Trish’s Top 5 Star Reads for 2022

December is the month of the list. Best of this, worst of that, top fives, top tens, what to look forward to, what to let go of, you name it. So in the vein of reflection and for the sheer bandwagon-ing of it all, I’d like to make a list of my top 5 star reads for 2022. So in no particular order, here we go…

Firekeeper’s Daughter - Angeline Boulley 

So YA is not my go to. Yes, I can admit that the genre has some absolute gems, but overall it’s just that I like to “feel” my books a little more. Like if we are talking about grief, I want to feel gutted, if we are talking about love and relationships, I want to feel heady passion and the need to smoke a cigarette afterwards. And YA (obviously due to its intended audience) tends to be more surface level and muted on the exploration of some deeper themes.

But none of that was the case with Firekeeper’s Daughter. As our bookclub’s November pick, Firekeeper gave everything I needed and more. I learned so much about Ojibwe culture, was on the edge of my seat with some of the action and suspense, and was twisted in knots over whether Daunis and Jamie would get a HEA in the end. It was a very informative and emotional read and I highly recommend.

The Great Cities Duology - N.K. Jemisin

Anyone who knows me knows that I. Stan.The. Queen. N.K. Hard!! She is one of my favorite authors and The Broken Earth trilogy is one of my favorite series of all time periodt. She’s an autobuy for me, and I’ll tell you straight up that any review from me might be, could be, probably will be biased. *shrugs* Sue me.

Now with all that being said, many reviews described this series as a love letter to New York and I wholeheartedly agree. I read The City We Became and The World We Make back to back around the time of the latter’s release,  and I must say that as a native New Yorker, I loved them both!  N.K. captured the essence of New York so damn well from the nuanced differences between the boroughs, to the multi-layered history of the city all while giving us that blistering social commentary that just forces you to pause and think for a moment at certain parts. I’ll admit I was nervous of how these books would stand with the Broken Earth because iykyk, but  shame on me for ever doubting the Queen in the first place. N.K. sure showed me. So here’s to my favorite borough avatars - Bronca (duh bc I’m a Bronx girl) and Padmini to the world!!

Shadows of Otherside Series: The Huntress Cycle - Whitney Hill

It’s sitting in my drafts folder, but please know that there is a full Whitney Hill appreciation post coming down the pipeline. In the meantime, just know that from January to April of this year, Ms. Hill. Had. Me. In. A. Chokehold! Set in North Carolina, the Otherside is a fictional community in  an urban fantasy world where elves, vampires, weres, djinn, and all other magical beings live together with level 10 shenanigans nonstop.  I started with Elemental and completely fell in love with the main character Miss Arden Finch and could not stop until I finished her story some hundreds of pages and four books later. I rarely read series back to back like that, but from the the character development, to the world building, to the diversity rep, Whitney Hill became an auto-buy author for me and I’m currently digging the Otherside Heat series as well. 

What Storm, What Thunder - Myriam J.A. Chancy

This novel gutted me - in the best way possible. It centers around the 2010 Haiti Earthquake and its aftermath for several interconnected characters of various backgrounds, and I thoroughly loved the tender yet searing way the author wrote about all of the inner most lives of characters both past and present when the 7.0 magnitude shook. 

The Love Songs  of W.E.B Dubois - Honorée Fanonne Jeffers

A feminist Roots meets Homegoing family saga. That’s how I describe this one. Love Songs was a PHENOMENAL work that will take you through an entire roller coaster of emotions. I love a good family saga and this book takes the main character, Ailey Pearl, from the time she is three all the way to womanhood along with everything that comes in between. We also get the full story of her ancestors' lineage in a sort of alternative timeline from the main plot and it’s really cool to see when Ailey and her ancestors meet in the middle. Do yourself a favor and read this book. (Content/trigger warning for child sexual abuse). 

Witchful Thinking  - Celestine Martin

An enchanted town filled with magical black folk, and a loveable witch and merman who desperately need their HEA - well sign me up! Witchful Thinking was such a fun and cute read that’s perfect for fans of paranormal romance that want to see more diversity and representation. Simply put, this book was great. Celestine Martin was a new to me author this year and I will definitely be reading more of her work. 

Conjure Women - Afia Atakora

I can’t front, I picked up and put down this book many times before I found my groove with it. Now that’s not a statement on the book per se, but I think more about the head space I was in and the other books my poly-reader self was into at the time. But once I got settled in, the amazing writing and plot structure truly sucked me. Told in alternating timelines, the intertwined stories of Rue, Maybelle, Varina, and Bean just unfolds itself in such an unflinching yet poignant way that I kicked myself for not dedicating the proper headspace to it sooner. A truly well-written work.  

Daughters of the Stone - Dahlma Llanos-Figueroa

As someone who often struggles in my own relationship with my mother, I love reading stories centered on the mother-daughter dynamic and Daughters of the Stone does just that and more. Spanning five generations of Afro-Puerto Rican women from slavery times to the modern day, this novel tells the of the undying bond between mother and daughter and the ways in which that bond challenges yet also saves. I knew this book would be a personal favorite before the mid-point even and Dahlma Llanos-Figueroa is right up there on my top ten authors list. This work is a special indeed.  

So there you have it folx! Just a taste of some of my top reads this year (not all) because then this post would be even longer than it already it is, and a special shout-out to all those who have made it this far, I appreciate you truly. But here goes an honorable mention to the following books too:

Before I Let Go - Kennedy Ryan

The City of Brass - S. A. Chakraborty

Razorblade Tears - S.A. Crosby

Midnight Robber - Nalo Hopkinson

You Made A Fool of Death With. Your Beauty - Akwaeke Emezi

Olga Dies Dreaming - Xochitl Gonzalez

The Blood Trials - N. E. Davenport

Cazadora - Romina Garber

The Inheritance Trilogy - N.K. Jemisin