If that title feels like a mouthful, it is. You see, if I had titled this post “Favorite Books from 2022”, it would give you the impression that I was going to tell you about my favorite books I read in 2022 that were also published in 2022. That is simply not the case because I am nowhere near that caught up on my to-read list. 

Shouldn’t this list have come out sometime in December? Perhaps. It is common to publish “The Year’s Best” in December, not January. However, I was going to finish two books on December 31st, so if they were going to make this post, I had to wait a few days. 

Out of the 69 books I read in 2022, 16 make it into the “best” category. Here are my favorite reads from 2022: 

Lord of Druemarwin by Helen C. Johannes is the sequel to The Prince of Val-Feyridge.  Together, they make The Crown of Tolem series. Both books follow a larger plotline of a fantasy world separated into three kingdoms. The three kingdoms used to be one. A descendent of the original king, Prince Arn is on a military campaign to reunite the three kingdoms. On this campaign he meets a seemingly magical healer named Aerid, and an intense enemies to lovers storyline brings us through the unification of two of the three kingdoms. The sequel gives us a new couple: Raell and Naed. Naed is the new Lord of Druemarwin, an important principality in the third kingdom. Raell’s father is a Lord in Arn’s kingdom. The two met at the end of Arn’s and Aerid’s story, and their attraction to each other works with Arn’s plans for the kingdoms. There are, of course, players who don’t want a unified kingdom, and will sabotage Naed’s and Raell’s relationship to prevent that. Naed and Raell come from different worlds. And after successfully proving that he fits in hers, it’s Raell’s turn to prove she fits in his. 

I devoured both of these books. I normally read 2-3 books at a time, rotating chapters. (Don’t judge, I just simply can’t read only one at a time.) But with both of these I paused all my other reading and read only this series, it was that good. I loved the complexity of the characters. The obvious care Ms. Johannes had taken in world building. And of course the danger mixed with romance – I always need some action and excitement with my love stories. I hope more stories in this amazing world are on the horizon.   

Revolting by Maureen Atsali is a fated mate romance on the Dreame reading app. The reason this one made the list is because it is so unique from other fated mate stories on Dreame. 

Revolting starts out as a trope that I generally don’t care for: the Alpha doesn’t want his mate, but his wolf won’t let her go, so he keeps her prisoner while he sleeps with other women. I almost stopped reading. But then, Ms. Atsali went off the traditional path and gave us a wonderful story about a strong woman escaping her abuser and mate bond, and taking charge of her life. 

Nina’s father (Alpha of her pack) sets her up in an arranged marriage with the Alpha of another pack they need an alliance with. Alpha Nolan turns out to be her fated mate, but he doesn’t want a mate. He goes through with the marriage, but treats Nina horribly. Nina overcomes the mate bond, rejects Nolan and runs away. Her short time in Nolan’s pack earned her some friends who hate how their Alpha is treating her, and they run away with her, and work on creating a new pack.

If you like fated mate stories, this one is definitely worth a read.      

The Last Tudor, The King Maker’s Daughter, The White Princess

I have been a huge fan of Philippa Gregory since I was 17. My high school English teacher lent me his personal copy of The Other Boleyn Girl and told me he thought I might like it. I loved it. It’s still my favorite Philippa Gregory book to this day. And that book put me on the path to becoming a high school history teacher.

I like Ms. Gregory’s form of historical fiction. She focuses on women, which gives her less factual information than if she were writing about a man. This leads to lots of hole filling on her part. Because of this she is often criticized for inaccurately depicting many of her characters; but she always explains why she deviates from the commonly accepted narratives – and she usually has some merit with those reasons. Even if I disagree with an angle she might put on some events and characters (which is rare), I respect her reasons why.  

The Last Tudor is about the three Grey sisters: Jane, Katherine, and Mary. They were the final living Tudor relatives of Elizabeth I. Jane’s fate is the most well known: queen for 9 days and ordered to the execution block by her own cousin Mary I. Katherine survived Mary’s reign, but not Elizabeth’s. She married for love and gave birth to two boys. Because her husband was high born as well, her children were threats to Elizabeth and her throne. Elizabeth separated them, and Katherine died alone and heartbroken. Mary thinks she will avoid Elizabeth’s jealous gaze if she marries a widower of a lower status. But Elizabeth will never allow her relatives to be happy while she isn’t.

The Kingmaker’s Daughter is about Anne Neville, Richard III’s wife. Her entire life was a constant roller coaster. As the Yorks and the Lancasters fought for the throne, her family rose and fell depending on who was king – with her dad in the middle of the fighting. Anne and her sister, Isabelle are her father’s only legitimate children, making their marriages of utmost importance in his political games. She was first married to the Lancastrian heir, and widowed in a few months. She later married Richard in secret, putting her back in the royal family as her husband was King Edward IV’s youngest brother. Many familial dramas and battles later, Anne became Queen of England. But being queen isn’t the glamorous life her childhood dreams imagined. 

The White Princess covers the early years of Elizabeth of York’s marriage to Henry Tudor. Princess Elizabeth was going to marry the winner of the Battle of Bosworth: Richard III or Henry Tudor. Either way, she would be Queen of England. Richard was supposed to be the obvious winner, but last minute turncoats caused a Tudor victory. Elizabeth and Henry’s marriage was a constant rotation of hatred, love, and suspicion. The part of their marriage this book highlights surrounds the legend of Elizabeth’s missing brothers – the princes in the tower. In Gregory’s series, the older Prince, Edward did die, but the younger brother, Richard was smuggled out. He returns as a grown man, married, and ready to get his family’s throne back. Elizabeth is torn between protecting the inheritance of her own sons, and her baby brother whom she thought long lost.   

