Top Ten Tuesday: New-to-Me Authors I Read In 2018

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly book blog meme now hosted by Jana over at The Artsy Reader Girl!

This week's topic is: New-to-Me Authors I Read In 2018

This week's topic is a good one, but it's also a difficult one for me because I read books from a lot of new-to-me authors last year. What I decided to do was choose authors that I had either never heard of before or knew very little about other than their names and what they wrote. Still, this was hard to narrow down, but here we are! I also chose to leave out some authors that, although new to me, I already new a lot about and see mentioned a lot.

Also, as I was putting this list together I realized I made a similar post back in June and half of the authors I wanted to share here were already mentioned there! I decided to not include them here for that reason, so if you'd like to see a few others that were new to me, check this post out also!

*All author photos pulled from the author's website or Goodreads.

R.F. Kuang
What I read: The Poppy War
What I would like to read next: The Dragon Republic
R.F. Kuang hit the fantasy scene with a bang and I think she deserves all the praise and accolades she has received. The Poppy War was an incredibly intense fantasy and considering that was her debut, I can only imagine what else the future holds for her.
Author Website

Josiah Bancroft
What I read: Senlin Ascends, Arm of the Sphinx (currently reading The Hod King!)
What I would like to read next: The fourth book? Anything he decides to write!
Bancroft's debut, Senlin Ascends, started out its life as a fantastic self-published novel before it was picked up by Orbit. I'm pretty sure there were already plenty of people who loved Senlin Ascends when it was still self-published, and I actually first heard about his book via Mark Lawrence's gushing praise for it. Traditional publishing has only opened up the market for more to find out about his fantastic writing.
Author website

Tade Thompson
What I read: Rosewater
What I would like to read next: The Rosewater Insurrection, The Murder of Molly Southburne
When it comes to Thompson, I think I'm just slow on the uptake because I think he's been a pretty well-respected author for a while. Regardless, I'm glad I have finally been introduced to his work via Rosewater and can now explore what else he's written. If Rosewater is anything to go by, then I have a lot to look forward to.

Yoko Ogawa
What I read: Revenge: Stories
What I would like to read next: Hotel Iris, The Housekeeper and the Professor 
I just reviewed Ogawa yesterday so this might be a huge surprise, but I only recently discovered Ogawa and really enjoyed her first book of short stories. Hotel Iris sounds particularly interesting to me and I'm definitely intrigued to see what her style is like in a longer format.

Tessa Gratton
What I read: The Queens of Innis Lear
What I would like to read next: Strange Grace 
The Queens of Innis Lear was such a beautiful and impressive novel that I'm not really curious to see what her other books are like. Strange Grace already caught my eye earlier this year and I've heard great things about it, so I hope to have a chance to read that this year.
Author website

Travis Riddle
What I read: Balam, Spring, The Narrows (Wondrous up next!)
What I would like to read next: Wondrous
Travis Riddle has probably been one of my most exciting new finds this year. He is a self-published author from Texas who is really doing a fantastic job with his books. Just between Balam, Spring and The Narrows I've already seen some great range from him, and Wondrous seems like yet another one that's a bit different from the others. I love authors with range that can always surprise you, so he's an author that I will definitely continue to follow.
Author website

James Islington
What I read: The Shadow of What Was Lost
What I would like to read next: An Echo of Things to Come
Islington's Licanius trilogy (so far) is awesome and I really need more people to get on board with these books! I thoroughly enjoyed the first book and plan to continue soon. I really hope Islington starts to get more recognition soon because it is seriously deserved. I'm really excited to see what he writes after this trilogy is wrapped up as well because he has fantastic potential.
Author Website

Devin Madson
What I read: We Ride the Storm
What I would like to read next: The Blood of Whispers
I've rambled on about We Ride the Storm enough, but I still had to include Devin Madson on this list. She's another self-published author that I hadn't heard of before this year when she emailed about a review request and I'm so glad I had a chance to read her book. She already has a trilogy out that was published before We Ride the Storm, so that is something I plan to dive into (maybe?) sometime this year.
Author Website

Alexandria Warwick
What I read: The Demon Race
What I would like to read next: Below (North #1)--out 2020

Warwick's debut, The Demon Race, immediately screamed to me about her talent for writing detailed, three-dimensional characters with well-drawn inner turmoil. Warwick has such a beautiful and talented way with words and I cannot wait for her upcoming trilogy because I have a feeling it's going to be fantastic. 

Author Website

Tasha Suri
What I read: Empire of Sand
What I would like to read next: Realm of Sand

Suri has such a beautiful way of telling a story. The plotting of Empire of Sand was such a perfect balance between taking it's time but also keeping me engaged and I look forward to continue reading books from her. 

Author Website

Have you read any of these authors? Who are some new authors you discovered in 2018?

