I’m
super late writing and publishing this annual post. It’s February! Everyone has
already announced their best books of 2022.
Last
year was a busy year for me. There were months where I didn’t read a thing
(books whether fiction or non-fiction). And then there were months where I consumed
books like crazy! (Think the summer months :D)
I barely
made it to my target of 24 books last year. That’s why I’m sticking with
another 24-book target for 2023. Should I manage to read more–and it doesn’t
look like I will, based on the first 2 months–I may increase my reading target
to 28 or 30 books.
Reviewing
the list of books I read and looking at my
to-read list for 2023, I think it’s safe to say I’m addicted to cozy
mysteries. No surprise, because I’d like to write a series myself…
But
enough with the rant, let me share with you my best books of 2022.
Best fiction books of 2022
I read
more fiction than non-fiction last year. Though I had planned to have a kind-of-balance.
But overall, 2022 lacked everything you can call a balance.
The
only good news was that I read all 24 books in my reading target.
Bound is the first book in The Doyle Witch Mystery
Series by Kirsten Weiss. Kirsten had sent me the book for an honest review
a while back.
I wanted
to have the perfect setting when I started reading the book. So, it took a
while to get there, and the setting was never perfect.
Suffice
to say I finished it in a couple of days. I felt like I needed the rest of the
series beside me to go through.
Bound by Kirsten Weiss
got all 10 stars (out of my usual 5) :D
So,
it’s a must-read and one of my best books for 2022!
I
had downloaded Alchemy, Arsenic, and Alibis via Shea Macleod’s
newsletter (I think). It’s a novella and the fifth book in The Deepwood
Witches Mystery series. I absolutely loved it and finished it in a day!
I immediately
picked up the second book I had from MacLeod, which was the first book in the
series. However, it didn’t match the excitement and fast-pace of Alchemy,
Arsenic, and Alibis.
Overall
rating for Alchemy, Arsenic, and Alibis by Shea MacLeod: 10 stars (compared
to my usual 5).
Both
Bound and Alchemy, Arsenic, and Alibis are paranormal cozy mysteries.
Ellery’s
Magic Bicycle is a children’s
picture book. Written by Maria Monte and illustrated by Zoe Saunders, the book is
about friendship, memories, and bringing the two together.
I highly
recommend it if you have little ones at home.
A Murder Spells Trouble by K.J. Emrick and S.J. Wells
A
Murder Spells Trouble is the first book
in The Kilorian Sisters: Witches of Shadow Lake Mystery Series by K.J. Emrick
and S.J. Wells.
It’s
a fun, magical, and fast-paced paranormal cozy mystery.
I gave
it an overall rating if 4 stars but it makes it to my list of the best books of 2022.
I haven’t
written the review yet. But once I do, I’ll update it here and add it to the Book Reviews
page here on the blog.
Inheriting Her Ghosts by S.H. Cooper
I
read Cooper’s Inheriting Her Ghosts as part of the finalists’ books for the
Book Blogger Novel of the Year Award (BBNYA), in which I was a judge in 2022.
It’s
a gothic, historical, horror novel that I thoroughly enjoyed.
It’s
one of the last books I read in 2022 and obviously haven’t sat down to write
the book review. But I plan to do so and to participate in the BBNYA blog tour
for Inheriting Her Ghosts.
Overall rating for Inheriting Her Ghosts by S.H. Cooper:
5 stars
By
now, you should know that Alison Golden publishes at least 1 Detective
Inspector Graham book each year and being on her ‘street team’ I’ll be reading and
reviewing that book.
I’ve
already started the new DI Graham book, published in late 2022. I’ll be writing
my review of the new book, titled The Case of the Uncommon Witness
sometime in February. So, stay tuned!
For
2022, the book I read was The Case of Sampson’s Leap and it offered a
unique kind of mystery. It got a 5-star rating from me!
I had
almost forgotten about this one. The Beast and the Bethany: Revenge of the
Beast is the second book in the children’s series The Beast and the
Bethany by Jack Meggitt-Phillips.
Like
the first book, this one was funny, fast-paced, and super enjoyable.
I highly
recommend it for children and grownups alike.
Non-fiction books
I
wanted to have a ‘best non-fiction books’ section but I honestly only read or
rather finished 2 non-fiction books.
These
were:
- The One-Page
Marketing Plan by
Allan Dib
- Uncommon Service:
How to Win by Putting Customers at the Core of Your Business by Frances Frei and Anne Morriss
The
books were different; one focused on marketing, while the other was about
managing your core business and how to set yourself apart from the competition.
I must
say that the examples used in Uncommon Service were rather outdated. The ideas left food-for-thought, but it’s impossible to apply one or more of their ideas or even case studies to
a Middle Eastern company, specifically FinTech or software as a service (SaaS).
I’ve
yet to finish writing reviews for both books. So, I’ll be updating this post and
the Book Reviews page with links once I finish writing those reviews.
The One-Page Marketing Plan by Allan Dib offers
lots of content marketing tips. I guess it’s a book that would have served me better
had I read it a few years ago. Still, there’s lots of ideas and tips in there.
You
can find some of the tips and quotes I’ve used on my professional Instagram account here.
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