Top Ten Books I Read in 2013!

 Hi Guys,



The website has been down for two weeks but it's finally back up so I wanted to put out a blog post ASAP so you all know I'm still alive. I barely, barely scraped by making my Goodreads 50 books in 2013 goal. I do read a lot considering how little time I have to do it but this year I had to throw in some of my research books to make the goal. Anyway, here is the list of my top ten favorites for the year. Also, please keep in mind that these books didn't all come out in 2013. This is just when I got around to reading them.










#10-Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi


Cover Copy: The last time she did, it was an accident, but The Reestablishment locked her up for murder. No one knows why Juliette’s touch is fatal. As long as she doesn’t hurt anyone else, no one really cares. The world is too busy crumbling to pieces to pay attention to a 17-year-old girl. Diseases are destroying the population, food is hard to find, birds don’t fly anymore, and the clouds are the wrong color. The Reestablishment said their way was the only way to fix things, so they threw Juliette in a cell. Now so many people are dead that the survivors are whispering war – and The Reestablishment has changed its mind. Maybe Juliette is more than a tortured soul stuffed into a poisonous body. Maybe she’s exactly what they need right now.



My Thoughts: When Juliet was in the prison/institution I felt like I was going crazy too. The intensity the actress (I listened to it on audiobook) gave to Juliet's character made her all the more memorable. I also really like Adam. At the end I just wanted more, especially about the twin healers. They were such an interesting addition. I also really thought it was cool that every day Juliet just wanted to see a bird and the bird she hoped to see was tattooed on Adam's chest.



 

#9-Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake


Cover Copy: Cas Lowood has inherited an unusual vocation: He kills the dead. So did his father before him, until he was gruesomely murdered by a ghost he sought to kill. Now, armed with his father's mysterious and deadly athame, Cas travels the country with his kitchen-witch mother and their spirit-sniffing cat. They follow legends and local lore, destroy the murderous dead, and keep pesky things like the future and friends at bay. Searching for a ghost the locals call Anna Dressed in Blood, Cas expects the usual: track, hunt, kill. What he finds instead is a girl entangled in curses and rage, a ghost like he's never faced before. She still wears the dress she wore on the day of her brutal murder in 1958: once white, now stained red and dripping with blood. Since her death, Anna has killed any and every person who has dared to step into the deserted Victorian she used to call home.



My Thoughts: So creepy! It was a nice change being in a guy's head in a YA book. Loved Anna! If you are a person who enjoys YA and likes to be scared, then this is the book for you.









#8-Unearthly by Cynthia Hand


Cover Copy: In the beginning, there's a boy standing in the trees . . . .Clara Gardner has recently learned that she's part angel. Having angel blood run through her veins not only makes her smarter, stronger, and faster than humans (a word, she realizes, that no longer applies to her), but it means she has a purpose, something she was put on this earth to do. Figuring out what that is, though, isn't easy. Her visions of a raging forest fire and an alluring stranger lead her to a new school in a new town. When she meets Christian, who turns out to be the boy of her dreams (literally), everything seems to fall into place and out of place at the same time. Because there's another guy, Tucker, who appeals to Clara's less angelic side. As Clara tries to find her way in a world she no longer understands, she encounters unseen dangers and choices she never thought she'd have to make between honesty and deceit, love and duty, good and evil. When the fire from her vision finally ignites, will Clara be ready to face her destiny. Unearthly is a moving tale of love and fate, and the struggle between following the rules and following your heart.



My Thoughts: I'm a little sad that it took me so long to read this book. I've known Cynthia a while now so I am officially a bad friend for not getting to it until now. This is a great read. I love angel stories and this one is my favorite so far. The characters feel very likable and real to me, especially Tucker. Love him! Sigh. I have a thing for cowboys. Have to jump right into book two, which, fortunately, I have on hand and then I'll have to order book three which just came out. Favorite things: the wings can change into any kind of wings like a butterfly's or fairy wings, etc., and I like the mystery behind the mom and the brother and the romantic rival.










#7-Wings by Aprilynne Pike


Cover Copy: Laurel was mesmerized, staring at the pale things with wide eyes. They were terrifyingly beautiful; too beautiful for words.
Laurel turned to the mirror again, her eyes on the hovering petals that floated beside her head. They looked almost like wings.
In this extraordinary tale of magic and intrigue, romance and danger, everything you thought you knew about faeries will be changed forever.



My Thoughts: Awesome premise! Love this twist on the world of the fey. The blossom is really interesting and I'm really liking the science nerd boyfriend.









 

#6-Alpha Goddess by Amalie Howard


Cover Copy: In Serjana Caelum’s world, gods exist. So do goddesses. Sera knows this because she is one of them. A secret long concealed by her parents, Sera is Lakshmi reborn, the human avatar of an immortal Indian goddess rumored to control all the planes of existence. Marked by the sigils of both heaven and hell, Sera’s avatar is meant to bring balance to the mortal world, but all she creates is chaos. A chaos that Azrath, the Asura Lord of Death, hopes to use to unleash hell on earth. Torn between reconciling her past and present, Sera must figure out how to stop Azrath before the Mortal Realm is destroyed. But trust doesn’t come easy in a world fissured by lies and betrayal. Her best friend Kyle is hiding his own dark secrets, and her mysterious new neighbor, Devendra, seems to know a lot more than he’s telling. Struggling between her opposing halves and her attraction to the boys tied to each of them, Sera must become the goddess she was meant to be, or risk failing, which means sacrificing the world she was born to protect.


My Thoughts: (Official Blurb) I was absolutely immersed in Sera’s world! Alpha Goddess is a fiery, gripping twist on a timeless love story. The rich mythology and exotic themes were beautifully imagined and unlike anything I've ever read before. Brilliantly dark and powerful. A must read!



