BEST AUDIOBOOKS OF 2020 / ALL MY FAVORITES IN ONE PLACE

BEST AUDIOBOOKS OF 2020

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Do you love listening to audiobooks?

I’ve always been a BIG fan of audiobooks, but I never listened to as many amazing audiobooks as I did this year. 2020 was the year for new authors. And most of those new authors, I came across thanks to audiobooks. Also I listened to my first free verse novels and LOVED THEM!!!

Many of the books on this list are crowd pleasers, and for a reason. But sometimes an audiobook can make a book EVEN BETTER!!

For example, nothing is better than a book that is narrated by the author himself/herself, like OPEN BOOK by Jessica Simpson, or Clap When You Land by Elizabeth Acevedo, same with All Boys Aren’t Blue by George M. Johnson. And then there is the narration by Richard Armitage, I could have listened to him narrate The Jane Austen Society all day long. And some books like A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson and The Night Swim by Megan Goldin are just made for an audio experience. With special effects, podcast recordings, telephone calls, and texts – it all enhances the reading experience.

Over the years I listened to many amazing audiobooks, with performances that left me speechless. If interested in more audio recommendations, check out my list here.

ALSO if you are looking for a gift for book lovers this year. Why not give them an audiobook subscription. And if you are in the market for one yourself – I can only recommend it!! I’ve been a member of Audible since 2014, and although I get many of my audiobooks from the library, there are always some I just need to own, or others I can’t get anywhere else.

BEST AUDIOBOOKS OF 2020

YOUNG ADULT

The Truth Project by Dante Medema

This novel was a recommendation from a friend on Goodreads. And I’m so glad I picked it up. The Truth Project was emotional, gripping, and very well written. A mix of emails, texts and journal entries made this book a quick read, and a true gem of a debut novel.

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Seventeen-year-old Cordelia Koenig was sure of many things going into her last year of high school. For one, she wasn’t going to stress over the senior project all her peers were dreading—she’d just use the same find-your-roots genealogy idea that her older sister used for hers. Secondly, she’d put all that time spent not worrying about the project toward getting reacquainted with former best friend and longtime crush Kodiak Jones who, conveniently, gets assigned as Cordelia’s partner.

All she has to do is mail in her DNA sample, write about her ancestry results and breeze through the rest of senior year. Done, done and done.

But when Cordelia’s GeneQuest results reveal that her father is not the man she thought he was but a stranger who lives thousands of miles away, Cordelia realizes she isn’t sure of anything anymore—not the mother who lied, the life she was born into or the girl staring back at her in the mirror.

If your life began with a lie, how can you ever be sure of what’s true?

Surrender Your Sons by Adam Sass

Amazing book!! Timely, fascinating, eye opening, authentic! This book is a MUST read. I was hooked from the start, just by reading the blurb, and I’m so glad I picked it up. Although the topic is heartbreaking, the author balanced the horrific with a sense of adventure. Many smart and strong characters, and a sassy and vibrant protagonist added to the overall enjoyment. Another debut novel that stood out from the crowd.

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Connor Major’s summer break is turning into a nightmare.

His SAT scores bombed, the old man he delivers meals to died, and when he came out to his religious zealot mother, she had him kidnapped and shipped off to a secluded island. His final destination: Nightlight Ministries, a conversion therapy camp that will be his new home until he “changes.” 

But Connor’s troubles are only beginning. At Nightlight, everyone has something to hide from the campers to the “converted” staff and cagey camp director, and it quickly becomes clear that no one is safe. Connor plans to escape and bring the other kidnapped teens with him. But first, he’s exposing the camp’s horrible truths for what they are— and taking this place down. 

Dear Justyce (Dear Martin #2) by Nic Stone

As it was with Dear Martin, Dear Justice was equally powerful, thought-provoking and captivating. I’m impressed by the author’s writing, and her skill of crafting these amazingly authentic novels. Because it’s a shorter novel and audiobook, it’s a perfect read for in between lighter books. And certainly a book you won’t regret reading.

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Incarcerated teen Quan writes letters to Justyce about his experiences in the American juvenile justice system. Perfect for fans of Jason Reynolds and Angie Thomas.

In the highly anticipated sequel to her New York Times best seller, Nic Stone delivers an unflinching look into the flawed practices and silenced voices in the American juvenile justice system. 

