Favorite Romance Books of 2020

Hi everyone! Yesterday, I shared my favorite YA books of 2020 and now it’s time to talk about my favorite romances. I decided to have a separate list for romance because it’s my most read genre, I read 84 romance books in 2020 out of 198 books that I have read so far this year, which means about 42% of books I read were romance.

I only chose one book per author, which was really hard, and I changed the order of these books a thousand times, so just know that I recommend all of them very strongly. Without further ado, here are my top romance books of 2020 organized from my “least” favorite to my favorite:

8. Written in the Stars by Alexandria Bellefleur

This book includes both fake dating and opposites attract, which are two of my favorite tropes. The main characters are both so different, Ellie is a very messy dreamer and Darcy is very serious and organized, but each of them is great in their own way and they complement each other so well, they have so much chemistry and they are sweet together. I loved the complicated family dynamics in the book and seeing Elle stick up for herself at the end was amazing. I think the astrology aspect of this book adds a cool and unique element to the story and I really enjoyed it.

7. A Girl Like Her by Talia Hibbert

I loved the dynamic between the main characters in this book, the heroine is the grumpy one and the hero is soft and nice. They have so much chemistry and the sex scenes are really steamy. My two favorite things about this book are the hero, who is caring, patient, and understanding, he takes the time to get involved with the heroine’s interests, he cooks for her and he looks after not only the heroine but his friends as well. The other thing I really loved was seeing the character development of the heroine, seeing her confront her fears and stand up for herself at the end was wonderful. I also loved that this book is very diverse, the heroine is Black and Autistic and the representation is Own Voices for both of those things.

6. Xeni by Rebekah Weatherspoon

This book revolves around a marriage of convenience, which is a trope I really enjoy. The hero is a bisexual fat Scotsman and the heroine is a bisexual Black woman. They are both adorable. Xeni has a tendency of blurting out everything she likes about Mason when he’s around her and Mason is so understanding and caring with Xeni. Their relationship is so well developed throughout the book, they meet and there’s an instant attraction between them but it doesn’t become insta-love. They have so much chemistry and they open up to each other and are vulnerable with each other in a way that was very sweet to read about. Also, this book is really steamy.

5. You Had Me at Hola by Alexis Daria

It’s so rare for me to like both of the main characters in a book equally, but Jasmine and Ashton are both amazing. Jasmine is ambitious, kind, and charismatic, but she is afraid of being alone and she has a track record of dating men who don’t treat her well. Ashton is kind of awkward and shy and he deals with a lot of anxiety, but he’s also adorable and sweet. Their romance is fantastic because they have so much chemistry, but they also have a really strong emotional connection. I appreciated that the conflict in this story feels realistic because it is easy to understand where both characters are coming from. Also, Jasmine and Ashton’s work is a big part of the story, there’s a lot of behind the scenes from the show they are filming and it adds a cool element to the story.

4. The Trouble with Hating You by Sajni Patel

This is a hate to love, slow-burn romance with so much banter. The main character Liya doesn’t make the best first impression not to the love interest Jay and not to the reader, but after a while, it’s easy to see beyond that first impression to how amazing she is. Liya is so strong, smart, and independent, and Jay is so patient and kind. They are both Indo-American and the representation is Own Voices. I think the reason I love this book so much is that it elicits all kinds of emotions, some characters are easy to hate, there are gossiping, cruel people that are so frustrating, Jay is swoon-worthy and Liya’s past awakens so much sympathy. This book gives all the feels.

3. Headliners by Lucy Parker

This is a fantastic hate to love romance that has so many hilarious scenes. Honestly, I laughed out loud so many times while reading this. This book does an amazing job showing how the relationship between the main characters slowly evolves and changes from hate to friendship to love. Sabrina and Nick are adorable together and the best part about this book is that they both act like adults, who TALK to their significant other, don’t assume the worst, and actually trust each other. There is no miscommunication in this book and Lucy Parker steps away from the “romance formula” in the third act of the book, both of those things made this book feel very refreshing.

