Top 5 Books of the First Half of 2020

Hello everybody, this is Chynna from The Cw Torch. It's been a while since I've last written something, and I apologize for my lack of keeping up to date with this blog. But, to be honest, it all has to do with the fact that I haven't been reading anything that I've really wanted to talk about. A lot of that has to do with what's been going on in the world, from the pandemic to the Black Lives Matter Movement. My focus has been on outside factors of the world, and it's been hard to concentrate on writing and reading.

I haven't been reading as much as I would like to and that also has to do with working from home. By the time I am done with work, it's been harder to take my mind away and relax to pick up a book for a few hours. Even though, personally it may seem like I'm not reading at my usual pace, my goodreads reading goal says otherwise. I am about half way through my goal of 60 books for the year at 30 books read so far. While, it seems like I am making progress and on my way to making my goal by the end of the year, I haven't found a lot of books that I absolutely love. But, there have been a small few that I absolutely love and adore, and I wanted to share those few books that have made it at the top of my list. A few which will quite possibly make it on my favorite books of the year list, by the end of 2020 which seems like a long time coming.

The Fifth Season (The Broken Earth Trilogy #1) by N.K. Jemisin

Genre: Adult Science Fiction/Fantasy

Dates Read: 07/4/2020- 07/18/2020

CAWPILE Rating: 5 Stars (9.71)

• Characters: 9

• Atmosphere: 10

• Writing: 10

• Plot: 10

• Intrigue: 9

• Logic: 10

• Enjoyment: 10

There is a reason as to why N.K. Jemisin won the Hugo Award three years running for this trilogy. I just recently picked up this book and only finished it the other day, as I could not put this book down. N.K. Jemisin's writing captivated me from the first line of the book, gripping me with her intense plot that wove in the character's story-lines and development ever so effortlessly. The world was fascinating and to me wasn't your typical fantasy, as it had elements of science fiction thrown in. There was something about this book that made it difficult for me to put down, and there hasn't been a book that has done that for me in a while. In fact, I spent one full day just to finish this book, because it gripped me that much and I needed to see the end. It probably won't be long for me to start the next book in this series, when I usually tend to put series aside and don't finish them. But, I honestly, can't wait to finish this series and read the rest of N.K. Jemisin's works. This also just so happened to be my second 5 star read of the year.

The Toll (Arc of a Sythe #3) by Neal Shusterman

Genre: Young Adult Dystopian

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

Rating: 5 Stars

I started reading this book in early December and finished in January, and it easily became my first five star read of the year. This book was the perfect ending to this amazing series. While I finished it early on in the year, I think about this book often. It relates so much to the real world that it is almost scary. Especially, when it comes to our fast growing technology in this day and age. This series really made me think about our current world when it comes to politics, technology, and how humanity is almost lost because of how we are destroying our planet. Reading this series made me more conscious of what I can do individually, so that the world doesn't end up how it does in this book. Which, is so scary how real it felt and how possible this Dystopian future could truly reflect how our own world ends up in the future.

I have become a huge fan of Neal Shusterman's writing, he has easily become an auto-buy author for me. I am sad that this series has ended, but I am excited for whatever Neal Shusterman writes next, and to read more of his older series.

The Immortalists by Chloe Benjamin

Genre: Adult Literary Fiction

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

Rating: 4 Stars

One of my goals this year was to read more Adult Literary Fiction, unfortunately, while I haven't read a lot of that genre as much as I would've liked to this year. The Immortalists is one book from that genre that will definitely keep me interested in wanting to read more like it. later in the year. There was something about this book that was a little bit magical, which I really enjoyed and found a bit surprising because it wasn't something I was expecting. But, a part from the bit of magic, what got me with this book were the beautifully written characters. While, I felt at some points the author could've developed some of them a bit more, I still felt connected to each and every sibling this book focused on. I was curious in how each of their stories were going to begin and end. Each story was heartbreaking but necessary, yet each story somehow managed to make me cry which does not happen very often when I read.

This was one of the most unique books I have read from this genre, which definitely makes me want to continue my goal of reading more Literary Fiction.

Call Me By Your Name by Andre Aciman

Genre: Adult Romance

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

CAWPILE Rating: 4 Stars (8.54)

• Characters: 9

• Atmosphere: 8.5

• Writing: 9

• Plot: 7.75

• Intrigue: 8.5

• Logic: 8

• Enjoyment: 9

I don't typically read a lot of Adult Romance Fiction, but after watching this beautiful movie I had to pick up the book. I have heard many great things about Andre Aciman's writing, that I was curious to see how this movie translated as a book. Boy, did this book take me by surprise, especially since it's not something I typically read. I knew, I was going to like it because I immediately fell in love with Elio and Oliver in the movie. But, the movie doesn't do the emotional attachment that these characters have for each other, justice. This book was emotional, romantic, and heartbreaking.

Oliver at first, was a pompous grad student from America, who would you find incredibly arrogant at first. But, Andre starts to slowly reveal his feelings for Elio and how much he actually cares about the young boy, it is honestly heartbreaking in the end to unfold. I instantly fell in love with Elio, the perfect little Italian, Jewish boy, as he came to grips with his own sexuality in this book. But, two characters who I surprisingly had a deep connection with were Elio's parents, who seemed to know all the secrets within their Italian Villa.

This book had the perfect setting in a small Italian village for a romantic love story of a man and a boy. I am so glad I decided to take a chance on this audobook, which was read by Armie Hammer, who played Oliver in the movie. As it got me interested in a genre, I didn't think I would get in to.

Red, White, & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston

Genre: Young Adult Romance/Contemporary

Dates Read: 06/01/2020-06/24//2020

CAWPILE Rating: 4 Stars (8.50)

• Characters: 8.5

• Atmosphere: 9

• Writing: 8

• Plot: 8.5

• Intrigue: 9

• Logic: 7.5

• Enjoyment: 9

While reading, Call Me By Your Name, I got really interested in reading Queer Romance novels. I heard so much about Red, White, & Royal Blue on Booktube, that it felt like the best next book to read from this genre. Once, again, I was instantly taken aback by how much I enjoyed this book. Just like, Call Me By Your Name, I instantly fell in love with the characters. Two characters who would seem like pompous royals and first sons, but had so much more depth than that. However, this book wasn't as serious as Call Me By Your Name. It was hilarious, and kind of insane with everything that happened to these two public figures. It reminded me a lot of the E! Original, The Royals, which was a Dramedy of the "Royal Family."

It was outrageous at times, but what I loved most were the few tender moments between these two male leads. While, I loved the romance between the two main characters, some of it got lost along the way with the politics of everything. I felt that the ending was so far out of left field, and didn't think that it made sense with everything else that happened along the way. Other than that, I absolutely loved this book, and look forward to reading the companion of this book.

There you have it folks, those are my top five books of the year so far. While, my reading hasn't been all that great for the first half of the year. I was happy to find some surprising stars, that I never thought I would pick up. I hope that the second half of the year is much stronger, and that I can find more 5 star reads! I hope you enjoyed this book and look forward to more to come!

Thanks for reading!

XOXO,

Chynna Williams

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Twitter - @chynnaw16