Ayyyy, it’s time for Top Ten Tuesday! This is a weekly book meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish!
2013 has almost come to an end (can you believe it?!), so I thought it’d be fitting to squeeze in a Top 10 of my favorite books this year…The books on this list weren’t necessarily released in 2013– I just read them in 2013.
So…LET THE COUNTDOWN COMMENCE.
10) Mistwood by Leah Cypress
I just fell in love with the originality of the main character…I mean, how many other books out there have mythical, all-powerful beings as their main characters? None that I’ve read, that’s for certain. Think about how cool it would be to have that kind of power…Think about all those mere mortals you could cut in line at Taco Bell…
9) The Cold King by Amber Jaeger
Typical “Beauty and the Beast” retelling…but still so sweet. The love interest here is a bit cold (as is evident…from the title…why do I even try…), but by the end of the book, he had my heart melting.
8) Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver
I loved, loved, loved this. The entire Groundhog Day-esque plot was beautifully executed, and I loved how we could peel back one more slice of the plot with each day Sam had to relive. And the love interest…
Well, I guess I’ll leave you to figure that out for yourself.
7) The Emperor’s Edge by Lindsay Buroker
Not as well-known as some of the other books on this list, but amazing nevertheless. I loved the hardworking, likeable main character and loved even more her absolutely swoon-worthy love interest. Who doesn’t go weak in the knees for master assassins? I mean, I’m not the only one, right?…RIGHT?!
6) Scarlet by Marissa Meyer
I’d been waiting for this sequel to Cinder for forever. I waited so long in fact that I almost had to check myself in to the hospital for mental degeneration. Ah, yes. When I downloaded that book onto my Kindle, I was, like:
Good times, good times.
Anyways! With its clever take on “Little Red Riding Hood” and its unique and fast-paced plot elements, this one easily earned a spot on my Top Ten. After I read it, I actually did check myself in to the hospital because the book was so amazing it had stunned my brain cells.
5) Archangel by Sharon Shinn
The world-building here was freaking amazing. Angels and humans co-exist. God is a spaceship. The authority of angels is collapsing. I just…I just…I JUST–
4) Dark Triumph by Robin LaFevers
I fell in love with the first book, Grave Mercy, and Dark Triumph more than lived up to my expectations. With its dark, mature themes and subtle fantasy elements, this one was both a chilling and thrilling read. Plus, the whole not-insanely-good-looking-love-interest thing was pretty cool, too.
3) Flame of Sevenwaters by Juliet Marillier
I pretty much love anything Juliet Marillier has ever written, but this was the only book of hers that I read this year. Unsurprisingly, it was as amazing as you would expect a book in this series to be. An adventure into another world, a prophecy, and a special bond between human and animal…this book had all the old Irish mythology and whimsical prose that I fell in love with when I first read Daughter of the Forest.
2) Crown of Midnight by Sarah J. Maas
AHHHHHHHHHHH. I waited so long for this book, it’s not even funny. I FREAKING LOVED THIS. Crown of Midnight is the sequel to the amazing Throne of Glass, and it was so intense, I felt like was in a freaking Matrix movie. Blood, insanity, romance…It was a darker, tenser, more heart-wrenching version of its predecessor, and if you haven’t read it yet, I demand that you go to Amazon and buy it now. Go on, now. Go. GO. BUY IT. BUY IT NOW.
1) Siege and Storm by Leigh Bardugo
Here is what happened when I first got this book:
As you can see, this is a picture of the color black. I probably blacked out in sheer joy at least, I’d say, a good seventy-two times while I pored my eyes over this beautiful piece of wonder.
The character development and the setting and the Darkling and Stormhund and the amazing new powers that Alina develops…This book was just so action-packed and riveting and chilling…The ending, especially, was heart-breaking. I don’t think I can further explain this book without spiraling into a series of intense seizures.
– – -And that’s it for now! Make sure to subscribe for more bookish loveliness. Until then, keep dreaming, my friends!
The Sleepy Critic 