My Favorite and Least Favorite Books of 2020

It’s almost 2021, and somehow, I’ve managed to almost hit my reading goal of 100 books this year. (The initial lockdown really slowed me down.) During that initial lockdown, though, I was forced to read every book I’d managed to snag from the library—some that I enjoyed, and others that I did not—because I didn’t have the luxury of being able to stop reading a book once everything closed. I had to make do with what I had. Beggars can’t be choosers, right?

So, since I’ve read nearly 100 books this year, I really wanted to narrow down my favorites and, yes, my least favorites as well. Below I’ve broken down my top 10 favorite and least favorite books of 2020, ranked in order from 10-1, with 1 being my absolute favorite or least favorite book of this year.

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My favorite books of 2020:

Apparently, I read a lot of really good books this year. I agonized over this list. I wanted to include so many titles, it was practically impossible to narrow it down. I’ve included my top 10 favorite books of 2020, but also my honorable mentions, the ones that came so close to making the list and have still managed to stick with me since I’ve finished reading. I’d recommend all of these books to anyone; they’re the ones I absolutely devoured and enjoyed!

10. His & Hers by Alice Feeney. Thanks to Feeney’s writing style, this book manages to suck you in, not releasing its hold on you until the very last page. I absolutely loved this twisty psychological thriller, the different POV’s, and the unknown narrator throughout. The ending completely surprised me and satisfied me in the best way possible.
11. The Herd by Andrea Bartz. I was not a fan of Bartz’s The Lost Night at all (I gave it a 1 star rating, something I rarely ever do) and was worried The Herd would end in the same sort of disappointment. Boy, was I wrong. I couldn’t get enough of this book—part murder mystery, part cutthroat women’s business world, part glitzy, fast-paced NYC life, and part big dirty secret from the past, this book had everything you could ask for. I was on the edge of my seat for this one, it was an absolute nail-biter; and I loved how Bartz wove the ruthlessness of competition between women in there as well to create a dramatic element of tension.
12. Godshot by Chelsea Bieker. This book shows the fraught relationship between a mother and daughter, the ties that bond, and the desire to find a higher meaning and purpose in life to make sense of it all. We follow 14 year old Lacey May as she struggles to understand her place in this world. A combination of coming-of-age story and one about a cult, this book is one you won’t be able to put down.
13. Home Before Dark by Riley Sager. This book had my heart pounding with absolute terror (seriously, I was terrified of reading it before bed because I was worried it’d give me nightmares) right up until about the last 15% of it, where it did a complete 360 and smacked me in the face with a psychological twist. I’d never experienced a book that can make you feel so much fear and then switch up like that until this one, and I mean that in the best way possible. This book was absolutely amazing—the perfect psychological thriller with a twist so big you won’t see it coming.
14. Tell Me Everything by Cambria Brockman. I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and the ending made a lasting impression on me. I don’t want to say too much because I believe it’s best to go in blind to this one, but what I can say is that if you enjoy thrillers and learning about the human mind and psychology, this is a must-read.
15. Social Creature by Tara Isabella Burton. This book was unique in so many ways—we find out right away that in x amount of days, one of the main characters will be dead. From there, Burton delivers a story fraught with tension and dread as we untangle the events that lead up to this character’s demise, through an unnamed narrator who acts like a fly on the wall. Dark, suffocating, and bizarre, this unique book does not disappoint.
16. You Can Go Home Now by Michael Elias. The very last sentence of this book actually gave me chills. This isn’t the kind of book that belongs in one genre alone, for it explores the topic of revenge, is part police procedural, part thriller, and part murder mystery. It was very different, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Suspense bubbles throughout until the explosive final page.
17. The Boys’ Club by Erica Katz. Katz’s debut highlights sex and power in corporate America by taking us through Alex Vogel’s first year at an elite and prestigious Manhattan law firm. The characters in the book are extremely raw and fleshed-out, making it easy to relate to and identify with them. I found this story especially relatable because I’ve dipped my toes into a male dominated industry and have gotten a glimpse of the dark side of it. I loved how the author chronicled Alex’s struggles, how she begins to question everything including herself. I think men and women would benefit from reading this, as it helps gain insight and understanding into the corporate world and the struggles that come naturally with being a woman, whether you’ve chosen them or not.
18. The Golden Cage by Camilla Läckberg. I absolutely adored this sexy, fast-paced thriller. Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned, and that’s exactly what we get when our main character, Faye, comes up with a masterful plan to get revenge on her billionaire ex-husband. But this book isn’t at all what it seems—it’s so much more than meets the eye. Läckberg takes you on the thrill ride of your life with this one.
19. The Comeback by Ella Berman. This might be my absolute favorite book of all-time. The Comeback tells the story of Grace Turner, a child star who, on the brink of making Hollywood’s A-list, disappears from the world completely. One year later, she finally comes out of hiding, and is ready to reclaim her life on her terms—but it’s not as easy as it seems. Berman beautifully details a young woman’s struggle to come to terms and understand abuse that was done to her; her failure to create a narrative in which she wasn’t at fault, in which she could’ve done something different. I thought Berman’s storytelling in this was masterful and the ending was undeniably empowering. An echo of our time, this is one story that demands to be read.

