2022 Book Review: Awards, Ratings, and Summaries
It’s here! My favorite summary of the year! Last year I set things up a bit differently — I wrote 1-2 word thoughts about each book I read and identified the Top 5 books of the year. Hindsight is 20/20, and I realize now that probably didn’t give you a good feel for what the books were actually about. So I’m stepping things up this year, and I hope you enjoy!
Note: All book descriptions are excerpts from Goodreads or directly from the back of each book (with edits by moi, because I don’t like when big twists are included in the book descriptions!) Also, if you buy a book through one of the links below, I may earn a small commission at no cost to you.
Awards
FAVORITE AUTHOR OF 2022
Taylor Jenkins Reid
FAVORITE FICTION BOOK OF 2022
Book Lovers by Emily Henry
FAVORITE NON-FICTION BOOK OF 2022
Just Keep Buying by Nick Maggiulli
TOP 5 BOOKS OF 2022
Book Lovers by Emily Henry
Malibu Rising by Taylor Jenkins Reid
Just Keep Buying by Nick Maggiulli
One Italian Summer by Rebecca Serle
The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid
Books 1 - 6
SARAH MORGANTHALER
Enjoy the View - 4 Stars
Genres - Fiction | Romantic Comedy | Adventure
River Lane's acting career is tanking fast. Determined to start a new career behind the camera, she'll will take whatever job she can get, including filming a documentary about the picturesque town of Moose Springs. When mountaineer and Moose Springs local Easton Lockett sees a woman walking down the road looking lost, of course he offers to help. The last thing he expects is to interrupt a film shoot and earn River's wrath. But Easton has an idea to make it up to her: he can take River's crew up the local hidden gem, Mount Veil.
Maggie Note: This is the third book in the Moose Springs series. While t’s not totally necessary for you to have read the first two to understand the storyline of this one, characters and references to prior books will make a lot more sense if you read them in order. They’re quick reads, and the second one is set at Christmastime, if you want to add it to your holiday reading list!
V.E. SCHWAB
The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue - 5 Stars
Genres - Historical Fiction | Romance
France, 1714: in a moment of desperation, a young woman makes a Faustian bargain to live forever-and is cursed to be forgotten by everyone she meets. Thus begins the extraordinary life of Addie LaRue and a dazzling adventure that will play out across centuries and continents, across history and art, as a young woman learns how far she will go to leave her mark on the world.
FREDRIK BACKMAN
Anxious People - 5 Stars
Genres - Contemporary Fiction | Mystery | Humor
Looking at real estate isn't usually a life-or-death situation, but an apartment open house becomes just that when a failed bank robber bursts in and takes a group of strangers hostage. Each of them carries a lifetime of grievances, hurts, secrets, and passions that are ready to boil over. None of them is entirely who they appear to be. And all of them—the bank robber included—desperately crave some sort of rescue. As the authorities and the media surround the premises, these reluctant allies will reveal surprising truths about themselves and set in a motion a chain of events so unexpected that even they can hardly explain what happens next.
Maggie Note: I almost didn’t read this book because I didn’t love A Man Called Ove, one of Backman’s most famous books. I’m glad I gave this one a shot, because I really loved this story! It made me laugh, cry, and think.
LIBBY HUBSCHER
Meet Me in Paradise - 4 Stars
Genres and Themes - Contemporary Fiction | Romance | Loss
Ever since her journalist mother died on assignment, Marin has played it safe, refusing to set foot outside the state of Tennessee. Her wild-child younger sister, Sadie, has trotted the globe as a photographer, living off of art and adrenaline. When Sadie returns from a tough assignment abroad and looks a little worse for wear, Marin reluctantly agrees to a sisters' spa weekend on the tropical island of Saba. For the first time in a while, Marin has to step outside of her comfort zone as she explores the island with Lucas, a handsome local, and learns what she's been missing out on. With each breathtaking new experience, Marin gets closer to her real self, the man she's falling for, and the heart-wrenching truth about why she's there in the first place.
