Top Reads of 2020
2020 was a weird year. I started it off with a concussion, which took me out of the reading game for a while except for audio. And just as I started to feel better, the pandemic hit, and I was locked in my house with my off-routine almost-three-year-old. Reading was impossible with a few exceptions.
I reread and relistened to a lot in the first half of the year for the comfort. But once we got used to life in the time of COVID, I was able to pick up some great reads and this fall I read an amazing amount of fabulous books. I couldn’t put them all here, but here’s my top picks (in the order I read them)!
The Hand on the Wall by Maureen Johnson
When my concussion delayed my reading of this book, I was devastated. I wanted to find out how #TrulyDevious ended so badly, and I was not disappointed! Wish I could go back and read this series for the first time again.
Chain of Gold by Cassandra Clare
I love The Infernal Devices (#jessa if I have to choose), so I was very excited to go back to London to meet the new cast of characters.
Minor Dramas and Other Catastrophes by Kathleen West
This book was an intriguing look into the world of teaching and parenting and social media. I still can’t imagine parents like the ones in this book, though I know they exist.
Chosen Ones by Veronica Roth
I hadn’t fully forgiven the author for Tris, but picked this one up and loved it. It was the first book I was able to read post-lockdown, and I love how it kept twisting and turning until the very end.
A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson
This book hooked me—I’m a Criminal Minds junkie, and by the end of the first report I was so in. I wanted to read this book constantly. I volunteered for naptime and bedtime duty just so I could sit and read while the little one tried to go to sleep.
Last Couple Standing by Matthew Norman
I loved his debut and this one did not disappoint. Witty and poignant, Last Couple Standing kept me reading through the long days.
You and Me and Us by Alison Hammer
This book was fabulous on audio; both narrators caught all the nuances of the writing and the characters. There were so many tears, which I usually avoid, but this book kept me coming back for more.
Things You Save in A Fire by Katherine Center
Another tearjerker. I only recently discovered Katherine Center, but her books are always a joy to read.
Splintered Souls by Erica Lucke Dean
I’m always looking for a good paranormal romance, and that’s exactly what this is. Young and fresh and steeped in the real-world, it was everything I’d spent the whole summer looking for.
Love and Other Words by Christina Lauren
My first Christina Lauren and wow. What a story the duo crafted here. This was exactly the book I’d been looking for and didn’t know where to find.
Bringing Down the Duke and A Rogue of Own’s Own by Evie Dunmore
My first historical romances did not disappoint. I loved each of these in their own right, though I think Lucie and Tristan were my favorite. These books were fun and steamy and full of repressed sexual frustrations.
The Friend Zone by Abby Jimenez
I loved everything about this book. The characters were real and the writing fresh, and I kept making my husband let me pick up our take-out orders so that I could listen some more.