I was very pleased with my reading stats for the year 2022. My goal was to read 15 books for the year and I ended up reading 27 books! While reading has always been a simple pleasure for me, it does feel good to not have only met my reading goal but also to have nearly doubled it. With that being said, I did have a few favorite novels from the year. I’m pretty stingy about giving out 5 stars to books, but it turns out I in fact gave 5 books 5 stars this year.
Here are my top 5 favorite books from 2022:
7 HUSBANDS OF EVELYN HUGO by Taylor Jenkins Reid
This one had been on the TBR for quite some time. I have only read one other TJR novel (plan to read more in 2023- I’m looking at you Carrie Soto) which I didn’t extremely love like I did this one. There’s so much that I could unpack about this book, but to put it simply, I thought it was perfection. The multiple timeline perspective was done so well-it truly felt as if I was being told the story of Evelyn’s life over a glass (more like bottles) of red wine in a luxury hotel bar. I never wanted this story to end. Each character in this book captivated me with their own strengths, weaknesses, and secrets of their own. The mystery of the book comes full circle with and ending I didn’t see coming but made the book all the more heartbreaking and outstanding. Easily my favorite read of 2022.
A FLICKER IN THE DARK by Stacy Willingham
Probably the book to surprise me the most this year was from Charleston local, Stacy Willingham. What I loved most about this book was Willingham’s ability to keep me on the edge of my seat throughout the whole story. Her writing style mixed with the thrilling plot was the combination I needed to keep my nose in this book night after night. I devoured this one and had to keep turning the pages to find out what was going to happen next. I had so many theories when reading this but with each twist and turn I had to go back to square one and rethink who was behind the crimes. Even some of my friends who had figured out the ending before it was revealed had such a great time reading this book. I was so impressed this was her debut novel I immediately preordered her second book and can’t wait to read what she comes up with next!
WE WERE LIARS by E. Lockhart
I credit this book for the reason I still will always read the Young Adult genre. There’s a lot of division on this novel- you either love it or hate it. With a plot centered around messy, rich family drama set in the summer, I really, really enjoyed it. This book broke my heart in all the best ways. An ending I didn’t see coming (and I’m glad I didn’t), it still sticks with me after quite some time. This is also one of those books that you can’t say much about it without giving too much away, so I’ll just say this: pick it up if you are a fan of the coming of age / family drama trope. The only setback I had with this one was the writing style. However, I overlooked that because I just loved the plot that much.
IN MY DREAMS I HOLD A KNIFE by Ashley Winstead
To go along with my love for messy characters, this book was FULL of them. There aren’t too many likeable characters in this, morally gray at best, but that didn’t stop me from loving this novel. Multiple timelines as well as multiple perspectives, this story moved fast. Centered around a group of college friends when one night one of their own is brutally murdered after a fraternity party. All the friends have secrets they are hiding that are at risk of coming to light if the truth of that night is revealed. Figuring out the secrets each character held was so fascinating to me. Each have their own motive to kill, but who did it? UGH, SO GOOD. No, I didn’t see this one coming either.
I’M GLAD MY MOM DIED by Jennette McCurdy
WHEW. The most candid and raw book I have ever read. In this we take a deep dive into McCurdy’s struggles throughout her childhood and into her young adult life. From her eating disorder, to her exploitation in the entertainment industry, and the intimate abuse she endured at the hands of her own mother. This book shed light onto what I’m sure many young people have dealt with growing up in fame and gave me more of an understanding and respect to those who have starred in television at such a young age. I hope these topics will still be talked about in Hollywood for years to come
Honorable Mentions:
–EVERY LAST SECRET by A.R. Torre
–ONE ITALIAN SUMMER by Rebecca Serle
–DIAL A FOR AUNTIES by Jesse Q. Sutanto
–THESE FLEETING SHADOWS by Kate Alice Marshall
–THE FAMILY GAME by Catherine Steadman
