I tried out 79 new to me authors this year and I’m so excited to follow so many of them wherever they go from here. It was really hard for me to make this list because this year was as much about comfort reading authors I knew as it was about following authors down the rabbit hole of their backlists. So, I have four debuts and six new to me authors to tell you about today, but I think many more than that will be joining my list of authors I am apt to pick up.
Debuts
Cara Bastone
This woman released four books in one year. I’m amazed. I haven’t picked up the novella yet, but the other three I read and loved. Just a Heartbeat Away and Can’t Help Falling do such a great job with family and found family dynamics and providing us with narratives we often don’t see in romance novels. And the way she made me care about those characters was intense. And then her Audible original, Call Me Maybe is actually everything and not just because of the production. I’m forcing myself to wait on Flirting with Forever only because I don’t want any 2021 releases making their way into my top favorites of 2020 list and I know that one has the potential to do so!
Rosie Danan
I loved The Roommate so much! There’s something about Clara and Josh that absolutely swept me up. Clara reminded me so much of me when I was shedding a lot of the baggage of growing up in a conservative environment and learning that I didn’t need to be so judgmental of other people or of myself. And Josh is such a cinnamon roll who doesn’t quite have it all together emotionally and there’s a lot to be said for that. I can’t wait for The Intimacy Experiment!
Sarah Hogle
First of all, Naomi is so real to me that I almost typed You Deserve Each Other by Naomi, so that’s where I’m at with that. Anyway, this book is what led me to discover that relationship in trouble stories can be exactly my jam and I think that’s because there’s no way to not delve into communication and character dynamics. Plus, this book is just wildly fun. I loved Naomi and all of her over the top messy antics. She is a fantastic character. But when Nicholas said the thing about “I love you”, I swear to you, I cried. This book is magical.
Alexandria Bellefleur
Written in the Stars was such a masterpiece for me, honestly. I felt like it nailed every beat I could possibly want, was funny and poignant, and also, had characters I couldn’t not cheer for. Darcy and Elle are perfect together and I love them a lot. And I can’t wait for Hang the Moon because Brendan is an excellent friend and brother, but I’m really excited to see him as a love interest.
New to Me Romance Authors
Rilzy Adams
Rilzy Adams knocked my socks off with Go Deep and Birthday Shot and I’ve started hoarding more of her books like a dragon, always a good sign. I have so many more on my TBR because Rilzy Adams’ backlist is extensive. Please tell me your favorites of hers down below if you’ve read her too. If you haven’t read her yet, and explicit sex scenes are okay with you, pick one up! You will not regret it.
Chloe Liese
I have absolutely adored both of the books by Liese I read this year and I am so looking forward to her next one, Ever After Always, which is a marriage in trouble story! But her first two have such excellent characterization and banter that just brings her books to life and make me so excited for more!
Emily Henry
Emily Henry’s first foray into adult romance absolutely knocked my socks off and I want to keep her in this sphere forever because apparently our sense of humors are like… the same. I laughed so much reading this book. I also felt really sad because obviously there’s some heavier content. But January just felt so relatable to me. She reminded me a lot of me in college. I loved this book so much.
Roan Parrish
I still need to dive full force into Roan Parrish’s backlist, but let me just tell you, Small Change is one of my most highlighted books of all time. I loved it so much. And Better than People was an utter delight! I can’t wait to read more from Roan.
New to Me Non-Romance Authors
Susanna Kearsley
Susanna Kearsley has me out here upset about who sits on the throne for the U.K. Please explain. Anyway, her writing is gorgeous and transportive and I can’t wait to read the rest of her books.
Mikki Kendall
I think I’ve talked about this book a ton everywhere so you’ve probably already heard me rave about how this book just completely expanded my thinking in relation to feminism and really expanded my definition of feminism. I love this book for all that it’s given me and if you’ve not read it yet, I really think you should consider adding it to your TBR.
And there you have it! What new to you authors have you loved this year? I’m definitely going to be on the look out for more books from so many authors I didn’t name, but I definitely want to know who else you think I should keep an eye out for!
xx
firewhiskeyreader 