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Chautona Havig

Chautona Havig

Using story to connect YOU to the Master Storyteller

These 5 (or is that 7?) Books Are My Favorites of 2022 (So Far)

by Chautona Havig · 1 Comment

I just had to take a few minutes (*cough, cough*) to share a few of my favorite reads of 2022. Have you read any of them? via @chautonahavig

It’s been a long time since I allowed myself a good book gush, but I decided it was long past due for me to share some of my favorite reads. So, I’ve got a few mini gushes to talk about.  From a series I can’t stop begging people to read (and have threatened to withhold my book from my launch team if one gal won’t start it) to a few others that I loved (even with a few minor issues!)

From spec-fic, to historical romantic suspense-ish, to contemporary romance with a women’s fiction twist, to WWII, and finally contemporary romantic suspense, we’ve got quite a variety for you!

favorite reads

Note: links may be affiliate links that provide me with a small commission at no extra expense to you.

These 5 (or is that 7?) Books Are Some of My Favorite Reads of 2022 (So Far)

Well, we’re almost done with the first quarter of 2022, and have I read some GREAT books!  Now I started one series in 2021, but since I finished in 2022, I’m counting it.  So, other than to say that 2022 looks to be a GREAT year for books (have you SEEN what’s coming out this year???) I’m just going to dive in without a lot of chit-chat (you know, like I did in the episode!).

No Less Days Series favorite reads 2022First up: The No Less Days Series

I thought this was a trilogy, but nope! By the end of the third book, I got the news that there’s a fourth coming!  YAY!  Seriously.  YAY!

This contemporary spec-fic has it all.  Great plots, excellent writing, wonderful characters, and rich faith elements… what more could you ask for?  Well, I asked for another book… and I got it.  I totally believe Amanda G. Stevens planned to write that fourth book because she received a vision of me begging… yeah. I can’t do it.  Even in fiction. But you get my drift.  BOOK FOUR, folks!  EEEP!

Amanda G. Stevens’ website is HERE.

Rose Among ThornesNext up: Rose Among Thornes by Terrie Todd

Oh wow. If you missed my REVIEW of this book, you want to check it out HERE.  Meanwhile, I’ll just say that this book has a host of great things to recommend it including:

  • WWII from a Canadian perspective
  • Canadian internment camps for citizens of Japanese ancestry
  • The Pacific rather than European theater
  • a HUGE forgiveness theme

Terrie has also released a new book this fall, The Last Piece, (I thought it was coming fall 2022!).  I think we all know what I’ll be reading soon! (It’s on Kindle Unlimited!!!)

Terrie Todd’s website is HERE.

PostcardsThen, the next of my favorite reads so far… Postcards by Elizabeth Maddrey

You know, I said it’s not the most “amazing book ever,” and I think that might come off as disparaging. I did NOT mean it to be.  I enjoyed the book save for the one thing I mentioned. It had the potential (although it would have been crazy hard for even the best author to pull it off) to be the best book of the year bar none, but it’s still right up there in my favorites so far. After all, I put it in this episode!  I really liked what Maddrey did with the story, and it made me eager to read more of her work.  Win/win in my book!

Can anyone suggest a good next book for this one?  Oh, and be sure to check out that synopsis. Seriously, guys… good stuff.

Visit her website HERE.

The Love Note Politano favorite reads 2022After that, I read: The Love Note by Joanna Davidson Politano.

Seriously, as I said in the episode, this book has so many unexpected layers.

If you want romance. You get it.

But that love note is NOT just about romance. It’s a LOVE note that spreads love among a house in ways you would never expect.  It has lots of family secrets, dysfunctional relationships, a mystery to unearth, yes… romance, and a crazy unexpected ending that is not what you’d request but you’re so glad you got!  CRAZY well done, Joanna!

Visit her website HERE.

Every Star in the Sky by Sara Davison favorite reads 2022Finally, I wanted to share one of my most recent favorite reads, Every Star in the Sky by Sara Davison.

I just reviewed it HERE, so I won’t go too far into that, but I am serious when I say that the more I think about the book, the better it is.  Only one tiny thing kept it from being a five-star read for me, and most people wouldn’t care. We all know I have highly traditional and conservative opinions on how to apply Paul’s requirements for pastors, so… yeah. That was my only real objection. (I still might change that, too.  Praying about it).

