The year that was … 2022!

First up, wishing you all a fabulous 2023 full of love, health, happiness and peace!

Secondly, hi! Hello! Long time no see. I took my annual break during September and then … well, somehow that turned into a hugely extended and unplanned hiatus. The more I told myself it seemed time to come back, the more my brain just went “nope, not doing it” and it it all just became that little bit harder. So here we are, some months later. New year, old(er) me … I figured what better time to try this blogging malarkey again. I’ve no idea what this year will bring. Still not psychic. But I wasn’t ready to say goodbye to the blog completely yet.

So, let’s take a look back at the year that was 2022. Book-wise, at least. Let me start off by saying it has been the worst reading year I’ve had in years. Way back in January, I wrote a list of challenges for myself. Luckily I never shared that list anywhere, because apart from reaching my Goodreads goal I failed all of them. And I reached that goal during the last week before Christmas so I’m not exactly feeling very accomplished here 😳.

A total of 101 books it was then. But many, many others were picked up, perused, put back on the shelf or unceremoniously dumped onto the charity pile. I’d blame myself since it seems obvious that I found myself in some kind of existential reading/reviewing/blogging crisis. But I don’t. As always, I shall blame the books 😏.

Here are the 18 books that (mistakenly) convinced me that my reading slump was coming to an end. Series and stand-alone combined, all published in 2022. In random order … That’s right. There is NO favourite. I know, you’re shocked. The choice was just impossible to make.

Cara Hunter – Hope To Die
Elodie Harper – The House With The Golden Door
A.K. Turner – Life Sentence

Richard Osman – The Bullet That Missed
M.W. Craven – The Botanist
Helen Fields – One For Sorrow [review]

Guy Morpuss – Black Lake Manor [review]
Paul Cleave – The Pain Tourist
Robert Gold – Twelve Secrets [review]

Will Shindler – The Hunting Ground [review]
J.P. Pomare – The Wrong Woman [review]
D.V. Bishop – The Darkest Sin [review]

There was a time when I was sure my favourite book of the year would probably be one of these next six. Three were written by favourite authors after all. But then these other folks showed up and turned everything on its head. So, after many hours of headache-inducing thinking had passed, I decided to give up trying to figure out which one it should be.

Lisa Gardner – One Step Too Far [review]
Sharon Bolton – The Dark
Karin Slaughter – Girl, Forgotten

Shelley Burr – Wake
Frances Quinn – That Bonesetter Woman [review]
Benjamin Stevenson – Everyone In My Family Has Killed Someone

Needless to say, despite the lack of reviews, I would quite happily recommend each and every one of the 18 books on this list.

There you have it. I hope you found something in this list that has piqued your interest. Please do let me know in the comments which books ended up on your lists, if you made one. And let’s all hope this year will bring many more bookish delights! xx