Hello. How the heck are you? It’s been a few days since we last spoke. If you celebrated, how was your Christmas? I hope, despite it not being quite what many of us initially planned, it was a good one and you received bookish delights galore. Today marks day 53 of #R3COMM3ND3D2020 and the FINAL post of the 2020 season. It’s been a tough old year for many of us but the books have been outstanding and helped many of us escape what’s been going on around us. I have loved sharing your #R3COMM3ND3D2020 picks since 1st November more than ever. Thank you to everyone who has liked, shared, retweeted and commented on the posts. You make #R3COMM3ND3D something very special. But the show’s not over just yet…

Today I am thrilled to welcome a brilliant blogger and soon-to-be debut author to share three of their favourite books published this year. It’s the fabulous Joy Kluver who shares her love of (mostly) crime fiction over at Joy Kluver. It’s Joy’s birthday today so I would like to take this opportunity to wish her a very happy birthday 🥳. I hope you have a lovely day. Joy is also on the brink of publishing her debut novel with Bookouture in February next year so keep an eye out for the first book in the DI Bernadette Noel series. Personally, I can’t wait to read it and it’s high on my most eagerly anticipated books of 2021 list.

So, what is #R3COMM3ND3D2020? It’s about sharing the book love. It’s a chance for authors, book bloggers and bookstagrammers to shout about three (yes, *only* three) books they love. They can be written by any author, in any genre and published in any way (traditionally, indie press or self-published). But there is a catch. All three books must have been published in 2020. To make things interesting I have added a couple of teeny, tiny rules this year which are; 1) the book must have first been published in 2020 and 2) special editions and reissues do not count. I like to keep you lovely people on your toes. 😉

Here are the three books Joy chose…

The Lost Lights of St Kilda by Elisabeth Gifford
The Lost Lights of St Kilda is a sweeping love story that will cross oceans and decades. It is a moving and deeply vivid portrait of two lovers, a desolate island, and the extraordinary power of hope in the face of darkness.
Joy’s Review of The Lost Lights of St Kilda

Body Language by A. K. Turner
Novels set in mortuaries have been around for quite a while but there’s a new girl in town and her name is Cassie Raven. With dyed black hair, piercings and tattoos, she’s not your average mortuary technician. And thank goodness for that. A.K. Turner has breathed fresh life into a setting that has to remain within the rules of science.
Joy’s Review of Body Language

We Begin at the End by Chris Whitaker
This is my book of the year. Chris Whitaker immerses us in the lives of Duchess Day Radley and her younger brother, Robin. Aged 13 and 5 respectively at the beginning of the story, their lot in life is pretty bad. It’s an epic tale of revenge and redemption. The writing is utterly sublime and quite honestly, it’s not just my book of the year but one of the best books I’ve ever read.
Joy’s Review of We Begin at the End

Brilliant choices, thanks so much Joy. I am absolutely over the moon to see We Begin at the End on your list as that makes it the clear winner of #R3COMM3ND3D2020 with FIVE votes. Huge congratulations to Chris Whitaker and the team at Zaffre Books. A very worthy winner as, and I don’t know if I’ve mentioned this before, it’s my book of the year without a shadow of a doubt (😉).

If Joy has managed to tempt you, or if you would like to find out more about the books recommended above, please see the following links:

The Lost Lights of St Kilda by Elisabeth Gifford
Body Language by A.K. Turner
We Begin at the End by Chris Whitaker

About Joy Kluver:
I’m a blogger and soon to be published author! My debut novel featuring DI Bernadette Noel will be published by Bookouture in February 2021. But I’ll still be sharing the book love on my blog.

Joy’s Blog and Social Media Links:
| Joy Kluver | Twitter @JoyKluver | Facebook |

That’s all folks! Well, for #R3COMM3ND3D2020 anyway. I’m off to write my ‘books of the year’ post now which I may or may not get whittled down in time to post before the end of 2020 😜. If I don’t, I hope you have a very happy New Year. Thank you for your support over the last twelve months. It means the world to me. You are AMAZING!

Don’t forget to start making a list of those 2021 releases as #R3COMM3ND3D will return towards the end of next year. It might not be exactly the same as the last few years – not sure in what way yet – but it will return in one form or another. Stay safe, stay bookish and keep reading. Love ya!