Top 10 Books of 2020!

Hello everybody, and welcome back to the CW Torch! It's been a while since I posted anything, because I took a little break as I was in a creative slump both with my blog and my writing. I wanted to focus on my writing and graduate school preparation for my applications. I ended up not writing a whole lot, but I am almost done with applying to my selected graduate schools. Recently, I've been planning a few fun and exiting things for this blog, because I will say that I missed writing and talking about the books I've been reading. So, I hope you all enjoy the posts I plan to blog in the future!

Even though, recently my writing has been been lack-luster, my reading hasn't stopped and I've had one of my best reading years in a long time. For 2020, I read a total of 60 books, and passed my Goodreads goal for the year. I was a bit nervous that I wasn't going to make my reading goal for the year, but I ended up reading 9 books in December which is what I needed to do to complete my reading goal of the year. Yet, while I've read a lot in 2020, I will say that it was really hard to pick a top 10. There were a few books I knew I had to add to this list, but I didn't read that many 5 stars reads this year. So I think even though I read 60 books in 2020, I read a lot of manga's and graphic novels to catch up, and read books that weren't that memorable. So as for 2021, I think I am going to lower my Goodreads goal so that I can go more for quality rather than quantity.

So, with all that being said, here are my top ten favorite books I read in 2021. Most of these books are ones that were of course 5 star reads. But for those that weren't 5 star reads, were either really close or books that really surprised me.

The Toll by Neal Shusterman

Read: 12/01/2019 - 01/04/2020

Final Rating: 5 Stars

It's hard to believe that I finished this in 2020, because it seems like such a long time ago when I read this, and it truly has been a long time since I did read it. But, I still think about this series daily because it was so interesting and thought-provoking. I won't go into too much detail of this book, because it was the third in a series and I don't want to spoil this amazing series. I also felt I've talked about this book many times on my blog, so if you read my blog you should probably know a lot about this book already.

But, I will say that this series definitely left a lasting impression and I'm excited to read more books written by Neal Shusterman.

The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemisin

Read: 07/04/2020 - 07/18/2020

Rating: 5 Stars

This is the first book of an adult science-fiction fantasy series, where each book in this series has won the Hugo award. Now, I finally understand as to why that was the case, because the first book within this series was absolutely amazing. In this first book, we follow three main characters, when three terrible things happen in a single day. They live in a world where every so often certain seasons happen, and in this season the worst of all the Stillness, which is a great red rift has been torn into the heart of the earth, spewing ash enough to darken the sky.

The world-building of this book was absolutely breathtaking, as I was reading this book I couldn't understand how one person could come up with such a detailed and strained world that also felt relevant at the same time. Not only does the author talk about natural disasters that destroy this world, but she also discusses slavery and race. It is a brutal world, but I was still captivated to find out what happened to the characters within this world. I honestly, can't wait to continue this series and might finish it soon, with how much I loved the first book. I'm also excited to read N.K. Jemisin's other works, because I truly fell in love with her writing and her world-building.

Assassin's Apprentice (Farseer Trilogy #1) by Robin Hobb

Read: 07/22/2020 - 08/15/2020

Rating: 5 Stars

This book, series, and world by Robin Hobb has been really popular on Booktube recently, which is one of the reasons why I picked it up. I was very curious as to why this was so popular recently, because it is an older adult fantasy series. Once, I finished the first book of this series, I understood why it was so popular. Like The Fifth Season, the world was so vast and interesting, but the characters stood out to me more in this book. I loved Fitz as a main character as we go through his childhood to teenagehood in this first book, during his apprenticeship. He was a very gentle and curious boy, and his relationship with animals was also really interesting to read about.

But another thing I loved about this book were the politics, which is usually something I don't find as intriguing when it comes to adult fantasies. I loved finding out what was happening beyond the scene and in the larger world surrounding Fitz, and how it will eventually relate to Fitz. This is another series, I'm looking forward to completing this year, along with reading more of Robin Hobb's series that are set within this same world.

