I had so much trouble trying to finalise my top ten list for last year, but I think I’ve finally got it after roughly 794837659 attempts. The list that follows is quite different to my mid year predicted top ten books of 2020, and my best by genre list … though the later did help me narrow this list and the former was quite interesting to look back on.
The top sixteen books that made this list (six honourable mentions that couldn’t be left out) are some of my all time favourites from last year. As a mood reader, for a book to be considered a five star read and favourite, it needs to not only move me, but capture my heart and soul in one way or another. More often than not I’m emotionally connected to the stories, characters and events, or they challenge me in profound ways.
Honourable Mentions go to:
10.
I went in blind to this book and fell head over heels in love with the story, characters and culture represented. If highly recommend the audiobook; it’s very atmospheric and there is a mini interview with the author at the end. Featuring Trans characters, Latino culture, MM romance .. this book was absoutely beautiful in the most unexpected of ways. It was one of those books I didn’t know where it was going, but I was totally along for the ride.
9.
Em and Ashton … holy crap this one hell of a ride. With an unexpected steamy opening, this book captured me hook, line and sinker. I adored this book for everything it was … it was charming, sizzling, emotional, delightful and just a really good time. Without a doubt, this is my favourite book by JL Perry to date!
8.
Jesse from Bowties&Books brought this book to my attention and it was fantastic. I highly recommend the audiobook. Compromised of a series of mini-essays, George M Johnson takes us through all aspects of his life in a frank, honest, and deeply raw manner that will move you beyond belief.
7.
Is it even a top ten list from me if there isn’t a sport romance, particularly a ice hockey themed romance among the list? I have three on this years list, because I’m a hopeless romantic and hockey mad lover like that. I listened to this audiobook in one sitting during a particularly painful night. This book was like a warm hug; it made me laugh, it made me swoon, was seriously hot, and it took my mind off what was going on with me when I needed it most. I loved that the main characters were known to each other colleques-turn-friends-turn-lovers, but they knew each other before their reputations preceded them. I haven’t ventured any further in this series yet; I’m too scared that the rest of the books can’t live up to this one.
6.
I’m already contemplating a re-read of this book in 2021 because it was so damn good. Tessa Dare became one of my favourite authors in 2020, whose entire backlist I can not wait to devour. This book was a funny, heart warming, swoon inducing, fun loving, romantic, hilarious, rollicking good read. I had the hardest time working out if this book or Romancing The Duke made this list (as I only wanted one book by each author), so Romancing the Duke kinds of ties with this one in my eyes, despite it being on the honourable mentions list further up!
5.
From the moment I saw this cover, I loved it one hundred and ten percent. The colour palette is totally me, and yet it wasn’t a book I wasn’t drawn to pick up. a good friend recommended this to me and on a spur of the moment, I decided to give the audio ago. While it took me awhile to get used to Klune’s writing, I was quickly swept away with this beautiful tale that captured my heart and soul.
4.
This book didn’t originally make my mid year top ten list, but when I sat down to think of this list, I couldn’t not include this book. I have strong emotional attachments to this book that I simply can’t explain. Ella Maise’s writing was perfection, her characters charming and relatable, the romance was swoon worthy and I simply couldn’t get enough. It’s also a romance of convenience, my all time favourite romance trope, and this book packed one hell of an emotional punch. It was AMAZING.
3.
Despite hearing readers gush about this book for years, it was never on my immediate TBR to pick up until I challenged myself to read Better Reading’s Top 100 Book List for 2020. Needless to say, I found a new all time favourite with this one as I fell head over heels in love with Kristin Hannah’s writing and her characters respectively.
2.
Oh my heart. This book holds a special place in my heart. I swooned, I laughed, I cried, I was on the edge of my seat … this book made me fall back in love with regency romance and it’s everything I never knew I wanted in 2020.
1
I have no words when it comes to this book. From the second I started reading it … it just clicked with me. Ever since I’ve read this one, this is the one book I couldn’t shut up about it … I pushed it on so many people, and yet I still haven’t read the sequel yet. I want to discover more of Talia Hibbert’s writing in 2021 for sure.
What books made your top books of 2020 list?
The Never Ending Bookshelf 