogger Nicki of Nicki’s Life of Crime kicked things off for us with three cracking recommendations. By the time the feature finished on 23rd December fifty-three days had passed and forty-eight brilliant bookish folk (plus me) had recommended the grand total of 130 books. One hundred and thirty book recommendations is pretty epic, right? And all just in time for Christmas 🎅

So, let’s gaze upon the beautiful #R3COMM3ND3D2021 covers in all their splendiferous glory. Aren’t they gorgeous?!

A thing of beauty, I’m sure you’ll agree! If you took part in #R3COMM3ND3D2021 and the book(s) you chose aren’t here then please get in touch.

But let’s talk winners and find out what the most #R3COMM3ND3D book, or books, of 2021 were. There were seven books with two votes each. They were…

Two books received three votes each…

And two books received four votes each making them joint winners of #R3COMM3ND3D2021…

Huge congratulations to Will Dean (Hodder & Stoughton) and Catriona Ward (Viper Books) for having the most #R3COMM3ND3D books of the year 🎉 One of these beauties I’ve read, the other is going straight to the top of the reading pile. Have you read either of these cracking novels? What about the other top books of the year? How many do you have on your TBR?

The biggest of thanks to all of the book bloggers, bookstagrammers and authors who took part in #R3COMM3ND3D2021 and whittled their favourite reads down to three (an impossible task, I know!). Thank you for all of the likes, retweets, shares and comments – every single one is always appreciated.

#R3COMM3ND3D may be taking a short break next year (I’m undecided at the moment – I honestly can’t imagine not running it and get a little panicky when I think about it!) but hopefully it won’t be for long if it does. Enormous thanks again for the support this year, book community. You absolutely rock!