My Five-Star Reads of 2022: Part 2
I had a lot of five-star reads in 2022 and I have a lot to say about them so I had to split the reviews up. Here are my five stars reads from June to September.
Disclaimer: These are MY five-star reads! I loved them because they have all the elements of stuff I love in books, hit some nostalgia, or have life experiences that I can relate to. You may have given one of these books a one-star review, and that's okay. We all have different reading tastes, and that's great. We can agree to disagree on what we thought about these books and have no bad blood between us (except if one of those books is Heartstopper if you don't like Heartstopper leave right now... Kidding! ... Kind of.)
Book 13: I Kissed Shara Wheeler by Casey McQuiston (June)
This book... this book is incredible, and I will not accept any slander towards it. Give me a rom-com mystery any day but sprinkle some academic rivals' sexual tension in there, and I am sold. That's what we got with this book.
Chloe Green has been at odds with the perfect prom queen Shara Wheeler since she moved to Alabama for high school. Shara is the only thing that's keeping her from being Valedictorian, a coveted prize she has always wanted. But then, a month before graduation, Shara kisses Chloe out of nowhere, disappears from town soon after, and no one knows where to find her. The only things she left behind were letters on her perfect pink stationery to Chloe, her long-time quarterback boyfriend, Smith, and her bad boy neighbor with a crush, Rory, all of whom she kissed before she left. While this could mean that the title of Valedictorian was Chloe's, she wants to win fair-and-square, and she and the boys want answers, so they go on the hunt to find Shara using the clues she left behind uncovering a lot of things along the way.
This book is witty, has great social commentary on a bunch of topics, and again, academic rivals' sexual tension...
There's not much more I can say about this book, it's a yes, period.
Book 14: They Never Learn by Layne Fargo (June)
Okay, this book is another banger that hits that same spot of catharsis I get while watching Criminal Minds. I need to read more thrillers, and it's because of this book right here.
We follow the story of two women, Scarlett Clark and Carly Schiller. Scarlett is an English Professor who has a side hustle of killing shitty men, specifically those who abuse or r*pe, and I'm sorry, we stan her for it. But when people finally start to speculate about the random deaths around campus, it throws a wrench in her plan for her latest kill. Carly is a freshman student at the same university who is ready to start living out of the shadow of her emotionally abusive father. But when her new friend/roommate is assaulted, she starts to wonder if she can make her revenge fantasies a reality.
Now usually, I don't give these types of books five stars because these are not the things we want to support people doing. But this book did it right, and I never saw the plot twist coming, and once it was revealed it made the whole story that much better. I love how these stories intertwined, and the book had very short chapters which allowed me to read it in about two hours. Seriously, so good and highly recommended if you're into the Criminal Minds type of content.
Book 15: The Charm Offensive by Alison Cochrun (June)
Okay, you know the drill. It's a rom-com with a good premise, and it was executed well! Now, this story follows a Bachelor TV Show production, and I do not watch or want to watch the Bachelor, so I was hesitant going into it, but the twist this book did on the idea made it work for me.
We mainly follow Dev Deshpande, a hopeless romantic who is a producer on a reality dating show named Ever After, where he helps curate fairytale romances while his love life is in shambles. But this season, he has his work cut out for him when disgraced tech wunderkind Charlie Winshaw is made this season's bachelor. Charlie is a stiff, awkward, anxious mess, and somehow Dev is going to have to coach him into being the perfect Prince Charming for the show. But as they spend more time together, Charlie is more into Dev than any of the female contestants, which could cause a problem for the curated TV show romance the network wants.
I don't know what it is about anxious and awkward characters named Charlie, but I connect with them so much. Not to mention I loved the showrunner and contestant dynamic in this book, which made me like the Bachelor-Esque setting more. In fact, I tried to read another book with a similar premise soon after, and I didn't like it as much because it was the usual bachelor and contestant dynamic. But this one not only did this romance right but had good discussions about sexuality and mental health. One of my top books of the year.
