The Wife Upstairs by Rachel Hawkins
My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars
I received an audio copy of this book from the publisher, Macmillan Audio, via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
The Wife Upstairs is an updated, reimagined Jane Eyre. It’s an interesting twist on a classic story, and I’m loving how many such novels have come out recently and how many more are scheduled for publication soon. …
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ARC provided by the publisher—DAW Books—in exchange for an honest review.
Cover designed by: Adam Auerbach.
The Councillor by E.J. Beaton
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Series: The Councillor (Book #1)
Genre: Fantasy, High fantasy, Mystery
Pages: 448 pages (US Kindle edition)
Published: 2nd March 2021 by DAW Books
The Councillor is a Machiavellian fantasy novel I didn’t know I wanted. …
I have a Booktube channel now! Subscribe here: https://www.youtube.com/petrikleo
The Last Kingdom by Bernard Cornwell
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Series: The Last Kingdom (Book #1 of 13)
Genre: Historical fiction
Pages: 353 pages (UK Kindle edition)
Published: 4th October 2004 by HarperCollins
Uthred, son of Uthred, it’s finally time for me to read your story in its prose form.
2020 has been such a strange, stressful and complicated year. I took a one-year sabbatical leave from work from mid-2019 and managed to do quite a bit of travelling for about six months before the world got completely turned upside down. I’ve read/listen over 120 books this year, 73 of which was completed during the first half when I wasn’t working and the entire world was on lockdown. Getting back to work during the second half in the midst of a global pandemic and a new challenging role did affect my ability to read and also write reviews on a regular basis.
Despite 2020 being such a watershed/dumpster year, it’s been an incredible one for my reading as I’ve completed a lot books ranging from great to masterpieces. In fact, I can’t remember the last time I’ve added so many books onto my favourites shelf (many of which were from the same series). If you’re curious/interested, you also can see my year in books for 2020 right here.
Similar to my previous list, I do not limit this to only books released this year. There are simply too many great books that have been published prior and that I’ve yet to read, so there will always be older books included. Below are the parameters that I’ve set for the list.
None of these are ranked except for the top five. The rest, I’ve listed them in the chronological order of when I’ve read them this year. Almost all of these have been reviewed by me on Novel Notions and Goodreads, albeit some are quite brief.
The featured image above was specifically designed by Felix Ortiz for Novel Notions’ Top Books Lists. His work is amazing, and we feel incredibly fortunate to have been favored with it. Thank you so much, Felix!
If you’d like to see a list of everything I’ve read this year, you can click here to see my year in books for 2020!
2020 was an incredible reading year for me. I read over 150 books, and have found a number of new favorites. I haven’t read as much fantasy this year, but I still managed to find some wonderful new stories that I know will stick with me for a long time to come. Thank goodness for books, right? I don’t think I could’ve gotten through the dumpster fire that was 2020 without them. It was incredibly difficult to narrow my list down to twelve books, but I finally managed it. There will be a handful of honorable mentions at the end of this post, for those I just couldn’t bare to not include. I’m taking a page from Petrik and following three rules for my list:
1. Only one book per author.
2. Rereads don’t count.
3. The books were new to me, but didn’t have to be published this year.
Once again, I’m ranking my reads. That being said, every single book on this list was a 5 star read and I highly recommend them all. You can view my full review of each book (including the honorable mentions) by clicking the link in each title. And now, without further ado, here are my favorite books of 2020. …
Across the Green Grass Fields by Seanan McGuire
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I received an advance copy of this book from the publisher, Tor.com, in exchange for an honest review.
Over the past few years, I’ve come to love Seanan McGuire’s Wayward Children series fiercely. And thanks to the wonderful people at Tor.com, reading the newest installment a bit ahead of its publication date has become something of a Christmas tradition for me. These novellas are all beautifully written and poignant and full of heavy topics handled with a light but respectful touch. Across the Green Grass Fields is no exception to this rule.
“Girlhood wasn’t destiny unless you wanted it to be, and she had accepted her destiny wholeheartedly. Anything to be normal.”
The featured image above was specifically designed by Felix Ortiz for Novel Notions’ Top 20 Lists. Check out his portfolio, he’s brilliant.
This list is also available on my Booktube Channel if that’s what you preferred: https://youtu.be/1gXaV7SQVio
Click here if you want to see the list of all the books I’ve read this year: Petrik’s Year in Books (2020) …
I have a Booktube channel now! Subscribe here: https://www.youtube.com/petrikleo
Review copy provided by the publisher—Tor.com—in exchange for an honest review.
Cover illustrated by: Tommy Arnold
Harrow the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir
My rating: 2.5 of 5 stars
Series: The Locked Tomb (Book #2 of 3)
Genre: Science Fiction, Fantasy, Science Fantasy, Space Opera
Pages: 512 pages (Hardback)
Published: 4th August 2020 by Tor.com
Harrow the Ninth was insanely confusing, and I am both annoyed and impressed at the same time. …
ARC received from publisher, Gollancz, in exchange for an honest review.
The Left-Handed Booksellers of London by Garth Nix
My rating: 4 of 5 stars.
Genre: Urban fantasy, historical fantasy, young adult
Published: 24th September 2020 by Gollancz (UK) and 22nd September 2020 Katherine Tegen Books (US)
The Left-Handed Booksellers of London was an enjoyable urban fantasy romp in an alternate 1980s-London which left me wanting more from this clever and fascinating world of magical secret service booksellers.
Wintersong by S. Jae-Jones
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I’ve been in the mood for anything wintry, and this book seemed like just the thing. It’s young adult, which I’ve struggled with in the past, but I decided to give it a go anyway. I’m so glad I did, because Wintersong is a beautiful story. A retelling of the movie Labyrinth, it’s a captivating take on the Goblin King and his Underground, with music at its core.
“You are the monster I claim.”