Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature hosted at That Artsy Reader Girl. Each week you compile a list of ten books which coincide with that week’s theme. You can find everything you need to know about joining in here!
This week’s theme is ‘Favourite Books Released In the Last Ten Years’ suggested by Anne @ Head Full of Books, so from 2009-2018 I’m going to pick a favourite book for each year! These are books that were published in their respective years, it doesn’t necessarily mean that I read them in the year they were published. I’m notoriously slow for keeping up with what’s currently being raved about.
2009
The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters
One postwar summer in his home of rural Warwickshire, Dr. Faraday, the son of a maid who has built a life of quiet respectability as a country physician, is called to a patient at lonely Hundreds Hall. Home to the Ayres family for over two centuries, the Georgian house, once impressive and handsome, is now in decline, its masonry crumbling, its gardens choked with weeds, the clock in its stable yard permanently fixed at twenty to nine. Its owners – mother, son, and daughter – are struggling to keep pace with a changing society, as well as with conflicts of their own. But are the Ayreses haunted by something more sinister than a dying way of life? Little does Dr. Faraday know how closely, and how terrifyingly, their story is about to become intimately entwined with his.
2010
Feed by Mira Grant
The year was 2014. We had cured cancer. We had beaten the common cold. But in doing so we created something new, something terrible that no one could stop.
The infection spread, virus blocks taking over bodies and minds with one, unstoppable command: FEED. Now, twenty years after the Rising, bloggers Georgia and Shaun Mason are on the trail of the biggest story of their lives—the dark conspiracy behind the infected.
The truth will get out, even if it kills them.
2011
The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller
Greece in the age of heroes. Patroclus, an awkward young prince, has been exiled to the court of King Peleus and his perfect son Achilles. Despite their difference, Achilles befriends the shamed prince, and as they grow into young men skilled in the arts of war and medicine, their bond blossoms into something deeper – despite the displeasure of Achilles’ mother Thetis, a cruel sea goddess.
But when word comes that Helen of Sparta has been kidnapped, Achilles must go to war in distant Troy and fulfill his destiny. Torn between love and fear for his friend, Patroclus goes with him, little knowing that the years that follow will test everything they hold dear.
2012
Cinder by Marissa Meyer
Sixteen-year-old Cinder is considered a technological mistake by most of society and a burden by her stepmother. Being cyborg does have its benefits, though: Cinder’s brain interference has given her an uncanny ability to fix things (robots, hovers, her own malfunctioning parts), making her the best mechanic in New Beijing. This reputation brings Prince Kai himself to her weekly market booth, needing her to repair a broken android before the annual ball. He jokingly calls it “a matter of national security,” but Cinder suspects it’s more serious than he’s letting on.
Although eager to impress the prince, Cinder’s intentions are derailed when her younger stepsister, and only human friend, is infected with the fatal plague that’s been devastating Earth for a decade. Blaming Cinder for her daughter’s illness, Cinder’s stepmother volunteers her body for plague research, an “honor” that no one has survived.
But it doesn’t take long for the scientists to discover something unusual about their new guinea pig. Something others would kill for.
2013
All the Truth That’s in Me by Julie Berry
Four years ago, Judith and her best friend disappeared from their small town of Roswell Station. Two years ago, only Judith returned, permanently mutilated, reviled and ignored by those who were once her friends and family.
Unable to speak, Judith lives like a ghost in her own home, silently pouring out her thoughts to the boy who’s owned her heart as long as she can remember—even if he doesn’t know it—her childhood friend, Lucas.
But when Roswell Station is attacked, long-buried secrets come to light, and Judith is forced to choose: continue to live in silence, or recover her voice, even if it means changing her world, and the lives around her, forever.
2014
The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison
The youngest, half-goblin son of the Emperor has lived his entire life in exile, distant from the Imperial Court and the deadly intrigue that suffuses it. But when his father and three sons in line for the throne are killed in an “accident,” he has no choice but to take his place as the only surviving rightful heir.
Entirely unschooled in the art of court politics, he has no friends, no advisors, and the sure knowledge that whoever assassinated his father and brothers could make an attempt on his life at any moment.
Surrounded by sycophants eager to curry favor with the naïve new emperor, and overwhelmed by the burdens of his new life, he can trust nobody. Amid the swirl of plots to depose him, offers of arranged marriages, and the specter of the unknown conspirators who lurk in the shadows, he must quickly adjust to life as the Goblin Emperor. All the while, he is alone, and trying to find even a single friend… and hoping for the possibility of romance, yet also vigilant against the unseen enemies that threaten him, lest he lose his throne – or his life.
2015
Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo
Ketterdam: a bustling hub of international trade where anything can be had for the right price—and no one knows that better than criminal prodigy Kaz Brekker. Kaz is offered a chance at a deadly heist that could make him rich beyond his wildest dreams. But he can’t pull it off alone. . . .