Book 16: If It Makes You Happy by Claire Kann (July)
This book almost didn't make it onto this list. When I first started reading it, I wasn't too enthralled by it, but by the end of it, I saw myself so much in the book that I just had to give it five stars.
Here we are following, Winnie who spends the summers working at her Grandmother's diner and is living her best fat girl life! This particular summer is bittersweet though because it's the last one before she goes to college, but she intends to make the most of it with her cousin, brother, and ungirlfriend. But her simple plans go out of the door when she is voted to be Misty Haven's Summer Queen, which not only thrusts her into the spotlight but has her matchmade with a guy she's always had a bit of a crush on. Now she is forced to confront her fears and realize some things about herself and the relationships in her life.
This book is not for everyone. The way some things are explained in this book can be a bit confusing, like the term ungirlfriend itself and how some of the plot points came to be, but overall this was a book that I saw a lot of myself in. Fat girls finding their confidence will most likely always be a hit with me, and Winnie's complicated relationship with her friends and family is so relatable.
If you're intrigued by this book at all, I would give it a try.
Book 17: Little Leaders: Exceptional Men in Black History by Vashti Harrison (July)
This is one of the only nonfiction books on this list, mostly because I don't read a lot of them, and when I do read them I don't usually get the vibe of "this is a brilliant and lovable book that deserves five stars." But this one gets that badge of honor.
This book documents exceptional men in black history, which you can probably glean from the title. Every man gets a small biography talking about their early life up to the work that got them a spot in this book. The main reason I gave it five stars is that it introduced me to some historical figures that I never heard of.
Any book that teaches some underrated knowledge has a good chance of getting a five-star rating with me.
Book 18: Act Your Age, Eve Brown by Talia Hibbert (July)
Two of the Brown Sisters ended up making this list which is a sign that I will have to pick up more Talia Hibbert books in 2023.
This time around, we are following Eve, the youngest Brown sister, who, for lack of a better word, struggles to keep a job down, and after her latest stunt, her parents are putting their foot down and telling her she needs to grow up. Eve sets out on her own to get a job and prove everyone wrong... and ends up running over a Bed and Breakfast owner in the process. Jacob Wayne, a straight-laced perfectionist, was already short-staffed at his B&B but now his injured arm forces him to hire the Purple-Haired Whirlwind of a Woman who ran him over in the first place. But as the two start working together, they start to find out that they balance each other out, in more ways than one.
This book is another one where I saw a lot of myself in the main character, both Eve and Jacob, in different ways. We also see some autistic rep and show how Jacob deals with ableism along with Eve trying to figure out what she wants to do with her life, a very relatable thing for me right now. This is a very sweet read, and I highly recommend it.
*Note: If you are wondering why Dani's book didn't make it on this list, it got four stars because the miscommunication issue in there annoyed me too much to give it five stars.
Book 19: One Last Stop by Casey McQuiston (July)
This was the final Casey McQuiston book I needed to read to be up to date with all their releases, and this one firmly made me a CMQ Stan!
This book is about August, who moves to New York City to finally finish her bachelor's degree and ends up living with an interesting collection of roommates. She's a perfectly cynical person who is not going to be drawn in by the magic of the city or any romance nonsense. But then she meets Jane, a woman who is a regular on her commute home from working at a pancake diner. Jane is edgy, dazzling, and mysterious. Mysterious as in she seems to be from a different time altogether, and when August starts to investigate, she finds out that Jane HAS been displaced in time from the 1970s and doesn't realize it. Now, August is determined to help Jane, and it's probably gonna take some magic and romance to do so.
This book is magical realism if you didn't glean that from the description, which is a genre I don't explore often, but this one was done so well! We have a cast that spreads across the race and LGBTQ+ spectrum and a main character who starts to believe in something again. It just pulls at the heartstrings, and it's hilarious, please read it!
Book 20: Wonderstruck by Brian Selznick (August)
A lot of people will say that picture books are for kids, but as a visual person, I always enjoy a story that uses illustrations, and I wish more books made for adult audiences would use them. Imagine it, High Fantasy books with drawn-in castles and drawings of the actual scenes! One of my writing dreams honestly. Regardless, Wonderstruck is one such book that does a great job of blending words and illustrations to make a cohesive narrative.