Vernell LaQuan Banks and Justyce McAllister grew up a block apart in the Southwest Atlanta neighborhood of Wynwood Heights. Years later, though, Justyce walks the illustrious halls of Yale University…and Quan sits behind bars at the Fulton Regional Youth Detention Center.

Through a series of flashbacks, vignettes, and letters to Justyce – the protagonist of Dear Martin – Quan’s story takes form. Troubles at home and misunderstandings at school give rise to police encounters and tough decisions. But then there’s a dead cop and a weapon with Quan’s prints on it. What leads a bright kid down a road to a murder charge? Not even Quan is sure.

Clap When You Land by Elizabeth Acevedo

2020 has been the year of me falling in love with Elizabeth Acevedo’s writing. I listened to all three of her books, and LOVED them all. Two were written in free verse, which on audiobook sounds like regular prose just more lyrica. And the third With the Fire on High was a regular novel, and my favorite of all three, but not by much. And after three fantastic books the author deserves a spot on my auto-buy list.

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In a novel-in-verse that brims with grief and love, National Book Award-winning and New York Times bestselling author Elizabeth Acevedo writes about the devastation of loss, the difficulty of forgiveness, and the bittersweet bonds that shape our lives.

Camino Rios lives for the summers when her father visits her in the Dominican Republic. But this time, on the day when his plane is supposed to land, Camino arrives at the airport to see crowds of crying people…

In New York City, Yahaira Rios is called to the principal’s office, where her mother is waiting to tell her that her father, her hero, has died in a plane crash.

Separated by distance—and Papi’s secrets—the two girls are forced to face a new reality in which their father is dead and their lives are forever altered.

And then, when it seems like they’ve lost everything of their father, they learn of each other.

The Black Kids by Christina Hammonds Reed

I love books that teach me something new. And The Black Kids did exactly that. It focused on the riots in Los Angeles in 1992, which I never heard about before. The novel was a fascinating read, raw and emotional at times, but so timely, especially after what happened in spring of 2020.

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Los Angeles, 1992

Ashley Bennett and her friends are living the charmed life. It’s the end of senior year and they’re spending more time at the beach than in the classroom. They can already feel the sunny days and endless possibilities of summer.

Everything changes one afternoon in April, when four LAPD officers are acquitted after beating a black man named Rodney King half to death. Suddenly, Ashley’s not just one of the girls. She’s one of the black kids.

As violent protests engulf LA and the city burns, Ashley tries to continue on as if life were normal. Even as her self-destructive sister gets dangerously involved in the riots. Even as the model black family façade her wealthy and prominent parents have built starts to crumble. iEven as her best friends help spread a rumor that could completely derail the future of her classmate and fellow black kid, LaShawn Johnson.

With her world splintering around her, Ashley, along with the rest of LA, is left to question who is the us? And who is the them?

This Is My America by Kim Johnson

2020 has been the year of reading books that made me think. This is My America reminded me of JUST MERCY, only the YA version of it. Also as with so many other books this year, this book was powerful, thought provoking and eye opening. Another book that left an impression on me.

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Dear Martin meets Just Mercy in this unflinching yet uplifting YA novel that explores the racist injustices in the American justice system.

Every week, seventeen-year-old Tracy Beaumont writes letters to Innocence X, asking the organization to help her father, an innocent Black man on death row. After seven years, Tracy is running out of time—her dad has only 267 days left. Then the unthinkable happens. The police arrive in the night, and Tracy’s older brother, Jamal, goes from being a bright, promising track star to a “thug” on the run, accused of killing a white girl. Determined to save her brother, Tracy investigates what really happened between Jamal and Angela down at the Pike. But will Tracy and her family survive the uncovering of the skeletons of their Texas town’s racist history that still haunt the present?

Fans of Nic Stone and Jason Reynolds won’t want to miss this provocative and gripping debut.

The Extraordinaries by T.J. Klune

This audiobook was probably one of the FUNNIEST I read this year. I laughed so much, not just because of the fabulous narration. But also because of the original story, the quirky characters, their interactions, and just the hilarity at times. I’m so looking forward to the squeal. And I already know that I’ll be listening to the audiobook again.

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SOME PEOPLE ARE EXTRAORDINARY. SOME ARE JUST EXTRA. T.J. KLUNE’S YA DEBUT, ‘THE EXTRAORDINARIES’, IS A QUEER COMING-OF-AGE STORY ABOUT A FANBOY WITH ADHD AND THE HEROES HE LOVES.

