Top Ten Tuesday - Top Ten New to Me Authors for 2014

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly theme hosted by The Broke & The Bookish. Feel free to join in.

This week's topic is the top ten new to me authors I've read in 2014. When I first started blogging in 2011, there were A LOT of new to me authors. But as time passes and new favorites are discovered, it's harder to find authors I've not read before. So I turned to my wonderful Goodreads Shelf "New to Me Authors". And I was surprised that I'd read 29 (so far) new to me authors. So picking 10 was rather entertaining.

Here are my 10, in alphabetical order, Links are to my review on the blog.

1. Mesu Andrews - I have several of her books on my kindle, but hadn't gotten around to reading them until I reviewed In the Shadow of Jezebel. I'm not a huge fan of Biblical fiction, but I'll make an exception for Mesu's books in the future.

2. Kate Breslin - Her book, For Such a Time, hit my radar when I first heard about it. But I passed it over when it was offered to review. I did manage to rent a copy from the library, and really really loved it.

3. Bonnie Calhoun - I've had a few of her books on my Kindle. They were freebies and I can't resist free. But truthfully, the books never piqued my interest. Until Thunder. I enjoy young adult. And the dystopian genre is big right now. I wanted to see what she did with it. And I was impressed.

4. Melanie Dickerson - I adore fairy tales. I have to wonder what took me so long to read Melanie's fairy tale retellings. I've read them all. Healer's Apprentice, Merchant's Daughter, Fairest Beauty, Captive Maiden, and the Princess Spy. This series suits me. (Fairest Beauty is also posted on my blog, but Princess Spy was easier to locate.)

5. Pam Hillman - I always take part in the Tyndale Summer Reading Program. This summer, I got to read my first book by Pam Hillman, Claiming Mariah. I'd had it on my Kindle for just about forever and was glad to be able to to find the time to read it. It was delightful.

6. Laura Jackson - I may be biased as Laura and I have known each other for over ten years now, but I really enjoyed her book, Worth the Wait. While I was reading it, not only was I texting Laura to give her my opinion, but I had to tell myself to treat this book like any author's that I don't know personally. It made it hard at times, but in the end it was worth it. I'm probably one of Laura's biggest fans.

7. Debbie Macomber - I'd never read a Debbie Macomber book until this year. Why I don't know. I was very impressed with Blossom Street Brides. I know that I can find others by her at the library, and I may check them out. Debbie's books are secular and though Blossom Street Brides is clean, I'm not sure of her others. 

8. Marissa Meyer - This author of the Lunar Chronicles came recommended to me from several of my Harry Potter buddies. I've learned to trust their opinions as they've yet to steer me wrong (Hunger Games, Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel, Divergent). Anyway, Cinder is the first of this series and I wondered how a cyborg Cinderella would work. But the book does it beautifully.

9. Lisa Wingate - After hearing many people finding the Story Keeper to be slow moving, I wasn't sure what to expect. Yet this book gripped me and I now will be searching my kindle for others by Lisa.

10. Beth Wiseman - Before reading July Bride, I'd never read a Beth Wiseman book before. She is another author I will look for additional books from.


There you have it. My Top Ten. It was hard to pick, but I think I did a good job. What about you? Who are the new to you authors you discovered this year?