August 05, 2022

Books I've Read In 2022 So Far!

You may not know this about me but apart from beauty, I love reading! This post is going to be slightly different from what I usually post but I know I'm not the only one out there also obsessed with books. At the beginning of 2022, I started the Goodreads book challenge and I challenged myself to read 50 books in a year, I haven't gotten off to the best start as I've only gotten through 7 but I'm back in my reading stage so I think I'll make it! In today's post, I'll be sharing with you the books I have read so far this year and some of the books I've got on my read list! 

No spoilers here!

My Lovely Wife 

How well do you know the person you love most? 

Their life was just like yours. Nice house, great kids, the perfect life. 

But they have a very dark secret.

You might think you've read stories like this before. 

You're wrong. 

This was one of the first books of 2022 that I read. I was looking on Goodreads for some inspiration and came across this book that just caught my eye. I liked that the synopsis didn't give too much away about the book and it actually made me want to pick it up and read it. I didn't really know what to expect when I read this book but it definitely wasn't what I thought it was going to end up to be. You will sense a theme with the type of books I like to read, they are mainly thriller mystery books and this one is definitely that. This was one of those books that I couldn't put down, I had to keep reading to see what happened next. The characters kept me hooked and the ending definitely wasn't expected! 

Sharp Objects 

When two girls are killed in Missouri, journalist Camille Preaker is sent back to her home town to report on the crimes.

Long-haunted by her childhood tragedy and estranged from her mother for years, Camille suddenly finds herself installed once again in her family's mansion, reacquainting herself with her distant mother and the half-sister she barely knows - a precocious 13-year-old who holds a disquieting grip on the town. 

As Camille works to discover the truth about these violent crimes, she finds herself identifying with the young victims - a bit too strongly. Clues keep leading to dead ends, forcing Camille to unravel the psychological puzzle of her own past to get to the story. Dogged by her own demons, Camille will have to confront what happened to her years before if she wants to survive this homecoming. 

I first decided that I wanted to read this book because I was obsessed with Gone Girl, I did watch the movie before reading the book but I loved them both so I had to give another book by Gillian Flynn another go. Whenever I'm looking for a new book I go straight onto Goodreads and read some of the non-spoiler reviews and this book had some really great reviews. I got stuck into this book right away and there's drama right from the start which I really love because I hate when it takes me ages to get into a book. The characters in this book are very complex and interesting and that is one reason why I loved this book. If your looking to read something that makes you gasp at the end because of the twist then this is definitely the book for you. I have another one of Gillian Flynn's books next on my list, Dark Places!

The Family Upstairs 

In a large house in London's fashionable Chelsea, a baby is awake in her cot. Well fed and cared for, she is happily waiting for someone to pick her up. 

In the kitchen lie three decomposing corpses. Close to them is a hastily scrawled note. They've been dead for several days.

Who has been looking after the baby? And where did they go? 

Two entangled families. A house with the darkest of secrets. 

This is one of the most recent books I've read and it definitely didn't disappoint in the shock department. What I thought was going to happen when I first started reading definitely isn't how this book ended up and that is one reason why I really enjoyed reading it. Each chapter is written from a different character's perspective and through the book, you see how their stories mesh together. When reading the blurb it doesn't give much away which I did like because I was really going in blind, I read a few reviews on this book and they were a bit mixed, overall they were good but a few said this book could be confusing, which I did get at first but as the book went on the pieces fit together. When I first started reading this book I didn't know that there was a sequel so now I know what I'm reading next!

Fifty Fifty 

Two sisters on trial for murder. They cause each other. 

Who do YOU believe?

'911 what's your emergency?'

'My dad's dead. My sister Sofia killed him. She's still in the house. Please send help.'

'My dad's dead. My sister Alexandra killed him. She's still in the house Please send help.'

One of them is a liar and a killer.

But which one? 

The back of this book drew me in straight away. I love a thriller book but a also love good whodunit-type books. Throughout reading this whole book I was trying to find out which sister was the killer and closer to the last few chapters I did get it right. This book has a lot of twists along the way and it is pretty dark but it's also a book that makes you want to keep reading to find out the truth. It usually takes me a while to read a book because I don't have too much time to read but this book I finished in a matter of days because I couldn't put it down. I found this book when I was browsing in The Works with no intention of buying anything but I couldn't resist once I read the blurb. If you love a whodunit-style book then definitely give Firty Firty a read. 

