The Best and Worst Books of Each Month 2020

Merry Christmas, everyone. Well it's been a shitty year for most of us I think, but I've been fortunate that my family and I have stayed healthy during this pandemic and I was actually able to read a lot of books this year. Not as many as I wanted - I set the really unobtainable goal of 100 books - but I have read 77 books instead so I feel I did very well this year. 

I am going to be spending some time in the next few weeks trying to do some wrap-up blog posts to sift through my favourite and most-hated books this year, to make up for the fact I actually haven't been posting anything at all on my blog for months. I'd say next year will be different, but it won't be. I'm just very inconsistent and changable, and that's why I am not a full-time blogger. 

This blog post was inspired by Hailey in Bookland's Bookmas playlist. Do go check her out on YouTube cause she's really nice (link here: Hailey in Bookland - Best and Worst). So without further ado, here goes. 

January 

My top read of January was The Wicked King (Folk of the Air #2) by Holly Black. While I put off reading this series for a number of years cause I just felt it was over-hyped, when the final book in the series came out I decided to just go for it. I'm so glad I did. While I had some issues with the series, especially in book 1, I really enjoyed the world-building and the characters. By book 2 I was sold on the series, fully following the stakes. Jude is such a complex main character, an anti-heroine in many ways with the chaos she brings. I liked how flawed she was, how prickly. I'm so used to heroines either being the moral compass or a badass who never makes mistakes. I felt book 3 disappointed me a little, after book 2 really set things up well for lots of drama. 

My worst read of January was Damsel by Elana K. Arnold. It was, without doubt, the worst book I've read this year or ever, and cause it was the start of the year I hadn't accepted to just abandon books I didn't like yet. This book was just so creepy and uncomfortable, and had so many triggers for sexual abuse. This type of book is why fantasy fiction has such a bad name for glorifying sexual violence against women. Reading up on reviews some people said it was really empowering by the end, but it wasn't. I have no idea how anyone could walk away from this book and not feel genuinely violated. 

February

My top book of February was The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Bronte. I read it after watching 'The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society' movie where they discuss this book, and having been on the eye for classics to read this year it just felt right. Enjoying this book as much as I did was a genuine surprise for me. 

The story felt so fresh, like it could be happening nowadays: people in a small town gossiping about the new widow who doesn't want to make small talk or bow to anyone's control or opinion about what 'a woman must do'. Gilbert grows from prejudice towards his obnoxious neighbour to realising he should make up his own mind about people, that things are never as clear as they first appear. Helen is a fascinating character as well, growing up for her idea of marrying a handsome flirtatious young man to discovering surface level beauty can hide a horrible person underneath, and vice versa. My only problems with the book was her part of the book, where we flash back to her life with her husband, went on for much too long. The religious overtones didn't feel as preachy to me as some of Anne Bronte's other books come across, which helped. As I sat and read it, I imagined making a modern-day adaptation of this and it would still work so well. Society really hasn't changed that much. 

My worst book of February was We were Liars by E Lockhart. Another hyped author I have been avoiding for years, I decided to give this a go to try a different genre of YA - a mystery thriller. I was very disappointed. 

Cady, our main character, was just terrible as a protagonist. Entitled and whiny, her journey through the book felt very off. The rest of the characters felt one-dimensional and caricaturish, with the story never engaging me. Plus, as someone in the medical profession, Cady's condition and her array of symptoms were inconsistent and nonsensical, frequently pulling me out of the stroy to go "no, that's not how that works."

March

March was the month of Hades/Persephone mythology retellings and therefore both my top and my bottom are along these lines. My best book of March is A Touch of Darkness #1 by Scarlett St Clair. Considering I got this book for free on the Kindle shop I had little hope of it actually being great, but it was. The world created for this series, the modern-day alternate world mixed with the mythology and pantheon of Gods, was creative and flowed so well together. I was immediately hooked on the writing, the voice of Persephone and the chemistry between Persephone and Hades was just so right. Drama abound, this series has so much potential and I'm excited to continue with it.  

My worst book of March was Persephone's Awakening: The Maiden by Delcesca Newby. I gave it a 2 out of 5, so it is not as low as some worst books on the list. 

