Hello everyone! Welcome to the last day of the year. I thought it would be fun to do a wrap-up of some of my favorite reads this year. I’m also going to award superlatives because why not?
Let’s get started!
Top 10 Reads of 2022
This was not an easy list to make, but here are my top ten favorite reads of the year…
See any you recognize?
Superlatives
Since I could never pick just one, I’m awarding up to three for each category…
Most Memorable Characters
Stephanie Plum, the Owens women (Franny, Jet, and Maria to be precise) and Harbinder Kaur.
Most Surprising Read (And Why)
Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus. It’s been months since I’ve read this and I still can’t quite articulate how I felt about it. It was an outstanding read that evoked every possible emotion. I guess what surprised me most was that a book could make me feel so strongly to the point that after reading I genuinely felt that everyone should be required to read this book.
The Bodyguard by Katherine Center also really caught me by surprise. I’ll be posting my review of it in the next few weeks. It was so funny and so well-written and made me want to read everything Katherine Center has written ASAP.
Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree. What surprised me about this read is that it even exists! Cozy fantasy is a genre I didn’t know I needed in my life. I smiled the entire time while reading and I could read ten more book set in this world. I’m hopeful the author has plans for future books!
Bonus: One for the Money by Janet Evanovich. I knew I would like the Stephanie Plum series but I didn’t know just how much I would love it from the very first book. I was laughing out loud in the middle of this murder mystery and already falling for Morelli.
Favorite Book Cover
Vanishing Hour by Laura Griffin, hands-down, has one of the best covers I’ve seen.
Favorite Setting
West Texas (Vanishing Hour by Laura Griffin), Brooklyn/New England (Magic Lessons by Alice Hoffman), and London (Bleeding Heart Yard by Elly Griffiths and The Ink Black Heart by Robert Galbraith).
Worth the Wait
The Ink Black Heart (Cormoran Strike #6) by Robert Galbraith which I’ve been waiting on since 2020, and Bleeding Heart Yard (Harbinder Kaur #3) by Elly Griffiths.
Most Memorable (And Why)
Magic Lessons by Alice Hoffman (John Hathorne, Curaçao, witches losing their magic, revenge plots, where to even begin??), Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus (the scene with the pencil still gives me chills), and It Happened One Summer by Tessa Bailey (Brendan…need I say more?!)
Recommend to a Friend (And Why)
Meet Me in the Margins by Melissa Ferguson is one I would recommend to anyone. It’s a clean romance, a book about books, witty and fun, you really can’t go wrong with it.
Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree. This story is “high fantasy with low stakes” according to a blurb on the cover. It’s also whimsical, sweet, and has a touch of mystery and romance. There was nothing I didn’t love about it.
Favorite Fiction Read
The Rules of Magic by Alice Hoffman, The Ice Queen by Alice Hoffman, and The Ink Black Heart by Robert Galbraith.
Favorite Non-Fiction Read
Survival Lessons by Alice Hoffman, How I Write by Janet Evanovich, and Mastering the Process by Elizabeth George.
Hannah's Library 