Top 14 of 2014 Day One: Top 14 New-To-You Authors

Hey everyone! First off MERRY CHRISTMAS! Second, 2014 is coming to a close and a few of my favorite bloggers are ending this year on a high note with their very own "Top 14 of 2014" blog series! Each day from now until New Years, a host of bloggers will be posting their "Top 14" answers to the following questions:

Sounds exciting, right?

As you can see, today's topic is "Top 14 New-To-You Authors". Since I am doing this post on Christmas Eve, I am not going to make it all fancified as I generally would. I am going to list the authors right here along with a few reasons why they've made my Top 14 list! Fair warning, several of these authors will be reappearing throughout the next week!

In no particular order, I present to you: my 'Top 14 New-To-Me" authors...
*Click each authors name to be taken to their Goodreads. I've also included some fun pictures as well!

Liz Long

Oh Liz, my dear friend. How could I end 2014 without giving thanks to you? Meeting you at UtopYA was one of my greatest experiences. Your Donovan Circus series not only made a huge impact on my blog, but also on my literary life. Thank you for gifting Gifted to us! You my dear, are amazing.

Jennifer L. Armentrout

Random fact. Prior to April of this year, I had never heard of this lady. Now, she's one of my favorite people on the planet. Thanks to AViD, I got to meet JLA and my life was completely changed. Who doesn't love Jennifer L. Armentrout? I haven't met anyone yet. Seriously, I read.... 16 JLA books this year. Seriously, how could she not make this list?


Chelsea Fine

Do you hear the choir singing? The angelic choir and heavenly lights? THAT'S what happens when Chelsea Fine puts words to paper. Seriously. Again, I was not introduced to Chelsea's works until early this year and she blew me away. I flew through her Archers of Avalon series just in time to start Best Kind of Broken, my favorite NA of all time. I don't do romance often, but when it comes from an author as incredible as Mrs. Chelsea Fine, I'll read it all day long. Also, I met her at UtopYA as well. Best afternoon ever! Love your guts ma'am!


Stacey O'Neale

Stacey! Have you guys heard of Mortal Enchantment? No. Then you obviously don't read this blog often. Of all the series I have pimped out this year, none have been pimped as extensively as Mortal Enchantment. Stacey is a 2014 debut author and what a way to hit the ground rolling. Seriously love this lady. She's got a heart of gold and writes like a pro. I cannot wait to meet her in person. Working with her has been a real joy!

Christine Manzari

This is the woman who gave us The Sophisticates AND has written an amazing new NA called Hooked. How could she not my list? Seriously, I have loved each and every book she has thrown at me! Also, she's thrown some other amazing authors my way and helped to expand out awesome OGG2GR family! I can't wait to see what else comes from Christine!

Jon Messenger

Mr. Messenger is rather special to me. You guys probably remember over the summer where I reviewed the first three books in his World Aflame series. I absolutely loved it. Even better? It was an incredible series written by a male. HUGE influence on my reading. I had gone months trying to find a decent series written for a young audience by a male author. Messenger was like a beacon in the storm. Thanks to being introduced to his amazing works, I found the team at Clean Teen Publishing and have found another home. Thank you Jon for not only Xander and Sammy, but for introducing me to the CTP world and changing this blog forever!

Danielle Paige

Guys. It's Danielle Paige. Do I even have to write anything else here? Seriously. This woman changed my life. No, you read that correctly. Friends, what am I obsessed with? Oz. Who's the biggest (literary) Oz fan you've ever met? Me. What did Danielle do? Introduce Oz to a whole new world of readers. Danielle didn't just give us Hollywood's Oz, she stayed true to Baum's vision, making her a class act, Grade-A lady in my books! Danielle knows how special she is to me as well. Don't be surprised when her name shows up multiple times in the coming days!

KB Nelson

"I'm never reading a NA romance novel again!" "My book's about Carnies...?" "Damn it." Yep. This is pretty much my relationship with KB Nelson. Not only is KB Nelson an amazing author, KB Nelson is breaking the mold. Nelson's works are among the most original and unique that I have read. Think you've seen it all when it comes to the romance genre? I can assure you, you haven't. Go read Carnival. Now! Also, did you hear about Faithless?

Nazarea Andrews

Nazarea introduced me into the world of Zombies. I've said it before and I'll say it again: N made me a believer and for that I'll be forever grateful. She completely opened my eyes to the horror genre and I am so appreciative. Also, her Horde series is phenomenal. Read it people.

Rachel Aukes

Going off the same page as with Nazarea, Rachel really changed my life with her Deadland Saga. Before Rachel, I didn't see much use for the horror genre. I didn't see the emotion, didn't see anything really scary. Every one of Rachel's books has brought me to tears. Never before have I become so protective and close to a series in such a short amount of time. Each death, each triumph, each zombified moment brings me closer to erupting in excitement. I freaking love Rachel Aukes. I cannot wait to meet my 'Neighbor to the North"!

Megan Curd 

Megan Curd introduced me to the world of Steampunk. Now I'm obsessed with all things Victorian, mechanical, and elemental. I don't know if I should be praising or condemning Megan Curd, but I have strong feelings wither way :P Seriously though, her Periodic series really opened my eyes to an entirely different side of the YA genre. I am absolutely obsessed with that series and cannot wait to see what the future holds for this incredibly talented author.

Heather Lyons

I won't say much here, because you're going to be hearing a lot about Heather in the coming days. Her latest release, The Collectors' Society is probably about to be featured on every one of these posts. Heather is an incredible author who really has gone above and beyond to ensure her readers are satisfied. Thank you so much for all you do Heather Lyons, keep on writing lady, you're incredible! Also, did you guys know she has roots in archaeology!? ARCHAEOLOGY FOR THE WIN! (In case you guys didn't know, I just graduated with a degree in Anthropology where I, too, have studied archaeology extensively. Heather and I are kindred spirits!)

Kallie Ross

My very first debut author, well, first one I worked with anyway :). Kallie Ross, I bow down to you ma'am. Not only did Kallie shake up the YA world earlier this year with her debut novel, Descent, now she's doing it again! Kallie Ross is in the running to be selected as the writer of a screenplay in the "the new voices of the Twilight Saga" competition being hosted by Lionsgate Films and Stephanie Meyer. As a female author, Kallie Ross is pioneering some incredible stuff. You guys will definitely want to keep your eyes on this one as well! Go Kallie!!


K.A. Tucker

While many of you readers may know and love Mrs. Tucker from her Ten Tiny Breathes series, I actually fell for Mrs. Tucker in another way. In the form of Causal Enchantment. You guys may not know this but K.A. Tucker released a four-book Paranormal series that was absolutely astounding. Not only was it a fantastic series, it was a great way for me to be introduced to a groundbreaking author. As you guys know, I'm not a huge romance fan so some of her other stuff may not be for me. I'm being honest when I say I cannot imagine my 2014 with Causal Enchantment. It changed my reading world in a big way!


Alright guys, there you hate it: my Top 14 New-To-You Authors of 2014! While these weren't all debut authors, they were all new to me! I haven't been at this too terribly long, but I've met some amazing authors. Trust me, it was really hard to narrow this down to just 14 authors. Did your favorite author make the list? Let me know your top authors in the comments below! Merry Christmas and until next time, Happy Reading!

-Ethan