My Top 12 Reads of 2022
Another year down = another year survived! I’m having a hard time coming to terms with the fact that we are entering 2023… Last I remember it was 2020, I was newly 25, and the world felt a bit less chaotic. Now I’ve blinked and it’s 2023, I’m turning 28 (YIKES), and books have become my only real escape from all the chaos. So because of that, I’ve read a LOT of books this year. I’m actually quite proud of my reading accomplishments this year as, with a new job, it has been more difficult to find the time. But I set realistic goals for myself. Ones I know I can achieve as long as I try. I set myself up to read 80 books (last year I’d read 100 so I knew this was attainable), I promised I’d get into poetry (which I read but didn’t like), made sure to squeeze in some timeless classics, and actively sought to diversify my reading list every single time I went book shopping. Some amazing reads stood out to me this year above all others so here are the top 12 that I loved this year:
Empire of Gold (Book 3 in The Daevabad Trilogy) // S.A. Chakraborty
This was my number 1 favourite read this year. The entire Daevabad Trilogy made the top of my “favourite fantasies I’ve ever read list”. It was such an amazing adventure rich with beautiful writing, the most flawed and loveable characters, and a plot that made it extremely hard to put down. Following a young woman, a healer, who messes with the wrong kind of magic, we get whisked off to the fantasy city of Daevabad along with her as she discovers her true powers and the heritage she had never known. All while finding herself in the middle of extreme political and religious upheaval. It was an absolute delight to read. I laughed, I cried, I was torn apart but I would do it all over again to experience this story for the first time. Empire of Gold was the epic conclusion and it was a book I got lost in so entirely that coming back to reality after that was very hard.
2. A River Enchanted (Book 1 in the Elements of Cadence duology) // Rebecca Ross
A River Enchanted was such a beautifully written novel. To me it felt like a love letter to music and to nature. Set on a remote (and magical) Scottish island that is divided between two warring clans, Jack the bard and Adaira the Laird’s daughter must find a way to stop the little girls on the island from going missing. Using music and a strong respect for Scottish lore and the natural elements, Jack and his band of friends fight to unite the families of this Isle once again while digging themselves into something deeper than they could understand. It was mystical and magical. To me THIS is what a cozy fantasy really feels like. I read it while I had COVID earlier in the year and it kept my spirits up while I was feeling extremely down. I absolutely loved it and the sequel is just as good.
3. Bloodmarked (Book 2 in the Legendborn Cycle) // Tracy Deonn
Legendborn was one of my top reads of 2021 and Bloodmarked followed suite by being one of my top reads of 2022. Tracy Deonn has a brilliant mind and this series about a young girl discovering an Arthurian secret society that fights demons and discovers her own ancestral power has become a very quick favourite of mine. Usually the second book in trilogies or series falls flat for me. They tend to be the filler books. This book blew that theory out of the water. It was amazing and almost BETTER than the first. If you haven’t discovered the Legendborn Cycle yet, here’s your sign to add it to your 2023 TBR list! Bree is one of the best heroines that I’ve had the pleasure to follow along with and I can’t wait to see what’s next for her.
4. The Ten Thousand Doors of January // Alix E. Harrow
This was one of my first reads of 2022 and it set the bar HIGH for all of my future reads of the year. My Birthday is at the start of January so I thought it would be fun to read a book with January in the title and wow did I not expect the adventure that awaited me. This book to me brought the true wonder back to reading. One of those books that you come out of and can’t believe none of it was real and that you have to say goodbye to that world. This book follows a young girl who is a ward of a very rich archaeologist. She stays with him as his pet to show off to friends while her father does the true work for him. All the while, curious as to where she comes from. And, eventually, she discovers that certain doors can lead her to other world. As she finds her own dangerous adventure through these other worlds, she slowly learns more of her parents’ adventure and how it connects to where she is today. It was a lovely read and I highly recommend anything this author writes.
5. Babel, or The Necessity of Violence: An Arcane History // R.F. Kuang
This book is worth every bit of hype it got on social media. I wasn’t sure what to expect going into it besides Dark Academia and extreme pain (given the title) but it exceeded expectations. We follow Robin through different stages of his life and a revolution waiting to happen. He is taken from China at a young age after his family falls to sickness and death. The white Professor who “adopts” him is well respected within Oxford and harshly instructs Robin throughout his childhood to be the best he can be in order to get into the Institute of Translation (The Tower of Babel). It follows the harsh impacts of British colonialism and the cultures it tried to destroy and highlights extreme inequality that wasn’t only present “back then” but in our day as well. The main catalyst being a strike that sets the British Empire aflame. It was such a good reflection of the divide between classes and races. It made me uncomfortable to read because I recognized the truth in every word that was written and I think it’s a book everyone should read.
