My Top 2020 Romance Reads

What better way to celebrate a brand new year than by showing off my favorite reads of 2020?

Now, I’ll admit that not all of these books released in 2020, but, y’all, each of these stories has truly stuck with me in one way or another. Whether it be the writing itself or the characters or the plot that left me gasping for more, these books have a permanent place in my heart.

I hope you’ll find a few of your favorites or soon-to-be favorites below!

Hugs,
Maria

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Across Eternity by Elizabeth O’Roark

This series, y’all.

If you read my Top 2019 Romance Reads post then you know that the first book, Across Time, made it to my top reads as well. There are not enough words in the English language to explain how much I adore this series.

It’s mysterious. It’s edge-of-your-seat, I-need-more action. It’s the sort of swoony that leaves your heart thudding in your chest and your hands sweaty as you clasp your kindle. It is everything that I want in a romance and if you do nothing else this year, pick this duet up and give it a read. Trust me, you won’t regret it.

Henri and Amelie’s love story will leave you desperate for more. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again—I need this series on the big screen.

(Available in Kindle Unlimited)

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In the Clear by Kathryn Nolan

After Behind the Veil (a top read for me last year!) and Under the Rose (which stole my HEART, y’all), In the Clear was my most anticipated 2020 release.

I needed Abe. I needed Sloane.

I needed their love story like I need air to breathe, and Kathryn did not disappoint. The Codex series will go down in history as one of my all-time favorite series, and this book was everything that I wanted it to be—and so much more than I could have ever envisioned.

The writing is snappy, the banter is sharp enough to draw blood. The chemistry leaps off the pages and the first sex scene between our suited up hero and his rambunctious sorta-nemesis heroine was so hot, I died. Right then and there—you’re speaking to my ghost right now, by the way.

If you love intrigue and the hottest of steamy times and beautiful writing that alternatively makes you grin and weep, grab this one. Trust me.

(Available in Kindle Unlimited)

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The Business of Blood by Kerrigan Byrne

Confession: I am obsessed with this book.

We’re talking that I read the ebook, bought the paperback, and have read it at least five times since first picking it up last winter.

Fiona is my favorite sort of heroine—feisty, intelligent, quick-witted with a soft vulnerability shown to those she cares about most. The mystery is my total catnip—Jack the Ripper has allegedly begun killing again…and he’s set his sights on earning Fiona’s favor. And the hero of our Victorian-era tale? Inspector Grayson Croft—aloof, secretive, and oh-so-gruff. I die for him.

I can’t wait for the next book in the series, and I’m sure I’ll reread this one another five times before then. #NoShame

(Not Available in Kindle Unlimited/Link to Amazon)

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Sea of Ruin by Pam Godwin

I was not prepared.

Not for this story, not for this world, not for the characters that caught me in a vice and didn’t let me go for a single moment.

Sea of Ruin is a breath of fresh air when the air itself is humid and cloying. This book seeps into your bones and dredges hope and vitality and heat through your veins. It is epic, in the most literal definition of the term.

I don’t want to give away spoilers by revealing too much about the plot and the heroes (who are effing HOT) or the heroine, Bennett Sharp, who is utterly kickass, but I will say this: if you’re on the hunt for a book that will turn your life upside down, this is the one. It haunts me still.

(Not Available in Kindle Unlimited/Link to Amazon)

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Beach Read by Emily Henry

To say I loved this book is an understatement. After hearing a lot about it, I picked it up on a whim and started it bright and early one morning—and literally did nothing else until I hit the final page.

It's the sort of romance that leaves you alternatively laughing hysterically and sighing with happiness, and the CHEMISTRY. There are under-the-table knee touches! And one of the funniest moments at a carnival! And the first KISS!!!! I’m still swooning over it, months later.

Beach Read has the perfect amount of angst that had my chest tightening, and the writing is utterly superb.

(Not Available in Kindle Unlimited/Link to Amazon)

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Kiss of Vengeance by S. Young

After spending months living and breathing Sound of Madness, I released the book into the world and fell right into a massive book funk. Nothing piqued my interest. Nothing held my attention for very long. And then I remembered that I had downloaded War of Hearts by S. Young months ago but hadn’t had the chance to read it.

By the end of Chapter One, I was hooked.

By the time evening rolled around, I had already finished and moved onto Kiss of Vengeance (book 2 in the series) and, y’all, this book. This BOOK. It’s paranormal at heart but addicting for the soul, and Fionn is the hero of my dreams. He’s gruff and alpha and dead-set in his ways—did I mention he’s a former Irish king?

Him and Rose lit up the pages and this book served me everything that I needed: a complex plot that had me on the edge of my seat, a love story that made me want to throw my kindle, and a world that I fell into and didn’t want to escape.

I finished all three books in under 48 hours. I have zero regrets and can’t wait for the last in the series to release!

(Not Available in Kindle Unlimited/Link to Amazon)

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Bringing Down the Duke by Evie Dunmore

A friend of mine subscribes to the Book of the Month and, months ago, she told me, “I just got a notice about a new book they’ll be sending out. It has your name all over it.”

And did it—OMG, did it.

I adored Bringing Down the Duke with every fiber of my being. The banter is witty and engaging, the characters are flawed but stunning in their presentation. The romance is at turns beguiling and thought-provoking, and I fell in love with Annabelle and Sebastian.

Evie Dunmore took aspects of the historical romance world that we love (the pomp and circumstance of the aristocracy) and pitted it against an edgy group of suffragist women who are determined to rise above the patriarchy. This is the sort of historical romance that we all need in our lives, and it’s once that I’ve already reread.

(Not Available in Kindle Unlimited/Link to Amazon)

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Chasing Cassandra by Lisa Kleypas

Is Lisa Kleypas my unicorn author? Yes, yes she is.

I’ve been reading her books since I was a teenager and, fifteen years later, she still manages to capture me with every single word on the page. Chasing Cassandra was no different.

This book is quintessential LK: spritely, intelligent heroine meets gruff, misunderstood hero and sparks fly.

But this book was also so much more.

Tom Severin will go down in history as one of my all-time favorite Lisa Kleypas heroes (beside Matthew Swift and Marcus, Lord Westcliff). I adored how Tom was aloof to the world but with Cassandra, he was little more than a flustered, head-over-heels man who had no idea how to grapple with his attraction for her.

I smiled, I swooned, I cried. Simply put: I loved this book.

(Not Available in Kindle Unlimited/Link to Amazon)

A Lesson in Thorns by Sierra Simone

Is it kosher if I describe a book as being an “epic mind fuck?” Because that’s where we’re going with this one.

I had no idea what to expect from A Lesson in Thorns but I loved Sierra’s New Camelot series so much that I was game for anything. Only, I didn’t prepare for anything.

This series is edgy and uncomfortable. It’s devastatingly beautiful and, at times, eerie too. The plot, the characters, the world that Sierra’s created, calls to a darkness that feels like ancient, crumbling wood beneath your fingertips. One brush and it all comes crumbling down, and that fall? Man, it’s dangerously addicting.

If you’re in the mood for a series that will steal your sleep (and possibly your sanity) this is it.

(Not Available in Kindle Unlimited/Link to Amazon)

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Without You by Marley Valentine

Did I pick this book up because of the cover? Why yes, yes I did—and then proceeded to have this book blow my ever-loving mind. Thanks for that, Marley!

I fell in love with this story, with Julian and Deacon and their journey to an HEA. It broke my heart. I cried tears, y’all. Like, the sort of tears that made Mr Luis look at me as if I was having a full-blown meltdown. The writing was beautiful, poetic; the story forbidden and enthralling.

Without You captured my heart and ravaged my soul and when I came out on the other side, I couldn’t read anything else for days. It was just that good.

(Available in Kindle Unlimited)


Did you read any of the books above? Or have any caught your fancy? Be sure to let me know below!