Here we are at last, at the end of another year. And this one was particularly trying. What with the coronavirus pandemic and the resulting quarantine, 2020 has felt long. It wasn’t as hard for me as for other people (I’m an introvert) but I wouldn’t call the year a pleasant experience. 2020 was quite the tough start of a new decade. I’m with everyone hoping for a better 2021.
Even without a pandemic or home isolation, I read a lot. The number of books I finished this year wasn’t that much higher than usual. A bunch of them were riveting, which made it a hard choice to pick between them. As I’ve done before, I ended up with 10 choices. These are the books I enjoyed the most this year. Without further ado, here they are:
Genre: Romance
My rating: 4 stars – Definitely enjoyed it!
This is book four of a series I found out about this year. I read the first book in 2016, but back then it was a standalone novel. I chose Taming Trouble for this list because of the heroine, Piper Grey. She grew on me after I read books one and two. Although Piper had way less scenes than I’d have liked, I still enjoyed Taming Trouble. It’s a gripping enemies-to-lovers romance. Piper’s love interest, Tucker Benoit, is a notorious ladies’ man. He finds himself a single father out of the blue, which makes for a fun read. Tucker’s daughter, a little girl named Sammy, was adorable too. For all there’s to like about Taming Trouble, I wish it had included more romance and more scenes with Piper. She didn't feel like a protagonist, what with how small her role was.
Genre: Young Adult
My rating: 4 stars – Definitely enjoyed it!
Sadie caught my eye because of its stellar reviews. The eponymous protagonist is a teenager who’s had a tough life. Sadie and her little sister, Mattie, lived in a trailer park. Their mom left a while ago, but Sadie’s had to be a mother to Mattie since long before that. When the latter is murdered, Sadie feels devastated. The police investigation fails to yield results. This compels Sadie to leave everything behind in pursuit of Mattie’s killer. And she's not putting him behind bars. Sadie intends to kill the man when she catches up to him. The book’s events unfold through the points of view of Sadie and a radio host who retraces her steps in hopes of finding her.
Genre: Mystery
My rating: 4 stars – Definitely enjoyed it!
I discovered this series after seeing The Cuckoo’s Calling at the bookstore. It deals with a cash-strapped private investigator, Cormoran Strike, and his assistant Robin Ellacott. In Career of Evil, Cormoran’s practice has risen in popularity. He and Robin have solved two high-profile cases already. Their latest case arrives via a shocking delivery. The gruesome package was delivered to Robin, which unnerves her. Cormoran appears unfazed, and he’s able to name a bunch of suspects right away. Who is the main antagonist this time, and what is he after? This was the best Cormoran Strike novel so far. I like how Robert Galbraith’s talent has evolved. Each novel in this series gets better and better.
Genre: Young Adult, romance
My rating: 4 stars – Definitely enjoyed it!
This book caught my notice because of its Netflix film adaptation. The main characters are Theodore Finch and Violet Markey. They’re two high school students from completely different circles. Theo first meets Violet one fateful morning after talking her off a tower. When word gets around, everyone believes Violet saved Theo because she’s a good student and he’s a weirdo. Theo is obsessed with death, and Violet’s never had any suicidal thoughts. At least, not until the pain from losing her older sister got to her. Violet and Theo are drawn to each other after that first day. But will they have a happy ending? Finding out the answer is one of the main draws of All the Bright Places. It was a fun, moving read.
Genre: Urban fantasy
My rating: 4.5 stars – A fantastic page-turner!
Melissa F. Olson’s Old World novels began with the trilogy that Trail of Dead is a part of. The protagonist is Scarlett Bernard, a young woman who lives among the supernatural community of LA. She’s a “null”, a being who can nullify any magic around her. Scarlett uses this power to work for the leaders of the vampire, witch, and werewolf groups as a crime scene cleaner. In Trail of Dead, Scarlett handles what seems like a serial killer case. Someone is murdering witches, and Scarlett believes her old mentor Olivia is responsible. Olivia recently became a vampire and is plotting something sinister. Will Scarlett be able to stop Olivia before more lives are lost?
Genre: Mystery, thriller
My rating: 4.5 stars – A fantastic page-turner!