CHRISTINA LAUREN
The Soulmate Equation - 4 Stars
Genres - Contemporary Fiction | Romantic Comedy
Single mom Jess Davis is a data and statistics wizard, but no amount of number crunching can convince her to step back into the dating world. But then Jess hears about GeneticAlly, a buzzy new DNA-based matchmaking company that’s predicted to change dating forever. Finding a soulmate through DNA? The reliability of numbers: This Jess understands. At least she thought she did, until her test shows an unheard-of 98 percent compatibility with another subject in the database: GeneticAlly’s founder, Dr. River Peña.
JENNIFER WEINER
That Summer - 4 Stars
Genres - Contemporary Fiction | Romance | Drama
Daisy Shoemaker can't sleep. With a thriving cooking business, full schedule of volunteer work, and a beautiful home in the Philadelphia suburbs, she should be content. But her teenage daughter can be a handful, her husband can be distant, her work can feel trivial, and she has lots of acquaintances, but no real friends. Still, Daisy knows she's got it good. So why is she up all night?
Books 7 - 12
JOSIE SILVER
One Night on the Island - 4 Stars
Genres - Fiction | Romantic Comedy | Adventure
Spending her 30th birthday alone is not what dating columnist Cleo Wilder wanted, but she plans a solo retreat in the name of re-energizing herself and adding a new perspective to her column. The remote Irish island gives her a chance to hunker down in a luxury cabin while she figures out the next steps in her love life and career. Mack Sullivan is also looking forward to some time to himself. Unfortunately, a mix-up with the bookings means both have reserved the same one-room hideaway on exactly the same dates.
REBECCA SERLE
One Italian Summer - 5 Stars (⭐️ Book #4 of 2022)
Genres - Contemporary Fiction | Romance | Magical Realism
When Katy’s mother dies, she is left reeling. Carol wasn’t just Katy’s mom, but her best friend and first phone call. She had all the answers and now, when Katy needs her the most, she is gone. To make matters worse, their planned mother-daughter trip of a lifetime looms: two weeks in Positano, the magical town Carol spent the summer right before she met Katy’s father. Katy has been waiting years for Carol to take her, and now she must embark on the adventure alone. As soon as she steps foot on the Amalfi Coast, Katy begins to feel her mother’s spirit. And then Carol appears. Over the course of one Italian summer, Katy gets to know Carol, not as her mother, but as the young woman before her.
EMILY WIBBERLEY AND AUSTIN SIEGEMUND-BROKA
The Roughest Draft - 5 Stars
Genres - Contemporary Fiction | Romance
Three years ago Katrina Freeling and Nathan Van Huysen were the brightest literary stars on the horizon, their co-written books topping bestseller lists. But on the heels of their greatest success, they ended their partnership on bad terms for reasons neither would divulge to the public. They haven't spoken since, and never planned to, except they have one final book due on contract. Facing crossroads in their personal and professional lives, they're forced to reunite. While passion and prose push them closer together in the Florida heat, Katrina and Nathan will learn that relationships, like writing, sometimes take a few rough drafts before they get it right.
NICK MAGGIULLI
Just Keep Buying - 5 Stars (⭐️ Book #3 of 2022)
Genres - Non-Fiction | Personal Finance | Economics
Everyone faces big questions when it comes to money: questions about saving, investing, and whether you’re getting it right with your finances. Unfortunately, many of the answers provided by the financial industry have been based on belief and conjecture rather than data and evidence—until now. In Just Keep Buying, hugely popular finance blogger Nick Maggiulli crunches the numbers to answer the biggest questions in personal finance and investing, while providing you with proven ways to build your wealth right away. You will learn why you need to save less than you think, why saving up cash to buy market dips isn’t a good idea, how to survive (and thrive) during a market crash, and much more.
Maggie Note: This book is written for everyone. He uses easy-to-understand language to explain topics that are often over complicated. It’s also organized wonderfully and can be read cover to cover or used as a reference book. I’ve recommended this book to all of my friends and encourage you to pick it up, too!
