Ten Books for Your 2020 TBR

Happy New Year! 2019 was a whirlwind. I started this blog, read a ton of blog-worthy books, and made some book loving friends along the way. I’m so thankful for what this year has taught me and I look forward to all of the 2020 reads! With that being said I wanted to talk about TEN books I read this month. (Okay- I read over ten books but these are the ones that are noteworthy.)

1. The Giver of Stars by Jojo Moyes

I have mentioned in a previous blog post that Jojo Moyes is one of my favorite authors. As usual she wrote another amazing book. This is a historical fiction book set in a depression-era Kentucky. Alice Wright has just left England and married Bennett Van Cleve. She travels to America to live with him and his father who is extremely overbearing. Her husband turns out to be cold and pays her no attention. A town meeting takes place regarding Eleanor Roosevelt’s call for a traveling library utilizing horses to deliver library books all over the mountainous land. Alice signs up as a packhorse librarian alongside three other women. The leader- Margery- becomes one of Alice’s closest friends and is fiercely independent, quick-witted, and loyal. Without giving too much away- this is a love story full of drama, justice, and passion.

This book is based on a true story and when I tell you I couldn’t put this one down I mean I sat in my bed and read it in one whole day. I found myself laughing with the characters, crying, and rooting for the badass women in this story. This was Reese Witherspoons November book pick. It was also a November Book of The Month Club Selection. I gave it 5/5 stars. It’s a must read. Find it here on amazon.

2. The Woman in the Window by A.J. Finn

Ok- so this one had an unbelievably shocking ending so I had to add it to this list. Anna Fox lives alone in a huge New York City home. Every day she drinks wine, watches old movies, and spies on her neighbors through the upstairs window. Oh yeah- and she hasn’t been outside in ten months. She offers guidance to other agoraphobics through an online chat. One evening she is spying out her window when she notices something she was definitely not supposed to see happen to her neighbors, The Russell’s, who have just moved in across the street. Her life begins to spiral out of control to the point where she doesn’t know if what she saw was real or if she was imagining it.

This is a gripping thriller that I flew through because I had to know what was going to happen. I’ll admit it was a slow read at times however the chapters are super short. This book has been made into a movie set to release on May 15, 2020. Find it here on Amazon.

3. Lock Every Door by Riley Sager

This is the story of Jules Larsen who has recently broken up with her cheating a*shole of a boyfriend and has lost her job all in one weeks time. She stumbles across an ad for an apartment sitter at one of New York City’s most elite yet mysterious apartment buildings’ known as the Bartholomew. Jules interviews for the job and falls in love with the place – except – there are rules. No visitors, you must stay at the apartment every night, and no talking to the tenants. Because the job pays $12,000- Jules quickly accepts regardless of the rules. Jules later meets a girl named Ingrid who also apartment sits at the Bartholomew. Ingrid tries to warn Jules that something may be off about the building. The next day Ingrid goes missing which leaves Jules frantically trying to figure out what could have happened to her. As the search for Ingrid goes on- more and more unsettling events are happening at the Bartholomew. What mysteries lie behind the walls? You’ll have to read it to find out!

I purchased this book through Book of The Month Club and I’m so glad I did. I cannot wait to read more by Riley Sager. Find it here on Amazon.

4. The Unhoneymooners by Christina Lauren

Okay- so this is your typical cheesy romantic-comedy type book and I loved it. I needed something light and romantic after reading a few psychological thrillers and this was the perfect choice. If you’re a hopeless romantic this is the book for you. It’s the story of Olive Torres who is a twin to Ami Torres. She happens to be the maid of honor in Ami’s wedding. She is forced to spend the day with the best man who she can’t stand to be in the same room with- Ethan. She swears he has looked at her with judgmental eyes and disgust since the day they met. Unlucky for Olive, she finds herself on a plane traveling to Hawaii with him after the entire wedding party got sick with food poisoning. Ami insists they go on her honeymoon to Maui due to her and her husband not being able to go. Olive and Ethan must pretend to be newlyweds at the resort and find they may not hate each other as much as they originally thought..

This book was such a fun read. Find it here on Amazon.

5. If Only I could Tell You by Hannah Beckerman

This is the story of Audrey- a terminally ill woman who has just moved in with her daughter and granddaughter. Audrey has two adult daughters who are estranged and two teenage granddaughters that are forbidden to meet. A thirty-year-old secret is what keeps the family apart. As Audrey’s life comes closer to an end she must find a way for her daughters to reconnect. I can’t write too much about this one before I give it away but I tore through this book. I had so many emotions. I was frustrated, sad, happy, and angry all in one chapter. This was definitely an emotional ride of a book but so worth it. I have linked it here on amazon.

6. Patsy by Nicole Y. Dennis-Benn

I’ll be honest this isn’t one I’d normally pick up and read but boy am I glad I did. It was SO GOOD and incredibly eye-opening. This is a Read with Jenna (Jenna Hager is George W. Bushs' daughter) book club pick. I found "Read with Jenna" on Instagram and all of her picks look so interesting!

