Top 5 Tuesday || New Authors

For all the mess that 2020 has been, it’s still brought some good things.

More specifically, it’s brought wonderful new authors to the stage! Whether they’re debut authors or just new to me personally, these five still fit today’s T5T category (decided by Meeghan @ Meeghan Reads), and I can’t stress enough how much I recommend their work!

Romina Garber, author of Lobizona

When I read Lobizona earlier this year, it just had its pub date moved to August, to the same day as Midnight Sun. And let me tell you what an injustice it was to make this star of a book share the day with Twilight 2: Electric Boogaloo! Such an injustice!!

Romina Garber built a beautiful but deeply flawed world with rich Argentine roots, and she made every page more captivating than the last. I have so much respect for her skill with prose and world-building, and I deeply admire the way she approached a host of human rights with conviction and compassion. From here on out, I’ll be watching her work closely!

A.K. Larkwood, author of The Unspoken Name

The Unspoken Name was my favorite read this February, and A.K. Larkwood has earned her place on this list of new authors. She crafted a brilliant, mind-bending new world to stage The Unspoken Name in, alongside a protagonist who’s tough, buff, and unlearning a lot of trauma.

She’s clearly got one hell of an imagination, and her ability to craft character voice? Honestly flawless. There’s a particular character I have in mind who’s both wonderful and terrible, and his voice is clear as day. She’s another one whose career I won’t be able to peel my eyes away from!

Katy Rose Pool, author of There Will Come a Darkness

Technically, Katy Rose Pool didn’t debut this year, and I actually met her last October at a signing! But There Will Come a Darkness didn’t actually sit in my hands until this spring, at which point I inhaled it.

Somehow, she balances five points of view, towering stakes, and a Mediterranean-inspired world with such talent. I’m entirely enamored with the Age of Darkness series, especially now that I’ve also read As the Shadow Rises, and I can’t wait to see what she does after the trilogy is complete!

I’d also like to ask her to stop hurting Ephyra. Please. Leave her alone. 🥺

Bethany C. Morrow, author of A Song Below Water

Another stand-out author from earlier this year, Bethany C. Morrow deserves to be on this list and every other T5T list today. In A Song Below Water, she explored real-world issues with a wonderful grace while also combining them with a touch of the magical, like sirens and gargoyles. And she did all this in under 300 pages!

I can’t wait to read A Chorus Rises, the next book set in ASBW’s universe, and I expect we’ll be seeing a lot more enchanting, incisive work from Bethany C. Morrow in the future. At least, I certainly hope so!

Nicole Charlotte Davis, author of The Good Luck Girls

The Good Luck Girls came out swinging when I read it in July, and I haven’t been able to forget about it since, which is a testament to Nicole Charlotte Davis’s skill. She crafted a world so rich and immersive, then populated it with dangers of all kinds. Her antagonists feel all too real and threatening, while her leads are so lovable despite their flaws.

I can’t wait to read The Sisters of Reckoning, and whatever else she publishes after that!

Who were your five favorite new authors this year? Did you lean towards debut authors, or backlist authors you hadn’t met yet? Let’s chat!