My 21 Most Anticipated 2020 Releases (so far)

Here are the books I am most excited for this year. I say ‘so far’ because as things are announced I may add to this list later on! There are 21 books on this list and 15 honorable mentions. I’m going to post the books in publication order instead of my personal excitement level… It’s simply too hard to rate them that way. Enjoy!

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➼ I read and rated both volumes 1 & 2 five stars last year and have been waiting very impatiently for this 3rd volume to release. Luckily, it release in just days.. maybe even before this post goes up! If you love cinnamon roll, queer contemporary then this is the graphic novel for you!

Synopsis: (beware of minor spoilers for the first two installments and possibly for Solitaire as well!)

In this volume we’ll see the Heartstopper gang go on a school trip to Paris! Not only are Nick and Charlie navigating a new city, but also telling more people about their relationship AND learning more about the challenges each other are facing in private…

Meanwhile Tao and Elle will face their feelings for each other, Tara and Darcy share more about their relationship origin story, and the teachers supervising the trip seem… rather close…?

➼ Rin Chupeco puts out books at the speed of light, which is great for us. Everything she writes really calls to me as if it’s written for me alone. This book is no different. Wicked As You Wish is a fairytale, alternative history story. It seems like a mish-mash of many different fantastical elements and I’m here for it! If you’re looking for fantasy with the found-family trope, look no further. This is also own-voices for Filipino representation.

Synopsis:

Tala Warnock has little use for magic – as a descendant of Maria Makiling, the legendary Filipina heroine, she negates spells, often by accident. But her family’s old ties to the country of Avalon (frozen, bespelled, and unreachable for almost 12 years) soon finds them guarding its last prince from those who would use his kingdom’s magic for insidious ends. 

And with the rise of dangerous spelltech in the Royal States of America; the appearance of the firebird, Avalon’s deadliest weapon, at her doorstep; and the re-emergence of the Snow Queen, powerful but long thought dead, who wants nothing more than to take the firebird’s magic for her own – Tala’s life is about to get even more complicated….

➼ Listen, I’ve been dying to get my hands on this freaking book. I am so hyped to see what Maas does with adult urban fantasy. I bet it’s fantastic. And I need it. ASAP.

Synopsis:

Bryce Quinlan had the perfect life—working hard all day and partying all night—until a demon murdered her closest friends, leaving her bereft, wounded, and alone. When the accused is behind bars but the crimes start up again, Bryce finds herself at the heart of the investigation. She’ll do whatever it takes to avenge their deaths.

Hunt Athalar is a notorious Fallen angel, now enslaved to the Archangels he once attempted to overthrow. His brutal skills and incredible strength have been set to one purpose—to assassinate his boss’s enemies, no questions asked. But with a demon wreaking havoc in the city, he’s offered an irresistible deal: help Bryce find the murderer, and his freedom will be within reach.

As Bryce and Hunt dig deep into Crescent City’s underbelly, they discover a dark power that threatens everything and everyone they hold dear, and they find, in each other, a blazing passion—one that could set them both free, if they’d only let it.

With unforgettable characters, sizzling romance, and page-turning suspense, this richly inventive new fantasy series by #1 New York Times bestselling author Sarah J. Maas delves into the heartache of loss, the price of freedom—and the power of love.

➼ I’ve been Shadowhunter trash since the beginning of time and I always will be trash for these books. I have absolutely zero shame about it. I think it’s funny how every popular YA series of all time eventually grows a mass of people that ‘hate’ them. Like it’s totally uncool to like that super popular series so I’ll just jump on the hate bandwagon instead. oi vey. These books are good and this one will be no different. Early buzz on this new series starter is very positive and I simply cannot wait for it! This series follows the children from the main characters of the Infernal Devices series. It will feature a Persian MC name Cordelia as well. This series is for anyone who loves historical fiction/fantasy and looking for themes of family, friendship, and love.

Synopsis: (beware of spoilers for the Infernal Devices trilogy and possibly other books in the Shadowhunter books as well!)

Chain of Gold is the first novel in a new trilogy that stars the Shadowhunters of Edwardian London.

