Horror, romance, contemporary, young adult, fantasy, psychological thriller, and more – 2022 was filled with all these genres, books, debut authors, awarded books, and more. In this article, we are going to look at 10 must-read recommendations of 2022 by Gobookmart. So, if you have not read any one of these books, you must add them to your to-read list. Happy reading!
10 Must-Read Recommendations of 2022 by Gobookmart
Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. John Mandel
18-year-old Edwin is exiled from polite society as he crosses the Atlantic. He gets spellbound as he enters the Canadian wilderness and suddenly hears a violin tune in an airship terminal. This experience shocks him to his core. Two centuries later popular writer Olive Llewellyn is on a tour. Her home is the second moon colony and she is traveling all over Earth for her book tour. In her pandemic novel, there is a mention of a man experiencing what Edwin did. When detective Gaspery Jacques Roberts is hired for an anomaly in the wilderness of North America, he discovers – an exiled son, a writer trapped during a pandemic, and his friend, who like Gaspery, has viewed the opportunity to disrupt the timeline.
Reminders of Him by Colleen Hoover
Kenna Rowan returns after four years of imprisonment to make things right and reunite with her four-year-old daughter. However, the bridge seems to be impossible to rebuild. All the people in her daughter’s life are resolute to keep her away from Kenna. A local bar owner Ledger is the only person who has not shut the door for Kenna yet. He is the only hope and remaining link between her and her daughter. Gradually, Ledger becomes a significant part of Kenna’s life despite the pressure surrounding their existence.
The Maid by Nita Prose
Molly Gray is unusual. She misreads the intentions of people and struggles with her social skills. Her gran used to simplify the rules of the world for her. Since gran died a few months ago, Molly is navigating the complications of life herself. She throws herself into her job as a maid at the Regency Grand Hotel; fortunately, her obsession with cleanliness and perfection helps her. When the affluent Charles Black dies in his bed, Molly’s unusual attitude makes her the prime suspect. Luckily a friend that she never knew she had helps her with searching for the clues. However, will they be successful to find the real killer while there is time?
How High We Go in the Dark by Sequoia Nagamatsu
2030, an archeologist arrives in the Arctic Circle to continue the work of his recently dead daughter at the Batagaika crater. This is the place where researchers are studying secrets now unraveled, including the body of a girl who died due to an ancient virus. This Arctic plague will reshape the existence of people and upcoming generations. Based on this particular event, the story revolves around the lives of a few characters.
To Paradise by Hanya Yanagihara
In an alternate version of America in 1983, NY is part of the Free States and people are free to love who they want and live how they wish, or so it seems. The young and vulnerable heir of a notable family rejects a worthy suitor for a handsome music teacher of no means. In Manhattan in 1993, during the AIDS epidemic, a young Hawaiian man resides with his much older partner concealing his past. 2093 – a world drowned in plagues and governed by totalitarians, a damaged granddaughter of a powerful scientist tries to navigate life without him and get to the bottom of her husband’s abrupt disappearance.
Book Lovers by Emily Henry
Nora Stephen’s life is books and she has read a lot. However, she is not the laidback dream girl sweetheart heroine. She is a heroine for her clients as a literary agent and her little sister Libby. When Libby insists on a trip to Sunshine Falls, North Carolina, she doesn’t refuse. Nora keeps bumping into a bookish brooding editor, Charlie Lastra from back in the city. Nora knows she is not the ideal heroine and Charlie knows he is no one’s hero. What happens when they keep meeting each other coincidentally?
Fairy Tale by Stephen King
Charlie Reade looks like a regular perfect kid who carries a heavy load behind the portrayal of perfection. His mum was killed when he was ten and his father found escape through alcohol. When he is seventeen, he meets Howard Bowditch, a big dog in a massive house on the hilltop. The backyard of his bog house has a locked shed with odd sounds as if some creature is trying to escape. When Howard dies, he leaves Charlie the house, a cassette tape with unbelievable stories, a massive amount of gold, and a responsibility that is too much for his age.
Young Mungo by Douglas Stuart
Mungo and James are born in different universes. James is a Catholic and Mungo is a Protestant. If they are to be referred to as men, they have to knife on the neck kind of enemies. However, against all odds, they became best friends and fell in love. They dream of a home where they belong. Mungo conceals his true self from everyone, especially his gangster brother Hamish. When his mother sends him on a fishing trip, he witnesses and listens to the past of two drunken companions. Mungo realizes that he needs to gather all his inner strength to get a place of safety for James and himself where both of them can have a future.
The Marriage Portrait by Maggie O’Farrell
Florence, 1550s – The third of the grand duke, Lucrezia is comfortable in the palazzo. She is free to devote herself to her artistic quests, wonder at its treasures, and observe its clandestine workings. After the death of her sister, Lucrezia was compelled to get familiar with the custom of marriage. And, the most mystifying aspect of it all is her husband, Alfonso. Is he even a playfully sophisticated aesthete of musicians and artists, or a ruthless politician who is feared by his formidable sisters? And, then there are the duties of being the new duchess.
Black Cake by Charmaine Wilkerson
Eleanor Bennett’s death leaves behind a perplexing inheritance for Byron and Benny, her two children. It includes a black cake made from a long-time family recipe and a voice recording. In the recording, she shares a turbulent tale about a willful young swimmer who escapes her island residence under suspicion of murder. The siblings thought they knew things about their lineage however, this leaves a mystery. Will Byron and Benny fulfill Eleanor’s request and share the black when the time is perfect?