Best Books of 2020 (Part 2)

 

Keep reading for reviews of the rest of the books I read in 2020 (you can read part 1 here) and which ones you should add to your own list!

Even though it’s March of 2021…. I still want to share my 2020 books because you can NEVER have too many book recs, right?!

My goal in 2020 was to read 20 books. I was worked a lot and went to school at night so 20 seemed doable, but still a bit of a stretch. I can say though, that I made it to 20 books in the last few days of the year. I’m going with it’s due to perseverance and not the fact that I had a week off to finally finish all the books I had half started!

Best Books of 2020

An Unwanted Guest – Shari Lapena

I snagged this book from a book sale with the promise of a thriller. It was definitely a thriller, but I didn’t find myself exactly thrilled. I found it a little stale. Not sure why, that’s just how I was feeling. I gave it three stars.

Recommend: NO

The Hate U Give – Angie Thomas

I read this book at the height of the Black Lives Matter phenomenon around the world. It was the perfect book to read during this time because it dealt with the same themes and allowed me to learn more and open my worldview to the types of issues black people face in everyday life. It was not only educational, even though it was fictional, but also compelling. A very worthwhile read if you ask me! Plus a great book to add to your list if you’re trying to read more books by authors of colour.

Recommend: YES

Winter in Paradise – Elin Hilderband

I gave this one a not great but not bad as well. It is supposed to be a little bit of a mystery, but I found it very easy to guess what was going to happen. That being said, I didn’t actually know it was one of a trilogy, so maybe the other two in the series have a bit more going on than this one? It’s too early for me to tell (given that the next one has been in a waitlist position at the library for the last 6 months), but I think it’s a good and easy light read if that’s what you’re looking for!

Recommend: YES

Savage News – Jessica Yellin

I’ve heard mixed reviews on this one. I liked it because it was so unique; I’ve never read another book about a news reporter in the White House, so I thought the storyline was super interesting. I’ve heard from other people that read it that they thought the characters weren’t developed enough and the the story was lame, blah, blah. Maybe it’s just because I’m a fangirl of Jessica Yellin’s (if you don’t follow her on Instagram for News Not Noise, you’re missing out people!), but I liked it. I read it in 3 days… that has to mean something, right?!

Recommend: YES

Hillbilly Elegy – J.D. Vance

This was pegged as the male version of Educated by Tara Westover. It was not only not that, but significantly worse. I found it hard to even get to the end; the only reason I did was because I had actually bought the book (secondhand but still). I thought it was confusing and written poorly without a story line. All in all, not a favourite and will NOT be tuning into the Netflix series. But I mean, it’s on Netflix, so some people had to like it!

Recommend: NO

Little Fires Everywhere – Celeste Ng

I had high expectations and they were not met with this one. I found it pretty boring for a book that seems to be just about everywhere. They did turn it into a TV show with Reese Witherspoon and Kerry Washington so, maybe I missed something?! It just seemed like the book spent 350 pages getting to an ending that could have been resolved in 150. Not my fave.

Recommend: NO

The Perfect Girlfriend – Karen Hamilton

I got this in a book sale and I swear I have to stop doing this. I end up with books that I don’t particularly want to read. I’m not a huge fan of books with lunatics main characters, so that was likely my first hint that this wouldn’t be my favourite – I could have gotten that from the summary on the back! What I will give this credit for is that it had interesting parts the entire way through. It wasn’t my type of book, but maybe it’s yours!

Recommend: NO

The Perfect Mother – Aimee Molloy

This one I liked. It wasn’t that everyone was crazy, like the one above, but the twist at the end was one I didn’t see coming. It was an easy thriller to read and I went through it quickly. Maybe don’t buy this one new, but if you see it at the thrift store, it’s worth the $5!

Recommend: YES

Dear Girls – Ali Wong

I’ve read a lot of comedy books over the years, from Mindy Kaling and Ellen DeGeneres to Erin Gibson and Tina Fey, and all of them are good! I usually find myself laughing literally out loud at different parts and always thinking about how “that’s so funny” and yet… I can’t get myself to say that I loved the books. Dear Girls was definitely funny, but I think I’m just not super into the whole essay style; I prefer biography. That being said, if you’re not one to be so picky about the style of comedic book, definitely try this one out for size!

Recommend: YES

Summer of ’69 – Elin Hilderbrand

My latest easy read and another one that I wasn’t too fond of. Elin has been letting me down with the books of hers I’ve read more recently! I read two of her books back in 2019 and I loved them so much that I kept reading more and more. I like them because they’re easy to read and engaging, even if they’re not something I would gladly recommend. If you’re looking for a light beach read, skip this one and find an Elin book from my 2019 reading list here or here instead.

Recommend: NO

American Dirt – Jeanine Cummins

This one is tough. I actually really liked the book; the perfect amounts of interesting, engaging, scary, nerve-wracking, all of the above. However, this book is bathed in a lot of controversy. It’s about a Mexican woman fleeing her city in Mexico and becoming a migrant with her son. And… it’s written by a white lady. Hmm.. sounds suspicious?! I think so too. According to reports (on Google ha!) it was heavily researched before writing, but why was it written by someone who has less than no experience in the matter? I’m not sure.

It’s tough to recommend because of that, but also I liked it a lot. I’m being pulled in two directions here people!

Recommend: MAYBE

If you’ve read any of the above books, I would love to hear what you thought about them! It’s always interesting to see what other people love to read. Let me know in the comments below if you agree or disagree with any of the things I wrote about the books I read in 2020.

If you can’t get enough of book reviews or you’re looking for more new ones to add to your list, I have the first 9 books I read in 2020, along with part 1 and part 2 of my 2019 reading list. Plus, check out the 20 books on my list for 2021 here!

My goal this year is 25. I would be worried, but I’ve already read 8 so I think I’m on track!

xx Victoria

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