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

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...

Orphans of The Storm - Celia Imrie

Started: Thursday 7th July 2022 Finished: Saturday 9th July 2022 Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Given my obsession with the story of the Titanic in my younger years, this is the first book I've ever read which is based around the tragic disaster. I bought Orphans of the Storm on a whim on one of my Waterstone's sprees - and I vowed to make it my next read. What I didn't realise is that it is based on the true story of the last surviving passenger from the disaster. And it was incredible. So incredible that the minute I got home, I gave it to my mum to read and I've just bought a copy for one of my ex-colleagues because the history was common ground for us. I didn't know what to expect - I knew it would pull at the heart strings but I didn't appreciate quite how much. The way it's written, Imrie really allows the suspense and bewilderment to build. Of course, it's no spoiler to say - The Ship Sinks At The End - but the way it is written from two separate perspe...

The Colorado Kid - Stephen King

After the masterpiece that was Fairy Tale, I knew The Colorado Kid wasn't going to match up. But it pains me to say that I think I went from one end of the spectrum to the other within days. I will be clear - I am very aware that the reason I didn't enjoy The Colorado Kid is the exact premise of the book - no one likes an unfinished story. Which is exactly what this is and is intended to me. Two old-school local reporters are sat discussing unsolved mysteries of their local town with their new colleague and the case of The Colorado Kid is recounted - creating more questions than there are answers. I've read King's other two Hard Case Crime books (Joyland and Later) and I thoroughly enjoyed them so I was gutted this didn't hit the mark. I'd love to see this developed into a full-length thriller at some point because I think the story would be absolutely crazy but for now, I'll have to sit with this as my lowest rated Stephen King book to date.

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