One In Three 

Both of them loved him. One of them killed him...

Louise has had to watch her husband, Andrew, start a new family in the four years since he left her. The 'other woman' is now his wife - but Louise isn't ready to let Caz enjoy the life that was once hers, or to let go of the man she still loves.  

As Louise starts to dig into Caz's past, the two woman's pretence of civility starts to slip. But in trying to undermine each other, they discover more about the man they both married. 

And when Andrew is murdered at a family party, both women are found standing over the body. 

This book is up there as one of my favourite books that I've read this year so far. I love this book because you really don't expect what happens in the end, it's a real twist on the classic whodunit and that's one of my favourite parts of this book. When you read this book you don't really know which wife to root for, in one chapter you're all for the ex-wife then you read another and your opinion switches and it stays that way until you find out who killed the husband at the end of the book. This book also goes starts right into the drama which is what I love, I hate books that start off really slow, if they do I lose interest quickly. This was another book that I couldn't put down, I had to keep reading to find out what really happened and with all the drama along the way. This book is definitely a 5/5! 

The Nurse 

When you hear her story, will you believe her? Rose Marlowe is a hard-working nurse, a loving wife, and a merciless killer. Or so she says. Despite her confession, it is hard to believe that this beautiful, kind woman could have killed her vulnerable patient in cold blood.

Down-on-his-luck true crime author Theo Hazel is convinced that there's more to what happened than Rose is telling, and so decides to visit her behind bars to write her story. His first surprise comes when rose reveals that the victim was not a stranger to her. 

As time goes on, it seems that Rose is letting Theo see behind her perfect mask. With each new visit, he learns terrible new things about her heart-breaking past. With each new visit, he becomes more and more convinced that she can't be a killer. But is he trying to free an innocent woman, or falling pretty to a calculating murderer?

This was one of the books that I read on holiday, I love reading on holiday, when I'm sitting by the pool with a cocktail I could read for hours. This book was a real page-turner, I read this book in two days just sitting on a sun lounger. Looking at it you would think that the blurb of this book would give quite a lot away but there are quite a few twists and turns in this book so you never really know how it's going to end until it gets there which I really liked. I did find that this book could be a little confusing as it does go back in time quite a bit and there are also a lot of characters to remember but it all comes together really nicely in the end. It took me a little longer to get into the book at the start but once the story started to develop I couldn't it down. This story is sad but also dark and is a really good psychological thriller that I would definitely give a sold 4/5.

We are all liars 

We're best friends.

We trust each other. 

But...

We are all liars. 

Allie, Stacie, Diana, Emily and Gail have been by each other's side for as long as they can remember. The Fierce Five. Best friends forever. But growing up has meant growing apart. And little white lies have grown into devastating secrets. 

When Gail invites the increasingly estranged friends to reunite at her Scottish cabin, it could be the opportunity to mend old wounds and heal the cracks in their friendship. But when a freak snowstorm rocks the cabin and one of the girls is found dead on the ice, their weekend away becomes a race against time - and each other - to get off the mountain alive. 

And in the end, whose story can you trust when everything was founded on lies, to begin with? 

As soon as I read the back of this book I was interested! This is the other book that I took on holiday with me and it's another one that I read so quickly. Throughout reading this book there was so much drama going on it I couldn't put it down I had to keep reading to find out what else was going to happen. A lot happens in this book and there is a lot of going back a forth in time so you need to have your full attention on the book or you may get a bit confused but I really enjoyed this about the book as it gave more clarity to the characters. I really didn't know where this book was going and even at the end, it was left on a bit of a cliffhanger which I usually hate but quite enjoyed in this book. This one is definitely for someone who loves reading mystery thriller books!

Books on my to-read list: 

• The Perfect Family Man 
• The Family Remains
• The Paris Apartment 
• People We Meet On Vacation 
• The Girl Upstairs 

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Overall I think I've loved every book that I've read so far this year and I need to start reading a little faster if I want to reach my 50 books a year goal! What books have you read so far this year? 

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Aaliyah xo