Top Ten Tuesday turns 10 today 🥳. So the prompt was to go through the backlog and find a topic you previously hadn’t done!

2019 seems soooo long ago, and its crazy to believe how much has happened since the new year. That being said, 2019 was a fantastic reading year for me, and I found some new favourite authors along the way! A few of these are authors that had been on my radar for a while, I just hadn’t picked up any books by them, but the majority were debuts/ authors I hadn’t heard of and all the below stories blew me away. Did you find any new authors in 2019 that became favourites of yours? Let me know in the comments.

Top Ten Tuesday is run by Jana over at That Artsy Reader Girl and you should definitely go give her blog some love.

Nicki Pau Preto

“There were so many twists and turns in this book I couldn’t keep up. The writing was sublime and I was thoroughly hooked from the beginning. Though it took a bit of time to get to the main story-line, it doesn’t take anything away from the overall plot, if anything it makes you able to understand the shocking ending so much better.”

Silvia Moreno Garcia

“The authors descriptions are beautifully written and I couldn’t get enough of her insights into Mayan mythology. The writing flows so effortlessly and I couldn’t help but get swept along with Casiopea as she gets the chance to have new experiences, meet demons and other mythological characters, visit places she never thought she would get the chance to see and fall in love.”

Alix E. Harrow

“Harrows writing style had me falling into the book like Alice into Wonderland, until I was right there alongside January on her journey to find out who she was and where she was from. Utterly immersive and wondrously imagined, her lush writing style had me so fully engrossed in the story. I experienced a rigmarole of emotions, and by the end of the book I felt like I had become January, I needed to know her outcome, happy or sad.”

Rin Chupeco

“Chupeco creates a lush fantasy world that I never tired of reading about. Her descriptions are truly beautiful and I flipped from Odessas to Haidees sides of the globe with ease.“

Roshani Chokshi

“The thing that makes this book for me was definitely the characters. Described as similar to Six of Crows, this band of misfits had me in hysterics, tears and poised with tension throughout most of this book. We get swept away on the adventure to find the French Babel piece and, I couldn’t get enough of Enrique’s Historical input. We get insights into Ancient Egypt as well as French history, which were weaved into the story effortlessly, giving you hints all the way through that lead to the unforgettable ending.”

Alexandria Warwick

“The author manages to render a world so wholly into being that I felt I was there, in the harsh arctic like land, braving the weather along side Apaay. I got chills whilst reading it, both from the beautiful style with which she brings the characters and setting to life and the fact that I felt like I was in the book, right there alongside Apaay on her perilous journey. The setting should have been bleak, a lot of white snow and ice, but Warwick manages to make it as enticing as towering palaces and even the most magical of worlds.”

Hafsah Faizal

“The writing in this book was sublime, the authors ability to enrich us with the history of Ariwiya, the wondrous continent she created, while at the same time carrying on with the main plot is something few authors manage, especially debuts. I will say that it is far from fast paced, the author has used this book to give us as much of a backstory as possible, to ensure we are as knowledgeable about the continent as we need to be and I loved this style of writing. Don’t get me wrong, there were plenty of tense moments, and the story line definitely picks up towards the end of the book, but for the main part she uses the story to enamour us with the characters and magical land she brings to life.“

Yaba Badoe

“This book was beautifully written and one of the main things I loved about it was the characters.There was a big lesson in this about the current climate crisis, though I felt it wasn’t shoved down your throat. The author weaved her intended lesson into the story seamlessly and makes it a story about greed and how that can affect not only the person but how it spirals outwards affecting all around. It was a brilliant way of showing that we should go back to the basics, and what might happen if we don’t.”

Rebecca Roanhorse

“The writing style and plot had me hooked from the very beginning, and I loved playing the guessing game the author gives us, who should we trust? Who is looking out for Maggie? And who is playing her? There were plenty of twists and turns, and the book ends on a heart breaking and yet promising cliff-hanger that had me eager to get my hands on the sequel.“

Tara Sim

“The author creates a world we all know well, a continent at war and the little country simply trying to stay out of the way, yet I found that her writing style and descriptions had me flying through the pages needing to know what happens next. There are plenty of twists and turns, some slightly predictable ( and I imagine if you had read the original book there wouldn’t be many surprises for you) but its the characters that had me truly invested. I loved Amaya and Cayo and lived for the parts of the book where they interacted.“