The #Bookvent Calendar 2022 – Day One

#Bookvent – Celebrating my top reads of 2022

It’s that time again. The time where is start to list my favourite reads of 2022. It’s been a great year for books this year and a really difficult year for me in choosing which ones make my top twenty four titles. Again. And it will be a top twenty four this year, unlike the last couple of years, one a day right through to Christmas Eve. I could easily have made if a top twenty five or twenty six, and believe me it’s been hard narrowing down the final few books, but I made myself do it.

Now for the uninitiated, my #bookvent has some very simple rules, all designed to try and help me narrow down the list from 160+ books to just the 24. First of all, the books must have been published in 2022. Second of all, if they were awarded a red-hot-read badge, they are automatically included. That takes care of quite a few, I tell ya. The books are featured in the order in which they appeared on the blog with the exception of those featured on 22-24 December which, this year at least, are my top three reads of 2022, with my book of the year featured on 24th.

I do have some very important honourable mentions too. These are three books that I read this year but which were published in 2021, so don’t technically qualify for this year’s Bookvent list. They are too good not to mention though so they will get a very special feature over the final three days of #bookvent as, in any other circumstance, I really do think they would have been right up there as potential books of the year.

I have only one exception to the rules year, and that is purely because the book was published on New Year’s Eve 2021, so missed out on a place in the 2021 countdown. As you can imagine, it was one of the earliest reviews of 2022, and that makes it my day one #bookvent. The book is also unique in that I think it’s possibly the only none crime book in the whole list. It’s part of a series I adore, from an author who never fails to bring a smile to my face (and a tear to my eye). I might not do much in the chick-lit/romance genre, but when I do, they’re always crackers.

My day one #bookvent choice is …

Heartcross Castle by Christie Barlow

Love Heart Lane – where friends are there for you no matter what

A second chance…

When her grandfather Marley passes away Grace Power discovers she’s been left the beautiful but crumbling estate of Heartcross Castle. As a single mum of three, Grace has no idea what she’s going to do with it – but who can say no to a roof over their kids’ heads and a chance to get away from past hurts?

And a forever home

Heartcross Castle is full of secrets – especially a lost security deposit box that holds the truth to everything… But when celebrity chef Andrew Glossop sets his eyes on the castle and, to make matters worse, mistakes Grace as the new housekeeper, Grace tells him there is absolutely NO CHANCE he is getting his hands on her home.

Devastated to have got it so wrong, Andrew will do anything to make it up to her – but is she willing to listen?

Well … I say I made an exception for this book, but, in truth, I could easily have selected any of the Love Heart Lane books published this year so far (or even the one due to be published on 31st December) as all are a complete joy. A New Doctor At Peony Practice and New Beginnings at the Old Bakehouse are equally wonderful books, but there was just something about Grace and her three wonderful children that struck a chord. If anyone deserved a second chance and a new start it is Grace, and where better to find it than heading back to her old home town of Heartcross? There is a bittersweet thread to this story, as the only reason Grace is heading home is because of the death of her grandfather, and as such there are many regrets in her life, one that she has to come to terms with as she struggles to make a new start in the rundown castle that is her inheritance. Not that it’s all gloom though as there is a frisson of romance on the sidelines as celebrity chef Andrew Glossop brings a wee smile to Grace’s lips, and her cheeky sons, twins, Freddie and Joey, and the quiet soul that is Billy, teach him more than the odd lesson about humility and the real value of life. It’s a beautiful story able to make even the most cynical reader (i.e. me) smile. I love this series, love the town and the characters, and love escaping for a few hours to a place I think we’d all be very happy to call home.

If you’d like to read my full review of Heartcross Castle you can find it here.

Happy #bookvent reading all

Jen