Top 5 Tuesday #68: Top 5 New Authors of 2021

Top 5 Tuesday is a weekly meme created by Shanah, the Bionic Book Worm, and now hosted by Meeghan at Meeghan Reads.

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This week’s topic:

Top 5 new authors of 2021

(Tell us all about your favourite new authors, either debut authors from 2021 or new-to-you this year.)

I met some great new-to-me authors this year who I’d love to read more from. Here are my top five.

Camilla Bruce

At the top is Camilla Bruce whose In the Garden of Spite I read earlier this year, thanks to Mogsy and Tammy. The novel is a historical thriller about a female serial killer in the late 1800s. It’s slow paced but such a riveting read. Both my aunt (who I made read it) and I want to read more from Bruce, and I need to get another copy of the book to let my mom read it too (I gave my copy to my aunt).

 Mateo Askaripour

Next is Mateo Askaripour. I read his Black Buck with my book group earlier this year and loved it despite how angry and frustrated I was at times while reading it. It’s a contemporary satire (although… I don’t think the author considers it a satire, so maybe it’s not…?) about a young Black man from Brooklyn who gets a job in sales at a startup in NYC. It was an uncomfortable read but gripping as well, and I highly recommend it.

Eli Brown

Oh my gosh, Eli Brown’s Cinnamon and Gunpowder was such a delectable read. I’m so mad at myself that I took this long to read it. It’s historical fiction set in 1819 about a renown chef who’s kidnaped by the pirate Mad Hannah Mabbot to cook her exquisite meals every Sunday in exchange for his life. The prose and the protagonist’s voice are what hooked me to this one, making me hang on every word. I can’t wait to try another book by this author.

Jordan Ifueko

I had such a fun time reading Ifueko’s Raybearer, a YA fantasy novel about a girl who’s half human and half enslaved spirit who sees the past of whomever or whatever she touches. Ifueko hooked me to the world she created in this story, which is strongly inspired by African cultures and folklores. I look forward to reading the second book in the duology.

Katy Rose Pool

Pool’s There Will Come a Darkness was a pleasant surprise. I didn’t expect to like it as much as I did. It’s the first in a YA fantasy series that seems set in a world that resembles ancient Greece. It’s about several teens who are connected in bringing about a prophecy. It was such a good read, and I can’t wait to see how the plot unfolds in the other books.

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Have you read any of these?

Which new-to-you author are you eager to read from again in the new year?