Whilst I havenāt enjoyed holidays to all kinds of destinations, getting sweaty with other concert goers in crowded venues or whatever else I had planned for 2020, this crazy year has been a great one for reading.
Iāve already posted about the books I read in the first half of the year (you can read these posts here and here) so – without further delay – hereās what I read in the final few months of 2020.
August
The State of Grace by Rachael Lucas

Blurb
Grace has Asperger’s and her own way of looking at the world. She’s got a horse and a best friend who understand her, and that’s pretty much all she needs. But when Grace kisses Gabe and things start to change at home, the world doesn’t make much sense to her any more.
Suddenly everything threatens to fall apart, and it’s up to Grace to fix it on her own.
My Thoughts
The State of Grace is a contemporary novel about changing family dynamics, friendships and navigating the world around you.
(Read my full review of this book here).
You can buy this book on Amazon | Book Depository | AbeBooks
September
Never Say No by Elizabeth Neep

Blurb
Itās always been yes. Yes, Iāll be your friend. Yes, Iāll be your girlfriend. Yes, Iāll move in with you. Yes, yes, yes. I canāt just change my mind now. Can I?
Hailey has always been told she can have it all. And saying yes to every opportunity that comes her way seems like the obvious way to make sure she gets it.
When she finds an engagement ring hidden in her boyfriend Domās closet, she knows sheāll say yes.
Her best friend Sophie suggests they run a marathon together and although Hailey hasnāt done more than sprint for a bus in years, she says yes.
And every time her new boss, the infamous Vivian Jones, asks her to stay late (again) at her dream job, the answer is always yes.
But somewhere between saying āyesā to Vivianās latest demands and still trying to make it home on time for boxsets and burritos on the sofa with Dom, Hailey has lost sight of what she really wanted in the first place.
Far from winning at life, Hailey feels like she is fighting to juggle two very different worlds. When those worlds finally collide, could having it all actually mean losing everything?
My Thoughts
Never Say No is a contemporary novel about work-life balance, working your way to the top and wondering just how much youāve got – and are prepared – to lose.
(Read my full review of this book here).
You can buy this book on Amazon | Book Depository | AbeBooks
October
Spoiler Alert by Olivia Dade

Blurb
Marcus has a secret. While he may be the star of the biggest show on TV, heās also a prolific fan fiction writer. Through his stories, Marcus releases his frustrations with the show, but if anyone ever found out about his online persona, heād be fired. Immediately.
April has secrets of her own. A hardcore fan of Marcusās show, sheās long hidden her fanfic and cosplay hobby from her āreal lifeā ā but not anymore. When she dares to post her latest costume creation on Twitter, her plus-size take goes viral. And when Marcus asks her out to spite her critics, truth officially becomes stranger than (fan) fiction . . .
On their date, Marcus quickly realises that he wants much more from April than a one-time publicity stunt. But with so many secrets between them, can they ever stop hiding, or will a match made in fandom never make it in real life?
My Thoughts
Spoiler Alert is a contemporary romance about fandoms, falling in love and finding out there is more to people than you mightāve thought.
(Read my full review of this book here).
You can buy this book on Amazon | Book Depository | AbeBooks
Meet Me in London by Georgia Toffolo

Blurb
Aspiring clothes designer Victoria Scott spends her days working in a bar in Chelsea, and her evenings designing vintage clothes, dreaming of one day opening her own boutique. But these aspirations are under threat from the new department store opening at the end of her road. She needs a Christmas miracle, but one is not forthcoming.
Oliver Russellās Christmas is not looking very festive right now. His familyās new London department store opening is behind schedule, and on top of that his interfering, if well meaning, mother is pressing him to introduce his girlfriend to her. A girlfriend who does not exist. He needs a diversion. Something to keep his mother from interfering while he focuses on the business.
When Oliver meets Victoria, he offers a proposition: pretend to be his girlfriend at the opening of his store and he will provide an opportunity for Victoria to showcase her designs. But what starts as a business arrangement soon becomes something more tempting, as the fake relationship starts to feel very real. But when secrets in Victoriaās past are exposed will Oliver walk away, or will they both follow their hearts and find what neither knew they were looking forā¦
My Thoughts
Meet Me In London is a contemporary romance about fashion, festivities and finding love when you least expect it.
(Read my full review of this book here).
You can buy this book on Amazon | Book Depository | AbeBooks
Queenie by Candice Carty-Williams