Welcome to Edwardian London, a time of electric lights and long shadows, the celebration of artistic beauty and the wild pursuit of pleasure, with demons waiting in the dark. For years there has been peace in the Shadowhunter world. James and Lucie Herondale, children of the famous Will and Tessa, have grown up in an idyll with their loving friends and family, listening to stories of good defeating evil and love conquering all. But everything changes when the Blackthorn and Carstairs families come to London…and so does a remorseless and inescapable plague.

James Herondale longs for a great love, and thinks he has found it in the beautiful, mysterious Grace Blackthorn. Cordelia Carstairs is desperate to become a hero, save her family from ruin, and keep her secret love for James hidden. When disaster strikes the Shadowhunters, James, Cordelia and their friends are plunged into a wild adventure which will reveal dark and incredible powers, and the true cruel price of being a hero…and falling in love. (less)

➼ My Dark Vanessa is a book I’ve seen making the rounds in the book community. I was intrigued by the dark atmosphere of it’s cover and decided to check it out. This book ended up being about a bit of a taboo subject; a student having an inappropriate relationship with her teacher. This is not the only reason I’m excited to read this, though. The synopsis really drew me in and convinced me this is an author to watch out for. I guess we’ll see if that turns out to be true. I think this is going to be a great book and I can’t wait to get my hands on it!

Synopsis:

Exploring the psychological dynamics of the relationship between a precocious yet naïve teenage girl and her magnetic and manipulative teacher, a brilliant, all-consuming read that marks the explosive debut of an extraordinary new writer.

2000. Bright, ambitious, and yearning for adulthood, fifteen-year-old Vanessa Wye becomes entangled in an affair with Jacob Strane, her magnetic and guileful forty-two-year-old English teacher. 

2017. Amid the rising wave of allegations against powerful men, a reckoning is coming due. Strane has been accused of sexual abuse by a former student, who reaches out to Vanessa, and now Vanessa suddenly finds herself facing an impossible choice: remain silent, firm in the belief that her teenage self willingly engaged in this relationship, or redefine herself and the events of her past. But how can Vanessa reject her first love, the man who fundamentally transformed her and has been a persistent presence in her life? Is it possible that the man she loved as a teenager—and who professed to worship only her—may be far different from what she has always believed?

Alternating between Vanessa’s present and her past, My Dark Vanessa juxtaposes memory and trauma with the breathless excitement of a teenage girl discovering the power her own body can wield. Thought-provoking and impossible to put down, this is a masterful portrayal of troubled adolescence and its repercussions that raises vital questions about agency, consent, complicity, and victimhood. Written with the haunting intimacy of The Girls and the creeping intensity of Room, My Dark Vanessais an era-defining novel that brilliantly captures and reflects the shifting cultural mores transforming our relationships and society itself. 

➼ I’ll be honest and say that I am not that familiar with Mandel. I know she wrote the very popular and award-winning Station Eleven, which I haven’t read yet. But her books are so strange and unusual and that’s something I find I’m really drawn to. The Glass Hotel differs from Station Eleven in that it is categorized as literary fiction. I’m definitely intrigued. I’ve read that even though this book is nothing like her most-loved prior book that if you enjoy Mandel’s writing style then you will most likely love this book as well. I’m excited for it!

Synopsis:

From the award-winning author of Station Eleven, a captivating novel of money, beauty, white-collar crime, ghosts, and moral compromise in which a woman disappears from a container ship off the coast of Mauritania and a massive Ponzi scheme implodes in New York, dragging countless fortunes with it.

Vincent is a bartender at the Hotel Caiette, a five-star glass and cedar palace on an island in British Columbia. Jonathan Alkaitis works in finance and owns the hotel. When he passes Vincent his card with a tip, it’s the beginning of their life together. That same day, Vincent’s half-brother, Paul, scrawls a note on the windowed wall of the hotel: “Why don’t you swallow broken glass.” Leon Prevant, a shipping executive for a company called Neptune-Avramidis, sees the note from the hotel bar and is shaken to his core. Thirteen years later Vincent mysteriously disappears from the deck of a Neptune-Avramidis ship. Weaving together the lives of these characters, The Glass Hotel moves between the ship, the skyscrapers of Manhattan, and the wilderness of northern Vancouver Island, painting a breathtaking picture of greed and guilt, fantasy and delusion, art and the ghosts of our pasts. 

