Ten Authors I Discovered in 2022

January 24, 2023 Top Ten Tuesday 31

Graphic: New To Me Authors I Discovered in 2023

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature/meme now hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. The meme was originally the brainchild of The Broke and the Bookish. This week’s topic is New-To-Me Authors I Discovered in 2022.

Favorite new-to-me authors

In alphabetical order, these are my favorite new discoveries:

Travis Baldree. I loved Legends and Lattes (the epitome of “cozy fantasy”) and will be eagerly awaiting any and all sequels.

Mur Lafferty‘s science-fiction mystery Station Eternity was terrific. It was billed as the first in the Midsolar Murders series, so I’m very hopeful for sequels! In the meantime, I purchased Lafferty’s earlier, Hugo-nominated novel, Six Wakes, and I’m looking forward to reading it.

Celia Lake. Technically, I suppose I should count Celia Lake as a 2021 discovery, since I first read Eclipse in November of that year and loved it. But my response to Eclipse prompted me to buy another of her books (Outcrossing) in 2022, and I ended up bingeing my way through her entire backlist… twice. (And a third time for about half the books.) There’s something about her low-angst historical fantasy romance style that I find very comforting. At any rate, I’m counting her as a 2022 discovery, because that’s when I really dove in.

Mimi Matthews had been on my radar for a year or two, and then I read A Holiday by Gaslight in December 2021. But it was The Siren of Sussex and The Belle of Belgrave Square, both read in 2022, that won her a place on this list. Now I plan to go through her backlist.

Sangu Mandanna‘s The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches, a cozy contemporary fantasy with a romance, was one of my favorite books of 2022. I would love more books like it, but in the meantime, I plan to check out Mandanna’s middle grade novels and her YA fantasy series.

Lish McBride crossed my radar when A Little Too Familiar was mentioned several times in the comments of a post of cozy fantasy recs. I loved it, and I’m interested in checking out McBride’s other books, though I’m not sure they are in quite the same vein. I am also hoping (hard!) for a sequel.

Book cover: The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue

V. E. Schwab, on the other hand, has been on my TBR list for years. In 2022, I read The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue, which was amazing. The Shades of London series has now risen very high on my list of books to read in 2023; in fact, the first book in the trilogy is on my #23in2023 list.

Other new-to-me authors I really enjoyed…

…and will probably read more of.

Poppy Alexander. I really enjoyed The Littlest Library. Alexander’s only other novels (so far) are both Christmas romances; I bought one this winter, and put the other on my wishlist. I hope to read both of them next December.

Kelley Armstrong. My sister introduced me to Armstrong by giving me the first two books in the Stitch in Time series. The first one was good, and I’m looking forward to reading the second one this year. Armstrong writes in a variety of genres and subgenres, so not all her books will be to my taste, but there are a few other books and series that I think I will check out.

Helene Hanff is best known for 84, Charing Cross Road, which I first listened to in 2022. I absolutely loved it, quite as much as the movie (which is very faithful to the book, on the whole.) While I’m not currently interested in Hanff’s entire oevre, I love her sense of humor and her obsession with books, so I plan to read

Helene Hanff is best known for 84, Charing Cross Road, which I first listened to in 2022. I absolutely loved it, quite as much as I love the movie (which is very faithful to the book, on the whole.) While I’m not currently interested in Hanff’s entire oevre, I love her sense of humor and her obsession with books, so I plan to read The Duchess of Bloomsbury Street (the sequel to 84, Charing Cross Road), and probably also Q’s Legacy: A Delightful Account of a Lifelong Love Affair with Books, which recounts how Hanff first grew interested in classic books and began ordering them from a London bookshop. I might also read Apple of My Eye, Hanff’s tribute to New York.

Which authors did you discover in 2022?

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31 Responses to “Ten Authors I Discovered in 2022”

  5. Dini @ dinipandareads

    Great list! Travis Baldree is a new favourite author for me as well. I can’t wait for him to write more books 😍 I’m also looking forward to reading Mandanna’s book this year. I’ve heard so many good things about it!

  9. Lindsey @ Lindsey Reads

    Mandanna made my list as well. I also love Addie LaRue and the Shades of Magic series so hope you’ll love those as well. And Travis Baldree is an author that’s on my TBR, so hopefully 2023 will be the year 🙂

  10. Literary Feline

    This is a great list! I read A Holiday by Gaslight by Mimi Matthews awhile ago and really enjoyed it. I want to read more of her work at some point. I adored Sangu Mandanna’s book this past year and definitely will be reading more by her in the future. Kelley Armstrong has been a favorite of mine since her Otherworld series, but I have yet to read any of her newer stuff. How is that possible?! I really should. I am glad to see her on your list. Thank you for sharing!
    Literary Feline recently posted…Top Ten Tuesday: My Top Ten New-to-Me Authors I Discovered in 2022My Profile

  15. Jo

    VE Schwab is one of my favourite authors, so glad to see you enjoyed Addie LaRue and plan on diving in to the rest of her backlist (my favourites are the Shades of Magic series and the Villains books).
    Jo recently posted…Top Ten Tuesday #404My Profile

  16. Berls

    Kelley Armstrong was new to me in 2022 too — I think I had technically read one of her books YEARS ago but last year was the first time I really dove in and read a series – and it was also a stitch in time!

    VE Schwab is a favorite of mine, and The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue was I think my 4th read by her but definitely my favorite. I’m not familiar with Shades of London though — is it a continuation of Shades of Magic?

    Oh and The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches is on my list of #12in12 for this year, so I’ll be getting to it this year hopefully!
    Berls recently posted…Tell Me Something Tuesday: author/book playlistsMy Profile

  23. Maureen @ Maureen's Books

    This looks like a great list. I’ve only read a Kelley Armstrong book, and loved it. But I have been reading great things about The Siren of Sussex, and it’s definitely on my TBR.

  24. Katherine

    I read Mimi Matthews for the first time in 2022 but somehow missed it on my list. I really enjoyed the book I read. I really want to read Poppy Alexander and Kelley Armstrong and Helene Hanff is one of my absolute favorites.