Favorite Books of 2022 🏆

Hello fellow bookworms 🏆 It’s time to talk about my favorite books of 2022 again! Once again it has been a rough year, so it’s nice to look back at what books I have loved and how they have made the year better! In total, I have 21 Favorite Books favorite books to talk about today and I’m so excited to share my love for them! The pictures link to the respective Reviews and the books are listed in order of when I read them.

While we’re here I wanted to draw attention to the Harper Collins Union Strike! The Strike is still ongoing and despite being on strike for over 30 days there hasn’t been a word from HC. As a reader I want to show my support for the Union and their fight for fair wages. The Best Books of the year lists are one of my favorites to write and this year there are 4 HC titles among them. I’ll be including the title, respective quote and award title, but there won’t be a review. All reviews went up on my blog before the strike, but they won’t be linked either.

Here’s what you can do to help

• Check out their Linktree
• Follow the Union on Twitter & Instagram
• Donate to the Strike Fund
• Sign the Solidary Open Letter
• Buy something from the shop

Check out the previous years  💕

• 🏆 Favorite Books of 2017: Find out what I loved the year before here!
• 🏆 Favorite Books of 2018: Find out what I loved the year before here!
• 🏆 Favorite Books of 2019: Find out what I loved the year before here!
• 🏆 Favorite Books of 2020: Find out what I loved the year before here!
• 🏆 Favorite Books of 2021: Find out what I loved last year here!

Daughter of the Deep (Rick Riordan) 💕

🏆 BEST WRITING STYLE 🏆

“Given the choice between destruction or lasagna, I will choose lasagna every time.”

➽ The story is inspired by Jule Verne’s 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. I loved how that was incorporated here! The main premise is the prestigious Harding-Pencroft Academy, a high school focusing on marine science and navigation. It consists of four houses that each have their specialty: Dolphin (communication & languages), Orca (psychology & medicine), Shark (weapons & strategy), and Cephalopod (engineering). However, when a tragedy befalls the school, the freshman class of HP Academy is thrust into their own adventure.  There’s also the theme of people abusing their power and having the responsibility to not let inventions loose on a world that isn’t ready for them.

Wundersmith & Hollowpox (Jessica Townsend) 💕

🏆 MOST LOVABLE CHARACTER CAST 🏆

“Morrigan frowned. She sometimes felt that her true knack had nothing to do with being a Wundersmith. That it was, in fact, her remarkable ability to assume the worst. It came, of course, from a lifetime of believing she was cursed, and it seemed to be stitched into the very fabric of her being, even now. Telling her not to worry about bad things happening around her was like telling Hawthorne not to get excited about dragons, or Jupiter not to be ginger.”

➽ Morrigan grapples with her identity as a Wundersmith and what that says about her morality. Wundersmiths are the sinister specter haunting Nevermoor and the few people at the Society that know about her true nature are wary and paranoid about her powers. It really broke my heart as Morrigan was so hopeful she would finally get her own family at the Society and leave behind her identity of the Cursed Child. No one is willing to teach her more about her powers and the only other Wundersmith is the murderous, hated Ezra Squall. However there are so many wonderful, lighthearted moments! Morrigan has her family at the Deucalion Hotel that always has her back even when things are difficult with the Society ❤️

Excuse Me While I Ugly Cry (Joya Goffney) 💕

🏆 BEST CONTEMPORARY 🏆

“Listen to me, li’l girl.” She raises my chin to look in her eyes. “Home is not a place. Home is in here.” She pats her hand over her heart. She says, “Don’t you fear, I’m right here.”

The Bronzed Beasts (Roshani Chokshi) 💕

🏆 BEST CHARACTER DYNAMICS 🏆

“A slow smile curved Laila’s lips. “Then I’m lucky you’re my engineer.” “Luck is—” “Zofia,” said Laila, leaning forward. “I am glad you’re my friend.”

➽ This was overall a great and satisfying finale. I liked it a lot better than the second book, because The Silvered Serpents had a big shift in tone (from mostly fun and adventurous to heartbreaking and grim) that I needed to get used to. The Bronzed Beasts deals with the remaining trauma of the characters, but also offers a lot of hope and growth for them. They face their demons and last big mission head on in Venice, which I liked as a setting. In the end, I felt like everything was wrapped up in a way that felt realistic but also hopeful, so I’m content and satisfied with this end to the series 

The Sad Ghost Club Vol 1. & 2 (Lize Meddings) 💕

🏆 BEST GRAPHIC NOVEL 🏆

➽ This was such a great exploration of Mental Health  The main focus is on S.G. who experiences lots of social anxiety, especially around parties and developing friendships. I could relate to them and their process of trying to hype themselves to go to the party so much! It literally felt like my own thoughts and dilemmas were reflected in them and it’s so great because that made me really seen. The overwhelming amount of people at parties, trying to connect when everyone has their own group and the awkwardness of meeting new people was so well done here!

