Monthly Posts · Top Five Tuesday

Top Five Tuesday | Best Reads of 2020 (So Far)

This post has been a long time coming, initially planning on writing it in August, but felt that as I was nearly at the end of my Goodreads Reading Challenge, it would be more fitting to do it now. With only three books left to read to meet my goal of 65 books this year, now would be the perfect time to write it.
Now, I’ve done a lot of rereading this year, so I’m only going to be including books that I’ve read for the first time this year and leave the others for another post.

Wilder Girls | Rory Power

Genre: Young Adult, Horror, LGBT, Mystery, Fiction
Contains: Strong Language, Death, Murder, Suicide, Violence, Blood/Gore, Self Injury

‘Wilder Girls’ tells the story of the Raxter School for Girls eighteen months after it was put under quarantine due to the Tox. I’d heard so much about this book across social media and I was so excited to delve into it via audiobook. Needless to say, it was a wild ride. It was an overall terrifying read, but everything from the queer representation, to the rich description was executed perfectly. I can’t recommend this book enough.


City of Heavenly Fire | Cassandra Clare

Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Paranormal, Romance, Urban Fantasy, Vampires, Angels, Fiction, Supernatural, Magic
Contains: Death, Violence, Anger, Sexual Content, Strong Language, Blood/Gore, Imprisonment, Grief, Torture, Arson

‘City of Heavenly Fire’ is the epic conclusion to The Mortal Instruments series, following Clary Fray and Co. as they track down Sebastian Morgenstern. Honestly, I knew the moment I picked up this book that i was going to love it, having loved every novel in the series prior to this instalment. The development of the characters left me in awe, witnessing them mature with every page and I loved how attached I became to them all. It was a beautiful novel, and just the ending that I needed for these characters.


These Witches Don’t Burn | Isabel Sterling

Genre: Fantasy, Young Adult, LGBT, Paranormal, Witches
Contains: Strong Language, Arson, Death, Murder, Violence, Blood/Gore, Anger, Animal Cruelty

‘These Witches Don’t Burn’ follows Hannah, an Elemental Witch from Salem, who lives in secret of her powers. When evidence of dark magic begins to appear, Hannah is sure it’s a Blood Witch and that only amplifies when attacks become deadlier. I absolutely adored the concept of this novel from the moment I knew of its existence, and that only grew after reading. Hannah’s a brilliant protagonist, and there are no other characters who are unlikable. Everyone is beautiful in their own ways, and I cannot recommend this story enough.


A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder | Holly Jackson

Genre: Mystery, Thriller, Contemporary, Fiction, Young Adult
Contains: Strong Language, Violence, Murder, Death, Drugs, Alcohol, Rape, Sexual Assult, Blood/Gore

‘A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder’ tells the story of a five-year-old case, where a schoolgirl named Andie Bell was murdered by Sal Singh. Now, Pippa Fitz-Amobi isn’t so sure that Sal was the culprit and chooses to investigate. This book was definitely worth the extra purchase, being absorbed by the mystery from the first page. It was an absolutely fascinating read, with lovable characters and an interesting concept; you just can’t go wrong with this novel.


Break Your Glass Slippers | Amanda Lovelace

Genre: Poetry, Feminism, Nonfiction, Adult, Retellings, Contemporary, Mental Health, Fantasy, Fairy Tales, Self Help, Romance
Contains: Strong Language, Child Abuse, Abuse, Toxic Friendships, Toxic Romantic Relationships, Sexual Harassment, Eating Disorders, Fatphobia, Suicide, Mental Health, Mental Illness, Trauma

‘Break Your Glass Slippers’ is the first instalment of the new companion series to Women Are Some Kind of Magic; ‘You Are Your Own Fairy Tale’. Amanda Lovelace’s work is no stranger to this blog, being mentioned and hyped up repeatedly. Lovelace is a huge inspiration of mine, I always look forward to her poetry and this instalment was no exception. The collection retells Cinderella in a beautiful way, with empowering words and gorgeous writing techniques. It touched me on an emotional level, and never fails to conjure inner strength within me.


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