2016: Discovering New-to-me Authors

There are always those books that stay with you for various reasons even long after you've read it. They tend to be the ones I mark with 5 stars. 

In 2016, I discovered some 'new-to-me' authors, who I plan on reading more from. 

Tessa Dare 

Dare's Spindle Cove series is a fun historical romance series. Spindle Cove is known as Spinster's Cove - a refuge for women who don't fit in society and are unusual. There's choas and hilarity as the world of the ladies and the new militia merge together.

• A Night to Surrender (#1)
• Once Upon a Winter's Eve (#1.5)
• A Week to Be Wicked #(#2)
• A Lady by Midnight (#3)

Susan Elia MacNeal
The Maggie Hope Mystery series follows Maggie Hope who is a secretary for Winston Churchill. I've only listened to the first one and enjoyed it immensely. Maggie is a spit fire in war torn London and I want to see what she does next for her country.

• Mr. Churchill's Secretary (Maggie Hope Mystery, #1)

Jeaniene Frost

I was on the fence about this one initially but the dry humour did win me over. Cat is a half vampire and she makes it her mission to rid the world of vampires. Vampire bounty hunter Bones enters her life and they form an unlikely partnership.

• Halfway to the Grave (Night Huntress, #1)
• Reckoning (Night Huntress, #0.5)

Carrie Vaughn
I met Carrie Vaughn at WorldCon in 2010. It's taken me this long to get to the book I got her to sign! And it really is a great book. Kitty has spunk but also it's interesting to see the pack dynamics from such a low member of it. Great premise of having a DJ coming out on a radio show that she's a werewolf and a talk show is about this and other paranormal things. Most think it's a publicity stunt but those who know the truth have now got a place to get advice.

• Kitty and the Midnight Hour (Kitty Norville #1)

Veronica Roth
I've seen the first two movies and thought I'd like to see where they came from. A teen who's gutsy but is also scared witless with life. The way she deals with things is a combination of her upbringing and her wanting to break free from this upbringing. At heart she is a good person who must hide what she is if she's to survive.

• Divergent (Divergent, #1)

Aaron Blabey

I discovered The Bad Guys series via an 8 year old. This is a fabulous children's book series about a group of misunderstood 'bad guys' - a wolf, shark, piranha, snake. Seriously hilarious. Text and images work hand in hand to tickle the funny bone.

• The Bad Guys: Episode 1
• The Bad Guys: Episode 2 Mission Unpluckable
• The Bad Guys: Episode 3: The Furball Strikes Again

I love discovering new authors but my To Read pile is groaning at the addition of more titles. :)


Happy Reading!

Series Reading - Authors Beginning with G, H & I

Series I'm reading/ready to read with authors starting with G, H, and I.



Gail Carriger

The Parasol Protectorate Series 
Genre: Historical paranormal romance
Alexia Tarabotti hasn't got a soul - a preternatural. While a member of polite society in Victorian England, she also has dealings with vampires, werewolves (including the insufferable Lord Maccon) and ghosts. All this is kept from her family but her adventures find her in all sorts of precarious positions a lady shouldn't be found in. With her trusty parasol she is ready to face any challenge - even Lord Maccon.

Up to: #4 - Heartless (on TBR)

2016: 0

#3 in 2013

Soulless Manga Version

Genre: Historical paranormal romance & Graphic Novel

The Manga version of The Parasol Protectorate Series 

Up to: #3 - Soulless volume 3

2016: #2

Finishing School 

Genre: Historical paranormal, YA

"It's one thing to learn to curtsy properly. It's quite another to learn to curtsy and throw a knife at the same time. Welcome to Finishing School."

Up to: #1 -  Etiquette & Espionage  (on eTBR)

Haven't started series yet

Gail Carson Levine

The Enchanted Collection 

Genre: Children's - fantasy

Fantasy land where magic and magical creatures abound. Stories of young girls set on adventure.

Up to: #2 -  The Two Princesses of Bamarre

2016: #1

Gena Showalter

Alien Huntress 

Genre: Sci-fi Romance

"Enter a dark, tantalizing world of humans, otherworlders, powers beyond imagining and a seductive man undone by his insatiable hunger for one woman..."

Up to: #2 -  Enslave Me Sweetly (on TBR)

2016: 0

#1 pre 2011

The Lords of the Underworld

Genre: Paranormal romance

"Long ago, twelve immortals warriors – each more dangerously seductive than the last -- stole and opened Pandora’s box, unleashing the evil from within. Now they carry that evil within themselves. Violence, Pain, Death, Disease, Disaster, Misery, Doubt, Promiscuity, Defeat, Lies, Secrets, and Wrath. When a powerful enemy returns, they will travel the world in search of a sacred relic of the gods – one that threatens to destroy them all."

Up to: #2 -  The Darkest Kiss (on TBR) 

2016: 0

2015: #1

White Rabbit Chronicles 

Genre: Paranormal YA

Looks like a YA series where Alice is a normal girl until the supernatural raises it's head. In this case, in the form of zombies.

Up to: #1: Alice in Zombieland (on TBR)

George R.R. Martin

A Song of Ice and Fire 

Genre: Epic Fantasy

An epic stories of kings, queens, magic, wars, dragons, and the walking dead.  A cast of 100s but follows the Houses Stark, Targaryen, Lannister and Baratheon. 

Up to: #5 -  A Dance With Dragons: Part 2 - After the Feast (on TBR)

2016: #5 part 1

Wild Cards (editor)

Genre: Science Fiction and superhero

"Wild Cards is a science fiction and superhero anthology series set in a shared universe. The series was created by a group of New Mexico science fiction authors, and mostly edited by George R. R. Martin.

While most of the books are made up of individual short stories, they generally focus on a central theme or event. There were also several longer storylines which run through several of the books. Some volumes use the format of a mosaic novel. This involved several writers writing individual storylines which were then edited together into one novel length story. Finally, some volumes are a complete novel written by a single author."

Up to: #1 - Wild Cards (Currently reading) 

Heather Graham

Bone Island 

Genre: Suspense with Romantic & paranormal elements

Set in Key West. The first was a story of a killer returning to kill again as he did 10 years ago. There are also ghosts. 

Up to: - #2: Ghost Night; #0.5 Ghost Memories

2016: #1

Helene Young

Border Watch 

Genre: Romantic Suspense

"A loosely linked trilogy set in the high stakes world of Australian Coastal Surveillance."

Up to: #2 -  Shattered Sky

2016: 0

#1 pre 2011

Ilona Andrews

Kate Daniels

Genre: Urban fantasy with romantic elements

"The world has suffered a magic apocalypse. We pushed the technological progress too far, and now magic returned with a vengeance. It comes in waves, without warning, and vanishes as suddenly as it appears. When magic is up, planes drop out of the sky, cars stall, electricity dies. When magic is down, guns work and spells fail.

It’s a volatile, screwed-up world. Magic feeds on technology, gnawing down on skyscrapers until most of them topple and fall, leaving only skeletal husks behind. Monsters prowl the ruined streets, werebears and werehyenas stalk their prey; and the Masters of the Dead, necromancers driven by their thirst for knowledge and wealth, pilot blood-crazed vampires with their minds.

In this world lives Kate Daniels. Kate likes her sword a little too much and has a hard time controlling her mouth. The magic in her blood makes her a target, and she spent most of her life hiding in plain sight. But sometimes even trained killers make friends and fall in love, and when the universe tries to kick them in the face, they kick back."

Up to: #2 - Magic Burns (on TBR); #0.5: Magic Graves

2016: #1 (audio)

~Happy Reading~