With all the craziness of the holiday season, I haven’t had a time to sit down and look over my year of reads until now! Here are my favorite reads of 2013 🙂
Adult & New Adult Reads
I haven’t read many of these this year, but I’m hoping to expand my reading into the adult and new adult categories, especially when it comes to urban fantasy and paranormal romance.
#5 The Fallen Queen by Jane Kindred
The characters are interesting with likable personalities. Though the story is slow to start, it picks up speed once the plot gets going, and I like how the battle scenes aren’t romanticized. A solid start to a series. (review)
#4 Charming (Pax Arcana #1) by Elliott James
A humorous read with vibrant, interesting personalities. I like the spin on knights and supernatural creatures. (review)
#3 Under Wraps (Underworld Detection Agency #1) by Hannah Jayne
I’m always up for a book urban fantasy read that integrates various paranormal creatures, and Under Wraps does just this with a good dose of humor! The characters are fun and snarky, and the plot mysterious and intriguing. (review to post)
#2 The Year of Luminous Love by Lurlene McDaniel
I’m always up for a good Western or dark contemporary, and this mixes both. The multiple perspectives really works for this novel, as all three girls have something to add to the story, and I love how all the plot threads come together in the end. (review)
#1 An Uncommon Education by Elizabeth Percer
I haven’t really gotten into the New Adult genre, but An Uncommon Education is the exception. It’s beautiful and poignant and also more on the literary side compared to my usual reads. (review)
Young Adult Reads
Speculative Fiction
I didn’t read many stellar YA speculative fantasies. It didn’t help that I hit a couple bad reading slumps this past year, especially when it came to this genre. Nevertheless, these titles in particular stood out to me.
#5 The Eternity Cure by Julie Kagawa
The imagery is beautiful and haunting, and it’s so easy to love or hate the characters. Plus, that ending… (review)
#4 Transparent by Natalie Whipple
I love how superpowers are treated in a matter-of-fact manner, bringing the focus to the awesome characters. Plus, the romance is cute and sweet. (review)
#3 Spark by Amy Kathleen Ryan
The Sky Chasers series has a strong plot and characters that really make me feel things. This book was both frustrating and amazing. I was on my [virtual] seat the entire time. (review to post)
#2 Scarlet by Marissa Meyer
Amazing second installment in the Lunar Chronicles. I love the characters; I love the world; I love the series. There was a close running between this and The Coldest Girl in Coldtown for my favorite YA speculative fiction book of 2013. (review)
#1 The Coldest Girl in Coldtown by Holly Black
This is an intense, compelling read filled with kickass, awesome, yet sympathizable characters and twists and turns that I couldn’t see coming. I didn’t want to put this book down. (review)
Contemporary
This was a great year for contemporaries. There were some REALLY close calls in deciding my top five and then in ranking them.
#5 When You Were Here by Daisy Whitney
An emotional, poignant read with realistic, sympathizable characters. Plus, there’s a foreign setting, it’s JAPAN, and it’s worked into the story seamlessly. (review)
#4 How Zoe Made Her Dreams (Mostly) Come True by Sarah Strohmeyer
Another cute, quirky read from Sarah Strohmeyer! The characters are wonderful, and the story is set at an amusement park! Fairyland, no less. (review)
#3 Ketchup Clouds by Annabel Pitcher
Annabel Pitcher is quickly becoming one of my favorite contemporary writers. Zoe’s story is told with brutal honesty and simplicity, and it broke my heart. I also like how the story isn’t just about the romance and murder. Her family plays a prominent role in her life. (review to come)
#2 A Trick of the Light by Lois Metzger
A deep, compelling, realistic novel about a boy with anorexia. I especially love how the story is told from the perspective of anorexia and how it takes a while to decide who to trust. (review)
#1 How I Lost You by Janet Gurtler
Janet Gurtler’s novels just keep getting better and better. This is a realistic, moving novel about a friendship that is threatening to fall apart and how the girls decide what to do with their lives. I love how the story focuses on two girl friends when the best friend often gets pushed to the side in YA lit. (review)
Middle Grade Reads
I can always count on some good MG reads to bring a smile to my face. I enjoyed these five in particular.
#5 The Northern Frights (Scary School #3) by Derek the Ghost
The Scary School books are always filled with fun and humor. The Northern Frights introduces cool new monsters and shows how appearances don’t matter. (review)
#4 Loki’s Wolves (The Blackwell Pages #1) by K.L. Armstrong & M.A. Marr
This is a fun middle-grade read with roots in Norse mythology. There’s magic and adventure and a cast of awesome characters. (review)
#3 A Matter of Days by Amber Kizer
This is a great post-apocalyptic survival story with realistic characters. I especially love the open ending that leaves us on a note of hope for the future. (review)
#2 The False Prince by Jennifer A. Nielsen
A solid debut with a crazy fun protagonist and interesting plot line. I love how the story comes together at the end. (review)
#1 The School for Good and Evil (TSGE #1) by Soman Chaimni
I love how this book explores the boundaries of what it means to be good and evil and how it isn’t afraid to make fun of its characters in the process. It also shows how girls don’t need to have a prince to be complete. (review)
What made your list of favorite books of 2013?
Author: Crystal
A story girl at heart, Crystal is a bibliophile who can easily spend the day immersed in a good read. She writes under the name Kristy Wang. You can follow her writing adventures on X and Instagram @_kristywang.
Jenea Whittington says
You have some really good sounding books as your favorites. I would like to read the Lunar Chronicles soon. Happy reading.
Crystal says
Thanks Jenea! The Lunar Chronicles is one of my favorite series. I hope you enjoy it as much as I have! 🙂
Alexa A says
Yay for The Coldest Girl in Coldtown! Glad someone else liked it as much as me, I usually seem to be the only one who has even read it, let alone loved it. 🙂
Crystal says
It was an amazing book!! Yeah, I haven't really seen it around the blogosphere 🙁