Jessica’s Top 10 of 2022
Well guys, today is December 31st and WE MADE IT! 2023 is almost here! Today we are ending the year with Jessica’s Top 10 of 2022. 2022 was apparently the year of the thriller for me as so many are in this list! This year I have two short stories that receive honorable mentions. I just can’t put short stories in with my Top 10 list!
Here is my Top 10:
10. The Homewreckers by Mary Kay Andrews (MKA)
MKA is a favorite of mine and I try to get her book every year! I was fortunate to go to a signing as well! Her books are always a fun read and have intrigue and some romance too! My review is here.
9. If We Break Up by Cheyanne Young
This is a YA contemporary about Honey and Luca whom are ‘the couple’ at their high school and their whole lives are already planned out. But…. Honey has doubts. I absolutely loved this novel and the ending was absolutely perfect! This novel ended the way it needed to and I adored it. my review is here.
8. Kallista/ The Lady Butcher (Books 2 and 4 of The Butcher series) by Sian B. Claven
This is a serial killer series made of four novellas, and Claven sent me the first three as audiobooks to listen to. I already had the whole series on my kindle, but can get through audiobooks much quicker with my daily commute to/from work. I really enjoyed this series which has a paranormal take on it and I loved it! The fourth wasn’t available on audiobook at the time, so I went ahead and read the kindle book as I had to finish the series! Claven is just…. I love her work!
My review for Kallista is here.
My review for The Lady Butcher is here.
7. Anatomy: A Love Story by Dana Schwatrz
OMG- This is a YA historical fiction novel set in Edinburgh when women were looked poorly upon. Hazel wants to become a surgeon when that just did not happen. This novel was a solid 4 stars for me for most of it until it got closer to the end! And I have been ready for the sequel since finishing! It comes out at the end of Feburary 2023 and I can not wait to see how Schwatz ends this duology! And the cover… I just love it! My review is here.
6. Verity by Colleen Hoover (CoHo)
Verity is my first CoHo novel and it is atypical from her others she writes. I loved Verity and read it early in the year before CoHo starting appearing everywhere. And now it’s over-saturation of her novels. I have yet to read the ‘extra chapter’ in the new collector’s edition, but I will sometime! I don’t know what it means for both Hoover and myself: How was Hoover able to come up with/write a novel so twisted and that I really enjoyed it! My review is here.
5. Hidden Pictures by Jason Rekulak
OMG! Hidden Pictures is definitely the book to read and it has illustrations to go along with the story which is the icing on the cake! This one is definitely a page turner and I read it in just a few days! Those illustrations are creepy and you will think twice before just looking at a child’s hand drawn picture again. Read the physical copy! And if you send a SASE to the author you’ll get a book plate and more back: I did! My review is here.
4. Daisy Darker by Alice Feeney
WHOA! This one was something to read! Here are my variety of reactions to this one in the order that they happened:
I knew it!
Wait…. What???
What am I reading???
WHAT am I reading!?!?
WTF did I just read!?!?!?
It’s a twisty mind bend and it seems like people either like it or they don’t. I loved it! My review is here.
3. Stay Awake by Megan Goldin
This is another thriller that I loved in 2022! It reminded me of the movie Memento which I loved. Unreliable narrators are hit or miss for me, but this one was a total hit! This is a must read! My review is here.
2. They Both Die at the End by Adam Silvera
This one made my Top 10 list in 2019 and I had to read it again as the prequel was coming out and I wanted this one fresh in my memory. I have not yet gotten to the prequel but will very soon! This one shows you how important life is and to live each day as if it could be your last. Because unless you have the Deathcast app on your phone, you don’t know when your life will end! I absolutely love this book. My review is here.
And my #1 Read for 2022 is…………
Wrong Place Wrong Time by Gillian McAllister
This is a thriller that made my #1! I can’t believe it beat out They Both Die!!! I just love everything about this book. This is also one you can’t say much about because well… spoilers!! But there is a murder and a time travel element. And the ending is just… I loved it and won’t say anything else except READ IT! My review is here.
Honorable Mentions
This year I have two short stories that made honorable mentions:
Choice by Jodi Picoult
I listened to this short story just a few weeks before Roe V Wade was overturned by the supreme court, and let’s just say Picoult turns the world around on men: Suddenly they get pregnant and not women and abortion is no longer a choice. My review is here.
Sleeping Dogs Lie by Samantha Downing
This is another short story I listened to and Downing has become another favorite author! The ending of this short thriller was very unexpected and I absolutely loved it! My review is here.
There is my Top 10 and honorable mentions! Have you read any of them? Are you interested in any of them?
I hope 2023 brings on some great reading for you!
Kim’s Top 10 of 2022
We’ve taken some time off from writing reviews the past few weeks, but they will be back at the beginning of the year! For today we have Kim’s Top 10 reads for 2022 and Jessica’s will be featured tomorrow!
