My Top 5 Favourite Books of 2020 so far – the year of sequels and debuts!

Hello my lovely readers, so it’s July, over half way throughout the year. It certainly hasn’t been a great start to 2020 with the current situation but that hasn’t stopped me from reading. If anything it’s what I needed, books to escape into away from this reality. I’ve read some amazing books and I’m not the quickest of readers so rather than list loads, I thought I would list my top 5 from the beginning of 2020. So let’s forget the world right now and focus on my favourite books of the year so far especially during Booked-In.

Top 5 favourite books of the year so far.

It’s the year of sequels and debuts. My top 5 are a mix of both and I love it!

Venom (Isles of Storm and Sorrow #2) by Bex Hogan
Published by Orion Children's Books on April 9, 2020
Genres: Fantasy
Amazon | Book Depository | Waterstones
Goodreads

Marianne has never wanted to be a fighter, but with unrest and discord threatening the Twelve Islands, she will have to battle threats both inside and out in an attempt to attain peace for her homeland.
Marianne is now the Viper, but her hopes for peace in the Eastern Isles are being frustrated. The corrupt King remains on the throne, bandits are proving hard to stop and Marianne is not sure who among her crew she can truly trust.
For the islands to prosper, the invisible bond that once existed uniting land and sea must be reinstated. There's only one way that can happen - the return of magic. To do that Marianne must put aside all her fears: she must return to her roots, the Western Isles, and call on the power that runs in her blood.
She must become a Mage.
Only then, can she possibly command the army needed to finally take down the King.

Find my review here | The best sequel of all fantasy sequels. The one book I couldn’t wait to read from the lovely Bex Hogan and it certainly disappoint. If you want the ultimate YA pirate adventure fantasy with such vivid world building and flawless characters then look no further than the Isles of Storm and Sorrow series.

Thorn (Dauntless Path, #1) by Intisar Khanani
Published by Hot Key Books on March 24, 2020
Genres: Fantasy
Amazon | Book Depository | Waterstones
Goodreads

A princess with two futures. A destiny all her own
Between her cruel family and the contempt she faces at court, Princess Alyrra has always longed to escape the confines of her royal life. But when she’s betrothed to the powerful prince Kestrin, Alyrra embarks on a journey to his land with little hope for a better future.
When a mysterious and terrifying sorceress robs Alyrra of both her identity and her role as princess, Alyrra seizes the opportunity to start a new life for herself as a goose girl.
But Alyrra soon finds that Kestrin is not what she expected. The more Alyrra learns of this new kingdom, the pain and suffering its people endure, as well as the danger facing Kestrin from the sorceress herself, the more she knows she can’t remain the goose girl forever.
With the fate of the kingdom at stake, Alyrra is caught between two worlds and ultimately must decide who she is, and what she stands for.
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Includes The Bone Knife, a bonus short story set in the world of Thorn.

Find my review here | One of the best YA fantasy books I read this year. I had no expectations, I didn’t know the classic story of Goose Girl. I was simply awed by this book and the writing that was absolutely addictive.

Good Girl, Bad Blood (A Good Girl's Guide to Murder, #2) by Holly Jackson
on April 30, 2020
Genres: Mystery, Murder, UKYA
Amazon | Book Depository | Waterstones
Goodreads

The highly-anticipated crime-thriller sequel to the no. 1 debut of 2019, A Good Girl's Guide to Murder
Pip Fitz-Amobi is not a detective anymore.
With the help of Ravi Singh, she released a true-crime podcast about the murder case they solved together last year. The podcast has gone viral, yet Pip insists her investigating days are behind her.
But she will have to break that promise when someone she knows goes missing. Jamie Reynolds has disappeared but the police won’t do anything about it. And if they won’t look for Jamie then Pip will, uncovering more of her town’s dark secrets along the way… and this time EVERYONE is listening.
But will she find him before it’s too late?

Find my review here | Another fantastic sequel. I didn’t think this would live up to the standards of Holly’s debit A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder but this sequel I felt was even better than the first. I was so surprised and I love that!

Harrow Lake by Kat Ellis
Published by Penguin on August 25, 2020
Genres: Horror
Amazon | Book Depository | Waterstones
Goodreads

THE MUST-HAVE THRILLER OF 2020 THAT WILL KEEP YOU GRIPPED, KEEP YOU GUESSING, AND KEEP YOU UP ALL NIGHT...
'A captivating and creeping mystery full of brilliantly twisting turns and dark secrets' - Holly Jackson, bestselling author of A Good Girls' Guide to Murder
'If you like Stephen King, snap this up!' - Cass Green, Sunday Times bestselling author of In a Cottage in a Wood
'This book crawled under my skin and made itself a home there, and I can't wait for people to start reading it so that I can scream about the ending with everyone I know' - El from inkandplasma (review)
'Scream meets The Babadook in small-town USA' - Kirsty Logan, award-winning author of The Gracekeepers
Lola Nox is the daughter of a celebrated horror filmmaker - she thinks nothing can scare her. But when her father is brutally attacked in their New York apartment, she's swiftly packed off to live with a grandmother she's never met in Harrow Lake, the eerie town where her father's most iconic horror movie was shot.
The locals are weirdly obsessed with the film that put their town on the map - and there are strange disappearances, which the police seem determined to explain away.
And there's someone - or something - stalking Lola's every move.
The more she discovers about the town, the more terrifying it becomes. Because Lola's got secrets of her own. And if she can't find a way out of Harrow Lake, they might just be the death of her...

Find my review here | A book that scared me! The one that will creep you out and because of that, you will never forget the book. I was lucky enough to read it early but it’s coming out this week. So if you love horrors, being creeped out and don’t mind jittering teeth. Then you’re in for a treat.

Read with Pride (The Paper & Hearts Society, #2) by Lucy Powrie
Published by Hodder Children's Books on May 28, 2020
Genres: Contemporary, LGBTQ+
Amazon | Book Depository | Waterstones
Goodreads

The much anticipated second book in The Paper & Hearts Society series by Booktuber Lucy Powrie. Will you be the next recruit for The Paper & Hearts Society book club? For fans of Holly Smale and Super Awkward.
Olivia Santos is excited for her last year at secondary school. But when a parent complains about LGBTQ+ content in one of the books, the library implements a new policy for withdrawing books. Olivia is distraught - she's demisexual and knows how important it is for all readers to see themselves represented.
Luckily, she's the mastermind behind The Paper & Hearts Society book club, and she knows exactly what to do: start a new club, find ways of evading the system, and change the policy for good!
With two book clubs to run, exams to prepare for, and a girlfriend, just how long will it be before Olivia burns out? After all, creating a book club and trying to get the #ReadWithPride hashtag to get noticed is going to take a lot of energy.
Sometimes, when you're in too deep, it's up to your friends to look out for you ...

Find my review here | The Paper and Hearts Society is the perfect book for book lovers and book 2 was just amazing. I found myself being educated and also inspired by Lucy’s words. Her passion for change and to understand one another as to who we are. Another book that needs to be high on your TBR radar.

So those are my Top 5 reads of the year so far. I still have another half of the year to go and I can’t wait to find more books. Hopefully complete my Goodreads goal too. I would recommend these all for your TBRs if you haven’t read these yet.

So what books have you loved this year? Let me know in the comments!