Nick Bell? Not extraordinary. But being the most popular fanfiction writer in the ‘Extraordinaries’ fandom is a superpower, right?

After a chance encounter with Shadow Star, Nova City’s mightiest hero (and Nick’s biggest crush), Nick sets out to make himself extraordinary. And he’ll do it with or without the reluctant help of Seth Gray, Nick’s best friend (and maybe the love of his life).

All Boys Aren’t Blue by George M. Johnson

So, so GOOD!!! Most of the books on this page are incredibly timely. They make you think and open eyes. Especially this memoir. I’ll never look at the colors pink and blue the same way again!! MUST READ OF 2020!

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In a series of personal essays, prominent journalist and LGBTQIA+ activist George M. Johnson explores his childhood, adolescence, and college years in New Jersey and Virginia. From the memories of getting his teeth kicked out by bullies at age five, to flea marketing with his loving grandmother, to his first sexual relationships, this young-adult memoir weaves together the trials and triumphs faced by Black queer boys.

Both a primer for teens eager to be allies as well as a reassuring testimony for young queer men of color, All Boys Aren’t Bluecovers topics such as gender identity, toxic masculinity, brotherhood, family, structural marginalization, consent, and Black joy. Johnson’s emotionally frank style of writing will appeal directly to young adults.

Felix Ever After by Kacen Callender

Another incredibly timely and wonderful novel which I adored. I actually smiled my way through it. But also took so much away from it. My perspective changed and I gained knowledge I never knew I needed. There are so many books on this list that need to be read!

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Felix Love has never been in love – and, yes, he’s painfully aware of the irony. He desperately wants to know what it’s like and why it seems so easy for everyone but him to find someone. What’s worse is that, even though he is proud of his identity, Felix also secretly fears that he’s one marginalization too many – Black, queer, and transgender – to ever get his own happily ever-after.

When an anonymous student begins sending him transphobic messages – after publicly posting Felix’s deadname alongside images of him before he transitioned – Felix comes up with a plan for revenge. What he didn’t count on: his catfish scenario landing him in a quasi-love triangle….

But as he navigates his complicated feelings, Felix begins a journey of questioning and self-discovery that helps redefine his most important relationship: how he feels about himself.

Felix Ever After is an honest and layered story about identity, falling in love, and recognizing the love you deserve.

BEST AUDIOBOOKS OF 2020

YA THRILLER

None Shall Sleep by Ellie Marney

If you love Criminal Minds, and Silence of the Lambs, you’ll enjoy this YA thriller. From the very beginning I knew that this book was right up my alley. Even better, it turned out to be gripping, interesting and the two main characters had chemistry, that hopefully leads to more (in a sequel). Overall a solid YA thriller.

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In 1982, two teenagers—serial killer survivor Emma Lewis and US Marshal candidate Travis Bell—are recruited by the FBI to interview convicted juvenile killers and provide insight and advice on cold cases. From the start, Emma and Travis develop a quick friendship, gaining information from juvenile murderers that even the FBI can’t crack. But when the team is called in to give advice on an active case—a serial killer who exclusively hunts teenagers—things begin to unravel. Working against the clock, they must turn to one of the country’s most notorious incarcerated murderers for help: teenage sociopath Simon Gutmunsson.

Despite Travis’s objections, Emma becomes the conduit between Simon and the FBI team. But while Simon seems to be giving them the information they need to save lives, he’s an expert manipulator playing a very long game…and he has his sights set on Emma.

Captivating, harrowing, and chilling, None Shall Sleep is an all-too-timely exploration of not only the monsters that live among us, but also the monsters that live inside us.

A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson

This is probably one of the BEST audiobooks of 2020. Especially because I feel it was made with an audiobook in mind. It had interviews, telephone calls, text messages, and most of all a solid mystery. Also I love audiobooks with full casts. These kind of audiobooks are my favorites, they feel almost like audio plays, with multiple narrators and special effects. It was VERY WELL DONE!!!

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The case is closed. Five years ago, schoolgirl Andie Bell was murdered by Sal Singh. The police know he did it. Everyone in town knows he did it.

But having grown up in the same small town that was consumed by the murder, Pippa Fitz-Amobi isn’t so sure. When she chooses the case as the topic for her final year project, she starts to uncover secrets that someone in town desperately wants to stay hidden. And if the real killer is still out there, how far will they go to keep Pip from the truth? 