That’s it… those are just a few of the great books I’ve read in this first quarter of 2022. I could talk for hours about them all, but I’ve got deadlines, and I’m sure you don’t want to hear me yapping about it.  #becausereasons

Visit Sara Davison’s website HERE.

I’ve included a link to each author’s website above and I highly recommend you stop by and see what they have to offer! So… have you read any of my favorite reads of the year so far?

Don’t forget Book Club Capers!

There’s a new clue up to the next month’s book, so get your guesses in now!  HERE is the link to the first chapter.

For Chantel Reads All Day’s “Hello Reader” site where the challenge is (and my list for 2022), go HERE.

For Hello Reader and to make your own up, go HERE.

For Chantel’s Blog Post about the challenge, the giveaway, and for access to her other fun videos, go HERE.

 

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  1. Cindy Davis says

    March 12, 2022 at 12:58 pm

    I had not heard of Amanda Stevens, but I also don’t read Spec-fic. I read Rose Among the Thorns last year, I was on the launch team, and loved it. Was also on the launch team for The Last Piece and it was amazing! You will enjoy it when you get to it. I plan to read The Love Note but haven’t gotten to it yet. I have not read Elizabeth Maddrey or Sara Davison…will look into them. My top gushing books so far this year (5-stars) are They Buy-In by Emma St. Clair, The Song of Silence by Cynthia Ruchti, The Secrets of Paper and Ink by Lindsay Harrel, and In Search of a Prince by Toni Shiloh.

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The Because Fiction Podcast

The Because Fiction Podcast
The Because Fiction Podcast

Taking the pulse of Christian fiction

Episode 265: A Chat with Karen Witemeyer
byChautona Havig

Nothing says fairy tale like a sweet western romance by an author like Karen Witemeyer… unless it’s a fairytale retelling set in Texas in the late 19th century, right?  Fairest of Heart takes the familiar “Snow White” and turns it on its head with retired cowboys, a self-absorbed actress, a Texas Ranger, and a sweet girl who knows the true Source of her beauty.  Listen in to see all the genius Easter eggs Witemeyer planted in this book.

Note: links may be affiliate links that provide me with a small commission at no extra expense to you.

Sometimes All a Girl Needs Is a True Change of Heart

I fell in love with the cover of Karen Witemeyer’s Head Over Heels a few years back (only to learn it’s much older than that, even), and meant to read that book.  I didn’t.  #BecauseIdiot. Well, that’ll be rectified just as soon as I’m done listening to her first book in a trilogy of fairytale retellings. I loaded it up on my Audible app tonight and wheeeeeeee. Here I go! So much for no new books until October. HA! 

Karen talks about her heart for young women today and how they’re taught by every bit of media blasting at them that they need to use their bodies to get what they need or want when the Lord has a better plan. And I can’t guarantee it, but I strongly suspect she does it without preaching. SQUEE!

Fairest of Heart by Karen Witemeyer

Once upon a time in Texas . . .

Beauty has been nothing but a curse to Penelope Snow. When she becomes a personal maid for a famous actress whose troupe is leaving Chicago to tour the West, she hides her figure beneath shapeless dresses and keeps her head down. But she still manages to attract the wrong attention, leaving her prospects in tatters–and her jealous mistress plotting her demise.

After his brother lost his life over a woman, Texas Ranger Titus Kingsley has learned to expect the worst from women and is rarely disappointed. So when a young lady found in suspicious circumstances takes up residence with the seven old drovers living at his grandfather’s ranch, Titus is determined to keep a close eye on her.

With a promotion hanging in the balance, Titus is assigned to investigate a robbery case tied to Penelope’s acting troupe, and all evidence points to Penelope’s guilt. But Titus might just be convinced that the fairest woman of all has a heart as pure as her last name . . . if only he can prove it.

You can learn more about Karen Witemeyer and her books on her WEBSITE. Don’t forget the book is 30% off on BakerBookHouse.com.  

Follow Karen on BookBub and GoodReads.

And don’t forget her Posse Group on Facebook.

Like to listen on the go? You can find Because Fiction Podcast at:

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  • and more!
Episode 265: A Chat with Karen Witemeyer
Episode 265: A Chat with Karen Witemeyer
September 29, 2023
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September 19, 2023
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Episode 261: Chatting with Christian Youth Fiction Author, Candice Yamnitz
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Episode 259: A Chat with Debut Author, Laura Conaway
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