While I didn’t read as many as usual because of an out-of-state move and working in an office full-time, it was still a standout year for reading.
Seems I leaned heavily into lighter romcoms. These were books I read this year, not necessarily published this year. Here’s my Top 12 in no particular order.
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What were your favorites for 2022? Happy New Year!
Another great year of new releases in all categories.
Rather than break my top reads into categories, I am sharing my Top 15 of the year. I’m sharing these in no particular order, just my absolute favorites.
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Please share your favorites of the year. Happy Holidays and Happy New Year!
At least the books in 2020 were great! 😉
This year I added the category of romcom because I definitely appreciated the lighter reads, especially in a year of…doom.
Click through any of the covers for more details or to purchase. (I am an Amazon affiliate and may make a small commission.)
Please share your favorites of the year. Happy Holidays and Happy New Year!
Fiction
Mystery/Thriller
Historical Fiction
Romance/Romantic Comedy
Nonfiction
It’s a longer list than normal this year. So many outstanding reads broken out into 4 categories, plus 2 surprises I highly recommend preordering for 2020. These are books I read in 2019 — they may have been published earlier. For more information on each book, click directly on the image.
I’d love to hear what you considered favorites this year. Leave me a comment below and have a happy, healthy, and safe New Year!
What an intriguing premise. A photo found in a newspaper in the 1940s sparked an idea in author Kristina McMorris who asked herself, “What would compel a mother to sell her children?” That’s the basis for this novel, about a reporter who sees a sign and takes a picture, one that leads to heartbreaking consequences.
As a college journalism major, reading about the newsrooms during the Great Depression was fascinating. It reminded me of Renee Rosen’s White Collar Girl, where, again, we quickly see how women were not considered for reporter positions, but rather secretaries to the chief or for a “society” column. This newsroom is where we meet Lillian Palmer and Ellis Reed, whose photograph of a sign he passes sets off a string of heartbreak.
What I was hoping for in this book was a story of the children for sale. And, yes, that’s covered. But it’s really the story of Lillian and Ellis and is seen entirely through their eyes. We learn their back stories and get bits of a romance. I will say the last third was a race to finish, as the plot reached a tense conclusion.
Fans of historical fiction will find much to love in this book. And every parent will be left with that same question, “What would compel a mother to sell her children?” I just finished reading Rea Frey’s Not Her Daughter and found similarities in how a child could be considered as currency or a bargaining chip rather than a person. The author for sure did her research. The dialogue and situations were on point for this time period.
Thanks to the publisher for the review copy.
About the author: Kristina McMorris is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author. Her background includes ten years of directing public relations for an international conglomerate as well as extensive television experience. Inspired by true personal and historical accounts, her novels have garnered twenty national literary awards, and include Letters from Home, Bridge of Scarlet Leaves, The Pieces We Keep, and The Edge of Lost, in addition to novellas in the anthologies A Winter Wonderland and Grand Central. Her forthcoming novel, Sold on a Monday, will be released September 2018. A frequent guest speaker and workshop presenter, she holds a BS in international marketing from Pepperdine. She lives with her husband and two sons in Oregon.
Thanks to the publisher, I have one copy to give away to a lucky reader. U.S. only, please. Enter on the Rafflecopter.
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What a treat this was! Last year I read The Party and was pleasantly surprised at the directions it took. I knew I was a Robyn Harding fan for life, even emailing her when I finished to tell her how much I enjoyed it. She creates such realistic characters. When I saw she was going to release Her Pretty Face, I fangirled a bit, asking if she’d let me review it. She was so gracious to allow me to, and even offered a copy for a soon-to-be new fan in you!
I do think it’s best to go into this novel without reading any jacket copy or a synopsis of the story. I believe you will be more engaged with the story the less you know ahead of time. I will share that it alternates between three narrators: two in the present and one in the past. It’s the story of two mothers who share a connection and how the past can threaten their relationship. My lips are sealed on the rest!
I gulped these pages down to get to the meat and discover how everything was going to unfold. So if you’re looking for something quick, this is a perfect book to pick up. Domestic suspense fans will enjoy the story and even fans of lighter women’s fiction will appreciate that it’s not heavy into violence, but rather provides the perfect escape read for your beach bag!
I’m ready for this to be a movie or television show and could see it playing so well for a Netflix binge or HBO limited series. These characters would just come alive on screen! I’m eagerly anticipating Robyn’s next release (is this groveling?)
About the author: Robyn Harding is the author of several books, including The Party and Her Pretty Face, and has written and executive produced an independent film. She lives in Vancouver, British Columbia with her husband and two children.
Thanks to the author, I have one copy to give away to a lucky winner. U.S. and Canada only, please. Enter on the Rafflecopter.
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Catherine Ryan Hyde has an ability to teach her characters something in every novel she writes, all while leaving the reader feeling hopeful at the turn of the last page. Her newest is no different.
This one is the story of Roseanna, a NYC lawyer who leaves her job and home behind after the death of her coworker and friend. She settles in a small farmhouse in the country where she meets her squatters, a group of people who won’t seem to leave the property. Expecting peace and solitude, she is disrupted by their presence and tries to figure out the best way to get them to go.
I definitely appreciated the message of this novel. Compared to her past few books, this one lacked a little bit of plot for me. But that didn’t take away from that feeling of wanting to run away from it all. I’m sure many with a high-stress job will find this book relatable.
