Hello everyone! It’s been a while, hasn’t it? About 9 months to be exact. Wow, that’s the longest I have gone without posting since I started my blog! I’ve done a lot in that time though. I started a new job working at an antique store, have directed 2 productions, and I finally had knee surgery. It’s been a whirlwind, but during that time I realized how much I missed writing and recording podcasts. So now that I just finished directing a production, I motivated myself to get back to writing and here I am! Now that I am back to one job, I made myself a schedule to work on my off days, so I can hopefully have a blog post and podcast episode up every Friday! To stay up to date about my posting schedule follow me on Instagram and Facebook.
Anyways, on to this week’s topic! My favorite reads of 2022 so far. I made it a goal for myself to read more this year. Last year, I found myself getting into a really bad habit of picking up my phone whenever I needed to fill time. So this year whenever I found myself going to reach for my phone, I grabbed my book! So far I’ve been able to read 15 books and I’m currently reading: Where the Crawdads Sing, The Truth of You, and The Goldfinch. Maybe by the time I post this, I’ll have one of those done! (I did in fact finish, Where the Crawdads Sing and it was phenomenal!)
Circe by Madeline Miller
-greek mythology
My first favorite read of the year is Circe by Madeline Miller. I am a big fan of Greek mythology, so this fictional take on the daughter of a Titan was right up my alley. Circe was born into the house of Helios but did not possess normal power, so she turned to mortals and discovered that she could hone witchcraft. This caused Zeus to banish her to a deserted island where she was no longer a “threat.”
Throughout the book, Circe interacts with many famous mythology figures including the Minotaur, Daedalus, Medea, and Odysseus. There is danger with witchcraft and she must finally decide if she belongs with the mortals or with the gods.
I am a huge fan of Greek mythology, but I have to admit that I don’t know many of the stories. I know all about Hades and Persephone from the musical Hadestown, and many of the gods from the Percy Jackson series. Besides that, I don’t know much. I really enjoyed this book because I was learning about the Titans of Greek mythology, which I know even less about. Even though this is a fictionalized take on the “true” stories it was great to learn about another mythological figure. I am really looking forward to reading the author’s other books and I currently have The Song of Achillies at the top of my TBR list!
The Sun Down Motel by Simone St. James
-paranormal mystery
I have been a big paranormal/true crime fan for a while now. My favorite podcast is just that. As much as I like to learn about that, reading mysteries was never my forté. However, recently, I have been recommended suspenseful/mystery books. I’ve really enjoyed the ones that I have read so far, this book included.
The Sun Down Motel is set in small-town New York and spans 2 different years, 35 years apart. The book follows Carly and her aunt Vivian’s story. Viv finds her way to the Sun Down Motel one night and starts working the night shift at the front desk, but mysteriously disappears one day. Carly goes to the same motel 35 years later to try and figure out what happened to her aunt. With twists, ghosts, and small-town stories this is a book I couldn’t put down. I’m excited to read more of these authors’ books, as I liked his writing style.
Tonight We Rule the World by Zack Smedley
-coming of age (TRIGGER WARNING: sexual assault)
This is a book that I knew nothing about when I started. My best friend and her fiance were reading the book together and I asked if I could join. The book follows Owen who is navigating his first love with Lily and building a friend group. Then one day his school finds out that he has been sexually assaulted by a classmate.
What follows is Owen coping with the fact that now everyone knows this secret. The one person that he doesn’t want to know this about him is his girlfriend Lily, but the truth can’t stay hidden forever.
I was really glad that I read this book with someone and that we could discuss everything as we read. I definitely needed that to get a grasp and understanding of what was happening. This is a very heavy read and I needed to read something really quick and light afterward.
Three Dark Crowns Series by Kendare Blake
-young adult fantasy
This is technically a 4 book series, but instead of writing about the individual books, I am just going to lump them together. This is a series that I have had on my TBR (to be read) pile for quite a few years. When I was looking through my TBR shelves for something new to read this series jumped out to me. This is a young adult fantasy that follows the 3 queens of Fennibirn, a magical unknown island. The first book follows the 3 queens honing their own magical powers where after their 16th birthday they will have to fight each other to become the Queen Crowned. The last queen standing gets the crown.
I really liked this series, but it did take me a little while to get into it. Although once I got hooked I read the rest of the books in the series pretty quickly!
Verity by Colleen Hoover
-suspenseful thriller with a love story (18+)
The most recent book I read and my last favorite read is Verity by Colleen Hoover. This book had been recommended through Instagram videos for a long time now. I had a gift card to my local bookshop and they had this book and I decided to give it a read. Wow, this book deserves all of the hype and popularity it is getting. It is a suspenseful thriller with a love story. The story follows Lowen Ashleigh who is hired by a best-selling author’s husband and publishers to finish her book series after she is severely injured. Lowen finds herself staying at their house and discovering that everything is not as it seems. This story is definitely for an older audience as there were some graphic scenes.
This book had one twist after another and I could not put it down! This is my first Colleen Hoover book, but I think she usually writes emotional love stories, but this book was incredibly well written. I’m excited to read more of her books and I hope she writes more suspense someday!
Honorable Mentions
I have two books that I liked, but they weren’t my favorite reads, but I still thought I should mention them. The first one is In Five Years by Rebecca Serle. Essentially the main character finds herself 5 years in the future for a period of time and then wakes up back in the present. I went into this book thinking it was a love story, but it was SAD. It was a love story, but not in the normal sense. There was also a twist that I didn’t expect, but because of personal experience, it was really hard to read about. Besides the twist, I did really enjoy the book and liked the authors writing style.
The other book is The Guardian by Nicholas Sparks. This is another book that I’ve had on my TBR list for a really long time. My cousin has been telling me to read this book for a while and I now understand why. It is not a normal Nicholas Sparks book in the emotional sappy sense. It is suspenseful and unexpected. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and read it pretty quickly!
Thank you all for reading and continuing to support me even after a 9 month break. I hope some of these books find their way onto your TBR pile! Let me know in the comments if you’ve read any of these books. If you’re looking for more book recommendations check out other Renée’s Reads here.
As always, please check out my podcast, An Eclectic Place where this week I talked about the History of Easter Egg Hunts. You can also follow me on Instagram and Facebook. I even taught myself how to make reels on Instagram, where I’ll be posting about books, traveling, and everything in between. I never realized how hard those were to make, it took me a good while just to make one about books! You can also sign up to be on my email list by adding your email to the pop-up on my website. Hopefully, you’ll hear from me next week and not in 9 months! Happy Easter!
Take care and stay safe,
Renée