The Sookie Stackhouse Series by Charlaine Harris 

I came across the world of Sookie Stackhouse from a facebook comment of all things. I had commented on a Harry Potter fan page meme about turning the books into a TV series. I said that I had yet to watch a TV series that stayed true to the book. In fact, I consider most TV series adaptations fan fiction because most only keep the characters names and maybe small aspects of the original plot. Because TV series have so much more wiggle room than movies, they can add characters and side plots and all sorts of other things, then all of a sudden it’s no longer the same story. I gave the examples of Pretty Little Liars, The Vampire Diaries, and Witches of East End. The replies to my comment focused on The Vampire Diaries, and we went down a vampire hole, with one person recommending HBO’s True Blood. My personal mantra is to read the book first, so here I am, reading the Sookie Stackhouse series before I sign up for HBO so I can watch True Blood.

Sookie is a barmaid in Bon Temps, Louisiana. She has struggled her whole life because she can read minds. Everyone in Bon Temps knows, but tries to pretend it’s not true. People avoid her and treat her as less than. Vampires have recently gone public, and when Sookie meets a vampire for the first time, she is pleased to learn she can’t read vampire minds, which gives her a nice break. Saving a vampire, Bill Compton from drainers (human hunters who drain vampires of their blood), and her special ability throws Sookie into the supernatural world. Throughout the series she gets involved in vampire conflicts, shifter conflicts, witch conflicts, and fairy conflicts; all while trying to figure out a steady love life. 

There are thirteen books in the main series, starting with Dead Until Dark, which was published in 2001. In 2022 I read books 2-8. I’m currently on book 10, so I haven’t finished the series yet. But so far I have loved Sookie’s story. I think my favorite thing is Sookie’s growth throughout the series. In the earlier books she lets people walk all over her – a mixture of southern manners and trauma from being bullied for being different. As we get into the later books, Sookie finally starts standing up for herself and calling people out when they mistreat her. I also love all the worldbuilding done for all the supernatural species Sookie encounters. 

Hands down, my #1 books from my 2022 reading list was the Sookie Stackhouse books. I look forward to finishing the series, and I can’t wait to watch True Blood. 

Jillie by Olive Balla is an amazing suspense novel. 12 year old me would have read this over and over again – shout out to my two member club I founded with my cousin: The Mystery Hiking Girls. Jillie, the titular character, has been recently orphaned and taken in by her older sister and her sister’s abusive husband. One day, her sister is being beaten up by said husband, and Jillie stabs him to protect her sister. The stab is lethal, and Jillie ends up in juvenile court. The beating put her sister in a coma, which sends Jillie to her dead brother-in-law’s parents’ house. His vengeful and selfish family makes Jillie’s life a living hell, so she runs away. The rest of the book covers Jillie’s adventure as she evades her brother-in-law’s family, the police, and befriends energetic elderly twin sisters – who get their own spin off called Code Murder. Like The Crown of Tolem series, I paused my other reading to devour this book, and Olive Balla’s other books are now on my radar. 

The Bridgerton Series by Julia Quinn 

Like many other new Bridgerton fans, I came across these books after falling in love with Daphne and The Duke of Hastings on Netflix. I read the first three books before Season 2 came out, so now I’m ahead for future season releases. In 2022, I read books 3-5, which cover Benedict’s, Colin’s, and Eloise’s stories. 

For those of you who don’t know, the Bridgerton series is about a family of eight siblings and their mother in early 1800s in London. As each child reaches marriageable age, Violet Bridgerton goes to great lengths to get her children married. Each book is about a different member of the Bridgerton family and their love story with their future spouse.

What I love about Julia Quinn’s storytelling, is she takes common tropes that can feel overdone, and makes them fresh and new. One of my least favorite tropes is fake dating, and yet I devoured The Duke and I. I always enjoy a good enemies to lovers, so The Viscount Who Loved Me was a given that I would love it. (I also deeply connected with Kate because during my teenage years, my cousin always got the guys.) I will be the first one to tell you that Cinderella retellings are overdone, and yet An Offer from a Gentleman drew me in immediately. What makes this one so unique, is the story starts with the ball, and the main plot focuses on two years later. By the time the reader gets to Romancing Mr. Bridgerton, we are ready for Penelope to get her happy ending, so one can easily overlook the friends to lovers trope if it isn’t your thing. And in To Sir Philip, With Love Eloise is our sunshine trying to figure out if Mr. Grump Sir Philip will make a good husband (a.k.a. opposites attract).

A side theme that Julia Quinn covers quite nicely is the historical culture surrounding the taboo of talking about sex – especially among the young ladies. She creates the perfect mixture of humor, awkwardness, and compassion. Poor Daphne goes into her wedding night knowing nothing. Violet tried to talk to her about it, but was so embarrassed herself, the entire conversation was cringe. Kate was better prepared, but went in viewing it more as a duty rather than a way to grow closer with her husband. Sophie, having spent most of her life as a servant – and servants see and hear more than they should – is the most prepared. Penelope is just as unprepared as Daphne. And Eloise tells her mother she doesn’t need the talk because she forced one of the recently married servants to tell her all about it when she was a teenager. I find all of these scenes really important and enlightening because I also grew up in a really conservative family and religious culture, and so I was able to connect to many of the conversations.

Overall, Bridgerton is sexy, romantic, and hilarious. 

Here’s to a great 2023! I hope the books I read this year are just as entertaining.