This week’s Top Ten Tuesday asks for the top 10 new authors you discovered this year — “new” meaning new to you, not necessarily a debut author. Seems like a good time to make this list, since we’re approaching the end of 2012! I couldn’t come up with 10 (which is kind of sad, come to think of it), but here are eight new-to-me authors that I’m glad I discovered this year:
1. Poul Anderson — I read The High Crusade back in January, and now I’m hooked! (Aliens attack Earth in the year 1345? Come on, that’s awesome!) I have A Midsummer Tempest on deck for next year, which looks pretty cool too.
2. Susanna Kearsley — Sadly, I wasn’t as blown away by this author as I wanted to be. Historical fiction set in the British Isles is right up my alley, and I’d read a lot of rave reviews of her work, so I think my expectations were just too high. But she does write very well, and I’ll continue to read more of her books (I sampled The Winter Sea and Mariana this year).
3. Hester Browne — I like to kick back with funny, romantic chick lit, and Browne certainly fits that description. I tried the Little Lady Agency series and quite enjoyed it, so I’m looking forward to reading more of her work (Swept off Her Feet and The Runaway Princess look good!).
4. Maggie Stiefvater — A captivating setting, magical creatures, an exciting and breathtakingly romantic story…all of these are things I love, and Stiefvater provides them in her amazing The Scorpio Races. (Yes, I rave about this book all the time, and I don’t want to overhype it, but I really do think it’s that good!) I also read The Raven Boys this year and liked it. I may even pick up her werewolf trilogy now!
5. Kathryn Miller Haines — The War Against Miss Winter, a mystery set in New York during World War II, knocked my socks off! I’m collecting the rest of her series about Rosie Winter, and there’s also a young adult series that I want to try.
6. Kristan Higgins — I read several of her romances this year (Just One of the Guys was the first) and really enjoyed all of them! They’re generally light and funny, not very graphic but extremely romantic — just the way I like my contemporary romance. So far, Too Good to Be True is my favorite, but I’ve got several more lined up for next year!
7. Rainbow Rowell — This is entirely because of Attachments, which is an absolutely charming read! I’m looking forward to Eleanor and Park a lot, which will be released in the U.S. sometime next year.
8. Jessica Park — I wouldn’t say I fell in love with Park, but I was pleasantly surprised by her self-published novel, Flat-Out Love. I’ll definitely be keeping an eye out for anything else she might write!
I really seem to have gravitated toward the female writers this year, especially those who write good love stories. I don’t know whether to be ashamed that my tastes are so narrow or proud that I know what I like! 🙂 Any trends you’ve noticed in your reading this year?
You Book Me All Night Long 
I’m listening to the audio of Attachments now, and it’s so cute. Looking forward to Park’s next book, and catching up with The Raven Boys soon. Awesome list!
Thanks! Attachments is sooo adorable, and I’m excited to see where Stiefvater goes next with the cast of The Raven Boys.
Maggie Stiefvater is by far one of my favorite authors. She writes beautifully. I’ll agree I was hoping for more from Susanna Kearsley’s book (I did The Winter Sea) but I’ve already downloaded one of her others – I’m willing to give her another try. And Kristin Higgins! She’s always an auto-pilot choice when I want some good chick lit 😉 Plus, she’s got an amazing backlist to plow through…I try to keep some of her’s unread so I can always grab one when I need a little lightness in my reading!
I’m definitely looking forward to more by Stiefvater — I still haven’t read her faerie books or the Wolves of Mercy Falls trilogy!
I think my problem with Kearsley’s books so far is that she gives equal weight to her present and past stories, which means I never become truly enthralled by either one. I feel like she should focus on one or the other, not both!
I too have some old Kristan Higgins books to get through — I’ve still got three unread books on my shelves, and there are a few more that I still don’t own. And hopefully she will come out with another one soon!
I think the point you bring up about Kearsley’s books is interesting. I never thought of it that way. In The Winter Sea I was def. more involved in the historical story. But you’re right I had trouble keeping the connection with those characters b/c I was always being pulled out with the whole present day ppl. Who were difficult to ‘ignore’ because they had their own – complicated – relationships.
You could have found the reason why I just can’t fall in love with the author…hmm…
Yeah, I’m still trying to pinpoint why I only “like” Kearsley and don’t “love” her. I do think that by trying to tell two equally important stories, she’s not giving enough depth in either one. Her books might work better if she made the modern sections a little less prominent and just used them as a framing device for the historical stories.
I don’t think I ever heard for any of these, have to check them out. 🙂
My TTT
Well, if you try one of these authors, I hope you like him/her! One of my favorite things about blogging is discovering books and authors I’d never have tried otherwise.
Maggie Stiefvater will probably be on my list for next year. I really want to read her Wolves of Mercy Falls trilogy!
Haven’t read that particular Stiefvater series, since I’m not a fan of the ordinary-girl-falls-in-love-with-paranormal-creature thing. But her writing style is so good that I’m planning to pick them up anyway!