My 10 Favorite Books of 2022

 It's nearly the end of 2022 and I love looking back at all the books I read during the past year and remembering those that were my favorites!  Often my favorites are those books where the story really stuck with me.  I read a lot and there are months where the plot lines and characters seem to blur together.  They might have been perfectly fine stories that passed an enjoyable time but the best stories are the ones that I remember vividly months and even years later. 

Not including my December (Christmas themed) books I read 111 books this year so I had quite a few to cull through!  I read so many great ones this year that I had the hardest time picking favorites... 

Hitting the top of my list:

Luck of the Titanic-- Velora Luck sneaks onto the Titanic and through a series of events, she finds herself living both in first class and spending time with her brother and his friends in 3rd class. I loved this story and found myself rooting for Velora and her friends despite knowing how the story must end-- with the sinking of the Titanic.  I highly recommend this young adult novel about the Titanic.

I Must Betray You by Ruta Sepetys-- I just LOVE Ruta's books and this one about a boy turned spy in Communist controlled Romania sucked me right in from the very first chapter.  Never knowing anything about what Romania was like under Nicolae Ceausescu's rule my heart ached for Cristian and his family and so many of the impossible choices they were faced with. It was a very moving and powerful historical fiction. 

The Light Through the Leaves: A Novel by Glendy Vanderah-- This book had me from the very first page! Told in two parts I knew the stories were going to tie together and yet I was still surprised at all the twists and turns they took!  Ellis leaves her infant daughter unattended for just moments and when she returns her daughter has vanished. Unable to cope Ellis turns to alcohol and drugs to numb the pain.  Afraid of her young twin sons growing up with an addict like Ellis did she decides to flee her family.  Meanwhile a little girl named Raven is growing up in the woods with a mother that believes in the magic of Earth spirits and forbids Raven to talk to anyone about the magic.  I loved this story and thought it was unique enough that it is going to stick out in my mind for years. 

Nightwork by Nora Roberts-- I was hooked from the very first page! Harry began stealing when he was just a boy; trying to support both him and his mom while she was fighting cancer.  As he grows and develops more skills the story takes on some pretty interesting dynamics.  I fell in love with this thief, with his own system of morals, and was rooting for him.  When he falls in love with a girl he meets in college he's struggling with keeping his 2 lives separate then an old acquaintance shows up and threatens those he loves.  Harry flees and spends the next several years of his life trying to outrun the demons chasing him while still enjoying the occasional "nightwork."  A fun story with a satisfying ending and lots of little twists and turns and thoroughly enjoyable characters.  

The Diamond Eye by Kate Quinn-- Even though this book is over 400 pages; I read the entire thing in just under 2 days.  It was so good! Mila is a student with the aims of being a historian and building a better life for her son.  Then when Hitler's army invades her country she signs up and hones her sharpshooting skills to become a famous sniper called Lady Death.  She ends up being sent on a goodwill ambassador trip to the U.S. where she becomes friends with Eleanor Roosevelt.  Told in two alternating timelines I thought it was a compelling story.

Love and Other Words by Christina Lauren-- It took me a little while to get into this sweet story but I ended up falling in love with both Macy and Elliot; the two main characters.  They meet as children shortly after Macy's mom dies and her father buys a vacation home next door to Elliot and his family. They become best friends and everything to each other but then something happens that sets them off onto separate paths until they collide nearly a decade later.  Told in two time lines from now and then it was a slow build to the big reveal of what broke them apart and they have to decide if love is worth fighting for.  It made me cry and the story was just so touching and a bit heartbreaking. 

The Night Burns Bright by Ross Barkan-- I almost didn't read this book; by the time I picked it up out of my pile I only had 2 days to read it before it was due back at the library.  But I am so glad I did! I could not put it down and finished it a day.  This unbelievable and heartbreaking tale of Lucien, a boy living with his mom in a little town of New York, attending a private school of sorts known only as House of Earth.  Very quickly the reader gets an unsettling feeling that all is not quite right with Lucian's mom or his school and after the attacks of 9/11 things in Lucien's life begin to change at an alarming rate.  Entire families are moved onto the grounds of House of Earth, walls go up, they begin preparing for war... and then slowly one by one his friends and their family begin to disappear.  No one talks about where they go or what happened to them. It was riveting. 

Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing; A Memoir by Matthew Perry--  I found this book hard to put down.  Hearing about Matthew Perry's struggle with drugs and alcohol in his own words was really powerful. It was hard to read at times and he nearly died a number of times. I think this would be a great book for family members of addicts too as he really does try to explain how his addiction just seems to take over despite how hard he's fighting it. 

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid-- Such a FUN read!  I'm pretty sure out of the 3 TJR books I've read this was my favorite.  When movie star Evelyn Hugo requests a tell all interview about her life she picks an unknown reporter named Monique Grant.  Talking openly about her life and how she managed to wrack up 7 husbands in one lifetime, Hugo keeps very little back.  But as Evelyn's story winds down it has an unexpected intersection with Monique's own life and Monique is left grappling with feelings of anger, betrayal, and even more questions. 

The Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh-- I listened to this book on CD and was immediately drawn into the story.  Victoria Jones has been living in the foster care system until the day she turns 18 and is emancipated.  Armed with her knowledge of flowers and the meaning behind them she finds luck in a flower shop.  Told in two parts; one as she works in the flower shop helping customers and making friends, and one told of her childhood in the foster care system it was a riveting story.

If you're curious I did include a link to each of my monthly book posts and I encourage you to check them out if you haven't already. I did read so many really good books this year that I struggled to pick just 10.  

8 books In January

8 books in February

11 books in March

12 books in April

10 books in may

11 books in June

13 books in July

12 books in August

8 in September 

7 books in October

11 Books in November

What books would top your list as favorites?

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