Top 5 books of 2022… so far

The Kings of Nowhere one is actually a no-brainer, because I think that it might just top my fave book of the year ― although, it IS early to make that call. I can absolutely say that it has made me cry the most so far this year.

Drews delivers another powerful punch to the solar plexus AND the emotions with this sequel to The Boy Who Steals Houses. And at this point in my life, I’m pretty sure she just owns my soul from all the wishes I have made.

Blurb:

Avery Lou has given up stealing houses ― now he’s meant to build them. Forced to stay with the De Lainey family until Sam’s return from juvie, Avery feels like he’s drowning. He hates that Sam chose the De Laineys instead of running away with him. And he hates working in their construction company while Vin, the thief who hurt Sam, still walks free. Avery wants revenge.

Swapping the sharp-edged world of burglary and car theft for the homey chaos of big family life is a wild adjustment, and Avery’s determined to sabotage his time with the De Laineys and get locked up with Sam instead. Avery just has to stay immune to Jeremy’s charming shenanigans. Easy… sort of. But Avery’s war against Vin has brought trouble to the De Lainey door and he can’t survive this fight alone.

I have actually been reading a LOT of ‘women working in STEM career’ romances (*cough* Ali Hazelwood *cough*), but The Trouble With Hating You takes it up a notch. In fact, it takes it up several notches.

Firstly, we have own-voices Indian culture, arranged marriage, family expectations, general social pariah-ness due to perceived faults and rumours, and you can tie it all up with enemies to lovers. I got this as a review book in 2020 and I REGRET not reading it sooner.

Blurb:

Liya Thakkar is a successful biochemical engineer, takeout enthusiast, and happily single woman. The moment she realizes her parents’ latest dinner party is a setup with the man they want her to marry, she’s out the back door in a flash. Imagine her surprise when the same guy shows up at her office a week later ― the new lawyer hired to save her struggling company. What’s not surprising: he’s not too thrilled to see her either after that humiliating fiasco.

Jay Shah looks good on paper… and off. Especially if you like that whole gorgeous, charming lawyer-in-a-good-suit thing. He’s also arrogant and infuriating. As their witty office banter turns into late night chats, Liya starts to think he might be the one man who truly accepts her. But falling for each other means exposing their painful pasts. Will Liya keep running, or will she finally give love a real chance?

I finally got on the Crescent City train earlier this year, and read not only House of Earth and Blood, but also House of Sky and Breath. I liked them pretty much equally, but we all know that I HATE a cliffhanger, so HoEaB is the one that is making my list. Because f*** y0u Sarah J Maas for that ending of HoSaB. We don’t even have a name for any ‘next books’, let alone dates.

Blurb:

BOUND BY BLOOD.
TEMPTED BY DESIRE.
UNLEASHED BY DESTINY.

Bryce Quinlan used to light up Crescent City, partying all night in the clubs where the strict classes of angel, shifter, human and Fae merge into a sea of beautiful bodies.

And then a demon murdered her closest friends.

Two years later, when the supposed killer is behind bars and the crimes start up again, the city’s leaders command Bryce to help investigate. They assign an enslaved fallen angel, Hunt Athalar, to make sure she does. But as Bryce fights to uncover the truth ― and resist her attraction to the brooding angel who shadows her every step ― she finds herself following a trail that leads deep into her own dark past.

Every time I get a new Beth O’Leary books I think “don’t get too excited ― it can’t be better than the last one.” And every time I read a new Beth O’Leary book, it IS better and I am blown away by how much I love it.

The No-Show defies all expectations for what a contemporary romance novel, with a hint of mystery, is. It was everything that I didn’t even know I needed in my life. This book might even replace the coveted ‘reread every year or so’ place held by Back After the Break (by Anita Notaro) since 2003. That’s how good it is.

Blurb:

Three women. Three dates. One missing man…

8.52. Siobhan’s been looking forward to her breakfast date with Joseph. She was surprised when he suggested it ― she normally sees him late at night in her hotel room. Breakfast with Joseph on Valentine’s Day surely means something… so where is he?

14.43. Miranda’s hoping that a Valentine’s Day lunch with Carter will be the perfect way to celebrate her new job. It’s a fresh start and a sign that her grown-up life is finally falling into place: she’s been dating Carter for five months now and things are getting serious. But why hasn’t he shown up?

18.30. Joseph Carter agreed to be Jane’s fake boyfriend at a colleague’s engagement party. They’ve not known each other long but their friendship is fast becoming the brightest part of her new life in Winchester. Joseph promised to save Jane tonight. But he’s not here…

Meet Joseph Carter. That is, if you can find him.

I was so nervous to read Book of Night. And excited. But mostly nervous. Because I wanted to love it. But I had also wanted to love The Atlas Six… and we all know how that turned out.

You’d think, given my absolute adoration of Black’s fae books, that I would just automatically love this. BUT, the rest of her books are less hit, more miss for me. Her short stories I mostly disliked, and I’ve basically DNFed the Curseworkers trilogy. (I might still finish it, DB!) So yeah, I was nervous. But, all for nothing, because I LOVED this book.

Blurb:

In Charlie Hall’s world, shadows can be altered, for entertainment and cosmetic preferences ― but also to increase power and influence. You can alter someone’s feelings ― and memories ― but manipulating shadows has a cost, with the potential to take hours or days from your life. Your shadow holds all the parts of you that you want to keep hidden ― a second self, standing just to your left, walking behind you into lit rooms. And sometimes, it has a life of its own.

Charlie is a low-level con artist, working as a bartender while trying to distance herself from the powerful and dangerous underground world of shadow trading. She gets by doing odd jobs for her patrons and the naive new money in her town at the edge of the Berkshires. But when a terrible figure from her past returns, Charlie’s present life is thrown into chaos, and her future seems at best, unclear ― and at worst, non-existent. Determined to survive, Charlie throws herself into a maelstrom of secrets and murder, setting her against a cast of doppelgängers, mercurial billionaires, shadow thieves, and her own sister ― all desperate to control the magic of the shadows.