Kristin Hill Taylor

Seeking God as the Author of Every Story

Books of 2022

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I love book lists! And here I am a little late to the year-end party, but 81 books are the most I’ve read since I started keeping track. My list this year is heavy on romance and suspense, but that could totally change in 2023. You can follow #KHTreads on Instagram and Facebook, where I share reviews as I read throughout the year.

I shared on social media the other day some things about my reading habits that helped me accomplish this:

  • I like to read on my Kindle (I just upgraded to a Kindle Oasis and love it!) and also read actual books.
  • I started listening to audiobooks, mostly memoirs, while I drive.
  • I don’t plan ahead what I am going to read. Perhaps that makes me an emotional, circumstantial reader — I read what fits my mood. This means I also like to have options — Kindle Unlimited, Book of the Month, library books, and Amazon wish list of recommendations.
  • I use Goodreads to keep track of what books I’ve read, but I don’t set reading goals.
  • I quit books if I don’t like them or am not into them.
  • I totally judge a book by its cover and description.
  • I mostly read fiction. Yes, it’s kind of an escape, but, also, stories matter and teach me so much about myself and the world around me.

Now, onto the books!

Contemporary Fiction

  1. “The Girl Who Could Breath Under Water” by Erin Bartels {Review}
  2. “Wish You Were Here” by Jodi Picoult {Instagram Review}
  3. “The Unsinkable Greta James” by Jennifer E. Smith {Instagram Review}
  4. “Winter in Paradise” (Paradise #1) by Elin Hilderbrand {Facebook Review}
  5. “What Happens in Paradise” (Paradise #2) by Elin Hilderbrand
  6. “Troubles in Paradise” (Paradise #3) by Elin Hilderbrand
  7. “This Time Tomorrow” by Emma Straub {Facebook Review}
  8. “South of the Buttonwood Tree” by Heather Webber {Instagram Review}
  9. “The Words Between Us” by Erin Bartels {Facebook Review}

Suspense / Thrillers

  1. “Reckless Girls” by Rachel Hawkins {Instagram Review}
  2. “Local Woman Missing” by Mary Kubica {Facebook Review}
  3. “The Golden Couple” by Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen {Instagram Review}
  4. “Such a Quiet Place” by Megan Miranda {Facebook Review}
  5. “The Paris Apartment” by Lucy Foley {Instagram Review}
  6. “The Sun Down Motel” by Simone St. James {Instagram Review}
  7. “The Book of Cold Cases” by Simone St. James {Facebook Post}
  8. “The Good Sister” by Sally Hepworth {Instagram Review}
  9. “The Mother-in-Law” by Sally Hepworth {Facebook Review}
  10. “The Girl from Widow Hills” by Megan Miranda {Instagram Review}
  11. “Have You Seen Me?” by Kate White {Facebook Review}
  12. “The Family Next Door” by Sally Hepworth {Instagram Review}
  13. “What Happened to the Bennetts” by Lisa Scottoline {Facebook Review}
  14. “The Match” by Harlan Coben {Instagram Review}
  15. “The Family Upstairs” by Lisa Jewell {Instagram Review}
  16. “The Younger Wife” by Sally Hepworth {Facebook Review}
  17. “The Secret Life of CeeCee Wilkes” by Diane Chamberlain {Instagram Review}
  18. “Two Truths and a Lie” by Meg Mitchell Moore {Facebook Review}
  19. “The Soulmate” by Sally Hepworth {Instagram Review}
  20. “Distant Echoes” (Aloha Reef #1) by Colleen Coble {Instagram Review}
  21. “The Housemaid” by Freida McFadden {Facebook Review}
  22. “The Locked Door” by Freida McFadden {Facebook Review}
  23. “The Inmate” by Freida McFadden {Instagram Review}
  24. “All Good People Here” by Ashley Flowers {Facebook Review}

