Editorial Articles, Writing/Articles

Goodys.Blog’s Top 10 Books of 2022!

Hey readers!

Once again another year draws to a close and that means it’s also time to come out with the annual list of the top books that have been read over here on this blog too!

2022 has been a strange year to say the least when it comes to books, and part of it feel like it’s because towards the end here I’m feeling kind of burnt out with Fantasy-genre titles…but the thing is I don’t WANT to be! It feels like a breakup that you’re trying everything in your power to not have happen, but part of you also just feels like maybe you need to take a break and recoup later on?…Just try and pretend that makes sense for my sanity.

Despite my seemingly falling out with whimsical tales of fae and magical realms, one thing that will always remain is my appreciation for those SPICY romance titles! I love some extra flavoring in my books, and I can confirm that most if not all my reading choices this year definitely included some of that, some more than others!

Without further ado, below is the list of my top reads of 2022, and they are in no particular order.

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1. The Extracurricular Activities Trilogy: by Neve Wilder

What a steamy trilogy this was! By far the best MM romance books I’ve read this year, and Neve Wilder definitely gained a fan in me with these! They’re a quick, hot and totally sexy college romance trilogy if you’re at all interested! And trust me, you should be.

To see my review of book #1 – Want Me – Click HERE

To see my review of book #2 – Try Me – Click HERE

To see my review of book #3 – Show Me – Click HERE

To see my Fancast/Dreamcast for the whole trilogy – Click HERE

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2. The Ravenhood Trilogy: by Kate Stewart

Flock was pretty good, but oh man is Exodus a wake up call, like WOW does a whole lot happen in that book and it takes you on a whirlwind of a ride! I was warned, and while I wasn’t a weeping mess I definitely was in a major book hangover after all that after reading…which is ironic considering I read these to try and get over another book hangover!

To see my review of book #1 – Flock – Click HERE

To see my review of book #2 – Exodus – Click HERE

To see my review of book #3 – Finish Line – Coming Soon!

3. Tricky Magic Series (Not Complete): by L.L. Campbell

This is a fun and steamy paranormal romance series that’s come out recently, and it’s been really fun to get to know the author on #bookstagram too! The plot feels more of a character-driven story, but a major highlight are the steamier scenes, and the author does an incredible job of adding some paranormal flair to them as well. See for yourself why the MMC is referred to as “Shadow Daddy.”

To see my review of book #1 – Tricky Magic – Click HERE

To see my review of book #2 – Tricky Princess – Click HERE

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4. Hook, Line, and Sinker: by Tessa Bailey

This was a great sequel to “It Happened One Summer” that I read in a single day! It didn’t have as much of a “Schitts Creek” feel to it, but the romance so easily swept me away and I couldn’t put it down until I finished it! Tessa Bailey definitely gained a fan in me over these books! And I also really like how they appear sweet and innocent with these covers, but have some steam to them too!

To see my review of Hook, Line, & Sinker – Click HERE

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5. These Wicked Lies: by Miranda Joy

This was an impressive debut novel from an author I’ve gotten to know on #bookstagram as well, and while she herself is a total sweetheart, her book definitely shows a darker tone full of twists and turns and questioning of who to trust…It’s a lush, exotic island setting with soul stealing magic, and with how this book ends, PLENTY of sexy thrills!

To see my review of These Wicked Lies – Click HERE

To see my Fancast/Dreamcast of the series so far – Click HERE

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6. House of Sky and Breath: by Sarah J. Maas

Absolutely zero surprise that an SJM book is on my list…I mean, do I really need to explain why on this one?

To see my review of House of Sky and Breath – Click HERE

To see my Fancast/Dreamcast of the series so far – Click HERE

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7. The War of Two Queens: by Jennifer L. Armentrout

This book is the fourth installment in the popular “From Blood and Ash” series, but upon its release received some MAJOR controversy…I go more into the specifics in my review that you can click and see below, but I can say this was still a thrilling addition to this hot and addicting series!

To see my review of The War of Two Queens – Click HERE

To see my Fancast/Dreamcast of the series so far – Click HERE

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8. Sea Of Ruin by Pam Godwin

This book gave me total “Outlander-meets-Pirates of the Caribbean” vibes and it was a nicely paced adventure from start to finish! Definitely a dark romance that might not be for everyone, but I will admit that Pam Godwin has totally convinced me that she is a great writer with this book alone! I’ll definitely be checking out her other stuff thanks to how I enjoyed this!

To see my review Sea of Ruin – Coming soon!

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10. On These Black Sands (Aisling Sea #1): by Vanessa Rasanen

If you like pirates and mermaids and fae and found family and slow burn romance and the close proximity/there’s only one bed trope, you definitely have to check this book out! It starts off slow, but once things really take off, the adventure really begins! It also really makes you want to re-watch the Pirates of the Caribbean movies too!

To see my review of On These Black Sands – Coming soon!

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10. Gild (Plated Prisoner #1): by Raven Kennedy

I started 2022 with this title because there is so much hype surrounding this series, and so many of my bookstagram friends love them, so I thought I’d give it a try and see what all the fuss is about. It’s slower paced than I liked, and there’s absolutely no romance in book 1, but the scene is definitely set with this first installment in the ever-popular King Midas Retelling series.

To see my review of Gild – Click HERE

To see my Fancast/Dreamcast of the series so far – Click HERE

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Thanks for Reading!

— Nick Goodsell

Editorial Articles, Writing/Articles

NJGEntertainment’s Top 5 Reads of 2019!