➼ I read an ARC of the first book in this series, Foundryside, last year and was blown away by it! I was instantly in love and waiting for the sequel and it’s finally coming this year! This is fantasy unlike anything else I’ve ever read, where inanimate objects have awareness and can be misdirected in order to think they are something else and in turn act like something else. It sounds strange but it’s SO good. If you’re looking for more unique adult fantasy in your life please consider picking up this series!

Synopsis: (Beware of spoilers for the first book in the series!)

The upstart firm Foundryside is struggling to make it. Orso Igancio and his star employee, former thief Sancia Grado, are accomplishing brilliant things with scriving, the magical art of encoding sentience into everyday objects, but it’s not enough. The massive merchant houses of Tevanne won’t tolerate competition, and they’re willing to do anything to crush Foundryside.

But even the merchant houses of Tevanne might have met their match. An immensely powerful and deadly entity has been resurrected in the shadows of Tevanne, one that’s not interested in wealth or trade routes: a hierophant, one of the ancient practitioners of scriving. And he has a great fascination for Foundryside, and its employees – especially Sancia. 

Now Sancia and the rest of Foundryside must race to combat this new menace, which means understanding the origins of scriving itself – before the hierophant burns Tevanne to the ground.

➼ This is the third installment in the amazing The Black Witch Chronicles. Laurie Forest is such an underrated author. This series is simply brilliant. She manages to weave modern (and historical) issues of race and acceptance into this beautiful high fantasy series that features several different races of beings. It is so well done! The Black Witch created some heated controversy over the books subject matter and I landed 1,000 percent on the side of the author, as did so many fans of these books. If you love high fantasy with fantastical beings, the chosen one trope, friend groups, or enemies-to-lovers, then you will adore this series!

Synopsis: (beware of spoilers for the first 2 books!)

Elloren Gardner hides the most powerful secret in all of Erthia – she is the Black Witch of Prophecy, and destined to triumph…or be used as the ultimate weapon of destruction. 
Separated from everyone she loves, isolated and hunted, Elloren must turn to the last person she can trust, her fastmate, Commander Lukas Grey. With the Mage forces of Gardneria poised to conquer all of Erthia, Elloren has no choice but to ally with Lukas and combine their power to keep herself out of the hands of the Gardnerian leader Marcus Vogel…the holder of the all-consuming Shadow Wand.
With just weeks to train to become a warrior, and no control over her magic, Elloren finds unexpected allies among those under orders to kill her. It’s time to step up. To fight back. And to forge onward through the most devastating loss yet.

➼ Stephen King has long been an auto-buy author for me. I heard recently that there was some controversy over something King said (I have no idea what was said) and I saw many people vowing to never purchase one of his books again. If you are one of these people than I hope it doesn’t offend you to see this book on my list. I simply do not subscribe to that type of thing and will continue to buy King’s books because I find immense enjoyment in them. If you choose not to do so than I totally understand and would never judge. To each their own! If It Bleeds is an anthology, of which Stephen King is famous for. His short works are known to be some of the best out there and I can’t wait to see if these ones will hold up under that mighty praise! I’d say if you don’t enjoy horror stay away from this title!

Synopsis:

From #1 New York Times bestselling author, legendary storyteller, and master of short fiction Stephen King comes an extraordinary collection of four new and compelling novellas—Mr. Harrigan’s Phone, The Life of Chuck, Rat, and the title story If It Bleeds—each pulling you into intriguing and frightening places. 

The novella is a form King has returned to over and over again in the course of his amazing career, and many have been made into iconic films, including “The Body” (Stand By Me) and “Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption” (Shawshank Redemption). Like Four Past Midnight, Different Seasons, and most recently Full Dark, No Stars, If It Bleeds is a uniquely satisfying collection of longer short fiction by an incomparably gifted writer.

➼ For some reason I am always super drawn to Jenn Bennett’s books. They always seem so whimsical and warm so when I see a new release by her I automatically want it! If you like contemporary romance, especially YA, then this would probably be the book for you.

Synopsis:

In this coming-of-age romance perfect for fans of Jenny Han and Sarah Dessen, scandal and romance collide when an ambitious teen returns to her hometown only to have her plans interrupted after falling for the town’s “bad boy”—a.k.a. her childhood best friend.

Sometimes to find the good, you have to embrace the bad. 

