Are you the kind of reader who know what’s coming and plans your year of literature? Have you set a Goodreads challenge for the number of books you hope to read this year? Perhaps you asked for a certain book or two to catch up on an author’s back catalog? Or maybe you have no idea what’s around the bend on your literary journey for the new year. From what I know is coming, here are my most anticipated reads of 2020… 

Disclaimers

Disclaimer 1: this is not in order of expected release date. I have the joy of knowing several of these authors and it’s more than my life is worth to start playing favorites. Everyone on this list has at least one book that has been a complete stand out for me. And it’s worth noting I read almost all romance, be it suspense, historical or contemporary. If you like women’s fiction, pure history or full on gritty war novels without a flirtation anywhere, this is not a list for you. Unless you’re planning to come over to my happy place.

Disclaimer 2: This list takes only us through the first half of the year. If I had continued through all of 2020, the post would be way too long.

Disclaimer 3: Click on any of the titles to reach the Amazon order page. Click on the author name to be taken to their website.

January

Lynette Eason – Collateral Damage – January 07, 2020

Is there really anything much better than the start of a new series from a favorite author? I inhaled the Blue Justice series, and I am therefore very excited to see the Danger Never Sleeps series begin with Collateral Damage. This tells the story of former military psychologist, Brooke Adams who gets honorably discharged after nearly losing her life in an explosion. Asher James is being haunted by nightmares. Former Army Special Ops, he turns to Brooke for help but might just end up having to save her from a killer. Oh my.

Here’s my review of Collateral Damage…

Susan May Warren – The Way of the Brave – January 07, 2020

A new series from an author who teaches writers how to create series. Yes please. I preordered this book, but with an advance copy on my Kindle and was gripped before the end of page one. I’m trying to wait to finish it as I still want to read a few more Christmas stories. This book tells the stories of Orion Starr, a former para-rescue jumper still tortured by a mission gone wrong, and Jenny Calhoun, a former CIA profiler. She blames herself for the mission failure but when a climbing trip turns lethal she has to trust her life to the man whose death she nearly caused. Dang.

Here’s my review of The Way of The Brave…

February

Courtney Walsh – If For Any Reason – February 03, 2020

Courtney Walsh was one of my greatest discovery authors for 2019 and so her back catalog is something I am loving playing catch up with. This story combines newly single Emily Ackerman, a grown-up child actor with only the letters from her dead mom to guide her, and baseball star Hollis McGuire, back home after a career ending injury. Set against the stunning backdrop of Nantucket, If For Any Reason looks like a gripping love story.

Here’s my review of If For Any Reason…

Rachel Hauck – The Fifth Avenue Story Society – February 04, 2020

Rachel Hauck is a master storyteller. Therefore I salivated when I read about her next offering (in a devoted readery very non-gross way). The Fifth Avenue Story Society weaves together the tales of five lonely New Yorkers, invited to attend a mysterious literary society in an old library. For an author of Hauck’s imagination, I can’t wait to see where each character leads us.

Here’s my review of The Fifth Avenue Story Society…

April

Ronie Kendig – Kings Falling & Soul Raging – April & November 2020

Any Ronie Kendig fans reading this? She seems like one of the most hard-working authors I know, hot on the heels of releasing the truly magnificent Brand of Light, Kendig is publishing the final two installments of The Book of the Wars series, Kings Falling and the deliciously titled Soul Raging. The series sees Leif Metcalfe leading the Reaper Team to recover the Book of Wars and stop the Armageddon Coalition. But will they succeed? I suspect you’ll have to wait until the very end to find out.

Here’s my review of Kings Falling…

May

Jen Turano – Storing Up Trouble – May 05, 2020

Jen Turano’s highly entertaining American Heiresses series captivated me from Flights of Fancy (book 1) and then along came Poppy in Diamond in the Rough (book 2). The third in the series Storing up Trouble has the kind of title that, in the hands of a writer of Turano’s caliber, you know is going to be a fantastic read. This final installment tells the tale of Beatrix Waterbury who heads to Chicago and then begins work at Marshall Field. On her way, she’s caught up in a train heist, and the chaos begins.

Here’s my review of Storing Up Trouble…

Becky Wade – Stay With Me – May 05, 2020

Becky Wade is one of the best for contemporary romance. She has always mixed stand out characters with settings that come alive and compelling storylines that often surprise the reader. Oh how I cheered when she announced a new series would be born in 2020. The Misty River series began with a group of students who got stuck during a mission trip and then were miraculously saved. More than fifteen years later, Stay With Me tells the story of one student, Genevieve as she returns home after receiving a mysterious letter. She runs into loner Sam and the rest, we’ll have to wait to find out what happens until May.

Here’s my review of Stay With Me…

Bethany Turner – Hadley Beckett’s Next Dish – May 05, 2020

Bethany Turner is one of my newest finds, as I bought The Secret Life of Sarah Hollenbeck right before the Christian Fiction Reader’s Retreat last year. Oh my stars, she’s that incredible blend of creative and dangerously funny. Hadley Beckett’s Next Dish shows us what happens when Hadley, a Culinary Channel host, loved for her southern charm, has to work with Maxwell, a famously bad-tempered chef trying to rebuild his tattered career. Cannot wait.

Here’s my review of Hadley Beckett’s Next Dish…

Denise Hunter – Carolina Breeze – May 19, 2020

Book two in the Bluebell Inn series promises to be every bit as fantastic as the first (Lake Season). This time we have a rising Hollywood star laying low at the location of her cancelled honeymoon. She’s waiting for the scandal to blow over. There she meets innkeeper Levi, burdened by the financial dire straits his family business is suffering. The two team up to try and solve a mystery that might just save more than the Inn.

Here’s my review of Carolina Breeze

June

Karen Witemeyer – At Love’s Command – June 02, 2020

I have yet to meet a Karen Witemeyer book that I haven’t loved and as a result, I’m overjoyed there’s a new series coming. The Hanger’s Horsemen series begins with the story of Matthew Hanger. Matthew leads a legendary band of mercenaries who defend the innocent and find justice for the oppressed. With her brother abducted, Dr. Josephine Burkett turns to Matthew. However, he didn’t expect his heart to get caught up in the rescue.

Here’s my review of At Love’s Command

Dani Pettrey – The Crushing Depths – June 30, 2020

And finally, but by no means least, comes book two in the Coastal Guardian series from Dani Pettrey. I felt my blood pressure rise with the body count in the The Killing Tide. This time we get to know Coast Guard Investigator Rissi Dawson. Firstly we see her handle the case of a dead oil rig worker. Next, Pettrey throws in some environmental activists. And finally, there’s her feelings for fellow investigator Mason Rogers. Based on the unexpected twists that characterize Pettrey’s novels, anything could happen.

Here’s my review of The Crushing Depths