Welcome to the Love Bytes Reviewers’ Best of 2020 

Here at Love Bytes, we reviewed everything from contemporary romance to fantasy, paranormal, historical, adventure, mystery, comedy and everything in between in 2020. Each day for the next few weeks, we will feature one of our reviewer’s top picks from books and audio books published in 2020. With thousands of fantastic new books each year, written by hundreds of creative and talented authors, it’s so difficult to narrow our lists down. We all have many favorite authors not featured here and wish we could acknowledge them all.

Anabela M’s 2020 Favorites

This year has been stock full of amazing releases, which made it hard for me to pick just a few favorites. These titles are just some of the ones that stayed with me for a long time after reading them:

The Making of Jonty Bloom (Unfinished Business #1) by Barbara  Elsborg

From the first pages of the book Jonty stopped being just a character to me and he became a very dear friend. It was impossible not to be touched by his kindness and not be completely in awe and in love with him. His sassiness and running mouth made me laugh too many times to count, but it was his compassion and gentle soul that conquered my heart. He was giving even if few have been so in return, he was brave and challenged his fears, open hearted despite having known pain and rejection for most of his life. His romance with Devan, seeing the way they completed and made each other happy filled me with joy, and their story is one I’ll never forget.

Gay on a Train by K.C. Wells

The reason Gay on a Train is on my favorite list is because of how wonderfully sensorial K.C. Wells has written it. Lee considered himself straight, going through a gray day after another, until one train ride home his eyes met and clung to the spellbinding ones of another man. All of a sudden, Lee’s gray life turned technicolor and his numb senses sparked like bare nerve endings every time he was near Daniel. Through Lee’s perspective, the story became an amazing journey of first times, going from the first ever kiss he’d felt to his core, to the very one and only time in his life his heart had bitten crazily for another person. This book was flirty, steamy and sweet and it put a goofy smile on my face every time I thought about it.

House of Sicarii Series by Adrienne Wilder and Sharon Stogner

Sicarii was not an easy read. Marcel, one of the main characters, was cold, manipulative and he definitely liked to play psychological games. Cruel one moment and gentle the other, switching moods and demeanor at the blink of an eye…I was completely fascinated by him. I could never understand his real intentions, especially the way he acted with Ben, Jacob and Sam, the other characters. Ben and Jacob who made me cry ugly tears and then feel utter happiness, and Sam- the most endearing young man who just started to understand himself.

The book showed sides of humanity at its worst, revenge, violence, mind games, despair and hate, but Ben and Jacob’s love for each other, and Sam’s sweetness shined through the ugliness. Sicarii was gritty and had a darker edge, definitely raw, ugly and laced with a dose of intense fear, yet, at the same time, it was uniquely  beautiful. I loved the thrill and the powerful emotions it put me through.

Eating Stars by Angel Martinez

Review

The reason this story stayed in my mind even months after reading it is because of the way Angel Martinez wrote Sage and Een. From planets distant millions of miles and with completely different phisyologies, yet so wonderfully similar, so much alike in their ability to feel the whole range of emotions: despair, fear, grief, affection, hope and love. The amazing thing was that, through the characters, the author made me feel all those emotions, too, and seeing Sage and Een learn to communicate, bond and slowly grow a deep, long lasting connection was absolutely precious.

Ghoulish (The Alpha Chronicles Book 1) by Joel Abernathy

Ghoulish was morbid and creepy at times, as expected considering the flesh eating monsters that were the focus of the story. Through Colt’s experiences I was introduced to a well constructed society hidden within the human world, a society with its laws and clear hierarchy. Colt was an amazingly written  character and what I liked most about him was that he tried to cling to his humanity even when his beast side wanted to take control. He also found himself caught in plotting and scheming, in fights that put at risk not only his life, but also the lives of those he cared about. It was all thrilling. The plot was fast paced and suspenseful, with twists, turns and a vast array of secondary characters that guaranteed an exciting reading experience.

Where the Devil Says Goodnight (Folk Lore #1) by K.A. Merikan

I always count on these two authors to deliver intense reads and this one exceeded all my expectations. Where the Devil says Goodnight was magical, twisted, dark and complex. The setting was enthralling, when in a small village in the Polish mountains catholic beliefs clashed with folklore and people’s superstitions, and  Adam, the priest couldn’t fight his attraction toward Emil, the man followed by shadows. The atmosphere throughout the story was breathtaking, with a creepy, almost horror feel and I couldn’t stop reading, completely compelled by the mystery, paranormal hints and the romance. Fantastic.

Acsquidentally in Love by K.L. Hiers

This was my first book by this author and I was honestly surprised by all the fun I had reading it. The world building was fabulous, with a detailed mythological background of ancient gods, all forgotten but not extinct. Azaethoth was not what I’d expected an ancient god to be. He was a playful trickster and most of all, he enjoyed getting a rise out of Sloane. These two were a riot together, their interactions full of hilarious banter, outrageous flirting and steamy moments. Their adventures together were a captivating and fun combination of magic, mystery, romance, humor and suspense that kept me glued to the pages from beginning to end. Also, naughty tentacles! I loved it.