2020 has been a rather sucky year for just about everyone, as far as I can tell. However, my reading in 2020 has been Ah-mazing. So far I’ve read 161 books, and hope to knock out a few more before the year is up. Pretty sure my top 10 and runner-up 10 won’t change, though, so here we go. These are the books that stood out to me as most original, imaginative, magical, inclusive, and progressive. The ones that have stuck with me and that I still find myself thinking about in moments of downtime. The ones I absolutely, wholeheartedly, unreservedly recommend to everyone who enjoys fantasy (and even those who don’t). The ones I will be anxiously awaiting sequels, follow-ups, and future works by the authors, as well as diving into their backlists.
My Top Ten Reads in 2020 (in no particular order):
- Piranesi, by Susanna Clark
- The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune
- Driftwood by Marie Brennan
- The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern
- Nevermoor by Jessica Townsend (includes Wundersmith and Hollowpox)
- The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison
- The Unspoken Name by A.K. Larkwood
- The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater
- Ashlords by Scott Reintgen
- The Bone Shard Daughter by Andrea Stewart
And, because I can’t ever manage to stick to a top-whatever list:
My Runner-up 10 Reads in 2020 (in no particular order):
- Black Sun by Rebecca Roanhorse
- The Left-Handed Booksellers of London by Garth Nix
- The Bone Houses by Emily Lloyd-Jones
- There Will Come a Darkness by Katy Rose Pool (includes As the Shadow Rises)
- Wayward Son by Rainbow Rowell
- This is How You Lose the Time War by Max Gladstone and Amal El-Mohtar
- The Gilded Wolves by Roshani Chokshi (includes the Silvered Serpents)
- Where Dreams Descend by Janella Angeles
- Dangerous Remedy by Kat Dunn
- Bonds of Brass by Emily Skrutskie
I HIGHLY recommend each of these and would love to hear what you think of them!
And now… bring on 2021!
Whimsical Dragonette 