Top Ten Tuesday | Best Books of 2014!

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature created at The Broke and the Bookish. Each week you compile a list of ten books which coincide with that week's theme. You can find out everything you need to know about joining in here!

This week's theme is 'Top Ten Books I Read in 2014', and I have to be honest initially I wasn't too sure if I was going to take part this week for several reasons, the main one being that it isn't the end of 2014 yet and I could still read something that's going to blow my socks off! But I just couldn't resist the temptation to share my favourite books of the year.

(Although I did find this week a little difficult. I read a lot of good books this year, but not as many as I thought I had; I think one of my reading resolutions in 2015 will be to try and stay away from those disappointing reads!)

So, in the order I read them, here are my top ten reads of 2014 (so far)!

American Gods by Neil Gaiman: The very first book I read in 2014 ended up being one of the very best books I read in 2014. People call American Gods Gaiman's masterpiece, and after reading it for myself I can understand why. I can't wait for the TV adaptation!

Cress by Marissa Meyer: By far the best installment of The Lunar Chronicles so far. I love this series so much and I devoured this book as soon as I got it. I can't wait to get my hands on Fairest and Winter!

Dark Triumph by Robin LaFevers: I was fairly sceptical about the His Fair Assassin trilogy at first, but it proved to be my most pleasant reading surprise of 2014. I enjoyed Grave Mercy far more than I thought I would and absolutely adored Dark Triumph; Sybella is such an interesting character and I love Beast, too.

Year of Wonders by Geraldine Brooks: Even if you're not a big fan of historical fiction or of historical fiction set in the 17th century, this book is worth checking out simply because it's written so beautifully.

The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson: Horror as it should be written. This book was so creepy and I really enjoyed reading it - I definitely recommend it to any horror fans out there!

Feed by Mira Grant: If someone held a gun to my head and told me to pick my absolute favourite read of the year, it'd have to be this one. I expected to like Feed. I expected to like it enough to want to read the rest of the books in the trilogy. I didn't expect to love it so much that just the mere thought of it still makes my heart ache. I have so much love for this book it's unreal.

The Undressed by Jemma L. King: One of the three poetry collections I've read so far this year blew me away. There wasn't a single poem in this collection I didn't like, and I'd love to see more people reading it.

Frenchman's Creek by Daphne du Maurier: This year I finally started reading du Maurier and fell in love with her. So far this year I've read two of her novels, the other being Rebecca, and while part of me feels as though it should be Rebecca on this list purely because it is such an amazing piece of literature, I really loved Frenchman's Creek. It was so much fun and pulled me out of a post-MA reading slump that I desperately wanted to be pulled out of.

The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman: I loved American Gods, but October was the month in which I discovered my favourite Gaiman book. It's hard to choose a definite favourite between American Gods and The Graveyard Book because they're so different, but there's just something about The Graveyard Book that steals your heart and I loved reading every page.

Christmas at Rosie Hopkins' Sweet Shop by Jenny Colgan: Not every book we read needs to be a thought-provoking masterpiece that changes the world. Sometimes it's nice to just sit down with a nice book and enjoy it. This book surprised me; I thought it'd just be a bit of festive, cheesy fun, but it actually turned out to be a very touching, emotional book.

Which books made your top ten?