BEST AUDIOBOOKS OF 2020

THRILLERS

Blacktop Wasteland by S.A. Cosby

I rarely say that a book should be turned into a movie, but this book needs to be adapted ASAP!!! What an incredible story! Character driven, but also full of action. It had everything from a jewel heist to car chases, from betrayal to nail biting action. And the Southern vibe was the icing on the cake. If you are interested in something DIFFERENT – pick up this book, you won’t regret it!!

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IT’S A CRIME THAT HISTORY REPEATS ITSELF.

Beauregard “Bug” Montage: husband, father, honest car mechanic. But he was once known – from North Carolina to the beaches of Florida – as the best getaway driver on the East Coast. Just like his father, who disappeared many years ago.

After a series of financial calamities (worsened by the racial prejudices of the small town he lives in) Bug reluctantly takes part in a daring diamond heist to solve his money troubles – and to go straight once and for all. However, when it goes horrifically wrong, he’s sucked into a grimy underworld which threatens everything, and everyone, he holds dear . . .

From a stunning new voice in fiction, BLACKTOP WASTELAND is a dazzling, operatic crime novel that holds up a cracked mirror to the American dream. The perfect page-turning read for fans of acclaimed writers such as Don Winslow, Attica Locke, Bill Beverley and Thomas Mullen. 

The Night Swim by Megan Goldin

This book was my most favorite thriller of 2020. What a gripping and captivating story!! At times it was hard to listen to, but the mix of podcast, rape trial coverage, and investigated reporting – made this book UNPUTDOWNABLE. Also my best audiobook of the year!!!!

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Ever since her true-crime podcast became an overnight sensation and set an innocent man free, Rachel Krall has become a household name – and the last hope for people seeking justice. But she’s used to being recognized for her voice, not her face. Which makes it all the more unsettling when she finds a note on her car windshield, addressed to her, begging for help. 

The new season of Rachel’s podcast has brought her to a small town being torn apart by a devastating rape trial. A local golden boy, a swimmer destined for Olympic greatness, has been accused of raping the beloved granddaughter of the police chief. Under pressure to make season three a success, Rachel throws herself into her investigation – but the mysterious letters keep coming. Someone is following her, and she won’t stop until Rachel finds out what happened to her sister 25 years ago. 

Officially, Jenny Stills tragically drowned, but the letters insist she was murdered – and when Rachel starts asking questions, nobody in town wants to answer. The past and present start to collide as Rachel uncovers startling connections between the two cases – and a revelation that will change the course of the trial and the lives of everyone involved. 

Electrifying and propulsive, The Night Swim asks: What is the price of a reputation? Can a small town ever right the wrongs of its past? And what really happened to Jenny?

Little Secrets by Jennifer Hillier

My first book by Jennifer Hillier was Jar of Hearts which I read last year and LOVED. Little Secrets was another successful thriller by an author who is now on my auto-read list! And although the first chapter was a tough one, read my review if you like to know more about it, I couldn’t listen to the book fast enough.

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All it takes to unravel a life is one little secret…

Marin had the perfect life. Married to her college sweetheart, she owns a chain of upscale hair salons, and Derek runs his own company. They’re admired in their community and are a loving family—until their world falls apart the day their son Sebastian is taken.

A year later, Marin is a shadow of herself. The FBI search has gone cold. The publicity has faded. She and her husband rarely speak. She hires a P.I. to pick up where the police left off, but instead of finding Sebastian, she learns that Derek is having an affair with a younger woman. This discovery sparks Marin back to life. She’s lost her son; she’s not about to lose her husband, too. Kenzie is an enemy with a face, which means this is a problem Marin can fix.

Permanently.

The Sun Down Motel by Simone St. James

Another new to me author who is now on my auto-read list!! Atmospheric and creepy, the perfect October/November read. Because who doesn’t need a perfect atmospheric thriller once a year.

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Something hasn’t been right at the roadside Sun Down Motel for a very long time, and Carly Kirk is about to find out why in this chilling new novel from the USA Today bestselling and award-winning author of The Broken Girls. 

Upstate New York, 1982. Viv Delaney wants to move to New York City, and to help pay for it she takes a job as the night clerk at the Sun Down Motel in Fell, New York. But something isnʼt right at the motel, something haunting and scary.

Upstate New York, 2017. Carly Kirk has never been able to let go of the story of her aunt Viv, who mysteriously disappeared from the Sun Down before she was born. She decides to move to Fell and visit the motel, where she quickly learns that nothing has changed since 1982. And she soon finds herself ensnared in the same mysteries that claimed her aunt.