The book is about two characters who grew up at different points two different points in time, Ben from Minnesota in 1977, and Rose from New Jersey 50 years earlier. Both of them feel like outcasts in their life, and they are searching for something that they hope will help them belong. Ben is looking for the father his mother never talked about, and Rose is hoping to see the actress who has captivated her on-screen in person. In their search for these things, Ben and Rose discover something more amazing.
Ben's story is told with words and Rose's with pictures and at moments what's drawn mirrors part of Ben's story, and it all just works so well together. The story also has a surprisingly great depiction of museums which I appreciated as someone who wants to visit more of them. Definitely worth the read, especially if you want a longer book on your TBR.
Book 21: Scarlet by Marissa Meyer (August)
Okay, I put off reading the Lunar Chronicles for too long and I don't know why. I read Cinder the previous year, and I wholeheartedly enjoyed it. It was also the first book I threw across a room after that ending... good times. I love fairy tale retellings, and this one did a great job of expanding the lore of the world Marissa Meyer created.
(SPOILERY-ISH THINGS AHEAD IF YOU HAVEN'T READ CINDER!!!)
This book starts by introducing us to Scarlet, a fiery redhead who is determined to figure out what happened to her Grandmother, who went missing a couple of weeks ago. Everybody in their small French town is convinced she went nuts, but Scarlet refuses to believe that. In the pursuit to find her, Scarlet works with a street fighter named Wolf, who is probably the only person who could help her succeed in her quest. Meanwhile, Cinder needs to break out of prison and figure out a plan if she's gonna overthrow Queen Levana.
(END OF SPOILERY-ISH THINGS)
This book does a great job of keeping the momentum going from the first book, which not many sequels can do. It also does a good job of not only foreshadowing future characters and events but intertwining Scarlet and Cinder's stories together. In short, the series builds upon the foundation Cinder laid amazingly. If you're looking for a good sci-fi series, this is my recommendation.
Book 22: Icebreaker by Hannah Grace (August)
God, I cannot explain the chokehold this book had on me when I first read it. I finished it on release day on Kindle Unlimted and then bought the physical copy to annotate immediately. I had never done that before, but I do it now because of this book.
This is a dual-pov romance about Anastasia "Stassie" Allen, a determined ice queen of a figure skater, and Nathan "Nate" Hawkins, a loyal golden retriever of a hockey player. Both are determined to be the best in their respective university sports, but despite the amount of time they both spend on the ice, their paths have never crossed. Until a prank causes the hockey rink to shut down and means the hockey boys have to share a rink with figure skaters, which Stassie is less than thrilled about. But Nate is determined to make the best of the situation and tries to build a friendship with Stassie, which she is reluctant to do, but there is clearly something there, and they can only deny it for so long.
Not gonna lie, the first few chapters were not my fave, but once we got into the meat of the story, I was hooked. Stassie and Nate are electric together, and they balance each other out so well. And don't let the cover fool you, this book is SPICY and not sex shy at all, yet it still has super sweet and heartwarming friendship moments with their extended friend group. Overall, this book was a breath of fresh air, and I can't wait to continue this series when the next book is out.
Book 23: Ready Player One by Ernest Cline (August)
Before I say anything about this book, I am telling you to get the audiobook for it. It is read by Will Wheaton, who is the perfect nerd to read this super nerdy story.
This book is about Wade Watts, a teen living in a dystopian world ravaged by climate change and greed, where the only thing to live for is the virtual reality world of the OASIS. The OASIS is where everyone lives, the only things they don't do there are eat, sleep, or go to the bathroom. The creator of the OASIS, James Halliday, is revered for his invention and when he died, he left an easter egg behind that would grant the finder control of the entire simulation. Wade, a Halliday aficionado, dreams of finding the Easter Egg, getting rich, and leaving his dingy life behind, and one day, he finds a clue to the first key to the egg. This sets off a race to the finish between Wade, the other egg hunters (Gunters), and most importantly, Innovative Online Industries (IOI), a company determined to turn the free OASIS into a money-grabbing machine.
