Tuesday, December 31, 2013

Top Ten Books I Read In 2013

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637XpressoReadsTTTTop Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme that is hosted by The Broke and the Bookish where every week there is a new top 10 topic where we list bookish things.


Top Ten Books I Read In 2013

These are books that also released in 2013. I read a lot of great me-books that could also make this list so I had to limit it somehow – I’m too indecisive >.<
Also – it’s in no particular order.

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  • Sins & Needles by Karina Halle: I could really put the whole series on this list which is just fantastic. I love the grittiness and how character oriented it is. Plus, it has a perfect example of a love triangle done right!
  • The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey: This was such an intensely engrossing read. I especially loved how original it was in a genre that is way over-saturated. Plus, it went into the plausibility of alien life and what would happen if they came to earth which made it even scarier, in my opinion.
  • In the Shadow of Blackbirds by Cat Winters: This book is incredibly well written and very atmospheric, giving us the chills throughout. Set during an era that was full of illness and cruelty. Out of all the books I read this year this is one that’s the most memorable.
  • Crash Into You by Katie McGarry: This is my favorite in the series so far and I was so happy seeing as book 2 was a disappointment for me. I loved Isaiah from early on in this series and I was very happy with his story! I was also excited to see there are more books to come!
  • Reality Boy by A.S. King: Contemporaries were strong for me this year and this is one that stands out from all the rest. It was the kind of messed up that was just fascinating. I love these kinds ofย  books.

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  • This Song Will Save Your Life by Leila Sales: I had all the feels with this one. What I loved most about it was how uplifting it was even though it dealt with bullying and not fitting in. It’s one of those that every teenager should read.
  • Vicious by V.E. Schwab: This was my first book by this author and her first adult novel, too. The writing was just so addictive. I also loved how dark and twisted it was. If you’re also a horror fan you can’t miss this one!
  • Steelheart by Brandon Sanderson: Also my first from a well known author – and very impressed. This is one of those books that you have to put down to take a break because it’s so freaking intense you stop breathing when you read.
  • If You Find Me by Emily Murdoch: This is one that deserves all the praise its gotten. Such a beautiful story, which is impressive considering the dark topics this novel touches. It’s deep and emotional and incredibly inspiring.
  • Golden by Jessi Kirby: This is another example of hype well-deserved. I had very high expectations when I went into this one and it met every single one of them. This book gave me goosebumps, and I’m unlikely to forget it any time soon!

Which book(s) would make your list of best 2013 reads?


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Canadian blogger, wife, mother, coffee lover, and sarcastic at heart! She has had a love for all things bookish since before Amazon and eReaders existed *le gasp*. You can also find her organizing tours and other fun things at Xpresso Book Tours.

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47 Responses to “Top Ten Books I Read In 2013”

  1. Pili

    Quite a few of those are in my TBR pile and I can’t wait till I get to read them! I’m trying to convince the bf to do a readalong with Steelheart, cause I’m sure he’d love it too!

    This Song Will Save Your Life really was one of my absolute favourites, what a book!

    Happy New Year, Giselle!

  2. Siiri

    Haha. Where is Hopeless, Giselle? ๐Ÿ˜€ I have yet to read anything from your list, but I have so many of them on my shelf either in physical form or as an e-copy. I can’t wait to tackle them–The 5th Wave, Golden and Crash Into You are on my must-read-in-2014 list and I’m so exciteeeedddd!! ๐Ÿ™‚ Have a great new year, Giselle! <3

    • Giselle

      Haha I actually HAD Hopeless in my list of books I wanted on here but I also had way too many so I decided to put only books that released in 2013. It still makes my “top reads” list though!

  3. Jennifer | Book Den

    This is a great list. A couple of those books were must reads for me – The 5th Wave and Steelheart – and I managed to not read either of them. I hope you have a wonderful new year, Giselle.

  4. Renu

    In the Shadow of Blackbirds was phenomenal. I can’t wait to read more from Cat Winters! I agree with what you said about The 5th Wave, it’s a unique read for sure. Great list!

  5. Giselle

    I’ve only read one book out of your list, I’m sad to say. All the other ones need to be bought and bumped on to my reading list. I really thought THIS SONG WILL SAVE YOUR LIFE was just some contemporary read people were praising but I didn’t know it was about bullying! Must get now!

  6. Tammy Sparks

    Your list is amazing! There are several books on it that I’m dying to get to, but haven’t had time: This Song Will Save Your Life and Steelheart in particular. Yes to VICIOUS!!! That’s got to be in my top two faves.

