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.
Sadonna’s 2020 Favorites
Finch: A Forbidden Desires Spin-off Story – AUDIO – by Piper Scott and Virginia Kelly (Authors) & Michael Ferraiuolo (Narrator)This whole series is fantastically narrated by Michael Ferraiuolo. This is probably the funniest book in this series (and that’s saying something) with a bit less trauma and drama than some of the others. Hugh is, I believe, the most entertaining of the 8 Drake brothers we’ve met thus far 🙂 The children’s birthday party, Hugh’s interaction with Finch’s pets and many other parts of this story are just so hilarious – really just laugh out loud funny. Some bonus scenes with Alistair and Nate and their children add a whole other level of comedy gold. I loved every single part of this one.
The Hitman’s Guide to Staying Alive Despite Past Mistakes – AUDIO – (Hitman #2) by Alice Winters (Author) & Michael Ferraiuolo (Narrator)Oh. My. God. I think I loved this one even MORE than the first one. Leland is just hysterical. The way he loves to yank Jackson’s chain. The way he and Mason are unrelenting in their torture of Jackson at the office. His hilarious ribbing of Henry. It’s all over the top and hilarious. The new characters add to the story to – particularly Castle, aka Mr. Cleanyface. A fantastic, fun, action-packed escape story that I know I’ll listen to again and again.
Four Bears Construction AUDIO book series: (Caulky, Nailed, Hardwood, Screwed) by K.M. Neuhold (Author) & Tim Paige and Liam DiCosimo (Narrators)All of the books in this series are so good, I couldn’t pick just one. Each of the principals of Four Bears Construction finds their way somewhat serendipitously to love. Cole, Stone and Everett aren’t really looking for love, but it finds them anyway 🙂 Ollie has been looking for love in all the wrong places and finds himself married, again! I loved the friendships between these guys and the humor and the sweetness of these love stories. This series was one of my favorite finds of the year for both the author and the talented narrators that were new to me as well.
Oz – AUDIO (Finding Home #1) by Lily Morton (Author) & Joel Leslie (Narrator)
True to this author’s form, the opening scene has us cringing and laughing in equal measure. There are sooo many funny moments during this send-off. He is a typically snarky Lily Morton protagonist 🙂 and I loved him from the beginning. Oz is such a fabulous character in every way. He’s got moxie and he has a wide open heart. His wonderfully sharp tongue sets just the right mood for this story. He is also hilarious – another Lily Morton trademark. Joel Leslie and Lily Morton are a perfect combination 🙂 Here Joel once again gets to show off his flair for accents.
Shadow Men (Hunt&Cam4Ever #7) by Adira August
This series was my find of the year in 2019 and it continues to be a very special one with two books released in 2020. I didn’t think I could love this couple more. I was wrong. My heart was hurting so much with this book. And this one is a bit of a sad story in more ways than one. I have no idea what is ahead for Hunt and Cam, but I am waiting with bated breath to find out. I sure hope the next book is coming soon because this was a painful way to end this one. But absolutely brilliant! The dynamic between these two is like nothing else I’ve ever read and I cannot get enough.
Fake it ’til You Make Out (Love & Luck #1) by Isla Olsen
This book! Sooooooo funny! Heath is definitely one of my most favorite characters ever! He’s kinda clueless, but that’s part of his charm. He just kinda blithely goes along and he is hilarious from the get-go. Declan is such a sweet guy! His whole family is so amazing and funny and supportive. Their family group chat is the catalyst for a number of laugh out loud moments. I loved this book so much, when I finished it, I just started it over again. I’ve reread it three times already! Two of my favorite tropes – friends to lovers and fake relationship – are just so well done here. It seems this was Isla Olsen’s debut MM romance and she hit it out of the park.
The Redemption of River (Seattle Series, #4) by Eli Easton
Wow. Just wow. This is a beautiful and worthy return to this favorite series where I feel like each book is stronger than the previous one. I absolutely adored River and Brent. I loved the way River was able to help Brent heal from his grief and pain of losing his wife (and I appreciated that the author did not gloss over the hell of dying from cancer – it’s not some pretty floating off into the sunset). This author has a gorgeous way of writing both external descriptive prose as well as the internal landscape. I absolutely loved this book. It may just edge out the previous book in the series (The Mating of Michael) for my favorite.
Back in Black (McGinnis Investigations #1) by Rhys Ford
I am sooo happy Cole and Jae are back! Along for the ride are Bobby and Ichi and Rook and Dante (from Ford’s Murder and Mayhem series). There is even a shoutout to one of Ford’s other popular series 😀 Just like we’d expect for a Cole McGinnis story, we begin with a scene that just jumps off the page. For those long time fans of Rhys Ford’s Cole McGinnis series (affectionately known as the Dirty series), this will come as no surprise and is like visiting an old friend. With a death wish. Honestly, poor Cole just cannot buy a break. It’s a really fantastic book that shows the maturity and the growth of the characters into this next phase of their lives and loves, but definitely keeps the adrenaline pumping. For long time Ford fans, we would expect nothing less.
Gingerbread Mistletoe (Lighthouse Bay #2) by Amy Aislin
So I loved every single thing about this book. This was my first Christmas story read this year and Amy Aislin hit it out of the park! There are sooo many things to love. First there is Jeff and Mika. Loved that they kind of hated each other at first. Then there’s Jeff’s wooing of Mika which was PERFECT in this quaint little Maine town. I loved that it was literally NO BIG DEAL in any part of this story that Jeff was attracted to Mika, that he’s had a wife and had kids, but he really wanted Mika. The nostalgia elements around trying to recreate something from a happier time were really well done. The theme of love and loss and what it means to lose a parent and how to honor that and put it in perspective and take the lessons from that relationship forward in life were just so beautiful.
Master Wolf (Capital Wolves #2) by Joanna Chambers
Oh the feels!! This story hits them all. I absolutely adored this book. It literally has everything – heart pounding moments, beautiful tender moments, grief and despair, serenity and resolve. I couldn’t have asked for more in this conclusion. Once again, we FEEL Lindsay’s longing for Drew and his ultimate acceptance of Drew’s wishes. The author brilliantly conveys the longing, the desire, the grief, the love of all the characters in this story – from Drew and Lindsay as well as the secondary characters. Brilliantly done!
Honorable Mention:
Bloodlaced (Youkai Bloodlines Book 1) by Courtney Maguire
What a surprise this book was! It was so different to anything else I’ve read in some time. The complexity of not just the characters themselves, but of their relationship I found to be quite intriguing. The evolution of Asagi from powerless and abused slave to somewhat independent and powerful youkai and the price that is paid for that transformation is really the heart of this book. There are other more universal themes explored in this story as well. These include what does it mean to be human? Why do those who are perceived to be different tend to be feared and targets of abuse and violence? What is one willing to sacrifice to protect another? What is one willing to give up for love? How far would one go to save one person? Should one make decisions for another that will forever alter their future, particularly if that decision meets the needs of the decision maker but not necessarily the one whose future is changed? I was totally wrapped up in this story and though there is a lot of sadness, I am anxiously awaiting the next part of Asagi’s story.
Some of my favourite authors are in this list! Such great recs!
Some I’ve read and enjoyed here!
I was glad to get more from Rhys Ford and Cole McGinnis