Top Ten Tuesday (154)

is a weekly feature created by The Broke and the Bookish.

This Tuesday's theme is...

So, thank gosh I read at least ten new-to-me authors this year. This list is a mixture of debut and seasoned authors, which is great, because it shows that I read some older books this year. (Suck it to my brother who constantly tells me to stop buying new books because I haven't read--and never will read--the hundreds I already own.) Now, all these books may not be my favorites, but the author did something that made them stand out and, ultimately, put them on this list. And there are a few who are on here because I really liked their book and WHY DON'T I HAVE THE SEQUEL YET?

(What I'll I do is post a picture of the first book I read from the author, then below I'll have all the fun description stuff.)

Rae Carson: I read The Girl of Fire and Thorns earlier this year and was very pleased that the hype was right, but I made the mistake of reading it when I didn't have time to read the rest of the series. (Never fear. I binged The Crown of Embers and The Bitter Kingdom over one of my school breaks and oh my gosh this series is so good READ IT.) Something about Rae Carson's storytelling just works, and she totally pulls me into the story and does all these things that make putting her books down so hard. But I haven't read Walk on Earth a Stranger yet and I have an eARC and the hardcover, FOR SHAME.

Robin LaFevers: I was a little hesitant to read Grave Mercy because it's a longer book and I always think historical fiction (which this sort of is?) will bore me. (But I don't think I've disliked any of the few historical fiction books I've read, so.) But thank gosh I read it because it was so good--better than I expected, I think--and I was so eager to read Dark Triumph when I got the chance. Robin LaFevers weaves history and some fantasy and freaking assassin nuns with all these fantastic plot points and swoony romance and I love it. Now I just need to read Mortal Heart before the year is over.

Gillian Flynn: I actually started Gone Girl back in 2014 so I could read it before the movie was set to hit theaters, and though I was definitely liking it, I didn't really have time for it so I ended up setting it aside. I picked it up again this year and ended up finishing it and what the actual fuck. I'm putting Gillian Flynn on this list because how in the hell does someone come up with this? And seriously. She can write and mix a bunch of different things together and it's disturbingly fantastic.

Jenny Adams Perinovic: When I first saw the cover for A Magic Dark and Bright I was all "ooh." (Seriously, I love that font and it's gold and sparkly and the colors totally work.) I looked it up and was interested in the synopsis, but I was a little hesitant--I don't tend to be a big fan of books that are self-published or published by smaller pubs (SORRY). But when it popped up on NetGalley I couldn't resist requesting it, and then I read it and oh my gosh, it was SO GOOD. Ghosts, twists and turns and thrills, suspense and mystery, good writing, and shippy romance (seriously) made for a book that I very much enjoyed and that was a very pleasant surprise, and seriously, where the hell is the sequel?

K.E. Ormsbee: The Water and the Wild is one of those books where I saw the cover before I heard anything about it and was like GIMME GIMME GIMME. (Seriously, is that cover not stunning?) Fortunately, what's inside that cover does not disappoint. It's so fantasmical and lovely, and why is the shipping in Middle Grade novels so strong? Wonderful writing and magical world building collide in a story filled with off the page characters (#FifeandtheNortherliesFTMFW) that's reminiscent of classic tales like Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Peter Pan and it is so horribly underrated so please read it.

Erin Bowman: Though I had a copy of Taken before I probably even heard of Vengeance Road, the latter is the first book I read by Erin Bowman, and it certainly won't be my last. I know her Taken trilogy is nothing like this, but seriously, this book was so good--and I know that cover is one of the best of the year, but this book was better than I had expected. Erin Bowman totally brought me into that Western atmosphere and I didn't want to leave. The writing and voice were spectacular, I liked the characters, and the story was really good. Very, very well done.

Brianna R. Shrum: I was intrigued by Brianna R. Shrum's debut novel because it was a Peter Pan retelling (probably my favorite retellings) with a new and interesting twist: it's from the point of view of the infamous Captain Hook. As far as retellings go, Never Never was done excellently, and it made me be on Captain Hook's side and hate that little shit Peter Pan. (My favorite characters differ in like every Peter Pan retelling.) It was so magnificently like the Peter Pan story I already knew--just from a different set of eyes--the writing had a wonderful storytelling feel to it, and don't even get me started on the shipping and the feels because I cannot. Also, I cried.

Carrie Ryan: Despite having had a copy of The Forest of Hands and Teeth for years, I don't think I've read anything by Carrie Ryan. That is, until I read her short story in Slasher Girls & Monsters Boys, and it ended up being my favorite story in the book. Her story was so deliciously creepy and I loved it. Somehow she was able to put so much into so few pages and create a complete story and compelling characters and it worked. But I absolutely need it as a full length novel; I would devour the hell out of that thing.

Amanda Panitch: I don't think I had much interest in Damage Done until people were like "WOW THRILLER HOLY SHIT GOOD." I love good books and I love thrillers, so I was definitely intrigued. Then one day I decided to pick up the book and read it rather quickly, and...well, I can't tell you much because I don't want to ruin the book for you but OH MY GOSH. I predicted some of the book because I was looking for the twist, but, like, Amanda Panitch so effortlessly wrote a particular kind of voice and did it so subtly that you might miss it if you're not looking for it. Her debut was good and very well written with a side of seriously disturbing, but if she keeps writing thrillers the way she did here, then she could be the Queen of Thrillers.

Colleen Oakes: I'm a very big fan of Peter Pan retellings and when I first heard about Wendy Darling: Stars I was super excited. It's a retelling taking place in Neverland, there's a romance with Peter Pan, and it's from the point of view of one of my not-so-favorite characters (you can blame Tiger Lily for that). And I'll tell you what: I wasn't even like ten percent in and I was already having an overload of feels (SERIOUSLY). Colleen Oakes put more focus on Peter and the Lost Boys and explored a somewhat darker version of Neverland, which I really liked. Now give me book two.

Who are you new favorite authors?