2020 was a good year....FOR BOOKS. There were so many wonderful releases and revisits that really helped us make it through. To be frank, there are a lot more books than 10 that really helped us, but we had to put boundaries up with ourselves! Let us know if any of the books on our list, also made it onto yours.

Oh, and if it's not still clear....this is a book review channel for MAINLY audiobooks. Yes, we do also review physical books, but audiobooks are our first loves. We didn't think it needed to be stated because...well....what does it matter in the grand scheme of things? We're all reading!

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Read More: https://audioshelf.me/episodes/10-best-books-of-2020-new-year

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Wow.....WOWWWWWWW. We are pretty sure that there is a new record for the amount of tears cried while reading a book, and we are pretty sure WE are the record holders :P.

There's no two ways about it, The Two Lives of Lydia Bird by Josie Silver is an emotional ride that you will probably cry during. "But Brad and Britney...I don't want to cry over a book, 2020 has been emotional enough" we get it, okay, and we say TOUGH. By closing yourself off to this book (and any book that makes you emotionally vulnerable), you close yourself off to a set of really wonderful characters, story, and getting in tune with yourself. Yes, there is a lot more to this book than just a contemporary, magically realistic story. There is absolutely no excuse for skipping this one.

Thank you to our Patrons! Deanna, Eddie, Ann, Shawn!

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Thank you NetGalley for supplying us with a copy of the audiobook for The Night Swim!

The Night Swim by Megan Goldin is a very, very heavy book. We feel like we would be doing a disservice if we didn't say that there are many trigger warnings for both the main story arc as well as the secondary arc. The novel does focus on a rape trial and also the rape and murder of another girl from the past. It's not a book to be entered into lightly, but it is a book that is very interesting given how the information is presented in three different ways: letters, a podcast, and third person POV.

We differ on our shelf or shove meter for this one, which we fully explore! Let us know if you listened or read to The Night Swim by Megan Goldin and what you thought about it!

Thank you to our Patrons!

Deanna

Eddie

Ann

Shawn

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The Nothing Man by Catherine Ryan Howard is a book that gave a mixed bag of feelings. We differ on our opinions of the characters as well as the pacing, but agree the narrators did an AMAZING job with this one. John Keating made us hate him so much thanks to his portray of antagonist Jim, and Alana Kerr Collins kept us interested in Eve's journey for justice. While we are unsure how this book will fair on our overall 2020 ranking, we can confidently say that this is our #1 book on the list of books that have "Man" in the title....and that's saying something!

We listened to the audiobook version of The Nothing Man via NetGalley! Thank you NetGalley and Blackstone Media for providing us with this book in exchange for an honest (but also confused) review XD.

Thank you to our Patrons! Deanna, Eddie, Ann, Shawn

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This is a wedding that no one will ever forget!

In Lucy Foley's novel, The Guest List, there are dark secrets behind every smiling and congratulatory face, and on the night of Jules wedding to Will, someone winds up MURDEREDDDDD! We listened to the audiobook of this thriller and boy was it a treat! There is a full cast of narrators for every POV we are given and all of them are excellent. You'll for sure find the one you love, find the one you hate, and find the one that you hopes face plants into a wedding cake.

While the story is fairly predictable, the journey that we are taken on is the real thrill in this novel! Let us know your thoughts on The Guest List in the comments below!

Thank you to our Patrons

Ann

Shawn

Eddie

Deanna

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Lifetime may think that it's cool, but their book to movie adaptations are out of control. We recently listened to the novel Ten by Gretchen McNeil, narrated by Tavia Gilbert. Ten is a YA thriller/horror about a group of teens that go out to a secluded island for a weekend of partying. However things quickly go off the rails when one by one the teens are savagely murdered. Lifetime has entered the chat.

In 2017 Lifetime released the movie adaptation of this novel, called Ten: Murder Island. It was basically word for word, scene for scene the same as the book. But when the acting is questionable and the pacing is smashed into an hour and a half...you run into some issues. We're talking all about those issues today in our duel review of both Ten the book and movie.

Let us know if you enjoyed either the book or movie in the comments below, and please feel free to follow along with us on our various socials!

Thank you to our patrons!

