Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten Books I've Read this Year!

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish.

This past year has flown by - I've just realised that I actually missed my first blogiversary two days ago! I've read many great books this year, but I actually found this list relatively easy to compile, you know a good book when you read one! So without further ado, here are my top picks that I've read this year:

There are two books I read this year that went straight onto the all-time favourites list, and interestingly they are very similar in theme, Full of 'magic', mystery and illusion, thy transport you completely into another world. The Illusionists has a plot that will grip you from the very first page, whilst the feats of imagination described in The Night Circus are just stunning. I can't recommend them enough.

I won The Secret Place in a Goodreads giveaway, and admittedly it isn't to my usual taste, but I found myself  hooked! Gripping, tense, and brilliantly written. 

Season of Light was a complete surprise for me; think Jane Austen meets the French Revolution. I couldn't put it down!

These next two choices are also successful films in their own right, but on both occasions I prefer the original book. Water for Elephants is a tense roller-coaster of a novel and The Time Traveler's Wife is a moving modern fairytale.

I've cut-down on chick-lit a bit this year, but these two really were stand out for me. The Vintage Girl takes place in a crumbly stately home in Scotland, whilst The Oyster Catcher is set on the windswept coast of Ireland. It is these settings that make them special.

As far as Austen re-tellings go Val McDermid's Northanger Abbey is the best I've come across. Moving the action to Edinburgh, my favourite city, was a genius move and the story just translates perfectly to today.

This is my final choice, and I'll admit I'm slightly biased as the male protagonist of this story hails from my home-town, but Spare Brides is a wonderful story of love, loss, and changing times in the aftermath of war.

So there we have it, my top ten books that I've read this year! I've enjoyed making this list - reading back over my reviews and notes to pick out my favourites - and I'm really interested to see what you've picked!

***I'll be away in Edinburgh when this post goes live (going up to see Wicked with my little sister - SO excited!) so any visits/comments will be duly returned when I get back. Please do leave links to your lists, I'd love to see your choices!***