2. Brazen and the Beast by Sarah MacLean

I really love both of the main characters in this book, but especially Hattie. She is witty, she is charming, she is smart and her fight to be in control of her own life is so impressive and captivating. Whit is great too, he is quiet, caring and smart, and the two of them together are perfection. Their bantering and flirting are so entertaining, they have so much chemistry and Sarah MacLean does a great job of building the tension between them in a way that it’s enthralling. Also, this book is the steamiest historical romance that I have read so far.

1. Only When It’s Us by Chloe Liese

The main characters in this book have a frenemies to lovers, slow burn, angsty and emotional romance. The pranks, the bickering, the fighting, the trust, how caring they are, made their relationship fascinating. This book is so emotional since both of the main characters are dealing with difficult situations; the heroine’s mom is gravely ill and the hero is dealing with the lasting consequences of an illness that left him with a disability and that changed his life completely. Those storylines gave so much depth to the story and made this book even more captivating, they even ended up making me cry, which rarely happens. Also, I loved the secondary characters so much, especially Ryder’s family, that I read the next two books about his siblings, loved them both and this series has quickly become one of my all-time favorites.

What are your favorite romance books that you read in 2020?

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Favorite Romance Books of 2020 So Far

Hi everyone! Today I want to talk about the best romance books that I have read in 2020 so far. This list was so hard to make because I have read 40+ romance books this year and I have loved so many of them that choosing my favorites felt impossible. So much so that even when I was finishing this post, I made a last minute change! But after thinking about it a lot, here are my picks in no particular order:

Only When It’s Us by Chloe Liese

–The main characters in this book have a frenemies to lovers, slow burn, angsty and emotional romance. The pranks, the bickering, the fighting, the trust, how caring they were, made their relationship fascinating.

–The heroine is a soccer player and it was cool seeing the woman being a talented and dedicated athlete

–This book is so emotional since both of the main characters are dealing with difficult situations. The heroine’s mom is gravely ill and the hero is dealing with the lasting consequences of an illness that left him with a disability and that changed his life completely. For me, both of those storylines were handled very well and gave so much depth to the story.

–This book has amazing secondary characters and I can’t wait to read book 2, which comes out next month (August 4th, 2020)!

The Trouble with Hating you by Sajni Patel

–This is a hate to love, slow-burn romance with so much banter. The main character Liya doesn’t make the best first impression not to the love interest Jay and not to the reader, but after a while, it’s easy to see beyond that first impression to how amazing she is.

–Jay is so patient and kind and Liya is so strong, smart, and independent. They are both Indo-American.

–The female friendship in this book is incredible and Jay’s family is kind, understanding and non-judgemental.

–This book elicits all kinds of emotions, some characters are easy to hate, there are gossiping, cruel people that are so frustrating, Jay is swoon-worthy and Liya’s past awakens so much sympathy. This book gives all the feels.

–This book deals with darker topics like sexual assault, domestic violence and death of a loved one. I think it handles them really well, but it was very hard to read at some points.

Xeni by Rebekah Weatherspoon

–This is a marriage of convenience story, the main characters who don’t know each other have to get married to get the inheritance of an old lady playing matchmaker.

–The hero is a bisexual fat Scotsman and the heroine is a bisexual Black woman. They are both adorable. Xeni has a tendency of blurting out everything she likes about Mason when he’s around her and Mason does magic, cooks, plays the bagpipes and a 100 other instruments, and it’s so understanding and caring with Xeni.

–The main characters are instantly attracted to each other, they have so much chemistry and they are open with each other about what they like sex-wise. There were some very steamy scenes!

–The best part about this book is how the main characters opened up to each other and they were vulnerable with each other in a way that was very sweet to read about.

A Girl Like Her by Talia Hibbert

–This book has a black, autistic main character and the representation is #ownvoices for both of those things. Ruth is an amazing protagonist, she is geeky, loving, funny and anxious.

–The best part of this book is getting to see Ruth go through a lot of character development to learn how to confront her fears and stand up for herself.

–The hero is sweet, kind and very swoony. He cooks for the heroine all the time and takes a sincere interest in the things she cares about.

–The chemistry between the main characters is off the charts and the sex scenes in this book are so steamy. This book is very sex positive and there are discussions about  consent.

-This book deals with an abusive relationship in Ruth’s past and it addresses the guilt that a lot of abuse victims feel.

