Joelene's Top 5 Books of 2013

Joelene Pynnonen shares her 5 Top reads for 2013

1. Catching Fire – Suzanne Collins

 A wonderful second book in the Hunger Games trilogy.
 
2. Purple Threads – Jeanine Leane
 
Both amusing and profound, this collection of interlocking stories is about a family of Indigenous Australian women that you will never forget.
 
3. One Small Step – ed. Tehani Wessely
 
Most of the books that hit my top five were a surprise this year. This one possibly more than the others. I’m not a fan of short stories but this collection of speculative fiction is amazing.
 
4. Etiquette and Espionage – Gail Carriger
 
A steampunk Finishing School for female spies and assassins. Everything about this story is made of win; but the narrative voice is what I loved the most.
 
5. A Wicked Kind of Dark – Jonathan K. Benton
 
A great debut novel. Part epic fantasy, part urban fantasy; this novel blends genres to create something new and exciting.
 

Most Anticipated Books of 2014 

 1. Coldest Girl in Coldtown – Holly Black

 This book is based on a short story of the same name. I know nothing about it except that the short story is breath-takingly wonderful.
 
2. Mockingjay – Suzanne Collins
 
Still have not finished this amazing series. I’m anticipating and dreading it in equal parts. Where will I go after this?

3. Academy 7 – Anne Osterlund
 
Outsider, Aerin Renning, is stunned to find that she’s been accepted into the exclusive Academy 7, but finds that she has to contend with the affluent Dane Madousin.
Divergent – Veronica Roth
 
A society divided into five factions, each one based on a virtue. I’ve tried to stay away from the reviews for this so that I can go into it without expectations, but it sounds like my sort of a book.
 
4. Ice Breaker – Lian Tanner
 
I loved the Museum of Thieves series and am looking forward to Tanner’s latest novel.