It’s finally time to share my favorite books of the year! Before I begin, I wanted to give a heartfelt thanks to all the authors, publishers and publicists who offered review copies to me this year. Thank you to the authors who poured their time and souls into writing such unforgettable books. And finally, thank you to my fellow readers and bloggers who visited my blog this year and perhaps discovered something new to read:-)
2022 wasn’t my best reading year. The last three months have been stressful and chaotic as my husband and I decided to sell our house and move out of the city. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a good thing, and after things settle down and we finish the (seemingly) never ending process of unpacking, I know I’m going to love it here. But the whole experience did a number on my blogging and reading. I don’t think I’m even going to hit 85 books this year, and my Goodreads goal was 95, so it makes me sad that there are so many 2022 releases I wasn’t able to get to. Still, there’s no point mourning unread books when the ones I did read were excellent!
As usual, I’m starting off this list with my top five favorite books of the year. This is whittled down from eight books, by the way. It was extremely hard to pick my top five! (Click on the titles to read my reviews.)
Top Five Books of 2022
Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. John Mandel. The nitty-gritty: Emily St. John Mandel explores the tenuous boundaries between the past, present and future in Sea of Tranquility, a thoughtful and emotional journey through time.
Daisy Darker by Alice Feeney. The nitty-gritty: Clever, outrageous, emotional, shocking and just plain entertaining, Daisy Darker is this summer’s must read thriller.
The Shadow Glass by Josh Winning. The nitty-gritty: An ode to fandoms and the nostalgia of 1980s fantasy films, The Shadow Glass drips with magic, humor, perfect pacing and thrilling adventure.
Black Mouth by Ronald Malfi. The nitty-gritty: Four childhood friends are forced to confront the past in Ronald Malfi’s latest, an epic, nightmarish tale with unforgettable characters.
Our Crooked Hearts by Melissa Albert. The nitty-gritty: A seductive, multi-layered story with family secrets, betrayal and magic, perfect for fans of dark contemporary fantasy.
And the rest of the best…
Best Horror of 2022
Such Sharp Teeth by Rachel Harrison | The Fall by Alan Baxter | The Book Eaters by Sunyi Dean |The Violence by Delilah S. Dawson | Little Eve by Catriona Ward | The Hollow Kind by Andy Davidson | What Moves the Dead by T. Kingfisher | Ghost Eaters by Clay McLeod Chapman
Best Science Fiction of 2022
The Mother’s Wheel by Robin Kirk | A Sh*tload of Crazy Powers by Jackson Ford| The Light Pirate by Lily Brooks-Dalton | Dead Silence by S.A. Barnes | August Kitko and the Mechas from Space by Alex White | Glitterati by Oliver K. Langmead | Stringers by Chris Panatier | Mercury Rising by R.W.W. Greene
Best Fantasy of 2022
The Great Witch of Brittany by Louisa Morgan | The Hourglass Throne by K.D. Edwards | Ordinary Monsters by J.M. Miro | Nettle & Bone by T. Kingfisher | The Girl Who Outgrew the World by Zoje Stage
Best Mystery/Thriller/YA of 2022
Both Ronald Malfi and T. Kingfisher were amazing discoveries for me this year, and I will have to explore more of their works in the next one.
The move to a new house, with all that it entails, might have upset some of your reading plans, granted, but you still have a good number of exceptional books under your proverbial belt, and you can be proud of that 🙂
Maddalena@spaceandsorcery recently posted…DUNE MESSIAH (Dune #2), by Frank Herbert
Thanks Maddalena, it was quite a good reading year overall:-)
Thanks for sharing your favs
Thanks for stopping by!
I really enjoyed Black Mouth. It didn’t make my favorite list but I still really enjoyed it. I just double checked to be sure Daisy Darker was on my audiobook wishlist as that’s how I’m most likely to read that one. Looks like a great reading year despite the end of year stressors. And as you said, it’s less important how many you read and far more important how much you enjoyed or learned from what you read.
todd recently posted…Quarterly Look Back – 4th Quarter 2022
I always have to remember not to compare myself to other bloggers and readers. It’s hard, but if I focus on the wonderful books I do read, then numbers don’t really matter.
Thank you for the shout-out — looking forward to many more great recs in 2023!
Thank you Robin! There was no doubt you’d be on my list:-)
Hey, we have uhhh… one in common!! One. That’s errr… interesting, innit? lol
LOL maybe next year we’ll have more…
Thanks so much for sharing! I enjoy hearing about all your favorites.
Anne – Books of My Heart recently posted…Her Delta Force Protector by Sandra Owens
Thanks Anne!
I’m so glad to see Our Crooked Hearts made your best of – it’s one of my favorites too!
It was amazing and surprising:-)
Great recap!
I just read he most amazing scifi, self-published! I’m going to review it before the end of the year. That’s the reason why I don’t do recaos before the end of the year, as I can get another amazing one in before the year ends.
I really want to read your first listed here.
And to many more great books in 2023!
Emma @ Words And Peace recently posted…Sunday Post #71 – 12/17/2022
I’m looking forward to your science fiction review!
