~ Goodreads Award Nominations – My Final Round Votes ~

From the ten finalists in this category, I realized that I have many more novels to add to my TBR. I have heard of all of the nominees but sadly have not read almost all of them.

The novel that I did read was The Wish. I actually have not read a lot by Nicholas Sparks despite his popularity, so it was a nice surprise when this novel lived up to the hype of being an enjoyable story.

My Vote: The Wish by Nicholas Sparks

My Predicted Winner: Beautiful World, Where Are You by Sally Rooney

While both Nicholas Sparks and Sally Rooney were incredibly popular this year, I have seen Sally’s novel circulated far more than any of the other nominees.

While I have only read two from the list, The Push was a great read. It was highly hyped on various morning shows, so I decided to check it out. It was an amazing read that I hope to read again in the future.

My Vote: The Push by Ashley Audrain

My Predicted Winner: The Last Thing He Told Me by Laura Dave

My predicted winner was a toss-up between both novels as I have seen equal praise for both. Since I have not read the predicted winner, I can’t commentate which is better; however, I think I saw slightly more circulation for Laura’s novel compared to Ashley’s.

Similar to the last category, I only read a few of these novels, I believe four, but this one stood out to me.

My Vote: The Paris Library by Janet Skeslien Charles

My Predicted Winner: Malibu Rising by Taylor Jenkins Reid

The Paris Library turned out to be a fantastic read. It is difficult to tell if I was just in the mood for it or it would have been amazing even if I wasn’t, but it was definitely worth my vote; however, Malibu Rising was definitely a highly saught after novel and I think it will win.

While I have read over a hundred fantasy novels this year (most of them published in 2021), I actually only read about half of the final ten.

My Vote: Under the Whispering Door by T.J. Klune

My Predicted Winner: A Court of Silver Flames (A Court of Thorns and Roses #4) by Sarah J. Maas

TJ’s novel House on the Cerulean Sea is still my favorite, but there was a lot to love about Under the Whispering Door. As most people compare their love for the two novels and the Court of Thorns and Roses series is very popular, I chose Sarah’s novel as the predicted winner.

From the ten finalists in this category, I have read six of them. While I loved most of them, there are a few that I did not enjoy as much as the others.

My Vote: It Happened One Summer (Bellinger Sisters #1) by Tessa Bailey

My Predicted Winner: People We Meet on Vacation by Emily Henry

People We Meet on Vacation was just not the novel for me, but it was highly rated and very popular, so I am very sure that it will win. I am on the fence with Tessa’s other series, but there were many elements that I loved about this novel and it easily received my vote.

There is something to love about Leslie Jordan and his positive attitude. There are many things that he says and does that make me laugh, so it was nice to see many of those elements incorporated into his book.

My Vote: How Y’all Doing? Misadventures and Mischief from a Life Well Lived by Leslie Jordan

My Predicted Winner: A Carnival of Snackery: Diaries 2003-2020 by Davis Sedaris

Choosing a predicted winner in this category was incredibly difficult as there are many that are extremely popular. I went with the one by David as I saw it around on social media/online a little more than the others.

I absolutely love the entire Avatar: The Last Airbender series, so this category was very easy to cast a vote in as Toph is awesome and it was great to read about her academy.

My Vote: Avatar: The Last Airbender: Toph Beifong’s Metalbending Academy by Faith Erin Hicks & Illustrated by Peter Wartman & Adele Matera 

My Predicted Winner: Dune: the Graphic Novel, Book 1 by Brian Herbert, Kevin J. Anderson, & Bill Sienkiewicz & Illustrated by Raul Allen, Frank Herbert, & Patricia Martín

While Avatar is extremely popular, I predicted the Dune novel as many people may vote for it, or at least check it out, after the new movie was released.

My vote was for Crying in H Mart as it was an easy enough read to not want to put down. It was very interesting and I greatly enjoyed it.

My Vote: Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zavner

My Predicted Winner: Unfinished by Priyanka Chopra Jonas

This is another category that was a toss up for a predicted winner. Although I saw both around online multiple times, I saw Priyanka’s praised and talked about a little more.

I enjoyed many elements of the Caraval series and looked forward to reading the companion series, Once Upon a Broken Heart. While some readers did not like some elements of the novel, I loved it and am very anxious to read the sequel.

My Vote: Once Upon a Broken Heart (OUABH #1) by Stephanie Garber

My Predicted Winner: Our Violent Ends (These Violent Delights #2) by Chloe Gong

Almost any novel in this category would make a great winner as there are not only a lot of amazing novels, but there are many fans to support each, so it was difficult to choose a predicted winner. I went with Our Violent Ends as it was released recently and would be fresher in the minds of voters.

While I have read multiple adult fiction new releases, I only completed three of the ten finalists.

All three each had something that stood out to me, but one stuck in my mind more than the others. Therefore, I decided to vote for this one as it was not only original but also enjoyable.

My Vote: Fire Keeper’s Daughter by Angeline Boulley 

My Predicted Winner: Ace of Spades by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé

Ace of Spades has received a lot of buzz and it has been highly recommended by multiple people, so I think it will be the winner.

In this category, I completed four of the ten nominees.

While all four of them, I think, have a high chance of winning, She Who Became the Sun was a great mix of history and fiction.

My Vote: She Who Became the Sun (The Radiant Emperor #1) by Shelley Parker-Chan

My Predicted Winner: Fire Keeper’s Daughter by Angeline Boulley

While I voted for Fire Keeper’s Daughter in Young Adult Fiction category, I believe it will win this category. From my memory, She Who Became the Sun was better in terms of being a debut novel, but both still have many pieces that stand out in my mind.

Middle Grade/Children’s are not one of my go-to genres so I do not read them often; however, I still read a few per year as they are fun easy novels when I am in the mood or want to read along with my nieces and nephews.

I enjoy Rick Riordan’s writing style so it was nice to see that one of the final ten was one of his novels. Daughter of the Deep was enjoyable and ended up being my vote.

My Vote: Daughter of the Deep by Rick Riordan

My Predicted Winner: Beasts and Beauty by Soman Chainany

While I think Rick Riordan is more popular, Beasts of Beauty has been going around online, at least for me, a lot more than Daughter of the Deep.