CHRIS VOSS
Never Split the Difference: Negotiating As If Your Life Depended On It - 4 Stars
Genres - Non-Fiction | Psychology | Personal Development
After a stint policing the rough streets of Kansas City, Missouri, Chris Voss joined the FBI, where his career as a hostage negotiator brought him face-to-face with a range of criminals, including bank robbers and terrorists. Reaching the pinnacle of his profession, he became the FBI’s lead international kidnapping negotiator. Never Split the Difference takes you inside the world of high-stakes negotiations and into Voss’s head, revealing the skills that helped him and his colleagues succeed where it mattered most: saving lives. In this practical guide, he shares the nine effective principles—counterintuitive tactics and strategies—you too can use to become more persuasive in both your professional and personal life.
EMILY HENRY
Book Lovers - 5 Stars (⭐️ Book #1 of 2022)
Genres - Contemporary Fiction | Romantic Comedy
Nora Stephens’ life is books—she’s read them all—and she is not that type of heroine. The only people Nora is a heroine for are her clients, for whom she lands enormous deals as a cutthroat literary agent, and her beloved little sister Libby. She agrees to go to Sunshine Falls, NC for the month of August when Libby begs her for a sisters’ trip away—with visions of a small-town transformation for Nora. But instead of picnics in meadows, or run-ins with a handsome country doctor or bulging-forearmed bartender, Nora keeps bumping into Charlie Lastra, a bookish brooding editor from back in the city. It would be a meet-cute if not for the fact that they’ve met many times and it’s never been cute.
Books 13 - 18
MARY KAY ANDREWS
The Newcomer - 4 Stars
Genres - Fiction | Mystery | Romance
After she discovers her sister Tanya dead on the floor of her New York City townhouse, Letty Carnahan is certain she knows who did it: Tanya’s ex, sleazy real estate entrepreneur Evan Wingfield. Even in the grip of grief and panic Letty heeds her late sister’s warnings: “If anything bad happens to me—it’s Evan. Promise me you’ll take Maya and run. Promise me.” So Letty hits the road with her sister’s four-year-old niece Maya. She’s is determined to out-run Evan and the law, but run to where? Tanya, a woman with a past shrouded in secrets, left behind a “go-bag” of cash and a big honking diamond ring—but only one clue: a faded magazine story about a sleepy mom-and-pop motel in a Florida beach town with the improbable name of Treasure Island. She sheds her old life and checks into an uncertain future at The Murmuring Surf Motel.
TAYLOR JENKINS REID
Malibu Rising - 5 Stars (⭐️ Book #2 of 2022)
Genres - Historical Fiction
Malibu: August, 1983. It’s the day of Nina Riva’s annual end-of-summer party, and anticipation is at a fever pitch. Everyone wants to be around the famous Rivas: Nina, the talented surfer and supermodel; brothers Jay and Hud, one a championship surfer, the other a renowned photographer; and their adored baby sister, Kit. Together, the siblings are a source of fascination in Malibu and the world over—especially as the offspring of the legendary singer, Mick Riva. By midnight the party will be completely out of control. By morning, the Riva mansion will have gone up in flames. But before that first spark in the early hours before dawn, the alcohol will flow, the music will play, and the loves and secrets that shaped this family’s generations will all come bubbling to the surface.
MARY ELLEN TAYLOR
The Brighter the Light - 4 Stars
Genres - Historical Fiction | Mystery | Romance
When a shipwreck surfaces, old secrets are sure to follow. Or so goes the lore in Ivy Neale’s hometown of Nags Head, North Carolina. When Ivy inherits her family’s beachfront cottage upon her grandmother’s death, she knows returning to Nags Head means facing the best friend and the boyfriend who betrayed her years ago. But then a winter gale uncovers the shipwreck of local legend, and Ivy soon begins to stumble across more skeletons in the closet than just her own. As she contends with broken relationships and a burgeoning romance in the present, the past threatens to sweep her away.
JESSE Q. SUTANTO
Four Aunties and a Wedding - 2 Stars
Genres - Fiction | Mystery | Romance
Meddy Chan has been to countless weddings, but she never imagined how her own would turn out. Now the day has arrived, and she can't wait to marry her college sweetheart, Nathan. Instead of having Ma and the aunts cater her wedding, Meddy wants them to enjoy the day as guests, so they find the perfect wedding vendors: a Chinese-Indonesian family-run company just like theirs. Meddy realizes that is where their similarities end, however, when she overhears one of them talking about taking out a target. Her aunties and mother won't let Meddy's wedding ceremony become a murder scene and will do whatever it takes to save her special day, even if it means taking on the mafia.