A convict with a thirst for revenge
A sharpshooter who can’t walk away from a wager
A runaway with a privileged past
A spy known as the Wraith
A Heartrender using her magic to survive the slums
A thief with a gift for unlikely escapes
Kaz’s crew is the only thing that might stand between the world and destruction—if they don’t kill each other first.
2016
Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo
Welcome to the world of the Grisha.
Kaz Brekker and his crew of deadly outcasts have just pulled off a heist so daring even they didn’t think they’d survive. But instead of divvying up a fat reward, they’re right back to fighting for their lives.
Double-crossed and badly weakened, the crew is low on resources, allies, and hope. As powerful forces from around the world descend on Ketterdam to root out the secrets of the dangerous drug known as jurda parem, old rivals and new enemies emerge to challenge Kaz’s cunning and test the team’s fragile loyalties.
A war will be waged on the city’s dark and twisting streets – a battle for revenge and redemption that will decide the fate of the Grisha world.
2017
The Upside of Unrequited by Becky Albertalli
Seventeen-year-old Molly Peskin-Suso knows all about unrequited love—she’s lived through it twenty-six times. She crushes hard and crushes often, but always in secret. Because no matter how many times her twin sister, Cassie, tells her to woman up, Molly can’t stomach the idea of rejection. So she’s careful. Fat girls always have to be careful.
Then a cute new girl enters Cassie’s orbit, and for the first time ever, Molly’s cynical twin is a lovesick mess. Meanwhile, Molly’s totally not dying of loneliness—except for the part where she is. Luckily, Cassie’s new girlfriend comes with a cute hipster-boy sidekick. Will is funny and flirtatious and just might be perfect crush material. Maybe more than crush material. And if Molly can win him over, she’ll get her first kiss and she’ll get her twin back.
There’s only one problem: Molly’s coworker Reid. He’s an awkward Tolkien superfan with a season pass to the Ren Faire, and there’s absolutely no way Molly could fall for him. Right?
2018
Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik
Miryem is the daughter and granddaughter of moneylenders… but her father isn’t a very good one. Free to lend and reluctant to collect, he has loaned out most of his wife’s dowry and left the family on the edge of poverty–until Miryem steps in. Hardening her heart against her fellow villagers’ pleas, she sets out to collect what is owed–and finds herself more than up to the task. When her grandfather loans her a pouch of silver pennies, she brings it back full of gold.
But having the reputation of being able to change silver to gold can be more trouble than it’s worth–especially when her fate becomes tangled with the cold creatures that haunt the wood, and whose king has learned of her reputation and wants to exploit it for reasons Miryem cannot understand.
I really want to read a Sarah Waters this year! I love Six of Crows and Crooked Kingdom so I can 100% agree with you on them lol. I’m so in love with Naomi Novik’s Uprooted that I can’t believe I still haven’t read Spinning Silver (even though I own it lmao). That cover is gorgeous!! and the premise is A++ Thank you for sharing, that weeks topic was so interesting! It’s so cool to look back on. c:
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I loved Uprooted but I still need to try Spinning Silver. I can’t get enough of that white cover! And the Song of Achilles is one of the most gorgeous things I’ve ever read. Great to see it on the list! ❤
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Every time I see someone mention The Goblin Emperor I’m like I need that! Because I do.
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I’ve had The Song of Achilles for ages, but still haven’t read it!
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I love seeing Feed on this list! It broke my heart not to include that on mine but I read it one year where I had a TON of favorites… still holds a special place in my heart. 🙂
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Great list! I’ve read and loved so many of these, especially Leigh Bardugo’s books.
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You’ve got a lot of my favourites here! I really need to retry The Goblin Emperor soon, I think I’d like it, it just wasn’t right for me in the moment.
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Yes to The Song of Achilles! The Goblin Emperor is probably going to be on my TBR for June, so I’m really excited to see it on your list 😀
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Ahhhhh yay! I hope you enjoy it. 😀
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Great list! Cinder By Marissa Meyer was all over the place a few years ago and it looks like I missed the train! It sounds right up my ally 🙂
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It’s really fun – I hope you enjoy it if you pick it up! 😀
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Awesome list! Will have to check these out 🙂
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Thanks, I hope you enjoy them!
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I love seeing The Upside of Unrequited on here. That book was so easy to relate to.
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Definitely one of my favourite YA books of recent years – I loved it!
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The Little Stranger – I love it! 🙂
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It’s such a good novel!
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I loved Cinder, and I just recently read The Song of Achilles – what a beautiful story!
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The Song of Achilles is beautiful and it broke my heart!
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Lunar Chronicles and SoC duology are sooo good ❤
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I love them both! 😀
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I have a hard time reading books the year they were released as well. Great list! 🙂
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Thanks – it’s good to know I’m not the only one!
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I love the sloth gif ❤ Haha I am super slow at reading books anywhere close to the date they were released. (For example I haven't read Cinder, or Six of Crows, but I want to!)
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Thanks. 😉 Cinder is really fun and I adore Six of Crows – I hope you enjoy them when you pick them up!
