The best books I read in 2022
Dec. 31st, 2022 06:44 pmI read 125 books in 2022, which is a lot considering that I've been employed since mid-April. I will say that I read a lot of books this year in the visual equivalent of in one ear and out the other, and I had to look up a number of books on my list to even remember what they were. I reread 12 books this year, mostly for either book club or reading previous books before reading newly released sequels reasons. I only read a very few nonfiction books this year, so I've left out that usual section and stuck to fiction only. If you want more, shorter recs, I kept up an ongoing Twitter thread where I recced things as I read them. I've provided content notes where I remember them; as always, feel free to comment or message/email me if you want more information.
Top 10 fiction books/series I read in 2022
The Lies I Tell by Julie Clark - I couldn't put this down. The two pov characters are an investigative journalist and a con woman, and I loved watching their lives intertwine and overlap. Content notes: terrible men, off-screen sexual assault.
One Real Thing by Anah Crowe and Dianne Fox - This is not a good book. It's a m/m romance novel that's (melo)dramatic in a way that was entertaining and gave me feelings. The relationship has some kinky elements that are negotiated in plain language terms. Content notes: drug/alcohol abuse/addiction, mental health issues. Fair warning that some of that is dealt with in an unrealistic/would be unhealthy in real life way, but was satisfying in fiction.
Winter's Orbit by Everina Maxwell - This m/m romance novel in space was one of my best books last year, and I reread it for my sci fi book club. It's still so good that it deserves to be on this list. Tropey and fun with non-annoying miscommunication. Content notes at the author's website.
Curse of the Specter Queen and Rise of the Snake Goddess by Jenny Elder Moke - These are very fun YA adventure novels set in the 1920s with puzzle solving, archaeology, and saving the world from ancient deities. Content notes: genre-typical violence, academic sexism. The second one also has snakes.
The Essex Serpent by Sarah Perry - This is a book that's good for just reveling in the language. I would frequently be reading and have to stop and just think about the interesting thing she'd just done.
The Tattoed Potato and Other Clues by Ellen Raskin - I reread The Westing Game because Worst Bestsellers (one of my favorite podcasts) read it for flashback summer, and it really made me want to reread this one too. As great as The Westing Game is, this is the one I remembered more and had stronger feelings about. I still had strong feelings about it and it's very good. Content notes: murder, past suicide attempt, past murder.
Sisters of the Vast Black and Sisters of the Forsaken Stars by Lina Rather - This is a pair of novellas about nuns traveling around space in a slug-like spaceship trying to do good in the world. You may remember that Sisters of the Vast Black was one of the best books I read in 2020. The sequel is equally good, and I continue to love them.
Sage and King by Molly Ringle - This is a very enjoyable m/m king/magician fantasy romance with a solid plot and a non-heteronormative world. I didn't realize it was BBC Merlin fan fiction inspired until I read the author's note at the end.
The Kaiju Preservation Society by John Scalzi - This was so funny I literally laughed out loud multiple times. It's a delightful people in a sci fi world being friends and having weird adventures novel. Content notes: kaiju-related violence, some evil capitalists, the frame story involves the pandemic.
Hither, Page and The Missing Page by Cat Sebastian - These are post World War II British country village mystery romances with a m/m couple where one of them is a doctor with PTSD and the other one is a spy with flexible morals. They are absolutely delightful, and I loved getting to see what she did with an established/building relationship in the second one.
Top 4 books I read and then thought about a lot in 2022
The Unspoken Name and The Thousand Eyes by A.K. Larkwood - These are slow reads in a bad way - I was relieved it was truly a duology and not a longer series - but there's so much interesting stuff in them that I hope the author gets better over time. I read the first book for my sci fi book club, and we had a lot to talk about. The second book is both funnier and darker than the first book. I found the ending very satisfying. Content note: lots of violence.
Legacy by Nora Roberts - My favorite bad books podcast (Worst Bestsellers) read a Nora Roberts book a couple of years ago, loved it, now refer to her as "Our Lady Nora Roberts," and read at least one of her books every year, so I decided to finally try one of them. I was trying to pick a romantic suspense one kind of at random, but this one is not very suspenseful. What I kept thinking about was her character work. Everyone feels very, very real and I could imagine them as real people.
Sadie by Courtney Summers - This is an extremely intense YA novel. I couldn't put it down; I also wasn't sure how I felt about one of the elements of the podcast transcript framing. I'm not sure if I recommend it (I think The Project is the better book), but if it sounds like your kind of thing, it is very well written. Content notes: violence, child sexual abuse.
January Fifteenth by Rachel Swirsky - This is a near-future novella that follows four women over the course of one universal basic income distribution day. The world building was good and her character work is incredible to the point that I can remember how they all made me feel. (I'm going to be particularly haunted by Olivia.) It tackles some very serious topics without feeling heavy. Content notes: domestic violence, suicide, sexual assault, FLDS harm to children (including child marriage and the turning out of boys).
