Best Books of 2022

Would you believe I've never even TRIED to rank the books I've read? If you asked me to choose my favourite book of all time, I couldn't. I have a selection of old favourites but could I pick just one? Absolutely not. It would be like asking a parent who their favourite child is*.

*I'm aware that most parents have a favourite child whether they publicly admit it or not.

So setting this task for myself was awful. I could easily disregard a few, of course. Some just didn't hit the mark for me.

And then I disregarded the books that weren't due out until 2023 because, after all, that would be unfair right?

So then I'm left with a decision; if I'm not including my pre-release reads, do I only rank the ones I've read this year that were RELEASED this year?

Nah. That would be a step too far. I rarely read books in line with release, mainly because the reviews need time to trickle through. Until I set myself up with Net Galley, I didn't track what was due out and when!

So my list is based on all books I've read this year, regardless of when they were originally released.

So my criteria looked something like this:

Did I enjoy it?
Did I enjoy it enough to own it in its physical form?
Is it a re-read? (I excluded these, it goes without saying that would be a favourite)
Was it a 5* read for me?
If I had to re-read between Book 1 and Book 2, which would I prefer.

And that's how I came to my Top 10 Books of 2022.

Strong contenders were Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, All The Light We Cannot See, A Merry Little Meet Cute and The Idea of You.

If I *had* included 2023 releases, then Lady Macbethad and The Last Tale of The Flower Bride would DEFINITELY be featuring in the Top 5.

I know the suspense is killing you... here are my Top 10 Books of 2022.

10. The Passenger - Ulrich Alexander Boschwitz

9. The Lamplighters - Emma Stonex

Review here

8.11.22.63 - Stephen King

7. My Policeman - Bethan Roberts

Review here

6. The Lighthouse Witches - C.J Cooke

5. We Are Not Like Them - Christine Pride & Jo Piazza

Review Here

4. They Both Die At The End - Adam Silvera

3. Once Upon A Broken Heart - Stephanie Garber

I'll be re-reading this in the NY ahead of starting The Ballad of Never After so expect a review soon!

2. A Court of Silver Flames - Sarah J Maas

1. Orphans of The Storm - Celia Imrie

Review here

Comments

The Shadows Between Us - Tricia Levenseller

This was such a fun book. It's very suitable for the YA (Young Adult) market though it could easily - and gratefully may I add - be adapted into a saucy romance if the writer wanted to. The story focuses on Alessandra, an ambitious and power hungry young women that sets her sights on the Shadow King. But he keeps her at arms length, instead, proposing a mutual agreement that gives them both what they want. The book had some serious and well thought out feminist undertones, with both Alessandras encouragement of her friends, the Kings desire to change the way social norms are expected as well as Alessandra's own exploits in knowing her own mind and body. the only thing that threw me off was the time period - though the story is clearly fantasy (you'll be able to tell this early on), the presence of electricity threw me off, combined with the clothing which is described at length, and then the social boundaries and class standings. Overall, I enjoyed it and would ...

A Merry Little Meet Cute - Julie Murphy & Sierra Simone

What a bloody lovely Christmas beaut this was! If you're venturing into spicy romance books and have been on Instagram or TikTok recently, it's likely that you would have seen this little gem doing the rounds. Bee is a content creator for ClosedDoor (think.. OnlyFans) and Nolan is an ex-boyband bad boy that are both cast in a Hope Channel (think... Hallmark) Christmas movie, Duke The Halls. Nolan is reinventing his career and trying to rid himself of the bad boy image whereas Bee is brought in last minute because the Lead Actress has been taken ill. The best part? Bee was a massive fan of Nolan in her teenage years and Nolan has been following Bee on social media for a while. And they're getting paid to get to know each other. I adored this book. It was everything I wanted it to be and is perfect for those of us who love a Hallmark Christmas movie but wished there was a bit heat in the romances. the positive message around Bee's work is brilliantly handled, not to me...

The American Roommate Experiment - Elena Armas

After reading The Spanish Love Deception a few weeks ago - I couldn't wait to get stuck into this one and see Rosie and Lucas' story play out. Whilst I enjoyed watching Lina and Aaron's antics, there was an element of it that felt forced and I had hopes that The American Roommate Experiment would be a smoother story. And it was. Definitely a slow burn, but it felt so much more natural and organic in the way their relationship developed. Rosie is classically awkward in the way that only someone with a secret crush can be and Lucas is cocky without being arrogant, and clearly an absolute snack. Of course, it was predictable, no one wants to read a romance where the couple doesn't get together at the end right? (I'm looking at you, The Idea of You) but it was a lovely read that left you invested in the couple. The American Roommate Experiment was a nice one day read for me and Elena Armas will probably now be auto-buy author for me!

The Little Library Project

Search This Blog