Monday, December 5, 2022
Favorite Books of 2022
Life really gets in the way of reading some good books, you know? This year, I had time to actually finish a couple books which was super nice, and also renewed my love for reading, which had felt like it was dwindling somewhat in the last couple years. I've gotten a little lackadaisical in keeping up with writing book reviews for every book I've been reading this year. I only have so much energy, you know?
Anyway, on to the list...
Beach Read by Emily Henry
Synopsis: A romance writer who no longer believes in love and a literary writer stuck in a rut engage in a summer-long challenge that may just upend everything they believe about happily ever afters. Augustus Everett is an acclaimed author of literary fiction. January Andrews writes bestselling romance. When she pens a happily ever after, he kills off his entire cast. They’re polar opposites. In fact, the only thing they have in common is that for the next three months, they're living in neighboring beach houses, broke, and bogged down with writer's block. Until, one hazy evening, one thing leads to another and they strike a deal designed to force them out of their creative ruts: Augustus will spend the summer writing something happy, and January will pen the next Great American Novel. She’ll take him on field trips worthy of any rom-com montage, and he’ll take her to interview surviving members of a backwoods death cult (obviously). Everyone will finish a book and no one will fall in love. Really.
Why it made the list: I was skeptical about whether I would like this book or not, but I could not keep it down. I was drawn into this book from the start, and even though I knew that the two would eventually get together, I still wanted to see just how they would. It's definitely a romance, so if you're not in to that, you might not like it. But I definitely did!
Synopsis: Ryland Grace is the sole survivor on a desperate, last-chance mission—and if he fails, humanity and the earth itself will perish. Except that right now, he doesn’t know that. He can’t even remember his own name, let alone the nature of his assignment or how to complete it. All he knows is that he’s been asleep for a very, very long time. And he’s just been awakened to find himself millions of miles from home, with nothing but two corpses for company. His crewmates dead, his memories fuzzily returning, Ryland realizes that an impossible task now confronts him. Hurtling through space on this tiny ship, it’s up to him to puzzle out an impossible scientific mystery—and conquer an extinction-level threat to our species. And with the clock ticking down and the nearest human being light-years away, he’s got to do it all alone. Or does he?
Why it made the list: While I didn't always love Weir's writing style and some of the ways he decided to tell the story, the story itself was super compelling. I could not wait to see what would happen next, just waiting for the next moment I could go back to reading it. I've heard this is being adapted into a movie as well, which I can totally see. You can read my longer review here.
Synopsis: True crime can leave a false trail. Four years ago, Brynn left Saint Ambrose School following the shocking murder of her favourite teacher. The case was never solved, but she's sure that the three kids who found Mr. Larkin's body know more than they're telling, especially her ex-best friend Tripp Talbot. He's definitely hiding something. When Brynn gets an internship working on a popular true-crime show, she decides to investigate what really happened that day in the woods. But the further she dives into the past, the more secrets she finds. Four years ago someone got away with murder. Now it's time to uncover the truth...
Why it made the list: I've liked most of McManus' mysteries, and this one was no exception. Not only is there a mystery (and mysteries are always compelling unless they are boring), there is also a developing romance that you know is coming, but can't help but root for regardless. The answer to the mystery is unexpected, even though I now can't remember what it is!
Synopsis: Can you stop a murder after it’s already happened? Late October. After midnight. You’re waiting up for your seventeen-year-old son. He’s late. As you watch from the window, he emerges, and you realize he isn’t alone: he’s walking toward a man, and he’s armed. You can’t believe it when you see him do it: your funny, happy teenage son, he kills a stranger, right there on the street outside your house. You don’t know who. You don’t know why. You only know your son is now in custody. His future shattered. That night you fall asleep in despair. All is lost. Until you wake... and it is yesterday. And then you wake again... and it is the day before yesterday. Every morning you wake up a day earlier, another day before the murder. With another chance to stop it. Somewhere in the past lies an answer. The trigger for this crime—and you don’t have a choice but to find it...
Why it made the list: I love a good time travel story, and this one is definitely unique in that the lead character is continually going back in time to try to figure out what happened when the book first starts. There are mysteries upon mysteries, and it all wraps up in a very satisfying way.
Other books I enjoyed this year, but wouldn't call my favorites: The Midnight Library by Matt Haig, Good Girl, Bad Blood by Holly Jackson
You can check out all of the books I’ve read on my Goodreads page, but let me know if you’ve had any favorites from this year that I should check out!
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