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Top Ten Tuesday: Ten Books That Will Break Your Heart

Top Ten Tuesday is weekly book blog meme hosted by the lovely girls over at The Broke and the Bookish.

It's Valentine's Day, so I decided to take the theme of hearts and love and twist it into something a little different than romance... namely, books that will rip your heart out and smash it pieces, whether because of character deaths, heartbreaking writing, or any and all other reasons that books leave us with hangovers.

1. The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein

Do not even try to tell me that this book is not heartbreaking. I don't care how old I am, I will always love this book. It taught me to feel so many different feelings at such a young age and I just absolutely adore this book. No one forgets the first book that broke them.

2. A Separate Peace by John Knowles

This is such a beautiful story that I read my freshman year of high school, and I just have not been able to get it out of my head since.

3. The Girl with Seven Names by Hyeonseo Lee

Reading about Hyeonseo's life and the lives of those in North Korea was completely heartbreaking and so difficult to read about - but definitely worth the read. (Review)

4. Nevernight by Jay Kristoff

If you've read this, you know why it's here. You know. (Review)

5. Heartless by Marissa Meyer

What an apt title for this list! This book was everything I've ever wanted and it left me with the biggest book hangover I've had in ages. This book was beautiful. (Review)

6. Pit Bull: The Battle Over an American Icon by Bronwen Dickey

I honestly teared up reading about the horrible treatment and stereotypes that Pit Bulls receive from some people. (Review)

7. The Book of Lost Things by John Connolly

I read this book many years ago, but I remember connecting strongly with the protagonist, who had just lost his mother when the story begins. This is a lovely, surprising

8. The Book of Lost Things by Michel Faber
This book left me breathless, wanting more yet at the same time being utterly satisfied with how it left off. I can't recommend this book enough!

9. The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon

This is just a beautifully written, highly engaging story that will just drag your heart around in the most rewarding ways.

10. Stoner by John Williams

Something about the writing in this book just killed me in the best way possible. I understood so much of the bleakness of Stoner's life and experiences.

Bonus: Undying Love by Michel Faber

These are love poems he wrote about his late wife while she battled cancer. I still haven't made it through all of them.

What books have broken your heart?

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Top Ten Tuesday: Favorite Graphics Novels that I Have Read + Some I Want to Read

Top Ten Tuesday is weekly book blog meme hosted by the lovely girls over at The Broke and the Bookish.

So this Top Ten Tuesday topic (favorite graphic novels) is actually last week's week, but I inadvertently I mixed up my weeks and missed this one last week, so therefore I'm doing a make-up TTT for last week's instead of this week's... if that's not too confusing.

I have loved most graphic novels that I've read, but I still somehow haven't read nearly as many as I would like to, and I hope to rectify that a bit more this year. Because of this, my Top Ten list is divided into two parts: 1) some of my favorite grpahic novels, and 2) a very limited selection of the graphic novels that I would like to read!

The Sandman by Neil Gaiman

This entire series is absolute gold to me. I love most of Neil Gaiman's work, but this series is definitely one of my things he's ever done. One day I will save up loads and loads of money and buy one of these gorgeous bind-ups... one day...

Through the Woods by Emily Carroll (Review)
This was so delightfully creepy and gripping. When I read it, I meant to only pick it up and read a few pages, but I ended up reading all of it. I have no regrets.

Fables by Bill Willingham
A graphic novel about the many characters from legends and folklore exiled in one place? Uhm, yes!

V for Vendetta by Alan Moore
This is a classic, and absolutely worth the read!

Watchmen by Alan Moore
This is another Alan Moore classic, and though I'm not really into superheroes/etc., I really enjoyed the in-depth storyline. I haven't seen the movie adaptation, but I've heard that it is a poor adaptation, so check this one out even if you've seen it!

Footnotes in Gaza by Joe Sacco

Okay, so this one is sliding into this list in a very sneaky manner because I'm technically still reading it, but I can already tell that it is definitely going to make it onto my favorites list. Here's a quick excerpt from the summar on Goodreads if you need convincing: "Buried deep in the archives is one bloody incident, in 1956, that left 111 Palestinians dead, shot by Israeli soldiers. Seemingly a footnote to a long history of killing, that day in Rafah—cold-blooded massacre or dreadful mistake—reveals the competing truths that have come to define an intractable war. In a quest to get to the heart of what happened, Joe Sacco immerses himself in daily life of Rafah and the neighboring town of Khan Younis, uncovering Gaza past and present. Spanning fifty years, moving fluidly between one war and the next, alive with the voices of fugitives and schoolchildren, widows and sheikhs, Footnotes in Gaza captures the essence of a tragedy."