Budding photographer Josie Saint-Martin has spent half her life with her single mother, moving from city to city. When they return to her historical New England hometown years later to run the family bookstore, Josie knows it’s not forever. Her dreams are on the opposite coast, and she has a plan to get there.

What she doesn’t plan for is a run-in with the town bad boy, Lucky Karras. Outsider, rebel…and her former childhood best friend. Lucky makes it clear he wants nothing to do with the newly returned Josie. But everything changes after a disastrous pool party, and a poorly executed act of revenge lands Josie in some big-time trouble—with Lucky unexpectedly taking the blame.

Determined to understand why Lucky was so quick to cover for her, Josie discovers that both of them have changed, and that the good boy she once knew now has a dark sense of humor and a smile that makes her heart race. And maybe, just maybe, he’s not quite the brooding bad boy everyone thinks he is… 

➼ I’m pretty sure this is one title that will be found on many most anticipated lists in 2020. I was just as shocked as everyone else to hear a new book was coming out in The Hunger Games series. It’s always a gamble when an author adds a book to a completed series years later but I think the fact that this is a prequel does help the odds. I’m curious to see where this book goes!

Synopsis:

Ambition will fuel him.
Competition will drive him.
But power has its price.

It is the morning of the reaping that will kick off the tenth annual Hunger Games. In the Capitol, eighteen-year-old Coriolanus Snow is preparing for his one shot at glory as a mentor in the Games. The once-mighty house of Snow has fallen on hard times, its fate hanging on the slender chance that Coriolanus will be able to outcharm, outwit, and outmaneuver his fellow students to mentor the winning tribute.

The odds are against him. He’s been given the humiliating assignment of mentoring the female tribute from District 12, the lowest of the low. Their fates are now completely intertwined — every choice Coriolanus makes could lead to favor or failure, triumph or ruin. Inside the arena, it will be a fight to the death. Outside the arena, Coriolanus starts to feel for his doomed tribute . . . and must weigh his need to follow the rules against his desire to survive no matter what it takes.

➼ I can’t even begin to contain my excitement for Harrow the Ninth. I travelled to Bookcon in NYC with the sole purpose of acquiring and ARC of book 1 in this series and succeeded. I then read and fell head over heels in love. Gideon is the love of my bookish life and I need book 2 like yesterday. also, look at the cover. It’s so grim and beautiful. Be still my heart. This book is perfect for anyone looking for unique and queer adult fantasy.

Synopsis: (Beware major spoilers for book 1 in the series!)

Harrow the Ninth, the sequel to the sensational, USA todaybest-selling novel Gideon the Ninth, turns a galaxy inside out as one necromancer struggles to survive the wreckage of herself aboard the Emperor’s haunted space station. 

She answered the Emperor’s call.

She arrived with her arts, her wits, and her only friend.

In victory, her world has turned to ash.

After rocking the cosmos with her deathly debut, Tamsyn Muir continues the story of the penumbral Ninth House in Harrow the Ninth, a mind-twisting puzzle box of mystery, murder, magic, and mayhem. Nothing is as it seems in the halls of the Emperor, and the fate of the galaxy rests on one woman’s shoulders.

Harrowhark Nonagesimus, last necromancer of the Ninth House, has been drafted by her Emperor to fight an unwinnable war. Side-by-side with a detested rival, Harrow must perfect her skills and become an angel of undeath — but her health is failing, her sword makes her nauseous, and even her mind is threatening to betray her. 

Sealed in the gothic gloom of the Emperor’s Mithraeum with three unfriendly teachers, hunted by the mad ghost of a murdered planet, Harrow must confront two unwelcome questions: is somebody trying to kill her? And if they succeeded, would the universe be better off?

THE LOCKED TOMB TRILOGY
BOOK 1: Gideon the Ninth
BOOK 2: Harrow the Ninth
BOOK 3: Alecto the Ninth

➼ I am an absolute sucker for books that even whisper at a carnival- or magical games-type theme so of course this went on my most anticipated list immediately. This book sounds properly dark and awesome and is one of the most intriguing YA debuts of the year in my humble opinion. If you like this type of book too then I’d keep a look out for this one!

Synopsis:

In a city covered in ice and ruin, a group of magicians face off in a daring game of magical feats to find the next headliner of the Conquering Circus, only to find themselves under the threat of an unseen danger striking behind the scenes.