I also love how she incorporates animals into every story. They become as much of characters as their human companions. And I appreciated how this story was not wrapped up with a big velvet bow. The situations were realistic and there were still life lessons to be learned.
My thanks to he publisher for the review copy.
About the author: Catherine Ryan Hyde is the author of thirty-three published books. Her bestselling 1999 novel, Pay It Forward, adapted into a major Warner Bros. motion picture, made the American Library Association’s Best Books for Young Adults list and was translated into more than two dozen languages for distribution in more than thirty countries. Her novels Becoming Chloe and Jumpstart the World were included on the ALA’s Rainbow List; Jumpstart the World was also a finalist for two Lambda Literary Awards and won Rainbow Awards in two categories. The Language of Hoofbeats won a Rainbow Award. More than fifty of her short stories have been published in many journals, including the Antioch Review, Michigan Quarterly Review, the Virginia Quarterly Review, Ploughshares, Glimmer Train, and the Sun, and in the anthologies Santa Barbara Stories and California Shorts, as well as the bestselling anthology Dog Is My Co-Pilot. Her short fiction received honorable mention in the Raymond Carver Short Story Contest, a second-place win for the Tobias Wolff Award, and nominations for Best American Short Stories, the O. Henry Award, and the Pushcart Prize. Three have also been cited in Best American Short Stories.
Hyde is the founder and former president of the Pay It Forward Foundation. As a professional public speaker, she has addressed the National Conference on Education, twice spoken at Cornell University, met with AmeriCorps members at the White House, and shared a dais with Bill Clinton. An avid equestrian, photographer, and traveler, she lives in California.
Thanks to the publisher, I have one copy to give away to a lucky reader. U.S. only, please. Enter on the Rafflecopter.
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When I first heard this was a mash between Sex and the City and The West Wing, I was sold. The wittiness of one matched with the binge-worthiness of the other? I will tell you it favors the former. More like if Sex and the City was set in Washington DC.
Campaign Widows switches narration between several campaign widows, those who are left in Washington DC while their significant others travel on the campaign trail during election season.
I will be honest. I had a little trouble keeping track of all the main characters along with the supporting players, especially at the beginning. There are a lot. My suggestion is to give yourself a good chunk of pages when you get started so you can get through everyone a couple times and absorb it all.
My favorite character was Reagan, a speechwriter/mommy blogger trying to navigate the current election with her husband on the road while she chased after twins. She was completely relatable and I loved her witty one-liners. You could tell the author has a writing and pop culture background.
I did enjoy reading about all the highs and lows of the campaigns, especially given the current political climate in the U.S. This story is pure escapist fun and would be perfect for a beach read or your summer vacation. I could easily see this as a TV show or miniseries and it would be a lot more fun to watch than the news we are seeing these days.
My thanks to Wunderkind PR for the review copy.
About the author: A former “campaign widow,” Aimee Agresti is the author of the Gilded Wings trilogy for young adults. She’s also an entertainment journalist—who’s interviewed everyone from George Clooney to Angelina Jolie—and a former staff writer for Us Weekly, where she penned the coffee table book Inside Hollywood and continues to contribute to the magazine’s series of stand-alone collector’s issues on stars ranging from Taylor Swift to Princess Diana.
Seeing how the weather has been nothing but frigid in Chicago these past couple weeks, it was a nice escape to head to the beach town of Wave’s End on the Jersey shore in Patricia Donovan’s newest novel. While a hurricane displaces homes and people, New York City-based chef Faith and her mother, Connie, step in to do what they can to provide food and shelter at their inn, The Mermaid’s Purse.
Relationships between many are broken apart, forged tighter, and even discovered in this women’s fiction novel. I loved following the different storylines of all the characters that ended up at The Mermaid’s Purse. Since they all come from different backgrounds and phases of life, you will easily relate to one or more.
And for those looking for hidden secrets, I can promise you a surprise here and there. One of the best parts of this novel was the food and cooking descriptions as Faith prepared meals at the inn. Don’t read while hungry because you’ll be constantly licking your lips and wishing the book came with a taste.
While the hurricane left a path of destruction in the town, this sweet story of a town banding together is sure to warm your heart and put a smile on your face. A great read to start 2018 off right.
My thanks to the author for a copy in exchange for an honest review.
About the author: Patricia Perry Donovan is an American journalist who writes about healthcare. Her fiction has appeared at Gravel Literary, Flash Fiction Magazine, Bethlehem Writers Roundtable and in other literary journals. The mother of two grown daughters, she lives at the Jersey shore with her husband, with whom she has fond memories of raising their young family abroad in France. Learn more at www.patriciaperrydonovan.com
Thanks to the author, I have one signed copy to give away to a lucky reader. U.S. only, please. Enter on the Rafflecopter.
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It has been such an amazing year for books that I decided to do a little something different this year. Instead of my short list, I am separating my favorites into categories. This way, if you’re looking for a specific type of book or want to give a gift, it’s easier to sort through the choices. I wish I had time to read everything, but these are my favorites from what I did read.
You can click directly on the book images to get to their Amazon page.
I’d love to hear your thoughts on these if you read them and your favorites of 2017. Leave me a comment. Here’s to a healthy 2018 filled with loads of good reading!