Call Me By Your Name by Andre Aciman

Read: 04/19/2020 - 06/28/2020

Final Rating: 4.5 Stars

Last year, I was looking to read more books with LGBTQ+ representation, which I felt I accomplished especially in the month of June. I have been wanting to watch this movie for a very long time, and I actually decided to watch the movie before reading the book. Which I don't do very often, but I don't think watching the movie first affected my enjoyment of this novel. I loved both equally for different reasons. One of the main reasons I loved both, was the relationship between our two main characters. While there was a bit of an age difference and a lot of outside factors affecting their relationship, they still cared about each other deeply and learned a lot from one another. It was one of the most heartbreaking romance stories I've read, and I don't read a lot of romance novels. I also loved the family aspect of this novel, as Elio's parents were very prevalent in this story and Elio's and Oliver's relationship. They were very accepting which you wouldn't necessarily think with two Italian Jews. Two aspects that kept me very invested in this story was also the beautiful setting of the small Italian village the book was set in, and the prose of Andre Aciman. It created a very beautiful backdrop to a very beautiful love story.

A Winter's Promise by Christelle Dabos

Read: 12/05/2020 - 12/17/2020

Final Rating: 4.5 Stars

While, I read this towards the later part of the year, this book still managed to leave an impression on me. I have had this book for almost two years now, and kept putting it off because I wanted to read it during the winter time. As this is set in a very cold and wintery world.

This book may have been a translated book, which sometimes affects my enjoyment from the writing. But, I could hardly tell that it was translated, because the writing kept me intrigued from beginning to end. Two things that kept me wanting to read this book, were the politics and magic. As this book follows our main character, Ophelia, who can travel and learn history from mirrors and objects. She is forced to marry someone from another Arc, who she doesn't necessarily like at first. I was really captivated by the world of this story and the main character. The only thing I felt was missing a little bit, was more explanation and description of the magic system. Throughout the book, I found that it was more about the politics and the relationship between our main character and her betrothed. Which was still very gripping and intriguing, but I would've liked just a little bit more description and explanation of the magic system, because I thought the idea of this magic system was really cool. All in all, this was a really good start to a series, that I will definitely be picking up in the near future.

Red, White, and Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston

Read: 06/01/2020 - 06/14/2020

Rating: 4 Stars

This was another book that I kept seeing everywhere on Booktube last year, it was one that got a lot of hype so I wasn't sure how I was going to like it. Since, most of the time, I have a lot of different views on the most hyped books. Adult romance is also a genre that I don't read very often, but I was trying to change that as this was another adult book with LGBTQ+ rep. The one thing that really stood out to me with this book, was the enemies to lovers relationship between our two main characters. I actually really enjoy this trope, which is a trope I feel like most people don't enjoy, and I thought it was done well in this story. I also enjoyed the dramedy of it all, because there were a lot of ridiculous things that were happening to our two main characters that was trying to pull them a part. This book really reminded me of the E! show, The Royals, which I enjoyed because of all the ridculousness and drama of it all, much like this book. The only thing that took me out of this book, was the length, I thought it could've been shorter as there were some things that seemed very repetitive and more drawn out then it needed to be. But, that was the main reason for it getting a four star rather than a five star. Otherwise, I am really excited to get more into the Adult romance genre, and to read more books written by Casey McQuiston.

The Immortalists by Chloe Benjamin

Read: 01/05/2020 - 01/12/2020

Rating: 4 Stars

This was another book that I kept seeing when I was working at Barnes and Noble a few years ago, the cover really stood out to me and I kept seeing people purchase it in the store. It was one that has been on my radar, and I was able to borrow it from my roommate a few years later. I was excited to finally pick it up, because it was definitely an interesting book. One that I wasn't sure if I would've picked it up when I did, if I didn't have easy access to it. But it really was a fascinating read, and one of the main reasons I enjoyed it was because we followed a set of siblings. Each sibling found out about the exact day they were going to die, so we were reading about their lives leading up to their death. There were two siblings who stood out to me more than the others, and who I felt the author spent more time writing about. So, one thing I would've liked about this book was to have been a bit longer, so that we could spend more time on each sibling. However, all in all, it was a really fascinating and intriguing story, and at some parts very heartbreaking. I'm glad I picked it up when I did, because it definitely left a lasting impression on me.