As each act becomes more and more risky and the number of missing magicians piles up, three are forced to reckon with their secrets before the darkness comes for them next.

The Star: Kallia, a powerful showgirl out to prove she’s the best no matter the cost

The Master: Jack, the enigmatic keeper of the club, and more than one lie told

The Magician: Demarco, the brooding judge with a dark past he can no longer hide

Where Dreams Descend is the startling and romantic first book in Janella Angeles’ debut Kingdom of Cards fantasy duology where magic is both celebrated and feared, and no heart is left unscathed.

➼ This title has two things that I love: Humor, and retellings of classics. Not to mention that Cynthia Hand can write her butt off and I’ve yet to read something by her that I haven’t liked. I don’t think I’ve read anything by the other two authors but I’m up for anything. This is book 3 in The Lady Janies series these 3 co-author together but I believe this is a standalone series and each book can be read on their own. I could be wrong here but I’m pretty sure that is the case! This series would be good for anyone who loves humor in their books and also just anyone who likes YA. I’m sure these books can be enjoyed even if you haven’t, and never intend to, read their classic counterparts.

Synopsis:

Welcome ​to 1876 and a rootin’-tootin’ America bursting with gunslingers, outlaws, and garou.

JANE (a genuine hero-eene)

Calamity’s her name, and garou hunting’s her game—when she’s not starring in Wild Bill’s Traveling Show, that is. She reckons that if a girl wants to be a legend, she should just go ahead and be one.

FRANK (*wolf whistle*)
Frank “the Pistol Prince” Butler is the Wild West’s #1 bachelor. He’s also the best sharpshooter on
both sides of the Mississippi, but he’s about to meet his match. . . .

ANNIE (get your gun!)
Annie Oakley (yep, that Annie) is lookin’ for a job, not a romance, but she can’t deny there’s something about Frank she likes. Really likes. Still, she’s pretty sure that anything he can do,
she can do better.

A HAIRY SITUATION
After a garou hunt goes south and Jane finds a suspicious-like bite on her arm, she turns tail for Deadwood, where there’s been talk of a garou cure. But things ain’t always what they seem—meaning the gang better hightail it after her before they’re a day late and a Jane short.

➼ I have been a fan of Amanda Hocking since she was self publishing her books on kindle and selling them for $1.00. The First book I ever read by Amanda was Switched, the first book in the Trylle series. I absolutely fell head over heels in love with the entire series so needless to say when I saw the whole set sitting on the shelf for sale at Walmart I was overjoyed for Amanda’s deserved success. Since then 2 trilogies have been released in the Trylle world and I never thought we’d be getting more… fortunately, I was wrong! The Lost City is the first book in a new trilogy following the Omte, another species of troll. Trolls in the series are not what most people probably picture and are much like humans. Enough so that they can be hidden successfully among us. If you love light but awesome YA fantasy romance than you will love this. It will bring you back to the earlier days of fantasy!

Synopsis😦May be minor spoilers for previous books in the Trylle universe)

New York Times bestselling author Amanda Hocking returns to the magical world of the Trylle with The Lost City, the first book in the final Trylle arc.

Nestled along the bluffs of the forested coast lays the secret kingdom of the Omte—a realm filled with wonder…and as many secrets. 

Ulla Tulin was left abandoned in an isolated Kanin city as a baby, taken in by strangers and raised hidden away like many of the trolls of mixed blood. Even knowing this truth, she’s never stopped wondering about her family.

When Ulla is offered an internship working alongside the handsome Pan Soriano at the Mimirin, a prestigious institution, she jumps at the chance to use this opportunity to hopefully find her parents. All she wants is to focus on her job and the search for her parents, but all of her attempts to find them are blocked when she learns her mother may be connected to the Omte royal family.

With little progress made, Ulla and Pan soon find themselves wrapped up in helping Eliana, an amnestic girl with abilities unlike any they have ever seen before—a girl who seems to be running from something. To figure out who she is they must leave the city, and possibly, along the way, they may learn more about Ulla’s parents. 

➼ Ever since falling in love with Alice Oseman’s work in Heartstopper and Radio Silence I’ve been on the lookout for anything she writes. I was super hyped to see that she was releasing yet another title this year and immediately added it to this list. Alice’s novels usually consist of fun and easy to read contemporary that also explore much deeper topics. I’m sure this one won’t be any different. You can also expect to find queer and diverse representation in most of her work, also!