Patsy is a young mother living in Jamaica who finally receives a Visa to get to New York City. She has plans to move to New York and possibly reunite with her young love- Cecily. However, Patsy’s plans do not include her daughter, Tru. She decides to move to New York alone and leave her daughter with the Tru’s father. After Patsy arrives in New York she quickly realizes it is not at all what she imagined her life to be. Cecily is married to a powerful man who does not want Patsy in their life. Patsy finds herself tending to a restaurant bathroom and nannying while barely being able to afford rent. Meanwhile, Tru finds herself wondering why her mother would leave her and grows up questioning her own sexuality and identity. “Patsy” tells the story over decades how Tru and her mother will find their way back to each other. You can find it here on amazon.

7. Without Merit by Colleen Hoover

Ok- so before I talk about this one. Colleen Hoover is one of my favorite authors. (Especially if you’re into romance novels.) Her stories will have you up until 2am telling yourself “just one more chapter” until you find that you have finished the book. One of my first blog posts was a book called Verity by Colleen Hoover, which was AMAZING. It was a slightly different type of story for her style but nonetheless it was creepy and it had you asking SO many questions when you were done reading. So please- do yourself a favor and add Verity to your cart wherever you shop for books.

“Without Merit” is a story about Merit Voss who is a part of a (for lack of a better word) WEIRD family. The family lives in a repurposed church. Their mother who just beat cancer lives downstairs in the basement, the father is married to the mother’s former nurse, The half brother isn’t allowed to do anything without supervision, and the eldest siblings are annoyingly perfect. Merit feels like an outsider. She collects random trophies from antique shops. On a hunt for her next best trophy she meets Sagan, who captivates her in all the best ways. She finds herself head over heels for him until she realizes he is completely unavailable. One night, she finds herself so frustrated with the web of lies her family spins she writes a damaging letter before leaving the family for good. After her plan fails she is forced to face the truth and possibly lose the one boy she has ever loved. You have to read this one to find out what happens to Merit. You can find this book here on Amazon.

8. The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides

So I waited MONTHS before I could read this book because I was waiting for it from my library. Hopefully after you read this blog you will have serious FOMO and go buy it. Don’t wait for it like I did. Trust me it is worth however much they are charging for it.

Alicia Berenson’s life seems perfect. She’s a famous painter married to a handsome fashion photographer. She lives in a gorgeous house in London. One evening her husband Gabriel returns home late from work and Alicia shoots him five times in the face, and then never speaks another word. Alicia’s refusal to talk, or give any kind of explanation has every psychologist, psychiatrist, or psychotherapist at their wits end trying to figure out why she is silent. Theo Faber is a criminal psychotherapist who has waited a long time for the opportunity to work with Alicia. His determination to get her to talk leads him down a twisting path and unravels his own motivations.

The TWISTS in this book will blindside you. You’ll be reading this- you’ll think you have it all figured out- and then the author sucker punches you right in the gut. This was one of my favorite books I read this year. Okay now go put it in your cart here on amazon.

9. The Mister by EL James

So you may recognize that author’s name? She wrote the “Fifty Shades of Grey” trilogy. I picked up this book one night in Barnes and Noble and I was like “Hmm, I wonder if she’s going to top that.” Unfortunately, this book was just okay for me. I’m not a big erotica/romance reader so I may not be one to judge. Here is the GoodReads description. I give it a 2/5 stars but I encourage you to read it for yourself if you were a big fan of Fifty Shades.

“London, 2019. Life has been easy for Maxim Trevelyan. With his good looks, aristocratic connections, and money, he’s never had to work and he’s rarely slept alone. But all that changes when tragedy strikes and Maxim inherits his family’s noble title, wealth, and estates, and all the responsibility that entails. It’s a role he’s not prepared for and one that he struggles to face. But his biggest challenge is fighting his desire for an unexpected, enigmatic young woman who’s recently arrived in England, possessing little more than a dangerous and troublesome past. Reticent, beautiful, and musically gifted, she’s an alluring mystery, and Maxim’s longing for her deepens into a passion that he’s never experienced and dares not name. Just who is Alessia Demachi? Can Maxim protect her from the malevolence that threatens her? And what will she do when she learns that he’s been hiding secrets of his own?”

Find it here on Amazon.

10. Conviction by Denise Mina

This one was Reese Witherspoon’s December book club pick. It was not the best book I’ve read in awhile but it was definitely interesting. This is the story of Anna- who is listening to a podcast one morning when her husband comes downstairs and makes a devastating announcement. Suddenly Anna realizes she is very alone. She tries to distract her mind by going back to her podcast- a story about a sunken yacht and a murdered family. Anna quickly realizes she knows one of the murder victims from her earlier life- a life that she has taken great measures to escape from. Anna is convinced she knows what really happened to the family and goes to great lengths to unveil the truth despite having to reveal her true identity.

This story was kind of slow running in the beginning and then I couldn’t turn the pages fast enough. Again- if you haven’t started reading books from Reese’s book club now is the time! You can find it here on amazon.