At the beginning of this year, I promised myself I would fall back in love with an old flame — reading. Little did I know on Jan. 1 that this would be the PERFECT year to become a bookworm again.
Since ringing in new year, I've read (at the time of this blog post) 19 books! And almost all of them have been incredible. We're only halfway through the year and I've already fallen back in love with books — so much so that I bought a Kindle last month!
Now that I'm the kind of person who wakes up early and goes to bed late to read, I thought I would start sharing my favorite (and maybe even some of my not-so-favorite) novels! Every time I finish a book, I give it a rating out of 5 — 1 being TERRIBLE; 5 being FANTASTIC. The lowest rating I've given a book, so far, is a 2.
For my first book blog, I'm sharing my top five books of the first half of 2020 — all of the books I've rated five ⭐'s since January:
This isn't just my top book of 2020 — this is my top book OF ALL TIME. This is seriously, hands down, the best book I have ever had the pleasure of reading. Although it's over 500 pages, I finished it in three days.
Set in France during World War II, The Nightingale is a truly riveting, inspiring, astounding novel that looked at a population of the war that is often overlooked — women. This book follows the lives of two sisters who differ in experiences and ideals but are united by the same characteristics brought out by the war — survival, love, strength and resilience.
With scenes so vivid that you feel as though you are in occupied-France witnessing such tragedy alongside the characters, The Nightingale left me with a racing heart, tear-streaked cheeks, stomach pangs and a new-found respect for the women's war. If you read nothing else this year, read this.
This is one of those can't-stop, won't-stop reading books. If I could've, I would've finished this cover-to-cover in one sitting (stupid sleep!).
Verity isn't your typical thriller, love story or suspense novel. It's a mix of all in one. One review on Amazon sums it up pretty perfectly:
"Warning: Verity is not going to melt your heart. It's going to fry your soul." -Kindle Crack Book reviews
The twists and turns in this book are unlike any other I have ever read. When starving writer Lowen is asked by Jeremy Crawford, husband of famous writer Verity Crawford, to finish the book series his now permanently injured wife can no longer complete, she has to jump at the opportunity... and the paycheck. When Lowen arrives at the writer's home for what she intended to be a short trip to go through the notes in Verity's office, she finds a haunting manuscript that no one was supposed to find.
The ending will leave your mind frantic. Buy this book ASAP and tell me your theory on the ending...
Just as it says on the cover, this is an epic (yet devastating) love story. The Light We Lost pulled my emotions in every direction and left me sobbing throughout the entire last chapter.
Lucy and Gabe first met during their senior year at Columbia University... and on Sept. 11, 2001. From campus, they saw the world as they knew it crumble, falling with the Twin Towers. They decide on that day that, if they live to see tomorrow, they will live a life of meaning.
When they meet again a year later, they find meaning and inspiration in each other. But when Gabe leaves for a job oversees and Lucy stays in New York to pursue her career, they launch onto a new trajectory — 13 years of wondering what could have been and what should have been.
Beautiful and heartbreaking all in the same swoop.
When this book was chosen as for The Readheads podcast (shoutout to my fellow readheads!), I was SO excited. I love a good love story, and Before We Were Strangers did not disappoint. I was sucked in from begin to end and stuck thinking about this book and the couple it follows for WEEKS.
Fifteen years after their whirlwind, all encompassing romance at New York University, Matt and Grace see each other as the subway doors are closing — one in the car, one on the platform. After reconnecting through a Craigslist "missed connection" post, they get another chance at love in the city where it all started.
I. could. not. put. this. book. down. Reneé Carlino writes in a way that makes you feel all the of the characters' feelings — the love, the lust, the anger, the confusion, the longing, the relief.
ANOTHER Colleen Hoover book in my top five! This author, you guys... she is magic.
This was the first book I read when I got my Kindle! I don't know if it was the excitement of having a Kindle or how spectacular this book was, but I literally finished Regretting You in five hours. I can't say I've ever read a book quite like it. This had everything you need in a good book — tragedy, loss, love, family, problems that need to be solved.
Morgan and her sixteen-year-old daughter, Clara, butt heads. A lot. Morgan is predictable; Clara is spontaneous. One person keeps the family out of war — Chris, Morgan's husband and Clara's father. But the peace comes crumbling down when Chris dies in a tragic (and confusing) car accident. Morgan leans on an unexpected crutch, Clara falls for a boy her father despised, and secrets that Chris couldn't take to the grave wreak havoc on those he left behind.
Pick it up and don't put it down.
What books have you read this year? Tell me in the comments!