2020 might not have been a great year, but it WAS a great year for reading! And since I launched my own talk show where I talk to other writers, I had a great excuse to read a LOT… so much that I had to divide my Top 10 books that came out this year into two lists: this one for fiction (okay, okay, this list has 12 books on it but I could NOT find any to cut!) and a different list for nonfiction. Even with 20 (okay 22) books on the two lists combined, I STILL didn’t get to all the great books out there this year, but I hope this list of some of my personal favorites helps you find your next escape.
It’s purposefully an eclectic list, so regardless of your reading tastes, I hope you find something on here to entice you into your next bookish adventure. Happy reading!
(If you order via the links below, this site will receive a small commission at no extra cost to you! #amazonassociate. However, if you don’t order from here and would rather purchase from your local indie, even better!)
The Night Portrait by Laura Morelli
Since I’m obviously obsessed with Leonardo da Vinci, this one is one of my absolute favorites of the year: it’s a brilliant duel-timeline novel that has four stories braided around one of my favorite Leonardo paintings, The Lady with the Ermine. (See my conversation with Laura about our mutual obsessions with art, Leonardo, Italy, etc…) This is a propulsive read that will leave you turning pages late into the night to find out what happened to that painting!
When We Were Young & Brave by Hazel Gaynor
If The Night Portrait was one of my favorites for letting me slip into a world that I already know well, THIS is one of my favorites because it took me into a world that I did not know AT ALL and brought it fully to life. Revolving around a teacher and student at a British missionary school in China interned by the Japanese Army during World War II, this story surprised and engrossed me. Yes, it made me cry, but it also inspired me to believe in the strength of the human spirit.
Conjure Women by Afia Atakora
Atakora’s debut novel centers around a healing woman and her daughter before and after the Civil War. It reminds me of the magical realism of Gloria Naylor’s Mama Day or Toni Morrison’s Beloved. It’s sweeping, complex, and heartfelt with prose is so delicious you’ll want to devour it. Plus, Atakora is brilliant, and I think we’ll ALL be reading her for years to come.
A Beautiful Crime by Christopher Bollen
A crime novel revolving around an antiques con set in modern-day Venice with gorgeous descriptions and compelling characters… what more could you want? It’s literary fiction that keeps the pages turning like a thriller. Disclaimer: I was friends with Chris in college, but I hadn’t spoken to him in something like 20 years before we both had novels come out in 2020, so I don’t think this is personal bias speaking, it’s just a really good read.
A Good Neighborhood by Therese Anne Fowler
What a year for this breathtaking read to be released. From the author of historical novels Z and A Well-Behaved Woman, A Good Neighborhood takes a surprising detour into a contemporary setting revolving around some of the most pressing questions impacting American life today about race and class. It’s provocative, heartbreaking, and forces you to come face to face with some hard truths, but it’s utterly engrossing and in the end, left me hopeful for where we might all go.
Fast Girls by Elise Hooper
Oh how I enjoyed getting to know these three historical Olympians, and I so appreciated Hooper’s insight into the drive and heart that goes into great athletics. Hooper’s The Other Alcott and Learning to See are other favorites of mine, so if you’re looking for a historical fiction author who delves into the lives of forgotten women of history, you might put her novels at the top of your TBR pile.
Borgia Confessions by Alyssa Palombo
Another one of those that hits all my personal buttons: this historical novel lets readers glimpse the world through the eyes of notoriously violent Cesare Borgia — illegitimate son of the pope and soldier-turned-cardinal — and one of his female servants. Palombo is passionate about overlooked women in history, so if you’re looking for a new favorite historical novelist, check her out.
Woman on the Edge by Samantha M. Bailey
A woman on a subway platform hands her baby to a stranger and then jumps in front of an oncoming train… THAT is how this urgent suspense novel begins, and it never slows down. A story about postpartum depression woven into an un-put-downable thriller this one will keep you guessing until the end with unexpected twists and turns. (Plus, I have proclaimed Bailey as my spirit animal, so I know I’ll be reading all of her books)
Dead West by Matt Goldman
Another disclaimer: I knew Matt when we both worked out in Hollywood, but this is certainly not a personal bias: if you’re looking for a GREAT detective series, you HAVE to try his Nils Shapiro books, including his latest Dead West. Matt is an Emmy-winning comedy writer, so you can count on these books making you laugh at the same time you’re trying to figure out whodunnit.
A Beginning at the End by Mike Chen
When Chen published his novel about life after a global pandemic in January of 2020, he could not have known that he’d be releasing that book in the middle of, well, a global pandemic. The book is weirdly prescient, but also really compelling with engaging characters and, perhaps most importantly right now, a hopeful ending. Chen is a smart, funny, quirky guy who writes sci-fi with a literary bent.
Woman in Red by Diana Giovinazzo
This debut historical novel about feminist icon Anita Garibaldi reads like an epic romance. Helping to guide her husband Giuseppe Garibaldi (Brazilian revolutionary who led the unification of Italy), Anita travels across the world to forge her own path of adventure, motherhood, and love—all set during a legendary time of Italian history. Diana is also a fierce advocate for writers and readers with her OWN talk show, Wine, Women, & Words
A Week at the Shore by Barbara Delinsky
This is the year when I found NYT bestselling novelist Barbara Delinsky. Her Week at the Shore (about three sisters dealing with family history and memories on the Rhode Island coast) came out this year, but now I have a whole trove of heartfelt stories of families and friendship to explore. Delinsky is a FORCE in beach read fiction and her ability to connect with her readers is unparalleled.
In case you missed it, my newest art historical novel, Raphael, Painter in Rome, also came out in 2020. It’s about Raphael & Michelangelo’s rivalry as they went head to head in the deadly halls of the Vatican. Booklist called it a “rich and delicious portrayal of art and its creators.”