Ranking in general gives me all the feels.
When I’m being ranked, there’s the nervous butterflies, the foot-tapping anticipation and an undignified urge to stick out a tongue at my fellow competitor. When I’m doing the ranking, there’s the undeniable need to do justice, the thrill of selecting the top three and the fear of retaliation from the bottom.
Soo. *claps hands in quick succession* Since I’m in the mood for the package of feelings that comes with ranking today, I’m going to rank… books! Let us ignore the fact that books are, in fact, the only thing I’m qualified enough to rank.
Ok here’s how this is going to work. I am going to be ranking the first 22 books (because it’s 2022, get it?) I’ve read this year based on my opinion on them. We’re going to start in reverse order and work our way all the way to the top, meaning the books are in the order of worst to best. To make things more organized, there are also six categories under which certain consecutive rankings fall under, to express my overall feelings for those books. Each book cover shall be linked to it’s goodreads page and beside it are highlights (from the pov of yours truly) from the story which could either make you want to devour the book whole or run far far away from it.
With all that out of the way, let’s get started!
— #22 Caraval by Stephanie Garber —
→ a magical, dark treasure hunt type competition
→ a weak willed, “i just want to save my sister” main character
→ too many reminders of how “dangerous” the “game” is
→ anticlimatic deaths that aren’t even real
— #21 Blazewrath Games by Amparo Ortiz —
→ a dragon flying Quidditch style sport
→ 16-18 year olds behave like 10 year olds
→ weirdly written dialogue
→ so many characters, so little info
— #20 Jade City by Fonda Lee —
→ rival clans and family politics
→ probably the slowest book you’ll ever read
→ seriously, it’s sloowww
→ oh also lots of POVs
— #19 Dead Girls Can’t Tell Secrets by Chelsea Khaso —
→ pretty classic murder mystery
→”everyone is hiding something”
→ feels like a wild goose chase
→ school secrets
— #18 Ace Of Shades —
→ dark fantasy
→ gang lords and con men
→ morally grey love interest
→ a sadist game of execution
— #17 The Girls I’ve Been by Tess Sharpe —
→ heavy themes (pls check tws!)
→ more about the past than the present
→ the present being a bank hostage situation which could have been made highly interesting
→ focuses on one and one character only
— #16 Not Here To Be Liked by Michelle Quach —
→ themes of feminism
→ romance was sort of instalove-y, there was no chemistry
→ lots of important things happened quickly
→ the love interest had zero personality except being an ex jock
— #15 Portrait Of A Thief by Grace D. Li —
→ college students turned thieves
→ colonization of art
→ chinese american identity
→ monologues on imperialism and “the American dream”
— #14 Hani And Ishu’s Guide To Fake Dating by Adiba Jaigirdar —
→ desi main characters
→ biphobic white friends
→ fake dating (duh)
→ parental (they’re asian soo) pressure
— #13 Down Comes The Night by Allison Saft —
→ sworn enemies to lovers
→ killer×healer pairing
→ wintry night vibes
→ changing sides! betrayal! redemption! more betrayal!
— #12 Sweet & Bitter Magic by Adrienne Tooley —
→ sapphic witches
→ sunshine×grumpy
→ magic gone wrong
→ a long journey (more like a quest actually)
— #11 Hidden In Plain Sight by Jeffrey Archer —
→ a witty detective story
→ smart and well thought out plot
→ taking down a drug squad
→ new additions to the team
— #10 So This Is Ever After by FT Lukens—
→ weird in the best way
→ friends to lovers awkwardness
→ set in a castle
→ takes place after your usual YA quest
— #9 In Deeper Waters by FT Lukens —
→ pirates and princes
→ and handsome mermen too
→ supportive elder siblings
→ kidnapping and rescues galore
— #8 If This Gets Out by Sophie Gonzales and Cale Dietrich —
→ boy bands, fame and cancel culture
→ the best mother group
→ gay adorableness
→ openly gay vs closeted
— #7 You Have A Match by Emma Lord —
→ full summer-y vibes
→ best friends to lovers
→ secret sisters who couldn’t be more unlike each other
→ all sibling and platonic relationships were *chef’s kiss*
— #6 Geekerella by Ashley Poston —
→ modern day Cinderella retelling (minus the cheesy parts)
→ a delightful fandom… and a con!
→ anonymous texting
→ nerd supremacy
— #5 Namesake by Adrienne Young—
→ pirate-y adventure
→ treasure hunting for a mythical gem
→ torn familial relationships
→ morally grey cast
— #4 Tweet Cute by Emma Lord —
→ twitter wars!
→ ridiculously delicious desserts
→ rivals to friends to lovers
→ anonymous texting
— #3 Fable by Adrienne Young —
→ dangerous mc with traumatic past
→ found family
→ a not-so-merry journey through the seas
→ shocking reveals at every page
— #2 When You Get The Chance by Emma Lord —
→ a cheerful, goofy mc who is my new favourite person
→ reverse mamma mia!
→ the best platonic relationships
→ witty, immersive writing
— #1 Our Violent Ends by Chloe Gong —
→ romeo juliet retelling
→ emotional rollercoaster
→ enemies to lovers PERFECTION and so. much. angst.
→ rival gangs, blood feuds, stabby women and soft men
Have you read any of these?? Bonus points if you’ve read them this year too! THOUGHTS ON THEM? Which are YOUR favourite reads so far this year?? (do not be fooled by the size of my tbr, i’m ALWAYS looking for yet more recommendations)
~ Rachel
A Bookworm's Paradise 