**As always, Kim’s Top 10 is not ranked as she refuses to rank them. She did not write reviews for everything, so those can not be linked. Some are series put together! Shocking news: She actually did pick an ultimate favorite for 2022! What will be it? Check out her list below…
The Prime Mating Agency Series by Regine Abel: The best romance series I’ve read in quite a while!
The Slob Series by Aron Beauregard: It just stuck in my head! The intensity is off the charts!
My review for The Slob is here.
My review for Son of The Slob is here.
The Summoning by Dr. Stuart Knott, Harriett Everend and Jessica Huntley: A unique story that had me from page 1!
My review for The Summoning is here.
Gleanings by Neal Shusterman: An amazing anthology that just adds to the series! I got Jessica this one for Christmas!
Stolen Tongues by Felix Blackwell: I felt like I’d never read the story and was pretty freaked out! And Jessica wants to read this one too!
My review for Stolen Tongues is here.
The Modern Prometheus by Jayson Robert Ducharme: Best cover of the year and an immersive and emotional story!
My review for The Modern Prometheus is here.
Do You Dream of Terra-Two? by Temi Oh: An interesting take on space travel and sci-fi!
My review for Do You Dream of Terra-Two? is here.
Sister Funtime by Spencer Hamilton: Everything I ever wanted in a horror book!
My review for Sister Funtime is here.
While You Sleep by Caillou Pettis: A short story anthology that kept me turning the pages!
My review for While You Sleep is here.
**The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adam: Best book of 2022!!!!**
My review for The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy is here.
**Have you read any of these books? If so, what did you think? Are any of these on your TBR? Are you curious about any but just not sure about reading?? -Kim (KSF)
[Top]Jessica’s Top 10 of 2021
Well guys, it is December 31st and WE MADE IT! We have just hours until 2021 is over!!! Let’s hope 2022 will be much better than the last two years… Today we are ending the year with Jessica’s Top 10 of 2021. And four of my top 10 were Diverseathon reads (though more of my top 10 would match those prompts)! Needless to say that Diverseathon was successful for me! Looking at this list, it is definitely a mix of genres that I read in 2021!
**I even had a book make an honorable mention as it deserves a place all by itself!
10. A Breath Too Late by Rocky Callen
This one was a read for Diverseathon and a birthday gift from my friend Yami. This is another novel that greatly affected me and it is one that everyone should read when they are losing hope. My review is here.
9. That’s Not What Happened by Kody Keplinger
This is one that I did a double review with Kim. Taking place three years after a school shooting, what actually happened? This powerful YA novel is written via letters from the survivors. My review is here.
8. Lock Every Door by Riley Sager
Whoa, whoa whoa! This is my favorite by Sager and solidified him as a ‘must read’ author for me! This novel went in a direction that I would have never guessed! You can’t say too much without giving things away, but it does leave you thinking! My review is here.
7. Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus by Dusti Bowling
This one was another read for Diverseathon and I never would have thought that it would affect me like it did. I love the characters and need more of Aven’s story! My review is here.
6. The Hiding Girl by Dorian Box
Box is a ‘new to me’ author this year with his Emily Calby series. The third novel was just released this month, so I need to read it! This one was unintentionally a Diverseathon read as it fit the monthly prompt when I was reading it. This one won’t be for everyone with it’s violent content, but you grow to love these characters in so many ways! This one means a lot to me! My review is here.
5. The Chain by Adrian McKinty
This is another novel that will leave you thinking! If you are a parent then it is every parent’s worst nightmare. If you enjoy thrillers at all pick this one up and read it NOW!!! My review is here.
4. In Five Years by Rebecca Serle
Full so so much emotion and it ends up going in a direction you don’t think it will. It will make you want to pick up your phone and give a certain someone a call. Tears may ensue with reading this novel! My review is here.
3. Ground Zero by Alan Gratz
With this year being the 20th anniversary of 9/11, this was a book I had to read. It still evoked those emotions from that day and through the character of Brandon the reader actually experiences that day from before the towers were hit to the falling of the towers. This is one that everyone must read. My review is here.
2. The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab
For a while I thought this one was going to be my top read, but it got beat out because my number one actually made me cry, but Addie came very close to doing that. Just read this one, it is one you will not forget! It made both Kim and I’s top 10 list for this year and we actually did a double review. Our double review is here.
And my Top Read for 2021 is…………
100 Days of Sunlight by Abbie Emmons
100 Days is a novel I had been meaning to pick up and it fit a prompt for Diverseathon, so I knew 2021 would be the year I read it. I had no idea how much I would grow to love it and Tessa and Weston, and it made me cry!! Then in November, Emmons surprised us with the sequel!!! This is a sweet YA romance that had me face so many emotions! And I love the cover!! My review is here.
***This year I have to give an honorable mention to a middle grades novel that is a banned book. I actually found out about it during banned books week and had to read it for myself. That novel is George now being published as Melissa by Alex Gino. This is a novel of differences, acceptance, and coming together. This is a novel that shows how being different can make one person feel among other ‘normal’ people. My review is here.
Have you read any of these books? If so what did you think? Have you added any of these to your TBR? Let us know!
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