Hello and welcome to damppebbles. It’s so lovely to see you! I hope your Wednesday is going well so far. It’s day 30 of #R3COMM3ND3D2022 and the final day of this year’s series 😭 I can’t believe it’s over already! The last month has flown past but what a beautiful book-filled month it’s been. I’ve enjoyed every single moment of #R3COMM3ND3D2022 and I hope you have too, as well as adding a few books here and there to your TBR!

I decided to change a few things about #R3C this year and moved the deadline for submissions from December to early November. As a result, I wasn’t quite able to fill all 30 spots. So today, dear reader, I’ll be sharing my own three #R3COMM3ND3D2022 picks. We were so close. A mere squeak away, but I see that as a positive thing as I now get to talk to you about three books I LOVED this year. But first…

As mentioned, I made a few changes to #R3C this year and I would love to hear your thoughts about the shortened version. If you’ve taken part in #R3COMM3ND3D at any point over the last six years I would be enormously grateful if you could complete this very short survey. I promise it won’t take very long. There are only four questions and they’re multiple choice: https://forms.gle/ZLAt6WyyWBGtjjai6

So, what is #R3COMM3ND3D2022? It’s about sharing the book love. It’s a chance for authors, book bloggers, reviewers and bookstagrammers to shout about three (yes, *only* three) books they love. They can be written by any author, in any genre and published in any way (traditionally, indie press or self-published). But there is a catch. All three books must have been published in 2022. To make things interesting there are a couple of teeny, tiny rules; 1) the book must have FIRST been published in 2022 and 2) special editions and reissues do not count. I like to keep you lovely people on your toes 😉

Here are the three books I recommend…

WAKE by Shelley Burr
Oh. My. Word! I loved this book. Atmospheric, packed full of mystery and brimming with suspense. It’s an absolutely glorious debut which consumed my days and had me blurry eyed in the morning after staying up far too late to finish it! I was well and truly gripped by this compelling piece of well-written crime fiction and I savoured every single second I spent in Mina McCreery’s company. Beautifully tense, truly unforgettable and the ultimate page turner.
My Review of WAKE

More Than You’ll Ever Know by Katie Gutierrez
More Than You’ll Ever Know is a superbly written debut which ticked all of the boxes for me. The entire book worked. But the characters, they were EVERYTHING. A sublime novel which, if you’re a fan of beautifully written literary mysteries you will devour. I was completely entranced and captivated by this stunning novel.
My Review of More Than You’ll Ever Know

Black Mouth by Ronald Malfi
Black Mouth is a captivating, emotional, yet creepy story of childhood trauma and how, as we get older, the nightmares we faced as children can still be just as frightening, the memories just as destructive. The characters are sublime, the setting was perfect and the writing is divine. Completely absorbing, totally immersive, I was addicted to this book from the moment I cracked the spine.
My Review of Black Mouth

I have so much love for these three books and I hope, should you get the chance to read any of them, that you love them as much as I do.

So that’s it for now. The 2022 series of #R3COMM3ND3D has sadly come to an end. The books have been chosen and revealed, and what a magnificent bunch they are! Make sure you keep an eye out for the After Show Party post which, if all goes to plan, should be with you in the next couple of weeks. We’ll take a look at all of the books chosen and reveal our winner (or winners). The biggest, heartfelt thanks to everyone who took part in the feature, and to everyone who shared, retweeted and liked the posts on Twitter and Instagram. The love #R3COMM3ND3D receives from the book community means the world to me.

*Psst* And if you’ve taken part in #R3C over the last 6 years please don’t forget to complete the survey: https://forms.gle/ZLAt6WyyWBGtjjai6. Thank you so much 🤗