2020 releases to still get to | books i still want to read
Hello friends! 2020 was probably the first year in a while where I was actively tracking new releases on a monthly basis so it's interesting going back now in December and seeing which titles I've read and which ones are still on my tbr. I've compiled a list of my top priorities for next year so hopefully, this post will also keep me accountable to read them all.
(all covers are linked to Goodreads for synopsis / more information)
soulswift by megan bannen
Megan Bannen's The Bird and the Blade is one of my favorite YA retellings and probably one of the few books where I still have a vivid memory of the reading experience (i.e. crying in a corner of Barnes and Nobles.) Soulswift follows a girl who was prepped her entire life to be a goddess vessel only to be turned away. It's supposed to include some discussions on faith which from a fantasy lens is always interesting.
forest of souls by lori m lee
First of all, this is one of my favorite covers of the year. I've been staring at the audiobook on my hoopla for months now and definitely need to jump into this soon. The main character finds out that she's a shaman when she accidentally raises her best friend from the dead and must travel to meet the Spider King. I'm all about accidental resurrections as with my love for The Bone Witch, so I'm excited to see how this new fantasy series unfolds.
the silence of bones by june hur
I'm low-key mad at myself for not reading this yet because it sounds amazing. It is police mystery set in Joseon Korean with everyone claiming it feels like a k-drama. To be real though, I'm not the biggest historical drama person and I think that's why I keep putting it off but that just stems from my mom watching historical c-dramas all day. I've heard so many amazing things about the atmosphere and writing so I'm hoping to get to this soon with the colder weather.
beyond the ruby veil by mara fitzgerald
This cover is also just absolutely gorgeous! I didn't hear a ton about this book pre-release but recently so many people have been talking about it on my Twitter feed. I think I saw Kate from Your Tita Kate mention how much she loves the MC so that immediately bumped this book up my tbr.
we are not free by traci chee
Ever since I read my friend Claire's (@clairefy) review of this book, it's been on my radar. I read a lot of stories from the WWII period but it's always been from a (sometimes romanticized) white-washed lens. The Japanese internment camps are one of the biggest racial crimes against Asian Americans in US history and a topic I researched a lot in high school (it's also the only time Asian Americans were really referenced in my high school history curriculum). I heard that the author creates incredibly dynamic characters and I just can't wait to read about their experiences.
the ever cruel kingdom by rin chupeco
I want to hide in shame for not reading this book yet since I adore Rin Chupeco. On the good side, I finally managed to get my hands on a copy so I'm hoping to do a reread of The Never Tilting World and jump straight into the sequel. Definitely pick this up and support Rin because 2020 has made it difficult to promote this amazing story - which by the way features goddess twins, an A+ sapphic romance, and is pitched as Frozen meets Mad Max.
parachutes by kelly yang
This is the only contemporary on the list and I was actually so close to reading it in November but ended up not getting it just because of time. The Chinese community in my town has "fostered" some exchange students before and while I don't think it has been to the same level of extravagance as the story pitches, I'm still really curious to see how this topic is explored through YA.
the invisible life of addie larue by ve schwab
Lastly, I have The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue. Probably one of my most anticipated releases of 2020 but also one of my biggest disappointments when I heard from BIPOC reviewers of how white-washed the story was. I do already own a copy of the book so I will still read it eventually but I also want to keep myself accountable and acknowledge the lack of representation beyond the beautiful writing.
I'm honestly so excited to read these titles especially after writing up this post. If you've read any of them, please let me know what you thought!
What 2020 title do you still have on your TBR?
4 Comments
Good luck with these reads Riv! I read The Silence of Bones and We Are Not Free this year, and enjoyed both (although I have to admit I didn't enjoy The Silence of Bones as much as I thought I would). I would also love to get to Addie LaRue before the end of 2020, but that'll depend on if I can get it from my library-- there must be at least three weeks' worth of holds on that one because it's so popular haha.
ReplyDeleteclaire @ clairefy
also thank you for the shout out!! :)))
DeleteThank you Claire! Yeah the wait list is crazy for this book so I ended up caving and buying it off a UK book site. Now it's just sitting on my shelves cause the more I hear about this book the more intimidated I am 😂
DeleteI haven't heard a lot of buzz for Soulswift, but every reviews I've read always loved the book. It certainly intrigues me!
ReplyDeleteTasya // The Literary Huntress