I know the cardinal rule of being a good supporter of favorite authors is to preorder their books. I’ll admit that I’m pretty bad at this, because I (a) straight up do not have enough space for all the books I’d like to buy, (b) am annoying about which formats I own, (c) don’t like having only one or two books in a series – I need all of them, and (d) don’t want to buy a Kindle book when I know I’ll be buying a physical copy later when I have a real library room. I only preorder books when I know the author (and love them), have other books in the series or plan to acquire them at some point very soon, and/or know I need to read the book ASAP. There are a few interesting exceptions for my 2021 list of preorders, which is why I thought it would be fun to discuss!
Fiction
A COURT OF SILVER FLAMES by Sarah J. Maas /// February 2021
Yes, I know, this is a problematic fave of a series and author. I don’t love her writing anymore – it’s seriously declined. I don’t know why I feel compelled to own this book but honestly I think it has to do with the fact that I own the others in the series and want to read it soon after it comes out. Let’s move along…
RULE OF WOVLES by Leigh Bardugo /// March 2021
I was preordering this from Target when I added ACOSF (above) to also get my Skinnytaste cookbook for free during their sale. Yes, I’d prefer to start this on the release date, but I just wanted to get this deal. I adore Nikolai and really loved the first book in the series. I own the hardcover too.
GIRLS WITH REBEL SOULS by Suzanne Young /// March 2021
I am obsessed with Suzanne Young’s books. How many times should I say that on my blog? She’s the kind of author where I want to guarantee more and more books from her, for years to come. That’s why I’m preordering this book. The third/final book in a series can make or break more books and series from an author, I think, so I want to support this one. I have an ARC of the first book somewhere and my second one was lost in the mail so I do have to buy the physical copies at some point. Will I be mad that those are paperback and this will be hardcover? Totally. But it will be worth it if her books continue to be published.
LAST CHANCE BOOKS by Kelsey Rodkey /// May 2021
Lauren from five years ago absolutely bought random books because they had cute covers. Lauren from the past couple of years would never, y’all. However, this book is an exception. Good lord she’s a debut author with a pretty cover and I was sold. Because I’m pretty sure this is like a top-five-of-all-time book cover for me, I figured… I need to own it. Regardless of if the book is good. Maybe I’m just crazy.
Cookbooks
THE PEPPER THAI COOKBOOK by Pepper Teigen /// April 2021
I’ve adored Chrissy’s cookbooks so you know I was going to get her mom’s as soon as possible, especially because she has so many good ones featured in Chrissy’s so far! She makes delicious Thai food (and more, surely), so I am sold af. We always have a variety of relevant ingredients for these dishes so I cannot wait to see what I can make from here.
COOK THIS BOOK by Molly Baz /// April 2021
After everything blew up at Bon Appetit (our favorite quarantine pastime from the spring into summer), we stopped watching all of their videos and I cancelled my magazine subscription. This was a very sad thing for us because our “Bon App Fridays” were my favorite day of the week for multiple months. Anyways, many of the folks have gone on to have their own adventures. I’ve been making Molly’s recipes from her recipe club Patreon and they have been amazing. Super random, out of my comfort zone, and delicious. Here’s hoping her cookbook is the same 😉
Ugh I feel you about the decline in SJMaas’ writing (and possibly the editing?) Like I continue reading her books but the turns of phrase, adjective, etc. seem so much more repetitive than in her older books. I read ACOSF and enjoyed it but it doesn’t have the same magic as ACOTAR and ACOMAF for me…
Yes, definitely can see that so far! I’m still slogging through it. haha