Lifestyle

Best Books I’ve Read in 2020 (Jan-Mar)

We are turning the “page” towards the 2nd quarter of the year and I’ve read 13 books so far! Below are my recommendations for you.

When do I find the time to read?

I started reading a LOT in 2019, 32 books actually! Compared to maybe 4 in 2018. I contribute my reading success to Laura Tremaine’s first podcast episode of 10 Things To Tell you called “When Do You Read” – Listen here. She said to start by setting a timer for 20 mins every single day. Usually you’ll read more, but you get in AT LEAST 20 mins daily. I took it to heart and my love of books flourished again. I now spend way more time reading than watching TV. Books are just as entertaining!

Where do I get my books?

I genre hop – mysteries, fiction, historical, non-fiction, memoirs and a lot of romance. Kindle Unlimited has been a GREAT source of free books and if you like mystery or romance that is the best option available. My mom is a bigger reader than I am and sends me many of her books, I also buy books if needed on kindle and lastly I buy hard copies. In 2020 my goal is to get a library card! I had filled out the paperwork but now we’re in a pandemic and haven’t gone to the library yet. My complete list of 2019 books I read can be found here.

Recent Recommendations:

*The article contains affiliate links, if you buy from my recommendations there is no extra cost to you!*

Red White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston

This was the first book I read this year and still a runaway favorite. Super quick, fun story line of a rivalry between America’s First Son vs Prince of Wales who *not a spoiler alert* end up falling in love! A perfect romantic fiction book. This is similar vein to one of my favorite books of 2019, American Royals by Katharine McGee. P.s. The sequel Majesty is coming out in Sept 2020 and is already pre-ordered. Read Red White and Royal Blue if you want a fun quick book with a great story line!

Party Girl by Rachel Hollis

Party Girl is Rachel Hollis’s first fiction book (first published book at all)! Tells the story of a young girl who moves to Los Angeles and gets a job at the premiere event planning company in town. Her ups and downs with her crazy boss and a peek into the inside life of Hollywood’s elite parties. This is a semi true story, based off of her own experiences which makes it even more fun. Listen people, I’m not saving the world with my book recommendations, I err on the side of wanting to get lost in a story and this is a fun read. Party Girl is also in Kindle Unlimited for free!

The Lost Girls of Paris by Pam Jenoff

Historical Fiction is one of my favorite genres. I love reading about historical events and places but with the element of storytelling that only fiction can bring. The Lost Girls of Paris is about a secret spy group out of London stationed in occupied Europe around WWII. It weaves in and out with a story that happened right after WWII of a young woman who finds pictures of these women spies and tries to uncover who they are. This book is in the same vein as The Alice Network which was one of my favorite 2019 books. Alice Network is about females spies in WWI and weaves with a story in the aftermath of WWII.

Conviction by Denise Mina

Conviction was a Christmas gift from my sister. I love Reese Witherspoon’s book club picks and this was no different! People who love true crime podcasts will love this book, the main character (who has a secret past) is a big fan of podcasts and recognizes a man featured in a podcast. She is determined to solve his murder. Crazy antics happen along the way and you find out more about her past throughout the book as well. I was kept guessing until the end!

The Grace Year by Kim Liggett

OMG YA’LL WHERE DO AUTHORS COME UP WITH THIS IN THEIR BRAINS?! I loved this book, it’s very Hunger Games mixed with Handmaid’s Tale. It is a Young Adult book, but like, stop judging me YO. I couldn’t put it down! It’s dark, but like remember reading Hunger Games when it first came out, I do, it’s crazy. Apparently Elizabeth Banks and Universal have this to be a future movie and I am here for it. Read about it in the Amazon summary, buy yourself a copy and start reading. I loved it! The Grace Year was one of my favorites.

The Perfect Couple by Elin Hilderbrand

The Perfect Couple was my first novel by Elin Hilderbrand who often writes books about Nantucket and has a great following with over 20 published novels. I really enjoyed this mystery and was kept guessing “who did it” all way until the end. Each person in the story had some reason to be guilty and there really was no perfect couple. Great for mystery novel lovers!

That’s a semi-wrap on my recommendations so far!

I will list out all of the books I’ve read so far by category of book. Two things: NUMBER ONE I have been on an anti self-help and non-fiction kick so far this year. I self improved myself out in 2019 and said I’d only do some fun reading for a while. I’m about to get over that and start dipping my toe back into non-fiction works. NUMBER TWO, I LOVE romance novels – contemporary, historical, haven’t gotten into the sci-fi/fantasy stuff, but if it involves a young hot billionaire or a bad boy 5th Duke of Ellsworth, I’m into it. These books are very quick and easy to read – to hotter and steamier the better. This is my life, you can also choose to read whatever you want.

Welcome to my list of books (quarter one) in 2020.

Fiction Novels

Romance Novels

Author: Molly Carlson

Hi, I'm Molly! I was born and raised in Orange County, CA but after a cross country move, Savannah, GA is my home. I have an amazing group of people that I call friends spanning coast to coast. I am blessed that I work from home with my husband, I can spend all day loving on my crazy dog and always make time for happy hour!