Tiny Pretty Things by Sona Charaipotra and Dhonielle Clayton

Read: 12/24/2020 - 12/28/2020

Rating: 4.37 Stars

This was the last book I read in 2020, and one that managed to make it on my top ten favorites of the year. Which I was very surprised by, because I felt that I didn't read as much young adult books this year, as I feel that I'm kind of growing out of love with this genre and age category. However, this book definitely kept me on my toes and I was gripped from beginning to end, finishing it in four days. I also mostly listened to the audiobook for this novel, which was a really good audiobook that I would highly recommend! The writing was really gripping and fast-paced, as I definitely wanted to know what was happening with our main characters and what was going to happen in the end. It was very dark and dealt with some heavy topics, which kept me intrigued but thought were handled and written very well. I was also surprised by the diversity of this book, as one of our main characters was African American, we had a French character, bi/gay characters, and a few Korean characters. It was very diverse which only added more depth to this fun and fast-paced mystery novel. One of the main reasons why I picked this book up was to watch the Netflix adaptation, however, it seems as though they changed a lot of the characters, which I am really disappointed because of how diverse the book was. But, I'm still interested to see how it compares to the book, because boy did this book really surprise me in the end!

North Child by Edith Patou

Read: 02/10/2020 - 02/17/2020

Rating: 4 Stars

This was another surprising read, that I read earlier in the year. But one that managed to make it's way to this list, which was very surprising to me. As this is a middle grade book, which is another age category I don't read enough of. Because, of the middle grades I've read recently, none of them have really stood out to me and I think that's because of the simplicity of the writing in a lot of middle grades. However, this one really stood out to me, because it felt like more of a young adult book with how it was written. The atmosphere of this story was so lush and vast, and that was one of the main reasons that kept me invested in this story. But, I also loved the main character and the journey she was going on, as well as the Russian folklore elements of this book. I am trying to get more into folklore retellings or inspired books, next year, because I read a few last year and really enjoyed them. This was such a vast and magical story, that it really got me excited to read more middle grade books like this one.

I Hear the Sunspot Manga Series, Yuki Fumino

Read: All throughout 2020

Rating (Series): Between 4/5 stars

My last book, or rather series on this list is the I Hear The Sunspot manga series. I've been getting into reading a lot more graphic novels and manga's recently. This series stood out to me the most, as I was really invested in these characters and their love story. This is another story I read that had LGBTQ+ rep, and also disability rep as one of our main characters has a hearing impairment. Which is a disability I don't find very often in books, so that was really interesting to read about and a huge aspect of this book.

One of the main reasons why I loved this series was the relationship of the two main characters, it was very sweet but at the same time very heartbreaking. Once I finished one book, it was hard for me not to read the next in the series, so I pretty much marathoned this series. Which happens rarely for me when it comes to series in general, but especially graphic novels and manga's. But, I really loved the story, characters, and art style of this story so I had to continue it as fast as I could.

There you have it folks, those are my top ten books of 2020! I will say that a lot of the books I read really surprised me with how much I enjoyed them, because I felt I read a lot of books outside of my comfort zone which I hope to do in 2021 as well. Before, we end this post, I would like to share you all my stats of the year. As I used G from BookRoast, Cawpile system to rate a lot of my books, and the spreadsheet she makes compiles a bunch of stats at the end, which was really cool to take a look at.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1NBdqcR4j6tJM5wj4Tv0ZRIO-MD6UDOl7CHh3IJU4_lA/edit#gid=1546434843

Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this post and look forward for more to come, as writing this post made me realize how much I loved writing on this blog. One of my goals for 2021, is to get into more blog/instagram posting to keep you all updated on what I've been reading!

I hope you all have a wonderful reading year for 2021, and hope it's a little bit better year than what 2020 was!

This is Chynna from The CW Torch signing off!

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