100 thoughts on 100 books in 2022.

Hi i’m Mackenzie. I read an average of 100 books a year and I love talking to people about the stories I love. Every year I like to publish a list of what I read and thought of each book, so this is that :)

6 STAR BOOKS: Objectively speaking.

• All My Rage by Sabaa Tahir — The story of two Pakistani-American teens. Do the audio. Prepare to be moved. Just trust me.
• Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin —Simply the most original story to be published this year.
• Adelaide by Genevieve Wheeler — A novel about mental illness, f*ck boys, and the importance of friendship. A debut you cannot miss (pre-order!).

& a few personal favorites:

• Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus — Simply the best in historical fiction. This one lived up to it’s impossibly high hype.
• Before I Let Go by Kennedy Ryan — This is a grown-up romance. Kennedy is a master of her craft in every way.
• Olga Dies Dreaming by Xochitl Gonzalez — A STUNNING debut with messy characters who make wild decisions that you will absolutely love. I couldn’t recommend more.
• The Hop by Diana Clarke — The fictional story of a famous sex worker from New Zealand as told in documentary format! For fans of Daisy Jones & The Six — but IMO this is better.

I honestly didn’t read many celeb memoirs this year:

• I’m Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy — A triumph. Truly jarring. a must read. The headlines don’t tell the full story.
• Have I Told You This Already?: Stories I Don’t Want to Forget to Remember by Lauren Graham — While I still love Lorelai, this book was a total bore. Also, a little fatphobic.

The only graphic novel I read this year was really fabulous and informative, i’d recommend it for sure:

• Gender Queer by Maia Kobabe

More five star fiction:

• Kaikeyi by Vaishnavi Patel — Mythological re-tellings are quite literally the opposite of my thing. I couldn’t love this book more.
• Our Missing Hearts by Celeste Ng — I still feel haunted by the near-future America Celeste Ng predicted in this novel.
• Such Sharp Teeth by Rachel Harrison — A hilarious, disgusting, original novel about a woman who turns into a Werewolf. Please read. Just trust.
• Yerba Buena by Nina LaCour — Just gorgeous.

Fiction that was really good, i’d recommend:

• True Biz by Sara Novic — Educational and brilliant.
• A Hundred Other Girls by Iman Hariri Kia — This book is for the grown-up teenage magazine hoarders.
• One Italian Summer by Rebecca Serle — One of my friend’s refers to this as the “mommy issues book” and while she is absolutely correct — it’s also a vivid trip to Positano!
• The Fortunes of Jaded Women by Carolyn Huynh — If you want to read about family drama while laying out by a pool, pick this up!!
• The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandanna — This is the perfect fall read.

Romance novels that really gave me everything:

• Before I Let Go by Kennedy Ryan — The best of the best.
• Mistakes Were Made by Meryl Wilsner — A forbidden sapphic romance that is shockingly hot for commercial fiction.
• YMAFODWYB by Akwaeke Emezi — Indulgent, gorgeous, literary.

…. all very high-stakes books!

& romances that gave me *nearly* everything:

• Lease on Love by Fallon Ballard — A near-perfect debut. I love a NYC love story. Cannot wait to see what she does next.
• A Caribbean Heiress in Paris by Adriana Herrera — I am NOT a historical romance girly, but I’d follow Adriana Herrera to the end of earth.
• Part of Your World by Abby Jimenez — I can’t classify this book as anything but perfect!

My favorite YA books of 2022:

• I Kissed Shara Wheeler by Casey Mcquiston — Personally, I couldn’t put this book down for a second.
• Private Label by Kelly Yang — I didn’t love it as much as Parachutes, but it was still really sold. Check the content warnings for this one as it’s really serious.
• Nothing More to Tell by Karen McManus — One-sitting thriller like all of KM’s books!

I am way older than the intended audience, so this is a me problem!

• Salaam, With Love by Sara Sharaf Beg — So much of this YA romance was adorable, but some really weird random gun violence occurs. The ending is also a little eh. IYKYK.
• Breathe and Count Back From Ten by Natalia Sylvester — Really sweet story about a teenager who auditions to be a mermaid at one of Orlando’s theme parks. One of the prettiest covers of the year!

As someone who actually reads the Historical Fiction genre if this is good, because to me it was just ok!:

The Lost Summers of Newport by Beatriz Williams, Lauren Willig, & Karen White (delightful women who were so fun to interview)

Memoirs mixed with cultural commentary:

• Girls Kiss Now by Jill Gutowitz — didn’t really need this in my life, but there were definitely some laugh-out-loud moments.
• Admissions by Kendra James — I enjoyed this book, but i’ll admit I was expecting more juice from a boarding school memoir.
• Everything I Know About Love by Dolly Alderton — This book is the definition of “not for me” I am the WRONG audience. Would recommend to a new grad living in the big city though!
• Speak by Tunde Oyeneyin — Tunde of Peloton fame has a really inspiring story, but I’m not sure she knows that it isn’t her weight loss story. This book felt obviously ghostwritten, but we still love our girl.

I’ve become a bit of a sapphic romance connosoir:

• Mistakes Were Made by Meryl Wilsner — Burn your hand off hot.
• Kiss Her Once for Me by Alison Cochrun — Alison only knows how to write five star books. This is technically a holiday romance — but don’t let that dissuade you from reading it whenever!
• Astrid Parker Doesn’t Fail by Ashley Herring Blake — Bi awakening.
• D’Vaughn and Kris Plan a Wedding by Chencia C Higgins — Perfect for reality tv show fans!!
• Delilah Green Doesn’t Care by Ashley Herring Blake — If your preference is hot photographer women who wear leather jackets and live in NYC.

