Guest Post: Top 5 Books of 2013 with Amber!

Hi guys! My name is Amber and I run the YA book blog, The Mile Long Bookshelf. I'm really pleased to be here today on Sophie's amazing blog, talking about my favourite YA books of 2013 so far!

1) The Elites by Natasha Ngan

 This really is a fantastic roller coaster of a book. It blew my mind! The writing was beautifully breathtaking with a great range of characters that I truly cared for and I always felt a  real sense of danger due to what was happening. I just wanted to jump off the sofa and walk straight into the story to help them! Natasha Ngan really involves the reader, if that makes sense; I almost felt like I was there. The Elites is a stunning novel and it had something that made it a really rare treat of a book. Each scene was painted perfectly and I could picture everything really well. The Elites is like The Hunger Games and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows mixed into one legendary book!

2) Time Between Us by Tamara Ireland Stone

The plot is rich and the whole thing in general is so imaginative and...different. Sure, it's been compared to The Time Traveller's Wife - even by myself - but there is something that sets it apart from the rest. Maybe it's the fact that it's YA and not Adult, I'm not sure. All I know is that this book is beautiful, thought-provoking and enchanting. What's not to love?

3) Listening for Lucca by Suzanne LaFleur

'Listening for Lucca' is a rather short read - only 229 pages - which was a nice break from the usual long novels I have to read! In my opinion it is perfect for summer as it is mainly set around the beach, and even though it was short I don't think there was any more of the story to be told. Overall, the length was perfect and it's not often I can say that about a book! I  highly recommend that you read this beautifully written book. The cover is gorgeous and definitely reflects the story within!

4) By Any Other Name by Laura Jarratt

'By Any Other Name' is really unpredictable, and that's something I love in a book because it keeps you hooked. Whilst reading this, I really didn't want to put it down, which meant I stayed up until about 3am to finish it! It was worth it though - this has definitely made it onto my list of favourite books. It's exciting and full of action, with a couple of romantic moments to keep it sweet! Definitely a must-read.

5) Brooklyn Girls: Pia by Gemma Burgess

Pia's life is definitely like a roller-coaster and I felt lots of empathy for her at certain points throughout the story. I couldn't relate to her as she is a lot older than me, but I really liked her and it was good to watch her become a better person as the story progressed. Funny, realistic and action packed - you won't want to put it down!


So there you go - my top 5 favourite books of 2013! What are your favourites of the year so far?

A huge thank you to Amber for guest-posting today while I'm taking a short break! I've never had a person guest-post on this blog before so, I hope you liked the post! I'll also be guest posting on Amber's blog soon so, keep a look out for that! You can follow here.