The Bookalicious Babe's Top Ten Reads of 2022

 Here we are! My favorite reads of 2022. Let's get right to it! Starting in reverse order, ten to one:

10.  A novel that I stumbled on that is a hidden gem. A young man talks his way into driving two giraffes across Dust Bowl America to a zoo in California. Oh, this was such a delightful read. I didn't want it to end. 

9.  This is a YA historical novel that takes place during the Chicago World's Fair of 1893. It's a story about revenge, Jewish mysticism, friendship, immigration, and a whole lot more. So, so good. 

8.  This was a horror novel I couldn't wait to read, and I was not disappointed. Full on creepy! It's actually a historical horror novel, and that almost makes it even more ominous. A young woman travels to her husband's home and finds it haunted by a terrible, terrible spirit bent on revenge. 

7.  I adore novels set in 1920's through 1960's Hollywood. I had to read this, and wasn't disappointed. Evelyn Hugo is an unforgettable character, and TJR writes a showstopper of a novel. 

6.  I've read all of Heather Webber's novels, and I especially enjoyed this tale about a magical garden, a young woman who longs for a home, and the family she finds. Magic, bees, delicious food....all ingredients for a novel I will inhale. 

5.  Karen White has my heart. I'll read whatever she writes. I almost cried tears of happiness with this novel, the start of a new series that takes place in New Orleans. If you're a fan of novels that incorporate history, ghostly homes, and other worldly happenings, Karen White is the author for you. Next in the series is out in March, 2023. 

4.  Another author I adore. Simone St. James has perfected the art of writing a tense chiller. Yes, I said chiller. A cross between a thriller and a scary novel. She builds tension from page one, and leaves you a bit unsettled and looking over your shoulder. I've read all of her books and recommend her to everyone I can. She's that good. 

3.  I seem to have bounced between horror/thriller novels and feel good novels in 2022. To say I was beyond excited to have a new Sarah Addison Allen novel to read would be a HUGE understatement. I adore SAA. This was magical, sweet (it takes place on an island where there was a marshmallow factory), and also a bit sad. Classic SAA. So glad she's back. 

2.  This was almost, almost! my top pick for 2022. It came out of nowhere, grabbed me immediately, and I haven't stopped recommending it since I read it earlier this year. Three women who are at a time in their lives where women become invisible--but hold on, they're not going to take it. Involves a serial murderer, corruption, and women who aren't taking any crap from men anymore. READ IT!!

AND FINALLY....MY TOP READ OF 2022:

1.  I am so surprised this landed as my favorite read of 2022; but when I looked at my list, it just jumped to the top. It's a tiny little gem of a book that captured my heart immediately. Told in epistolary form (letters), it's about a budding friendship between two women who connect over their love of food. It takes place in 1960's California and the Pacific Northwest. Whenever I think about this novel, it puts a smile on my face. Oh, I'm so glad I found it at the bookstore while wandering around the stacks. I can't say how much I adored this novel. It has a permanent spot on my bookshelves. 

That's it! My Top Ten of 2022. I am so excited for a new year to dig into my TBR, and knowing there are some spectacular novels and authors out there I have yet to discover. I can't wait. 

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The Bookalicious Babe's Top Ten Reads of 2022

The Lost and Found Bookshop by Susan Wiggs

I'm pretty sure I haven't ever read a Susan Wiggs novel before this one. I was pleasantly surprised. Of course, this novel had me at bookshop (as they all do!) and even though I've had an ARC of this book for months, I finally decided to finish it today, after stopping and starting a few times a few months ago. 

I'll confess I was cruising along with my books, and suddenly this past week I hit a wall again. Just couldn't get through anything. So I am glad I picked this back up again, because I hit that magical place in the book that had me focusing in and forgetting about anything for awhile. Even though I didn't do anything for July 4th but stay home and cook out, I was still feeling a bit of a holiday hangover today. After watering my flowers outside and getting laundry started, I was happy to just stay inside and read. 

This novel really is a nod to booklovers everywhere. Natalie Harper grew up in a bookstore; her mother Blythe operates a family bookshop in a building that has been in the Harper family for 100 years-a coveted building in fashionable San Francisco. After a horrible tragedy, Natalie returns to San Francisco and the bookshop, to take stock of its future, and to take care of Grandy, her grandfather. He'd recently fallen and broken his hip and was now showing signs of early dementia. Natalie had been successful at a wine brokerage firm and while she didn't love her job, she was good at it. But it wasn't hard to leave and return, if only to help her Grandy take care of next steps. 

Those next steps aren't as easy as Natalie expects, when she finds out her Grandy owns the building and the bookstore, and will not sell, even after Natalie realizes they are deep in debt and behind on taxes. What's a bookstore manager to do, but try and build up the business with a huge author event that could help pay bills and give the store much needed advertising?

Natalie also meets Peach Gallagher, a local "hammer guy" who specializes in fixing old buildings. Her mother had arranged for Peach to fix a few things in the building, and Peach is one good looking man. He's also a really decent man, with an adorable daughter who frequents the bookstore. His friendly and calm attitude helps Natalie as she struggles between grief, understanding her grandfather's failing health, and the tough decisions she has to make. 

So we've got a few things running through this story: the struggle to save the bookstore, an ailing grandfather, a potential romance, and a story that's been handed down over the generations about a treasure that's hidden somewhere in the building, left by Grandy's grandmother, who died in the 1906 San Francisco earthquake. Is it just a fanciful story, or is there treasure lurking somewhere-treasure that could save the business?

I read this novel pretty quickly, and enjoyed it very much. No surprises, just a gentle unfolding of the story. I loved all the book references, and the peeks into what it takes to run a bookstore. Definitely a good vacation book!

This book is out in the U.S. on July 7th in hardcover, ebook, and audio. 

Rating: 4/6 for an enjoyable novel about life when it makes a few sharp turns, the importance of family, and of course, the life changing magic of books. Some parts made me a little teary-eyed, so you may need a tissue! 

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The Lost and Found Bookshop by Susan Wiggs