It's been a while since my last Top Ten Tuesday post, but I do like to highlight my favorite author discoveries each year. These are not necessarily debut authors. Many have been writing for years, but I first read them in 2025. Here they are, in no particular order:
FAVORITE AUTHOR DISCOVERIES OF 2025
Michelle Huneven - Bug Hollow, Search
David Nicholls - You Are Here
Marcy Dermansky - Hot Air
Virginia Evans - The Correspondent
Jeanine Cummins - Speak to Me of Home
Beth Brower - The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion
Nikki May - This Motherless Land
Charlotte Wood - Stone Yard Devotional
Gardiner Harris - No More Tears: The Dark Secrets of Johnson & Johnson
Johnathan Mahler - The Gods of New York: Egotists, Idealists, Opportunists, and the Birth of the Modern City: 1986-1990
This Motherless Land looks interesting.
ReplyDeleteLydia - I read it for a book club and now I want to read her backlist!
DeleteAdding these books to my list. Thank you.
ReplyDeletersrue.blogspot.com
rsrue - Hope you enjoy some of these books, too.
DeleteBeth Brower made my list as well, I binged all 8 of the Emma Lions books. I have The Q and need to read it as well.
ReplyDeleteCindy - I've read volumes 1-5 so far and plan to start 6 soon. I sure hope Brower is working on more books!
DeleteYep, looking forward to whatever Virginia Evans writes next. I have yet to Read Huneven but have her books on my tbr, as well as Charlotte Wood. I am scared to read No More Tears!
ReplyDeleteCare - Evans has written so many novels that have never been published. I wonder whether they'll try to polish and release them. No More Tears is pretty scary and parts of it are on the technical side... it made me SO angry!
DeleteThe Correspondent was so good! I didn't expect to love it so much, but I really did. Looks like a good list!
ReplyDeleteNicky - The Correspondent was my favorite book of 2025!
DeleteI read You Are Here last year; it was good. And I absolutely love The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion! They're the best. :D
ReplyDeleteLark - I am trying to ration the Emma M. Lion books to one a month! Will start volume 6 soon and sure hope there are more to come.
DeleteI also discovered Virginia Evans - The Correspondent - such an amazing read.
ReplyDeleteRebecca - I'm hoping to see some of her older, unpublished get polished up and released!
DeleteThe Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion look really interesting, and quite a few other commenters seem to like them. I'm going to add them to my TBR!
ReplyDeleteCat - I wasn't able to comment on your post, but I enjoy Austen-inspired novels, too. This Motherless Land, listed above, was inspired by Mansfield Park. The Emma M. Lion books are a lot of fun!
DeleteI’m glad you found new authors to enjoy, thanks for sharing your #TTT
ReplyDeleteShelleyrae - I'm hoping to read moe by all of these authors!
DeleteThese are all new to me!
ReplyDeleteMarg - I love finding new-to-me authors!
DeleteMy book club will be reading The Correspondent later in the year. I'm looking forward to seeing what the others in the group think of this book. And I'm still thinking about reading No More Tears.
ReplyDeleteDeb - No More Tears was pretty powerful and made me so, so angry! I don't think I've met anyone yet who hasn't liked The Correspondent.
DeleteThe Correspondent looks so good! I hope you find many more amazing authors this year 😊.
ReplyDeleteIf you'd like to visit, here's my TTT: https://thebooklorefairyreads.wordpress.com/2026/01/26/top-ten-tuesday-bookish-discoveries-i-made-in-2025/
~ Marwah @ The Booklore Fairy
Marwah - The Correspondent was easily my favorite book of the year!
DeleteGreat list of authors, JoAnne. I plan to read Bug Hollow this year. Still thinking about the J&J book for Nonfiction November. I have the first 3 books in the Emma Lion series. My mom loves them! Thanks for recommending them. I read American Dirt and thought it was exceptionally good, so I'll read Speak to Me of Home, maybe this year. We'll see! Loved The Correspondent. It was my favorite in 2025, too. Oh, and I just finished You Are Here this past week. Another rec from you that I loved!
ReplyDeleteMy TTT post is up!
Les - If you decide to read the J&J book, be prepared to feel anger and outrage. So glad you mom is loving Emma M. Lion. I found that volumes 1 and 2 were good, but then they were great. American Dirt is still on my tbr list. Think I must've avoided it after all the controversy, but my mother and daughter both thought it was excellent. So glad you loved You Are Here! I picked up a couple of his older novels at the library book sale. Now I need to find time to read them! This is one of my favorite TTT topics :)
DeleteThe Correspondent is high up on my list as are the Emma Lion books. Looks like a good group of new to you authors!
ReplyDeleteKatherine - I'm betting you'll love them both!
DeleteI'm really looking forward to reading The Correspondent. So many of you guys have enjoyed it a lot. The J&J book - not sure I'm up to it. Non-fiction and I don't always get along and I can see how it would ramp up the anger, etc.
ReplyDeleteKay - Can't wait to hear how The Correspondent lands with you. It was a read/listen combo for me and the audio is excellent!
DeleteIt's great to find notable new to you authors. I have read three on your list and I'm curious about Bug Hollow. My favorite new to me authors from this past year included: David Szalay, Yael van der Wouden, Benjamin Wood, Karen Powell, and Claire Lynch among others. I hope to find more!
ReplyDeleteDiscovering new authors is the best! I've read Yael van der Wouden and Benjamin Wood and agree they're both standouts. The other three are on my list.
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