Maggie Note: This is the second book in the Four Aunties series. I ended up skimming the last several chapters, because the plotline was so stressful and rather unbelievable. The author has confirmed a 3rd book, but I will probably skip that one.
TAYLOR JENKINS REID
Maybe in Another Life - 4 Stars
Genres - Fiction | Romance
At twenty-nine, Hannah Martin still has no idea what she wants to do with her life. She has lived in six different cities and held countless meaningless jobs since graduating college. On the heels of leaving yet another city, Hannah moves back to her hometown and takes up residence in her best friend Gabby’s guestroom. Shortly after getting back to town, Hannah goes out to a bar with Gabby and meets up with her high school boyfriend, Ethan. Just after midnight, Gabby asks Hannah if she’s ready to go. A moment later, Ethan offers to give her a ride later if she wants to stay. Hannah hesitates. What happens if she leaves with Gabby? What happens if she leaves with Ethan? In concurrent storylines that alternate with each chapter, Hannah lives out the effects of each decision.
JULIANNE MACLEAN
A Curve in the Road - 4 Stars
Genres - Fiction | Suspense | Drama | Romance
Abbie MacIntyre is a successful surgeon, is married to a handsome cardiologist, and has a model teenage son who is only months away from going off to college. One fateful night, everything changes. When a drunk driver hits her car, Abbie is rushed to the hospital. She survives, but the accident forces unimaginable secrets out into the open and plagues Abbie with nightmares so vivid that she starts to question her grip on reality. The search for answers will test her strength in every way, but it may also open the door for Abbie to move forward to find out what she is truly made of. In learning to heal and trust again, she may just find new hope in the spaces left behind.
Books 19 - 24
DAVE SINCLAIR
Out of Time - 4 Stars
Genres - Science Fiction | Thriller | Historical Fiction
As an MI6 spy in 1963, Atticus Wolfe should be enjoying everything the swinging sixties has to offer. But he’s not. That’s because Atticus Wolfe is from the 21st century. Accidentally torn from present day and flung into 1960s London in the midst of a cultural revolution, Atticus must acclimatise to a time not his own. Although he's shocked by bigotry decades out of step with his sensibilities, not everything is unfamiliar – like finding a mole inside MI6. Atticus must take down a clandestine Soviet agent on the front lines of the Cold War, hunt the terrorist who inadvertently sent him back in time and maybe, just maybe, find a way home.
Maggie Note: At the time this article was written, the kindle version is free!
BONNIE GARMUS
Lessons in Chemistry - 4 Stars
Genres - Historical Fiction | Romance | Feminism
Chemist Elizabeth Zott is not your average woman. In fact, Elizabeth Zott would be the first to point out that there is no such thing as an average woman. But it’s the early 1960s and her all-male team at Hastings Research Institute takes a very unscientific view of equality. Except for one: Calvin Evans; the lonely, brilliant, Nobel–prize nominated grudge-holder who falls in love with—of all things—her mind. But like science, life is unpredictable. Which is why a few years later Elizabeth Zott finds herself not only a single mother, but the reluctant star of America’s most beloved cooking show Supper at Six. Elizabeth’s unusual approach to cooking proves revolutionary. But as her following grows, not everyone is happy. Because as it turns out, Elizabeth Zott isn’t just teaching women to cook. She’s daring them to change the status quo.
ABBY JIMENEZ
Part of Your World - 5 Stars
Genres - Contemporary Fiction | Romance
After a wild bet, gourmet grilled-cheese sandwich, and cuddle with a baby goat, Alexis Montgomery has had her world turned upside down. The cause: Daniel Grant, a ridiculously hot carpenter who’s ten years younger than her and as casual as they come—the complete opposite of sophisticated city-girl Alexis. While her ultra-wealthy parents want her to carry on the family legacy of world-renowned surgeons, Alexis doesn’t need glory or fame. She’s fine with being a “mere” ER doctor, and every minute she spends with Daniel and the tight-knit town where he lives, she’s discovering just what’s really important. Yet letting their relationship become anything more than a short-term fling would mean turning her back on her family and giving up the opportunity to help thousands of people.