Romance / Romantic Comedies

  1. “Talk Bookish to Me” by Kate Bromley {Instagram Review}
  2. “Reminders of Him” by Colleen Hoover {Instagram Review}
  3. “Love on Paper” by Sarah Madelin {Facebook Review}
  4. “Love on Film” by Sarah Madelin {Facebook Review}
  5. “Book Lovers” by Emily Henry {Instagram Review}
  6. “Every Summer After” by Carley Fortune {Instagram Review}
  7. “The Friend Zone” by Abby Jimenez {Facebook Review}
  8. “The Happy Ever Playlist” (The Friend Zone #2) by Abby Jimenez {Instagram Review}
  9. “Life’s Too Short” (The Friend Zone #3) by Abby Jimenez {Instagram Review}
  10. “Part of Your World” by Abby Jimenez {Facebook Review}
  11. “The Bodyguard” by Katherine Center {Instagram Review}
  12. “The Layover” by Lacie Waldon {Facebook Review}
  13. “Meet Me in the Margins” by Melissa Ferguson {Instagram Review}
  14. “Love & Other Words” by Christina Lauren {Instagram Review}
  15. “From the Jump” by Lacie Waldon {Facebook Review}
  16. “More Than Words” by Jill Santopolo {Instagram Review}
  17. “Flying Solo” by Linda Holmes {Facebook Review}
  18. “Something Wilder” by Christina Lauren {Instagram Review}
  19. “Before I Do” by Sophie Cousens {Facebook Review}
  20. “The Simple Wild” by K.A. Tucker {Instagram Review}
  21. “Wild at Heart” (The Simple Wild #2) by K.A. Tucker
  22. “Forever Wild” (The Simple Wild #3) by K.A. Tucker
  23. “Running Wild” (The Simple Wild #4) by K.A. Tucker {Instagram Review}
  24. “Here for the Drama” by Kate Bromley {Instagram Review}
  25. “It Starts With Us” (It Ends With Us #2) by Colleen Hoover {Facebook Review}
  26. “June, Reimagined” by Rebekah Crane {Instagram Review}
  27. “Five Winters” by Kitty Johnson {Facebook Review}

Historical Fiction

  1. “Bridge of Scarlet Leaves” by Kristina McMorris {Instagram Review}
  2. “The Edge of Lost” by Kristina McMorris {Facebook Review}
  3. “Truths I Never Told You” by Kelly Rimmer {Hard, hard topics and I have mixed feelings on it.}
  4. “The Magnificent Lives of Marjorie Post” (audio) by Allison Pataki {Instagram Review}
  5. “We Hope for Better Things” by Erin Bartels {Facebook Review}

Memoirs

  1. “The Rural Diaries: Love, Livestock, and Big Life Lessons Down on Mischief Farm” (audio) by Hilarie Burton Morgan {Instagram Review}
  2. “The Stories I Only Tell My Friends” (audio) by Rob Lowe {Facebook Review}
  3. “Open Book” (audio) by Jessica Simpson {Instagram Review}
  4. “Glad You’re Here: Two Unlikely Friends Breaking Bread & Fences” (audio) by Walker Hayes & Craig Allen Cooper {Facebook Review}
  5. “Delete That: (And Other Failed Attempts to Look Good Online)” (audio) by John Crist {Instagram Review}
  6. “Start with Hello: And Other Simple Ways to Live as Neighbors” (audio) by Shannan Martin
  7. “The Stories We Tell: Every Piece of Your Story Matters” (audio) by Joanna Gaines {Instagram Review}
  8. “Where the Light Fell” (audio) by Philip Yancey {Facebook Review}
  9. “Talking as Fast as I Can: From From Gilmore Girls to Gilmore Girls (and Everything in Between)” (audio) by Lauren Graham {Instagram Review}

Other Non-fiction

  1. “Live No Lies: Recognize and Resist the Three Enemies That Sabotage Your Peace” by John Mark Comer
  2. “Christ-Centered Exposition: Exalting Jesus in Philippians” by Tony Merida and Francis Chan
  3. “Before the Throne: Finding Strength through Prayer in Difficult Times” by Crickett Keeth {Review}
  4. “Soundtracks: The Surprising Solution to Overthinking” (audio) by Jon Acuff {Instagram Review}
  5. “The Gospel Comes with a House Key” (audio) by Rosaria Butterfield {Facebook Review}
  6. “Send Out Your Light: The Illuminating Power of Scripture and Song” by Sandra McCracken {Instagram Review}
  7. “Your New Playlist: The Student’s Guide to Tapping Into the Superpower of Mindset” by Jon Acuff with L.E. and McRae Acuff {Facebook Review}

Family books

  1. “Britfield & the Return of the Prince” by C.R. Stewart {Review by Cate}

*****

Need more recommendations? Here are #KHTreads from 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, and 2017.

A welcomed return to Britfield

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Cate, a high school sophomore, was ready for the newest installment in the Britfield series, “Britfield & the Return of the Prince.” The following is her review of the novel that’s geared toward middle and high school students. 

This new addition to the Britfield series does not disappoint as it keeps up the fast-paced, action-packed saga of Tom and Sarah’s quest to find Tom’s parents. With many old and new friends to aid them in their journey, Tom and Sarah inch closer and closer to that goal. 

I love all of the action, and the plot is amazing, however, I would love to see some more depth into the characters’ thoughts and emotions. Aside from that, Britfield is a book that I would recommend. 

