Top 10 Favorite Books of 2022

2022 is the year I rediscovered reading. I didn't finish as many books as I'd like to this year- I was aiming for 60 or so and I read 33... but that's still kind of a lot for me! It's the most I've read in a while and I've found joy in reading books and discovered what genres and tropes and authors I like and what tropes and authors just don't work for me. I listened to my first audiobook- which was great. I'm going to try to read some more books this year but... I don't think I'll finish any just yet. I still want to read all those Christmas books I got... but here are my Top 10 in no particular order- except my favorite is first.

1)Beach Read by Emily Henry

This book was really a great, fun read. I found the story really interesting, I loved both of the characters and I thought they balanced each other and brought out the best in one another. Plus the feelings they had for each other... it was really romantic. Augustus is my favorite book boyfriend of the year. He's just so sweet and dreamy but he's also flawed and troubled. I liked him a lot!

This book is about 2 authors that are next door neighbors and they challenge each other to swap genres for the summer and he writes a romance and she writes a contemporary novel (I guess?) The book also deals with loss of parents and there is mention of abuse, and one main part of the book deals with a Cult- so those are some trigger warnings. This is a bit of a heavier book than the name implies- so keep that in mind... but it is a really great read and I would totally recommend this and read it again.

2) Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas

Omg this book!!! I love everything about it! The world and characters were super interesting, the way it was written was maybe a bit slow in the first chapter but once Julien got in- it was really nice. Julien is such a funny character that I just really Really love him!

This book follows Yadriel, a young brujo who's family denies him the ceremony to become a brujo because he's trans. He and his cousin- who chose not to become a Bruja because she's a vegan and wouldn't use animal blood in the ceremony- sneak away- do the ceremony anyway and he ends up summoning a ghost. Handsome and wisecracking Julien who he went to school with. Julien didn't seem to have a great home life, and apparently got into some trouble and went missing. They find out who his killer is.

I didn't like the reveal of the killer... it didn't change how much I loved this book though. I really lovs the characters and I'm so happy they're doing a sequel to this!

3) The MindF*ck Series by ST Abby

Okay so this was maybe the easiest quickest read of the whole year. I loved this whole series- I read about a book a day in 5 days- these are short books so it's very easy to finish quickly... this is really what got me back into reading.

This book follows a relationship between a Serial Killer and the FBI Investegator that is investigating her case. The woman in this book had something HORRIBLE happen to her and her family and is hellbent on revenge to get all these terrible terrible people that wronged her... and she is unstoppable, badass and not scared of anything. It's really really cool. I would totally recommend reading this again- this one has major trigger warnings and is quite violent so keep that in mind but... this was really good.

4) I'm Glad My Mom Died by Jeanette McCurdy

Jeanette McCurdy is a former child actress known for playing Sam Puckett on Icarly and Sam and Kat... and Jeanette has had quite an interesting and traumatic life and she tells it in such a compelling way but it's also very lighthearted at times. Lots of trigger warnings for this one- Jeanettes mom was truly awful and manipulative and she also worked with a man named Dan Schnieder- who she doesn't mention by name... but this man is disgusting.

Interesting story- this is the audiobook I listened too. I also started listening to Leslie Jordan's audiobook but I didnt finish it yet... overall I like celebrity audiobooks because it's cool to hear them talk about what actually went on in their lives.

5) The Heartstopper series by Alice Oseman

Alice Oseman did a great job with this series... it's just so damn sweet. I love Nick and Charlie and they are the absolute cutest! The art is also really good. I haven't watched the show yet actually- I just saw the first episode... but I'm sure it's good! Fun fact: I went in a Lyft with someone that did a song on the show's uncle. He's a great Lyft driver and such a proud uncle! It was sweet!

This is a story about 2 boys falling in love in High School- the one boy doesn't realize he's bisexual until he gets feelings for Charlie. And Charlie struggles with some things and the couple is just very sweet. Trigger warnings for this one too.

6) Heartbones by Colleen Hoover

I really liked this one! I can't tell if I liked this or It Ends With Us more- but I loved the summery aspect of this one and I liked that this was sort of a New Adult story. It's very interesting. There's a lot that happens in this book and- I'm not sure I loved the ending of it... but it was pretty good all around!

I don't even really know how to describe this one because the twist just kind of...happens but it's a good one to read in the summer for sure.

7) It Ends With Us by Colleen Hoover

I think I only read 3 Colleen Hoover Books this year and 2 of them are on this list... Ugly Love is well written but I thought that one was a little cheesy and now that I see what she's capable of... I prefer these other books a lot more. This one also: major trigger warnings. There are parts of this that are uncomfortable to read- but then there are parts where there's just joy and young love and finding people. I still haven't read the sequel yet- I'm a bit nervous about it... but I did like this book a lot!

8) Book Lovers by Emily Henry

Again- just a nice book. I didn't like this as much as Beach Read- but I thought it was really good. It definitely stood out to me compared to other things on this list. I really liked the town in this book and I still think about it a lot today.

9) This Poison Heart by Kaylynn Bayron

This is a YA Fantasy retelling of The Secret Garden. I really like all the characters in this book- the ending really sets up the sequel to this well... I think Kaylynn Bayron set up a really interesting world. This was really great to read in the summer because it's one I liked reading outside a lot. The villain of this book was kind of unexpected and really cool also. Theres a lot I loved about this book!

10) Red, White and Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston

I didn't love this book when I was reading it... there were a lot of criticisms I had about this book but... it

makes the list because of Casey McQuiston's Writing. The way that they write the romance and heartbreak and unrequitted forbidden love is just so real and so very sweet. I don't know that I loved this book in particular more than other books I've read this year... but McQuiston's writing style just kind of made it special and I just really loved it for some reason.

And that is everything! I hope you guys like this list... do you agree with me? What should I read this year???

Bye!

-Shannon