TAYLOR JENKINS REID
The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo - 5 Stars (⭐️ Book #5 of 2022)
Genres - Historical Fiction | Romance
Aging and reclusive Hollywood movie icon Evelyn Hugo is finally ready to tell the truth about her glamorous and scandalous life. But when she chooses unknown magazine reporter Monique Grant for the job, no one is more astounded than Monique herself. Why her? Why now? Regardless of why Evelyn has selected her to write her biography, Monique is determined to use this opportunity to jump start her career. Summoned to Evelyn’s luxurious apartment, Monique listens as Evelyn unspools a tale of ruthless ambition, unexpected friendship, and a great forbidden love. Monique begins to feel a very real connection to the legendary star, but as Evelyn’s story near its conclusion, it becomes clear that her life intersects with Monique’s own in tragic and irreversible ways.
TAYLOR JENKINS REID
Daisy Jones and the Six - 4 Stars
Genres - Historical Fiction | Romance
Everyone knows Daisy Jones & The Six, but nobody knows the real reason why they split at the absolute height of their popularity…until now. Daisy is a girl coming of age in L.A. in the late sixties. The sex and drugs are thrilling, but it’s the rock and roll she loves most. By the time she’s twenty, her voice is getting noticed, and she has the kind of heedless beauty that makes people do crazy things. Another band getting noticed is The Six, led by the brooding Billy Dunne. Daisy and Billy cross paths when a producer realizes the key to supercharged success is to put the two together. What happens next will become the stuff of legend.
Maggie Note: This book is in the process of being turned into a 10-episode limited miniseries, set to release on March 3, 2023 on Prime video. If you’re someone who likes to read the book before you watch the movie or TV show version - get to it!
DANIELLE COLLINS
The Murder Mystery Book Club - 4 Stars
Genres - Fiction | Cozy Mystery | Crime
Eva Stewart runs a charming bed and breakfast in the Florida Keys with her talkative parrot. One of her favorite things to do is read murder mystery novels. She even has a murder mystery book club. When a dead body is found near the bed and breakfast, Eva has a real murder mystery on her hands. Can she help solve the mystery, even if it implicates one of her esteemed guests and ruffles the feathers of the local police department, or will her book smarts be the end of her?
Books 25 - 31
ERIN STERLING
The Kiss Curse - 4 Stars
Genres - Fantasy | Romance | Paranormal
Gwyn Jones is perfectly happy with her life in Graves Glen. She, her mom, and her cousin have formed a new and powerful coven; she’s running a successful witchcraft shop, Something Wicked; and she’s started mentoring some of the younger witches in town. As Halloween approaches, there’s only one problem—Llewellyn “Wells” Penhallow. Wells has come to Graves Glen to re-establish his family’s connection to the town they founded as well as to make a new life for himself after years of being the dutiful son in Wales. When he opens up a shop of his own, Penhallow’s, just across the street from Something Wicked, he quickly learns he’s gotten more than he bargained for in going up against Gwyn.
JULIA WHELAN
Thank You for Listening - 4 Stars
Genres - Contemporary Fiction | Books about Books
For Sewanee Chester, being an audiobook narrator is a long way from her old dreams, but the days of being a star on film sets are long behind her. She’s found success and satisfaction from the inside of a sound booth and it allows her to care for her beloved, ailing grandmother. When she arrives in Las Vegas last-minute for a book convention, Sewanee unexpectedly spends a whirlwind night with a charming stranger. On her return home, Sewanee discovers one of the world’s most beloved romance novelists wanted her to perform her last book—with Brock McNight, the industry’s hottest, most secretive voice. As Sewanee begins work on the book, resurrecting her old romance pseudonym, she and Brock forge a real connection, hidden behind the comfort of anonymity. Soon, she is dreaming again, but secrets are revealed, and the realities of life come crashing down around her once more.
