If there’s one thing we can probably all agree on, it’s that 2020 has been an objectively bad year. However, one silver lining has been that I’ve had far more time to read than I anticipated. I was supposed to start postgraduate study in September, however due to the Coronavirus pandemic my start date was pushed to January of 2021. This left me with more free time than I’d planned for, and what better way to fill it than with books.
I read a lot this year. Not a lot by some people’s standards, but a lot more than I have in recent years. Here are my favourite books of the year. I didn’t try and narrow it down to a specific number, because I wanted to include everything that I really loved. Not all of these books were released in 2020, however I read them this year.
I haven’t written full reviews because there are so many books on this list, but I’ll try and bring you longer reviews for each over the next few weeks. I’m sharing the main things I loved, which should be enough to get you started.
Take a peak at my 2020 Goodreads challenge if you want to know what else I read this year.
2020 Reading Challenge
Holly has completed her goal of reading 50 books in 2020! hide 67 of 50 (100%)view books
Note: I get commissions for purchases made through links in this post.
Stand-Alone Novels
These books are in no particular order. This is a celebration of love for all of these titles, I couldn’t possibly pick a favourite!
The Left-Handed Booksellers of London
Author: Garth Nix
Synopsis:
A girl’s quest to find her father leads her to an extended family of magical fighting booksellers who police the mythical Old World of England when it intrudes on the modern world. From the bestselling master of teen fantasy, Garth Nix.
In a slightly alternate London in 1983, Susan Arkshaw is looking for her father, a man she has never met. Crime boss Frank Thringley might be able to help her, but Susan doesn’t get time to ask Frank any questions before he is turned to dust by the prick of a silver hatpin in the hands of the outrageously attractive Merlin.
Merlin is a young left-handed bookseller (one of the fighting ones), who with the right-handed booksellers (the intellectual ones), are an extended family of magical beings who police the mythic and legendary Old World when it intrudes on the modern world, in addition to running several bookshops.
Susan’s search for her father begins with her mother’s possibly misremembered or misspelt surnames, a reading room ticket, and a silver cigarette case engraved with something that might be a coat of arms.
Merlin has a quest of his own, to find the Old World entity who used ordinary criminals to kill his mother. As he and his sister, the right-handed bookseller Vivien, tread in the path of a botched or covered-up police investigation from years past, they find this quest strangely overlaps with Susan’s. Who or what was her father? Susan, Merlin, and Vivien must find out, as the Old World erupts dangerously into the New.
Why I loved it:
- Although the book is set in London, it is not the London we know and I loved how unique it felt. Elements of London as it exists were combined with the magical and it worked very well.
- The book has political undertones, without being the primary focus of the novel. I appreciated every little dig at past Conservative governments, especially considering what they’re doing to the country in the present day.
- There is a gender fluid character, who is wonderful in basically every possible way! He’s never specifically identified as gender fluid or non-binary, but he openly talks about considering changing his gender, and he wears everything from suits to dresses. I loved it!
- This book was pretty dark in places. I don’t know why, but I wasn’t expecting Nix to kill off as many people as he did. There were some gasp out loud moments for sure.
- I loved all of the characters, even those that didn’t play such a significant role. They all felt unique and like they had their own personality, and I’d love to see some of them in future books, if he chooses to revisit this world.
Where to buy:
Simon vs the homo sapiens agenda
Author: Becky Albertalli
Ok., we can debate whether this is actually a stand-alone novel, because it’s part of the wider Simonverse. But it can absolutely be read as a standalone so I’m including it here.
Synopsis:
Sixteen-year-old and not-so-openly gay Simon Spier prefers to save his drama for the school musical. But when an email falls into the wrong hands, his secret is at risk of being thrust into the spotlight. Now Simon is actually being blackmailed: if he doesn’t play wingman for class clown Martin, his sexual identity will become everyone’s business. Worse, the privacy of Blue, the pen name of the boy he’s been emailing, will be compromised.
With some messy dynamics emerging in his once tight-knit group of friends, and his email correspondence with Blue growing more flirtatious every day, Simon’s junior year has suddenly gotten all kinds of complicated. Now, change-averse Simon has to find a way to step out of his comfort zone before he’s pushed out—without alienating his friends, compromising himself, or fumbling a shot at happiness with the most confusing, adorable guy he’s never met.
Why I loved it:
- Simon is a bit of a nerd, his friends are nerds, but they’re also three dimentional humans, unlike so many characterisations of nerds. I appreciated this a lot.
