Hi besties! Can you believe we’re at the end of June? I truly cannot. I know I say it all the time, but time really is just a construct isn’t it? I hope that the first half of the year has treated you well and that the second half has many magical things coming your way!
With the first half of the year coming to a close, you know what it’s time for. It’s time for the first part of my Favorite Reads of 2022 post! I love doing these each year because it’s so fun to take a look at all the books I’ve read so far and highlight my favorites. As of the end of June, I’ve read 138 books, and as you can expect, with a number like that it was a little tricky to narrow this list down to the 16 books that I’m featuring.
Y’all know the drill — no rereads are listed here, all of these books are ones that I read for the first time this year, so that you don’t hear me once again go on and on about my love for certain books (iykyk).
As always, I have done my best to list trigger warnings based on my own personal notes, trigger warnings from other reviews and what is listed on websites like Book Trigger Warnings and Trigger Warning Database if needed. That being said, there may be things that I have forgotten and if so I apologize! If you’ve read any of these books and notice that I’m missing some triggers, please let me know so that I can update the trigger lists!
✩ indicates an ARC / Read as an ARC
Count Your Lucky Stars by Alexandria Bellefleur
I really love Alexandria Bellefleur’s Written in the Stars series, so I was really looking forward to Count Your Lucky Stars and it did not disappoint! I love second chance romance stories, and then add in childhood best friends to the mix? Those are some of my favorite tropes, and if there’s one thing that Bellefleur does well, it’s tropes. I just thought that this book was completely endearing and I’m dying to do a reread!
Trigger Warnings: infidelity, death of a parent, alcohol consumption
Links for Count Your Lucky Stars: Goodreads | TheStoryGraph | Bookshop | IndieBound
Homicide and Halo-Halo by Mia P. Manansala
It’s a well-established fact on the blog that I love the Tita Rosie’s Kitchen series — it simply brings me so much joy! I find Manansala’s writing style to be really addictive. I read both Arsenic and Adobo and Homicide and Halo-Halo in one sitting because of how easily her writing flows. I also really love reading a story about a Filipino family that is so in tune with their culture, as it makes me feel closer to my Filipino roots. You can read my full review of Homicide and Halo-Halo here.
Trigger Warnings: Ptsd, fatphobia, fertility/pregnancy issues, predatory behavior, unresolved grief, parental death (occurred in childhood), dismissive attitudes toward mental health, death, murder, mentions of a car accident, mentions of prison, panic attacks, guns, mentions of suicide, police
Links for Homicide and Halo-Halo: Goodreads | TheStorygraph | Bookshop | IndieBound
Ophelia After All by Racquel Marie
We read Ophelia After All for our March pick for TeaTimeReads and I’m so glad that we did! Ophelia After All is such a beautiful coming-of-age story. This was one of my most anticipated releases of the year, so I had really high expectations for it, and they were absolutely met. I loved Ophelia’s arc and how she really discovered herself during the course of the book. I loved how supportive her parents were and thought the dynamic between Ophelia and her friends was done extremely well. This book is so heartwarming, and I think I need to do a reread soon because of how much joy it brings me!
Trigger Warnings: mentions of underage drinking and vaping, topical mentions of sex, cut-off use of a homophobic slur (challenged), condemned homophobia, discussion of anti-Blackness within a mixed-race Latine family (challenged)
Links for Ophelia After All: Goodreads | TheStoryGraph | Bookshop | IndieBound
Hook, Line, and Sinker by Tessa Bailey
It’s all about the friends to lovers, besties, all about the friends to lovers! I really enjoyed the first book in this series, It Happened One Summer, so I couldn’t wait to get my hands on a copy of Hook, Line, and Sinker, and I absolutely fell in love with Hannah and Fox. I’m fairly certain I read this in one sitting as I just couldn’t put it down. This book made my heart so full, and I can’t wait to read it again!
Trigger Warnings: Death of a parent, infidelity
Links for Hook, Line, and Sinker: Goodreads | TheStorygraph | Bookshop | IndieBound
Delilah Green Doesn’t Care by Ashley Herring Blake
I’m a fan of messy protagonists; I find them fascinating, and I think that Delilah Green would absolutely fall into that category. I appreciated how, although this book was centered around 30-somethings, a huge part of this book is finding yourself and growing into the person you’re supposed to be, as growth is an ongoing process. The characters were so fun; I really loved them, especially Iris, I would like her to be my best friend, please! I wrote a full review of this one a while back, which you can check out here.
