The Best of 2013 in Books

            I’ve mentioned here several times that it’s been an odd year. Nothing has gone as I thought it would, and I’m not where I’d hoped to be by now. But the year has had its good points, its highlights, and some of that is in the books I’ve read. Particularly, Lover at Last by J. R. Ward, The Girl Who Chased the Moon by Sarah Addison Allen, and Lament by Maggie Stiefvater. The first one is the only one that was actually released this year and it was a gift from Bear.

            Why are these books my pick for best reads of 2013? Well, the reasons vary according to each book.

            Lover at Last is a long awaited love story between two characters in the Black Dagger Brotherhood, and it was just gorgeous. The love story was wonderful, the further development of the world had me on the edge of my seat, dying for more. I love all books in the Black Dagger Brotherhood, but the previous two haven’t excited me in the way this one did. I’m eagerly counting down until the release of The King in 2014.

            The Girl Who Chased the Moon was a random find. I am not one hundred percent sure, but I think I bought it at one of my college’s library sales.  It stayed in my TBR pile for a long time, but when I finally picked it up, it was amazing. I loved the magic realism of Allen’s world and the local connection makes it even more interesting. Her stories are based in North Carolina and Allen herself lives in Asheville, my favorite city. Cool, huh?

             I know where Lament came from. There was a book sale that was run out of a warehouse around here for a long time called the Dollar Book Exchange. Often, they’d run .25 cent or .15 cent sales so my mom and I visited them frequently this year. I picked up Lament on one of the last trips we made. Something about the storytelling reminded me of my favorite young adult series ever: Sweep by Cate Tiernan. But instead of witches, this book has faeries. Heavy in Irish lore with a intriguing plot, this book just fed my taste for things Celtic.

            So, I guess the three themes here are love, local flavor, and magic. You can never go wrong there. What were some of your favorite reads from 2013?