Top Ten Tuesday: New-To-Me Authors I Read in 2018

Hello fellow bookworms!  It’s Tuesday and that means it is time for another Top Ten Tuesday post!

  What is TTT? TTT is a weekly meme created by The Broke and the Bookish and now hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. Check out her blog for more info and to see upcoming themes.

This week’s theme is…

January 15: New-to-Me Authors I Read In 2018

» Nnedi Okorafor

Book(s) Read in 2018:

» Binti (Binti #1), Home (Binti #2), and The Night Masquerade (Binti #3)

I fell in love with Okorafor’s Binti series in 2018.  My mind was blown that she was able to build such an amazing world in such few pages.  If you enjoy Star Wars, I’d recommend this series to you.

Book(s) on my TBR:

» Akata Witch (Akata Witch #1)

Akata Witch transports the reader to a magical place where nothing is quite as it seems. Born in New York, but living in Aba, Nigeria, twelve-year old Sunny is understandably a little lost. She is albino and thus, incredibly sensitive to the sun. All Sunny wants to do is be able to play football and get through another day of school without being bullied. But once she befriends Orlu and Chichi, Sunny is plunged in to the world of the Leopard People, where your worst defect becomes your greatest asset. Together, Sunny, Orlu, Chichi and Sasha form the youngest ever Oha Coven. Their mission is to track down Black Hat Otokoto, the man responsible for kidnapping and maiming children. Will Sunny be able to overcome the killer with powers stronger than her own, or will the future she saw in the flames become reality?

---

» John Boyne

Book(s) Read in 2018:

» The Heart’s Invisible Furies and The Boy in the Striped Pajamas

John Boyne’s books have been recommended to me for years but I’d never picked up one of his books until 2018.   The Heart’s Invisible Furies was one of my favorite books of 2018!  I also finally read The Boy in the Striped Pajamas, which is the book that had been recommended to me the most.  I thought I knew what was coming & where Boyne was taking the story, but I was side swiped.  I don’t cry often when reading books, but I ugly cried.

Book(s) on my TBR:

» A Ladder to the Sky

The new novel from the beloved New York Times bestselling author of The Boy in the Striped Pajamas and The Heart’s Invisible Furies , a seductive Highsmithian psychodrama following one brilliant, ruthless man who will stop at nothing in his pursuit of fame 

Maurice Swift is handsome, charming, and hungry for success. The one thing he doesn’t have is talent – but he’s not about to let a detail like that stand in his way. After all, a would-be writer can find stories anywhere. They don’t need to be his own.
Working as a waiter in a West Berlin hotel in 1988, Maurice engineers the perfect opportunity: a chance encounter with celebrated novelist Erich Ackermann. He quickly ingratiates himself with the powerful – but desperately lonely – older man, teasing out of Erich a terrible, long-held secret about his activities during the war. Perfect material for Maurice’s first novel.
Once Maurice has had a taste of literary fame, he knows he can stop at nothing in pursuit of that high. Moving from the Amalfi Coast, where he matches wits with Gore Vidal, to Manhattan and London, Maurice hones his talent for deceit and manipulation, preying on the talented and vulnerable in his cold-blooded climb to the top. But the higher he climbs, the further he has to fall… 

---

» Madeline Miller

Book(s) Read in 2018:

» Song of Achilles

I highly enjoy mythology retellings, and I really enjoyed how Madeline Miller retold the story of Achilles.   Not only did we get an action packed & well written story, but it features one of my favorite M/M romances that I’ve ever read.

Book(s) on the TBR:

» Circe

In the house of Helios, god of the sun and mightiest of the Titans, a daughter is born. But Circe is a strange child—not powerful, like her father, nor viciously alluring like her mother. Turning to the world of mortals for companionship, she discovers that she does possess power—the power of witchcraft, which can transform rivals into monsters and menace the gods themselves.

