Top Ten Tuesday is a fun weekly meme, hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. Everyone is welcome to join in the fun. This week’s theme is “new-to-me authors,” so I’m listing ten of my favourite newly discovered authors this year.
As ever, a few rules:
- The author does not need to be a debut author, I just need to have not read anything by them before this year
- Because there have been so many amazing books in 2022, I am not including any books that made it onto the overall “Favourite Reads of 2022” list (so no THE CHILDREN OF GODS AND FIGHTING MEN, THE JUSTICE OF KINGS, THE KING IS DEAD, KAIKEYI, or THE EMBROIDERED BOOK.) This is to give more books shout outs this year!
So, without further ado:
10. Sophie Irwin
Genre: Historical Romance Age Range: Adult Type: Debut
A LADY’S GUIDE TO FORTUNE HUNTING was a complete left-fielder for me. As you might be able to guess from the genre, this is not the sort of thing I usually read at all. However, I was at the start of a reading slump, and the best way to head those off (for me) is to read something I would never usually read (and then hope it’s good/hits the elusive spot for me!)
Thankfully, this book with it’s sharp-tongued heroine and her rather ruthless plan to secure her family’s fortunes did it for me. It was funny and didn’t feel too romance heavy (which helps!) ((and also was easy enough to read while very stressed!)) I will be reading the companion when it’s out
9. Morgan Owen
Genre: Fantasy Age Range: YA Type: Debut
THE GIRL WITH NO SOUL is a UKYA release in the summer period, which is what put it on my radar (along with the author appearing at YALC – if it’s in my preferred genres and it’s by a UK author, 95% of the time, I’ll try it.)
This is a quest-esque book about a world where your soul can be seen (and judged by the strict dystopian government.) And Iris has no soul. The book follows her attempts to find the missing pieces of her soul and discover why she lost it in the first place. All while evading the government.
8. Kate Dylan
Genre: Sci-Fi Age Range: YA Type: Debut
MINDWALKER is that rarest of rares – a YA sci-fi novel. And that (along with also being UKYA) is what initially peaked my interest. I don’t know why there is this feeling in the industry about sci-fi not selling in YA (OK, I have my suspicions that it’s do with a vicious self-perpetuating cycle) but I love them (and the book’s apparent success shows other do too!)
This is a book about Sil, an operative with advanced tech in her mind such that she can take over the brains of field operatives when they get in trouble. When a mission goes wrong publicly, Sil goes on the run and discovers that there are lots of secrets her employers are hiding.
7. Ann Sei Lin
Genre: Fantasy Age Range: YA Type: Debut
Continuing the UKYA theme, up next we have REBEL SKIES. This has a similiar “on the radar because of a book festival” as THE GIRL WITH NO SOUL (though a different festival), it is the first in a origami-magic, Ghibli-esque series (next book out later this year.)
Paper magic is rare and often hunted. Kurara has hidden hers, a servant aboard a floating palace. But when the palace is attacked, she finds herself in the company of a mage who might be able to teach her – and sky pirates.
6. Alison Weatherby
Genre: Historical Age Range: YA Type: Debut
Another UKYA debut (I made a point of reading a lot of them this year!), THE SECRETS ACT is a World War Two thriller set at Bletchley Park (the UK’s codebreaking hub) about two girls who work there, and the secrets they stumble across.
Pearl is a messenger, Ellen is a codebreaker. They form an unlikely friendship among the tensions of the codebreaking teams, but when a mutual friend dies in an accident, they begin to suspect there is more to the story than is being said. But if it was foul play, whoever it was has already killed once.
5. Finn Longman
Genre: Fantasy/Dystopia Age Range: YA Type: Debut
The finale UKYA debut of this list, THE BUTTERFLY ASSASSIN is the first in a very stabby trilogy about an ace assassin who wants out and also really needs a) a break and b) to learn to ask for help. The sequel comes out later this year!
Isobel has been trained as an assassin from a young age but her attempts to leave and fly under the radar in a highly controlled, walled city controlled by rival guilds of assassins don’t exactly go to plan. (But, honestly, “stabby stabby ace assassin” is my primary pitch of this book! What more do you need?)
4. Alexandra Rowland
Genre: Fantasy Romance Age Range: Adult Type: non-debut
The only non-debut on this list, A TASTE OF GOLD AND IRON (and yes, I haven’t got that order right first time yet, and yes this title is the reason I decided to be pedantic and pick author names as the entry titles!) is an Ottoman-inspired fantasy about a prince and his bodyguard who fall in love.
Kadou is prince of the empire, and has an unfortunate habit of making protocol mistakes. Enter his new bodyguard, Evemer, who is strict and dutiful and constantly biting his tongue about the prince’s mistakes. But an investigation into counterfeiting will break down those walls.
3. Ren Hutchings
Genre: Sci-Fi Age Range: Adult Type: Debut
UNDER FORTUNATE STARS is a timey-wimey-wibbly-wobbly-spacey-wacey book. There’s timeslips and the merging of past and present and future, a dire threat to the universe, and stranded ships. Think Doctor Who but you’re fighting the laws of the universe itself, rather than an alien race.
The Jonah is fleeing an alien invasion and finds itself stranded in space, only to meet a spaceship for the future who claim that the inhabitants of the Jonah will one day become heroes. The thing is, the Jonah is a smuggler’s ship and the crew are really not about to risk their lives for anything.
2. Jack Jewers
Genre: Historical Age Range: Adult Type: Debut
THE LOST DIARY OF SAMUEL PEPYS was another complete surprise to me. I was offered the opportunity to review it, and it sounded interesting, so I said yes. And then I devoured the book in almost one sitting. The voice (mimicking that of the diaries) is so good!
Samuel Pepys has been sent to investigate the death of the previous investigator sent to look into the coffers of the Royal Navy. Could it be Dutch spies trying to undermine England’s naval power? Or does the conspiracy stretch further than Pepys knows and threaten to destroy the country?
1. Chelsea Abdullah
Genre: Fantasy Age Range: Adult Category: debut
THE STARDUST THIEF is a rare debut that managed to make it onto my “most anticipated list” (these are usually stuffed with next instalments in series or new series/standalones by authors I already know and so have been on my radar a while.) This is an Arabian-inspired fantasy about Jinn and quests, and interspersed with stories the characters tell one another.
Loulie is the Midnight Merchant, a criminal trading in magic. When caught, she is forced to accompany a prince on a quest to find a powerful lamp – if one is willing to sacrifice all the Jinn, including Loulie’s bodyguard.
What are some of your favourite new-to-you authors of this year?
Sifa Elizabeth Reads 