Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature hosted by the fantastic blog The Broke and the Bookish. This week’s topic is focusing on the top ten favorite authors that are new to YOU, no matter how long they’ve been on the literary scene. I found that this year I read fewer books by “new to me” authors than last year, as I really focused on the authors who had impressed me during my first year of blogging. In backwards chronological order (starting with the most recent new to me authors I’ve enjoyed all the way back until January 2015), here are the top ten authors I read for the first time in 2015.
1) Mindy McGinnis
A Madness So Discreet not only showed off McGinnis’ writing talent but showcased she’s not afraid to push boundaries and truly explore the depravity and strength of humanity.
2) Nicola Yoon
Everything, Everything was simply stunning.
3) Julie Murphy
Dumplin’ was perhaps the most-hyped ARC I read this year, and it lived up to all of my expectations, which is no small feat.
4) Huntley Fitzpatrick
My Life Next Door proved that Huntley Fitzpatrick is a go-to contemporary romance writer for me.
5) Katelyn Detweiler
I received an ARC of Immaculate and went in without any expectations. The story ended up being incredible, purposeful, and not preachy at all. Not every author can handle a potentially controversial topic for a narrative so well.
6) Marie Rutkoski
While I enjoyed The Winner’s Curse far more than The Winner’s Crime, I cannot deny that out of all of the author’s I’ve discovered this year, Marie’s prose is the most beautiful.
7) Aime Kaufman and Meagan Spooner
Ok so this is technically two authors but they joined forces to write the feels-breaking These Broken Stars so therefore I cannot separate them any more than I can separate myself from a bookstore without making a purchase.
8) Jenn Marie Thorne
Perhaps my FAVORITE contemporary book of the year was the politically driven novel, The Wrong Side of Right. So so so good, I can still only flail when trying to describe my love for this book. PLEASE WRITE MORE JENN.
9) Gayle Forman
It took me a few tries to fall in love with Gayle Forman, but Just One Day felt like it reached into the deepest parts of my past, college-self soul and pulled out every raw emotion I knew existed, and then some.
10) Josephine Angelini
Trial by Fire was perfection, and yet Firewalker had me cringing with every page turn. However, I loved the first installment in this series so much that I have to include Angelini on this list (and hope for a better third novel!)
Marie Rutkoski would definitely be on my list as well. I loved both The Winner’s Curse and The Winner’s Crime and can’t wait for the third book. I think I do gravitate more towards authors I’ve read before when choosing a new book to read, but since those options are always limited, I have to try new ones too, and mostly it pays off. My most recent new to me author I read was Marissa Meyer and she’s definitely one of my new favorites. I had heard so many good things about The Lunar Chronicles but it still took me forever to finally read it.
Julie Murphy is a great pick! Totally forgot about her but I really enjoyed Dumplin’. Huntley Fitzpatrick is one I still need to read but am really excited to get to. I think the biggest author I read this year tha EVERYONE else read and loves is Sarah J Maas. I am so hooked on her now. Great list!!
I LOVED Everything, Everything, and I still need to pick up Dumplin!
Great Top Ten! 🙂
My Top Ten Tuesday 😀
What a great list! Nicola Yoon is amazing.
I think Nicola Yoon was my favorite debut for contemporary authors this year!
great picks! My TTT
Mindy McGinnis probably could have made my list, but I left my copy in Oregon after only making it through the first 50 pages. But what I had read so far was amazing!
A Madness So Discreet is definitely worth finishing!
I really want to read Dumplin’. I’ve heard good things about it! I’m excited to read whatever Nicola Yoon comes out with next.
Dumplin’ is one of those books that really deserves to be read. Whether you think the book is five stars or not (and even if they protagonist gets on your nerves, which she did with me sometimes) it has such important messages that I think it’s well worth the read!
I still need to crack open my copies of These Broken Stars, Winner’s Curse and Trial by Fire but I need to do so soon! I just know I’ll love them, especially These Broken Stars 😀 Awesome picks here^^ thanks for sharing 🙂
I was really impressed by These Broken Stars because I sci-fi is not usually a genre I am drawn too. But it really, REALLY made me feel for the characters, and I was completely hooked!
ah, I really wanted to read Trial by Fire and Firewalker but now you got my nervous! But I definitely understand, not every book by an author is going to be amazing!
I think sophomore books by authors are the hardest, because there’s so much to live up to after the first book, and they don’t necessarily have a ton of writing experience under their belts yet. Here’s hoping that the last book in the trilogy will bring redemption!
I finally read Maggie Stiefvater this year! haha I feel like that’s a big one. I’ll be finishing off the series next year with Kaitlin for our BB posts and am excited to see what happens next. ALSO I read the entire Lunar Chronicles series, so that’s another huge one 😉
Ahhhh I am so behind on Maggie’s books (still need to read book 3 in the raven cycle!) Did you binge read the Lunar Chronicles?