15 Books You Need To Read In 2022
Hey friends! This past year I have become obsessed with reading and so I thought I would share some of my favorite books with you! I have been captivated by booktoks and watching book review videos and thought I would share my top books to read in 2022! A new year counts for a new years resolution and I think reading would make for a great goal! Reading is so beneficial and gives your mind a chance to step in the shoes of different characters. I hope you find this blog post helpful and look forward to hearing about your favorite books!
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1. It Ends With Us by Colleen Hoover
Up first is It Ends With Us by Colleen Hoover. I saw this book all over my For You Page on TikTok and thought I would give it a try. This book definitely got me out of a reading slump and really opened my eyes to the reality of life. It Ends With Us takes place in Boston following the life of a girl named Lily. It Ends With Us goes back in forth between alternating timelines from when Lily was younger and her relationship with a boy named Atlas, to her present day, in a relationship with a doctor named Ryle. This book is very deep and has many sensitive topics throughout, so I would recommend looking up the trigger warnings before reading. I really enjoyed both timelines of this book and could not put it down. It Ends With Us was my first Colleen Hoover book and throughout this blog post you will see that I really enjoy Colleen Hoover’s writing! My rating for this book was 4.5/5!
2. Where The Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens
Where The Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens was the second book I read this summer and I had heard from people that it was really good. I gave it a try and ended up reading this book in an entire day! I will say that the timeline was a little slow for me and this book was definitely not my favorite, but I know so many people that love it. Where The Crawdads Sing takes place in the marsh of North Carolina with alternating timelines from 1952 to 1969. The time period makes the language used a little different and it can be a bit confusing, but I think the plot makes up for it. This book is centered around a girl named Kya and her life living in a marsh by herself. With alternating timelines from Kya’s past to present time where a boy was found murdered, this book is filled with drama and is full of surprises. The ending was really good and recommend reading this book in 2022! I gave Where The Crawdads Sing a 3.5/5, but I know that if I read it again and took my time to process each chapter I would have loved it even more.
3. A Good Girl's Guide To Murder by Holly Jackson
A Good Girl’s Guide To Murder by Holly Jackson might have been my favorite book of 2021 with it being a young adult fiction book! I hadn’t heard a ton about this book previously, but I found it on sale at Target for $5 and decided to buy it! I ended up reading this entire book in a day and was obsessed. A Good Girl’s Guide To Murder follows the life of Pippa and her senior project centered around a murder case that happened five years prior in her hometown. Andie Bell, a popular girl, went missing and was supposedly murdered by her boyfriend Sal, who committed suicide days after her disappearance. With the help of Sal’s brother Ravi, Pippa steps in the case and tries to prove Sal’s innocence. I love mystery books and highly recommend reading this in 2022! Holly Jackson writes in such an engaging way and makes the characters super relatable which is why I found this book so enticing. This is a series of three books and I rated it a 5/5!
4. Good Girl, Bad Blood by Holly Jackson
Good Girl, Bad Blood is the sequel to A Good Girl’s Guide To Murder. This was my first book read of 2022 and I loved it as much if not more than the first book! This book follows the aftermath of Pippa and Ravi’s adventure through a murder case and continues as they start their own podcast. As the anniversary of Andie Bell and Sal’s disappearance arrives, Pippa’s friends brother, Jamie Reynolds, goes missing. When the police don’t do anything, Pippa steps up and decides to help her friend find Jamie. This book was full of surprises and I just love Holly Jackson’s writing. The characters are so relatable and make this book so easy to follow which is why I read this 400 page book in two days. I highly recommend Good Girl, Bad Blood and this series for anyone who loves a good mystery. I can’t wait to read the third book, As Good As Dead! I rated this book a 5/5!
5. Ugly Love by Colleen Hoover
Another book I would definitely recommend reading in 2022 is Ugly Love by Colleen Hoover. This book is a romance novel centered around a nursing student named Tate and an airline pilot named Miles. This book is kind of a brother’s best friend/forbidden romance book and I really enjoyed it. Miles has a mysterious past that forbids him from loving and Tate is too busy for a relationship. I have noticed that most of the books I have read by Colleen Hoover have alternating timelines which I love. Ugly Love switches between the present with Tate and Miles to Mile’s mysterious past. This book had me on the verge of tears and I just loved the writing. Again, Colleen Hoover writes romance novels, so there are some spicy scenes in this book. Besides that, I really enjoyed this book and gave it a 5/5! This so far is my favorite Colleen Hoover book!
6. Verity by Colleen Hoover
Another book all over my TikTok is Verity by Colleen Hoover. I read Verity in a span of like two days and OMG was it crazy! Verity is about a young and pursuing author named Lowen who is given a unique opportunity to be hired as a stand in writer for famous author Verity. As Lowen moves in with Verity and her husband Jeremy, she discovers the truth of Verity’s past and let me just say, it’s crazy. This book is a bit disturbing and had me a little creeped out at times, but I still really enjoyed it. Verity is somewhat of a romance but I would honestly say this is a horror book. The ending still makes me think about all the open possibilities and I highly recommend it! I rated Verity a 4/5.
7. Twilight by Stephenie Meyers
This past August I transported back to my teenage years and became obsessed again with the Twilight Saga Movies. With that being said, I decided to give the books a try since I never read them before. Twilight is the first book in the series and I surprisingly really liked the book! The plot was very similar to the movie but I like the deeper details that follow with a book. I am not gonna give a big summary for this book since I feel like everyone has at least seen the movie, but basically new girl Bella falls in love with mysterious Edward who *spoiler* turns out to be a vampire. I rated Twilight a 4/5 and I am excited to read the rest of the series.
