#BestReadsOf2022 | Days 1-5

 

I look forward to Sophie's Best Reads event and have joined in the last few years. Unfortunately, this is my busiest time of the year at the office, and when you add in the holidays and family commitments (and sleep LOL)... well, time is at a premium. And here it is mid-December and I've yet to manage a single Best Reads post. (Not surprising since I've only had a total of four posts this month.) But I'm determined to still try, so I'll be posting several of the daily prompts together and hopefully over the next week or so I can manage to cover all the prompts that apply to my reading year. 

BEST THRILLER 

The Family Remains, the follow-up to Jewell's The Family Upstairs, was one of my most anticipated books of the year - and it did not disappoint. Full of twists I never saw coming, and an overall feeling of tension and dread that increased as the ending drew near, this was just the kind of psychological thriller that I love. The full-cast narration was the cherry on top.

BEST LGBTQ

I finally read Goodbye Paradise and Hello Forever from Sarina Bowen's backlist this year and (no surprise) loved them both. Bowen never fails to create characters that are easy to empathize with, but she takes it a step further and makes them so real and so human that I fall a little in love with them. Josh + Caleb in Goodbye Paradise and Axel + Caxton in Hello Forever captured my heart and I didn't want to say goodbye.

BEST ILLUSTRATED BOOK

I read only one illustrated book this year but even if there had been many, I'm sure my answer would have been the same. Oseman's Heartstopper Volume Four was sweet and charming, heartfelt and emotional. This volume took a more serious tone as Charlie's mental health took center stage, but it still managed to incorporate the same charm as the previous volumes. Charlie Spring and Nick Nelson are too precious for words.

BEST ADULT CONTEMPORARY

Taylor Jenkins Reid has done it again. Carrie Soto is Back was one of my most anticipated releases of 2022 and TJR delivered in a big way. Carrie was complex, flawed, and multi-layered - and even when I didn't always like her, I admired her strength, determination, and sheer will. Think you wouldn't like this one because you don't care about tennis? Think again. 😉

BEST SERIES

When I think of my reading in 2022, I think of Catherine Cowles. All five books in her remarkable Tattered & Torn series released between February and October this year. I inhaled each one as it released and was completely taken in by the beautifully written characters, the small town setting of Wolf Gap, Oregon, the suspense, the romance. It all combined to create a series that I truly loved and didn't want to end.  

HAVE YOU READ ANY OF THESE BOOKS?