Saga by Brian K. Vaughan
I've been wanting to read this for years, but somehow I have never been able to get my hands on it. Hopefully this year!

Hark! A Vagrant by Kate Beaton
Another one that's been on my list for far too long. I first heard about this one courtesy of Sanne from booksandquills a few years (!) ago, and I've been wanting to read it ever since.

From Hell by Alan Moore
I believe this one centers on the Jack the Ripper and Whitechapel murders of 1888. This topic isn't necessarily my favorite, but I am very intrigued to see what Alan Moore does with this particular story.

Monstress by Marjorie M. Liu, illustrated by Sana Takeda

There are many reasons I want to read this one, but it had me at "Set in an alternate matriarchal 1900's Asia." I need to read this one!

Have you read any of these graphic novels? What are some of your favorites?

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Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten Underrated Books I've Read in the Past Year

Top Ten Tuesday is weekly book blog meme hosted by the lovely girls over at The Broke and the Bookish.

Today's Top Ten Tuesday is all about our top underrated reads from 2016! I have chosen to feature a few published in 2016, but also many backlist books because I read a lot of those. These are all books that I really enjoyed or felt deserved more praise and recognition than they actually got.

1. The Last Wish by Andrzej Sapkowski
"Geralt was always going to stand out, with his white hair and piercing eyes, his cynicism and lack of respect for authority ... but he is far more than a striking-looking man. He's a witcher, with powers that make him a brilliant fighter and a merciless assassin - his targets are the vile fiends that ravage the land.

As guardian of the innocent, Geralt meets incestuous kings with undead daughters, vengeful djinns, shrieking harpies, lovelorn vampires and despondent ghouls. Many are pernicious, some are merely, and none are quite as they appear."





2. Pit Bull: The Battle Over an American Icon
"The hugely illuminating story of how a popular breed of dog became the most demonized and supposedly the most dangerous of dogs—and what role humans have played in the transformation.

Her search for answers takes her from nineteenth-century New York City dogfighting pits—the cruelty of which drew the attention of the recently formed ASPCA—to early twentieth‑century movie sets, where pit bulls cavorted with Fatty Arbuckle and Buster Keaton; from the battlefields of Gettysburg and the Marne, where pit bulls earned presidential recognition, to desolate urban neighborhoods where the dogs were loved, prized—and sometimes brutalized.

Whether through love or fear, hatred or devotion, humans are bound to the history of the pit bull. With unfailing thoughtfulness, compassion, and a firm grasp of scientific fact, Dickey offers us a clear-eyed portrait of this extraordinary breed, and an insightful view of Americans’ relationship with their dogs." 


3. Impyrium by Henry H. Neff
"In the first book of Henry Neff’s new high-stakes middle grade fantasy series, two unlikely allies—the Faeregine princess Hazel and the servant boy Hob—confront a conspiracy that will shake the world of Impyrium to its core.

For over three thousand years, the Faeregine dynasty has ruled Impyrium. But the family’s magic has been fading, and with it their power over the empire. Whether it’s treachery from a rival house, the demon Lirlanders, or rebel forces, many believe the Faereginese are ripe to fall.

Hazel, the youngest member of the royal family, is happy to leave ruling to her sisters so that she can study her magic. But the Empress has other plans for her granddaughter, dark and dangerous plans to exploit Hazel’s talents and rekindle the Faeregine mystique. Hob, a commoner from the outer realms, has been sent to the city to serve the Faeregines—and to spy on them.

One wants to protect the dynasty. The other wants to destroy it. But when Hazel and Hob form an improbable friendship, their bond may save the realm as they know it…or end it for good."





4. Arabella of Mars by David D. Levine
"Ever since Newton witnessed a bubble rising from his bathtub, mankind has sought the stars. When William III of England commissioned Capt. William Kidd to command the first expedition to Mars in the late 1600s, they proved that space travel was both possible and profitable. 

Now, one century later, a plantation in the flourishing British colony on Mars is home to Arabella Ashby. A tomboy who shares her father's deft hand with complex automatons. Being raised on the Martian frontier by her Martian nanny, Arabella is more a wild child than a proper young lady. Something her mother plans to remedy with a move to an exotic world Arabella has never seen: London, England. 

Arabella soon finds herself trying to navigate an alien world until a dramatic change in her family's circumstances forces her to defy all conventions in order to return to Mars in order to save both her brother and the plantation. To do this, Arabella must pass as a boy on the Diana, a ship serving the Mars Trading Company with a mysterious Indian captain who is intrigued by her knack with automatons. Arabella must weather the naval war between Britain and France, learning how to sail, and a mutinous crew if she hopes to save her brother from certain death."





