My top reads of 2020

A magic-wielding warrior Librarian and her grief-stricken knight are struggling against a corrupt Empire when their long-lost love returns from the grave with a message that cannot be ignored.

Genre: sci-fi | LGBTQ+

Series: Light of the Broken Moon #1

My thoughts: The characters, the setting, the themes of love and loss, the prose…it was all so beautiful I could cry. I’m dying for the next episode of this serialised novel!!

When an anonymous student begins sending Felix transphobic messages, he comes up with a plan for revenge that accidentally lands him in a quasi-love triangle…

Genre: contemporary | LGBTQ+ | YA

Series: (stand alone)

My thoughts: This is the kind of story I’d call transformational: it breaks your heart into tiny little pieces, then puts them back together again in a brand new way. Everyone ought to read it.

Impulsive Lottie is in even more trouble than usual, but the boy next door has a war plan: Lottie will beat perfect Evelyn Tait at her good-girl game, unveiling her sinister side in the process.

Genre: contemporary | YA

Series: (stand alone)

My thoughts: This book was incredible, and I loved it from the first page. Coupled with strong characters and an entertaining plot, it’s funny, sensitive, and tugs on the heartstrings.

Randy loves spending the summer at a camp for queer teens, but this year it’s going to be different. He has reinvented himself as “Del”, and he’s determined to get his secret love to fall for him.

Genre: contemporary | LGBTQ+ | YA

Series: (stand alone)

My thoughts: It was the characters that really did it for me in this one. Randy, the narrator, is just so likeable, even if his Grand Plan made me fearful for most of the book!

When Connor is shipped off to a secluded island for conversion therapy, it becomes clear no one is safe. Before he can escape, he must expose the camp’s horrible truths…and take it down.

Genre: thriller | LGBTQ+ | YA

Series: (stand alone)

My thoughts: I ate through this novel in two sittings, my heart pounding the whole time. It gave me the chills. If you like your stories dark and thrilling with a side of hope, this one is for you!

Wesley loves annoying his focused, off-limits RA, but Lloyd is unshakable…until Wesley announces their “engagement” in a plot to deal with his truant brother and old high school principal.

Genre: contemporary | LGBTQ+

Series: Signs of Love #3

My thoughts: Quirky, cute and crazy addictive. There’s nothing too complicated about this book, but I simply loved it as it had me grinning my way through every page.

Cordelia is desperate to clear her father’s name, but her life is blown apart anew when a shocking series of demon attacks devastate London. And these demons can walk in daylight…

Genre: low fantasy | historical| YA

Series: The Last Hours #1

My thoughts: I’ve made no secret of my love for TID, and I was not disappointed by the story of my favourite Shadowhunters’ children. The diversity in the characters was also excellent!

Darrow is a Red, a miner of the interior of Mars. But when he learns everything he’s been told is a lie, he disguises himself as an elite Gold and infiltrates their command school.

Genre: sci-fi

Series: Red Rising #1

My thoughts: I read all three of the original Red Rising books this year and honestly can’t decide which was my favourite. But there’s something about a first book…I did love this one.

The end of the world is closer than ever. To buy some, Kihrin and his friends must convince the king of an ancient race to perform a ritual that will strip them of their immortality…forever.

Genre: epic fantasy

Series: A Chorus of Dragons #3

My thoughts: This book left me speechless. I devoured it just as quickly as its predecessors, and enjoyed it all the more because I got to see Kihrin, Teraeth and Janel on-page at the same time!!

The Radiants have spent a year at war, but new discoveries will challenge the very core of their ideals…and reveal the secrets of the tower that was once the heart of their strength.

Genre: epic fantasy

Series: The Stormlight Archive #4

My thoughts: It is of no surprise that this was my favourite book of 2020, nor that it left me with the worst book hangover. It made me smile. It made me cry. And it still refuses to let me go.