Ann

Shawn

Deanna

Eddie

This is the audio from our latest Booktube. If you are vibing with us, please SUBSCRIBE to our YouTube.

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One of us really loved this one. One of us got to the final 2% and just kept screaming "COME ONNNNNNN".

Hannah Mary McKinnon's latest thriller, Sister Dear, is a polarizing novel that will make you side eye your parents and ask them if there's any chance that you have a half sibling that is super rich, beautiful, amazing, smart, everything you're not. I'm sure they'll say no, but don't blame us if a deep family secret is exposed....

One thing we both had in common while listening to the audiobook version of Sister Dear (narrated by the amazing Lauren Ezzo), is that we could not put it down. It was enthralling and unique, and you'll constantly be asking "when is Eleanor going to snap, because I'm about to snap!". It's a book you'll either love 100% of, or love 98% of and just have to create a brand new ending for...unless Hannah Mary has a sequel up her sleeve.... mwahahah

Shout out to our lovely patrons!

Ann, Deanna, Eddie, Shawn

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When life gives you a bunch of tyrannical patriarchy lemons.....SMASH THEM IN THE FACE AND TELL THEM YOU PREFER ICED TEA.

We all know the fairy tale of Cinderella: abused and treated as a servant by her step-mother and step-sisters, Cinderella was visited by a fairy godmother the night of a big soiree and gifted a beautiful gown, glass slippers, and sick ride to the castle. She met the prince, fell in love immediately, but had to rush home or risk having her identity exposed as the magical gifts of the godmother would disappear. As she ran away, a single, dainty glass slipper was left behind. Prince Charming used the slipper as a way to find his beloved, the evil step-mother and sisters were outcast, and Cinderella and the Prince lived happily ever after, right? WRONG.

In Cinderella is Dead by Kalynn Bayron, we get this story flipped on it's head. This is a fast paced novel that will keep you hooked from beginning to end. You'll be invested in our main character's journey as she fights to end the centuries old, sexist rules. This is a book you should have already picked up like....last week.

Thank you to our Patrons!

Eddie

Deanna

Ann

Shawn

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We love a thriller with liars...which is basically all thrillers ever. Heather Gundenkauf's This is How I Lied is a suspense that will have you asking the big question of: What the heck is up with this town?! 25 years ago, 16 year old Eve Knox's body was found by her best friend, Maggie, and little sister, Nola. It was a tragic scene and a horrific murder that shook the tiny town to it's core. Maggie's father was the lead investigator at the time, but soon the case ran cold and was closed. In the present, new evidence in Eve's murder is found and Maggie, now a police officer, takes the lead in the reopened case (totally unethical, but, hey, small towns). Secrets are unearthed and old suspects come back into the spotlight in this female detective thrill that will have you blaming EVERYBODY... even the neighbors cat.

We listened to the audiobook version on Overdrive, which was narrated by the fabulous Brittany Pressley. She gave us chills, gasps, and some uncomfortable laughs in this 10 hour audio who dunnit.

Thank you to our Patrons!

Eddie

Deanna

Ann

Shawn

This is the audio from our latest BookTube video. If you want to see us in action SUBSCRIBE to our YouTube Channel!

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In Liz Fenton and Lisa Steinke's latest collaboration, How to Save a Life, they tackle the magical realism that is groundhog day. No, not the day that we where a rodent pops out of the ground and tells us if we'll have more winter or get spring soon, but the phenomenon of repeating a day over and over again until some sort of change is made by our sufferer. This was a fast and fantastic read. It doesn't waste ANY time at all and you really grow attached to every single character (even if you find a particular one super annoying).

We not only had the honor of receiving How to Save a Life as an arc, but we also had the pleasure of chatting with Lisa and Liz over on our Instagram (@audioshelfme). If you're interested in hearing the two best friends talk about their process and some more BTS of the making of this book, go check it out and give us a follow.

How to Save a Life comes out July 14th (TODAY) and we encourage you greatly to go grab a copy from your local bookstore, or from Bookshop! (not sponsored, just really like what their doing for the book world).

Thank you to our Patrons!

Eddie

Deanna

Ann

Shawn

This is the audio from our latest BookTube. If you want to see us in action SUBSCRIBE to our YouTube Channel!

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