Moving house is a great reason to read less… how could you possibly have the time?? You’ve read some amazing-looking books in 2022! I haven’t read any of your top 5 (although I do have a copy of Sea of Tranquility that I need to get to). I’ve read a few of your others (loved Nettle & Bone!!), and have a couple of others on my to-read list. Here’s hoping there are many more fantastic books awaiting us in 2023!
I have a good feeling about 2023!
Moving can take up so much time. And it’s not done when the move is done, you know? All the unpacking and arranging of furniture can be A LOT. But you still managed to read a lot of great books!
Stephanie @ Bookfever recently posted…Top 10 of 2022: Bookish Resolutions/Goals for 2023
Unpacking and setting up are going to take a while, but that’s ok. 🙂
Overall though I think you did really good! I am going to read Daisy Darker in January, I am really curious to see if I will like it. Seems like everyone does so that worries me…lol.
Stormi recently posted…Week in Review #14
Ha ha now I’m curious to see if you’ll like it:-)
Really liking your list. I’d like to try Sea of Tranquility too.
Yes! Read it, so good.
Great lists! It’s so hard to choose the best because I enjoyed so many! Chouette by Claire Oshetsky stands out, loved it!
Priscilla Bettis recently posted…Christmas Starry Sky and Interview
I will check that one out! And yes, it’s sooo hard to choose.
I hope things settle down for you soon & that you end up loving your new home.
Omg I haven’t read any of your top five, two (Daisy Darker & Our Crooked Hearts) are must reads for me in 2023 though.
There are several other books mentioned here that I want to read but the one I could really kick myself for failing to get to is The Book Eaters.
My favourites were Juniper & Thorn (Ava Reid is definitely a favourite author for me now), The Final Strife & Gilded.
Charlotte recently posted…My Most Anticipated Releases Of 2022 Part II:
I hope you can read The Book Eaters, Daisy Darker and Our Crooked Hearts next year:-)
Thank you. I hope you get to discover lots of new favourites this year.
Ah! I still need to read Our Crooked Hearts! I’m going to move it up since it’s on your top 5! There are actually several books on my TBR that made your full list. I loved What Moves the Dead, too!
Jennifer | Book Den recently posted…Review | Piranesi by Susanna Clarke
It’s so good! I actually wouldn’t mind rereading it.
I haven’t read any of these yet, but several of them are on my radar! Maybe in 2023….
Stop by and see what my favorites of the year were!
Thanks for visiting, Lisa:-)
A few of these are on my TBR! (Most of them thanks to your reviews, I would guess, haha.) I have Nettle & Bone on hold right now – it should finally become my first Kingfisher read.
That’s a great first Kingfisher, in my opinion:-)
I haven’t read any of these, but I know several are on my TBR now because of your reviews! Hope you have just as many good reads next year!
Lisa Mandina (Lisa Loves Literature) recently posted…Top 10 of 2022 – Favorite New or New to Me Authors
Thanks Lisa, I hope we both have a fantastic reading year:-)
I have the Dutch edition of Ordinary Monsters. So curious about it. And I’ve heard such great things about The Book Eaters in recent weeks.
Annemieke @ A Dance with Books recently posted…2022 End of the Year Survey
I hope you get to read Ordinary Monsters. I really loved it:-)
I liked the way you sorted this list! I think 2022 was an amazing year for horror. I wish I had read more sci-fi though.
Horror was so strong last year. And seems like 2023 is going to be another strong year:-)
You know that Dark Room Etiquette is a big favorite andI also loved The Book of Cold Cases!
I’m glad we have a couple of favorites in common:-)
I also loved St. James’ book. Such a great read. Happy 2023.
Nettle & Bone was on my list, too!
My post: https://lydiaschoch.com/top-ten-tuesday-favorite-books-of-2022/
I liked the first half of the Violence, but it felt like it wore out its welcome in the second half. But I”m glad to see that others like it because Deliah Dawson is a great author.
I moved this year as well. It was a good move, but any move is super stressful! Mine didn’t affect my reading so much. My reviewing, though? I barely wrote any once I started packing and that continued all through the year. Hopefully, I can get back to it in 2023. I hope you find lots more great books in 2023!
Happy TTT!
Susan
http://www.blogginboutbooks.com
I own OUR CROOKED HEARTS but haven’t gotten to it yet. Looks like I need to change that!
Nicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction recently posted…Top Ten Books of 2022!!
I’ve not read any of these, though The Book Eaters is on my TBR. Glad to see you had such great reads in 2022!
Jo recently posted…Top Ten Tuesday #401
Excellent reading year. I also struggled to make my usual 100 this year. I think I rolled in around 85 (although I know I’ve missed a few off my list so maybe closer to 90). Maybe this year we’ll be on a roll.
Some great books and unsurprisingly we share a lot of titles.
Lynn 😀
Good luck with the move! I’m glad you liked Our Crooked Hearts. I’m excited to read that one.
Aj @ Read All The Things! recently posted…2022 Reading Statistics
Wow! You managed to read and blog while moving?! That’s crazy!! (in the best possible way!)
And you read a lot of good books!! The Hourglass Throne and Nettle and Bones are some of my favorite too!