Blurb
Queenie Jenkins is a 25-year-old Jamaican British woman living in London, straddling two cultures and slotting neatly into neither. She works at a national newspaper, where sheās constantly forced to compare herself to her white middle class peers. After a messy break up from her long-term white boyfriend, Queenie seeks comfort in all the wrong placesā¦including several hazardous men who do a good job of occupying brain space and a bad job of affirming self-worth.
As Queenie careens from one questionable decision to another, she finds herself wondering, āWhat are you doing? Why are you doing it? Who do you want to be?āāall of the questions todayās woman must face in a world trying to answer them for her.
My Thoughts
Queenie is a contemporary novel about race, sexuality and figuring yourself out.
(Read my full review of this book here).
You can buy this book on Amazon | Book Depository | AbeBooks
Love, Almost by Hayley Doyle

Blurb
Chloe and Jack are soulmates. But life has other plansā¦
Chloe is deliriously in love for the very first time. But when Jack, her boyfriend of five months, is killed in a tragic accident, she is left reeling. Their relationship was amazing ā but it never really had the chance to get started.
Grieving but determined, Chloe decides to live life for the both of them and makes her way through the list of things theyād planned to do together ā this time on her own.
My Thoughts
Love, Almost is a contemporary novel about grief, getting over a relationship that didnāt have a chance to flourish and going out there on your own.
(Read my full review of this book here).
You can buy this book on Amazon | Book Depository | AbeBooks
The Summer Job by Lizzy Dent

Blurb
Have you ever imagined running away from your life?
Well Birdy Finch didnāt just imagine it. She did it. Which mightāve been an error. And the life sheās run into? Her best friend, Heatherās.
The only problem is, she hasnāt told Heather. Actually there are a few other problemsā¦
Can Birdy carry off a summer at a luxury Scottish hotel pretending to be her best friend (who incidentally is a world-class wine expert)?
And can she stop herself from falling for the first man sheās ever actually liked (but who thinks sheās someone else)?
My Thoughts
The Summer Job is a contemporary debut novel about summer, stealing your best friendās life and summer romance.
(Read my full review of this book here).
You can buy this book on Amazon | Book Depository | Waterstones
November
The First Time We Met by Jo Lovett

Blurb
What if you met The One on his wedding day?
Izzy doesnāt believe in love at first sight, but when Sam walks into the cafe where she works one winterās morning, she knows without a doubt that heās the one. Too bad Samās getting married. Today.
Nearly a year later, Izzy still canāt stop thinking about Sam, the one that got away, but she knows itās time to move on: heās a married man and probably wouldnāt recognise her if he passed her on the street.
But Sam has never forgotten Izzy, the funny, gorgeous woman who asked him out on his wedding day. If the timing had only been better, he knows they could have had something wonderful.
When Izzy and Samās paths finally cross again, everything has changed. But with the Atlantic Ocean and decades of baggage between them, they are about to find out whether some obstacles are too big for even true love to overcome.
My Thoughts
The First Time We Met is a contemporary romance about first meeting, fate and finding love amongst lifeās obstacles.
(Read my full review of this book here).
You can buy this book on Amazon | Book Depository | AbeBooks
Thank You, Next by Sophie Ranald

Blurb
Zoe really doesnāt want to die alone and surrounded by cats. But itās not looking good: sheās had sex precisely twice in the last year, and her feline friend isnāt the kind of male company she wants in bedā¦
Her top dating disasters include:
1) The guy who kissed her hand, took out a violin and serenaded her in public.
2) The guy who force-fed her oysters (she can confirm that theyāre not an aphrodisiac).
3) The guy who was so hungover he turned up with his t-shirt on inside out, sweating sambuca.
4) The guy who brought his actual kid on a dinner date.
And donāt even get her started on the dick pics, or how on earth youāre supposed to know whether a total stranger is an axe murderer or not.
Zoeās ready to give up on the search for love, until her friend has an idea. Robbie lives by his horoscope, and heās sure sheās got this dating stuff all wrong. He dares her to work her way through the zodiac until she finds The One.
Usually Zoe would laugh at such a suggestion, but desperate times call for desperate measures. Could love be written in the stars? Or is she destined to end up alone, eating take-out in bed and watching endless re-runs of Friends?
My Thoughts
Thank You, Next is a contemporary romance about ditching the ex, dating and determination to get yourself back on track.
(Read my full review of this book here).
You can buy this book on Amazon | Book Depository | AbeBooks
The Last Goodbye by Fiona Lucas