This book helped me become less addicted to shopping and has been a godsend, though it’s made me an asshole:

• Consumed: The Need for Collective Change: Colonialism, Climate Change, and Consumerism by Aja Barber

Really, really hot romance novels:

• Scandalized by Ivy Owens
• Dating Dr. Dil by Nisha Sharma
• Twisted Love by Ana Huang
• After Hours on Milgro Street by Angelina M Lopez
• Merry Little Meet Cute by Julie Murphy and Sierra Simone

Claire Kann is carrying the weight of ace romance on her shoulders, but why does she have to write such evil side characters??:

• The Romantic Agenda by Claire Kann
• Let’s Talk About Love by Claire Kann

A book that took a lot out of me to read, but is very important and has a gorgeous cover.

• The School For Good Mothers by Jessamine Chan

I continued a few favorite series:

• American Love Story by Adriana Herrera (Dreamers #3) — hot AF
• It Starts With Us by Colleen Hoover (It Ends With Us #2) — kind of profound in a weird way? A really interesting look at co-parenting with an abuser.
• Rivals (American Royals #3) — These books are fun and I love them.
• Count Your Lucky Stars by Alexandria Bellfleur (written in the stars #3) — The BEST of the three! I Love this series.

I dived into the back-list of my favorite romance writer:

• Block Shot by Kennedy Ryan — this book is triggering AF and features descriptive abuse scences. But they are necessary to the story, and Kennedy handles them with care. I was warned in advance.
• Still (Grip #2) by Kennedy Ryan — I continued the Grip series and holy hell will book 3 rip your heart out of your chest. I have never sobbed so hard at a book and i’ve never felt as closely connected to a couple as I do Bristol and Grip.

This should be required reading for every American:

• How The Word is Passed by Clint Smith

This should be required reading for every Republican:

• Read This to Get Smarter: about Race, Class, Gender, Disability, and More by Blair Imani

Books in the self-published romance novel world I had to read for research and ended up loving:

• The Wall of Winnipeg and Me by Mariana Zapata
• Truth or Beard by Penny Reid

I continued on my Chloe Liese Bergman Brothers Journey:

• Ever After Always (Bergman #3): My favorite — a highly controversial opinion. I love a marriage in trouble.
• With You Forever (Bergman #4): Grumpy/sunshine trope! A little too grumpy for me, but I love the sunshine.
• Everything For You (Bergman #5): It’s not that I didn’t love this enemies to lovers romance, I still gave it a solid 4 stars — it just wasn’t my favorite in the series. Like I said, I am just not a huge grumpy love interest girl, and once again we got a grump.

Books I felt cool and smart for reading, but wow these characters need to chill for a second:

• Disorientation by Elaine Hsieh Chou
• Mother in the Dark by Kayla Maiuri
• A Novel Obsession by Caitlin Barasch
• Just by Looking at Him by Ryan O’Connell
• Vladimir by Julia May Jonas
• Siren Queen by Nghi Vo

Mnimal steam, Excellent plots:

• Meant to be Mine by Hannah Orenstein — the plane read of my dreams.
• The Bodyguard by Katherine Center — let’s just pretend that ending never happened
• The Suite Spot by Trish Doller — I love my girl Trish and look forward to reading everything she writes. This is a sequel by the way — start with Float Plan.

My least favorite books of the year:

• After by Anna Todd — LOL
• We Were Liars by E.Lockhart — It actually blows my mind this book is popular because it’s so bad.

Solid four star romances! I would recommend all of these:

• Maggie Moves On by Lucy Score
• Restore Me by JL Seegars
• A Very Merry Bromance by Lyssa Kay Adams
• Funny You Should Ask by Elissa Sussman
• The Wedding Crasher by Mia Sosa
• West Side Love Story by Priscilla Oliveras
• Every Summer After by Carley Fortune
• Weather Girl by Rachel Lynn Solomon
• Honey & Spice by Bolu Babalola

I read a book written by an online personality who I admire & it was honestly really good:

• Liking Myself Back by Jacey Duprie

Romance that left me wanting more:

• By The Book by Jasmine Guillory — it was just missing something, but it was cute and short!
• The Love Con by Seressia Glass — The fatphobia was too much to handle, justice for my girl Kenya.
• Something Wilder by Christina Lauren — I don’t like the gun violence!
• Love on the Brain by Ali Hazelwood — I’m bored, but somehow I read it in 24 hours?
• The Perfect Find by Tia Williams — One of those forbidden romances where you can never quite get on board with the couple.

I didn’t adore this book, but the book club conversation surrounding it on a BBBC retreat was one of my favorite moments of the year:

• Flying Solo by Linda Holmes

This book has been at the center of an important conversation surrounding identity and who has the right to tell whose stories (and not in a flattering way.) While I enjoyed it, I wouldn’t recommend it for that reason:

• Carrie Soto is Back by Taylor Jenkins Reid

One of my goals this year was to read more books by indigenous authors, and while it wasn’t a slay it wasn’t totally a flop:

• The Sentence by Louise Erdrich — Haunting, and while slow — totally worth the wait.
• Night of the Living Rez by Morgan Talty — A short story collection about what it means to be a Penobscot in the twenty first century.
• The Seed Keeper by Diane Wilson — A book about family and agriculture and survival that will leave you thinking for a long time.

Self-help books I will reference in the future:

• Grief is Love by Marisa Renee Lee

Self-help books I enjoyed in the moment, but didn’t have a lasting impact:

• How To Be Perfect by Michael Schur
• Conversations with People Who Hate Me: 12 Things I Learned from Talking to Internet Strangers by Dylan Marron

Tell me in the comments — what were your favorite books this year?