Books of the Month November 2021

Even as 2021 enters its final stretch and the holidays as well as a brand new year looms on the horizon, our readers still made time to get in some last-minute reading. So, for anyone curious about the stories that they found the most captivating, here are the books of the month for November 2021 as chosen by our readers.

Best Romance

Mess With Me

by Kylie Gilmore

Mess With Me is part of the Happy Endings Book Club series by Kylie Gilmore. It is a small-town romantic comedy about Ally Bloom, who strikes out when she attempts a second chance with her first love during a college reunion. Seeing that the object of her affection is not interested, Ally is heartbroken, but then Ethan Case, the sexy cop friend of a friend, takes pity on her. Ally knows that Ethan is taken, and she doesn't need to impress him, so she blurts out the entire saga of her love life to him. However, much to her surprise, Ethan begins showing up unexpectedly in her life, leaving her wondering if he's just messing with her or if it could be the start of something real.

Best Mystery & Thriller

Pretty Killer

by Nolon King

Pretty Killer is a tense psychological thriller by Nolon King where twelve people bound by a secret arrive for an exclusive dinner. All of them are seeking their own redemption while hiding their sordid sins. However, when they arrive, they discover that the other guests are familiar in the most troubling of ways. Their host, a Hollywood star, also has all the money in the world to spend on revenge and the extraction of secrets. For example, the secret of what happened to the only guest not in attendance, Casey Davis, and who is to blame.

Best Biography

Elida, The Forbidden Ghetto Girl

by Zipora Klein Jakob

Elida, The Forbidden Ghetto Girl by Zipora Klein Jakob is a WW2 biographical fiction story of a daughter with three fathers and four mothers. The girl is Elida, born in Kovno Ghetto in 1943 amidst fears of the death sentence decreed by the Nazis. Her parents, Dr. Jonah Friedman and his wife Tzila, smuggle Elida out of the ghetto and into the arms of a Lithuanian family when she is only three months old. When the Nazis kill Jonah and Tzila, Elida is left orphaned and dependent on the kindness of strangers as she changes families, countries, continents, and even her name more than once.

Best Children's Book

Small or Tall, We Sparkle After All

by Aditi Wardhan Singh

Small or Tall, We Sparkle After All is a body-positive children's book about confidence and kindness by Aditi Wardhan. It is part of the Sparkling Me series and includes body positive affirmations, activities, and conversation starters. The story is about a little girl named Shreya who believes being taller is better, so for her birthday, she wishes to grow ten feet tall. Over the course of the story, Shreya learns about the advantage of a smaller size while children find out about the science of growth.

Best Young Adult

Ember and Stone

by Megan O'Russell

Ember and Stone is the first novel in the Ena of Ilbrea series by Megan O'Russell. It is set in the country of Ilbrea, which is mercilessly ruled by the seven Guilds, and commoners struggle to survive. Ena Ryeland is an illegal healer who knows all too well the cost of survival. However, when she is offered a life of freedom and a chance to fight the Guilds, she knows she can't win the battle on her own.

Best Fantasy

To Kill a Fae

by Jamie A. Waters

To Kill a Fae is the first book in The Dragon Portal series by Jamie A. Waters. Ten years after being marked for death and escaping from her home Sabine encounters a charismatic stranger who arrives in the city. To survive the Wild Hunt, Sabine has kept her head down, avoided telling anyone about her past, and made sure never to let her glamour drop. However, she finds herself drawn to the power she can sense hidden within the stranger, making it impossible for her to keep her distance. To make matters worse, she's the only one who can help steal a rare artifact protected with magical barriers, but doing so would mean revealing the truth about her identity and exposing her darkest secrets.

Best Historical Fiction

The Only Way Home

by Jeanette Minniti

The Only Way Home by Jeanette Minniti is the story of Robert; a fifteen-year-old boy determined to survive loss and hardship to help his family. The year is 1933, and the Great Depression takes its toll on everyone. Robert leaves his home in Illinois accompanied by his best friend Johnny in an attempt to find work. The two head south by hopping a train boxcar, but as they move from state to state, Johnny becomes discouraged and heads home while Robert continues onward. The story follows Robert and is about his journey, the places he goes, and the people he encounters along the way.

Best Literary Fiction

The Magnificent Essence of Madness

by Amnon Dvir

The Magnificent Essence of Madness by Amnon Dvir is a gripping look into the mysterious world of the mentally impaired and the never-ending yearning to return to everyday life. The story follows Chaim, a man admitted to a closed psychiatric ward after a psychotic attack. It is here that Chaim finds himself torn between two desires. On the one hand, he wants to stay in the ward and remain protected from the threatening deterioration of his life and consciousness. But, on the other, he still desires to win back his freedom and return to his demanding life outside the ward.

Best Science Fiction

Driven

by Eve Silver

Driven is the first book in the Northern Waste series by Eve Silver. It is set in the harsh Northern Waste, where human life is worth very little. But, as an ice trucker, this is something that Raina Bowen is used to, which is why she keeps her eyes open and her knife close at hand. She's spent her life staying one step ahead of the megalomaniac who hunts her, but trouble finds her anyway when she runs into a stranger called Wizard. She needs the trucking pass that he has, and after rescuing him, the two find themselves trying to outrun rival truckers, ice pirates and the powerful man bent on their destruction.

Best Paranormal

Crying Wolf

by Rochelle Paige

Crying Wolf is the first novel in the Black River Pack series by Rochelle Paige. Grace Shaw's crazy ex-boyfriend is a copy willing to use police resources to track her down, making it hard for her to get away. When he refuses to believe the relationship is over, Grace comes up with the plan to trick his fellow officers into thinking he's crying wolf every time he reports her as missing. However, when she eventually makes her escape for real, she ends up getting involved with the alpha male werewolf of the Black River Pack, who insists she's his mate.