JENNY BAYLISS
A Season for Second Chances - 4 Stars
Genres - Contemporary Fiction | Holiday Romance
Annie Sharpe's spark for life has fizzled out. Her kids are grown up, her restaurant is doing just fine on its own, and her twenty-six-year marriage has come to an unceremonious end. Untethered for the first time in her adult life, she finds a winter guardian position in a historic seaside home and decides to leave her city life behind for a brand-new beginning. When she arrives in Willow Bay, Annie is enamored by the charming house, the invigorating sea breeze, and the town's rich seasonal traditions. As Christmas approaches, tensions and tides rise in Willow Bay, and Annie's future seems less and less certain. But with a little can-do spirit and holiday magic, the most difficult time of her life will become...a season for second chances.
MAGGIE KNOX
The Holiday Swap - 4 Stars
Genres - Contemporary Fiction | Holiday Romance
A feel-good, holiday-themed romantic comedy about identical twins who switch lives in the days leading up to Christmas. When chef Charlie Goodwin gets hit on the head on the L.A. set of her reality baking show, she loses a lot more than consciousness; she also loses her ability to taste and smell, both critical to her success as show judge. Meanwhile, Charlie's identical twin, Cass, is frantically trying to hold her own life together back in their quaint mountain hometown while running the family's bustling bakery and dealing with her ex, who won't get the memo that they're over. With only days until Christmas, a desperate Charlie asks Cass to do something they haven't done since they were kids: switch places.
MALCOLM HARRIS
Kids These Days: Human Capital and the Making of Millennials - 3 Stars
Genres - Nonfiction | Sociology | Psychology | Economics | Politics
Everyone knows "what's wrong with Millennials." Glenn Beck says we've been ruined by "participation trophies." Simon Sinek says we have low self-esteem. This Millennial is here to prove them all wrong. Millennials have been stereotyped as lazy, entitled, narcissistic, and immature. We've gotten so used to sloppy generational analysis filled with dumb clichés about young people that we've lost sight of what really unites Millennials. Kids These Days, is about why. In brilliant, crackling prose, early Wall Street occupier Malcolm Harris gets mercilessly real about our maligned birth cohort. Examining trends like runaway student debt, the rise of the intern, mass incarceration, social media, and more. Harris gives us a portrait of what it means to be young in America today that will wake you up and piss you off.
Maggie Note: This book provided some fantastic insights into “why I am the way that I am” in some respects; however, it’s kind of depressing. The author doesn’t exactly leave you feeling hopeful about our future, and I refuse to believe we live in a world with no hope for change. SO go into it knowing he won’t offer much in the way of solutions, but his insights are interesting! That’s why this book got a 3 star review.
DEBBIE MACOMBER
Trading Christmas - 4 Stars
Genres - Contemporary Fiction | Holiday Romance
Emily Springer, widowed mother of one, decides to leave Leavenworth, Washington, to spend Christmas with her daughter in Boston. Charles Brewster, history professor, curmudgeon, and resident of Boston, wants to avoid Christmas altogether. Through an internet site, Charles and Emily arrange to swap houses for the holiday. So Emily goes to Boston and discovers that her daughter has gone to Florida. And Charles arrives in Leavenworth, bascially Santa's village! Meanwhile, Emily's friend Faith Kerrigan travels to Leavenworth to visit her and instead finds Charles, an avowed grinch. Then Charles's brother, Ray, shows up at his home in Boston to discover that he isn't there — but Emily is. Through all the mix-ups and misunderstandings, amid the chaos and confusion, romance begins to emerge in unexpected ways. Because everything changes at Christmas!
DAVID BALDACCI
The Christmas Train - 4 Stars
Genres - Contemporary Fiction | Holiday Romance | Mystery
Disillusioned journalist Tom Langdon must get from Washington D.C. to L.A in time for Christmas. Forced to travel by train, he begins a journey of rude awakenings, thrilling adventures and holiday magic. He has no idea that the locomotives pulling him across America will actually take him into the rugged terrain of his own heart, as he rediscovers people's essential goodness and someone very special he believed he had lost. The Christmas Train is filled with memorable characters who have packed their bags with as much wisdom as mischief ... and shows how we do get second chances to fulfill our deepest hopes and dreams, especially during this season of miracles.