BEST AUDIOBOOKS OF 2020

FICTION

Anxious People by Fredrik Backman

Fredrick Backman is on of my favorite storytellers. But this year I came to the conclusion that I LOVE his audiobooks even more than reading his books the regular way. They are just SO GOOD thanks to fantastic narration. Combined with wonderful storytelling, engaging dialogues, and quirky and fascinating characters – they have become highly anticipated audiobooks.

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Looking at real estate isn’t usually a life-or-death situation, but an apartment open house becomes just that when a failed bank robber bursts in and takes a group of strangers hostage. The captives include a recently retired couple who relentlessly hunt down fixer-uppers to avoid the painful truth that they can’t fix their own marriage.

There’s a wealthy bank director who has been too busy to care about anyone else and a young couple who are about to have their first child but can’t seem to agree on anything, from where they want to live to how they met in the first place. Add to the mix an eighty-seven-year-old woman who has lived long enough not to be afraid of someone waving a gun in her face, a flustered but still-ready-to-make-a-deal real estate agent, and a mystery man who has locked himself in the apartment’s only bathroom, and you’ve got the worst group of hostages in the world. 

Each of them carries a lifetime of grievances, hurts, secrets, and passions that are ready to boil over. None of them is entirely who they appear to be. And all of them — the bank robber included — desperately crave some sort of rescue. 

As the authorities and the media surround the premises these reluctant allies will reveal surprising truths about themselves and set in motion a chain of events so unexpected that even they can hardly explain what happens next. Rich with Fredrik Backman’s “pitch-perfect dialogue and an unparalleled understanding of human nature” (Shelf Awareness), Anxious People is an ingeniously constructed story about the enduring power of friendship, forgiveness, and hope — the things that save us, even in the most anxious times. 

Feels Like Falling by Kristy Woodson Harvey

This book was such a fantastic summer feel good novel. I laughed and chuckled my way through it. It was my first book by Kristy Woodson Harvey but it won’t be my last. If you love romance/women’s fiction, great female characters, wonderful female friendships, strong women and great writing – don’t hesitate to pick this one up!

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It’s summertime on the North Carolina coast and the livin’ is easy.

Unless, that is, you’ve just lost your mother to cancer, your sister to her extremist husband, and your husband to his executive assistant. Meet Gray Howard. Right when Gray could use a serious infusion of good karma in her life, she inadvertently gets a stranger, Diana Harrington, fired from her job at the local pharmacy.

Diana Harrington’s summer isn’t off to the greatest start either: Hours before losing her job, she broke up with her boyfriend and moved out of their shared house with only a worn-out Impala for a bed. Lucky for her, Gray has an empty guest house and a very guilty conscience.

With Gray’s kindness, Diana’s tide begins to turn. But when her first love returns, every secret from her past seems to resurface all at once. And, as Gray begins to blaze a new trail, she discovers, with Diana’s help, that what she envisioned as her perfect life may not be what she wants at all.

The Jane Austen Society by Natalie Jenner

Listening to Richard Armitage was true pleasure!! Not only was the audiobook a treat for the ears, it was also a wonderful feel good historical novel, with heart-warming characters, and a story that will want you to go traveling in Austen’s footsteps.

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Just after the Second World War, in the small English village of Chawton, an unusual but like-minded group of people band together to attempt something remarkable.

One hundred and fifty years ago, Chawton was the final home of Jane Austen, one of England’s finest novelists. Now it’s home to a few distant relatives and their diminishing estate. With the last bit of Austen’s legacy threatened, a group of disparate individuals come together to preserve both Jane Austen’s home and her legacy. These people—a laborer, a young widow, the local doctor, and a movie star, among others—could not be more different and yet they are united in their love for the works and words of Austen. As each of them endures their own quiet struggle with loss and trauma, some from the recent war, others from more distant tragedies, they rally together to create the Jane Austen Society.

The Love Story of Missy Carmichael by Beth Morrey

If you love British narration you must listen to this book. I had the best time, thanks to so many lovely characters, which made me smile so much. Also I have a weakness when it comes to seniors, their frank and no-nonsense attitude is pure entertainment. No surprise here, but I loved the narration and can only recommend it to anyone who loved A MAN CALLED OVE and THE BRILLIANT LIFE OF EUDORA HONEYSETT.

