Top Ten Tuesday: Best Books I've Read So Far in 2013

Well, here we are again at another Tuesday.  This one is particularly rainy and stormy, so I'm hoping to get lots of writing done today.  But since it's Tuesday, that means it's another Top Ten Tuesday hosted by The Broke and the Bookish!

1. Perfect Scoundrels by Ally Carter

The best book I've read in 2013 thus far.  Ally Carter's books never ceases to delight me.  And did y'all hear that she just sold a new three-book deal?  It's called Embassy Row!

2. The Selection by Kiera Cass

I have trouble finding dystopian novels that I enjoy because they're starting to become a bit overdone.  Most are also very sci-fi, which I'm not a fan of.  But The Selection was different, thank goodness.  Although set in the future, Illea (the trilogy's world) didn't seem too different from the modern United States.  The story felt almost contemporary.

3. Cinder by Marissa Meyer

Dystopian and sci-fi that I enjoyed.  Pretty shocking.  I think the fairytale elements helped, not to mention strong characters that I connected to, especially in Cinder's sequel...

4. Scarlet by Marissa Meyer

As I've said before, I think I actually liked Scarlet better than Cinder.  Questions were answered while still leaving plenty of mystery.  I found myself relating to and enjoying Scarlet as a character more than I liked Cinder.  Scarlet has this fire about her that just makes her come alive.

5. The Fairest Beauty by Melanie Dickerson

Melanie Dickerson is one of my favorite authors when it comes to fairytale retellings.  I loved The Healer's Apprentice and The Merchant's Daughter when I read them last year, and The Fairest Beauty was great, too.  I'm really looking forward to her Cinderella-with-a-bit-of-Ivanhoe book this fall.

6. Belles by Jen Calonita

I've probably said this before, but I enjoyed the Belles series much more than Jen's Hollywood Secrets.  Several of the characters stood stronger, there were new and interesting twists around each corner, and while there were definitely mean girl problems, said mean girl grew herself.

7. Hamlet by William Shakespeare

Y'all probably think I'm crazy for including this.  I read Hamlet through my Shakespeare class, and part of the reason I enjoyed it so much was my teacher.  She's a Shakespeare geek and got us all really excited about the plot, the characters, the mystery, everything! (Of course, nothing tops 5-minute Hamlet, but that's not a book, so...)

8. Save the Date by Jenny B. Jones

I'm not even sure how I found this book.  A Twitter friend might've suggested it to me, I think.  But I loved the storyline and how everything played out.

9. The Elite by Kiera Cass

There were definitely aspects of The Elite that I liked more than The Selection.  There's a moment between Maxon and America towards the end that just gives my Team Maxon heart hope.  I enjoyed learning more about Illea's history.  But as many people have said, America gets a bit wishy-washy, and that did bother me to an extent.

10. The Princess by Lori Wick

I believe I first heard about this book from Blue Sky Bookshelf.  It was in one of her Top Ten Tuesday posts actually, I think!  I read the iBooks preview of it, checked the book out from the library, and fell in love.  It's a great Christian romance novel.

Now I'm off to write for a bit!  Happy Tuesday, everyone. :)