The 49 Books I read in 2022

Hello! Writing my thoughts on these books fills me with so much joy just thinking about them! What an incredible year for discovering new authors and books I love. Very excited to reread some of these.

As always, below are my brief thoughts on the books I've read. I try to never go into summaries of the books because I don't want to sway anyone, nor do I want to leak spoilers. Instead, I hope you find my reaction to these books appealing and convince you to pick one, or many up! I love the voyages books take you on, and the expression that shows you that your feelings are universal and you're never alone! There are fun places to escape to, learn from, be inspired by when you read. Enjoy!

1. A New Earth, Eckhart Tolle ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐

Oprah certified. I liked it, it was what I needed at the time.

2. After I Do, Taylor Jenkins Reid ⭐️⭐️

It didn't do it for me in the way her other books often do for me. Though it's clear she's a talented writer, the prose worked, but I wanted more out of the story.

3. In the Holidaze, Christina Lauren ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Groundhog Day meets holiday romance. I think yes! It was so well done. Loved it and think of the story often.

4. Forever, Interrupted, Taylor Jenkins Reid ⭐️⭐️

SO SAD. New fears unlocked!

5. The Beauty of Living Twice, Sharon Stone ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Funny how books have a way of finding you so that you resonate completely with them. That's how I felt about this book. I might be too young to have been a fan prior to reading this, but I loved her memoir.

6. Sabrina & Corina, Kali Fajardo-Anstine ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Heartbreakingly beautiful. Loved every word.

7. The Secret to Money, Rhonda Byrne ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Amazing perspectives as always.

8. The Hunting Party, Lucy Foley ⭐️⭐️

I love her books, but this one didn't do it for me.

9. The Spanish Love Deception, Elena Armas ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

It's perfect, and fun in every way. Such a great story. And they're making it into a film.

10. The Lost Apothecary, Sarah Penner ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The story was heartbreaking, but moving. I really enjoyed it.

11. My Body, Emily Ratajkowski ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Lots of good points. Interesting read.

12. Don’t Date Rosa Santos, Nina Moreno ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Ah! I loved this world that was created. There is so much heart in this story, and such incredible characters. Just thinking about it makes me want to reread it to experience it all again. They live in this small coastal town in Florida, where the community is strong and they care for each other. There are myths, and a town filled with characters I haven't really experienced before. Loved it.

13. A History of Wild Places, Shea Ernshaw ⭐️⭐️

Interesting world, but became pretty slow, pretty quickly and the ending didn't do it for me. I wanted to like it, but the darkness and twist felt... it just didn't go where I wanted it to go. It could have been great!

14. The Hating Game, Sally Thorne ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐

I'll start off by saying, the book was way better than the movie. (And still, it was a good movie.) It was so fun to experience this book. Workplace enemies turned... You guessed it! One of the better romances I've read, just so cute!

15. It Happened One Summer, Tessa Bailey ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

A rich girl gets shipped off to where her father is from and has to start living humbly. Very fun premise. I really enjoyed being in this world, and the cast of characters. A romance that felt original despite its trope. A quality story, that felt comforting and engaging throughout. I couldn't put it down! Highly recommend!

16. One Night on the Island, Josie Silver ⭐️⭐️⭐️

There's something about Ireland's islands that feel magical and unexpected. I personally love it as a backdrop for a story. This one, however, is not exactly what I expected, but as a fan of the author, I trusted it. It worked really well. I enjoyed the small-town community there, and how invested I felt in the main character and her love interest. It was a fine novel, I was invested, and wanted to travel to Ireland's islands. And though I think of it fondly, I expected a little more from Josie Silver.

17. Circe, Madeline Miller ⭐️⭐️

I was very intrigued by the world the author created. All the gods and goddesses at your disposal and this is the story? Just very sad the entire time. I wanted more, so much more. And it was tough for me because the writing was strong, the characters were captivating. I would call this, "a portrait of loneliness." Where's the fun in being a goddess if you get banished and are powerless? Or maybe... I just wanted a happy ending?

18. The Roughest Draft, Emily Wibberly ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This one was really good. A team of two successful writers, a man and a woman, "break-up" at the height of their careers, and are forced to work together by the woman's fiance (their agent). It takes place in an awesome location, and entertains you with every word. I'd definitely reread it.

19. Carrie Soto is Back, Taylor Jenkins Reid ⭐️⭐️⭐️

She's an incredible writer. The writing is still great. The story is just about tennis. Nothing powerful or memorable like her three latest books.

20. BookLovers, Emily Henry ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I know that there are a lot of romance novels that take place in a small town, but this one was so refreshing. A big city girl, at the top of her career, goes to a small town with her city for a month. There she runs into her big city arch-nemesis and... it's just so very cute and enjoyable. The characters are well-written, and the premise is excellent. I love everything that has to do with the publishing industry. Must read.

21. The Family, Naomi Krupitsky⭐️⭐️

Not what I expected, and you know what they say, expectation is the route of all heartache.

22. The Invisible life of Addie LaRue, V.E. Schwab ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Perhaps the best book I read all year. Probably one of the best I've read in my entire life. It's a must-read. Captivating, unusual. Gosh, I loved it. Never pray to the gods after dark. Little did she know, in her desperation she was making a deal with the devil, to live lifetimes and somehow be forgotten. It's not as dark as I'm making it sound. But it's so powerful, memorable, and enthralling. Highly reccomend.

23. Dating Dr. Dil, Nisha Sharma ⭐️⭐️

I got into the characters really quickly, and the story. It had good plot, but felt very long to get where it needed to go. I just needed it to move faster. It took me months to read his book.

