Top Ten Tuesday: New-To-Me Authors I Discovered in 2023

 

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature hosted by Jana at That Artsy Reader Girl.  This week's topic is new-to-us authors we discovered in 2023.  This is always a fun list to put together because there always seems to be at least one major author that I've finally read for the first time, way after the rest of the world!  Here are some new-to-me authors I read in 2023:

1. Emma Scott
2. Melanie Harlow
3. Kristy Woodson Harvey
4. Alice Feeney
5. Elsie Silver
6. Olivia Dade
7. Ashley Winstead
8. Emma Straub
9. Leddy Harper
10. K. Bromberg

Who are some authors you read for the first time in 2023?

Michele's Monday Picks #38

Angela is so generous to let me pop in with my little series, Michele’s Monday Picks!  I’m not a blogger or bookstagrammer, but I love getting excited about new releases with the rest of you.  Here I’ll be sharing new books I’m really looking forward to!

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Island Witch

By Amanda Jayatissa

Expected Publication: February 20, 2024

From Goodreads:

Inspired by Sri Lankan folklore, award-winning author Amanda Jayatissa turns her feverish, Gothic-tinged talents to late 19th century Sri Lanka where the daughter of a traditional demon-priest—relentlessly bullied by peers and accused of witchcraft herself—tries to solve the mysterious attacks that have been terrorizing her coastal village.

Being the daughter of the village Capuwa, or demon-priest, Amara is used to keeping mostly to herself. Influenced by the new religious practices brought in by the British Colonizers, the villagers who once respected her father’s craft have turned on the family. Yet, they all still seem to call on him whenever supernatural disturbances arise.

Now someone—or something —is viciously seizing upon men in the jungle. But instead of enlisting Amara’s father’s help, the villages have accused him of carrying out the attacks himself.

As she tries to clear her father’s name, Amara finds herself haunted by dreams that eerily predict the dark forces on her island. And she can’t shake the feeling that it’s all connected to the night she was recovering from a strange illness, and woke up, scared and confused, to hear her mother’s frantic No one can find out what happened.

Lush, otherworldly, and recalling horror classics like Carrie and The Exorcist, Island Witch is a deliciously creepy and darkly feminist tale about the horrors of moral panic, the violent space between girlhood and adulthood, and what happens when female rage is finally unleashed.

This sounds so unique - do you think you’ll be picking this one up?

Quick Reviews

Silent Came the Monster by Amy Hill Hearth (2023)

Inspired by the 1916 shark attacks along the New Jersey shore, Silent Came the Monster is a fictionalized version of those events.  Dr. Halsey, after examining the body of the first victim, is convinced a shark is stalking the coastline, but many do not believe him.  After more people are killed, will they finally listen to him?  I don't often come across books set in New Jersey, so I was interested to read this; unfortunately, it had a lot of issues.  The story itself is intriguing, but the writing is lackluster, awkward, and often juvenile.  At times it felt like it wanted to be a nonfiction book because it included so many random facts.  The author also places the attacks in the bigger picture of the era (a world on verge of war, a medical epidemic claiming the lives of babies), but whenever the characters talked about these other events, it didn't feel natural or like it fit with the story.  I think the author did a great job with the research, but it didn't all come together for me in the way I wanted.  3 stars

Kiss the Girl by Zoraida Cordova (2023)

Ariel is a famous pop star who just wants to take some downtime before starting her next career move, but her father has other plans.  Ariel, however, decides to put herself first for once and decides to go on the road, anonymously, with an up-and-coming band and its dreamy lead singer, Eric.  Obviously, this is a Little Mermaid reimagining and I couldn't resist!  Elements of the story were cute - I liked seeing how the author took pieces of the story/movie and fit them into this new setting and time period.  Seeing Ariel try to act like a "regular" woman was fun, getting to experience all these things, some seemingly mundane, for the first time.  However, I had trouble connecting with Ariel and Eric.  Even though they are in their mid-to-late twenties, they just felt so young and immature.  The slow burn between them was just waaayyy too slow for me, and I thought the villanous character of Ariel's father was just a bit too much.  3 stars

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Can't-Wait Wednesday: Fangirl Down

Can't-Wait Wednesday is hosted by Tressa at Wishful Endings and helps us spotlight upcoming releases we're eagerly anticipating!

Fangirl Down

Tessa Bailey

Expected publication date: February 13, 2024

Wells Whitaker was once golf's hottest rising star, but lately, all he has to show for his "promising" career is a killer hangover, a collection of broken clubs, and one remaining supporter. No matter how bad he plays, the beautiful, sunny redhead is always on the sidelines. He curses, she cheers. He scowls, she smiles. But when Wells quits in a blaze of glory and his fangirl finally goes home, he knows he made the greatest mistake of his life.

Josephine Doyle believed in the gorgeous, grumpy golfer, even when he didn't believe in himself. Yet after he throws in the towel, she begins to wonder if her faith was misplaced. Then a determined Wells shows up at her door with a wild proposal: be his new caddy, help him turn his game around, and split the prize money. And considering Josephine's professional and personal life is in shambles, she could really use the cash...

As they travel together, spending days on the green and nights in neighboring hotel rooms, sparks fly. Before long, they're inseparable, Wells starts winning again, and Josephine is surprised to find a sweet, thoughtful guy underneath his gruff, growly exterior. This hot man wants to brush her hair, feed her snacks, and take bubble baths together? Is this real life? But Wells is technically her boss and an athlete falling for his fangirl would be ridiculous... right? - from Goodreads

Indie Bookstore Spotlight: Farley's Bookshop

 We recently took a short ride to New Hope, Pennsylvania to take Henry to the Bucks County Children's Museum - a really fun interactive place that we're sure to go back to!  After our museum outing and a quick lunch, I asked Tom if we could walk around the adorable downtown area a bit and maybe stop by a local bookstore - turns out he had done his research ahead of time and already knew where it was!  So, we strolled down to Farley's Bookshop!