Trigger Warnings: Past parental death, emotionally distant parent, explicit sexual content, toxic/controlling relationships of side characters
Links for Delilah Green Doesn’t Care: Goodreads | TheStorygraph | Bookshop | IndieBound
Daughters of a Dead Empire by Carolyn Tara O’Neil
I’ve been obsessed with the story of Anastasia since I was four, so anytime I see something related to Anastasia and the Romanov family, I check it out. Carolyn Tara O’Neil’s Daughters of a Dead Empire left me absolutely floored. It’s been months since I read this one, and I’m not sure I’ve fully processed it. It was a hard one to read as it’s heavily influenced by the Russian Civil War, but it was also filled with a lot of heart. You can read my full review here, and if you’re a fan of the story of Anastasia, I would highly recommend it!
Trigger Warnings: Fire, blood, family death (on and off-page), war, murder (on and off-page), attempted murder, grief, PTSD, survivors guilt, guns and gunfire, mentions of antisemitism, graphic depictions of torture and abuse
Links for Daughters of a Dead Empire: Goodreads | TheStoryGraph | Bookshop | IndieBound
The Viscount Who Loved Me by Julia Quinn
If last year someone came up to me and said, “Hey, so next year you’re going to be completely obsessed with The Viscount Who Loved Me”, in all honesty, I would’ve laughed in their face. And yet here we are at the end of June and I’ve read this book three times and think about Kanthony on the daily. I truly have played myself. I’m not completely sure what it is that I love so much about this book — okay, I mean it’s enemies to lovers so of course I love it — but there’s something about it that I find completely comforting! It’s a nice one to pick up when I’m unsure of what I want to read or want a book that doesn’t require me to put together any puzzles or clues, it’s just a nice and easy read, and of course, there’s Kanthony. How could I not love them?
Trigger Warnings: PTSD, carriage accident, broken bones, death of a family member (in the past, from anaphylaxis and illness), panic attacks
Links for The Viscount Who Loved Me: Goodreads | TheStoryGraph | Bookshop | IndieBound
✩ Sense and Second-Degree Murder by Tirzah Price
2022 seems to be the year of Jane Austen retellings and rereads for me. I really enjoy the Jane Austen Murder Mystery Series, and I loved Sense and Second-Degree Murder. The mystery was so well done, and I really loved the characterization of the Dashwood sisters. I was part of the blog tour for Sense and Second-Degree Murder in April, and you can check out my full review here.
Trigger Warnings: Death of a parent (not on page – but the body is found, not explicit – chapter 1), mentioned past death of a parent, murder, poison, injury (sprained ankle, chapter 6, gun shot chapter 18), grief, mentions of post partum (chapter 9), discussions of medical animal testing (chapter 9), discussion of drugs and drug addiction, blood, breaking and entering, fire, guns and gun fire (chapter 18), surgery (on page, not graphic, chapter 19), vomit (chapter 20)
Links for Sense and Second-Degree Murder: Goodreads | TheStoryGraph | Bookshop | IndieBound
✩ Accomplished by Amanda Quain
Pride and Prejudice is one of my all-time favorite novels, and I’ve always had a soft spot for Georgiana Darcy, so I couldn’t contain my excitement when I was approved for an ARC of Amanda Quain’s Accomplished. I really did adore this book — I loved seeing Georgie as the main character, and was so proud of the growth that she went through. I wrote a review of Accomplished back in April, which you can read here.
Trigger Warnings: Mentions of drugs and drug dealing, mentioned past death of a parent, parental abandonment, emotional and mental manipulation, blackmail, bullying, underage drinking, grief
Links for Accomplished: Goodreads | TheStorygraph | Bookshop | IndieBound
Queen of the Tiles by Hanna Alkaf
We play Scrabble on most major holidays in my household, so when I heard about a locked-room murder mystery that took place at a Scrabble tournament, I knew that I had to read it. I really enjoyed this one — I thought that the mystery was intriguing and I loved the emphasis on the importance of words and language. You can read my full review here.
