Rollercoaster is the only word I can think of to describe my reading life in 2020. You’d think that in a year when you can’t go to concerts, sporting events, the movies or really even restaurants, I should have been burning through books. But reading was hard!
I had slumps, I read slower than ever, click-click-clicking up that hill, but then I’d have a book hit at just the right time and then I was zooming down the other side into a turn. Instead of the best books, or the top books, I’m giving you 8 books that got me through 2020. (No 2021 releases here, I want you to be able to read these, too).
Priscilla Oliveras’ romance set in Key West was a bonafide slump buster. Fake relationship, Latinx rep, complex family dynamics and a great low-to-medium steam romance. If you need a tropical escape, get clicking.
REVIEW: Island Affair by Priscilla Oliveras
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None of us will be flying to Paris any time soon, so let yourself be transported by Vanessa Yu’s Magical Paris Tea Shop. Vanessa can read fortunes and goes to Paris to hone her skills her with her auntie. While there, she works in her aunt’s tea shop, eats incredible food and baked goods and even falls for a local. Plus, there’s a second romance in the book that’s even more satisfying.
REVIEW: Vanessa Yu’s Magical Paris Tea Shop
Get VANESSA YU’s MAGICAL PARIS TEA SHOP from The Ripped Bodice | Amazon | Apple Books | IndieBound | Bookshop.org
I’m sure I’m not the only one who felt angry about mediocre dudes getting away with a lot — too much, really — in 2020. The payback in Layne Fargo’s revenge thriller set at a university with a lady serial killer was exactly what I needed. Fargo’s first book, Temper, is also worth a read.
REVIEW: They Never Learn by Layne Fargo
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Holiday books start hitting shelves in September and October, and I read Christina Lauren’s In a Holidaze even earlier than that. It was the Groundhog Day-esque time loop romance I needed. A little steamier than their last couple of books, this one’ll get you in the holiday spirit for sure. I loved In a Holidaze so so so much.
REVIEW: IN A HOLIDAZE by Christina Lauren
Get IN A HOLIDAZE from The Ripped Bodice | Bookshop.org | IndieBound| Amazon | Apple Books
Last Tang Standing is razor sharp, hilarious, and unapologetically, joyfully Asian. Set against a world of glamour and wealth in Singapore, Last Tang Standing lets us in on 33-year old Andrea’s family politics; her (mis)adventures with dating apps; and her love-hate relationship with Suresh, the attorney with whom she shares an office. It was a book that hit me at just the right time. I gushed over it, as you’ll read in the full review:
REVIEW: Last Tang Standing by Lauren Ho
Get LAST TANG STANDING at The Ripped Bodice | Bookshop.org |IndieBound| Amazon | Apple Books
Though some categorize Mexican Gothic as horror, to me it was more of a gothic thriller. Mesmerizing, creepy, atmospheric, and destined to join the list of gothic greats. You’ll never look at mushrooms the same again.
Plot-wise, Mexican Gothic is about a smart, savvy socialite in 1950s Mexico who’s enlisted to rescue her sister after the family receives a strange and disturbing letter. Things unravel quickly after Noemi arrives at High Place, the manor above an old mining town. But that’s just the beginning. Mexican Gothic also has plenty to say about class, power, exploitation, colonization, and eugenics. And for me, that’s what it takes it beyond the typical.
Recommended for fans of Rebecca (of course), but I’d also say if you liked the Haunting of Hill House on Netflix, definitely pick this one up. For those who aren’t regular horror readers/watchers (I’m not either) I found Mexican Gothic more creepy and at some moments gross or gory, but it’s never there for gratuitous shock value.
Get MEXICAN GOTHIC at Bookshop.org | IndieBound | Amazon | Apple Books
For a fresh take on small town romance, check out Jenny Holiday’s Paradise Cove. Set in a beach town on Lake Huron, Jenny’s approach to small town and her directness about issues like mental health and feminism make this series one I want to come back to again and again. In Paradise Cove, a big city doctor escapes to small town for a slower pace and cheaper cost of living and falls for a hunky local. It’s a friends-with-benefits-to-lovers that’s steamier than its cover lets on and it’s one of Jenny’s best.
Get PARADISE COVE at The Ripped Bodice | Bookshop.org | IndieBound | Amazon | Apple Books
REVIEW: PARADISE COVE by Jenny Holiday
2020 was a hell of a year to debut, especially if your book came out in October or November. Bethany Bennett’s Any Rogue Will Do is sexy, second chance regency romance with a badass, super competent heroine and a hero who’s good at the grovel. If you’re a historical romance reader, you gotta give this new voice a try.
REVIEW: ANY ROGUE WILL DO by Bethany Bennett
Get ANY ROGUE WILL DO from The Ripped Bodice | Bookshop.org | IndieBound| Amazon | Apple Books