I will concede this is part 2 in a duology, which I didn't realise at the time, but having read the 1st part of it now too it still doesn't make the plot that much more interesting or the writing better. The concept of Persephone being reborn was good, but the execution was just so surface-level and compared with A Touch of Darkness, the level of lore really wasn't up to par. 

April 

Seanan McGuire was another author whose work I'd been putting off, and as of April I was tied for good vs bad. I am so glad I decided to give her Wayward Children novella series a chance. Down Among the Stick and Bones (Wayward Children #2) by Seanan McGuire is therefore my top book of April. Firstly, the idea of following the lives of children who return from magical worlds once they've grown up or accidentally found themselves back in their birth words is so clever and interesting. Each story follows a different character, or the same characters at a different time in their life, and the world is just so intricately created. 

This novella follows the characters of Jacquiline 'Jack' and Jillian 'Jill' before we meet them in book 1, when they find themselves on the Moors and have to decide the kind of people they are going to be. Jack was my favourite character from book 1 and I'm so glad she gets more time to develop. Honestly, it's just so good. 

My worst book of April is Lost Girl #1 by Chanda Hahn. Peter Pan retellings are always something I get drawn to but they're usually always awful. This, while not being completely awful like 'Jody Lynn Anderson's Tiger Lily', was just very boring. 

Too much time was spent setting up Wendy's previous life at the Neverland facility before moving into the actual story. The insta-love between Wendy and Peter was awkward, the developments of the plot seemed jarring and dumb, and  overall the potential for the story seemed to be squandered. I just felt too much time was wasted, and the two timelines could have been meshed better. 

May 

May was the month I discovered I am a sucker for  historial regency romance books. When a Scot Ties the Knot by Tessa Dare was just a thrill ride of nonsense and I was here for it. The book follows Maddie who, to get out of people feeling sorry for her she never had a date, made up a sweetheart who she wrote letters to. Several years ago she killed him off, stating her heart was broken forever and she would never marry, moving to the Highlands for a peaceful life. Then comes along the man who received her letters, the man who shares the name of her imaginary lost lover, coming to claim his bride. Hijinks ensure, stubborn characters clash, and it was just a lot of fun. 

My worst book of May was Waterfall (Rivers of Time #1) by Lisa T Bergren. The plot is basically Gabi and her sister Lia accidentally time travel to fourteenth century Italy and have to grapple with the politics of the situation and fall in love along the way. While in essence the plot could be decent, albeit ridiculous, it is not executed well. Gabi is very unlikable as a protagonist, constantly under the impression she is better than everyone around her, and her romance with Marcelo starts off vapidly and continues along the same vein, with no chemistry between the two. 

The main problem with the story was the pacing and the lack of dramatic tension. Opportunites to make things more interesting, develop characters into more rounded characters, were repeatedly missed in order to spend time watching Gabi fuss over how hot she thinks Marcelo is but alas, he is engaged.

June

June is a bit of a 'meh' month in that I had no 5 star books or less than a 3 star book. Of the books I read my best book was Do You Want to Start a Scandal by Tessa Dare. Following a similar non-sensical plot as her previous books, Charlotte finds herself engaged after being caught in a compromising situation with the grumpy Lord Piers Brandon. She must find out who really was overheard in a clandestine embrace, so she can free herself from the obligation to marry Piers. But she must move quickly, before she falls for him. As I said, it's stupid but it was good. Not as good as some of her others, but I had fun reading it.  

My worst book was Death at Wentwater Court by Carola Dunn which did get a 3 so was just sadly the worst rate book that month whereas it wasn't that bad. 

Daisy Darymple was an interesting female sleuth a la Phyrne Fisher but the overall pacing and murder reveal was all just a little bit disappointing. I might continue with the series, see if the writer finds its stride, but this first book was just a bit dull and predictable. 

 

July

My best book of July was Ayoade on Top by Richard Ayoade. It is a self-reflection/critical analysis of the Gwyneth Paltrow film 'A View from the Top'. While it is one of the worst, boring rom-coms of the the early 2000s, Ayoade brings a levity and critical appreciation for the kind of nonsense that passes for a film. 

