Top Ten Tuesday #3: Best of 2013

Top Ten Tuesday is a meme created by The Broke and The Bookish. Each week the girls at B&B think up a fun theme, and participating bloggers post their favorite 10 books in that category. This week's theme is

Best Books of 2013 (so far)

A note: I've read some pretty wonderful novels this year. Like amazing, gorgeous, well-written, thought-provoking, sob-inducing pieces of literary genius. Sadly, I had to cap this list at ten. All are rated 5 stars, but I had to leave some 5 stars out and also some amazing 4 star books. So these are the books that made me think the most. That made me feel the most. That broke my heart the most. That healed me the most. That taught me the most. That made me fall in love the most. These books are...the most. At least of 2013. Well, the beginning of 2013. Consider this my fervent recommendation that you read them immediately. Also, these are in order from earliest read to most recent, not in order of ranking. I'd rather flog myself with a copy of of the OED than rank them any more than I already have. Speaking of, since these all garnered 5 stars from me, I decided to give a silly rating based on what is noticable about each book.

1. Just One Day by Gayle Forman. WHERE was this novel when I was a freshman in college?! Seriously, this is like the most true rendition of college, ever. If you haven't read One Day yet, prepare yourself for ALL TEH FEELS. Love, heartbreak, depression, sorrow, joy, loneliness, self-realization... I mean, this is the woman who brought us If I Stay so that should tell you something right there. I absolutely can't wait for Just One Year.
Rating: 5 out of 5 vacation romances with European actors

2. Through the Ever Night by Veronica Rossi. There's a well-known and loathed phenomenon known as the curse of the second book, meaning when the first book is awesome, the second is expected to be awesome and often falls prey to those high expectations. Well, clearly Veronica said, "Screw that," and wrote herself another fantastic story. More Perria! More drama! More romance! More danger! More everything! Mostly more Roar! *fangirls go wild* Even when I was mad at Veronica (unfortunately I read a really ridiculously sad part 5 minutes before meeting her and felt utterly betrayed and could only ask her WHY [she laughed at/with me]), I loved her. PS Cover for Into the Still Blue and 3 chapters were just released!
Rating: 5 out of 5 boys wearing tight leather pants

3. The Indigo Spell by Richelle Mead. Richelle laughs in the face of the second book curse because clearly, it's never happened to her. As brilliant as her first books are, her second books never disappoint and TIS is no exception. All I can say is, "ADRIAAAAAAN!" :P And Sydney. Seriously, Sydrian makes me so happy, I can't even say. Fiery Heart is going to be friggin awesome. Nover 19, get here fast!
Rating: 5 out of 5 steamy tabletop make-out scenes

4. Perfect Scoundrels by Ally Carter. I won't call it the curse, but I wasn't as into Uncommon Criminals. Scoundrels, though, is a fantastic book 3 for the series with no end in sight. I think it's because Ally really mixed it up this time since Hale was a mark. Ally is a great writer with a wonderful imagination. I have no idea where she gets these crazy schemes, but I love reading about them. Clearly she's at the top of the NSA watch list because her novels are like the how-to on pulling off the perfect crime. Good thing her other series is the how-to on catching criminals! :D
Rating: 5 out of 5 adorable billionaires

5. Clockwork Princess by Cassandra Clare. GUH. If your heart wasn't ripped out of your chest several times while reading this, I'm just not sure about you as a person. I mean the feels, there were so many! First the.....and then the......and then the EPILOGUE. *dies* Also, chapter 19: Chicka. Chicka. YEAH!!!! That is all.
Rating: 5 out of 5 hottest love triangle action ever (No, not THAT. Pervs)

6. Revenge of the Girl with the Great Personality by Elizabeth Eulberg. I was shocked when i read some less-than-thrilled reviews, but I guess some people just have vastly different taste than I do. I thought Revenge made a great point about judging people by their looks, whether they're not so attractive or whether they're good-looking, and by the tag "great personality". Seriously, I had a coversation with Real Guys about that phrase and it wasn't pretty. More in depth review here.
Rating: 5 out of 5 references to pageant reality shows

7. I Now Pronounce You Someone Else by Erin McCahan. This is not a well-known book, and none of my friends on any platform have read it so I wasn't sure what to expect reading this one; I only did because its setting matched a challenge I'm doing. Certainly the blurb doesn't do it justice. That whole pretending-to-be-someone-else nonsense is NOT the plot. Pronounce is about love and growing up and how sometimes, you do outgrow love if it happens early in your life. Also, a breakup doesn't always happen because the guy is a jerk. Sometimes, he's really nice, but it just doesn't work out. It's sad, but it's a powerful message. You may not like it as much as I did, but I do recommend giving it a try.
Rating: 5 out of 5 wishes for a Happily Ever After after the end

8. Unravel Me by Tahereh Mafi. another writer who laughs in the face of the dreaded second book and instead uses the book to torture the ever-living crap out of her fans, especially those who have already declared allegiance to one love interest. DARN YOU, TAHEREH! IT's a really good thing I didn't read Unravel right before meeting Tahereh because I may have tried to kill her if I had. #TeamAdam, all the way, baby! FYI, Veronica is on our team, while Team Warner has a psychopath. I think we all know how this is going to end: Battle Royale, with the boys shirtless. I'm so okay with this, it isn't funny. Warner is a maniac, but at least he IS gorgeous! I am so going to the bad place for that....
Rating: 5 out of 5 swearwords (in a good way)

9. Burning by Elana K. Arnold. I came across Burning on Netgalley and fell in love with the cover. Then I fell in love with the blurb. I tossed out a request and was shocked when I was granted a digital review copy. I can't say enough good things about Burning. This book is gorgeous all the way through. Like Pronounce, this is a lesser-known book and the ratings are just not a good indication of how lovely it truly is. Just give it a shot. There was something in Burning that really resonated with me so I want to tell everybody abuot it! Full review here.
Rating: 5 out of 5 insane summer hippie festivals

10. Winger by Andrew Smith. Like with Burning, I can't say enough good things! Winger was touted as this hilarious coming-of-age novel about an underage high school junior who is this genius delinquent of a rugby player. However, I really wasn't expecting so much substance. Call me happily surprised! This will not be my last Andrew Smith novel because his writing is superb. Full review here.
Rating: 5 out of 5 empty tissue boxes because this book actually made me cry more than Clockwork Princess did. I know, RIGHT?!

11. The Eternity Cure by Julie Kagawa. Okay, so I'm cheating by adding a bonus book. HOWEVER, I made this list before I read The Eternity Cure, and after I read it, I couldn't not have it on this list. But I couldn't kick off any of the other books either so here we are. I'm really impressed with how well Julie pulls off her dystopian-vampire world in an industry flooded with vampire and dystopian novels. I definitely called a few of the bigger twists, but I don't think utter secrecy is Kagawa's goal.  I think her mastery of writing and characters and especially character relationships has only increased since The Immortal Rules. You'll be begging for #3 by the end.
Rating: 5 out of 5 blow-your-mind fight scenes