favorite books in 2022 pt 4
It may have taken me 7 months into 2023, but I'm finally here with the final part to my favorite books of 2022 series! My goal was to have this finished by April, but better late than never. I hope I'm a little more punctual next year! This one isn't as long as the other ones, but let's hop into it.
Life's Too Short by Abby Jimenez
“If you spend your life dwelling on the worst possible thing, when it finally happens, you’ve lived it twice.”
Genre: Contemporary Romance
My Rating: ★★★★ 1/2
You may already know that I am a lover of all things Abby Jimenez. From the first book I ever read by her to this one. I actually have to say my least favorite book was her most popular (Part of Your World). And even then, I still really enjoyed it. I have probably mentioned this 100 times at this point, but Abby Jimenez has a way with making her characters come to life. They feel so real and human, and I love that so much.
This story follows Influencer Vanessa Price, who quit her job and travels the world while following a single motto, Life's too short. Her mom passed away before she hit 30, because of a rare genetic disorder, and she wasn't going to take her life for granted.
After her half-sister leaves Vanessa with custody with her infant daughter, her life goes from daily adventure & travel to next-level-bad. The last person she expected to show up offering to help was her hot next door lawyer. After all she barely knows him! Now she's feeling things she promised herself she wouldn't, because the only thing worse than falling for Adrian is finding hope for a future she may never have.
I highly highly recommend reading this book. I own this book in Kindle, and already know I want to own a hard copy of this book. So so good.
The Bodyguard by Katherine Center
“I think just because you can't keep something doesn't mean it wasn't worth it. Nothing lasts forever. What matters is what we take with us.”
-Katherine Center, The Bodyguard
Genre: Contemporary Romance
My Rating: ★★★★
This is the first book I've ever ready by Katherine Center, and right off the bat I was sucked into the story. Since then, I have read one other book by Katherine Center that I loved just as much, or maybe even more (I highly recommend you checking out Hello Stranger that came out earlier this year). This story follows Hannah Brooks who's works for an executive protective agent company (aka she's a bodyguard), and she has just gotten hired to protect Jack Stapleton. Jack is a world famous actor, but since he started getting some creepy fan mail, his management has decided to set him up with some protection. They were supposed to just do a regular bodyguard job, but when Jack's mom gets sick, he has to fly out to their Texas ranch.
He didn't want his family to worry, so they decide that it's easier for Hannah to pretend to be his girlfriend. That way when they go to stay at Jack's family's ranch, they're not concerned. And also, Hannah can stay close to him and do the job she's supposed to. And while she does a great job while there, the lines start to blur the more time she spends with Jack.
What caught my eye about this book initially was the fact that the bodyguard was a girl! Usually the roles are reversed in most romances, so this was an interesting twist. Hannah was a totally kick-ass character. And Jack was such a sweet MMC. Overall, I really enjoyed reading the romance, and also the bit of action they had throughout the story was unexcepted, but made it more fun! Highly recommend checking this one out.
A Court of Thorns and Roses (Book 1) by Sarah J Maas
“Well, good-bye for now," he said, rolling his neck as if we hadn't been talking about anything important at all. He bowed at the waist, those wings vanishing entirely, and had begun to fade into the nearest shadow when he went rigid.
Sarah J. Maas, A Court of Thorns and Roses
His eyes locked on mine wide and wild, and his nostrils flared. Shock—pure shock flashed across his features at whatever he saw on my face, and he stumbled back a step. Actually stumbled.
"What is—" I began.
He disappeared—simply disappeared, not a shadow in sight—into the crisp air.”
Genre: Fantasy, Fantasy Romance
My Rating: ★★★
Now hear me out. I know you're wondering why I rated this book only 3 stars, and yet I put it in my favorite books of 2022. As I'm sure you're all aware, A Court of Thorns and Roses is a fantasy series. And while this book was about average on all accounts, the rest of the series continues to get better and better. It reads a lot less juvenile, and more like a fully fledged fantasy series.
This book for sure drags on for over 75% of the book, but once it picks up, it's a lot better. There is a lot of world building in this one, which I feel like is almost necessary if you're going to create a really good fantasy series. And while I'm not the biggest fan of Feyre in this book, or a lot of the characters to be honest, Sarah J Maas is building it up. The second book is a high 4.5 stars, and the third one is also really good.
So if you read the first one, and hated it, I would tell you to maybe not give up. Try the second one. And if you don't like that one either, then you should quit for sure.
I felt very similar to when I read The Shatter Me series. The first one wasn't well written, and was overall very average, but the series continued to get better as you kept reading.
I know I should tell you what this book is about, but I'm sure most of you know what it's about by now. This book is all over the internet, and I know that I'm not going to explain it any better than anyone else. All I will say is that while I didn't love this particular book in the series, I have really enjoyed the 2nd and 3rd one, so I recommend you reading this one!
Other books I loved in 2022:
oh my god! I'm finally finished! This has taken me 8 months to finish, but I finally have been able to share with you all of my favorite books for last year. I think I'm going to start next year's books in my drafts, so I can get them out for you in a timely manner, aha! If you could share what some of your favorite books are, I would love to add them to my never ending TBR list. Also, have you read any of the books on my list, and what were your thoughts? For sure let me know! As always, thank you for reading. Chat soon xxx
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