  7. Aneeqah @ My Not So Real Life

    Ooh, it looks like we had some similar favorites this year! I totally adored Crash Into You, even though I’m not normally a big contemp fan. I actually didn’t really like Isiah in the first two books, but Crash Into You made me fall in love with him. ๐Ÿ˜‰ In the Shadow of Blackbirds is most definitely a memorable book, and I love the creepy yet gorgeous atmosphere present throughout the entire book. I haven’t seen it on many top ten lists, but I think it’s absolutely amazing! <3 I read This Song Will Save Your Life, and definitely thought it deserved at least an honorable mention. I just had some minor issues with the ending that prevented me from completely falling in love. But I totally agree with you, EVERY teenager needs to read that one. I've been slowly reccing it around my circle of friends. ๐Ÿ˜‰

    I won The Fifth Wave in a giveaway yet I STILL haven't read it yet, ugh. Everybody seems to be in love with it! That's one of the first books I plan to pick up in 2014. I also really wanted to read If You Find Me. It seems like something I would utterly adore.

    Lovely list, Giselle! I hope 2014 brings you even more awesome reads! <3

  8. ShootingStarsMag

    Your list mostly looks like titles I saw and immediately added to my wish list, but I have to read. Those include: The 5th Wave, In the Shadow of Blackbirds, Reality Boy, Vicious, and Steelheart. Sheesh, I need to get on it! LOL

    I don’t think I could make a top ten list!!

  9. Kara @ Great Imaginations

    Fantastic list, G. Glad to see If You Find Me on your list. I loved that one. The 5th Wave was really great too but I didn’t love it enough for it to be on my list. But I finished Vicious last night, and man, that was such a technically amazing book! *cough* I still haven’t read Steelheart.

  10. Neyra

    This year that list is smaller than last’s >.< But one of my top 2013 reads was HOT TICKET by Olivia Cunning. If you read Adult books, and haven't picked this one up yet, I would definitely recommend it, though you'd have to have read the previous books in the series (; lol As for YA I have to give it to Victoria Scott for making me laugh my ass off while reading. (: Happy New Year Giselle!

  11. Angie F.

    I’ve only read two of these: Sins & Needles and Crash Into You! I really liked them both! ๐Ÿ˜€

    I have The Fifth Wave hanging out on my shelves, and really want to read it, but I kind of want to wait until the series is done…but it’s making it onto a lot of Best of lists!

  12. Wendy Darling

    Your list overlaps with ours quite a bit, Giselle! I love that THE FIFTH WAVE, THIS SONG, IN THE SHADOW OF THE BLACKBIRDS, GOLDEN, and IF YOU FIND ME made it in particular. I really need to read VICIOUS and Karina Halle sometime, too.

    I love how varied your list is, btw.

  13. Maya

    The only one of these I’ve read is The 5th Wave and I totally loved it too! I really want to read This Song Will Save Your Life and If You Find Me so I’ll definitely look out for them ๐Ÿ˜‰

  14. Eileen @ Singing and Reading in the Rain

    This is the second time I’m seeing In the Shadow of Blackbirds as a top ten book choice, so I feel like I’m going to read it as soon as possible in 2014. I’m not always a huge historical fiction fan, but the atmospheric feeling you mentioned makes it seem worth the risk ๐Ÿ™‚ Fantastic list, Giselle, have a happy New Year! <3

  15. Amy @ Book Loving Mom

    Awesome list!! I still have to read a lot of those, but I have a few of the same top reads even though I didn’t do a list lol!! I loved Crash Into You and This Song Will Save Your Life. I have most of the other books, but haven’t gotten a chance to read them yet.

  16. Amanda @ Late Nights with Good Books

    Yay glad to see In the Shadow of Blackbirds made your list. It’s so well done and yet I don’t think it got nearly the amount of attention it deserved.
    This Song Will Save Your Life and Vicious are two books that slipped through the cracks for me this year, but I plan on getting to them in 2014.
    Great list, Giselle!

  17. Jennifer @ Some Like It Paranormal

    Sadly the only book here I have read is Crash Into You which I loved! Isaiah is such a sweet bad boy hottie. I have The 5th Wave and This Song Will Save Your Life on my must read TBR list so I can hopefully get to those sometimes this year! LOL Happy New Year!

  18. Bonnie

    The 5th Wave and The Shadow of Blackbirds were fantastic! And I NEVER read contemporary YA but also found new favorites in This Song and Golden. Still need to check out Steelheart but it’s coming up soon!

  19. Christina (A Reader of Fictions)

    We are so not in sync on the top books of the year that I’m laughing a lot. Though, I think if I had to pick just one, I would go with This Song Will Save Your Life, so at least we have that. Not that I hated all of the others, because I didn’t, but the only other one that I loved was In the Shadow of the Blackbirds. Supposedly I will love Vicious and Golden, but I haven’t gotten there yet. *crosses fingers*