Top Ten Tuesday: New To Me Authors in 2020

The Broke and the Bookish created Top Ten Tuesday in June of 2010. It moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together.

New to me authors

So many new to me authors in 2020. I found author recommendations on Bookstagram, NetGalley, and from friends and coworkers. So, I’ve chosen ten of my favorite new to me authors.

Get a Life, Chloe Brown

So much to love about this sizzling romcom. A smart, successful, chronically ill main character. Not enough reasons to love Chloe? She’s a curvy nerd girl with a huge stubborn streak.

Chloe moves into her own apartment, tired of her family fussing over her. And she decides to start crossing off the other to do items on her bucket list. Her list includes:

• Enjoy a drunken night out.
• Ride a motorcycle.
• Go camping.
• Have meaningless but thoroughly enjoyable sex.
• Travel the world with nothing but hand luggage.
• And… do something bad.

Luckily, her gorgeous handyman neighbor Red is just the one to help her complete her list.

Such a perfect, fun, steamy book. I’ve put the other books in the series on my To Be Read list.

The Boyfriend Project

Thanks to social media, three women discover they’ve been dating the same lowlife guy. While one woman is livetweeting her terrible date with him, the other two go to confront him and his cheating ways. Strangers capture the shero moment and the video goes viral.

The three agree to swear off men for at least six months. They decide to focus on themselves, their careers and their budding friendship.

I appreciated that Rochon didn’t focus solely on the romance. Watching three strong and smart women support and encourage each other was fantastic and I’m here for it! So glad that her friends, Taylor and London will have their own books in the future.

Read my full review.

One to Watch

Bea, a plus-size fashion blogger decides to go on a romance reality show (think Bachelorette) with 25 guys in a show of body positivity and diversity, boost her career, and just maybe find true love.

So much to love about this book! As a plus-size woman, I lived a lot of those insecure, uncomfortable, soul-crushing moments that happened to Bea. And as a fashion follower, I enjoyed the shoutouts to designers like Christian Siriano who design for all sizes. As a woman involved with the online world, a lot of the social media transcripts felt real. The comments of thanks and praise followed by ugly trolling and threats of harm.

Fast-paced, authentic feeling, and heart-warming.

The Marriage Game

Sara Desai’s The Marriage game is a fabulous diverse, sexy romcom full of sweet and sexy banter, drool-worthy food descriptions, quirky family members, and fun Bollywood references.

Layla is moving home after a disastrous breakup and subsequent firing. Her dad has said she can use the office above the family’s Indian restaurant for her new recruitment business. Unfortunately for her, her father has already rented the office. Falling ill. Her father hasn’t had the chance to talk to Sam, the serious, corporate hatchet man who’s already signed the lease. The two can’t agree who gets the office space so they engage in a wager.

Read my full review.

The House in the Cerulean Sea

I’ve recommended this book to everyone because it’s the book equivalent of a warm hug. Linus is a quiet cog in a bureaucracy that tracks citizens with magical powers. Linus inspects the orphanages where magical children live. Competent, Linus makes sure that the rules are followed. Despite the occasional twinge of conscience.

And then travels to the home where the most unusual children live along with their guardian, Arthur.

Linus discovers that love comes when you least expect it. And that families come in all sorts of shapes and sizes. Read this!!!

The Seventh Perfection

The Seventh Perfection – an exquisite puzzle box of a story told with second-person POV. It’s an intricately plotted mystery told with gorgeous, atmospheric writing perfect for fans of Tamsyn Muir.

Manet, the God-King’s Amanuensis, is searching for the identity of a woman, whose photograph is in a locket. You, the reader, read people’s responses as if you’re Manet, asking the questions. It’s a difficult feat to do well – capturing the voices of so many characters, making them unique while also creating answers that slowly put together the puzzle pieces without feeling like an info dump.

Read my full review.

How to Fail at Flirting

This diverse workplace romance is thoroughly charming and full of bad pun-filled witty banter.

After being emotionally and physically abused by a coworker, Naya works hard to play down her appearance and keep her personality, thoughts, and feelings on heavy lockdown. Her BFFs encourage her to make a list – loosen up and take back her independence. After her friends have to bail on meeting her at a bar, Naya dips her toe into that list by flirting with a stranger. She feels so comfortable with Jake that she almost crosses “one night stand” off her list.

The two feel a real connection and work on making a long-distance relationship work, despite the emotional baggage they’re both carrying.

Read my full review.

The Year of the Witching

In the lands of Bethel, where the Prophet’s word is law, Immanuelle Moore’s very existence is blasphemy. Her mother’s union with an outsider of a different race cast her once-proud family into disgrace, so Immanuelle does her best to worship the Father, follow Holy Protocol, and lead a life of submission, devotion, and absolute conformity, like all the other women in the settlement.

But a mishap lures her into the forbidden Darkwood surrounding Bethel, where the first prophet once chased and killed four powerful witches. Their spirits are still lurking there, and they bestow a gift on Immanuelle: the journal of her dead mother, who Immanuelle is shocked to learn once sought sanctuary in the wood.

This booktakes a difficult look at religion, race, and gender. And comes up with no easy answers. Powerful.

The Unspoken Name

Csorwe, a young priestess, know that some day she’ll achieve the highest honor – as sacrificial bride to the Unspoken. She accepts her role. Until the day of her sacrifice when a stranger appears and offers her the chance to escape and live.

Csorwe accepts and becomes the magician’s assistant, bodyguard, thief and sometimes assassin. She even discovers love.

Until she discovers that gods don’t like being forsaken.

Such a fun fantasy with great LGBTQ+ rep. I’m looking forward to book 2.

Spoiler Alert

My last new to me author is Olivia Dade with one of my favorite 2020 books. This gave me all of the feels and soothed my nerd girl soul in ways that I didn’t realize it was hurting. A relatable plus-size main character, who’s smart, wickedly funny, talented, and uninterested in being “fixed.” YES! This book is full of nods to fanfic writers and not-so-subtle jabs at the Game of Thrones television series.

April is a fanfic writing, secret cosplay creator, geologist by day. She’s kept her hobbies hidden from her coworkers because she’s afraid of the repercussions. But starting a new job gives her the confidence to come out. She posts a photo of herself in full Lavinia garb, her favorite character from the GoT-esque Gods at the Gates. And it goes viral, lots of positive comments but lots of jerks and trolls.

Read my full review.

In conclusion

Have you read any of my new to me authors? Did you discover new authors in 2020? Tell me your discoveries in the comments below.

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