Wanna Bet? by Talia Hibbert

–This is a friends to lovers story that is very emotional and angsty. There’s forced proximity since Jasmine has to move in with Rahul for a while and that changes their relationship.

–Jasmine is a plus-sized, queer, Black woman, and Rahul is a brown man who has a Muslim father and a Hindu mother.

–Jasmine is dealing with trauma that has made her try to block off her feelings and not get attached to anyone.

–Rahul has been pinning for the heroine for years and there’s so much yearning and angst because of it. He cares deeply for her and once things start to change between them, he decides to show her that they can be good together.

–This book deals with topics that may be triggering like alcohol dependency, parental neglect, death of a parent, and severe anxiety.

What are the best romance books that you have read in 2020 so far? Have you read any of my favorites?

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Ranking all the books I read this month aka My May 2020 Wrap Up

Hi everyone! Today, I want to share my wrap up of all the things I read in May, but before that I want to encourage you to support the protests going on right now against the murder of Black people by the police, which were sparked by the murder of George Floyd. If you want to know how to help, click this link where you can find where to donate, petitions to sign, where to text or call to demand justice, and other useful information.

In terms of my wrap up, I rank all the books I read from my least favorite to my favorite book of the month. The ranking is not enterily dependent on rating, so there can be books with lower ratings that are higher on the list than books with higher ratings and that has to do with my enjoyment of the books.

Without further ado, here are the books I read in May:

*Click the book titles to go to the Goodreads page*

My Least Favorite Book of the Month

This month there wasn’t one book that I truly disliked, so for my least favorite of the month I chose a disappointing romance:

20.Meet Cute Club by Jack Harbon (3 stars):  The writing was flat, I was bored and the characters were two-dimentional. But there were some cute moments and the steamy scenes were actually really good. (My review)

The “I Mostly Liked Them, But…” Books

These are books that I had significant issues with, but they had redeeming qualities that made me mostly enjoy them:

19. Wylde by Sawyer Bennett (3,5 stars): I really liked the hero in this book but the heroine was so judgemental and “not like other girls”. (My review)

18. Guarding Temptation by Talia Hibbert (3,5 stars): Solid novella! The main couple in this was cute and there were a couple of really steamy scenes, but I didn’t care about the plot at all.

17. Hate to Want You by Alisha Rai (3,5 stars): I liked this and while I really liked the main couple, their relationship relies too much in the past. 10 years is a long time and people change and I feel like this book would have been better if it showed the characters falling in love with the people they are in the present and it didn’t rely so much in them being in love in the past.

16. Grave Peril by Jim Butcher (3,5 stars): This is my least favorite book of the series so far. It took me a long time to get into it because 1) this book starts in the middle of a “case” so I wasn’t as invested in it as I was with the cases in the other books and 2) I usually don’t like very religious characters and this book opens by introducing a new and very religious character. The second half of this book is a lot stronger than the first and I liked how it ends. 

15. The House of the Spirits by Isabel Allende (3,5 stars): I wasn’t invested in what was happening in this book and I didn’t care about the characters for most of this book. But the last 100 pages of this are brutal and brilliant, I teared up reading them, I was incredibly emotionally affected by everything that happened and I suddenly cared about all the characters and their safety. And the ending! The commentary of this book on the cyclyc nature of violence is brilliant and the depiction of the social, political and economical situation in Chile in the late 1960’s and early 1970’s is outstanding.

14. Yours in Scandal by Lauren Layne (3,6 stars): This book started really strong, the banter and chemistry between the characters was great, but the transition from the flirty relationship of the beginning to a more romantic relationship was lacking something.

The Ones I Liked

The ones I liked are books that I had really small issues with, but after I finished them I had mainly positive feelings towards them:

13. Yes, No, Maybe So by Becky Albertalli (3,7 stars): The friendship in this book is so cute and the political aspect of it is really interesting. This book feels like a conversation starter about the link between the personal and the political, how that link particulary affects minorities, and how we shouldn’t engaged politically only when it’s easy or convenient for us but, at the same time, how self-care within political activism is incredibly important.

