Top Ten Tuesday: New-to-Me Authors I Discovered in 2021

On my blog this year, I want to do more tags and challenges. They’re great fun and can be a way to be a little bit more social. This week I’m starting myself off with a meme, and that’s Top Ten Tuesday which is run by That Artsy Reader Girl. I couldn’t resist doing this week’s challenge as I want to talk about some authors.

So this list is a list of authors who already had books out when I finally picked them up. I’ll mostly be talking about the books I read by them, but some of them I’m definitely going to read more of.

I spent plenty of time going over my spreadsheet from last year to narrow this down. Many of the authors I hadn’t read before were debuts, and I didn’t want to include them. Something interesting I noticed was that a lot of these are contemporary or romance authors. That makes sense, as I did really get into reading those genres in 2021. I do kinda wish there had been a little more fantasy, so hopefully, that’ll change in 2022.

For now, though, let’s get on with the list.

Rachel Lynn Solomon

So, I know Solomon has been releasing YA contemporary/romances for a while. I haven’t picked any of those up, though I have debated them in the past. She did release an adult romance in 2021, and that was The Ex Talk. I preordered it as it sounded right up my alley, and I was right. It was so much fun, and I preordered her latest book, The Weather Girl too.

Solomon is such a fun romance author, and I highly recommend her.

Kacen Callender

Kacen Callender is an author that has released quite a few books by now. They write for children, teenagers and adults, but I’ve only picked up one of their YA books currently. Felix Ever After was a lot of fun, and it made me want to pick up more of their YA. I have actually borrowed another one of their books from the library, but I wound up returning it before I actually read it.

I’d also like to pick up some of their adult books. They have what looks like a queer romance for Audible, and I’m all for that.

Becky Albertelli

So, I’ll admit, there are definitely books by Albertelli that I’m not interested in, and that might be why it took me so long to pick one by her up. But Kate-In-Waiting sounded so much fun that I had to get on the tour for it. I’m glad that I did. Albertelli’s writing is so much fun. She also seems like a lovely person. I’ve since picked up the first book she wrote with Adam Silvera, and I’m hoping to read the second soon too!

Adrian Tchaikovsky

I know Tchaikovsky is a massive sci-fi author. He’s a big name, but I kind of assumed that I wouldn’t like his work. Still, Shards of Earth did sound interesting, and I wanted to step outside of my comfort zone a little bit. I requested the book, and honestly, I enjoyed it so much more than I thought I would.

I’m looking forward to the second book in this series and trying his other series soon.

Axie Oh

I’ve known about Axie Oh for a while, and I’ve been wanting to read her work. I’ve been meaning to read her Rebel Seoul series for a while. I just haven’t gotten around to it. XOXO had such a cute cover, and it sounded like a lot of fun, so I wound up grabbing myself a copy. I’m glad I did. It was everything I wanted it to be, and now I’m more eager to pick up her other work.

XOXO and Rebel Seoul will be completely different, so I’m not sure how I’ll feel about both of them, but we’ll see.

Simon James Green

Okay, Simon James Green is an author who is so much fun. I picked up You’re The One I Want in 2021, and I completely adored it. Was it cringy? Yes, but that just made it feel more realistic. I loved both it and Heartbreak Boys, but admittedly, I didn’t like some of his other work that I read. Green is an author that I’m definitely planning on keeping an eye on in the future.

Scarlett St Clair

I didn’t think that Scarlett St Clair would be up my alley with her fantasy romance, but it turns out I actually am a fan. I enjoyed King of Battle and Blood at the end of last year. After listening to her talk about her writing, I was fascinated by the research she puts in. I’m now more intrigued by her Hades and Persephone series and hope to get to it this year!

Julie Murphy

I’m not sure why I never picked up a Julie Murphy book before. I know her Dumpling series doesn’t appeal to me, but the Faith Takes Flight one does. However, she’s one of the authors signed on for the Disney adult romance retellings, and boy did I love If The Shoe Fits. I’m not a big fan of Cinderella as a Disney film, but Murphy retold the story in such a way that I could not put the book down.

Murphy was definitely a surprise author for me, but I think I do want to give her other books a chance.

Sophie Gonzales

Sophie Gonzales hasn’t been published for long, but since I picked her second book up first, I can definitely include her. Perfect On Paper was an incredibly fun novel. I got it as a blind pick from Words and Kisses one-month last year, but it was one I’d been wanting to get anyway. I’ve since read her book with Cale Dietrich and adored that too.

Gonzales really writes some fun contemporary, and I recommend her for that.

Akemi Dawn Bowman

This final author I’m not sure if I can really include, but I just needed one more. I did read Akemi Dawn Bowman for the first time in 2021, but I didn’t really like it all that much. The Infinity Courts looked wonderful, but I found the story and the characters lacking. Bowman is an author I’d heard of before, I actually had her on my possibility list when I did Pitch Wars a few years back, but her contemporary work didn’t interest me at all.

I really wish I had something more positive to say. I am glad that I was finally able to give her a chance, but she just isn’t for me. So Bowman is both a new-to-me and a no-more author.

That’s it for my top ten new-to-me authors. Which authors did you discover from the backlist last year? Let me know down below.