Synopsis:

The fourth novel from the phenomenally talented Alice Oseman – one of the most authentic and talked-about voices in contemporary YA.

Georgia feels loveless – in the romantic sense, anyway. She’s eighteen, never been in a relationship, or even had a crush on a single person in her whole life. She thinks she’s an anomaly, people call her weird, and she feels a little broken. But she still adores romance – weddings, fan fiction, and happily ever afters. She knows she’ll find her person one day … right?

After a disastrous summer, Georgia is now at university, hundreds of miles from home. She is more determined than ever to find love – and her annoying roommate, Rooney, is a bit of a love expert, so perhaps she can help.

But maybe Georgia just doesn’t feel that way about guys. Or girls. Or anyone at all. Maybe that’s okay. Maybe she can find happiness without falling in love. And maybe Rooney is a little more loveless than she first appears.

LOVELESS is a journey of identity, self-acceptance, and finding out how many different types of love there really are. And that no one is really loveless after all. 

➼ No, your eyes are not deceiving you! The second book in Amanda Hocking’s new trilogy is being released just one month after the first and I’m not mad about it! It’s so rare that we get the second book in a trilogy within a month of the first but it’s happening with this one and I’m anticipating it just as much as the first!

Synopsis😦Beware of spoilers for book one in this trilogy and other books in the Trylle universe.)

New York Times bestselling author Amanda Hocking returns to the magical world of the Trylle with The Morning Flower, the second book in the Omte Origins arc.

Nestled along the bluffs of the forested coast lays the secret kingdom of the Omte—a realm filled with wonder… and as many secrets. 

When Ulla Tulin took her internship at the Mimirin, the only mystery she thought she’d have to solve was that of her birth parents. After a girl named Eliana gets kidnapped while in her care, Ulla knows she has to find out the truth of who Eliana really is—and the only way to do that means traveling to the Omte capital, the place she suspects her mother is from.

Ulla didn’t expect that when she arrived she would discover the identity of a Skojare man who crossed paths with her mother—a man who could very well be her father. When the head of the Mimirin learns Ulla’s father is connected to the Älvolk, a secret society who believes they were tasked with protecting the First City and the only ones who know its location, he sends Ulla and Pan to Sweden where they find him living among the Älvolk. But all is not what it seems with the Älvolk and their urgent quest to find the Lost Bridge to the First City leaves Ulla feeling uneasy—and possibly in danger. 

➼ The Gilded Wolves got mixed reviews but I fell on the side of loving it. It was compared to Six of Crows which is what initially drew me to the book but after reading it I am not so sure I agree with that comparison. It does share a few elements; The found family trope and a heist does take place in both books. But the similarities end there. The magic system is extremely unique and very complex in The Gilded Wolves and it’s setting is much more luxurious and less street urchin. I adore Six of Crows, it’s one of my favorite books of all time.. and I also adore this series. I recommend both to anyone looking for YA Fantasy that heavily relies on found family and is also very character driven.

Synopsis😦Beware major spoilers for the first book in the series.)

They are each other’s fiercest love, greatest danger, and only hope.

Séverin and his team members might have successfully thwarted the Fallen House, but victory came at a terrible cost ― one that still haunts all of them. Desperate to make amends, Séverin pursues a dangerous lead to find a long lost artifact rumoured to grant its possessor the power of God.

Their hunt lures them far from Paris, and into icy heart of Russia where crystalline ice animals stalk forgotten mansions, broken goddesses carry deadly secrets, and a string of unsolved murders makes the crew question whether an ancient myth is a myth after all.

As hidden secrets come to the light and the ghosts of the past catch up to them, the crew will discover new dimensions of themselves. But what they find out may lead them down paths they never imagined.

A tale of love and betrayal as the crew risks their lives for one last job. 

➼ Let’s take a second to appreciate this stunningly creepy cover. I’ll admit that this is what drew my attention at first. But Katrina Leno is known for her contemporary books laced with magical realism and they’ve gotten rave reviews. That’s the second reason this book made this list. The third reason is that this book has been compared to Stephen King and Agatha Christy and put solidly in the horror genre. Enough said.