 

#5-Starcrossed by Josephine Angelini
Cover Copy: Helen Hamilton has spent her entire sixteen years trying to hide how different she is—no easy task on an island as small and sheltered as Nantucket. And it's getting harder. Nightmares of a desperate desert journey have Helen waking parched, only to find her sheets damaged by dirt and dust. At school she's haunted by hallucinations of three women weeping tears of blood . . . and when Helen first crosses paths with Lucas Delos, she has no way of knowing they're destined to play the leading roles in a tragedy the Fates insist on repeating throughout history. As Helen unlocks the secrets of her ancestry, she realizes that some myths are more than just legend. But even demigod powers might not be enough to defy the forces that are both drawing her and Lucas together—and trying to tear them apart.



My Thoughts: If you like Greek mythology then this book should be right up your alley. Helen is a great heroine and Lucas is pretty amazing as well. ;) The Fates creep me out. I can totally picture them too which doesn't help with the creep factor. I was really liking Castor as the bad guy so now I wonder what Josie has in store for the next book. Can someone be even worse than that? Shudder. My favorite part? The flying. You'll see.





 

#4-The Body Finder by Kimberly Derting
 
Cover Copy: Violet Ambrose is grappling with two major issues: Jay Heaton and her morbid secret ability. While the sixteen-year-old is confused by her new feelings for her best friend since childhood, she is more disturbed by her "power" to sense dead bodies—or at least those that have been murdered. Since she was a little girl, she has felt the echoes that the dead leave behind in the world... and the imprints that attach to their killers. Violet has never considered her strange talent to be a gift; it mostly just led her to find the dead birds her cat had tired of playing with. But now that a serial killer has begun terrorizing her small town, and the echoes of the local girls he's claimed haunt her daily, she realizes she might be the only person who can stop him. Despite his fierce protectiveness over her, Jay reluctantly agrees to help Violet on her quest to find the murderer—and Violet is unnerved to find herself hoping that Jay's intentions are much more than friendly. But even as she's falling intensely in love, Violet is getting closer and closer to discovering a killer... and becoming his prey herself.


My Thoughts: Loved this book. It's a murder mystery slash romance. Cheering for Jay the whole time. What a creepy superpower. Don't think I'd want this one though I see how it could open up some career options for Violet. Great read!







 
#3-The Selection by Kiera Cass

Cover Copy: For thirty-five girls, the Selection is the chance of a lifetime. The opportunity to escape the life laid out for them since birth. To be swept up in a world of glittering gowns and priceless jewels. To live in a palace and compete for the heart of gorgeous Prince Maxon. But for America Singer, being Selected is a nightmare. It means turning her back on her secret love with Aspen, who is a caste below her. Leaving her home to enter a fierce competition for a crown she doesn't want. Living in a palace that is constantly threatened by violent rebel attacks. Then America meets Prince Maxon. Gradually, she starts to question all the plans she's made for herself and realizes that the life she's always dreamed of may not compare to a future she never imagined.

 

My Thoughts: Now you all know that I am a fan of fancy dresses. So this won't come as a shock...I love the dress on this book and all the dresses inside this book. I was prepared to not like Maxon and I have to tell you I am now #teammaxon for the win. I like Aspen okay and I can even forgive him but I go for the handsome prince every time. I sense more political strife in future books which is exciting. I really want to sink my teeth into what's going on behind the scenes. Favorite scene: first kiss.

 

#2-The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan


Cover Copy: In Mary's world there are simple truths. The Sisterhood always knows best. The Guardians will protect and serve. The Unconsecrated will never relent. And you must always mind the fence that surrounds the village; the fence that protects the village from the Forest of Hands and Teeth. But, slowly, Mary’s truths are failing her. She’s learning things she never wanted to know about the Sisterhood and its secrets, and the Guardians and their power, and about the Unconsecrated and their relentlessness. When the fence is breached and her world is thrown into chaos, she must choose between her village and her future—between the one she loves and the one who loves her. And she must face the truth about the Forest of Hands and Teeth. Could there be life outside a world surrounded in so much death?



My Thoughts: This book was creeptastically good. The zombies are more of a side story rather than up front and in your face so if you want to try a zombie book this one might be a good starter. Favorite parts were the scenes that took place in the synagogue. Scary and hopeful at the same time.





 
#1-Daughter of Smoke & Bone by Laini Taylor
Cover Copy: Around the world, black handprints are appearing on doorways, scorched there by winged strangers who have crept through a slit in the sky. In a dark and dusty shop, a devil’s supply of human teeth grown dangerously low. And in the tangled lanes of Prague, a young art student is about to be caught up in a brutal otherwordly war. Meet Karou. She fills her sketchbooks with monsters that may or may not be real, she’s prone to disappearing on mysterious "errands", she speaks many languages - not all of them human - and her bright blue hair actually grows out of her head that color. Who is she? That is the question that haunts her, and she’s about to find out. When beautiful, haunted Akiva fixes fiery eyes on her in an alley in Marrakesh, the result is blood and starlight, secrets unveiled, and a star-crossed love whose roots drink deep of a violent past. But will Karou live to regret learning the truth about herself?



My Thoughts: This book is the most utterly unique creation I've ever read and I read a lot! To talk about it all is to give away the surprises within. I would say the material skews more adult than teen. Favorite part: The big reveal when the character realizes who/what she really is. That's all I'm gonna say since I don't want to spoil it at all. Colorful, vivid, powerful, dynamic.






I hope your 2014 is off to a fabulous start! I have exciting things to do and announce this year and I'm looking forward very much to the various school visits and events I have planned. Happy January!



Colleen