As a fan of mystery/thriller books involving law enforcement, I bought a copy of NYPD Red when I came across it. This book has two protagonists, Detectives Zach Jordan and Kylie MacDonald. They’re members of an NYPD unit that only handles elite, high-profile cases. In this first entry of their series, the plot deals with a Hollywood film festival. It’s barely the first morning of the event when a producer is poisoned. Hours later, an actor is gunned down in a movie set. Zach, Kylie, and the rest of NYPD Red figure out that they’re after a serial killer. They race against the clock to stop this man before he continues his killing spree.
Genre: Romance
My rating: 4.5 stars – A fantastic page-turner!
I started this book with low expectations, thinking it’d be soap-opera-ish. When It’s Real ended up being a lot better. The main characters are Oakley Ford and Vaughn Bennett. Oakley’s a heartthrob pop star with a messy reputation. In order to clean up his image, his manager comes up with an idea. Oakley will publicly date Vaughn, an ordinary and wholesome-looking waitress. Trouble is, they don’t seem to get along well at first. But neither can refuse the arrangement. For Oakley, it means scoring the record deal of his life. And Vaughn will get enough money to pay for her brothers’ education. All they have to do is be a convincing couple for a year. What could go wrong?
Genre: Science Fiction, romance
My rating: 4.5 stars – A fantastic page-turner!
I’ve had this book on my reading backlist for some time. I’m a fan of cool tech and strong, intelligent women. Warcross seemed up my speed. The protagonist is Emika Chen, an Asian-American girl living in New York. She’s strapped for cash, so Emika takes bounty hunting jobs from the police. One day she loses a desperately needed payout. In a last-resort attempt to stay afloat, Emika hacks into the globally popular VR game Warcross. A glitch causes everyone to witness the stunt, including young tech magnate Hideo Tanaka. Recognizing Emika’s prodigious tech skills, Hideo makes her a surprising offer she can’t pass up. One thing's certain: Emika’s life will never be the same again.
Genre: Young Adult, mystery
My rating: 5 stars – Absolutely must read. It’s outstanding!!!
This is one of the most can’t-miss-it books I’ve read so far. Its cover art is also as good-looking as the premise is compelling. One of Us Is Lying has four main characters, all high school students. They’re Bronwyn, the know-it-all; Addy, the beauty; Nate, the bad boy; and Cooper, the athlete. All four land in detention one day along with a fifth peer, Simon the pariah. This last one doesn’t make it out of the classroom alive. The police start to investigate the circumstances of Simon’s death. Addy, Nate, Bronwyn, and Cooper all become suspects. The motive? Simon was about to post dirty secrets about them on his notorious gossip app. Did one of the four kill Simon? Or is the murderer still out there?
Genre: Science Fiction
My rating: 5 stars – Absolutely must read. It’s outstanding!!!
I’m no stranger to mind-blowing and imaginative sci-fi novels. When done well, I find them fascinating. Recursion is a stunning example. It has two protagonists, and the first that appears is Barry Sutton. He’s an NYPD officer who responds to a fateful suicide attempt one night. After failing to prevent it, Barry can’t stop thinking about the victim’s mysterious affliction. She was the latest of many people who claimed to have False Memory Syndrome. Not even the CDC can explain this phenomenon. Barry will have to join forces with Dr. Helena Smith. She may be the only person with the knowledge needed to stop whatever’s going on. The truth behind FMS is more unlikely and astounding than I expected. Recursion was certainly unputdownable. It’s hands-down my favorite read of 2020.
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And that’s it. Those were the 10 books I most enjoyed reading this year. As usual, they represent my preferred fiction genres: mystery, thriller, romance, sci-fi, and YA. I’m particularly glad I got around to reading Warcross and get started on the NYPD Red series. That one’s been sitting on my shelf for a little while. I confess having needed to rely on the public library to read the NYPD Red series. The pandemic has affected my finances, like it did to pretty much everyone.
All good (and bad) things come to an end. This was quite a trying year, but it’s finally over. This post will be my last one of 2020. I’ll be back the second week of January. And I won’t just have new blog posts and book reviews. I’m working on a redesign for this website. I’ve had it for a year, which is a milestone. After all that time, I think I’ve settled on Ivan’s Insights’ identity and purpose. I hope you’ve all enjoyed visiting this blog (and especially reading my book reviews). Until next year!
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