2013’s coming to an end, so it’s time for the inevitable favourites of the year post! I’m not limiting this to books that were released this year, as this is a personal faves list. So this includes everything that I’ve read in 2013, no matter how old. Here were my favourites:
The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
A beautifully written story about a magical duel played out in a Victorian circus. A gorgeous book.
The Folding Knife by K.J. Parker
This is a clever story with a lot of layers. Low fantasy with no magic, revolving around banking and politics in a Romanesque setting.
Ancillary Justice by Ann Leckie
Science fiction with an intriguing society and a very unique feeling created through its approach to gender, and through the main character’s position as an ancillary unit of a larger shipmind who is now severed from the ship.
The Shining Girls by Lauren Beukes
A time travelling serial killer loose in Chicago. I love time travel stories, and this one is excellently written, the time travel logic works well, and the characters are brilliant.
The Other Half of the Sky edited by Athena Andreadis
An anthology of science fiction stories about women, but also exploring non-western cultures and characters, and exploring tropes and ideas from new perspectives. Intelligent, fantastic stories.
Best Served Cold by Joe Abercrombie
A story of revenge with a lot of depth. Gritty fantasy in which a mercenary seeks revenge on the seven men who tried to kill her and murdered her brother. A great main character and some wonderful side characters.
The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making by Catherynne M. Valente
The story of a girl who visits fairyland. One of the best examples of the girl-taken-by-fairies stories that I’ve read. Wonderful writing and brilliant characters.
Any Other Name and All Is Fair by Emma Newman
I read Between Two Thorns in 2012, and followed with the last two books in the Split Worlds series this year. A fantasy series set in modern day Britain with sorcerers, magic, evil fae, feuds and investigations, and people just trying to drink their tea in peace.
Warm Bodies by Isaac Marion
Told from a zombie’s point of view, this is a love story with a difference. The wonderful writing and black humour took me by surprise. A great book!
Holes by Louis Sachar
The story of a young boy who is wrongfully accused of stealing and sent to a juvenile correction camp, but this is so much more than that. With strong themes dealing with race, fate and family, and the way in which echoes of past actions can be felt in the future, this story amazed me with its complex weaving together of seemingly separate storylines.
Retribution Falls by Chris Wooding
Airship pirates in a fantasy setting! This is a fun, exciting adventure story with some memorable characters.
Pantomime by Laura Lam
It’s hard to talk about this one without giving away what others might perceive as a spoiler, so I will just say that the main character in this one is wonderful, the world is rich and interesting, and I’m hooked on this series now!
The Eternity Cure by Julie Kagawa
I enjoyed The Immortal Rules, and its sequel is even better! The story of a vampire girl in an apocalyptic world – it’s part vampire novel, part zombie novel, with echoes of Fallout, great characters and a can’t-put-it-down story.
Bitten by Kelley Armstrong
I have to admit that I didn’t expect to like this one so much. Werewolves in modern America, a story about rivalry, feuds, murder, and romance. A very quick and exciting read, with characters I really cared about.
Geek Girl and Model Misfit by Holly Smale
These stories charmed me so much. A geeky girl called Harriet is suddenly thrown into the fashion world when she is spotted at the Clothes Show on a school trip. I adore Harriet and she is probably my favourite narrator ever. The author writes her voice so perfectly, and her observations about the world are brilliant. Incredibly funny, warm and intelligent books.
Gretel and the Dark by Eliza Granville
I finished this one in December and haven’t even had a chance to review it yet, but I had to add it to the list. An extremely dark and disturbing story in which fairytales are expertly woven with real events in 19th century Vienna and at a Nazi concentration camp in the final stages of the war. Impressive writing and a story that will stay with me for a very long time.
Favourite Books Read This Year
The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
A beautifully written story about a magical duel played out in a Victorian circus. A gorgeous book.
The Folding Knife by K.J. Parker
This is a clever story with a lot of layers. Low fantasy with no magic, revolving around banking and politics in a Romanesque setting.