- All the theatre references. Simon is a theatre kid and I loved how it took me back to my love of theatre in school.
- Simon and Blue. Their relationship is so sweet and even though Simon makes a lot of mistakes figuring out who Blue actually is, I loved it. I’m such a sucker for romance let’s be honest.
- We get to know Simons family and friends. Basically he feels like a real teenage boy, with real teenage drama. I could believe in these characters.
- I listened to the audio book and it was read so well, I highly recommend if you enjoy audio.
Where to buy:
Radio silence
Author: Alice Oseman
Synopsis:
What if everything you set yourself up to be was wrong?
Frances has been a study machine with one goal. Nothing will stand in her way; not friends, not a guilty secret – not even the person she is on the inside. Then Frances meets Aled, and for the first time she’s unafraid to be herself.
So when the fragile trust between them is broken, Frances is caught between who she was and who she longs to be. Now Frances knows that she has to confront her past. To confess why Carys disappeared…
Frances is going to need every bit of courage she has.
Why I loved it:
- The portrayal of fandoms, both the good and the bad, was so well written.
- I love a book set in England, we don’t get enough of them! It was fun to pick out all the little things that make sense to me as someone who grew up in the UK.
- The pressure to go to university and conform to this certain idea of what it means to be academic felt very true to my own experiences. The book acknowledged that university is great for some people but not for everyone, and schools need to be more open about that.
- I loved the characters, from Frances who is perfect, but secretly draws fan art in her bedroom, to Daniel, who comes across as a bit of a dick but is dealing with his own problems. You could have taken them from the book and put them in the sixth form common room when I was at school and they wouldn’t have been out of place.
- This book deals with some complicated and real stuff, from family, to figuring out your future, to navigating relationships and coming out. I really love that all of these things are handled so well.
- This book also has a really diverse group of characters. And honestly that is so refreshing because it feels real.
Where to buy:
The Miseducation of Cameron Post
Author: Emily M. Danforth
Synopsis:
When Cameron Post’s parents die suddenly in a car crash, her shocking first thought is relief. Relief they’ll never know that, hours earlier, she had been kissing a girl.
But that relief doesn’t last, and Cam is soon forced to move in with her conservative aunt Ruth and her well-intentioned but hopelessly old-fashioned grandmother. She knows that from this point on, her life will forever be different. Survival in Miles City, Montana, means blending in and leaving well enough alone (as her grandmother might say), and Cam becomes an expert at both.
Then Coley Taylor moves to town. Beautiful, pickup-driving Coley is a perfect cowgirl with the perfect boyfriend to match. She and Cam forge an unexpected and intense friendship–one that seems to leave room for something more to emerge. But just as that starts to seem like a real possibility, ultrareligious Aunt Ruth takes drastic action to “fix” her niece, bringing Cam face-to-face with the cost of denying her true self–even if she’s not exactly sure who that is.
Why I loved it:
- The pacing of this novel was very slow and I was here for it. I know not everyone enjoyed this aspect of the book, but it worked really well for me.
- Cameron has a really clear and distinct voice. I loved getting to know her through the small details of her life.
- I’m not sure how to talk about her experiences at a conversion summer camp/school. It was pretty upsetting, but I also loved getting to watch Cameron make friends with the other teens there.
Where to buy:
Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe
Author: Benjamin Alire Sáenz
Synopsis:
Aristotle is an angry teen with a brother in prison. Dante is a know-it-all who has an unusual way of looking at the world. When the two meet at the swimming pool, they seem to have nothing in common. But as the loners start spending time together, they discover that they share a special friendship–the kind that changes lives and lasts a lifetime. And it is through this friendship that Ari and Dante will learn the most important truths about themselves and the kind of people they want to be.
Why I loved it:
- Ari is a great narrator. I really felt like I could connect with him and the way he was telling his story.
- The other characters in the book feel very real. His family are dealing with their own problems and they’re not always dealing with them in the best way. But sometimes that’s how life is. Adults don’t have everything handled very well, they’re just doing their best.
- I love the friendship between Ari and Dante. Dante is so clear and open about his feelings, even when Ari can’t accept how he feels. So watching their friendship grow and eventually turn into more once Ari was able to admit how he feels was a beautiful thing.
- The writing in this book is really beautiful. I’m not sure how to explain it. It had a quality that drew me in and would not let me go until I’d finished reading it. There is apparently a sequel coming at some point, so again, we can fight about whether this is a stand alone novel but it does read as one.
