My Favorite Books of 2020 (so far!)

My Favorite Books of 2020 (So Far!!) This year has been a rollarcoaster and not in a good way. However, despite all the up and downs this year has presented, I have discover some AMAZING books. This year hasn't been my best reading year but I do love these books and I wanted to share this list with you all. 

1.     Silvia Moreno-Garcia's God of Jade & Shadow 

                

   I LOVE this book. The last book that had made feel such feelings was Madeline Miller's Song of Achilles. In many ways, God of Jade & Shadow is very smillar to Song of Achilles. It has great characters, beautiful writing, a love story, and an ending that makes you cry and smile at the same time. This book is a masterpiece ad honeslty deserves a high rating on goodreads (only 3.9 Stars?! Are you kidding me?) The best way to describe this books is Mexican Cinderella Goes a Hero's Journey. This book follows the tale of Casiopea Tun as she helps the Mayan God of Death reclaim his throne. Casiopea was a great protagonist who is brave, smart, and resilent but is also flawed and vulnerable at the same time. She was the type of character who wasn't afraid to cry but still stood her ground and spoke her mind. I loved her character arch throughout the book and her ending. She didn't have the typical hollywood ending. She didn't end up with the man she wanted but ended up with herself, her freedom, and a future where she gets to decides which path she gets to take. Moreno-Garcia did a amazing job writing a book and frankly, her work deserves more love and praise. PLEASE READ THIS BOOK. It's amazing I swear. 

    2.  Silvia Moreno Garcia's Mexican Gothic 

  

This is Moreno-Garcia's latest release and it is another masterpiece! This book truly lives up to its name. Mexican Gothic tells the tale of Noemi Taboada as she visit the High Place, her cousin's new and haunted home full of dark secrets and stange happenings. This book, to say the least, is amazing and extremely well written. The characters are complex, the plot keeps you on its toes, and it is scarier than a actual haunted house. I do not recommend reading this book at night. This book not only embraces it gothic themes but also explores/discusses themes on race, imperialism, colonialism, but also misogny of women. It is incredibly hard to write a book as complex and exciting as this. However, Moreno-Garcia does this ease. If you enjoyed Jordan Peele's Get Out, then you should really check out this book. 

    3.   Ashley Jade's Ruthless Knight

        This book is not as sophisticated as the last 2 books on my list, I admit. However, if you like enemies-to-lover stories, you are going to like this book. This books is dramatic (also a little problematic) but ultimately romantic books. I admit that I don't love everything in this book. This book has a lot of the same tropes that Sarah J. Maas like to incorporate into her books such as the over protecting male who walks the fine line between lover and predator. However, compared to the book's predecessor, it is significantly better. The romance is sweet and the two main character, Cole & Sawyer, have great chemistry. But what made this book truly stand out was its dipiction and discussion on eating disorders and body positivity. The lead female Sawyer is overweight and struggles with an eating disorder throughout the book. This dipiction is not perfect but in the end I loved Sawyer's choice to walk away from a toxic environment and throughs a healthier path to acceptance. 

4. Taylor Jenkins Reid's Evidence of the Affair 

    Taylor Jenkins Reid, can you write a bad book? This short story is amazing! Despite being only 115 pages long, this book follows the story of Carrie and David as they discover their spouses are in engaged in a affair. This story explores themes on marriage, love, fertility, income disparity, forgiveness, and independence. I love how despite the length of the book, this story is still able to explore so much in so little time. Admittedly, it's does not compare to Jenkins Reid's other work but this book is extremely well written and displays Jenkins Reid's power as a writer to write a story as capitivating and engrossing as this one. 

5. Cassandra Clare's Chain of Gold 

 Are we even surprise that Chain of Gold is on this list? As we all know by now, Cassandra Clare is the Queen of Urban Fantasy and Chain of Gold just proves that again. Admittedly, I did not find this 1st book as strong as Lady Midnight was. However, Chain of Gold is still an amazing book. The book is dramatic, funny, sad, and that's just the Herondales. Cordelia Carstairs shines in this book and I am so excited to read more of her story. Every character in this book is both complex and diverse. They each have their own story and the dynamic between these characters are addicting to read. I love how with every book Cassie is explore different issues regarding race, sexuality, and society. I have no doubt that the Last Hours Series will be as big as a rollercoaster as the Dark Artifices was. And I cannot wait for it. Also, is that a hate-to-love rommance I smell brewing between Alastair and Thomas? (;