Despite being the year from hell, 2020 was a good reading year for us. Especially Lark.
Here are the Best of the Best from 2020. And because we reviewed so many good books this year and got into a major argument over who was going to have their books off the list, you get 10 – count them – 10 really fucking awesome books that we read this year. (And let me tell you it was even a fight to get it down to 10.)
So here we go… our top 10!
I first read this book as part of my lockdown reading spree this year. And let me tell you, it kindled a “I must read lots of regency romance” in me. I really love that the heroine is not fresh from the schoolroom. I liked the hint of mystery running through this. And the banter is fabulous. It’s a great book that I’m happy to recommend.
If you want to see what we said, you can read our review here!
There’s hot and then there’s the boardroom. This is steamy. sensual, sexy and a whole lot of other smoldering “s” words. LOL. Frankly this is what 50 Shades of Grey wishes it could be.
If you want well-written erotic romance, then this is for you!
Look, I get it. Non-fiction can often be dry and dull. I mean, who thought that a comprehensive multi-disciplinary look back on the history of textiles could be so engaging? But it is. It really is. It also includes experts who aren’t white men and women and those who come from the countries in question. It’s inclusive and not European-centric like many history books.
It’s a really fascinating read.
Want to know why we liked it so much? Read our review here!
I didn’t know I needed a collection of Novellas featuring LBGTQIA+ gods until I read this book. But I did, oh how I did. The stories are great. The characters are great. The universe makes sense. And the sex is steamy.
I really loved this collection of novellas. I really really did.
If you want to see what we said, you can read our review here!
Sometimes I want something sweet and fluffy, and back during the early days of the pandemic, this really fit the bill. I loved the characters, the teashop, the friendships, the small town feel, the everything. In fact, I liked this so much that I’ve made the sequel my first read of 2021!
Want to know why we liked it? Read our review here!
Both of us love equal triads – absolutely adore them. And The Baroness Affair is a great example of how sexual compatibility, romantic compatibility, and true love aren’t always directly linked… but with creative thinking, you can find solutions anyway. It’s great to see a queer relationship treated both well and realistically in a historical romance. Plus, the smut was hot. And the characters are awesome.
This manga was pure nostalgia glasses for me. It perfectly captured the anime con scene of the early 2000s. Like I swear that one of the people in the book was me. LOL. The art is beautiful and the romance totally believable. If you like very fandom meta romance, this is totally for you. It’s so good!
This was flat out the hottest book I read this year, including a triad, dominance/submission, and friends-to-lovers. (And communication!) The characters, the relationship, the setting – everything about it was great, including the use of (and proper reaction to) safewords. I loved Maddie, I loved Aiden, I loved Zach, and I absolutely adored them as a triad. This is a book I intend to come back to again.
Want to know the details? Read our review here!
As an editor, my bread and butter is copy editing. Like straight up. And to do that, it’s imperative that you have a good handle on the technical side. The problem, each style guide is different. And the rules, especially for punctuation, seem arbitrary. (Ask me about the Oxford Comma some time) this book spells out How and Why to use certain punctuation marks. It goes into the history and helps you deal with the pendants.
I’ve already reread this book this year. It’s seriously a fabulous and entertaining guide.
This was our favorite nonfiction of the year – to find out why, go here!
This was a surprise find for me this year. A hero with believable PTSD. A plus-size heroine who is awesome and sexy. A cute cat. Cute kids. And lots of drama of all sorts. But also warmth and heart and comedy. This book gave me such a happy that I lobbied hard for it to be the best of this year. It’s so good. And it’s super under appreciated.
Want to know why this was our favorite? You can find out here!
So that’s our top ten!
And honestly, ten wasn’t easy – we easily could have put 15 or 20 books on this list.
Curious about our other reviews? Check out our blog, and you can see the best books posts for 2017, 2018, and 2019.
We hope 2021 is a great year of reading for everyone!
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