Where to buy:
Two Can Keep a Secret
Author: Karen M. McManus
Synopsis:
Echo Ridge is small-town America. Ellery’s never been there, but she’s heard all about it. Her aunt went missing there at age seventeen. And only five years ago, a homecoming queen put the town on the map when she was killed. Now Ellery has to move there to live with a grandmother she barely knows.
The town is picture-perfect, but it’s hiding secrets. And before school even begins for Ellery, someone’s declared open season on homecoming, promising to make it as dangerous as it was five years ago. Then, almost as if to prove it, another girl goes missing.
Ellery knows all about secrets. Her mother has them; her grandmother does too. And the longer she’s in Echo Ridge, the clearer it becomes that everyone there is hiding something. The thing is, secrets are dangerous–and most people aren’t good at keeping them. Which is why in Echo Ridge, it’s safest to keep your secrets to yourself.
Why I loved it:
- This was a really twisty book, something I’ve come to expect from Karen M. McManus.
- I guessed some parts and not others, and honestly for a good chunk of the book I had no idea what was going on. I absolutely love this in a thriller so it did not disappoint.
- There is something about a book that can leave me shaking on the last line. This book did that. I was left feeling slightly terrified, even though I already knew what the conclusion was.
Where to buy:
Little Monsters
Author: Kara Thomas
Synopsis:
Kacey is the new girl in Broken Falls. When she moved in with her father, she stepped into a brand-new life. A life with a stepbrother, a stepmother, and strangest of all, an adoring younger half sister.
Kacey’s new life is eerily charming compared with the wild highs and lows of the old one she lived with her volatile mother. And everyone is so nice in Broken Falls—she’s even been welcomed into a tight new circle of friends. Bailey and Jade invite her to do everything with them.
Which is why it’s so odd when they start acting distant. And when they don’t invite her to the biggest party of the year, it doesn’t exactly feel like an accident.
But Kacey will never be able to ask, because Bailey never makes it home from that party. Suddenly, Broken Falls doesn’t seem so welcoming after all—especially once everyone starts looking to the new girl for answers.
Kacey is about to learn some very important lessons: Sometimes appearances can be deceiving. Sometimes when you’re the new girl, you shouldn’t trust anyone.
Why I loved it:
- This is a really disturbing and totally gripping book about the twisted things some people are willing to do.
- I found the journal entries that were included worked very well. This isn’t always the case, but they added to this book rather than being a distraction or taking away from the plot.
- I didn’t fit all of the pieces together immediately. Even when I figured some pieces out, there were bits missing. I found the big reveal still really shocking.
Where to buy:
Best series I read this year
Now onto the series! I was lucky enough to read several series which were absolutely incredible in their own way. I also discovered some authors that I hadn’t read before, so that was fun.
The Interdependency Series
Author: John Scalzi
Why I loved it:
- I actually believed in the world building. The physics behind it was totally out there and should have felt unbelievable, but it worked.
- The characters were incredible and I wish I could hang out with them some time. I feel like Kiva would destroy me in real life but it would be worth it.
- I am a total simp for Marce Claremont and I’m not even sorry.
- I don’t know if I like this exactly but the last book broke me. So points for making me feel a lot I guess?
The Collapsing Empire
Our universe is ruled by physics and faster than light travel is not possible — until the discovery of The Flow, an extra-dimensional field we can access at certain points in space-time that transport us to other worlds, around other stars.
Humanity flows away from Earth, into space, and in time forgets our home world and creates a new empire, the Interdependency, whose ethos requires that no one human outpost can survive without the others. It’s a hedge against interstellar war — and a system of control for the rulers of the empire.
The Flow is eternal — but it is not static. Just as a river changes course, The Flow changes as well, cutting off worlds from the rest of humanity. When it’s discovered that The Flow is moving, possibly cutting off all human worlds from faster than light travel forever, three individuals — a scientist, a starship captain and the Empress of the Interdependency — are in a race against time to discover what, if anything, can be salvaged from an interstellar empire on the brink of collapse.
Buy the book:
The Consuming Fire
The Interdependency―humanity’s interstellar empire―is on the verge of collapse. The extra-dimensional conduit that makes travel between the stars possible is disappearing, leaving entire systems and human civilizations stranded.
Emperox Grayland II of the Interdependency is ready to take desperate measures to help ensure the survival of billions. But arrayed before her are those who believe the collapse of the Flow is a myth―or at the very least an opportunity to an ascension to power.