Threatened, Zeus banishes her to a deserted island, where she hones her occult craft, tames wild beasts and crosses paths with many of the most famous figures in all of mythology, including the Minotaur, Daedalus and his doomed son Icarus, the murderous Medea, and, of course, wily Odysseus.

But there is danger, too, for a woman who stands alone, and Circe unwittingly draws the wrath of both men and gods, ultimately finding herself pitted against one of the most terrifying and vengeful of the Olympians. To protect what she loves most, Circe must summon all her strength and choose, once and for all, whether she belongs with the gods she is born from, or the mortals she has come to love.

---

» Patrick Rothfuss

Book(s) Read in 2018:

» The Name of the Wind (The Kingkiller Chronicles #1)

The Name of the Wind was another favorite book of 2018.  Kvothe is a new favorite character!  He is clever, smart, stubborn, witty, mischievous, kind, determined… I was completely immersed in this epic fantasy tale.

Book(s) on my TBR:

» The Wise Man’s Fear (The Kingkiller Chronicles #2)

“There are three things all wise men fear: the sea in storm, a night with no moon, and the anger of a gentle man.”

My name is Kvothe.
I have stolen princesses back from sleeping barrow kings. I burned down the town of Trebon. I have spent the night with Felurian and left with both my sanity and my life. I was expelled from the University at a younger age than most people are allowed in. I tread paths by moonlight that others fear to speak of during day. I have talked to Gods, loved women, and written songs that make the minstrels weep.
You may have heard of me.

So begins the tale of a hero told from his own point of view — a story unequaled in fantasy literature. Now in The Wise Man’s Fear, an escalating rivalry with a powerful member of the nobility forces Kvothe to leave the University and seek his fortune abroad. Adrift, penniless, and alone, he travels to Vintas, where he quickly becomes entangled in the politics of courtly society. While attempting to curry favor with a powerful noble, Kvothe uncovers an assassination attempt, comes into conflict with a rival arcanist, and leads a group of mercenaries into the wild, in an attempt to solve the mystery of who (or what) is waylaying travelers on the King’s Road.

All the while, Kvothe searches for answers, attempting to uncover the truth about the mysterious Amyr, the Chandrian, and the death of his parents. Along the way, Kvothe is put on trial by the legendary Adem mercenaries, is forced to reclaim the honor of the Edema Ruh, and travels into the Fae realm. There he meets Felurian, the faerie woman no man can resist, and who no man has ever survived … until Kvothe.

In The Wise Man’s Fear, Kvothe takes his first steps on the path of the hero and learns how difficult life can be when a man becomes a legend in his own time.

---

» Terry Pratchett

Book(s) Read in 2018:

» Good Omens, The Wee Free Men (Tiffany Aching #1), and A Hat Full of Sky (Tiffany Aching #2)

I’ve been wanting to dive into Terry Pratchett’s Discworld series for a while, but never knew where to start.  Someone recommended The Wee Free Men to me, so I jumped right in.  I definitely needed to get used to Pratchett’s writing at first.  Pratchett has a tendency to go off on tangents, but once I got used to this, I was able to enjoy his quirkiness & whit.

Book(s) on my TBR:

» Wintersmith (Tiffany Aching #3), I Shall Wear Midnight (Tiffany Aching #4), and The Shepherd’s Crown (Tiffany Aching #5)

---

» Sabaa Tahir

Book(s) Read in 2018:

» An Ember in the Ashes (An Ember in the Ashes #1), A Torch Against the Night (An Ember in the Ashes #2), and A Reaper at the Gates (An Ember in the Ashes #3)

Full of action, adventure, and a touch of romance, I highly enjoyed Tahir’s An Ember in the Ashes series.  I cannot wait to read the conclusion of this series, and to see what Tahir puts out next.

Book(s) on my TBR:

» The 4th installment in the Ember in the Ashes series – Cover & book description to be released

---

Which authors were new to you in 2018?

Have you read any of the books/authors on this list?  If so, what did you think?

*Feel free to link to your own TTT post!