8. Beach Read by Emily Henry
Beach Read by Emily Henry is another great book that you should read in 2022. Emily Henry is popular for Beach Read and her other book People We Meet On Vacation. She writes in a very witty and interesting way that I really liked. Beach Read is about two authors, January and Augustus. Both write very different genres and one summer they decide to switch genres and write a novel in the other person’s genre. This book is best described as an enemies to lovers romance and I just loved it! Beach Read is such a fun book to read and I loved the plot! The beginning has a sort of slow start but once you get into it, it is hard to put down. My relationship standards were set very high after reading this and I am obsessed with the cute and aesthetic cover (lol). I gave this book a 4/5 and look forward to reading Emily Henry’s other books!
9. Anxious People by Fredrick Backman
Anxious People by Fredrick Backman has got to be the most interesting and different book I have read in a while. This book was full of surprises and was just a unique book. I have to admit, I started this book and then couldn’t get into it and put it off for an entire month. I finally decided to try it again and I brushed through the whole book! Anxious People is centered around a bank robbery gone wrong and turned into a hostage situation. I really liked how the end of each chapter would kind of connect and then it would all make sense. Overall, Anxious People had me shocked at certain scenes and made for a great read. I would give this book a try even if it is a bit all over the place at the beginning; I promise it gets better! I rated Anxious People a 4/5.
10. One Of Us Is Lying by Karen M. McManus
I read One Of Us Is Lying my sophomore year of high school and it was my favorite book ever! I have always loved books where each chapter is about a different character and I love mysteries. One Of Us Is Lying combines the two and is about four high schoolers who are being accused of murdering their classmate who happens to run a gossip website. Secrets are revealed and the teenagers work to prove they are innocent. This book is newly a series on Peacock and it was pretty good, but I liked the book a lot better. I recommend One Of Us Is Lying to everyone because it really started my love for reading in high school! I love Karen M. McManus and she is one of my favorite authors ever. I rated this book a 4/5!
11. One Of Us Is Next by Karen M. McManus
One Of Us Is Next is the sequel to One Of Us Is Lying and follows the aftermath of the first book. This book is centered around three characters; Phoebe, Maeve, and Knox. After the gossip website in the previous book is shut down, a new truth or dare website is made, leaving things dangerous. I read One Of Us Is Next about two years after I read One Of Us Is Lying and I still felt like I new what was going on from the previous book. With that being said, I absolutely loved this book even more than the first one. The ending was crazy and I just liked everything about it! This book has completely new characters from One Of Us Is Lying and focuses on the present and not the past. I gave One Of Us Is Next a 5/5 and I highly recommend!
12. Two Can Keep A Secret by Karen M. McManus
Another Karen McManus book! Two Can Keep A Secret is another wonderful mystery book about a set of twins visiting their grandma in the same town that their own aunt went missing at the age of seventeen. Recently a homecoming queen was found murdered, putting the town on the map. Ellery, one of the twins, is determined to find out all the secrets her mom and the town are hiding about the past. This book is very similar to A Good Girl’s Guide To Murder now that I have read both. I love mystery books where a girl is trying to solve a murder case from the past. I don’t know why, but there is just something about small town murder mystery books. This is my favorite Karen M. McManus book and I just really enjoyed every second reading this! The ending was awesome and I never saw it coming! I gave Two Can Keep A Secret a 5/5!
13. We Were Liars by E. Lockhart
I have heard so many mixed reviews about this book so I decided to read it myself and see if it was any good. We Were Liars has a super slow start and it has a lot of information thrown at you that can be confusing. I 100% think that the ending makes up for any bad review about this book. I had heard before reading that the ending to We Were Liars was really shocking and I would completely agree. We Were Liars is about a super rich family full of secrets and drama. The novel is set on a private island and is told from a girl named Cadence who is trying to remember something that has left her in a forgotten state. Basically Cadence can’t remember what happened to her and goes to the private island to figure it all out. I was not expecting the ending to be what it was, but wow, it hit me hard. I rated We Were Liars a 4/5 and would recommend everyone to read this book solely for the shocking ending.
14. Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell
Eleanor & Park is another great book that I think everyone should read at least once. I read this book randomly in high school and it turned out to be amazing! Eleanor is a new girl and comes from a chaotic family, while Park is a boy that tries to be invisible. Soon, Eleanor and Park develop a relationship that only they can understand. This book is really deep and talks about serious topics which I think is so important in young adult fiction. I loved the ending of Eleanor & Park even though it leaves on a bit of a cliffhanger. I rated this book a 4/5 and would recommend it for anyone looking for a heartfelt story.
15. Extraordinary Means by Robyn Schneider
And finally, one of my favorite books growing up; Extraordinary Means by Robyn Schneider. I read this book in middle school, and was obsessed. I always say it is one of my favorite books today even though I haven’t read it in over five years. Extraordinary Means is about two teens with tuberculosis who are sent to a facility where they can hopefully get cured and they end up falling in love. This book is very similar to like The Fault In Our Stars and other books where the characters have some sort of disease. I guess besides mysteries I love a good love story between terminal patients. I remember reading this book and just being in awe at the ending. Robyn Schneider is amazing and I have enjoyed her other book, The Beginning of Everything. I rated Extraordinary Means a 5/5 and look forward to rereading now that I am older!
I hope this blog post gave you some great book recommendations or maybe has inspired you to pick up a book and get back into reading. It can be hard to sit down and find time to read, but I promise that reading is truly beneficial in reducing stress, engaging your brain, and replacing screen time. I have so many more books that I look forward to reading this year and I can’t wait to share them with you all! If you want to know what I am reading at the moment or are interested in more book reviews, head over to my second Instagram account @Macyliving. Also, feel free to send us more book recommendations on our instagram @solsisterblog!
– Macy
