10 New-to-Me Authors I Read (and Loved) in 2016

This week's Top Ten Tuesday topic is about talented authors we discovered this year -- and want to read more of ASAP. This was a pretty easy list for me (and I fear it's quite similar to my forthcoming best books of the year list); I read a LOT of (excellent) books by new-to-me authors this year, far more than books by authors I already know and love. As a result, I have several new authors to watch out for!

I decided to narrow the list down a bit by only choosing books that weren't debuts, or if they were debuts then they're older ones and the author has more material out. These are all authors I loved and hope to read more of soon! What great authors did you discover in 2016?

 Amor Towles' phenomenal novel "A Gentleman in Moscow," about a young count sentenced to live out his days within the confines of a Moscow hotel during the Bolshevik Revolution, was one of my favorite books this year. The writing was fantastic, but I was especially taken with the wonderfully drawn characters and setting. Towles' first book, "The Rules of Civility," is a must-read in 2017 for me!

Another one of the best books I read in 2016 is "To the Bright Edge of the World" by Eowyn Ivey. It's a historical fiction novel (with a hint of magical realism) set in Alaska and Washington Territory in the late 1800s, told in journal entries, letters and even illustrations. Like "A Gentleman in Moscow," it was a character- and setting-driven novel -- not something I usually gravitate toward -- but it was so good. I'm hoping to read Ivey's 2012 debut, "The Snow Child," soon.

I actually read two books by Naomi Novik this year, "Uprooted" (ah-maze-ing -- please read it!!!) and the first book in her Temeraire series, "His Majesty's Dragon," an alternate history version of the Napoleonic Wars -- with the addition of dragons. At the beginning of 2016 I was a fledgling fantasy fan, but I've read some fantastic fantasy books this year (evidenced by the fact that there are four fantasy authors on this list!) and I feel I'm really getting to know the genre, in part thanks to Naomi Novik's delightful novels! I'm planning to continue the Temeraire series in 2017.

 In "The Things We Keep," Hepworth tackles a pretty sad topic -- early-onset Alzheimer's -- and still manages to make a wonderfully readable, ultimately positive book. I can see her becoming one of my go-to authors when I'm craving a little women's fiction. Her first book, "The Secret of Midwives," is pretty well-reviewed, and she has a new book coming out in 2017 called "The Mother's Promise," which I will most definitely be reading.

Wow. I think the award for Book That I Could Not Put Down this year goes to "Dark Matter." What an amazing, mind-bending blend of sci-fi, thriller and romance! Crouch is also the author of "Wayward Pines," which was turned into a TV show.

We're just chugging down my list of 2016 favorites here! Faye's creative "Jane Eyre" re-telling will definitely have a spot on my favorite books of the year list, and I'm hoping to check out her other work in the new year, particularly "Dust and Shadow: An Account of the Ripper Killings by Dr. John H. Watson."

Jemisin writes a totally different kind of fantasy than Naomi Novik does, but it's just as gripping. I recently read "The Fifth Season" and I'm really looking forward to getting my hands on book 2 in the trilogy, and the final book comes out in 2017. If I need more Jemisin in my life, I'll check out her Inheritance Trilogy.

The creepiest book I read this year was "You" by Caroline Kepnes, about a sociopathic stalker (who, scarily enough, is actually just a tiny bit likable). I'm planning to read the follow-up, "Hidden Bodies," soon!

The first book in Anne Bishop's The Others series was marked by amazing, rich worldbuilding -- and it's a world that I just want to jump through the book into! Other books keep getting in the way, but I am SO excited to continue this series! The fifth book comes out in 2017.

Genevieve Cogman's bookish fantasy series took the book blogging community by storm this year! The novels are a delightful romp, and the first three books were all released in the U.S. in 2016 which did away with the typical year-long wait time to get to the next installment. I just read the second book, "The Masked City," and I hope to get to the third one soon!