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The world has changed around Missy Carmichael. At seventy-nine, she’s estranged from her daughter, her son and only grandson live across the world in Australia, and her great love is gone. Missy spends her days with a sip of sherry, scrubbing the kitchen in her big empty house and reliving her past–though it’s her mistakes, and secrets, that she allows to shine brightest. The last thing Missy expects is for two perfect strangers and one spirited dog to break through her prickly exterior and show Missy just how much love she still has to give.

A Bad Day for Sunshine by Darynda Jones

Funny, entertaining, and addicting!!! If you are looking for something to entertain you, pick up this mystery set in a small town, with many curious and quirky characters. Also there is the beginning of a romance, funny dialogues, and a solid mystery. If interested, you better grab yourself a copy and get ready for some fun!

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Sheriff Sunshine Vicram finds her cup o’ joe more than half full when the small village of Del Sol, New Mexico, becomes the center of national attention for a kidnapper on the loose.

Del Sol, New Mexico is known for three things: its fry-an-egg-on-the-cement summers, its strong cups of coffee—and a nationwide manhunt? Del Sol native Sunshine Vicram has returned to town as the elected sheriff–an election her adorably meddlesome parents entered her in–and she expects her biggest crime wave to involve an elderly flasher named Doug. But a teenage girl is missing, a kidnapper is on the loose, and all of it’s reminding Sunny why she left Del Sol in the first place. Add to that trouble at her daughter’s new school and a kidnapped prized rooster named Puff Daddy, and Sunshine has her hands full.

Enter sexy almost-old-flame Levi Ravinder and a hunky US Marshall, both elevens on a scale of one to blazing inferno, and the normally savvy sheriff is quickly in over her head. Now it’s up to Sunshine to juggle a few good hunky men, a not-so-nice kidnapping miscreant, and Doug the ever-pesky flasher. And they said coming home would be drama-free.

The House in the Cerulean Sea by T.J. Klune

This book was all kinds of magical. Sweet. Charming. Endearing. I could go on!!! A beautiful story. Enchanting characters. Outstanding storytelling and wonderful writing. This is one of the most endearing LGBTQ novels of 2020. Grab yourself a copy and get ready to be enchanted.

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A magical island. A dangerous task. A burning secret.

Linus Baker leads a quiet, solitary life. At forty, he lives in a tiny house with a devious cat and his old records. As a Case Worker at the Department in Charge Of Magical Youth, he spends his days overseeing the well-being of children in government-sanctioned orphanages.

When Linus is unexpectedly summoned by Extremely Upper Management he’s given a curious and highly classified assignment: travel to Marsyas Island Orphanage, where six dangerous children reside: a gnome, a sprite, a wyvern, an unidentifiable green blob, a were-Pomeranian, and the Antichrist. Linus must set aside his fears and determine whether or not they’re likely to bring about the end of days.

But the children aren’t the only secret the island keeps. Their caretaker is the charming and enigmatic Arthur Parnassus, who will do anything to keep his wards safe. As Arthur and Linus grow closer, long-held secrets are exposed, and Linus must make a choice: destroy a home or watch the world burn.

An enchanting story, masterfully told, The House in the Cerulean Sea is about the profound experience of discovering an unlikely family in an unexpected place—and realizing that family is yours

BEST AUDIOBOOKS OF 2020

MEMOIRS

Open Book by Jessica Simpson

I love celebrity memoirs, and Open Book was one of the best of 2020. I was impressed by the author’s candid and open look at her life. She was incredibly open about her failures, and struggles. Jessica Simpson pulled me in, and made this book unputdownable. Even for someone who isn’t one of her more ardent fans, I had a fabulous time listening to the author telling her story. It’s a must read for anyone loving this genre.

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Jessica tells of growing up in 1980s Texas where she was sexually abused by the daughter of a family friend, and of unsuccessfully auditioning for the Mickey Mouse Club at age 13 with Justin Timberlake and Ryan Gosling before going on to sign a record deal with Columbia and marrying 98 Degrees member Nick Lachey. 

Along the way, she details the struggles in her life, such as the pressure to support her family as a teenager, divorcing Lachey, enduring what she describes as an emotionally abusive relationship with musician John Mayer, being body-shamed in an overly appearance-centered industry, and going through bouts of heavy drinking. But Simpson ends on a positive note, discussing her billion-dollar apparel line and marriage with professional football star Eric Johnson, with whom she has three children.

BEST AUDIOBOOKS OF 2020