This book is filled with 80s nostalgia, highlighting the height of early video games, and you can tell that this was written by a nerd. It was filled with so much passion for 80s movies, tv shows, music, and games, and I loved that aspect of it. If you are coming from the movie, please note that it is COMPLETELY different from the book, as in, many plot points are different. But the heart of nostalgia, the love for gaming, and living in the real world are still there, and I love both for different reasons.
Books 24 and 25: Cress and Winter by Marissa Meyer (September)
Okay, the only reason that these two aren't directly after Scarlet is because I couldn't find them or the other last books in the series in my local bookstore so I had to order them online and wait a bit. But once I had every last one of the books, I marathoned through the entire series, which I highly recommend if you have problems finishing series as I do. If you love a series, keep going immediately so you can get it done in one go.
(SPOILERY-ISH THINGS AHEAD IF YOU HAVEN'T READ CINDER OR SCARLET!!!)
Starting with Cress, we follow Cress, a Lunar shell we met in the previous books, who has been living in a satellite for years. She has information to help the crew take down Queen Levana, and they go to rescue her. But the rescue ends up splitting them up in different places on Earth and in space. Meanwhile, Queen Levana is ramping up her plan to marry Kai and take over the Commonwealth, leaving Cinder, Scarlet, Cress, and the rest of the crew scrambling to find a way to stop it.
Then in Winter, everything is coming to a head with the fight against Queen Levana, and we are fully introduced to her stepdaughter, Winter. The princess is going insane from not using her Lunar gift to control people, which makes people believe that she is frighteningly naive. She is still regarded as one of the most beautiful people on Lunar, and her kindness shines through, making the people love her much more than they do her stepmother, which is why Levana wants her eliminated. But Winter is not as helpless as she seems, and she, Cinder, and the rest of the crew need a solid plan if they are going to take down Levana once and for all.
(END OF SPOILERY-ISH THINGS)
These two books end the Lunar Chronicles spectacularly. Cress continues to ramp up the stakes for the series while also finishing out our main cast. I truly started to get connected to all of the characters and the storyline had so many nods to the original Rapunzel tale, which was fun to see.
And with Winter, I was blown away by how good it was and how I read it all in one day. I'm not kidding, I read that 800-page book in 24 hours, and I have no regrets. We get to see all of the storylines intertwine for the last time, and seeing the entire crew together was great! This series has set the bar high for the quality that I want in my series from now on. Even as I wrote this, I went back and reread some of the endings and I got emotional because it was such a beautiful and cathartic ending that made my heart so happy.
If you haven't attempted the Lunar Chronicles yet, this is your sign to do so.
Book 26: The Lorax by Dr. Seuss (September)
I went to school for Environmental Science, so this book is near and dear to my academic heart because it's one of the few iconic books that talk about this topic.
The Lorax is a story about how a gloomy dark world without trees came to be. Dr. Seuss wrote it as a cautionary tale, and I think that comes through perfectly in the narrative.
It also reinforces the idea that if one person steps up to make a difference, things can and will get done, which is always a good message to share.
Book 27: Spy x Family Vol 4 by Tatsuya Endo (September)
I had not tried much manga before this year and the two I read before this series didn't stick with me. But nothing will ever beat the found family trope.
The series follows Master Spy Twilight, who needs a fake family for his latest mission to infiltrate a school and get close to a head of state who has the power to set off a war. He achieves this goal but he has no idea that the wife he acquired is an assassin or that his adopted daughter is a telepath, who knows about everything going on and is loving the excitement of her parents' secret lives. The main reason that Volume 4 has made its way onto this list is that we complete the little family with a pet, a dog who can see the future.
I'm a sucker for animal companions so adding the dog to the found family unit made my heart so happy.
The anime for this series is my first, and therefore it holds a special place in my heart, and I highly recommend the manga and the anime.
Continue onto Part 3 featuring “The Mindf*ck Series” “Consider Me” and “Twisted Lies.”