Synopsis:

From the author of You Must Not Miss comes a haunting contemporary horror novel that explores themes of mental illness, rage, and grief, twisted with spine-chilling elements of Stephen King and Agatha Christie. 


Following her father’s death, Jane North-Robinson and her mom move from sunny California to the dreary, dilapidated old house in Maine where her mother grew up. All they want is a fresh start, but behind North Manor’s doors lurks a history that leaves them feeling more alone…and more tormented.

As the cold New England autumn arrives, and Jane settles in to her new home, she finds solace in old books and memories of her dad. She steadily begins making new friends, but also faces bullying from the resident “bad seed,” struggling to tamp down her own worst nature in response. Jane’s mom also seems to be spiraling with the return of her childhood home, but she won’t reveal why. Then Jane discovers that the “storage room” her mom has kept locked isn’t for storage at all–it’s a little girl’s bedroom, left untouched for years and not quite as empty of inhabitants as it appears….

Is it grief? Mental illness? Or something more…horrid?

➼ Now here is the second volume to the most amazing and beautiful graphic novel I’ve ever laid eyes on. When I read Volume 1 of My Favorite Thing is Monsters I was completely blown away. It took me some time to get through the whole thing and it was a bit pricey (and worth every damn penny!) yet I was still aching to get my hands on the next installment. I wanted more immediately. I then learned there wasn’t even a release date for the next book. Needless to say, I am so damn happy to finally be putting this book on this list because it means I will have it in my hands before the end of the year! This is definitely for an adult audience and explores extremely heavy topics including sexuality, suicide, murder, abuse,drug use and addiction, and the list goes on. If you can handle these topics than I can’t recommend this enough!!

Synopsis😦Beware minor spoilers for the first volume.)

In the conclusion of this two-part graphic novel, set in 1960s Chicago, dark mysteries past and present abound, and 10-year-old Karen tries to solve them.

Karen attends the Yippie-organized Festival of Life in Chicago, and finds herself swept up in a police stomping. Privately, she wrestles with her sexual identity, and she continues to investigate her neighbor’s recent death. She discovers one last cassette tape, which sheds light on Anka’s heroic activities.(less)

➼ When Victoria Schwab says she’s writing a new book, that is literally all I need to hear. She can take all my money because I will buy every book she ever writes. She is a queen and writes some of the best books I have ever read. I’ll be honest, I don’t know what this is about. I don’t need to. But I’ll post it below just like all the others. 😎

Synopsis:

France, 1714: in a moment of desperation, a young woman makes a Faustian bargain to live forever―and is cursed to be forgotten by everyone she meets.

Thus begins the extraordinary life of Addie LaRue, and a dazzling adventure that will play out across centuries and continents, across history and art, as a young woman learns how far she will go to leave her mark on the world.

But everything changes when, after nearly 300 years, Addie stumbles across a young man in a hidden bookstore and he remembers her name

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2020 Honorable Mentions: (I’m interested and plan to add these to my collection!)

• The Shadows Between Us by Tricia Levenseller
• Docile by K.M. Szpara
• The Kingdom of Back by Marie Lu
• The Honey-Don’t List by Christina Lauren
• Ruthless Gods (Something Dark and Holy, #2) by Emily A. Duncan
• The Girl and the Stars (Book of the Ice, #1) by Mark Lawrence
• Aurora Burning (The Aurora Cycle, #2) By Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff
• TRUEL1F3 (Lifelike, #3) by Jay Kristoff
• A Beautifully Foolish Endeavor (An Absolutely Remarkable Thing, #2) by Hank Green
• Ten Arrows of Iron (The Grave of Empire, #2) by Sam Sykes
• Blood & Honey (Serpent & Dove, #2) by Shelby Mahurin
• Bridge of Souls (Cassidy Blake, #3) By Victoria Schwab
• The Tea Dragon Tapestry (Tea Dragon, #3) By Katie O’Neill
• Anxious People by Fredrik Backman
• The Winds of Winter (A Song of Ice and Fire, #6) by George R.R. Martin (This is my most anticipated book of all time.. but I’m not sure I believe we will actually see this book this year!)

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➼ Whew, that’s one heck of a list! 2020 is looking really promising for great books and this is just the tip of the iceberg! I hope you found something that sounds good here and that I could inspire you to pick something up. What is your most anticipated book of 2020? I’ll be back with more bookish content soon! 😘