Honorable mentions:

• The Better Liar by Tanen Jones
• Good Girls Lie by J.T Ellison
• The Daughters of Foxcote Manor by Eve Chase
• Framed by S.L McInnis
• Tear Me Apart by J.T Ellison
• Last Woman Standing by Amy Gentry
• If These Wings Could Fly by Kylie McCauley
• Pretty Things by Janelle Brown

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My least favorite books of 2020:

Let me make one thing clear: in no way, shape, or form do I find any enjoyment in giving a book a low rating and saying that I didn’t enjoy it. I’d love to live in a world where books didn’t disappoint me, but sadly, that’s not the case.

10. The Last Wife by Karen Hamilton. I loved Hamilton’s previous book, The Perfect Girlfriend, and was stoked for this one. Sadly, this one left a lot to be desired. I think the publishers did it a disservice by labeling it a psychological thriller because it was more of a slow-burning domestic drama. There wasn’t really a huge mystery, just an untangling of an event that happened in the past. Not a bad read, but definitely not a strong one, this one made it onto my list because it stuck in my brain for the fact that it could’ve been a lot better, IMO.
11. The Last Thing I Told You by Emily Arsenault. This was a book that started out strong but ended up dragging to a very anticlimactic conclusion. Though topics such as mental illness are explored with great care and humanization in this, I found it lacking in so many aspects. This was one of my original lockdown reads so I ended up finishing it for lack of another book to read. Not necessarily a bad read, but extremely forgettable.
12. When I Was You by Minka Kent. I typically love Minka Kent’s books, so I was really surprised with this one. I found the story and pacing lackluster, and it just didn’t do it for me. The main character was also incredibly stupid and lacked all basic common sense, which made it even less enjoyable for me. Though I wouldn’t recommend this one, The Perfect Roommate and The Memory Watcher by Minka Kent are amazing reads.
13. The Innocent Wife by Amy Lloyd. Look, I totally get that there are people who do crazy things on a whim in this world, but the characters in this book did these types of things so often that I found it a struggle to get through. The lack of basic common sense was astounding, and I found the conclusion incredibly boring. This was a very mediocre read for me.
14. Darling Rose Gold by Stephanie Wrobel. If you’ve seen The Act on Hulu or are familiar with the story of Dee Dee Blanchard and Gypsy Rose, then you’ll have an idea of what’s going on in this one. I expected more from this book, but found it lacking in many areas. I don’t think the author explored the topic of intergenerational trauma well at all, and the ending left me feeling very dissatisfied.
15. Kiss the Girls and Make Them Cry by Mary Higgins Clark. This was my first Mary Higgins Clark novel, and sadly, I was not impressed. I know she’s published tons of books over the years, but I could not get into her writing style, it felt very surface level. I found the pacing of this one slow and the ending very anticlimactic.
16. Keep Her Safe by Sophie Hannah. The premise of this book was very enticing, I’ll give it that. Sadly, it didn’t live up to it. There were no ups and downs in this book, nothing to really make it stand out as a “thriller.” The only thing I found particularly interesting in this book was where it took place; it made me want to go visit this luxe resort in Arizona.
17. The New Husband by D.J Palmer. What happened in this book was not a great mystery to me, and I think that would’ve been fine had the story been shorter. To me, this one felt drawn out. The villain in this story was blatantly obvious (seriously, he didn’t even try to hide it well), and none of the other ones were particularly relatable or likable.
18. Follow Me by Kathleen Barber. This book reminded me of someone who drinks and drives, gets a DUI but manages not to hurt anyone or themselves, loses their license, only to turn around and drink and drive again once they get it back because they didn’t learn from their mistake the first time. I was so hopeful that this book would deliver an important message about oversharing in this social world, but sadly, it did not. I found the main character extremely unlikable and hard to sympathize with. For a more in-depth review on why I believe this book fell so flat on delivering an important message, check out my post here.
19. If She Were Dead by J.P Smith. Look, I’ll admit it: I’m a sucker for books involving mistresses and scorned wives. Don’t ask me why, because I really don’t know the answer, but for some reason, I am. And yet from the start, this book was slow and very difficult to get into. However, I kept trudging onward, giving it the benefit of the doubt. I expected more drama, but this book basically followed the mind of a man’s mistress the entire time. Where was the suspense, the drama?! I felt so wronged by this book, too, because it finally started picking up towards the end and I thought: this is it, here we go, until the ending came and smacked me in the face. I think about this one from time-to-time because it left such a sour taste in my mouth. I cannot, in good, conscience, recommend this book. Ugh. What a disappointment.