A鈥檚 Year in Books

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2022

95,563

pages read

292

books read

13 likes Like

My Sweet Boy by Krystaelynne Sanders Diggs

Shortest Book

pages

Longest Book

766

pages

Average book length in 2022

327

pages

A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas

Most Shelved

5,747,968

people also shelved

The Aragon Hotel Murders by David Ferguson

Least Shelved

people also shelved

A鈥檚 average rating for 2022

3.1

Highest Rated on 欧宝娱乐

4.67 average

I Kissed Shara Wheeler by Casey McQuiston

A鈥檚 first review of the year

liked it

Chloe Green and her moms moved from California back to Alabama, and going to a Christian Academy in Alabama is not something Chloe enjoys. Her focus has been winning against her rival, Shara Wheeler, for class valedictorian. But just before graduation, Shara kisses Chloe and then disappears. Chloe can鈥檛 bear not having an explanation nor the thought of winning valedictorian by default, so she begins searching for clues to explain Shara鈥檚 disappea Chloe Green and her moms moved from California back to Alabama, and going to a Christian Academy in Alabama is not something Chloe enjoys. Her focus has been winning against her rival, Shara Wheeler, for class valedictorian. But just before graduation, Shara kisses Chloe and then disappears. Chloe can鈥檛 bear not having an explanation nor the thought of winning valedictorian by default, so she begins searching for clues to explain Shara鈥檚 disappearance and the unexpected kiss.

This was a fun and easy read. I enjoyed the author鈥檚 writing style 鈥� it was simplistic and straightforward but still engaging. In some instances, especially the letter in Chapter 12, the writing was quite poetic and full of emotion.

The author did a great job at writing varied and unique characters. They had realistic motivations, relationships with each other, and interactions. I enjoyed how chaotic Chloe was in comparison to the perfectly prepared Shara. I also thought the author explored how being yourself in 2022 can still be difficult in the United States, especially in the south. There were several things that I found too relatable having been raised in a Southern Baptist area, and they were incorporated well into this story.

I will say that I was a little letdown by Shara. She begins as an enigma, made up of Chloe鈥檚 preconceived notions and nothing more. But as she becomes a greater focus of the story towards its end, I didn鈥檛 find her to be particularly relatable or to have as much depth and emotion as I wanted. Similarly, the mystery and reveal surrounding Shara and her whereabouts was a bit anticlimactic for me 鈥� I won鈥檛 get into details due to spoilers. The plot was fun and was executed well, though it was all relatively predictable.

I listened to the audiobook version of this work. The narrator was enjoyable and did an excellent job at differentiating the character鈥檚 voices. I highly recommend this adaptation of the book.

This was a quick, easy, and fun read. There was great LGTBQIA+ representation in this book, especially for it being set in a heteronormative Christian Academy in Alabama. I recommend this book for people interested in the intersectionality of gender and religion, lighthearted high school romances, and light mystery.

I received a complimentary copy of this work through NetGalley. All opinions expressed in this review are my own. ...more

础鈥橲 2022 BOOKS

it was amazing

Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi

Children of Virtue and Vengeance by Tomi Adeyemi

The Drug-Free Sleep Solution by David Durocher

A Song of Wraiths and Ruin by Roseanne A. Brown

The Kingdom of Copper by S.A. Chakraborty

The Little Book for Big Transformations (Second Edition) by Skip Jennings

it was amazing

really liked it

People We Meet on Vacation by Emily Henry

really liked it

Kingdom of the Wicked by Kerri Maniscalco

Kingdom of the Cursed by Kerri Maniscalco

The Women in the Castle by Jessica Shattuck

really liked it

The Girls with No Names by Serena Burdick

The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Bront毛

A Good Girl's Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson

really liked it

The Tomb of Theragaard by Kenneth Cromwell

A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas

Chengli and the Silk Road Caravan by Hildi Kang

really liked it

After Happily Ever After by Leslie A. Rasmussen

The Scrolls of the Bonefairy Castle by David Spiegel

it was amazing

Diary of an 8-Bit Warrior Collection by Cube Kid

Of Cages and Crowns by Brianna Joy Crump

it was amazing

it was amazing

really liked it

Briar and Rose and Jack by Katherine Coville

A鈥檚 last review of the year

liked it

Eric and his two daughters are on the run, leaving their lives in Maryland behind them. Currently in Texas and desperate for money, he gets a callback for an unconventional job. There鈥檚 a huge payout waiting for him if he becomes the caretaker of a haunted house and keeps detailed notes about what happens there. Eager for the money, and because the supernatural aspect might provide him with some sought-after answers, he accepts the job, and they Eric and his two daughters are on the run, leaving their lives in Maryland behind them. Currently in Texas and desperate for money, he gets a callback for an unconventional job. There鈥檚 a huge payout waiting for him if he becomes the caretaker of a haunted house and keeps detailed notes about what happens there. Eager for the money, and because the supernatural aspect might provide him with some sought-after answers, he accepts the job, and they move into the Spite House. But the house welcomes newcomers in its own horrifying way and holds many of its own secrets for Eric to discover.

I enjoyed this read overall, though it was much less scary than I thought it would be. I liked the concept of the Spite House but felt that there were many questions left unanswered by the end of the book.

Probably the biggest thing that detracted from this work for me was the way the author chose to tell the story. There were many POVs included that were told from the perspective of characters who had only been mentioned once or twice. This made it difficult to keep track of who was doing what when, and drastically slowed down the primary plot and its tension. It also greatly took away from the atmosphere. I did enjoy what those chapters eventually added to the overall history of the house and its story, but it detracted more from the read than added anything positive to it.

That being said, I do think that the chapters told from Peter鈥檚 POV (original owner of the house) added to the story and were extremely well written. His chapters were incorporated in the ideal places to add more information as things were beginning to happen in the primary plot. I also enjoyed the reveal of what happened to the children as it wasn鈥檛 at all what I expected. The characters overall were well written and came across as relatable, which added to my enjoyment.

The book didn鈥檛 have the ending that I expected or even wanted, but I loved what the author chose to do with it. I do think this might be better as a Young Adult read, as its style and simplicity felt much more suited for that genre 鈥� there also wasn鈥檛 anything too graphic or intense as to make it inappropriate for YA readers. There were some things that weren鈥檛 explained at all but were major plot points, leaving these things open-ended mysteries, which I found a little unsatisfying.

Overall, this book probably wouldn鈥檛 please true horror fans, but as someone who is just dipping their toes into the genre, I found it enjoyable overall. My thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for allowing me to read this work, which will be published in February 2023. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are my own. ...more

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