2022 Favorite Reads & 23 Top 2023 Romance

What's on Your Never-Ending TBR?

I’m proud to share that I met my reading goal this year with 88 books read in 2022. My goal was to read 84 which means I just met and exceeded by a few.

My goal for next year will be quite a bit lower because I have a baby coming towards the end of April and I want to be realistic about how much reading I’ll actually have time for and not be disappointed in myself. My reading goal for 2023 is to read 60 books; I’m going with the assumption that I’ll read an average of 7 per month before baby arrives and hopefully at least 4 per month post birth.

Doing a monthly wrap up of books read is not something I’ve been consistent at doing but I do enjoy making a list of my favorites. I didn’t decide on favorites each month which would have made it easy to narrow down to my top 12, so instead I’m just going to go for it and make a list of my favorite 4.5 and 5 star reads.

I’m not a huge fan of picking a favorite each month because I had some months where every single book was a 4.5 or 5 and I had tons of contenders for favorites. On the flip side, I had some months where everything was a 4.0 or lower and I didn’t have anything that was worthy of being a favorite.

Many of the books I read this year were published in 2022 but some were backlist books. That’s my other big reading goal for next year. I want to read more from my physical TBR shelves of books I already own; My secondary reading goal for 2023 is to read a minimum of 2 books per month that I already own.

It’s too difficult to truly pinpoint favoring one great read over another, so the lists below of my 4.5 and 5 Star picks are simply listed in the order in which I read them this year.

At no cost to you I receive a commission for items purchased through links.

My Favorite Reads of 2022

5 Star Fiction Favorites

1. Weather Girl by Rachel Lynn Solomon

2. The Siren of Sussex by Mimi Matthews

3. Mr. Wrong Number by Lynn Painter

4. Set On You by Amy Lea

5. Book Lovers by Emily Henry

6. Maggie Moves On by Lucy Score

7. The Beach Trap by Ali Brady

8. The Hookup Plan (Boyfriend Project #3) by Farrah Rochon

9. The Bodyguard by Katherine Center

10. In the Shadow Garden by Liz Parker

    • If I had to pick only one favorite from 2022, it would be this debut novel. Such a wonderful treat!

11. The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandanna

5 Star Non-Fiction Favorites

1. Hold On But Don’t Hold Still by Kristina Kuzmic

2. Reasons to Stay Alive by Matt Haig

3. Feeding the Soul by Tabitha Brown

4. I Want to Thank You by Gina Hamadey

4.5 Star Fiction Favorites

1. Love & Other Disasters by Anita Kelly

2. Butterfly Sisters by Jenny Hale

3. Sadie on a Plate by Amanda Elliot

4. Go Hex Yourself (#1) by Jessica Clare

5. Falling for You (#3) by Barb Curtis

6. Every Summer After by Carley Fortune

7. All Fired Up by Dylan Newton

8. The Stand-In by Lily Chu

9. This Way Out by Tufayel Ahmed

10. Just Another Love Song by Kerry Winfrey

11. The Midnight Library by Matt Haig

12. Season of Love by Helena Greer

13. A Very Merry Bromance by Lyssa Kay Adams

14. Kiss Her Once For Me by Alison Cochrun

15. Improbably Yours by Kerry Anne King

4.5 Star Non-Fiction Favorites

1. What to Say When You Talk to Yourself by Shad Helmstetter Ph.D

2. Greenlights by Matthew McConaughey

3. It’s Not What It Looks Like by Molly Burke

4. Why We Cook by Lindsay Gardner

5. Healthy As F*ck by Oonagh Duncan

6. The High 5 Habit by Mel Robbins

7. Caffeine by Michael Pollan

8. The Spanx Story by Charlie Wetzel

9. Undaunted by Kara Goldin

10. I’m Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy

Of course, I can’t ignore all of the amazing books coming out in 2023! I’ve made a list of my top picks I’m most excited about. Hoping to get advanced copies of most of these but will definitely be buying the ones I’m not lucky enough to snag from the publishers!

23 Anticipated Romance Books of 2023

1. Exes and O’s (#2) by Amy Lea - January 10th

2. Lunar Love by Lauren King Jesse - January 10th

3. The Reunion by Kayla Olson - January 17th

4. Sorry, Bro by Taleen Voskuni - January 31st

5. Behind the Scenes by Karelia Stetz-Waters - January 31st  

6. Not Your Exes Hexes (#2) by April Asher - February 7th

7. Take the Lead (Dance Off #1) by Alexis Daria - February 14th

8. Best Served Hot by Amanda Elliot - February 21st

9. Ana Takes Manhattan by Lissette Decos - February 28th

10. Something Wild & Wonderful by Anita Kelly - March 7th

11. Mr. & Mrs. Witch by Gwenda Bond - March 7th  

12. The Love Wager by Lynn Painter - March 14th

13. Love and Other Flight Delays by Denise Williams - March 14th

14. What the Hex (#2) by Jessica Clare - April 4th

15. Yours Truly by Abby Jimenez - April 11th

16. Happy Place by Emily Henry - April 25th

17. You Chive Me Crazy by Rich Amooi - April 30th

18. Meet Me at the Lake by Carley Fortune - May 2nd

19. The Comeback Summer by Ali Brady - May 9th

20. Business or Pleasure by Rachel Lynn Solomon - June 20th

21. Hello Stranger by Katherine Center - July 11th

22. A Change of Plans by Dylan Newton - August 1st

23. Kissing Kosher by Jean Meltzer - August 29th

What were some of your favorite reads this year? What are you most looking forward to reading next year?