My Brother’s Husband (Gengoroh Tagame) 💕

🏆 MOST EMOTIONAL 🏆

➽ This was such a heartfelt story about loss and unlearning prejudice  My Brother’s Husband is about Mike visiting Ryoji, the twin brother of his deceased husband, and his daughter in Japan. Mike is still dealing with his grief and hopes to explore the place that his great love grew up in before immigrating to the US. This is a great commentary on the homophobia and stereotypes that are prevalent in Japan and how it’s often not safe for people to come out. Ryoji himself has a lot of internalized prejudice that he’s forced to confront when Mike stays with them. The book did a great job showing that he is already aware that some of his opinions aren’t right and slowly unlearning the harmful stereotypes he was socialized with. It was really well done and Ryoji went through so much growth, becoming close to Mike and speaking up instead of staying silent.

How to Disappear (Sharon Huss Roar) 💕

🏆 MOST RELATABLE 🏆

“Never confuse courage with fearlessness. When you face your fears to do what’s right, that’s courage.”

What’s Not to Love (Wibberley & Siegemund-Broka) 💕

🏆 BEST BANTER 🏆

“Yes, Ethan. I told him we were getting married, because we’re just so in love. I can’t wait to spend the rest of my life with you,” I deadpan. “Of course I didn’t say we were planning a wedding.”

➽ Rivals to Lovers is one of my favorite tropes and the authors did it SO well!! Allison’s nemesis at school is Ethan Molloy, an arrogant and aloof boy who competes with her on everything. They are constantly trying to one-up each other, to the annoyance of their teachers and fellow students. The tension and fire in their relationship came through really well, especially when it changed into attraction. This is a slowburn romance as Allison and Ethan realize that their obsession with each other is turning into something else. If you like hate-kissing, unwanted crushes, and lots of tension, this is perfect for you

King of Fools & Queen of Volts (Amanda Foody) 💕

🏆 BEST SEQUEL & FINALE 🏆

“Turns out there’s no way of dying that’s romantic. Turns out tragedy is always tragic.”

Between You, Me and the Honeybees (Amelia Diane Coombs) 💕

🏆 MOST BINGEABLE 🏆

➽ I loved the anxiety rep and that the book focused on unconventional future plans. Josie loves Hazeldine Honey and wants to take over her mother’s business. I loved how close she was to her mother, yet Josie cannot help but keep a big secret from her. She lied about getting accepted at college and has no plans to go into academia. I liked that Josie was determined to take over the family business. It’s nice to have the focus on a character not wanting to go to college and showing that there are different plans for the future! I really liked Josie’s love for beekeeping and found her anxiety really relatable!

Empty Smiles (Katherine Arden) 💕

🏆 BEST HORROR 🏆

“She took a deep breath. “No.” He stopped walking.“ Save me from stubborn girls,” he muttered.”

➽ Ollie is trapped in The Smiling Man’s carnival! She’s all alone, but I loved seeing her interactions with the Smiling Man. They made this book really fascinating and probably my favorite as we finally get some more insight into his motivations and personality. The Smiling Man has been a great antagonist from the beginning – I love villains that are soft-spoken and polite but also have a vicious and cruel side. We don’t get ALL the lore, but his appeal is that he’s mysterious. Through Olivia’s POV we get to explore the sinister carnival and the murderous clowns. I don’t find clowns scary, but the author delivered some truly chilling scenes!

See You Yesterday (Rachel Lynn Solomon) 💕

🏆 BEST ROMANCE 🏆

“I could wake up on the same day a thousand times, and every single one would be different because of you. Every single one would be life-changing. Because of you.”

➽ I LOVE when books play with time travel or loops! After her disastrous first day of college, Barrett finds herself back on the morning of the same day. Though she’d love to move on from September 21st, she cannot move past it … and it seems like she might not be stuck here alone. Both Miles and Barrett keep reliving the same day and they set out to figure out how they can stop it. I liked the way the time loop element was embedded in this contemporary novel. Miles is very science-focused, so he brings into play different physics theories. Barrett is more willing to allow a bit of ‘magic’ of the universe. Having these different perspectives was a nice balance and the book tries to explain the loop as best as possible!

The Library of the Unwritten (A.J. Hackwith) 💕

🏆 BEST WORLDBUILDING 🏆

“War has always followed libraries, my apprentice. History has made no effort to hide that truth from us. Look at Rome; look at the Crusades. Vanquishing an enemy and taking his books was just as strategic as taking his cannons. Books are knowledge weaponized. And what weapons you cannot steal, you must burn.”