12. Unforgettable by Melanie Harlow (3,8 stars): This book pleaseantly surprised me and it ended up being my favorite of the series. The romance is great and it has a very positive depiction of adoption. (My review)

11. The Governess Game by Tessa Dare (3,8 stars): I really liked this, the little girls are the best part of this book and the relationships that both main characters have with them are so sweet and I loved seeing how all of them learned to trust each other. My main issue with this is that it took me a while to actually believe or be invested in the romantic relationship between the main characters.

10. Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng (3,8 stars): This wasn’t an enjoyable read, but it was brilliant. My main problem with this is that I really dislike terrible parents in books and this book was asking me to look beyond them being terrible parents to understand the traumas and expectations that their childhoods had caused and understand that they couldn’t see what they were doing to their kids, and I had a hard time doing that. But I really liked how it explored the different ways in which women and people of color experience otherness

9. A Gentleman in the Street by Alisha Rai (3,9 stars): THIS IS SO STEAMY!! I loved both of the main characters, they have so much chemestry and such a captivating dynamic. Also, this is incredibly sex positive which I LOVED. The heroine is japanese and bisexual.

8. Wanna Bet? by Talia Hibbert (3,9 stars): I really liked the characters in this book and their relationship. This is so emotional and angsty and I loved it. My main complain is that the ending was a bit hasty, but overall this was really good.

The Ones I Really Liked

I consider books I really liked the ones I really enjoyed, but they are not new favorites:

7. Clap When You Land by Elizabeth Acevedo (4 stars): The writing – as always with Elizabeth Acevedo- was fantastic. I just wish that the two main characters had met sooner and that we got to see more of them intarcting and bonding. This was such an emotional read and the ending made me tear up.

6. The Trouble with Hating You by Sajni Patel (4 stars): I loved a lot of things about this book, but especially the relationship between the main characters, Jay was so patient and kind, I loved their banter and the whole hate to love, slow-burn romance worked so well with these characters and I was so invested in their relationship. (My review)

5. Beach Read by Emily Henry (4 stars): This was darker than I was expecting, but so good. Interesting character, great writing and a swoony romance. (My review)

4. Fool Moon by Jim Butcher (4 stars): I liked this one more than the first book in the series, it was quick and entertaining. The different types of werewolves in this book were fascianting and the fact that no one could be trusted kept me gripped.

3. China Rich Girlfriend by Kevin Kwan (4 stars): This is such a fun read! I was fascinated by how excessive and opulent all the descriptions of wealth are, the strongest element of this book is that sucks you in into this world of privilige that’s so far removed from normal life. I was interested in all the characters and storylines and I’m specially invested in Astrid story.

2. The Poppy War by R.F. Kuang (4 stars): This book was really dark and unexpectedly fast-paced (at least it felt that way to me). I was completely invested in the story and once I finished the book I was shocked and I truly didn’t know how to feel, I still don’t. This was really good, engaging and thought-provoking.

My Favorite Book of the Month

My favorite books of the month can have different ratings depending on how good a particular reading month was. This month one brilliant book that instantly became one of my favorite books:

1. Jade City by Fonda Lee (4,7 stars): This was so intense and I was so invested. The concept of this story is unique and captivating and I LOVED the characters so much. This book broke my heart but it was SO GOOD. It’s definitely a new favorite book for me.

 What were your favorite and least favorite books you read this month? Have you read any of the books on this wrap up? Do you agree with my opinions about them?

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Mini Reviews: 5 May 2020 Romance Releases

Hi everyone! I went ahead and read a bunch of romance books that came out this month, May 2020, and I’m reviewing them for you today. Without further ado, here are my thoughts on these 5 romance releases:

Beach Read by Emily Henry

A romance writer who no longer believes in love and a literary writer stuck in a rut engage in a summer-long challenge where they switch genres and fall in love.

It took me a little bit to get into this book, but I ended up truly enjoing it. This was a lot more emotional and darker than I was expecting, while still being a rom-com. I loved the main characters in this and I really enjoyed seeing them grow throughout the story and learn from the different ways each of them sees and understands the world. The development of their relationship was great and the tension between them kept me captivating the whole time. I’m a big fan of complicated family dynamics and I really liked the way this explored family and grief, as well as family secrets and lies. Also, the writing was amazing.

Recommended for: fans of The Hating Game! Mainly because the main characters in Beach Read really reminded me of the main characters in The Hating Game, but also because both have hate to love romances.