The author I read the most in 2022
I read 13 of Katee Robert's books this year - and I only read the first of them in November. Her books are short, fast read romance novels, mostly m/f, but with a handful of threesomes. I could not put down the O'Malleys series, which is about Irish mob families in Boston. The Sabine Valley books are where I started, but you will be disappointed that it's clearly meant to be a seven-book series but it's indefinitely on hold after the first two. These things take no effort to read and are completely addictive. Content notes: explicit sex, some arranged marriage/hostage taking setups whose consent issues are always resolved improbably quickly.
Top 10 fiction books/series I read in 2022
The Lies I Tell by Julie Clark - I couldn't put this down. The two pov characters are an investigative journalist and a con woman, and I loved watching their lives intertwine and overlap. Content notes: terrible men, off-screen sexual assault.
One Real Thing by Anah Crowe and Dianne Fox - This is not a good book. It's a m/m romance novel that's (melo)dramatic in a way that was entertaining and gave me feelings. The relationship has some kinky elements that are negotiated in plain language terms. Content notes: drug/alcohol abuse/addiction, mental health issues. Fair warning that some of that is dealt with in an unrealistic/would be unhealthy in real life way, but was satisfying in fiction.
Winter's Orbit by Everina Maxwell - This m/m romance novel in space was one of my best books last year, and I reread it for my sci fi book club. It's still so good that it deserves to be on this list. Tropey and fun with non-annoying miscommunication. Content notes at the author's website.
Curse of the Specter Queen and Rise of the Snake Goddess by Jenny Elder Moke - These are very fun YA adventure novels set in the 1920s with puzzle solving, archaeology, and saving the world from ancient deities. Content notes: genre-typical violence, academic sexism. The second one also has snakes.
The Essex Serpent by Sarah Perry - This is a book that's good for just reveling in the language. I would frequently be reading and have to stop and just think about the interesting thing she'd just done.
The Tattoed Potato and Other Clues by Ellen Raskin - I reread The Westing Game because Worst Bestsellers (one of my favorite podcasts) read it for flashback summer, and it really made me want to reread this one too. As great as The Westing Game is, this is the one I remembered more and had stronger feelings about. I still had strong feelings about it and it's very good. Content notes: murder, past suicide attempt, past murder.
Sisters of the Vast Black and Sisters of the Forsaken Stars by Lina Rather - This is a pair of novellas about nuns traveling around space in a slug-like spaceship trying to do good in the world. You may remember that Sisters of the Vast Black was one of the best books I read in 2020. The sequel is equally good, and I continue to love them.
Sage and King by Molly Ringle - This is a very enjoyable m/m king/magician fantasy romance with a solid plot and a non-heteronormative world. I didn't realize it was BBC Merlin fan fiction inspired until I read the author's note at the end.
The Kaiju Preservation Society by John Scalzi - This was so funny I literally laughed out loud multiple times. It's a delightful people in a sci fi world being friends and having weird adventures novel. Content notes: kaiju-related violence, some evil capitalists, the frame story involves the pandemic.
Hither, Page and The Missing Page by Cat Sebastian - These are post World War II British country village mystery romances with a m/m couple where one of them is a doctor with PTSD and the other one is a spy with flexible morals. They are absolutely delightful, and I loved getting to see what she did with an established/building relationship in the second one.
Top 4 books I read and then thought about a lot in 2022
The Unspoken Name and The Thousand Eyes by A.K. Larkwood - These are slow reads in a bad way - I was relieved it was truly a duology and not a longer series - but there's so much interesting stuff in them that I hope the author gets better over time. I read the first book for my sci fi book club, and we had a lot to talk about. The second book is both funnier and darker than the first book. I found the ending very satisfying. Content note: lots of violence.
Legacy by Nora Roberts - My favorite bad books podcast (Worst Bestsellers) read a Nora Roberts book a couple of years ago, loved it, now refer to her as "Our Lady Nora Roberts," and read at least one of her books every year, so I decided to finally try one of them. I was trying to pick a romantic suspense one kind of at random, but this one is not very suspenseful. What I kept thinking about was her character work. Everyone feels very, very real and I could imagine them as real people.
Sadie by Courtney Summers - This is an extremely intense YA novel. I couldn't put it down; I also wasn't sure how I felt about one of the elements of the podcast transcript framing. I'm not sure if I recommend it (I think The Project is the better book), but if it sounds like your kind of thing, it is very well written. Content notes: violence, child sexual abuse.
January Fifteenth by Rachel Swirsky - This is a near-future novella that follows four women over the course of one universal basic income distribution day. The world building was good and her character work is incredible to the point that I can remember how they all made me feel. (I'm going to be particularly haunted by Olivia.) It tackles some very serious topics without feeling heavy. Content notes: domestic violence, suicide, sexual assault, FLDS harm to children (including child marriage and the turning out of boys).
The author I read the most in 2022
I read 13 of Katee Robert's books this year - and I only read the first of them in November. Her books are short, fast read romance novels, mostly m/f, but with a handful of threesomes. I could not put down the O'Malleys series, which is about Irish mob families in Boston. The Sabine Valley books are where I started, but you will be disappointed that it's clearly meant to be a seven-book series but it's indefinitely on hold after the first two. These things take no effort to read and are completely addictive. Content notes: explicit sex, some arranged marriage/hostage taking setups whose consent issues are always resolved improbably quickly.