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!