24. One Italian Summer, Rebecca Serle ⭐️⭐️⭐️

I think I read this in one sitting. A mother-daughter story, sprinkled in with some magical realism in the Amalfi Coast. What's not to like?

25. Every Summer After, Carley Fortune ⭐️⭐️⭐️

There's a lake house and there's a former love. Very cute. Enjoyed it! Can't wait for this author's next book.

26. The Bookish Life of Nina Hill, Abbi Waxman ⭐️⭐️

It was cute and odd. I enjoyed it for what it was. I think I wanted a little more.

27. Hook, Line, Sinker, Tessa Bailey ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Seaside town, a perfect setting. He's the bad boy or was until he met the good girl. I don't want to reveal too much besides, it's a rom-com worth reading. It's a sequel, so read the first one, It Happened One Summer, then come back to this one.

28. A Proposal They Can’t Refuse, Natalie Caña ⭐️

I tried so hard to like this.

29. Evidence of an Affair, Taylor Jenkins Reid ⭐️⭐️⭐

An audiobook on Audible. It's short and sweet. Worth the listen.

30. Yerba Buena, Nina Lacour ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Spectacular. I will now be buying all of her books and devouring them. What a beautiful portrait of of a 16-year-old figuring out who she is and what she wants, in LA. It was exquisitely written, pulls at your heartstrings, and still manages to move you.

31. The Bodyguard, Katherine Center ⭐️⭐️⭐️

The rom-com you didn't know you needed. The girl is a bodyguard for a very guarded actor. She has to go live on his family farm together. It's not what you think! Very original, and an easy read. I enjoyed this very much.

32. Daisy Jones and the Six, Taylor Jenkins Reid- reread ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Still one of my favorite books.

33. Love on the Brain, Ali Hazelwood ⭐⭐️⭐️⭐️

A neuroscientist forced to work with her grad school nemesis. A science based rom-com that was so captivating and very well written!

34. The American Roommate, Elena Armas ⭐️⭐️⭐️

I enjoyed it. The main character, quits her comfortable job to be a romance writer. She can't stay at her apartment until it gets fixed, so she goes to her best friend's place, who is out of town. Only to find that the place is being used by main character's gorgeous social media crush. A fun read!

35. Funny, You Should Ask, Elissa Sussman ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The main character gets to date and fall in love with a movie star. It's better than you think! I devoured it in one sitting! I loved it.

36. I’m Glad my Mom Died, Jeanette Mccurdy ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Too Long, but lots of good stuff in there. I really only got it because it kept selling out all over. Interesting if you like memoirs of child stars. Boy was it a voyage!

37. She’s Up to No Good, Sarah Goodman Confino ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I adored this book. Oh my goodness what an unusual masterpiece. You get to travel back in time to hear the grandmother's story. The story jumps back and forth, between the present and the grandmother's youth. I just loved hearing about the grandmother's love story. I think it's because the grandmother's experience is so different from what I'd ever experience, or anyone else I know would ever experience, it was a different time with different rules. Highly recommend.

38. The Last Anniversary, Leanne Moriarty ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Based on my last few lists, you probably recall that I love her books. Family mystery, intrigued. Oddly fascinating. Enjoyed it very much.

39. The Magic of Lemon Drop Pie, Rachel Linden ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Such a comforting book. Buying all her books and letting myself get lost in them.

40. The Untethered Soul, Michael Singer ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Spiritual surrender. I need that. :) We all need that.

41. LVOE, Atticus ⭐️⭐️⭐️

An amazing book of poetry. Some inspirational, moving, encouraging, many relatable. Some felt like I'd read similar words to someone else. Aside from that, I'd have given it 5 stars.

42. Love in the Time of Serial killers, Alicia Thomson ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Fun and cute. I'm pretty sure I read this in two sittings. I need the author to publish more books!

43. The Light We Carry, Michelle Obama ⭐️⭐️

I feel so guilty giving her only two stars, because she's one of my absolute favorite humans on the planet. But I just feel I wasn't the target audience for it. It wasn't bad, it was just not for me. She's amazing and I love her, but it felt like just a snapshot into her life during the pandemic. Perhaps I'm also scoring so low is because her first book was life-changing for me and absolutely incredible.

44. Real Magic, Dr. Wayne Dyer ⭐️⭐️⭐️

45. Rule Your Day, Joel Osteen ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Sometimes you just need some inspiration from a trusted nondenominational pastor.

46. The Family Game, Katherine Stedman ⭐️⭐️⭐️

I would give it 4 but it gets 3 for the ending. I think most were satisfied by it, but... I needed more.

47. Meet Me Between the Margins, Melissa Ferguson ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

So delightful and entertaining! You like the main character, and then you love the love interest. It feels like an original take on a tale as old as time.

48. Ghost Lover, Lisa Taddeo ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This woman can do no wrong. Her collection of short stories is gripping. I feel as though each short story holds a glimpse into my favorite movie about a woman I know of, and want to watch the film of her life. I want these stories to be longer, and I'd like to follow the women's fictional lives. More, please.

49. Thank You for Listening, Julia Whelan ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Just, magnificent. I listened to this one. And it was great. Enter the audiobook world where there are awards, passion, and drama just like every other industry. It felt original in the way that it was a mixture of all the tropes I love.

Star Key:

⭐️ 1 star means it was okay, and I wouldn't read it again.

⭐️⭐️ 2 Stars means it was good but not my cup of tea.

⭐️⭐️⭐️ 3 means I enjoyed it, it made me happy, and I recommend it for fun.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️4 stars means it was powerful and you should read it.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️5 stars means it was life-changing, I loved it, and you must read it.