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

Christmas At The Island Hotel - Jenny Colgan

If I’ve said it once, I’ve said it a hundred times - for me, snuggling down with a Jenny Colgan book is like a hug from an old friend. And Christmas At The Island Hotel is no exception. Now, this is part of a series in the way that it follows a family of characters for their fourth installment, however as always, this works perfectly as a standalone book. Fintan, grieving the loss of his partner, has been left to open The Rock - the hotel on the island of Mure. Suddenly, this born and bred farmer needs to source a kitchen team to maintain the legacy of his late partner. And now he has a French chef that no one else wants, working in his kitchen. Konstantin, Norwegian party boy and all round spoilt brat, has been cast out by his Dad and has to learn how to be self sufficient. He finds himself on the remote island of Mure, halfway between Scotland and Norway, with no money, no friends and no idea how to chop an onion, As always, Jenny expertly weaves the lives of the characters togeth

This Time Next Year - Sophie Cousens

I wanted a wholesome New Years based read to finish 2022 with, and This Time Next Year delivered! I originally added this to my list back at the beginning of 2021 and I found it on Apple Books for just £3.99 so decided to go all in. Minnie and Quinn were both born on the 1st January 1990. Born in the same hospital, to strangers, they meet again on the morning of their 30th birthday after an eventful New Years Eve. This book reminded me a lot of One Day - the way the story is laid out - flashbacks to New Years Eves of years gone by, showed where each of the characters were at the varying points of their lives. With interwoven stories throughout the years, the two begin a friendship that neither of them quite have the time or inclination for. This was the perfect cosy read for the end of the year and I sped through it in one evening.

Barbarian Lover - Ruby Dixon

If someone told me 6 months ago that I'd be using Blue Alien smut as a palette cleanser between my books.. I probably would have laughed at them. But that's apparently the BookTok curse. Once again, I found myself diving into the world of Ruby Dixon's sci-fi romance series and this time we were following Kara's story. Once again, this is a FUN series. The format is similar in all of them, so it's not groundbreaking writing or literary fiction but it's good natured, easy to read and there's plenty of big blue alien d*ck.

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