Top Ten Most Anticipated Books of 2013

hosted by Broke and Bookish

My previous TTT's: Ten Worst Ways to End a Book, Top Ten Literary Characters I Want to Marry, Top Ten Books I'd Want on a Deserted Island, Top Ten Books/Authors I'm Thankful for

This is a list of all the books that make me weak-kneed with desire. Books whose releases I've marked down on my calendars. Books that, if you happen to possess an ARC, I will gladly push you in whichever body of water is nearest to steal.

1.      Untold by Sarah Rees Brennan

 

IT’S OUR PRECIOUS AND WE WANTS IT. I seriously, seriously loved Unspoken, despite the utterly heart-wrenching way in which it ended (Sarah, you know what you did). Unspoken was hardly your typical supernatural thriller, taking place in a quaint English village where some spooky magic-like things are happening.It struck a perfect balance between hilarious and Gothic-ly creepy. I want the sequel, like, yesterday so I can make sure all my beloved characters are okay and Sarah isn’t torturing them too badly (this is unlikely). Unfortunately I have to wait till August.

2.      Scarlet by Marissa Meyer

 

Cinder and I recently had a whirlwind affair in which we fell violently in love, so I think it's just wrong that I have to wait even a second to read its sequel, Scarlet, book two in the Lunar Chronicles. I love fairy tales, I love cyborgs, I love futuristic societies (especially in places like CHINA and PARIS!), and I LOVE these books. Scarlet is based on Little Red Riding Hood and I'm sure it will be awesome.

3.      The sequel to Defiance by C.J. Redwine

 

Defiance, the epic dystopian tale of a boy and a girl struggling to do the right thing/be in love/defeat their super evil totalitarian leader and the mythical beast threatening to murder them all, was one of those books I was just not expecting. It was incredible. The book was pulsing with fast-paced action and devastating emotion. It was soul-crushing in the best way possible. I love the two main characters and I’ve got to know what happens next.

4.      The Bitter Kingdom by Rae Carson

 

The Crown of Embers was one of my favorite reads of the year. This magical series, starting with The Girl of Fire and Thorns, features a strong female protagonist, a very deep fantasy world, and one of my favorite love interests of all time (oh Hector… sigh). I loved its unique focus on religion and the way it depicts the complexities of royal and political life. Plus The Crown of Embers was just SO romantic. It left off at a very tragic cliff-hanger-y juncture that left me weeping and cursing the heavens. Fall 2013 can’t come soon enough.

5.      The Madman’s Daughter by Megan Shepherd

 

 A YA Gothic horror book about Dr. Moreau's daughter? Sign. Me. Up. I've heard amazing things about this book, and having read the H.G. Wells novel it's based on, I've got very high expectations.

6.      The Madness Underneath by Maureen Johnson

 

 The Name of the Star is a hilarious, suspenseful, ghostly mystery set in London. It combined all my favorite things: quirky humor, English history, romance, and DEAD THINGS (said in a totally non-creepy way). It's sequel The Madness Underneath can't come soon enough. I myself am starting to feel the Maureen madness waiting very impatiently for this book.

7.      Unravel Me by Tahereh Mafi

 

Shatter Me is a powerful and beautifully written dystopian, full of romance, suspense, and action- not to mention a psychologically fragile heroine who can KILL with just one touch. It had some of the best prose I read all year, and best of all, there was Warner. I love him for the conflicted, tortured, smitten jerk-face he is. I can't wait to see what sort of awesome X-Men-like things Juliette is getting up to and what in the blazes will happen next.

8.      Splintered by A.G. Howard

 

I'll let the synopsis speak for itself (also that crazy gorgeous cover):
This stunning debut captures the grotesque madness of a mystical under-land, as well as a girl’s pangs of first love and independence. Alyssa Gardner hears the whispers of bugs and flowers—precisely the affliction that landed her mother in a mental hospital years before. This family curse stretches back to her ancestor Alice Liddell, the real-life inspiration for Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. Alyssa might be crazy, but she manages to keep it together. For now.

When her mother’s mental health takes a turn for the worse, Alyssa learns that what she thought was fiction is based in terrifying reality. The real Wonderland is a place far darker and more twisted than Lewis Carroll ever let on. There, Alyssa must pass a series of tests, including draining an ocean of Alice’s tears, waking the slumbering tea party, and subduing a vicious bandersnatch, to fix Alice’s mistakes and save her family. She must also decide whom to trust: Jeb, her gorgeous best friend and secret crush, or the sexy but suspicious Morpheus, her guide through Wonderland, who may have dark motives of his own.

9.      Etiquette and Espionage by Gail Carriger

 

LOOK at that cover. I think it's fabulous. I can't wait to read about a girl who goes to finishing school... to learn to be a SPY in an alternate steampunk Victorian world! Yes please. And the main character is named Sophronia, which is an excellent sign of excellence, in my opinion.

10.  Just One Day by Gayle Forman

 
I wept my way through both If I Stay and its sequel, Where She Went, both of which are touching, heart-wrenching portrayals of love and loss. Forman is a world-class writer and I have no doubt her next book will be sublime.

11. Siege and Storm by Leigh Bardugo

Yes, I know it's supposed to be ten. No, I don't care. I have to include the Grisha Trilogy because it is glorious. I am a pan-shipper of this series, as in, I ship every character with every other character because I love them all. This world is richly imagined, luxurious, magical, and beautiful. It is based on eighteenth century RUSSIA, which anybody who knows me will know is basically my favorite thing (my friend and I once spoke in Russian accents for an entire evening. Once you start, it's very hard to stop). Just knowing there are ARCs of Siege and Storm floating around is making me tense and jealous and oh-so-excited.

EDITED TO ADD
12. Drachomachia by Rachel Hartman

I can't believe I forgot this! I LOVED Seraphina. It was not only one of my favorite fantasies of the year, but one of my favorites EVER, and definitely the best depiction of dragons I've ever come across. I'm in love with the character Seraphina and want so badly to read about her again.

Books that are coming out in 2013 that I fully intend to read but have been REMISS in reading their prequels and so cannot honestly put them on this list:
 Requiem by Lauren Oliver

Clockwork Princess by Cassandra Clare

Shades of Earth by Beth Revis

The third Divergent Novel by Veronica Roth (I KNOW, I KNOW, I’m a bad YA book blogger)

What about you? Which books are you DYING to read? Leave your links to your own TTT, I'd love to know!

I'm also doing a Holiday Giveaway where I'm giving away 13 great books. If you've got a US/CA address you could WIN THEM ALL!