5 Star Reads of 2022 (July-Dec)
One thing I have noticed about myself is that during the second half of the year, I tend to get nostalgic and start doing a lot more re-reading, either from earlier that year or from years past. I have also noticed that I am very bad at putting ratings in Goodreads once I finish a book, so I had to read a lot of synopses to try and remember which books were my favorites from July-December. (The downside of reading so many books; I often forget what they were all about and if I enjoyed them. Oops!) Don't forget to check out my top reads of the first six months of the year here, and without further ado, let's get into the rest of the best.
5 Star Reads: July - December 2022
1. Beach Read by Emily Henry
Enemies-to-lovers, because this list needs as least one book with that trope! Gus and January are just so great. They have a history from back in school and while they're not technically rivals in the literary world, they are authors living next door to each other, so there is bound to be some competition. I love their chemistry as they work through their writing together and push each other outside of comfort zones and into something much much greater.
2. Bride Quartet by Nora Roberts
This is a re-read from a few years back, but whenever I find myself in the mood for some sweet and simple romances, I gravitate towards these four books by Nora Roberts. Four friends running a bridal business, finally turned brides themselves? It's hard to get more romantic than that.
I keep telling myself I'll write a review for this book, and instead I just read it again. And again. And again. In small town Knockemout, Naomi's evil twin Tina has been causing havoc. When Naomi shows up to bail her out, Tina steals her car and leaves her daughter behind as she skips town, leaving her mess for
Naomi to clean up. Knox happens upon Naomi and, despite his best intentions and no-drama policy, ends up helping her. And then he does it again. And again. While insisting he won't get involved. It seems like these two are stuck together until they can get Tina back to Knockemout. Thankfully, they make a pretty great team.
4. The Locked Tomb series by Tamsyn Muir
The future meets space meets none-pizza-with-left-beef meets bone magic. I literally don't know how to adequately describe these books aside from saying they are one of my favorite series and I cry over the fact that it's still incomplete (book 3 was published earlier this year). Each of the characters is so dynamic, and the author drops you into each story with no context, so from book to book you have to find your place anew, despite knowing all the connecting pieces. It's like having all the edge pieces of a puzzle, and you slowly fill in the middle as you read, and I love it. I plan to fully review each of these books on their own through the year, so for now I'll just say that you need to have them on your radar if you don't already.
5. Bellinger Sisters series by Tessa Bailey
Are you a fan of the TV series Schitt's Creek? Then you need to read these books. In book one, grumpy king crab fisherman meets sunny socialite who's learning the consequences of her actions when she's sent to the small fishing town her father was from. Book two follows the other sister, a wallflower by most definitions, as she teaches a ladies' man all about friendship while they try to make her crush notice her. Tessa Bailey's writing is magnetic and her characters are so lovable. I binged these books in literally a day.
With everyone gushing over this book for such a long time, I honestly thought I wouldn't like it. And instead, here it is on my top reads! I almost want to call it enemies-to-lovers, but that's not really the case here; the hatred is entirely one-sided and also completely a matter of perception rather than truth. Regardless, it is a grumpy x sunshine trope with the male love interest being just the right amount of protective to make you swoon. The characters are a joy and I definitely recommend this book!
In the first half of the year I had a longer list, but this time I had more series involved, so in the end I think it all evens out. I am also extremely picky with my 5 star ratings, and will only give a book 5 stars if I would read it again more than once (which is why several of these are re-reads). So all in all, this is a pretty good roundup for 2022!
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