The Trouble with Hating You by Sajni Patel

A woman, whose traditional Indian father is trying to arrage her marriage even when she refuses, is deceived into meeting her sutor and it goes terrible wrong and then they see each other again because they both work for the same company and they start to fall for each other.

It took me a while to get into this book, at the beginning the main character Liya was so rude than I couldn’t understand why Jay liked her and I was so frustrated with her. He had his moments where he was rude too but it was after she was rude to him for no reason. The point is that the beginning was rough, but their relationship started to change, Jay was so patient and kind and I started to love their banter. The whole hate to love, slow-burn romance made sense for these characters and I got really invested in their relationship. Also, I loved Liya relationship with her friends and I loved Jay’s family and how welcoming of Liya they were.

This book gave so many emotions because I HATED some of the characters and I was so frustrated with the gossiping, cruel people in this book, but at the same time I was swooning over Jay and I felt so much sympathy for Liya and I just had all the feels, especially since this book ended up dealing with darker topics like sexual assault and domestic violence.

Recommend for: fans of The Right Swipe by Alisha Rai! If you liked The Right Swipe but you wished the heroine was a little less guarded or that she open up more throughout the book, you’ll like Liya’s journey in The Trouble with Hating You.

Unforgettable by Melanie Harlow

Two friends from high school, who have a complicated connection to each other, reunite after 18 years of ups and downs in their lives, and start falling in love.

Unforgettable is the fifth and final book of the Cloverleigh Farm and it can be read as a standalone. This book pleaseantly surprised me and it ended up being probably my favorite of the series. This is a very emotional book about reconnecting, facing past choices and letting go of guilt. I loved the relationship between the main characters and I liked the fact that while the past was discussed and it influenced the relationship, it didn’t define it, the main characters still fell in love and built their relationship in the present. Another thing I really loved about tis book was the positive representation of adoption.

Recommended for: I think fans of the Winstons Brothers Series by Penny Reid would also like the Cloverleigh Farms Series, since both series tell the love stories of a group of siblings in a small town.

Wylde by Sawyer Bennett

A playboy hocke player falls for a bookstore owner, who wants to stay away from the spotlight and doesn’t want anything to do with him, but he is up for the challenge.

Wylde is book 7 in the Arizona Vengeance Series, but it can be read as a standalone. This book was good even if it was not my favorite from the series. I loved the hero in this book, he was nice and patient and caring, unfortunately, I didn’t love the heroine, she was a very judgemental. Nonetheless, the couple was cute together even if not very memorable. One of my main problems with this is that the “she’s not like other girls” idea was present in this book and I don’t undertand why in 2020 we still have to see that in books.

Moreover, I think the conflict in this story could have been handled better, because while the female character overreacted a little and she apologized for that, the truth is that the hero did screw up (even if he had the best intentions) and he never recognizes that or apologizes for it. So I feel that while she took responsability for her mistakes, he did not. It wasn’t a super big deal, but it still bugged me.

Recommend for: I think fans of the Brooklyn Bruisers series by Sarina Bowen would also really enjoyed the Arizona Vengaence Series. Both series are about Hockey Romances and they are both really enjoyable.

Meet Cute Club by Jack Harbon

A man who runs a romance book club in a small town feels like the club is losing its steam, so when the bookshop’s new employee – who he doesn’t like – says he wants to join the club and help bring it back, he can’t refuse and then he discover that the other guy may not be as bad as he thought.

Unfortunately, I was so disappointed by this book. It took me a long time to get into this and I never actually manage to get completely into it. The writing was flat, I was bored and the characters were two-dimentional. Also, this book switched viewpoints without warning or any king of indication that it had happened, sometimes the same scene switched from one pov to another and back again, which was confusing. But I have to admit that there were some cute moments and the steamy scenes were actually really good. The gay rep in this book is #ownvoices.

Recommend for: fans of The Melody of You and Me by M. Hollis! I didn’t love Hollis’ book either, but so many of my friends loved that book and I feel like it would be the same with Meet Cute Club. It’s a matter of taste and if you don’t pay too much attention to writing style, I think you can enjoy this one!

Have you read any of the books I mentioned? Are you planning on reading them?

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