Readers can tell that Stewart really knows his European facts due to all of the mini history lessons and architecture in this series – which I love. There are constant chases and close calls, so if you like on-the-edge-of-your-seat tales (but not scary), then this is your kind of book. While a lot of the time it’s hard to relate to the characters, the story leaves a lot of freedom for the readers to interpret, which personally I don’t like but some may. 

Overall, this is a great book and I cannot wait for the next book in this series.

ABOUT THE BOOK

One year later, the Committee struck back with a vengeance, crippling the Resistance now scattered throughout Europe. When Devonbury Academy in Switzerland is attacked, Tom and Sarah’s only hope is to make it to a safe house in northern Italy by relying on their own experience and covert training. Overpowered and outnumbered, they are ruthlessly hunted throughout Italy by the Black Nobility and a team of assassins. 

Henry and Oliver discover a devastating truth, Detective Gowerstone is confronted by a secret from his past, and Inspector Fontaine is pushed to her limits. Will Tom and Sarah ever find the Britfields? Relationships will be challenged, new friendships forged, and an unparalleled finale of sacrifice, romance, revenge, and loss.

This is the third book in a series that’s expected to include a few others. It’s a 592-page paperback book that’s also available as part of Amazon’s Kindle Unlimited. Learn more about The World of Britfield.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Originally from Newport Beach, California, C.R. Stewart has 20 years of experience writing fiction, nonfiction, and movie screenplays. His expertise also includes film and media production, global strategy, and international marketing.

He received a Bachelor of Arts in British Literature and European History from Brown University; did post-graduate work at Harvard University; earned an MBA from Boston College; and is pursuing a Master of Science in Advanced Management and a Ph.D. in Strategy.

Now based in San Diego, Stewart is a strong supporter of education and the arts. He enjoys world travel, reading, riding, swimming, sailing, and tennis, and is passionate about fostering creativity in students of all ages.

*****

You can read her other reviews of the books in this series here:

The author sent us a free copy of this book in exchange for a review, but Cate was genuinely excited when this latest installment in the Britfield series arrived in our mailbox. These opinions belong to Cate. Now her seventh-grade brother is into the series as well. 

God always finds them

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Bedtime is always full of shenanigans around here – and most of the time, I rush through the bedtime routine with my youngest two kids because I’m ready for my own bed. But I have a different story from a recent night. 

I was tucking in my 6-year-old Rachel. And by “tucking in,” I mean getting the blankets right, praying, singing, and answering 85 million questions. She asked if I’d read her story. That’s usually her daddy’s job, but he wasn’t home that evening, so I said okay. She had “The Jesus Storybook Bible” by Sally Lloyd-Jones sitting right here, so I told her to pick out one of those stories. 

“I want to read the pig sty one,” she said as she was already flipping the pages to find it. 

When I saw what she meant, peace washed over me. “Oh, I love this one.” I read “Running Away,” which is retold from Luke 15, better known as The Prodigal Son.

A boy starts thinking he will be happier if his dad wasn’t telling him what to do. He wanted to look after himself. His father was sad, but he didn’t want to force him to stay. So the son went and did whatever he wanted to do until he runs out of money and gets a job feeding pigs. Being in this low spot, showed the boy maybe his dad’s home wasn’t so bad after all.

Then Lloyd-Jones writes: “The dad leaps off the porch, races down the hill, through the gap in the hedge, up the road. Before his son can even begin his I’m-Sorry-Speech, his dad runs to him, throws his arms around him, and can’t stop kidding him.” The father proceeds to have a party to celebrate his son’s homecoming. 

“Jesus told people this story to show them what God is like. And to show people what they are like. So they could know, however far they ran, however well they hid, however lost they were – it wouldn’t matter,” Lloyd-Jones writes. “Because God’s children could never run too far, or be too lost, for God to find them.”

I was teary when I finished. While this Bible story was retold for children, the words brought to mind when I decided to follow Christ on Jan. 20, 1996, after hearing someone speak about The Prodigal Son during a Chrysalis weekend. I nailed some sins to a wooden cross in the sanctuary, representing surrender. I remember thinking of the beauty of the father welcoming his lost son home, understanding how the younger son thought he could hold together his own life, and relating to the older son who stayed and did what he was supposed to and found himself not quite willing to celebrate his brother’s homecoming. 

I told Rachel an abbreviated version of that story of being a 16-year-old girl hearing that story and making a decision that truly changed my life. Here more than 26 years later, I’m thankful God welcomes me home over and over again. I’ve surrendered and squandered and sulked, and God keeps opening his arms, which led me to salvation initially and continually prompts surrender.

*****

If you don’t know about “The Jesus Storybook Bible,” I definitely recommend it for the kids in your life. Let’s be honest, I love reading too and I’m thankful it’s back in the rotation around here.