Books of the Month January 2022

January is a month of new beginnings, and for many of our readers, it meant starting on fresh new books. For others, it was an opportunity to finally get to all the books that might have been overlooked during the hustle and bustle of the festive season. So no matter your reasons for reading more this year, here are the books of the month for January 2022 to get you started.

Best Romance

A Game of Billionaires

by Blair Babylon

A Game of Billionaires is the first book in the Billionaires in Disguise: Maxence series by Blair Babylon. Dree is left with nothing to lose after getting ripped off by her ex-boyfriend. All she has left is a non-refundable plane ticket to Paris, which she uses with the intention of trying to do all the wrong things. After Dree gets drunk, things get out of hand, but she is helped by a man named Max, who intervenes after she is harassed by other guys. However, Max has some dark secrets of his own that Dree doesn't know about.

Best Action & Adventure

Masters of the Broken Watches

by Razi Imam

After analyzing an unknown marine specimen, Sebastian Miles and his team of marine biologists discover that time outside their lab has jumped forward by twenty-two hours. It appears that the glowing nodule that they extracted from the specimen has something to do with this illogical space-time event, and it's not long before powerful governments are vying to get their hands on it. However, none of these governments and their nationalist leaders expected the lengths that Sebastian and his Paramarines would go to to protect the species from capture and exploitation.

Best Mystery & Thriller

Critical Vulnerability

by Melissa F. Miller

Critical Vulnerability is the first novel in the Aroostine Higgins series by Melissa F. Miller. Aroostine Higgins is an assistant U.S. attorney gearing up to prosecute a major bribery trial. Everything is on the line for her as the trial could make or break her career in the Department of Justice's elite Criminal Division. Unfortunately for her, everything is going wrong, and she soon realizes that it's not just a string of bad luck that she is facing. Even worse, the outcome of a high-profile court case is not the only thing at stake, as the life of the only man she's ever loved is also hanging in the balance.

Best Biography

10 Kilos of Cocaine

by Sharon Yitzhaki

10 Kilos of Cocaine is the unbelievable true story of how Sharon Yitzhaki managed to survive four years in Mira Flores Prison, the cruelest women's prison in the world. Her life changed when she was only twenty years old and traveling to Bolivia with a partner she barely knew. During this trip, she was framed for smuggling 10 kilos of cocaine and sentenced to five years in Mira Flores Prison. In this memoir, Sharon recounts how she had to survive against all odds in a place where she had no means and no knowledge of the local language. While 10 Kilos of Cocaine reads like a thriller, it also highlights the human spirit's incredible resilience.

Best Children's Book

Bizzy Bzzz the Bee and Grandpa's Tea

by Travis Peagler

Bizzy Bzzz the Bee and Grandpa's Tea by Travis Peagler is a charming story told through the eyes of a child. Every morning the boy watches as his grandfather tries to enjoy his tea, which is spoiled by the arrival of a bee. The boy finds the situation very funny but comes up with a solution to save his grandpa from frustration while also letting the bee stay. Bizzy Bzzz the Bee and Grandpa's Tea is told in playful rhyme and will delight children with how the protagonist saves the day with his creative problem-solving skills.

Best Young Adult

Crystal Magic

by Madeline Freeman

Crystal Magic is the first book in the Clearwater Witches series of young adult novels by Madeline Freeman. Krissa Barnette believes that moving to Clearwater, Michigan, would give her a chance to reinvent herself. She's been keeping her abilities, which involves hearing what other people are thinking and making things explode when she's overwhelmed a secret. Unfortunately, instead of a fresh start, her abilities magnify in her new surroundings, and she soon finds herself a target for Crystal Jamison and the town's circle of witches. When a strange illness rips through the town, Krissa has to push her fears aside and learn how to wield magic despite the risk of it consuming her, as the consequences of ignoring her gift could be even worse.

Best Fantasy

Fire and Sword

by Dylan Doose

Fire and Sword kick off the Sword and Sorcery series of fantasy novels by Dylan Doose. It is a tale of three unlikely heroes, Aldous Weaver, Kendrick the Cold, and Theron Ward. The first is a heretic monk turned sorcerer, while the second is an infamous crusader turned fugitive. Then there's Theron, aristocrat, rogue, and monster hunter. The only thing they have in common is that they were condemned to die for their crimes and instead found each other, forging a dark brotherhood in the process. Although they could turn their back on the land that has turned them into outcasts, they instead band together and fight back against the monsters that are running amok.

Best Historical Fiction

The Son He Left Behind

by Yitzhak Bar-Yossef

The Son He Left Behind by Yitzhak Bar-Yossef is the story of a young Jewish boy named Itzhak. He is born to an ultra-orthodox family from Jerusalem, but his life is turned upside down when his father suddenly abandons his religion, wife, and son. Itzhak's mother continues to raise him alone for years until one day when his father suddenly returns. However, when Itzhak is only eleven years old, his mother tragically passes away, and he ends up in the care of his father. While Itzhak wants to maintain the memory of his beloved mother and her religious ways, he cannot help but admire his charismatic father.

Best Literary Fiction

The Sins of Others

by Florian Schneider

The Sins of Others by Florian Schneider is the story of Ben Heimlich and his mother, Ingrid. It opens in the war-torn Bosnian countryside of 1993, where a seasoned English conflict zone photographer encounters Ben as a wannabe reporter whose car had broken down on the side of the road. She knows that his mother is the notorious Ingrid Heimlich, the infamous leftist terrorist who vanished without a trace. A year later, Ben moves to the United States while still reeling from the horrors of what he had seen in Bosnia. The story of Ben and his mother continues from the perspectives of the many people they have encountered and whose lives they influenced.

Best Science Fiction

Pattern Black

by Sean Platt

Pattern Black by Sean Platt is set in a bleak future where the only way out of prison is Chamber Therapy or a body bag. The former promises to cure prisoners of their criminal tendencies but could also result in insanity, referred to as Pattern Black. The protagonist, Mason Shaw, is the son of a once-respected police officer who threw his career away by going rogue. Unfortunately, Mason follows in his footsteps by committing a crime that lands him in the same privately-run prison. Faced with a choice between death or potential insanity, Mason places his faith in a rebel group led by a hacker trying to fight the system from the inside.

Best Paranormal

Witching for Grace

by Deanna Chase

Grace Valentine, the protagonist of Witching for Grace by Deanna Chase, finds herself unexpectedly out of a husband and a job at the age of forty-five. She's ready to pick up the pieces and move on, thanks to the help of her coven, but working for the real estate office that rivals her ex-husband's is her only job prospect. Grace has to prove that she can sell the haunted properties of Premonition Pointe if she wants a full-time job, but she is a little distracted, to say the least. Combating her escalating hot flashes, dealing with the urges to hex her ex, and trying not to succumb to the advances of the hot thirty-four-year-old in her office means there's rarely a dull moment.

Best Non-Fiction

Let's Get Digital: How To Self-Publish, and Why You Should

by David Gaughran

Let's Get Digital is the first book in the Let's Get Publishing series by David Gaughran. The book provides those interested in self-publishing with plenty of practical, hands-on advice covering best practices on editing, cover design, formatting, and pricing. It is also filled with proven marketing strategies as well as useful tips on platform building and more. This is the updated 2nd edition of the book, which features more options for those on a tighter budget.