Books of 2022, Indie Published Edition
The year 2022 has been a very up and down year. I’ve had many challenges and read many books. I’ve not read one that I disliked this year, but these are some of the few that stood out the most. From the way they were written, edited, and to their covers, these books left an impression on me. I look forward to reading more that plan to be published next year. Speaking of which, if you're an author reading this, let me know if you have one coming out in the future and I'll add it to my list to read. One can never have too many books.
The first book I want to talk about is the book I placed at number ten, Sirens and Leviathans (Reign of Goddesses Book 2 by C.D. Britt. This is a book I signed up to help promote for release. It was an excellent read and can be read out of order from the others in the series. Each book focuses on one Goddess and her place in the world. I was fascinated by the imagery and the issues the world faced. This one focused on the topic of pollution and it made stop and think about how we as people effect that. The sea was slowly being turned into the dark waters which could kill an individual or change them into something different. Super scary how realistic the issue was. I also loved the cover of this book.
Something I liked in this book were the two main characters and the way they interacted with each other. One new who she was and what she needed to to while the other who had previously been famous was struggling with his identity. He didn't want to accept that he was part Titan. This made it difficlut for hime to help the Goddess during the story but everything turned out fine in the end.
My number nine book is Irresistible Monstrosities by AJ Mullican. This book was addictive and I devoured it. It was super spicy and featured several supernatural beings from gargoyles, dragons, and krakens. It was told from different POV’s but flowed well. I loved Kellar’s personality in the story. She was the lead female character. She meets her new supe friends when they kidnap her in an effort to escape the cops. All they wanted to do was make a bank withdrawal, but someone got a little too freaked out.
I loved how each of the males wanted to dote on Keller and claim her as their own before working something out between themselves when it came to her. She proved to be quite fearless in the face of danger and it was interesting how she used her influence toward the end to change peoples opinions.
Number eight was a fantastic read, A Machine of Blood: The Full Life of a Robot 2 by J. T. Moriarty. I loved the cover and W-ix’s personality. W-ix is a highly intelligent robot and is one of three with some unknown purpose in her world. She has to steal her information unlike one of her fellow robots but unlike them, she has feelings. The story follows her as she shares episodes of her life. She’s a chaotic and unorganized robot but entertaining. She helps robot one discover himself and the friendship they form is sweet. She has a personal purpose in this book which she accidentally accomplishes but her real purpose in the world remains a mystery. Why are she and the other two robots different from the rest that were created?
Seriously and addicting series by one of my fellow authors. I'm glad I picked up his first book when I did because not only has this author turned out to be a good friend but an excellent writer.
Book number seven was another one I enjoyed that doesn’t fit into my usual genre. The Rat King: A Book of Dark Poetry by Sumiko Saulson seemed to speak to me as I read it. I easily understood the underlying emotions with this author’s work and several of the poems fascinated me. It’s not often that I find poems that truly call to me but many of the ones in this book did. I found it interesting how many of them tied things that frequently happen in our world into a fluid easy to read poem. I hope others pick up this book and understand how much of an influence we have on those around us.
Number six was on a different level than some of the others mentioned above. This is the second book in a series I started in 2021. Endeavor’s Run is Book 1 in the Hope Prophecy series by Tobin Marks. I was given the opportunity to read its prequel and this one from the author who is an amazing gentleman. His work is out of this world. This is a science fiction novel based on a group of individuals who left earth to save humanity right before the people fell into a world war where nuclear weapons wiped the face of the earth. Only those who dug deep into the ground and created an underground living system lived. The people of the new planet had to start from scratch and build a new life without technology at first. They also had the use of dragons. It is a fascinating read, and I can’t wait to grab this author’s next book.
Now we are moving into the top 5. If you watched the episode on Go Indie Now, This Year in Indies 2022, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DtnWF1i_E48, you will know these already. If you haven’t seen it be sure to give it a watch and check out what books my coworkers enjoyed from the year as well as music and movies. I’m not much of a movie watcher and I suck at finding Indie music artist but might add that as something to do in the coming years.
Number five for me is another book of poetry, Roses and Ashes: Poems About Feminism and Sexism, Love and Hate by A. F. Stewart. Talk about speaking to me. Almost every poem in this collection resonated with me and brought up memories from the past. It really made me stop and think how much our world has changed regarding women and what’s still lacking. It also touched on many topics that I’ve gotten on a soap box to chat with others about. For real this collection is my top favorite poetry collection of all time at the moment and definitely for the year.
Number four is the first of a book series I sat, and binge read all in one week. Daunting Darkness: A Supernatural Cozy Mystery (Paige Papillon Paranormal Mysteries Book 1) by Lily Luchesi was f