While Grayland prepares for disaster, others are preparing for a civil war. A war that will take place in the halls of power, the markets of business and the altars of worship as much as it will between spaceships and battlefields.
The Emperox and her allies are smart and resourceful, as are her enemies. Nothing about this will be easy… and all of humanity will be caught in its consuming fire.
Buy the book:
The Last Emperox
The collapse of The Flow, the interstellar pathway between the planets of the Interdependency, has accelerated. Entire star systems—and billions of people—are becoming cut off from the rest of human civilization. This collapse was foretold through scientific prediction… and yet, even as the evidence is obvious and insurmountable, many still try to rationalize, delay and profit from, these final days of one of the greatest empires humanity has ever known.
Emperox Grayland II has finally wrested control of her empire from those who oppose her and who deny the reality of this collapse. But “control” is a slippery thing, and even as Grayland strives to save as many of her people from impoverished isolation, the forces opposing her rule will make a final, desperate push to topple her from her throne and power, by any means necessary. Grayland and her thinning list of allies must use every tool at their disposal to save themselves, and all of humanity. And yet it may not be enough.
Will Grayland become the savior of her civilization… or the last emperox to wear the crown?
Buy the book:
Have Sword, Will Travel
Authors: Garth Nix and Sean Williams
Why I loved it:
- This series is so fun. It plays on all the tropes, kids who go on adventures, talking objects (in this case swords), knights and dragons, a quest.
- I appreciate that Eleanor and Odo are friends, there isn’t even a hint of romance. Not that I don’t love romance because clearly I do, but not every book needs it.
- The second book introduces a blind character and I just about lost it. In a shocking twist, I actually like the character and the portrayal of blindness. That alone makes this series worthy of the list!
- It’s one of the few middle grade titles on my list this year so it’s definitely the safest to share with younger readers, and I highly recommend doing so.
Have Sword, Will Travel
It is strange enough that Odo and Eleanor have stumbled upon a sword in a dried-up river outside their village. It is even stranger that Odo is able to remove it from where it’s buried. And it’s REMARKABLY strange when the sword starts to talk.
Odo and Eleanor have unearthed Biter, a famous fighter from earlier times. By finding Biter, Odo instantly becomes a knight – a role he is exquisitely unsuited for. Eleanor, however, would make a PERFECT knight – but she’s not the one with the sword.
Finding Biter is only the start – boy, girl, and sword must soon go on a quest to save their kingdom from threats in both human and dragon form, in this new fantasy triumph from Garth Nix and Sean Williams.
Buy the book:
Let Sleeping Dragons Lie
Sir Odo and Sir Eleanor still think of themselves as unlikely knights. But when their kingdom is threatened by forces of significant nefariousness, they and their talking swords join a bold quest to rescue a monarch, vanquish deadly beasts, confound a prophecy, and (if they’re lucky) avoid stepping on the tail of a very powerful dragon.
Buy the book:
DI Adam Fawley Series
Author: Cara Hunter
Why I loved it:
- I love how these books switch points of view, enabling you to see how the entire police force are handling a case.
- The use of social media posts and newspaper articles works really well.
- The books switch between the first and third person, and it’s one of the few series’ to do this well.
- The series is about more than the crimes that need solving. We get to see how members of the police force are handling various aspects of their personal life, and how these can conflict with their work.
Close to Home
They know who did it. Perhaps not consciously. Perhaps not yet. But they know.
When eight-year-old Daisy Mason vanishes from her family’s Oxford home during a costume party, Detective Inspector Adam Fawley knows that nine times out of ten, the offender is someone close to home. And Daisy’s family is certainly strange—her mother is obsessed with keeping up appearances, while her father is cold and defensive under questioning. And then there’s Daisy’s little brother, so withdrawn and uncommunicative . . .
DI Fawley works against the clock to find any trace of the little girl, but it’s as if she disappeared into thin air—no one saw anything; no one knows anything. But everyone has an opinion, and everyone, it seems, has a secret to conceal.
Buy the book:
In the Dark
Do you know what they’re hiding in the house next door?
A woman and child are found locked in a basement, barely alive, and unidentifiable: the woman can’t speak, there are no missing persons reports that match their profile, and the confused, elderly man who owns the house claims he has never seen them before. The inhabitants of the quiet street are in shock—how could this happen right under their noses? But Detective Inspector Adam Fawley knows nothing is impossible. And no one is as innocent as they seem.
