favorite books of 2013

This is the most books I've recorded reading in a year. Granted, I only started keeping track of my reading a few years ago, but still....

There have also been quite a few really good books I've read this year so this post is just a round up of the ones that made me laugh the hardest, cried the longest, scared the crap out of me or had me biting all my nails off!

Locke & Key by Joe Hill & Gabriel Rodriguez (the whole series)

Freaky and gory and terrifying.  It kept me tense the entire time I was reading from beginning to end.  The art is fantastic and the story is crazy good.

Reached by Ally Condie

 I was slightly disappointed with Crossed and Reached made up for that a thousand times over.  I loved every single character, every single moment....it was just such a perfect book.

Luther: The Calling by Neil Cross

 Luther had a couple of things going for it as far as I was concerned.  It was about my favorite BBC show and it's written by the show's creator and writer, Neil Cross.  And it was SO GOOD.  It takes place before the show begins so you get the back story that's only hinted at in the show.  It was an excellent companion to the show.  

Yotsuba@! by Kiyohiko Azuma

 I saw the description for this on the back of another manga and thought it sounded like something Emma might like.  I started reading the first one and went to pick up the others immediately.  My mother-in-law gave me the entire set for Christmas because I just love Yotsuba!  Emma's read them too and loved them so I think that makes it a favorite because it was something we both loved.

Stolen Prey by John Sandford

 Ermahgawd Stolen Prey is probably my favorite Prey novel that Sandford has written.  Letty, Lucas's adopted daughter is the best badass in literature.  I was freaking hyperventilating, my heart was pounding through my chest while I was reading this one.  SO GOOD.

Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell

I wasn't expecting to like this book as much as I did.  Rainbow Rowell wrote this book that at first feels like a coming of age book and it is in it's way, but it was so much more than that.  The writing was spectacular.  I laughed out loud sometimes, but I cried too and I was frightened and worried and I cared so much about these characters it was ridiculous!

Good in Bed by Jennifer Weiner

 This is one of those books that I should have read years ago.  In fact, it's been sitting on my bookshelf for years.  I really just loved everything about it.  It was painful to read at times and there were characters I loathed, but it was supposed to be that way.  There's a sequel to this one out there, but I don't think I need to read it.  I think I love the way Cannie's story ended here.

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

 This is another book that sat on my shelf for awhile before I got around to it.  Magical, suspenseful, romantic, beautiful, heartbreaking, curious....it was everything a good book should be.

Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell

At this point, it is clear that Rainbow Rowell is my new favorite author.  I was almost instantly in love with this book.  The most telling feature is how throughout the book, mostly at the beginning of a new chapter, she writes a snippet of the canon or fanfiction that the book is centered around and I was just as into that stuff as I was into the actual story.  Rowell writes books to get lost in.  That's a good thing people.

So here's to another great year of book reading.  Happy New Year everyone and let's discover even better books in 2014!