GJ's Ten Favorite Reads of 2022

I'm going to be honest with you, dear reader. I have no idea how to start this post. In all of my book reading years, even in all of the years where I ran a book club, I think this is my first official Top Ten post. I've listed off my favorite reads of the year but doing a full formal one with trigger warnings and a mini-review? Nah but I like the idea of testing my skills and warming up my writing muscles so let's do this

I started the year pretty strongly only to petter out around August. Admittedly, I was going through some things and around that time, I finally got to a point where I could collapse into the depression that trailed behind me. I also tried to shake up my reading which lead to me finding duds. I don't regret most of them but it's a situation I haven't encountered in a while. Still, I read some great books last year. 

Here are my favorite reads of 2022. I'm not solely listing books released in 2022. I have a backlog of books I want to read and I get 90% of my reads from the library so there's no actual rhyme or reason to what I'm reading. Some of these were arcs while other are older books. I'll also add trigger warnings (TW) for each book underneath it. LET'S GO!!

1. A Ladies' Code to Misconduct by Meredith Duran

                                               

This book was a BLAST! The elevator pitch for this is " 'While You Were Sleeping' but regency and she falls for Peter, a greedy politician?". From the start, I loved this book and the more twists and turns it took. I loved Duran not only avoids the miscommunication trope but uses it to its advantage. I loved the characters and the "meet cute". (Calling your future husband the devil counts as a meet-cute, right? It's romance so yes.)

It's my first Duran book so the name drops didn't mean anything to me but I had so much fun with this book, I'll be checking that out.

TW: Amnesia, abusive/toxic family, mentioned child death, brief violence, brief blood, 1 forced kiss, Sexual content

2. How To Be Miserable by Dr. Randy J Peterson

                                            

Originally a thought exercise during his group therapy sessions, Dr. Peterson asks us "Do you think you could make yourself MORE miserable? What tips and tricks would you use if you in fact, wanted to dig that particular pit even deeper?" Peterson argues that the world has hundreds of self-help books in the world and yet the search for happiness remains elusive. So let's try another route and look at the numerous ways we self-sabotage ourselves to make sure we're at least doing it efficiently. If you happen to find some tips to get out of those traps, then hey, that's on you.

An oddly fun read. Highly recommend if you're a contradictory person like me. 

TW: Discussions of suicide, self-harm, and other darker mental health stuff

3. The Anthropocene Reviewed by John Green

I've been a big fan of John and Hank Green's work since about 2013. That's around the time I started reading John's work with The Abundance of Katherines and their joint youtube channel, VlogBrothers. I've always found them to be a fun mix of dad humor, chaotic and soothing. I even remember watching the video that spawned "The Anthropocene Reviewed", the podcast (And eventual book) of Green reviewing things in our universe from Dr. Pepper to googling strangers on a five-star scale.

I understand how this whole thing sounds like a pompous hipster. A way to sound above the dirty humanity of the world but it isn't. Instread of coming off cold and aloof, Green's essays are an interesting balance of autobiography and history lessons. Green shows the numerous ways humanity can be horrible, horrifying, ridiculous, and beautiful. This book is gentle reminder of that we humans are a strange and amazing bunch.

TW: Discussions of War crimes, illness and pandemics, death, mental illness, thoughts of suicide, cancer. 

4.God Country By Donnie Cates and Geoff Shaw

A graphic novel about a dying old man, the memory of better days, and complicated relationships with fathers. Itt's hard to talk about this book without feeling like I'm spoiling everything about it. The story follows Emmet Quinlan, a dying man with dementia who finds a mysterious sword that miraclously restores his memories. Alas, he's not the only one who desperately wants the sword. 

It's such a simple but rich story. This book can be a hard read and absolutely had me in tears by the end. The artwork is amazing and the mythology the comic creates is familiar and serves the story so well. Not a light read but a beautiful one. I bought it the first chance I could. 

TW: Death, parent dying, dementia, blood, abuse, violence, kidnapping

5. Three Times Lucky by Sheila Turnage

AND NOW FOR SOMETHING LIGHTER!! I loved this book so much. This book has a lot of my favorite tropes. Plucky/unusual heroine, found family, small town community, kid sleuths.  Moses "Mo" Lobeau was found drifting down a river after a devastating hurricane by an amnesic called The Colonel shortly after his car accident. Yes, Mo is a girl. The Colonel didn't check before he named her. He apologizes.

This book feels unstuck in time because there are numerous references to make it impossible to name down when the story is set. Still, Mo's energetic (One could say feral) nature and Dale's reluctance but loyalty made this a series that I'll definitely be returning to.