As the police grow desperate for a lead, Fawley stumbles across a breakthrough, a link to a case he worked years before about another young woman and child gone missing, never solved. When he realizes the missing woman’s house is directly adjacent to the house in this case, he thinks he might have found the connection that could bring justice for both women. But there’s something not quite right about the little boy from the basement, and the truth will send shockwaves through the force that Fawley never could have anticipated.
A deeply unsettling, heart-stopping mystery of long-buried secrets and the monsters who hide in plain sight, In the Dark is the second gripping novel featuring DI Adam Fawley.
Buy the book:
No Way Out
DID YOU SEE ANYTHING ON THE NIGHT THE ESMOND FAMILY WERE MURDERED?
From the author of CLOSE TO HOME and IN THE DARK comes the third pulse-pounding DI Fawley crime thriller.
It’s one of the most disturbing cases DI Fawley has ever worked.
The Christmas holidays, and two children have just been pulled from the wreckage of their burning home in North Oxford. The toddler is dead, and his brother is soon fighting for his life.
Why were they left in the house alone? Where is their mother, and why is their father not answering his phone?
Then new evidence is discovered, and DI Fawley’s worst nightmare comes true.
Because this fire wasn’t an accident.
It was murder.
Buy the book:
All the Rage
A teenage girl is found wandering the outskirts of Oxford, dazed and distressed. The story she tells is terrifying. Grabbed off the street, a plastic bag pulled over her face, then driven to an isolated location where she was subjected to what sounds like an assault. Yet she refuses to press charges.
DI Fawley investigates, but there’s little he can do without the girl’s co-operation. Is she hiding something, and if so, what? And why does Fawley keep getting the feeling he’s seen a case like this before?
And then another girl disappears, and Adam no longer has a choice: he has to face up to his past. Because unless he does, this victim may not be coming back . . .
Buy the book:
One of Us Is Lying Series
Author: Karen M. McManus
Why I loved it:
- Another twisty set of books from the same author as Two Can Keep a Secret.
- I love the really diverse cast of characters in this series. Honestly seeing essentially the same three people over and over again in books gets boring, so I’m relieved when characters are actually representative of the people I know and see around me.
- I didn’t fully guess the twists in either of these books. I figured out parts of them, but there were always bits out of place or that I’d guessed wrong. So I was hooked until the very end.
- Some strong character development takes place here, and yes there is also romance, but it’s handled well and actually adds to the books rather than taking from them.
One Of Us Is Lying
The Breakfast Club meets Pretty Little Liars, One of Us Is Lying is the story of what happens when five strangers walk into detention and only four walk out alive. Everyone is a suspect, and everyone has something to hide.
Pay close attention and you might solve this.
On Monday afternoon, five students at Bayview High walk into detention.
Bronwyn, the brain, is Yale-bound and never breaks a rule.
Addy, the beauty, is the picture-perfect homecoming princess.
Nate, the criminal, is already on probation for dealing.
Cooper, the athlete, is the all-star baseball pitcher.
And Simon, the outcast, is the creator of Bayview High’s notorious gossip app.
Only, Simon never makes it out of that classroom. Before the end of detention, Simon’s dead. And according to investigators, his death wasn’t an accident. On Monday, he died. But on Tuesday, he’d planned to post juicy reveals about all four of his high-profile classmates, which makes all four of them suspects in his murder. Or are they the perfect patsies for a killer who’s still on the loose?
Everyone has secrets, right? What really matters is how far you would go to protect them.
Buy the book:
One Of Us Is Next
Come on, Bayview, you know you’ve missed this.
A ton of copycat gossip apps have popped up since Simon died, but in the year since the Bayview four were cleared of his shocking death, no one’s been able to fill the gossip void quite like he could. The problem is no one has the facts.
Until now.
This time it’s not an app, though—it’s a game.
Truth or Dare.
Phoebe’s the first target. If you choose not to play, it’s a truth. And hers is dark.
Then comes Maeve and she should know better—always choose the dare.
But by the time Knox is about to be tagged, things have gotten dangerous. The dares have become deadly, and if Maeve learned anything from Bronwyn last year, it’s that they can’t count on the police for help. Or protection.
Simon’s gone, but someone’s determined to keep his legacy at Bayview High alive. And this time, there’s a whole new set of rules.
Buy the book:
So there you go! These books all made an impact on me in one way or another. There were also other books that I read this year that could easily have made it onto this list. It was such an incredible year of reading and in the end I could only pick so many titles. As always, visit me on Goodreads to see what I’m currently reading and share your current favourites with me.
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Ooh a few of these have been added to my audible wish list. Thank you for sharing your thoughts on these books