Blurb
Spencer was the love of Annaās life: her husband, her best friend, her rock. She thought their love would last forever.
But three years ago, Spencer was tragically killed in an accident and Annaās world was shattered. How can she ever move on, when sheās lost her soulmate?
On New Yearās Eve Anna phones Spencerās number, just to hear his old voicemail greeting. But to her shock, someone answersā¦
Brody has inherited Spencerās old number, and is the first person who understands what Annaās going through. As she becomes more reliant on their calls, Anna finds herself opening up to Brody ā and slowly she rediscovers how to smile again, how to laugh, even how to hope.
But Brody hasnāt been entirely honest with Anna. Will his secret threaten everything, just as it seems she might find the courage to love again?
My Thoughts
The Last Goodbye is a contemporary novel about grief, getting to grips with loss and getting the chance – and the courage – to love again.
(Read my full review of this book here).
You can buy this book on Amazon | Book Depository | Wordery
December
Red/Black by Rachael Atherton-Charvat

Blurb
Sarah Hughes. Wife, mother, secret gambler.
Her life is one of stability and security. Settled in Cheltenham, married for over twenty years, lovely children but her inner trauma of losing a child in a car accident in which she was driving is reopened when her husband accepts a full-time posting to a military camp in Germany. Upon arriving in Germany, her underlying depression returns and she starts gambling online. The isolated posting and pressures of army life exacerbates her struggle and exposes the frailties of her marriage.
The stakes rise as her gambling escalates and she starts to realise her husband is not all she believedā¦
My Thoughts
Red/Black is a contemporary novel about struggles, rising stakes and secrets.
(Read my full review of this book here).
You can buy this book on Amazon | Book Depository | AbeBooks
Lonely Castle In The Mirror by Mizuki Tsujimura

Blurb
In a tranquil neighbourhood of Tokyo, seven teenagers wake to find the mirrors in their bedrooms are shining.
At a single touch, they are pulled from their lonely lives into to a wondrous castle filled with winding stairways, watchful portraits and twinkling chandeliers. In this new sanctuary, they are confronted with a set of clues leading to a hidden room where one of them will be granted a wish. But thereās a catch: if they donāt leave by five oāclock, they will die.
As time passes, a devastating truth emerges: only those brave enough to share their stories will be saved.
My Thoughts
Lonely Castle in the Mirror is a contemporary novel about childhood, wishes and being brave.
(Read my full review of this book here).
You can buy this book on Amazon | Book Depository | Forbidden Planet
Meant to Be by Louisa Leaman

Blurb
After a spate of terrible boyfriends, Jess is sure sheās found her perfect man in dependable ā but occasionally dull ā Tim. But when her grandmother, tasks her with retrieving a family heirloom from a local auction she finds herself face to face with a charming stranger, Guy.
Guy has already bought her grandmotherās precious necklace and whilst Jess desperately tries to buy it back from him, he somehow convinces her to go out on a date instead.
Ridiculous. But Guy has the necklace and Jessās grandmotherās health is declining rapidly. Jess has no choice but to indulge Guy and go on a date with ā if only to get the necklace back.
But when she and Guy hit it off on their date Jessās dependable happily-ever- after is thrown off trackā¦
My Thoughts
Meant to Be is a contemporary romance about family, finding out who you are and figuring out what you want.
(Read my full review of this book here).
You can buy this book on Amazon | Book Depository | WH Smith
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So thatās it for my āWhat I Read in 2020ā posts. Have you read any of these books? Alternatively, what have you read in 2020? Iām always on the hunt for recommendations so, if you have any, send them my way š.
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