Hello Readers, welcome back to my blog. I hope we are all doing great.

2022 was one of my best reading year because I was on maternity so one of my challenges for this year is to read 12 books which will be one book per month. That’s a story for another day though, for now let us look at the best and the worst reads of 2022. We’ll start with the worst because I always like to leave on a high note so the best will come last.

Worst reads of 2022

Hunter Yee has perfect aim with a bow and arrow, but all else in his life veers wrong. He’s sick of being haunted by his family’s past mistakes. The only things keeping him from running away are his little brother, a supernatural wind, and the bewitching girl at his new high school.

Luna Chang dreads the future. Graduation looms ahead, and her parents’ expectations are stifling. When she begins to break the rules, she finds her life upended by the strange new boy in her class, the arrival of unearthly fireflies, and an ominous crack spreading across the town of Fairbridge.

As Hunter and Luna navigate their families’ enmity and secrets, everything around them begins to fall apart. All they can depend on is their love… but time is running out, and fate will have its way.

The king is dead, his queen is missing. On the amber coast, the usurper king is driving Zavonia to the brink of war. A dangerous magical power is rising up in Biela Miasto, and the only people who can set things right are a failed bodyguard, a Landstrider witch, and the assassin who set off the whole sorry chain of events.

Valdas, Captain of the High Guard, has not only failed in his duty to protect the king, but he’s been accused of the murder, and he’s on the run. He’s sworn to seek justice, but his king sets him another task from beyond the grave. Valdas doesn’t believe in magic, which is unfortunate as it turns out.

Mirza is the healer-witch of a Landstrider band, valued and feared in equal measure for her witchmark, her scolding tongue, and her ability to walk the spirit world. When she’s given a task by Valdas’ dead king, she believes that the journey she must take is one she can never return from.

Lind is the clever assassin. Yes, someone paid him to kill the king, but who is to blame, the weapon or the power behind it? Lind must face his traumatic past if he’s to have a future.

Can these three discover the real villain, find the queen, and set the rightful king on the throne before the country is overcome?

Mysterious. Hidden. Sacred. Erabel is the beating heart of Dorcha Wood. And its heir has come home.

Fleeing the man who betrayed her, Fiadh returns to her beloved forest, into its heart, to discover her people. And herself. With the aid of Caelan, an Aos Sí warrior, she explores her birthright, a world safeguarded from the corruption of mankind. There, she learns the history of a mighty race and the vastness of the power coursing through her blood.

But beyond Erabel’s boundaries, men are flocking, rallying to an evil lord who covets the strength flowing in Fiadh’s veins. They have their eyes fixed on the lost kingdom of the Aos Sí, and it’s only a matter of time before they breach those borders and come for Fiadh and all who protect her.

All around her, the world is closing in, as some plot in shadows, and others in the stark light of day.

I am the prisoner of a rich, handsome demon. I should be plotting my escape, but it seems my heart has other plans…
Alana

I quit college for a year to work as a mechanic in my grandfather’s garage. I never counted on a billionaire’s car getting stolen there. Now ‘Zeke’ Zabresky is holding me hostage until his precious car is found. He’s an angry, violent, mob boss; with gray eyes that sparkle like diamonds and rock-hard abs that invade my dreams. I will resist and escape if it is the last thing I do! But do I really want to….

Zeke

I was born into the mob and recruited by Lucifer to guard the gates of hell. I take what I want whenever I want. And what I want right now is Alana Hernandez, in my bed and submitting to my will. She thinks she can escape me, but no one gets away from Ezekiel Zabresky. I will bend her to my will and make her mine.

As the coveted Russian mafia princess, I have lived my entire life locked away.
I have felt pain and cruelty at my own father’s hand.

Now I will marry the Italian Mafia’s Capo, Alessio to unite our two families.

From the very first night he showed me brutality I should be used to by now.

I’m haunted by the past and now the present.

If he thinks I will break so easily, he’s mistaken.
I have lived among monsters my entire life.

I will survive.

Best reads of 2022

Kingdom of the Wicked trilogy

5/5 stars

Two sisters.
One brutal murder.
A quest for vengeance that will unleash Hell itself…
And an intoxicating romance.

Emilia and her twin sister Vittoria are streghe – witches who live secretly among humans, avoiding notice and persecution. One night, Vittoria misses dinner service at the family’s renowned Sicilian restaurant. Emilia soon finds the body of her beloved twin…desecrated beyond belief. Devastated, Emilia sets out to find her sister’s killer and to seek vengeance at any cost—even if it means using dark magic that’s been long forbidden.

Then Emilia meets Wrath, one of the Wicked—princes of Hell she has been warned against in tales since she was a child. Wrath claims to be on Emilia’s side, tasked by his master with solving the series of women’s murders on the island. But when it comes to the Wicked, nothing is as it seems…

No one dreams of starting a war.
But without a fight there can be no revolution…

I used to protect lives. Now I’ve ended more than I’ve saved. But after being betrayed by the humans I trusted, I have no choice but to fight.

And the battle has begun.

With the truth of my fae heritage exposed, the line between friend and foe is blurred. The human and fae councils are out for blood and will stop at nothing until I, my mate, and my rebel allies are defeated.

If we lose the war, everything I’m fighting for—love, freedom, the fae I’ve sworn to protect—will be destroyed. At least there’s one thing my enemies have underestimated…

Deathless series by Namina Forna

4/5 stars

Sixteen-year-old Deka lives in fear and anticipation of the blood ceremony that will determine whether she will become a member of her village. Already different from everyone else because of her unnatural intuition, Deka prays for red blood so she can finally feel like she belongs.

But on the day of the ceremony, her blood runs gold, the color of impurity–and Deka knows she will face a consequence worse than death.

Then a mysterious woman comes to her with a choice: stay in the village and submit to her fate, or leave to fight for the emperor in an army of girls just like her. They are called alaki–near-immortals with rare gifts. And they are the only ones who can stop the empire’s greatest threat.

Knowing the dangers that lie ahead yet yearning for acceptance, Deka decides to leave the only life she’s ever known. But as she journeys to the capital to train for the biggest battle of her life, she will discover that the great walled city holds many surprises. Nothing and no one are quite what they seem to be–not even Deka herself.

The Doyenne is dead, and the throne is empty.

Iraya, her revenge taken and magic unfettered, turns her sights on a bigger goal: freeing Aiyca for the Obeah. But first she must shed the guise of the rogue warrior and become the Lost Empress her people need.

Jazmyne has crowned herself the doyenne and is prepared to go to extreme lengths—and court ruthless danger—to prove to her people she deserves the throne.

But there is more at stake than Jazmyne or Iraya know: a new threat is awakening on the other side of the island that could destroy everything they’ve been fighting for.

Trust is scarce, and betrayal a breath away. But Iraya and Jazmine once again find themselves turning to each other—after all, better the witch you know than the nightmare you don’t.

If you are interested in reading any of the above books, you can purchase them using the links below:

Waterstones (UK) – https://tidd.ly/3prSyR7

Book depository (Free worldwide shipping) – https://tidd.ly/3FvdFrh

Audible (audio books) –  https://tidd.ly/3EtH3gz

You can also support me by buying me a cup of coffee – https://ko-fi.com/book_latte_kech

Psalm 40:5 Lord my God, you have done many amazing thing! You have made great plans for us – too many to list. I could talk on and on about them, because there are too many to count.