Okay friends, it’s the end of the year, so that means it’s time for one of my favorite posts: my top 10 favorite books I’ve read this year.
Every year, I look back at all the books I’ve read, and I compile a list of my favorites. This year I’ve read 98 books so far, but these are the stand-out ones.
These 10 books are in no particular order except the last two. I had the hardest time picking my top book of the year because I loved two books so so much. When I look back on my reading from this year, those two immediately come to mind. One narrowly beat out the other, but the last two books truly are my favorites!
Be sure and check out my top 10 favorites from 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, and 2016.
Now, let’s see what I read and loved the most in 2022.
Carrie Soto is Back by Taylor Jenkins Reid
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Why I Love This Book: I’ll go ahead and say it: this book isn’t for everyone. Of all TJR’s books, I feel like this one is the most divisive. People are either going to love it (like me!) or hate it. It is heavvvvvy with the tennis content, and I think some people will feel like that takes away from the story a bit. I felt that way too, but the character of Carrie Soto is what made this book for me. She comes across as unlikeable, but she’s so strong, confident, and self-aware. This book spoke to my feminist heart. Carrie Soto is Back has it all- there is a little romance, a nail-biting competitive tennis career that spans years, and a wonderful father/daughter relationship that left me in tears. I absolutely loved this book.
Be sure and play Elton John’s The Bitch is Back while you read it!
Nora Goes Off Script by Annabel Monaghan
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Why I Love This Book: This was the perfect romance book. It was flawless. Nora Goes Off Script is one of the swooniest books I’ve ever read. If you need a book that will stay with you and make you forget about everything else, read this one. I don’t want to spoil anything, but there is something that happens at the end of this book and it is my favorite. I’ve never read another book that this thing happens in that I’ve loved more than this one. Message me and I’ll tell you! I’d hate to spoil it for others. There’s also a twist that I was NOT expecting!
How to Fake it in Hollywood by Ava Wilder
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Why I Love This Book: Don’t let that cartoon cover fool you. How to Fake it in Hollywood tackles some serious issues like addiction and gender inequality in the media. But there is also SO much swoon. I couldn’t stop reading this book, and I thought about it constantly. I thought it would be just a fun little rom-com to read in between work, but it turned out to be such a bigger story. Loved this one!
The Summer of Broken Rules by K.L. Walther
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Why I Loved This Book: I am so glad I rediscovered my love for Young Adult contemporary this year. After watching and loving The Summer I Turned Pretty, I started on a month long binge of YA rom coms, and The Summer of Broken Rules was my favorite! This had so many Taylor Swift references, y’all and if that doesn’t make a book top 10 worthy, I don’t know what does. It had an idyllic summer setting, a fun family game woven throughout the entire plot, and the best swoony moments. I absolutely loved this story.
The Bodyguard by Katherine Center
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Why I Love This Book: At the beginning of the year, if you had told me a Katherine Center book would end up in my top 10 of the year, I would have never believed you, but it happened. I have always found KC books to be cheesy and just too much for me, but The Bodyguard was different. It wasn’t at all cheesy. I remember actually laughing out at one point in this book. I loved this celebrity romance, fake dating, and forced proximity trope filled book so so much!
Built to Last by Erin Hahn
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Why I Love This Book: When St. Martin’s sent me an early copy of Built to Last by Erin Hahn, I had never heard of it. I remember filming a video on bookmail and right before I filmed about this one, I read the back to see what it was about so I could share in the video. I remember thinking, “Ooooo this sounds really good. I hope it’s written well because it has so much potential.” I was nervous to read it because I wanted it to be good, and thankfully it was! This was such a swoony story that was part friends to lovers, part celebrity romance, part home renovation. I loved it all!
Beartown by Fredrick Backman
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Why I Love This Book: Never have I come so close to DNFing a book and then ending up loving it. It took about 130 pages for me to really start to love this story, and I normally stop reading a book that I’m not connecting with at around page 50. Something kept telling me to continue, and I’m so glad I did. This story is so compelling and unique. It has a ton of characters, and the writing takes a little bit of time to get into, but my goodness what a story.
And now, the final TOP two books:
Every Summer After by Carley Fortune
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Why I Love This Book: This one should come as a shock to no one. As soon as I read Every Summer After, I knew it would be a top favorite of the year. I had HIGH hopes for this one before I even read it, but it exceeded them all. I couldn’t have loved this book more. When I finished the book, I hugged it, y’all. I immediately wanted to reread it. And this was Carley Fortune’s FIRST book?? THIS WAS A DEBUT NOVEL! WHAT??? If you want a swoony story that has childhood flashbacks, read this book. If you want a book that has a picturesque summer setting, read this book. It will now be the book I recommend to everyone. I even bought an extra copy for my little free library. I absolutely loved Every Summer After.
Notes on Your Sudden Disappearance by Alison Espach
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Why I Love This Book: I’ll admit, I have no idea why this book spoke to me like it did. It deals with the death of a sister and how her family copes with the sudden loss. I’ve never had a sister, and I never experienced the death of a close family member until I was in my 30s, but for some reason I just connected with this book and found the story so intriguing and captivating. Going into this book, I thought it was a thriller set in the 90s and I didn’t realize until halfway through that is wasn’t a thriller. I think this is why I loved it so much. It’s got some romance in it, but that’s not the main story, which I really liked. It spans over many years, and I’ve discovered that this aspect can make or break a story for me. If it’s done well, I love a story that takes place over a longer time period, but if the author leaves out too many details, I feel like I lose a connection with the characters. I felt Alison Espach wrote this perfectly. This a bit a humor, which made the story not overly depressing, given the subject matter. It was just the perfect coming of age story.
Okay, I’d love to hear if you’ve read any of these and what you thought about them! What books ended up on your favorites list? Be sure and follow my IG and TikTok for many more book recommendations.
Check out my past yearly favorites posts:
