Top Ten Tuesday: New-to-me Authors of 2015 #TTT

Today, the bloggers at The Broke and the Bookish have asked us to list ten new-to-me authors whose books I read in 2015.

This year, I read quite a few new-to-me authors. Most of them are in the Fantasy genre (mainly because of my massive reading slump this summer), but overall a lot more new authors than usual, and a lot of long-pending books and authors knocked off my TBR list.

1. Sarah J.Maas – I don’t know I never picked up her books. I read so many glowing reviews of her books, but until Bloomsbury Publishing gave me a gentle prod this year, I had dismissed her books as Twilight-ish rubbish. Well, turns out her books are more GRRM-like. Hugely enjoyed her Throne of Glass series, and A Court of Thorns and Roses.
2. Dan Simmons – He’s been a fairly well-known writer of horror, but Drood was the first book of his I read. Loved it, atmospheric and gothic, and just fun, really.
3. Sarah Waters – Another well-regarded writer. Her book The Little Stranger had its flaws but I loved it nevertheless.
4. Hilary Mantel – I am currently reading Wolf Hall. It’s a little baggy in the middle, but overall it’s amazing, and I can’t wait to read the next book in this series.
5. Jon Krakauer – I read Into Thin Air last month for non-fiction November, and I liked his writing a lot. So much so, that I who doesn’t normally venture into non-fiction territory am thinking of picking up his other books.
6. David Mitchell – I read The Bone Clocks late this summer (never got around to featuring it on my blog though, sorry 🙁 ). I really loved his writing style. Plus some kick ass characters. I really need to go back and read some of his other books. This book, though chunky and very intimidating looking was really easy to read and gripping. Think meta-physical Stephen King, or something along those lines. Amazing read!
7. Laini Taylor – Second in my new-to-me fantasy authors, I loved Daughter of Smoke and Bone. I hear the other two books in the trilogy are also fantastic and I definitely plan to get to them soon.
8. Scott Westerfield – Third new-to-me author in the fantasy genre. I read Uglies and have Pretties now waiting on my TBR list.
9. James Runcie – This is a bit of a departure for me. I read the first two books in the Grantchester Mysteries series, and liked them a lot. These books are a series of short ecclesiastical mysteries. Very nice cozy mysteries and I would highly recommend these as a gifting option for Christmas. The hard-cover versions are really pretty.
10. Paula Hawkins – I loved The Girl on the Train and can’t wait to read other books by her. Very twisting and crooked, but not too much. Very enjoyable!

So which authors did you discover this year?