Welcome to Top Ten Tuesday, hosted by The Broke and the Bookish! So, we’re half-way through the year, can you believe it? It’s time to brush off those dusty memories and decide which books would make our Top Ten of the year—if the year ended today. Obviously, this list will change by the time December rolls around, but for now, these are my favorite books so far this year. And yes, I have chosen twelve, not ten, because it’s just too hard! Here they are, in no particular order (click on the links to read my reviews):
1. Ink and Bone by Rachel Caine. My most recent five-star review, this start to Caine’s new series blew me away with its original world-building and dangerous plot. Check out my review here.
2. Shutter by Courtney Alameda. One of the first books I reviewed in 2015, Shutter still remains one of my favorite in the young adult category. This debut was just stunning! And I can’t wait for Courtney’s next book, which comes out in fall 2016. My review.
3. Dark Star by Oliver Langmead. I hope more people discover this fabulous writer. Langmead’s book is a story in verse, but don’t let that scare you away. His writing is sooo good, and the story ain’t bad either;-) My review.
4. Hexed: The Sisters of Witchdown by Michael Alan Nelson. What a surprise this was! I expected to like it, but I didn’t expect to love it so much. Urban fantasy fans, you don’t want to miss the start of this new series. My review.
5. Afterparty by Daryl Gregory. If I had to choose my very favorite from this list, it would have to be Afterparty. This book and I just clicked, and now we’re engaged to be married. My review.
6. We Are All Completely Fine by Daryl Gregory. I know, it’s so unfair that Daryl Gregory gets two books on this list! But that’s the way it goes. He totally deserves it:-D My review.
7. Uprooted by Naomi Novik. I expect to see this book on lots of lists this week. Completely compelling and beautifully written, this is a book not to be missed, especially if you’re a die-hard fantasy fan. My review.
8. The Rebirths of Tao by Wesley Chu. What a fantastic ending to an awesome series! I enjoyed the hell out of Chu’s Tao books, but for the finale he really went above and beyond. My review.
9. The Damned by Andrew Pyper. A completely terrifying ghost story that offers up all kinds of gloomy glimpses into a possible afterlife scenario. It will scare you to death. My review.
10. The Gracekeepers by Kirsty Logan. I adored this book, and in my review I compared it to the experience I had reading Station Eleven, which was one of my favorite books last year. My review.
11. Rolling in the Deep by Mira Grant. This short novella was a short, sharp jab of a horror story. Killer mermaids, fake mermaids, TV personalities and cruise ship personnel, horror fans shouldn’t miss this. My review.
12. A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab. Schwab does it again, after one of my all-time favorite books, Vicious, but this time she sets her story in an alternate version of London. Amazing characters and amazing writing, two of Schwab’s trademarks. My review.
Have you read any of these? Let me know if you’ve done a Top Ten list this week:-D
Yeeeey Dark Star! That one might be on my list too, if I were to make one.
nikki @ book punks recently posted…book love: a photography project by arinn westendorf
Oh yay another Dark Star fan!
This is a fabulous list. I keep seeing The Damned at my library, but for some reason I’ve never checked it out. I need to fix that now! I think the book I’m looking forward to the most is Rachel Caines. I love her writing and I’ve been hearing great things about this book.
I hope you love Ink and Bones when you get a chance to read it! I can’t believe I’ve never read anything by Rachel Caine before:-)
Your list is like TBR embarrassment for me! So many I need to read and haven’t yet – and I know I’m going to love them all, which makes it that much more painful!
Becky LeJeune recently posted…Top Ten Tuesday: Favorite Books of 2015 So Far
I feel your pain, Becky! My TBR list is so out of control, it’s not even funny.
A Darker Shade of Magic made my list, too. I can’t wait for the sequel.
Aj @ Read All The Things! recently posted…Top Ten Tuesday: Best Books Of 2015 (So Far)
Me too, one of my new favorite series:-)
Shutter and A Darker Shade of Magic made mine too! I’ve seen Uprooted around several blogs this week – it sounds amazing!
Check out my TTT.
Lauren recently posted…Top Ten Tuesday: Books I’ve Read So Far In 2015
I’m glad to find another Shutter fan:-)
I hear such great things about Uprooted! Looks like you’ve read some amazing books so far this year, and I hope your good streak continues for the back half of the year.
Lucy recently posted…Top Ten Books I’ve Read So Far In 2015
Me too, I have a feeling there are lots of great books to come in the second half of the year:-)
I have read…7 of those! With one in progress (Ink and Bone – so excited!) and a couple more to-be-read hopefully soon. Thanks for reminding me of The Damned!
Mogsy @ BiblioSanctum recently posted…Bookish Bingo Finale, Audiobook Month Finale, & Miscellaneous Updates
Oh I hope you’re enjoying Ink and Bone!
There are too many books on your list that are still on my TBR!! 🙂 (I’ve only read 4!)
Lisa @TenaciousReader recently posted…Review: A Midnight’s Silence by T. Frohock
Ha ha! Four isn’t too bad!
So many of these are on my TBR pile and for the ones that aren’t, I’m already checking them out nat Goodreads. Rolling in the Deep looks very intriguing. I really need to go ahead and read Schwab’s book. I don’t know why I keep stalling.
Tiara recently posted…Teaser Tuesday & Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten (Audio) Books I’ve Listened To So Far In 2015
I haven’t read a single one of these! I’m waiting for copies of Uprooted and A Darker Shade of Magic from the library, and I will have to take a look at a lot of these… so much TBR potential.
Jenn recently posted…Top Ten Books I’ve read in the first half of 2015
Oh, The Damned! I remembering reading about that on SF Signal before it came out, and it thinking it would be creepy/horror. After that though, I never heard anything else about it :/ Nice to see it on a best of list. I’ll have to try and check it out now.
Yeay, Uprooted! If I had made a list, that would have been at the top. I am interested in Hexed, because I know you have mentioned it before, and I feel an itching to try out Urban Fantasy more.
Anne @ Lovely Literature recently posted…Can you balance your nerd addictions?
I haven’t read Uprooted or A Darker Shade of Magic yet but I’ve heard great things about both of them! I have seen them on a couple people’s lists so I’m definitely going to be reading them!
I’m jealous of Ink and Bone! That just got added to my TBR the other day. It sounds really good. Happy reading.
Top 10 @Libby Blog
Ange/Libby Blog recently posted…Waiting on Wednesday #179 – Pretending to be Erica & A History of Glitter and Blood
I have got to get caught up with the Tao books. Loved the first one.
My favorites this year have been a mix of old and new stuff. The Martian Chronicles, Slow Regard of Silent Things, Trigger Warning, Soldier Boy (which I’ll be reviewing soon), The Uplift War.
Just re-read The Night Circus, via the audio version this time. Even better than I remembered when I read it.
Carl V. Anderson recently posted…Rules of Acquisition: Minnesota Variations
What a great list and a lot of books on here that I’ve also enjoyed. I’ve bought the first Schwab book so really looking forward to that.
Lynn 😀
Lynn recently posted…‘The truth is, you’re the weak, and I am the tyranny of evil men. But I’m trying, I’m trying real hard’
I’m so anxious to get my hands on Ink and Bone! I’ve seen so many excellent reviews for this one. 🙂 Hadn’t even heard of Dark Star so going to have to go check that one out. I added Completely Fine after reading your review… so awesome to see that author snagged two spots on the list!
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