Trigger Warnings: Death (on-page), grief and loss, mentions of police, panic attacks, anxiety, absentee parenting, physical violence (shoving), depression, blood, PTSD
Links for Queen of the Tiles: Goodreads | TheStorygraph | Bookshop | IndieBound
Cover Story by Susan Rigetti
This book has been living rent-free in my head since I read it in April and I’m obsessed. This book is so well crafted — the epistolary writing was the perfect way to tell this story as it adds an air of mystery and uncertainty to the narration. I love an unreliable narrator, and I think that Lora definitely falls into that category. And the ending…oh man! I wrote a full review of Cover Story last month, which you can read here. If you loved Netflix’s Inventing Anna, then you need to read this book.
Trigger Warnings: fraud, scam, car accident, gaslighting, toxic relationships, emotional manipulation
Links for Cover Story: Goodreads | TheStoryGraph | Bookshop | IndieBound
Book Lovers by Emily Henry
In my mind, Emily Henry can do no wrong. She’s the queen of contemporary romance and I loved everything about Book Lovers. Henry always writes fantastic romances with nuanced characters, and Book Lovers is no exception. The night my copy arrived, I dropped everything I was doing to read it and I didn’t stop reading until I got to the very last page. By the end I was SOBBING and I’m fairly certain that I left Cossette and Mary a very teary, rambling voice message when I finished the book in the wee morning hours. Cossette’s review covers all the things that I loved so much about this book, and you can read it here!
Trigger Warnings: Grief, death of a parent, parental abandonment, stroke, hospitalization, pregnancy
Links for Book Lovers: Goodreads | TheStorygraph | Bookshop | IndieBound
Portrait of a Thief by Grace D. Li
Before even getting through the first act of Portrait of a Thief, I knew this would be one of my favorite books of the year. This book is about so much more than a heist. This is a story about identity, and how where we’re from shapes who we become. It’s about reclaiming the things that have been taken from you. It’s just…this book touched me in so many ways and I know that I’ll be reading it many times. Cossette wrote a beautiful review that also reflects my thoughts and opinions on Portrait of a Thief, which you can check out here.
Trigger Warnings: Death of a parent, hospitalization of a grandparent (minor), grief, violence, weapon descriptions
Links for Portrait of a Thief: Goodreads | TheStorygraph | Bookshop | IndieBound
People We Meet on Vacation by Emily Henry
I am late to the People We Meet on Vacation train, I am aware of this, and I am atoning for my sins. This book…gosh, I don’t even know how to accurately explain how this book made me feel. I turned on the audiobook when I couldn’t sleep one night and read it straight through. I am absolutely in love with it and I can’t wait to read it again.
Trigger Warnings: Physical injury & illness including pneumonia, death of a mother due to childbirth complications mentioned, death of a pet mentioned
Links for People We Meet on Vacation: Goodreads | StoryGraph | Bookshop | Indie Bound
✩ Foul Lady Fortune by Chloe Gong
Oh, my friends. Chloe Gong has done it again, and by it, I mean wreck my life. I had super high expectations for Foul Lady Fortune considering how much I love These Violent Delights and Our Violent Ends, and I am happy to report that it did not disappoint! I spoke a bit about it in my post last week, but I just loved getting to see another side of Rosalind and learn more about her. Additionally, I loved seeing more of Alisa and Celia, and the new characters that were introduced were just as fascinating. Also that ending! The ending. Ms. Gong…please, I need book 2 asap.
Trigger Warnings: Blood, violence, murder, weapon use, needles, description of human experimentation, descriptions of war, descriptions of head injury.
Links for Foul Lady Fortune: Goodreads | TheStoryGraph | Bookshop | IndieBound
✩ Dauntless by Elisa A. Bonnin
Dauntless was absolutely one of my most anticipated reads of 2022 and it did not disappoint! What a thrilling and fantastic debut novel! I loved the creativity and specificity within this world and the lush, descriptive, and captivative writing. I won’t gush too much here because I will be sharing my review for the book tour next month, but I really loved this book.
Trigger Warnings: Abuse (physical, implied emotional), animal death, blood, violence, death, loss of a parent, loss of a loved one, murder, prejudice, illness, mind control (mentioned), animal cruelty (culling is mentioned and hunting is a common practice), descriptions of poverty and homelessness (character backstory), descriptions of starvation (character backstory), PTSD, gore, fire
Links for Dauntless: Goodreads | TheStoryGraph | Bookshop | IndieBound
And there you have it! My favorite books of 2022 so far. Have you read any of these books? What have been your favorite reads of the year, and what are you looking forward to reading in the second half of 2022? Let me know in the comments!