6. Queen of Shadows (Book 4 in the Throne of Glass Series) // Sarah J. Maas
I finally dove further into the SJM world this year and started out with the Throne of Glass series since it was a birthday gift. Admittedly, the first few books were underwhelming compared to ACOTAR but by Book 4 I was completely hooked and this has now become my favourite SJM series. Queen of Shadows was the best in the series for me as it’s when the action truly begins. Up to that point we get some background and a buildup of the world and characters and some interesting adventures along the way but this book is when we really begin building up to the conclusion in the final book. There were so many epic moments and I felt this is where the characters truly began to develop, not only in their personal development but in relationships between each other. And if you’ve read it, let’s not forget the Orchestra. That piece won me over on this book being the best of them.
7. The Dead Romantics // Ashley Poston
This book taught me how to love and grieve in equal measures. The Dead Romantics follows a ghost writer for a popular series as she navigates the death of her father, her crazy family of funeral directors, and her newly ghostly editor who needs her help to “move on”. It was a love letter to grief and I read it in a time that I absolutely needed it. It helped me better process my own grief and learn how better to say goodbye. There were quotes from it that broke me apart and stitched me back together again and I will forever revisit this story.
“I’d always written how grief was hollow. ow it was a vast cavern of nothing. But I was wrong. Grief was the exact opposite. It was full and heavy and drowning because it wasn’t the absence of everything you lost - it was the combination of it all, your love, your happiness, your bittersweets, wound tight like a knotted ball of yarn.”
“Love is a celebration…of life and death. It stays with you. It lingers, my darlings, long after I’m gone.”
8. Book Lovers // Emily Henry
Anything written by Emily Henry is bound to be a top hit and one of my favourite books of the year. Book Lovers is no exception to that rule. It was such a lovely read. The witty banter had me giggling the entire way through. I absolutely LOVED that it was the reverse of a typical “small-town” love story. We’re sick of the big city love interest going to a small town and falling in love, leaving their high paying city life behind. And Nora is sick of it too! As she’s always the “evil fiance” who stays in the city. Not in this book. Nora and Charlie had such electric chemistry but also such a steady foundation that you can’t help but fall in love with this story. It’s also a tailor-made romance for “book lovers” so any bookworm will love this.
9. Juniper & Thorn // Ava Reid
Juniper & Thorn was an unexpected delight for me. This book is a dark retelling of the Grimm Brothers’ The Juniper Tree. It’s a heavy book with a lot of dark themes but the character development at the forefront of this story was exceptional. It was a book rich with symbolism and the writing was extremely beautiful. There wasn’t a single sentence that went to waste and I was enraptured from start to finish.
10. Chain of Gold (Book One in The Last Hours Trilogy) // Cassandra Clare
I fell deeply back into Cassandra Clare territory last year by rereading all of The Mortal Instruments and The Infernal Devices on audiobook and finally diving into her two most recent series in December and Jan of last year. I think The Last Hours series might just become my favourite of all of them as it was so rich with loveable characters. In this series we follow the children of Will and Tessa, Cecily and Gabriel, and all of our other favourites from TID as they once again navigate an uprising evil in the Shadowhunter world. The dynamics between these characters and the relationships and friendships were top tier (as they always are in Clare’s books). Book Three comes out in January 2023 and I cannot wait to see what happens next!
11. King of Battle and Blood // Scarlett St. Clair
I was pleasantly surprised with King of Battle and Blood. St. Clair’s Hades/Persephone trilogy was good but not great so I thought this might be an ok escape but definitely not a top read of the year. I was very very wrong. This book was reminiscent of my favourite soulmate trope (a trope that is RARE in today’s fantasies and romances) and I read it in one sitting (that rarely happens these days as well). It follows Isolde as she is bargained to marry a Vampire who is renowned as extremely vicious and evil. Fun! But not everything in Isolde’s world is as it seems and Adrian might just be the ally that she needs. It was a great romantasy and Book Two just came out this December. Run don’t walk for this one!
12. Cultish: The Language of Fanaticism // Amanda Montell
A non-fiction read made it onto the top 12 list!! Call the news! This never happens but Cultish was such a captivating read about the way language can permeate culture, relationships, and change how we perceive one another and ourselves. It covers how language could lead to dangerous things like Jonestown and Scientology and even isolate you from your friends in “harmless” ways like Cross-fit language and social media culture. It was eye opening and kind of scary but extremely fascinating and relatable especially in current climate when things like “fake news” and “sheeple” get thrown around like candy (queue eye roll).
Those are my favourite reads of the year and some of them will be extremely hard to beat for the 2023 list but I’ll try my best! One thing I’d like to say is that some of these reads I would have NEVER discovered if I hadn’t actively set out to diversify my reads. A lot of BIPOC authors do not get the same recognition as white authors either in the traditional publishing/marketing world or on social media so it’s important to make sure you’re doing the work to diversify your reads as well. There are so many amazing authors out there and not all get the recognition they deserve. Step outside of your comfort zone, actively browse for books instead of only reading what us on TikTok tell you to and have the time of your life discovering epic stories that sit with you for years to come! Happy reading and all the best in 2023!!
Taylor-Paige