Friday Book Club: New-To-You Authors

Welcome to our Friday Book Club Challenge!

This month we're talking about new-to-you authors and the Naughty Nine have been busy playing catch up with our reading between writing projects. Here's what we read for this month's TBR challenge:

Erin - I just finished Down For the Count by Christine Bell who's new to me--yummy hero!! The heroine isn't tough enough for me until the very end.

Kate - I haven't finished it yet (deadlines = no reading time), but I am loving Double Down by Katie Porter. Hot, sexy, fun!

Kelly - I mentioned last month that the first book of the year I read was Motorcycle Man by Kristen Ashley. That was also a new to me author, and was my first  of her books (Now I've read 4!) . I really loved it and now I know why people were calling her books "crack". I tried to think about what it is that makes them so addictive. A lot of it is the characters, both male and female main characters are likeable (and the guys are super masculine, dominant and sexy). There are also lots of intriguing secondary characters.

Since the books are all in first person, it takes some skill to bring out all the nuances of other characters when you can't get inside their heads, and I really admire that. The plot events are a little crazy and over the top and there are laugh out loud moments, but also tender and emotional moments, which I also really enjoy. Some of the books I read were the self-published versions, and oh yeah there are lots of editing issues, which usually drives me nuts, often to the point of not being able to finish a badly edited book, but this one didn't bug me that much. I understand these have been contracted by a publisher and are being edited and re-released. I just hope they don't edit them to the point of smoothing out her unique voice.

Kinsey - I just finished Tad Williams' Dirty Streets of Heaven and I cannot wait for the sequel. He's a very well established, best selling fantasy author but I don't do high fantasy, so I've never read him. DSOH is about an angel who's been posted here to Earth for a long time - he has no recollection of how long, or where he was before that - and it's his duty to represent people immediately following their death as they are sentenced to Heaven, Hell or Limbo. And he stumbles across a somewhat confusing conspiracy between a demon and one of the higher up angelic beings. Honestly, I have to go back and reread it before the sequel comes out.

It's compulsively readable, refreshingly original, and has a lot of humor.

Meg - I'm working on Lord of Illusion by Kathryn Kennedy (like Kate I don't have a lot of time right now and it's a long one). It's a fascinating mixture of historical and fantasy/paranormal. Her world-building is first rate.

Skylar - Hailey Edwards is a new-to-me author and I'm so glad I discovered her. Soul Weaver, the first book of hers that I read, is a wonderful fantasy romance. The hero and heroine are engaging, memorable, and beautifully flawed--this is a must-read!

Sydney - I just finished Branded by Keary Taylor, the first book in her YA Fallen Angels trilogy. It really hooked me from the start and kept me reading to see how things were going to play out. Strangely enough, it has a similar plot element to the book Kinsey just read :) The romance is sweet and engaging and you can't help but root for them to be together. First person POV's can really be hit or miss for me, but this one worked well and I'm looking forward to seeing what happens in the next book. Best part, it's currently free on Kindle!

What about you guys? What new-to-you authors have you read?

NEXT MONTH'S CHALLENGE: Read a book set somewhere warm/tropical!