5. Over the Underworld by Adam Shaughnessy
It’s been a year since friends ABE and Pru joined Mister Fox’s Fantasy Investigation Bureau--otherwise known as the Unbelievable FIB--to save their hometown from an invasion of Viking gods and giants. Life has been incredibly ordinary ever since. But that’s all about to change when the Norse Allfather, Odin, appears with terrible news: Baldur, his favorite son, has been murdered. It’s the first step in a fated chain of events that leads to Ragnarok--the end of the world.










6. The Book of Strange New Things by Michel Faber

"It begins with Peter, a devoted man of faith, as he is called to the mission of a lifetime, one that takes him galaxies away from his wife, Bea. Peter becomes immersed in the mysteries of an astonishing new environment, overseen by an enigmatic corporation known only as USIC. His work introduces him to a seemingly friendly native population struggling with a dangerous illness and hungry for Peter’s teachings—his Bible is their “book of strange new things.” But Peter is rattled when Bea’s letters from home become increasingly desperate: typhoons and earthquakes are devastating whole countries, and governments are crumbling. Bea’s faith, once the guiding light of their lives, begins to falter. 

Suddenly, a separation measured by an otherworldly distance, and defined both by one newly discovered world and another in a state of collapse, is threatened by an ever-widening gulf that is much less quantifiable. While Peter is reconciling the needs of his congregation with the desires of his strange employer, Bea is struggling for survival. Their trials lay bare a profound meditation on faith, love tested beyond endurance, and our responsibility to those closest to us." 


7. The River of Doubt: Theodore Roosevelt's Darkest Journey by Candice Millard
"The River of Doubt—it is a black, uncharted tributary of the Amazon that snakes through one of the most treacherous jungles in the world. Indians armed with poison-tipped arrows haunt its shadows; piranhas glide through its waters; boulder-strewn rapids turn the river into a roiling cauldron.

After his humiliating election defeat in 1912, Roosevelt set his sights on the most punishing physical challenge he could find, the first descent of an unmapped, rapids-choked tributary of the Amazon. Together with his son Kermit and Brazil’s most famous explorer, Cândido Mariano da Silva Rondon, Roosevelt accomplished a feat so great that many at the time refused to believe it. In the process, he changed the map of the western hemisphere forever.

Along the way, Roosevelt and his men faced an unbelievable series of hardships, losing their canoes and supplies to punishing whitewater rapids, and enduring starvation, Indian attack, disease, drowning, and a murder within their own ranks. Three men died, and Roosevelt was brought to the brink of suicide. The River of Doubt brings alive these extraordinary events in a powerful nonfiction narrative thriller that happens to feature one of the most famous Americans who ever lived.
From the soaring beauty of the Amazon rain forest to the darkest night of Theodore Roosevelt’s life, here is Candice Millard’s dazzling debut."




8. Sunborn Rising: Beneath the Fall by Aaron Safronoff
""Sunborn Rising: Beneath the Fall" is a lavishly illustrated, all-ages fantasy book with detailed world-building. Follow Barra, a young Listlespur, and her two friends, Tory and Plicks, as they save their home, the Great Trees of Cerulean, from a blight that is darkening their world. They must learn more about their planet and adventure through it to save it."








9. The Outside Lands by Hannah Kohler
"San Francisco, 1968: Jeannie and Kip are lost and half-orphaned, their mother dead under mysterious circumstances, and their father - a decorated WWII veteran - consumed by guilt and losing sight of his teenage children. Kip, a dreamer and swaggerer prone to small-time trouble, enlists to fight in Vietnam; Jeannie finds a seemingly safe haven in early marriage and motherhood. But when Kip is accused of a terrible military crime, Jeannie is seduced - sexually, emotionally, politically - into joining an ambiguous anti-war organization. As Jeannie attempts to save her brother, her search for the truth leads her into two relationships, with a troubled young woman, and a grievously-wounded veteran, that might threaten her marriage, her child, and perhaps her life."







10. Kings or Pawns by JJ Sherwood
"The first book in JJ Sherwood's Steps of Power epic fantasy series. The Kings, Book I: Kings or Pawns is a political intrigue that spirals into an action and adventure series as the final events unfold. 

8,994 P.E.—The elven city of Elvorium has become corrupted to the core by politics. With his father dead and the Royal Schism at his back, Prince Hairem ascends the throne as king of the elven world on Sevrigel. Young and bold, Hairem is determined to undo the council’s power, but the brutal murders by an assassin loosed within the city threaten to undermine the king’s ambitions.As corruption and death threaten to tear Elvorium apart from within, the warlord Saebellus threatens the city from without, laying siege to Sevrigel’s eastern capital. With the elven world crumbling around him, Hairem finds himself in a dangerous political balance between peace and all out war."


**All summaries are taken from the book's Goodreads page. 

What are some of your underrated reads? Have you read any of these? Leave your throughts in the comments!

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