➽ If you love books about books, you’ll love this! The setting is a library … but it’s in Hell and only houses all the unfinished stories – hence why it’s called The Unwritten Wing 👀 Claire is the Head Librarian in charge of making sure no characters escape from the books … and go in search of their authors. The entire concept is so unique and fascinating, as we find out what happens to all the stories that authors leave behind and maybe never finish. The fact that they occupy a space in Hell that needs to be managed is a cool idea that’s explored really well here!

One Cup at a Time (Matt Tarpley) 💕

🏆 MOST COMFORTING & WHOLESOME 🏆

➽ One Cup at a Time brings back the lovable animals from Cat’s Café  Even though this is a collection of comics, I’d consider this a sequel and recommend reading Cat’s Café first. One Cup at a Time follows the familiar setting of Cat’s Café, located in a town populated by several animals that all love their favorite coffee shop. We get all the regulars from the first book plus Cat and Rabbit, as they serve their customers. There are also a couple of new characters, my favorite being Mouse, who comes across a drawing of the Café and sets out on an adventure to find this magical, cozy place!

The Sunbearer Trials (Aiden Thomas) 💕

🏆 MOST ENGAGING 🏆

“You are a loud, impulsive, persistent seeker of justice, and that makes people uncomfortable, but it doesn’t make you bad. it makes you very good, in fact.”

➽ The Sunbearer Trials is set in Reino Del Sol, a world protected by dioses. The Gold gods are seen as powerful and get the biggest spotlight, while the Jade gods might be considered kind, but also weak. This gave me major Percy Jackson vibes and is a great YA book for fans of the series! We follow Teo, the Jade son of Quetzal, the diosa of birds. He’s been living close to mortals his entire life and while he has to attend ceremonies with the rest of the semidioses and their parents, he never felt like he fit in. His best friend Niya is a daughter of Tierra, the dios of Earth and because she’s a Gold, she’s always been living a slightly different life. I loved getting to know the different gods and their children throughout the book!

Miss Peregrine’s Museum of Wonders (Ransom Riggs) 💕

🏆 BEST GUIDE 🏆

“Normals have been trying to erase us for centuries. Photography is a way to fix ourselves in place. To prove we were here, and not the monster they made us out to be.”

➽ This is a fantastic Guide to Miss Peregrine’s world! I’d recommend having read all six books though, as otherwise you’ll get spoiled for the very ending. Apart from that, this guide offers new loops, information, and never seen before photographs. I appreciated that it actually added new things to the lore of the series, instead of only rehashing what we already know. I got the physical copy for Christmas and it’s gorgeous!! This is an additional book to a series that’s worth its money 🥰

Vespertine (Margaret Rogerson) 💕

🏆 BEST STANDALONE 🏆

“It wasn’t exactly that simple, but I decided that I didn’t want to argue about the Clerisy’s hierarchy with a Fifth Order spirit. Also, it had a point. “It would be useful if you did remember something. We still don’t know why your soul turned into a revenant.” “No doubt because I was horrifically nasty and evil,” it spat.”

➽ One of my favorite things is the main character being forced to team up with an evil, untrustworthy entity! The revenant is a Fifth Order spirit of immense power and malice. Artemisia has no choice but to wield its relic in order to stand a chance against the other spirits. Both of them share a body and can communicate, but the revenant might betray her or try to properly possess her at any chance it gets. I LOVED the snark and banter between them. The revenant is grumpy, mean, and spiteful, yet it has no choice but to work with Artemisia for now. Despite making clear how much it hates the ‘wretched nuns’ and threatens to murder everyone, you can also glimpse a softer side to it.

The Luminaries (Susan Dennard) 💕

🏆 BEST FANTASY 🏆

“The forest is dangerous for a Luminary untrained.”

➽ Welcome to Hemlock Falls where nightmares lurk! This small-town is one of several locations that have got a sleeping spirit underneath their forest. The problem? Its dreams create Nightmares – different types of monsters that roam the space at night and try to escape its boundaries. That’s why The Luminaries Clans are tasked to protect the world by deploying their hunters to eliminate the monsters. Therefore there’s a Clan for each day of the week. I loved this setting and the unique idea!! It’s more paranormal Fantasy which I have been craving recently! Hemlock Falls is your typical small town, where everyone knows everyone and because of the danger, it’s very isolated. I loved getting to know the different Clans, especially as each of them has a different motto and value they hold dear.

Have you read any books on my list? What are your Favorite Reads of 2022? 🏆

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