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The year 2019 is quickly coming to a close, and the 2010’s are almost behind us! Frankly, it’s a gigantic relief and it makes me start to look back on the year I’ve had as a human being. I will admit it and say that it wasn’t necessarily an easy year, but I won’t bore any of my readers with the tragic details…

One thing it did teach me was who would really be in my corner when the going gets tough, and while I have my own inner circle, squad, tribe, fam, whatever slang term is appropriate for the times, books are always a warm presence in my life! Why not follow the trend and end the year with my top picks that I enjoyed throughout the last 11 months!

Looking back on the year of books that I’ve read—My Goodreads Reading Challenge was 65 titles—I’ve noticed a lot of the books I was drawn towards tended to be within the Romance genre. There were plenty of Fantasy genre selections too, but Romance kind of owned it this year; I believe it is because I am so happy to see how many LGBTQ+ titles are now out there on the market. Back when I was an angsty young lad trying to survive just growing up and figuring out my place in this crazy world—I totally still am by the way—there weren’t as many available, nor were the ones that were really marketed that well and/or showcased like they are now. Representation matters (in all positive forms)!

Below are my top five titles that really seemed to have stuck with me, and left a huge impression on me amongst the many titles I got my hands on. They are in no particular order because I simply loved all of them as they continued to ignite my passion for books, reading, storytelling, and be sure to click on the linked titles to see my full reviews (who knows, you may discover your next favorite title!)

I hope you all enjoy my selections, have a great holiday season and happy new year, and Thanks for Reading!

Red, White, and Royal Blue: by Casey McQuiston

An excellent addition to the ever-growing LGBTQ+ representation in literature, this book is an enemies-to-lovers romance between the bisexual first son of the president of the United States (who’s also half-latino) and the Royal Prince of Wales. Alex and Prince Henry were complete couples goals, and so much fun to read! This was Casey McQuiston’s debut novel, so I can’t wait to see what she comes out with in future book titles!

Check, Please! Book 1: # Hockey: by Ngozi Ukazu

Another LGBTQ+ romance to add to my selections, this time in Graphic Novel form. This story follows figure skater, vlogger, and baker–Eric Bittle–as he goes off to start his freshman year of college to continue competing on the ice, but instead joins the hockey team! It’s an adorable coming-of-age story as he juggles adjusting to a whole new world on the ice with bro-ey hockey jocks, discovering more about his sexuality, and deal with his growing crush on Jack Zimmerman, the Junior Hockey team captain! The hilarious, memorable characters and the gorgeous illustrations were what really drew me in, and I absolutely loved this first volume! I am also so excited for the second volume to release in print in Spring 2020!

New Camelot Trilogy (American Queen, American Prince, and American King): by Sierra Simone

A scorching, seductive retelling of the iconic Arthurian tale that involves a passionate, secret affair amongst the President of the United States, his wife, and the Vice President. Excellently written from multiple perspectives as the whole story is slowly revealed; these books are freakin’ hot and unlike any other romance/erotic title(s) I’ve ever read before! I can’t recommend these enough to anyone looking for something 1000x better than Fifty Shades of Grey!

Again, But Better: by Christine Riccio

A debut work of YA-Contemporary fiction from a well-known Youtube Book Reviewer, this novel was an ultimate feel-good, coming-of-age uplifting story that reminds us to live life to the fullest, even when we aren’t always allowed a second chance to do over our past mistakes! A little amateurish in terms of prose and plot, but this title helped me out of a rough patch and has an amazing message that can really speak to just about anyone who reads it!

A Darker Shade of Magic (Shades of Magic #1): by V.E. Schwab

Probably my favorite Fantasy genre book I read this year, V.E. Schwab really impresses with this book for its unique, imaginative, multi-universe London setting based on color, a magical being who can travel between them to send messages while wearing a transforming overcoat, a cross dressing female pirate who hopes for more, and dangerous, dark magic that makes a surprise return after being believed to have been lost long ago…

There are my personally selected Top 5 picks for the year! It was hard to condense the many titles I’d read down to these 5, so maybe next year I’ll raise it to my top 10! There were plenty of other titles that I really enjoyed, and so I’m granting them their own little section of this post, check them out below! (The titles with links attached are ones that I’ve previously reviewed, the others are ones that will be on here soon!

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BONUS CONTENT:

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2019 Honorable Mentions:

The Wicked King & The Queen of Nothing (The Folk of the Air #2 & #3): by Holly Black

Ninth House (Alex Stern #1): by Leigh Bardugo

Him (Him #1): by Sarina Bowen & Elle Kennedy

Caraval (Caraval #1): by Stephanie Garber

It Ends With Us: by Colleen Hoover

The Captive Prince Trilogy (Captive Prince, Princes Gambit, and Kings Rising): by C.S. Pacat

The Kiss Quotient: by Helen Hoang

Verity: by Colleen Hoover

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So, there you have it! 2019 was filled with many amazing titles that made for a great year of reading! 2020 is just around the corner, and with the new year fast approaching, my plan is to get even more heavily into Fantasy genre titles/series to not only enjoy them, but to also start narrowing in on ideas on what I want another future writing project to be about: Yes, I want to write a fantasy novel/series sometime!

So far, all I’ve got is that I want it to include queer romance, mermaids/sirens, more found family dynamics as a group embarks on some sort of journey, animal companions/guardians, half-bird folk, possibly two ancient dragons destined to return and battle it out, and a secret school of female assassins! We’ll see what happens!

Thanks for Reading!

— Nick Goodsell