Farley's Bookshop originally opened in 1967 after a husband and wife team purchased an existing bookstore (the owner was retiring).  In 1971, they moved to their current location.  The shop was owned by the Farley family until October 2022, when they sold it to three long-time employees!

When you walk in, you are immediately greeted by the employees at the register.  To the left, there are some bookish items (like tote bags) and notecards, among other little gift ideas.  The first room is mostly devoted to nonfiction, in tall bookshelves along the walls.  Areas like food and history are highlighted here.  The store then opens up into another very large room in the back (I was surprised at how big the store was - definitely a TARDIS moment, ha!).  Adult fiction lined one wall, which then led into YA, picture books, and more children's books.  In the center was a rack of children's non-bookish items - puzzles, coloring books, etc. - and a great selection of interesting chapter books for young readers.  The room was so bright, airy, and welcoming, just a beautiful place to walk around.

I ended up choosing a book for Henry (Planet Earth from the Hello, World! series).  The employee helping me check out commented that his own kids loved this series, so that was a nice recommendation!

Have you visited any independent bookstores recently?

Top Ten Tuesday: Bookish Goals for 2024

 

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature hosted by Jana at That Artsy Reader Girl.  This week's topic is our bookish goals for 2024.  I didn't really set any goals last year as I was still trying to get back into the swing of reading after having Henry.  I'm slightly more confident now in how much I'm able to read, so I figured it would be a good time to set some goals!  Here are a few things I want to get done in 2024:

1. Read 75 books.  I was able to read more than this last year, but I also had a month or two where my reading just skyrocketed and I can't predict that will happen again.  This is a good number for me as it averages to slightly more than 6 books per month, which I think is doable.
2. Reread once a month.  I haven't reread anything in quite awhile, and that makes me a little sad.  My shelves are full of books I have loved and want to revisit, so I'm going to challenge myself to do one reread per month.
3. Read at least six nonfiction books.  I barely read any nonfiction last year, which is unusual for me.  I didn't even participate in Nonfiction November because I felt I didn't have anything to contribute.  There are so many interesting-sounding nonfiction books on my TBR, and I want to make time for them in 2024.
4. Finish the Bridgerton series.  I made good headway on it in 2023 and I only have two books left!
5. Purge my shelves.  As always, my shelves are overflowing!  I want to curate a collection that's just full of those books I absolutely love and can't live without.  Plus, it'll make room for more books I'll inevitably buy during the year.

And because 10 is too many for me, I asked my sister to share some of her goals:

1. Read 275 books.  This would make my Goodreads goal lower than 2023, but with my daughter getting older and having more activities and me wanting to cultivate hobbies outside of reading (puzzles, cycling, etc.), I feel good about this development. 
2. Track my reading contemporaneously.  I created an excel tracker for myself in late 2023 so I could see the breakdown of my reading format (physical, audio, ebook) and the source of my books (hauls, library, Kindle Unlimited).  However, this meant I had to categorize over 300 books at once, which almost broke me.  In 2024 I'll make sure to update the tracker at least a couple times a month to make it easier.
3. Binge author backlists via audio.  I've already identified a couple authors whose backlists I want to explore in 2024.  I like to be as current as possible with new releases via physical or ebooks, so I think consuming some of these backlist titles via audio will work out best here.
4. Listen to 5 audiobooks with my hubby.  Despite the fact that he used to work at a well-known audiobook company, my husband is not a huge audiobook listener.  But we do have some road trips coming up in 2024 and audiobooks will be a good way to pass the time.  Finding titles that appeal to both of us can be a little challenging (although Neil DeGrasse Tyson and John Scalzi have been hits in the past), but I'm looking forward to it.

What are some of your bookish goals for 2024?

Quick Reviews

The Prince & The Apocalypse by Kara McDowell (2023)

Wren's perfect trip to London doesn't go as planned, especially when she ends up helping Prince Theo of the Royal Family escape a pack of tourists.  When she gets to the airport later that day, Wren learns that a huge comet is heading towards Earth, poised to destroy all life on the planet in just 8 days.  Now, the only person she can rely on to get her home to family is the prince.  Folks, I just loved this book.  Every time I picked it up, I got lost in Wren and Theo's story and I had to keep reminding myself that the world was not, in fact, ending in 8 days.  Wren's need to always have a plan was endearing and relatable, and you could feel her frustration in the impossible situation she's found herself in.  And on one hand, she's attracted to Theo, but on the other, he's still pretty much a stranger - how much can she really trust him?  And Theo - I love me some royalty in my books, so to get that little glimpse behind the curtain was fun, although I felt for him and how trapped he felt by his position.  Wren and Theo have to work together and come up against some crazy obstacles, but you'll be rooting for them the whole way.  Part love story, part road trip, part adventure, part apocalypse - so many elements that work together seamlessly.  And - I can't wait to find out what happens next!  5 stars

Strangers in the Night by Heather Webb (2023)

 

In this novel, Heather Webb explores the relationship between crooner Frank Sinatra and actress Aa Gardner, set against the backdrop of Old Hollywood.  I know a little about Frank Sinatra but really nothing about Ava Gardner, so I was interested to learn more about the both of them.  Their tumultuous relationship leaps off the page - the high highs and the low lows, so much jealousy, so many breakups and makeups.  The glimpses we get of how Hollywood worked back then were also really interesting.  However, the story is very repetitive - the two are having a good time, then one small thing sets off a huge fight, and they find a way to come back together, over and over again.  There's so much drama between Sinatra and Gardner that just felt unnecessary to include and their relationship is so volatile that it almost felt uncomfortable at times.  3 stars

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