Ancillary Justice by Ann Leckie
Science fiction with an intriguing society and a very unique feeling created through its approach to gender, and through the main character’s position as an ancillary unit of a larger shipmind who is now severed from the ship.
The Shining Girls by Lauren Beukes
A time travelling serial killer loose in Chicago. I love time travel stories, and this one is excellently written, the time travel logic works well, and the characters are brilliant.
The Other Half of the Sky edited by Athena Andreadis
An anthology of science fiction stories about women, but also exploring non-western cultures and characters, and exploring tropes and ideas from new perspectives. Intelligent, fantastic stories.
Best Served Cold by Joe Abercrombie
A story of revenge with a lot of depth. Gritty fantasy in which a mercenary seeks revenge on the seven men who tried to kill her and murdered her brother. A great main character and some wonderful side characters.
The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making by Catherynne M. Valente
The story of a girl who visits fairyland. One of the best examples of the girl-taken-by-fairies stories that I’ve read. Wonderful writing and brilliant characters.
Any Other Name and All Is Fair by Emma Newman
I read Between Two Thorns in 2012, and followed with the last two books in the Split Worlds series this year. A fantasy series set in modern day Britain with sorcerers, magic, evil fae, feuds and investigations, and people just trying to drink their tea in peace.
Warm Bodies by Isaac Marion
Told from a zombie’s point of view, this is a love story with a difference. The wonderful writing and black humour took me by surprise. A great book!
Holes by Louis Sachar
The story of a young boy who is wrongfully accused of stealing and sent to a juvenile correction camp, but this is so much more than that. With strong themes dealing with race, fate and family, and the way in which echoes of past actions can be felt in the future, this story amazed me with its complex weaving together of seemingly separate storylines.
Retribution Falls by Chris Wooding
Airship pirates in a fantasy setting! This is a fun, exciting adventure story with some memorable characters.
Pantomime by Laura Lam
It’s hard to talk about this one without giving away what others might perceive as a spoiler, so I will just say that the main character in this one is wonderful, the world is rich and interesting, and I’m hooked on this series now!
The Eternity Cure by Julie Kagawa
I enjoyed The Immortal Rules, and its sequel is even better! The story of a vampire girl in an apocalyptic world – it’s part vampire novel, part zombie novel, with echoes of Fallout, great characters and a can’t-put-it-down story.
Bitten by Kelley Armstrong
I have to admit that I didn’t expect to like this one so much. Werewolves in modern America, a story about rivalry, feuds, murder, and romance. A very quick and exciting read, with characters I really cared about.
Geek Girl and Model Misfit by Holly Smale
These stories charmed me so much. A geeky girl called Harriet is suddenly thrown into the fashion world when she is spotted at the Clothes Show on a school trip. I adore Harriet and she is probably my favourite narrator ever. The author writes her voice so perfectly, and her observations about the world are brilliant. Incredibly funny, warm and intelligent books.
Gretel and the Dark by Eliza Granville
I finished this one in December and haven’t even had a chance to review it yet, but I had to add it to the list. An extremely dark and disturbing story in which fairytales are expertly woven with real events in 19th century Vienna and at a Nazi concentration camp in the final stages of the war. Impressive writing and a story that will stay with me for a very long time.
I loved Eternity Cure. Awesome list :) I added a few to my wishlist.
ReplyDeleteSuch a good series, can't wait for the next! Hehe, I love adding to other people's TBR piles. ;-)
DeleteOhhhh dear... that's added a few to my library list, thanks! I LOVED Warm Bodies, it was definitely one of my top books of this year. I was sent Geek Girl in... October?... so I'll read that one soon! I still haven't read The Night Circus despite everyone in the shop/the blogosphere/my family telling me it's amazing. I read Holes for a 24-hour readathon a year or two ago and fell completely in love with the strange surreal excitement of the whole story. AWESOME LIST, IS WHAT I'M SAYING. Happy New Year chuck! :)
ReplyDeleteHaha thanks Ellie! :-D Ooh hope you read Geek Girl and The Night Circus soon, would love to know what you think! :-) HAPPY NEW YEAR!
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