Top Ten Books of 2022— my picks anyway.
These are the top ten books that I read in 2022, not ranked in any particular order. (God help me if I even tried!)
Catch Me by Lisa Gardner
First of all, I’ve just got to say, this author has a really cool name. I can already see my kids rolling their eyes, who needs dad jokes? I got mom jokes… in fact, I got all the jokes… Ok, back to reality. Catch me was one of my favorite books that I have read from Lisa Gardner to date, and there has been many. Originally published in 2012, it is kind of an oldie, but a goodie. This is the 6th book in the Detective D.D. Warren Series. The story centers on Charlene Grant, each of her best friends have been murdered on the same date, exactly one year apart. Will she be next? You might want to read this one and find out.
It Ends With Us by Colleen Hoover
Lily Bloom grew up with a front row seat to domestic violence, when issues from Lilys battered past start leaking into her current relationship with handsome neurosurgeon Ryle Kincaid—Including Lily’s first love, Atlas Corrigan, the intensity really ratchets up. You could really feel what the characters were going through, the emotions were all but jumping off the page at you. I devoured It Ends With Us within a matter of hours. Seriously. This isn’t the type of book I would normally be drawn to, but since there was so much hype on BookTok about it, I had to take a look for myself, and I was not disappointed. In fact, I just found out that that they were adapting this novel into a movie starring Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni. It Ends With Us will be a hit at the box office for sure!
It Starts With Us by Colleen Hoover
This book picks up where It Ends With Us left off. Told from two different points of view, this book focuses more on Atlas’s journey, then and now, and follows Lily’s path as she finally embraces true love. This series is so good. I really hope that they adapt this one into a movie too. It Starts With Us is the type of book that you can curl up in your easy chair next to the fireplace and just get lost in the words.
High Noon by Nora Roberts
Refusing to be held back by her past, an expert hostage negotiator with a school age daughter and a mother who refuses to leave the house, battles a psycho with a grudge. What could be better than this? I’d say grab yourself some popcorn and settle in for a great read! Nora Roberts has always been one of my favorites, but this one must have slipped through the cracks for me since I just found it this year and boy was I glad I did. High Noon is a must read.
The House Across the Lake by Riley Sager
This book was an instant New York Times Bestseller, and I can totally see why. The House Across the Lake is centered around Casey Fletcher, an actress who is supposed to be on the wagon, is exiled to her family’s lake house, sees a lady drowning in the lake, the same lake her husband drown in the year before. Unable to save him, it becomes utterly important for her to save this woman. Does she? Read it and see for yourself. You won’t be sorry. I really cannot sing this book’s praises enough. There is Suspense. There are twists. There are turns. I honestly didn’t know who Riley Sager was before this book, but let me tell you, I know who he is now!
I’ll Be Damned by Eric Braeden
I’m not usually such a fan girl, but I have watched this man play Victor Newman on The Young & the Restless since I was 11 years old. (We are not going to talk about how long ago that was, or the fact that I really really wanted to name my son Braeden. Sadly, my husband vetoed it.) That aside, I’ll Be Damned is a great book. Very interesting read about his journey from a hospital base in Kiel to the silver screen in Los Angeles.
The Southern Book Clubs Guide to Slaying Vampires by Grady Hendrix
Don’t mess with the ladies from the South! The Southern Book Clubs Guide to Slaying Vampires has been touted as Steel Magnolias meets Dracula and I would say that is a fair assessment. This is another one that I almost gave up on and was glad that I didn’t. I will say, for me personally, the read is much better than the listen. My first attempt at this book was on audible, which I normally love, but unfortunately, I couldn’t get past the narrator on this one. I made it to chapter 17 before I bailed for a hardcopy of the book. Great Story!
Home Before Dark by Riley Sager
I know, I know… another Riley Sager.. But Damn he’s good! Home Before Dark is another one of my favorite psychological thrillers that I have read to date! You’ve got a house full of secrets and a woman bound to uncover them, no matter what the cost. There is a part of me that wishes I hadn’t heard about Riley Sager for another ten years, that way there would be sooo many more books for me to completely geek out on all at once. This guy is such a master at deception!
Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens
A coming of age murder mystery set in the Marshes of North Carolina. This book makes the list because of the awesome story. I will admit, I almost gave up on this book about two thirds of the way through. I felt like the book kind of drug in the middle. Even the movie adaptation kind of left me with the same feeling, which is kind of odd, usually they cut so much out of a novel for a movie that its nothing but fast paced, but apparently not this one. Where The Crawdads Sing gets you right in the feels and sticks with you.
22 Seconds by James Patterson & Maxine Paetro
This time things get a little personal and too close to home for Sergeant Lindsay Boxer. I love these Women’s Murder Club thrillers. I have read every single installment and they always seem to have a fresh case for me to sink my teeth into. This series and the Alex Cross series have to be my favorite of all time from James Patterson. If you are a person who likes to read books a series at a time, 22 Seconds is for you!
I hope you enjoy these books as much as I did. You can buy any of these books here on Amazon or get it for free when you sign up for a free trial from Audible.
Until next time, stay brash, stay bookish, stay true to you!
