Presenting the Winners of the 2020 POPSUGAR Book Club Awards

POPSUGAR Book Club member Jennifer Renae Allen said Beach Read by Emily Henry earned her vote as the top romance read of 2020 because of its "witty dialogue, laugh out loud moments, the [side] characters in the story, and the background stories of the main characters."

Fellow group member Cynthia Parten said she expected a "light and fluffy" read when she cracked this one open, but its depth surprised her. "This is one of the best romances I have read in a while," Parten said.

Elizabeth Acevedo's Clap When You Land was a fan favourite in the POPSUGAR Book Club all year long. Group member Mandy Reilly said she "devoured" the story in one sitting "and wanted to stand up and clap for Elizabeth Acevedo when I was done!"

According to POPSUGAR Book Club group member Rachel Hurd, The Sun Down Motel's double-layered story made it a uniquely creepy page-turner: "It was like two mystery-thrillers in one!"

Voters chose Jessica Simpson's revealing debut Open Book as the best memoir of the year.

The striking colours of Mexican Gothic's cover were a can't-miss on bookshelves this year. POPSUGAR Book Club group member Rachel Hurd said the design "was simple but it expressed so much at the same time."

Readers expanded their horizons with each 2020 POPSUGAR Reading challenge prompt, but "book on a subject you know nothing about" won out as the fan favourite this year. POPSUGAR Book Club member Kelly Bloom Barbieri said this one "encouraged me to take on a period and history of a country that I knew very little about."

Voters awarded The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett with the top prize. POPSUGAR Book Club group member Jennifer McWhinnie described it as "an incredibly engrossing story."

"The last 25 percent totally gutted me, and while I was satisfied with the ending, I was so sad that it was over. The depth of the characters written by Brit Bennett was unmatched by any other author that I read in 2020," McWhinnie explained.