TW: Child endangerment, offscreen deaths, alcoholism, brief gun violence, mentions of domestic violence, kidnapping

6. Andrea Vernon and the Corporation of UltraHuman Protection

A recommendation from my friend, Bri. "Better Off Ted" meets "Justice League" is probably the best way to describe this book. In a world where magic amulets, alien invaders, and superheroes are rampant, the Corporation of UltraHuman Protection is the private company hiring and assigning superheroes to protect paying citizens from nefarious incidents. Andrea is the current administrative assistant to CEO Persephone Cho and it's a delight to see this world through Andrea's eyes

If you love superheroes and want to read a lighter story about the "little people", this is it.

TW: Violence, dismemberment, brief gore, vomit, bugs, blood, goo

7. Crocodile on the Sandbank by Elizabeth Peters

This has been on my To-Read list since 2014 but I finally read it because of a friend (The same one who recommended Andrea Vernon. Bri has great taste).

Crocodiles on the Sandbank follows heiress Amelia Peter traveling the world and doing whatever she wants.  Amelia is forthright, thinks that she's the foremost authority on everything, and is bossy. I love her.  It took me forever to actually get into the book, with its causal xenophobic and outdated comments. I had to do research about Peters and switched to audiobooks (Thank goodness for libraries, yall). 

Written in the style of pulp adventure novels, Peters actually spends most of the book mocking the Mighty Whitey trope. Those stories of brave white person who travels into the Exotic New Lands and teaches the locals the true power of British training with "Rule Britiannia" plays in the background. Once I read it with that lens, the book became great fun, especially once we meet the Emerson brothers. That said, I understand how it's not someone's cup of tea. (I was so tempted to write "Cuppa". Applaud me for my self control, please).

TW: Xenophobia, violence, gaslighting, gun violence, Might Whitey

8. My Darling Duke by Stacy Reid

Katherine Danvers is broke and as the oldest girl, she needs to make sure one of her sisters marries well to keep the family afloat. So, in a daring/desperate move, she lies and says that she's engaged to Alexander Masters, the mysterious Duke of Thornton whom no one has seen in a decade. Shrouded in mystery after the death of his parents and his failed engagement, Alexander is the perfect fake fiancee... Until he complicates things by showing up a fancy ball. Scarred and disabled, Alex is intrigued by Katherine and starts a strange courtship.

Something I love about this book is how it handles Alexander's disability. After a horrible fire, he has intense burn scars and lost some of his mobility. Some days, he can walk on his own, and others, he uses a wheelchair. Granted, there were a few moments when he seems a little too mobile but from what I've heard from my disabled friends, it's not a linear thing. I love that the story doesn't do the "HEALED BY THE POWER OF LOVE!" trope. It's not a curse, this is his life. And Katherine chooses to spend her life with him, not to be his nurse but his partner. It's great.

(Also, this book is lightweight Beauty and the Beast but if literally everyone around them were sex-positive IT'S GREAT!).

TW: Ableism, sexual content, brief danger, offscreen death of parents, offscreen fire

9. All the Feels/Ship Wrecked by Olivia Dade

I couldn't decide which book to add on this list. I prefer All the Feels because I'm a sucker for a good Himbo falls for a grumpy woman book but Ship Wrecked, yall. I did a full review of Ship Wrecked but the subtlety Dade uses so that when the Third Act Argument happens, it both comes out of nowhere and feels really obvious. It's so just so good! 

All of the Feels gave me the book I desperately wanted while I was reading Spoiler Alert but Ship Wrecked gave me the rich but nuanced treat that I didn't know I wanted!

TW for both books: Fatphobia, misogyny, bullying, ableism. offscreen death of parent, panic attacks, mentions of domestic violence, brief violence, 

10. The Governess Game by Tessa Dare

I don't read romance books with kids in it. I know a lot of people who love it (Including my sister) but I just can't! It's like that scene from The Last Jedi when Chewie is trying to eat the Porg but the living Porgs are staring at him, horrified? That's how I feel when I read romance with kids in it. I'm just trying to read my book, trying to be a voyeur in peace, only for my brain to go "Sure hope a child doesn't get emotionally scarred by this?". GOOD FEELINGS ARE GONE!

That said, Tessa Dare is amazing so I made an exception for her. Dare nails that awkward period where kids are just weird and kinda dark but still adorable. The conflict was good, the romance was amazing and the ending was so heartwarming. If you're trying to get into romance, highly recommend her books. 

TW: Mentions of death, brief blood, panic disorder, brief harassment, sexual content, brief child endangerment. 

And those are my favorite books of 2022!! I hope you enjoyed and maybe even read some of these books yourself. Let me know what some of your favorites.