I am super excited to be taking part in Top 10 of 2013, hosted by Rachel at Fiktshun, Jamie at Two Chicks on Books, and Mindy at Magical Urban Fantasy Reads, this year! I did Top 10 of 2011 a couple of years ago, but kind of failed to post the last couple of days, even though it was such fun. I will not fail this time, though! :)
Today we're posting the best books we read in 2013. Now, this was an easy list to compile in general, but then I decided to do them in order, which was not so easy. How do you compare two books that you loved but are so different? Well, it's hard, but I've ranked based solely on feeling. All received 5 stars from me, though!
10. Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen
The one non-YA book here! I love Jane Austen but had never read this novel of hers, and boy is it awesome! Lots of cutting wit and romance, even while Austen is poking fun at the Gothic novel tradition and structuring altogether original characters and forms of writing. Just awesome.
9. Crown of Midnight (Throne of Glass #2) by Sarah J. Maas
I hadn't loved Throne of Glass, but its sequel blew me away. It was altogether better plotted and written, and had me by the heartstrings from page one.
8. Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell
Of Rainbow Rowell's two books this year, most would list Eleanor and Park, but Fangirl really got to me. It was a very personal read, not to mention how just all around good it was.
7. Prodigy (Legend #2) by Marie Lu
WHA? This one hit me hard in the feels and I was an emotional wreck--in the best way possible. Marie Lu drew me into Legend with the idea of an adapted Valjean and Javert but she kept me reading with her fascinating world and fabulous characters.
6. Quintana of Charyn (The Lumatere Chronicles #3) by Melina Marchetta
The first book I read this year, and I certainly started it off well. This was a perfect and emotional ending to an absolutely fantastic fantasy series. It could not have been done better.
5. Chosen Ones and Naturals by Tiffany Truitt
I'm counting these together because I can, so I guess this is technically my top 11 books. Whatever. The first two books in an outstanding dystopian series that more people should be reading. I am absolutely salivating for the third book.
4. The Bitter Kingdom (Girl of Fire and Thorns #3) by Rae Carson
This is one of my favorite YA series ever. I am a high fantasy junkie, so Rae Carson's world is like candy to me. The Bitter Kingdom is probably one of my favorite series-ending books of all time. It stays so true to Elisa and the power she's developed over the books, and it has too many swoon-worthy Hector moments to count.
3. Across a Star-Swept Sea by Diana Peterfreund
I loved For Darkness Shows the Stars, but Across a Star-Swept Sea just blew me away. Between expanding the world by leaps and bounds and introducing a girl who is probably the best heroine I read all year, how could this not be one of my favorite books of the year?
2. These Broken Stars by Meagan Spooner and Amie Kaufman
I don't even know what it is about this book, but I am so in love with everything about it. From the mesmerizing cover that makes you pick it up, to the twisting plot that keeps you reading, and the endearing characters that make you fall in love, everything is wonderful about it.
1. The Dream Thieves (The Raven Cycle #2) by Maggie Stiefvater
When I read The Raven Boys during the summer, it was my favorite book I'd read thus far, but The Dream Thieves eclipsed it several times over. A fascinating sequel that delivers on its promise of "100% more kissing" (according to Maggie) than the first, it is heart pounding, riveting, excruciatingly heartbreaking, and magical all at once.
Do you agree with any of my picks? What were your favorite books of 2013? I'd love to know! :)
No comments:
Post a Comment