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I always meant to pick up Feed, but never got around to it. Spinning Silver made your list and it makes me want to finally pick it up. I don’t know why I’ve put it off. Great list!
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Spinning Silver and Feed are AMAZING. I’ve seen a lot of beige reviews of Spinning Silver and it’s a shame – I think it’s a masterpiece!
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Great list! I’ve been meaning to check out Feed – it’s such a big series now though, so many books.
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There are a few now, but it’s definitely worth it – I loved it!
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Oh I remember when Feed came out and was huge. I never did read it, darn it! I have tried some of her other books though and liked ’em. Need to try more.
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Feed is SO good – I hope you pick it up!
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This week makes me want to read The Lunar Chronicles. I liked Six of Crows and Crooked Kingdom. Just read them recently.
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The Lunar Chronicles is such a fun series – I hope you enjoy it if you pick it up! 🙂
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I loved the little Stranger! I see you read Spinning Silver, did you read her first book, Uprooted?
My ttt
http://www.thehauntedgravebooks.com/2019/05/favorite-books-released-in-last-ten.html
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The Little Stranger is so good! I did read Uprooted and I wasn’t the biggest fan of it, sadly – I think Spinning Silver is a masterpiece, though.
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Great post Jess! Some of these books are on my TBR. https://paigesofbook.blogspot.com/2019/05/top-ten-tuesday-1-from-2019-favorite.html
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Thanks – I hope you enjoy the ones you have your eye on when you read them!
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I struggled to choose only one book per year. So I was a rebel and picked two. Great choices.
My TTT: Marie @ Pages to Explore
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Thanks! I don’t blame you for your rebellious ways – it was tough to choose!
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I have a copy of Feed and have yet to read it. What’s wrong with me? Great list though, a lot of these are on my TBR.
Here is our Top Ten Tuesday. Thank you!
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Feed is brilliant, I hope you enjoy it!
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So many great books! We both have Feed for 2010 (although I didn’t actually read it until last year… it takes me a while, but eventually I catch up!). I love Song of Achilles too, and can’t wait to finally read Spinning Silver!
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I love Feed and The Song of Achilles so much. 😀 I hope you enjoy Spinning Silver – I think it has a really good chance of being my favourite book of the year!
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I can’t believe I haven’t read it yet! I loved Uprooted so much, and was so excited to get a copy of Spinning Silver, so there’s no excuse. I always feel like I just need to read a few more ARCs before I”m free to read all my other books. 😦
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I keep seeing Six of Crows on everyone’s list and it’s making me sad because I haven’t read it yet!
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But it means you have it to look forward to. 😉 I hope you enjoy it when you pick it up!
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The Little Stranger was such a great story! I can’t believe it’s 10 years old now. Have you seen the film based on it yet?
My TTT.
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I know, it’s such a good book! Yes, I saw the adaptation last year and really enjoyed it – the book is definitely better, but I think it’s a really strong adaptation.
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I’ve read of this list, Six of Crows, Crooked Kingdom and Cinder, though none of them made my list this week. 2015 was a hard one, a lot of books I really loved were published that year (though ironically it was a terrible reading year for me and I read pretty much all of them in the years following).
My TTT: https://jjbookblog.wordpress.com/2019/05/28/top-ten-tuesday-213/
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It’s funny how that works out, isn’t it? It was hard for me to choose 2015, too – Signal to Noise is another of my favourites, and it broke my heart a bit to leave it out!
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It is! Yes, 2015 was a year filled with such good books, I could have had ADSOM, Six of Crows, or the first Magnus Chase book and neither would have been wrong, they were all favourites of mine!
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nice list. I would love to read the song of Achilles
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Thanks – I hope you enjoy it if you pick it up!
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I really want to read Cinder (and the rest of the series). The covers are also amazing…
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I do love the covers! I hope you enjoy the series if you get to it. 🙂
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This is a great list Jess! You’ve reminded me that I still need to get to Spinning Silver 😛 Six of Crows also made my list for this week and I loved The Song of Achilles, even though I didn’t include it this time. 🙂
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Thanks Kate! I ADORED Spinning Silver, I hope you enjoy it. 😀
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Oh I will have to check some of these out!
Lotte | http://www.lottelauv.blogspot.co.uk
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I hope you enjoy them!
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Your list reminds me how many awesome books there’s been! 🙂
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It’s been a really good ten years of books!
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Spinning Silver and The Upside of Unrequited might have made my list on a different day. Both were very good.
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I really loved them both – I can’t wait to re-read Spinning Silver. 🙂
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I LOVED The Song of Achilles so much. Cinder was also very good. Great list!
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Thanks! The Song of Achilles is so beautiful and I loved Circe, too – I hope we don’t need to wait another seven years for Miller’s next novel!
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I might have done this one if I had been doing my book review blog for 10 years. These are fun.
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It was a challenge to look through ten years and only pick ten books!
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