My Top Ten (and a little bit more) Books of 2020

That time of the year again....

Usually I do a Top Twenty, but I haven't found so much reading time this year.  Out of the fifty-five-ish books I have read or started to read (not all of them reviewed on this blog), I have chosen my ten favourites, which is actually twelve, because two of them have a sequel or related book that I liked just as much.  They were not necessarily published in 2020, but this is when I read them.

At the bottom are three other books that were my nearly-favourites, so it's really fifteen, I suppose!  Please note - when reviewing, I may on occasion give a book 4.5* or possibly even 5* because I feel it is worthy of that rating, even if it wasn't quite my thing; I try to always review objectively.  This list, however, is made up simply of those I loved the most.  

These are in no particular order, but they all come with my highest recommendation.  If you click the title of the book, it will take you to my full review, with Amazon and Goodreads links.

The Heretic Wind by Judith Arnopp

~ Tudor historical fiction ~

The Covenant by Thorne Moore

~ 19th/early 20th century historical fiction ~

Rum Hijack by Phil Motel

~ Contemporary Drama ~

and

Plumas de Muerte by Phil Motel

~ Memoir ~

Abandoned Pennsylvania by Janine Pendleton

~Photography, with non-fiction historical text~

Cometh The Hour by Annie Whitehead

~6th-7th Century Historical Fiction~

Fame & Fortune by Carol Hedges

~ Victorian Murder Mystery ~

The World Without Crows by Ben Lyle Bedard

~ Post-Apocalyptic ~ 

and 

The World Without Flags by Ben Lyle Bedard

~ Post-Apocalyptic ~

(I said 'no particular order', but, okay, the following are my top three 😉)

Smile of the Wolf by Tim Leach

~ 10th Century Icelandic Historical Fiction ~

The End of the Road by Anna Legat

~ Post-Apocalyptic ~

Nest of Ashes by Gemma Lawrence

~ Tudor Historical Fiction ~

*

I'd also like to give a mention for these three, that almost made the top ten:

Obsession by Robin Storey

~ Psychological thriller novella ~

Singularity Syndrome by Susan Kuchinskas

~ SciFi/Climate Change/Dystopian ~

Gorge by Katherine Carlson

~ Dark Contemporary Fiction ~

📚 Happy Reading! 📚

THE WORLD WITHOUT CROWS by Ben Lyle Bedard @BenLyleBedard

5 out of 5 stars

On Amazon UK
On Amazon.com
On Goodreads
On BookBub

How I discovered this book: I read the stand-alone sequel, The World Without Flags, in my role as a reviewer for Rosie Amber's Book Review Team, and liked it so much I bought this, the prequel, as soon as I'd read it.

In A Nutshell: Post-Apocalyptic, Pandemic/Zombies

In Ben Lyle Bedard's parallel universe, a pandemic known as the Worm swept across the country in 1989 and 90, ending civilisation as we know it.  The Worm turned people into zombies, some docile, a few 'cracked'; the dangerous sort who try to eat people.  

The main character is Eric, a fat, shy sixteen-year-old from Ohio, who, some time after the pandemic began, begins a journey to an island in Maine, about which he has idyllic childhood memories.  He is making this journey on foot, and joins up with many others along the way, most importantly a little girl called Birdie, who is the main character of the sequel.  

Through the many events of this journey, Eric changes from chubby, self-conscious boy to a lean, hard, brave and sometimes ruthless man, who will do anything to protect those he cares for.  It's extremely well-written, a real page-turner, and though I could not always like Eric (I went off him big time after one particular incident), and there were a couple of editorial slip-ups, I still loved the book.

It's a great series, and I hope there will be more.

The World Without Flags by Ben Lyle Bedard @BenLyleBedard #RBRT

5 out of 5 stars

On Amazon UK
On Amazon.com
On Goodreads
On BookBub

 

How I discovered this book: it was submitted to Rosie's Book Review Team, of which I am a member.

In A Nutshell: Post-apocalyptic, 10 years after pandemic

I have an endless hunger for post-apocalyptic and dystopian fiction, but it has to be well-written, feasible, properly researched and edited, with great characters, realistic dialogue and a plot that keeps me turning the pages.  I am delighted to say that this ticked all the boxes.  I loved it.

It's actually a Book #2, but it's completely stand-alone; I didn't know of the existence of Book #1 until I looked up the Amazon links for this review.

Birdie is around sixteen (she is not sure of her exact age), and lives in the Homestead in Maine, where she shares a house with Eric, who she thinks of as her father.  She has only vague recollections of the Worm, a disease that hit the world a decade ago, around 1990, rendering most of the population zombie-like, though only a few 'cracked' and became flesh-eaters.  She is happy enough in her world - but then a traveller appears with news of a coming war between two factions, both of whom want to rebuild the country under their command.

This news leaves the community in a state of extreme anxiety, but worse is to come.  Much, much worse...

Most of the story is about a journey that Birdie must make to ensure her own safety and that of those she loves, through land she doesn't know, where she will come up against much danger.  The hazardous journey is a post-apocalyptic standard, but it works every time if done well, and this was.  It's exciting, unpredictable, and Birdie's development, as she learns more about the world outside her safe enclosure and finds much strength within herself that she didn't know existed, is a joy to read.

If you love this genre, I recommend highly; even if you think you don't, I still recommend.  Suffice to say that I've downloaded Book #1, and started reading it as soon as I'd finished #2.  One word of warning: it's rather gruesome at times.  Don't read it while you're eating.  I say this from experience.