My top 10 books of 2010

I had a hard time choosing my ten favorite books this year because I read a lot of really good books! But I was finally able to make a list. These aren't in any particular order because I had a hard time choosing!

Cate of the Lost Colony by Lisa Klein

The story of a young woman who is banished from Queen Elizabeth I's court for falling in love with her favorite young nobleman and who travels to the New World as one of the settlers of Roanoke, the lost colony. I loved this book for the adventure, romance, and historical setting, as I have always been fascinated by the mystery of the Roanoke colonists. (reviewed here)


The Fences Between Us by Kirby Larson

The Dear America series is one of my favorite series ever so I was so excited when, after several years, there was finally a new book in the series this year. And I am happy to say I was not at all disappointed! The Fences Between Us is the diary of Piper, a young teenage girl who must leave her home in Seattle during World War II when her father, a pastor, follows his Japanese congregation to an internment camp. (reviewed here)


The Other Countess by Eve Edwards

A romantic, historical love story, set in Elizabethan England. Ellie, the daughter of a poor alchemist, and Will, a young earl who must marry a wealthy heiress to restore his family's fortunes, fall in love, but can they find a way to be together, before Will has to marry a young woman he doesn't love? (reviewed here)



Everlasting by Angie Frazier

In 1855, seventeen-year-old Camille sets off on her last sea voyage with her sea captain father before she must return to San Francisco to marry a man she doesn't love. But when the ship sinks in a terrible storm, Camille must travel across the Australian wilderness in search of her long-lost mother and a magical map that may hold the key to bringing her father back to life. (reviewed here)


Brightly Woven by Alexandra Bracken

Sydelle has always wanted to leave her small village and see the world out there. Her wish comes true when a traveling wizard, after fixing the village's drought, forces her to travel with him on a dangerous mission. During the journey she finds adventure, romance, and learns the truth about her own magical powers. (reviewed here)


Shadow by Jenny Moss

Shadow is a teenage girl with no family, who knows nothing about her past, and who has spent her life being the young queen's "shadow," charged with protecting her life. When the queen dies, Shadow must flee the castle with Sir Kenway, a handsome young knight she is attracted to, but whom she believes was in love with the queen. During their journey to save the kingdom, they find adventure, romance, and Shadow finally learns the truth about her origins. (reviewed here)

Anastasia's Secret by Susanne Dunlap

Anastasia Romanov, youngest daughter of the last tsar of Russia, had a sheltered and happy childhood, but that all changes forever as her family loses everything and are exiled to Siberia. In those dark days, Anastasia finds hope and comfort from her romance with Sasha, a young soldier she has known since childhood. (reviewed here)


The Bad Queen by Carolyn Meyer

Another excellent novel from the Young Royals series by Carolyn Meyer, this one retelling the story of Marie Antionette's life from her childhood in Austria until the tragic end during the French Revolution, told from her point of view as well as that of her daughter, Marie-Therese. (reviewed here)


The Queen's Daughter by Susan Coventry

A fictionalized biography of Princess Joan, youngest daughter of King Henry II of England and Eleanor of Aquitaine. From a very young age Joan must grow up fast, as she feels torn between her parents, whose marriage is troubled, and then while she is still young she is married off to an older man, the King of Sicily. (reviewed here)


The Healer's Apprentice by Melanie Dickerson

A romantic and sweet love story set in Medieval Germany, loosely based on Sleeping Beauty. Rose, a woodcutter's daughter who is the healer's apprentice, must care for Wilhelm, the future ruler of their region, when he is injured. The two fall in love, but Wilhelm is betrothed to a mysterious young noblewoman whom he has never met because she has grown up in hiding. (reviewed here)