...if there is such a thing. But I thought it'd be fun and useful to start with some info on the kind of books I like to read, before getting into all the details. You know, in case it's not your cup of tea.
While I always admire the people who read classics and non-fiction books, I learned and finally accepted that I'm not one of them. My absolute favourite genre is ✨ fantasy ✨, including young adult, new adult, and proper adult fantasy novels too. I do however read some cute contemporary romance novels too here and there —as sort of palette cleansers I guess.
So just prepared that these are the kind of books you'll find on here.
Finishing up the year and taking a peek at my reading stats was super exciting! Turns out, in 2022, I read...
41 books
Overall 18978 pages
20 eBooks and 21 paperbacks
31 fantasy books
9 books with 5 stars
+ gave an average rating of 3.92 (out of 5) and DNF'd 1 book.
Before I share the list, let me tell you my criteria for rating a book 5 stars. It has to be a book:
I couldn't put down,
kept thinking about,
where I loved the world-building,
loved the characters, and
would read again.
So with that in my, here are the 9 books I loved the most in 2022.
This book is the third in Armentrout's From Blood and Ash (FBAA) series, and it was my first time reading it. Needless to say I was super excited to get my hands on it, and it 100% lived up to my expectations.
I don't want to go into much detail in order to save you from spoilers, but the world and the characters are just so dear to my heart and I loved her writing. Fun fact: when I re-read it later in the year, it only got a 4.5 from me. And the fourth book that came out then was only 4-stars.
Let me tell you now: I don't give out 5-stars easily, but there are a few authors whose books I'm obsessed with. You'll find most of the books on this list will be either from her or SJM 😅
This book takes place in the same world as FBAA, but everything happens much earlier, so it's a prequel series, so to say. That's really cool (imo), because some names you've read about in FBAA actually appear as characters here, which always made me so excited.
Apart from the amazing writing (the banter between Sera and Nyktos is just *chef's kiss*) you get to go back to the world you already know and love, which is super cosy —but with new elements and characters. Loved it. Reread it later on in the year.
This was a reread, because the second book of the series came out, and I wanted to go through this one again first. The thing about this book is that I loved it when I first read it, but it wrecked me so much emotionally (especially the end, I was sobbing) that I was just not ready emotionally to pick it up again. Until the very last minute, when I really had to.
It made me cry the second time too. But it was absolutely worth it. For me this world and the main character Bryce are not as close to my heart as Feyre in ACOTAR (A Court of Thorns and Roses) or Aelin on TOG (Throne of Glass) but that could be because we don't have many books out in this series yet.
THE END, OMG, THE END OF THIS BOOK. I had a strong feeling something big like this was going to happen, but I still screamed when I read it. Cannot waaait for the next one to come.
It also made me forget almost everything else about the book (except that we got a lovely, cosy look into the relationship of the main couple I'm not going to spoil + how much I grew to love Ruhn), so keep an eye out for a proper review when I reread this book before the next one comes out.
Gleam (so weird to have such a short name for a fantasy book these days, isn't it?) is the third book in Raven Kennedy's Plated Prisoner series, which TikTok made me read. To be honest, I didn't really like the first book (3 stars), the second one got a little better (4 stars) and this third one finally hit the mark for me.
By this time I got to know the characters well enough, the plot was intricate and interesting, and the romance was nice to read too. Our FMC finally felt less stupid and grew into her badass, heroine self, which I really appreciated.
Another series that I've seen so much on TikTok I just had to read. Before this book, I actually picked up A Trial of Sorcerers from her which is set in the same world but later. I liked it, but this one was just so so much better!
Sadly none of the following books lived up to it for me. The second and third I gave 4 stars, but the 4th I gave up on after a chapter or two cause I got so frustrated. It was finally the time for the MC to go strong, be independent and all that —and bamm back into captivity and submission she goes. Bah!
Let me group these two books together here. They're the first and second books of the FBAA series I've already mentioned, and I reread them when #4 came out. Even reading them the second time, they were 5 stars and I would (and probably will) read them again.
Hunger Games meets vampires is how this book can be easily described —but I really liked it. I was surprised to grow fond of the characters within just one book, but I really enjoyed the FMC's character development and the romance. And amongst all that, the plot was kind of interesting, and it was definitely hard to put this book down.
I won't write about them in detail, but let me list them for you as honorary mentions. These I really enjoyed, but I didn't grow to love the world and characters so much, might not reread. I liked them, but didn't loooove them.
The Love Hypothesis - Ali Hazelwood (4.5 actually)
A Deadly Education - Naomi Novik
Song of the Forever Rains - E.J. Mellow
People We Meet on Vacation - Emily Henry (4.25)
Glint - Raven Kennedy
Dance of Thieves - Mary E. Pearson
A Trial of Sorcerers - Elise Kova
Fire Falling - Elise Kova
Earth's End - Elise Kova
The Spanish Love Deception - Elena Armas
The War of Two Queens - Jennifer L. Armentrout
The Hating Game - Sally Thorne
A Cat Cafe Christmas - Codi Gary
King of Wrath - Ana Huang