From start to finish I was laughing, fascinated with how his mind worked, how he drew such artistic parellels. The whole book is one big inside joke and I appreciate the commitment taken to pull it off. 

My worst book was The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck by Mark Manson. I didn't have any epiphanies whilst reading it, nor did I walk away thinking any differently about the world at a time where less stress would have been appreciated. It was just boring and uninteresting overall. 

August

My favourite August read was the fake autobiographical travel book Alan Partridge: Nomad by Alan Partridge. The stroy follows Alan, once again being his self-involved smug self on his travels to follow in the footsteps of his father's journey to a power plant somewhere in England. Short, stupid and a great deal of fun. If only 'This Time with Alan Partridge' had been this funny. 

My worst book of August would be The Past and Other Things that Should Stay Buried by Shaun David Hutchinson. While I was initially here for the premise of the book being set in a funeral home, and the main character's best friend coming back to life, with LGBT elements, the plot struggled to get interesting. Both our main characters, Dino and July, weren't as interesting as the characters around them - Dino's boyfriend Rafi being a particular interesting character that really didn't get the exploration he deserved. There was just a lot of dead air in conversation, I felt, and I was glad to have it over with. 

September

My September best book is only a 3 star, but it was my highest rated book of the month and that is Wife After Wife by Olivia Hayfield. This book follows a contemporary Henry Rose and his six failed marriages, clearly a modern day Henry VIII. There was a lot of potential in this book, and therefore a lot of missed opportunies, but I did enjoy myself reading it. There is going to be a sequel, a retelling of the power struggle between Maria (Mary I) and Eliza (Elizabeth I) as they each wrestle for control of the Rose Corporation. There was a lot of love put into this book, which I appreciated. 

My worst book was Girls Save the World in This One by Ash Parsons. This was a very painful read and it's really pushed me to reconsider reading any YA fiction in the future because every single character in this was annoying. No one more so than June, our whiny main character who is acting like the world is ending because some stupid boy doesn't want to be with her anymore and she's going off to college. She was the most self-involved character of any book I read this year, and I don't know how her friends put up with her. The plot could have worked if I cared if any of them made it out of the zombie infected convention centre they are stuck in. But also the romance that is shoe-horned in that was just stupid, predictable and lacked any chemistry. 

October

Fifty Fifty by Steve Cavanagh is my October best book. I picked it up as a recommendation of a friend, after I said I'd wanted to try some new genres this year and my history with thrillers had been disapponting thus far. Fifty Fifty follows the trial of two sisters, each accusing the others of brutally murdering their father and trying to frame them. A interesting premise, a fairly interesting and fleshed out array of characters, I did enjoy reading this and may continue the series. I just don't think thrillers are really my thing, but that's fine. 

My worst October book is Time Lord Victorious: The Knight, The Fool and The Dead by Steve Cole. My boyfriend is obsessed with Doctor Who and is trying to get me into the Time Lord Victorious storyline, which I am really just not into and this book proves why. The whole idea is just super convulated and this book in particular was very hard to read. As time has gone on I've come to realise my favourite doctor is not the Tenth doctor like I thought in my youth and he really is just a liability. (By the way my favourite doctors, depending on the story are: Fifth, Sixth and Ninth). 

November 

My November best book is Game of Queens by Sarah Gristwood, a non-fiction book looking at the powerful political players and Queens in sixteenth century Europe. A bit niche, sure, but I love the history and in particular women of history. I got this book based on a recommendation that said it explains the world Anne Boleyn was born into, the world she experienced growing up in France and explains how she misjudged the political battlefiend in England. I love anything Anne Boleyn-related and this delivered an interesting story in spades, introducing me to women I'd never encountered before who I'm now fascinated by. 

My worst book was Here is the Beehive by Sarah Crossan. A book about an affair, following the story of the mistress coming to terms with the sudden loss of her lover, told through verse could have been interesting. However the story didn't seem to delve deep enough into such a fractious situation, as our lead Ana begins a friendship with Rebecca, her lover's unknowing wife, in the wake of his death. Sadly everything seems surface level, details about Ana's life just being randomly scattered in, clunking up the flow of the story. It had a beautiful cover though. 

December

So far I have little to add for December but when I do, I'll be adding my best and worst. So just hold on. 

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