Top Ten Tuesday: Vivid Worlds and Settings

I don't think it's something we as readers will argue about; when we dive in to lose ourselves in books, sexy as heck worlds and settings are what make us keep going back. We don't want to read a book where the world just... bores us. So here I present ten of my favorite settings that draw me to read the books just as much as the plot and characters do...

1. City of Bones by Cassandra Clare - I think this is going to be on a lot of lists. How can it not? Clare's settings are just epic.  Her writing paired with the setting she has created is just so gorgeous and in depth, and it works, that it's just swoon worthy...

2. Darkfever by Karen Marie Moning - Considered urban fantasy, I just read this book and I was surprised at the setting that the writer could create in a city that many people can relate to. It's almost like she put another layer over a city that changes it completely.

3. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins - Put the characters anyplace else and these books wouldn't be as dramatic and popular as they are today. The world, while beautifully macabre, is really the foundation for her writing and is part of the emotion that hits us when we read this series.

4. Harry Potter by J. K. Rowling - Oh you wonderful, wonderful author, you. I know, this is really echoing back to "ol' school" young adult, but these books were sort of the gateway to many young people reading. I grew up with these books and these books were where thousands, if not millions, of young people would have given anything to live in.

5. Thursday Next by Jasper Fforde - These books are not read as much as they should be. They revolve around and in books. It's a book about books. They're also witty and hilarious, and they've made this list just because who wouldn't want to dine into a book with a world revolving around books?

6. The Lux by Anna Godbersen - I'm going to address all of her books, here. I have a love-hate relationship with this writer. Her plots have always gnawed on me, but I read because her historical romances are so details, and her research is spot on, that you just feel like you're already there.

7. All These Things I've Done by Gabrielle Zevin - This book's setting was not only lots of fun but it carried a twist on an influential period of American History. The prohibition, which outlawed the production and consumption of alcohol, is bought back to life in this book, only instead the law prohibits chocolate and coffee. Horrible, horrible...

8. The Giver by Lois Lowry - When I was young and the YA market wasn't as booming as it is now, at least in my opinion, this book was one of the first dystopians that my generation read. The world is striking, and I feel this was really one of the first books that led to the boom in young adult books that we're all just falling in love with now.

9. A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray - I can't wait to read the rest of this series. What a fun world and just a really interesting premise. This is another book that really relies on a great setting for a foundation to the plot.

10. The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien - This is an honorable mention. When I was little and when I didn't really have a lot of friends and just sat in the corner reading, this was one of the first books I ever read. It was my first adventure.

What about you all? Any tasty worlds you love?