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

This week I’m linking up with Jana @ That Artsy Reader Girl for Top Ten Tuesday. Check out her blog for a new prompt every week. Today’s topic:

New-to-Me Authors
I Discovered in 2023

Some of these authors have been around a while, but 2023 was the first year I read one of their books, so I’ll call them new to me. In alphabetical order, here they are:

Kristen Bird

May Cobb

Jamie Day

Seraphina Nova Glass

Terah Shelton Harris

Wendy Heard

Sally Hepworth

Bonnie Kistler

Freida McFadden

Liz Nugent

If you click on the author’s name, it will take you to their Goodreads page for more details. Thanks for stopping by! — 𝓓𝓲𝓪𝓷𝓪

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Three Quick Reviews: Short Stories of Suspense

STOCKHOLM by Catherine Steadman
Publication Date: August 31, 2022
Length: 42 pages
Rating: 4 Stars

“An extravagant anniversary trip turns into a desperate scramble for survival in an unsettling short story about desire, manipulation, and revenge by a New York Times bestselling author.”

Not gonna lie, this short story gave me anxiety. It’s a quick read but packed with a lot of dread, as an abused wife plans an escape from her ghastly husband during an anniversary trip to Sweden. I enjoyed this one, from the isolated snowy setting to the intense and unexpected ending. I’ve enjoyed previous books by Catherine Steadman, and this mini thriller did not disappoint.

BIG BAD by Chandler Baker
Publication Date: September 26, 2023
Length: 59 pages
Rating: 4.5 Stars

“For a family trying to make an isolated farmhouse into a home, fear and rage are getting harder to control in a primal short story by the New York Times bestselling author of Whisper Network and Cutting Teeth.”

BIG BAD is my first taste of Chandler Baker’s writing, and I’m hooked. This is a gruesome tale of a broken marriage with two kiddos caught in the middle, plus a menacing presence lurking around and within their farmhouse walls. Who’s the real baddie? The character development was impressive, especially considering the book was under 60 pages. I greatly enjoyed this creepy and emotional family drama/horror story.

THE MOSQUITO by B.A. Paris
Publication Date: July 25, 2023
Length: 32 pages
Rating: 4 Stars

“After his marriage fails, he hopes a vacation in France will relax and restore him. But fate has something more poisonous in store in this biting tale from bestselling author B. A. Paris.”

THE MOSQUITO is a fun story about a pesty bug and an even pestier house guest named Rupert. When I first encountered Rupert, he made me think of Colin Robinson, only without Colin’s charm, lol. (Any What We Do in the Shadows fans?) I enjoyed the symbolism in this short tale, and I especially loved the satisfying ending.

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NO ONE CAN KNOW by Kate Alice Marshall

Publisher’s Synopsis:

Three sisters, two murders, and too many secrets to count.

Fourteen years ago, the Palmer sisters — Emma, Juliette, and Daphne — left their home in Arden Hills and never returned. But when Emma discovers she’s pregnant and her husband loses his job, she has no option but to return to the house that she and her estranged sisters still own…and where their parents were murdered.

Emma has never told anyone what she saw the night her parents died, even when she became the prime suspect. But her presence in the house threatens to uncover secrets that have stayed hidden for years, and the sisters are drawn together once again. As they face their memories of the past, rivalries restart, connections are forged, and, for the first time, Emma starts to ask questions about what really happened that night.

The more Emma learns, the more riddles emerge. And Emma begins to wonder just what her siblings will do to keep the past buried, and whether she did the right thing staying quiet about what was whispered that night: “No one can know.”

Publisher: Flatiron Books
Publication Date: January 23, 2024
Source: Review copy from the publisher
Rating: 3.5 Stars

My Thoughts:

In NO ONE CAN KNOW, three estranged sisters reunite in their family home where their parents were murdered 14 years earlier. The case was never solved, and the sisters never shared with each other what they saw that night. Their return to Arden Hills stirs up terrible memories and threatens to expose long-buried secrets.

Up until the last 15% or so, I was thoroughly absorbed in this suspenseful family drama/small town murder mystery. I was intrigued by the dynamic between the sisters and their complicated and tragic history together, as well as being invested in figuring out what really happened to their mother and father. The POVs alternate between the sisters, then and now, though they don’t all get equal “screen time,” unfortunately.

I was frustrated by the ending though. So much kept getting added on, some things didn’t make sense, and how it finally wrapped up was not a big surprise. Other than the ending, I enjoyed the book, so I’ll mark it as 3.5 stars.

This was a Goodreads giveaway win. Thank you to the publisher for providing me an ARC of this book. Opinions are my own.

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FIRST LIE WINS by Ashley Elston

Publisher’s Synopsis:

Evie Porter has everything a nice, Southern girl could want: a perfect, doting boyfriend, a house with a white picket fence and a garden, a fancy group of friends. The only catch: Evie Porter doesn’t exist.

The identity comes first: Evie Porter. Once she’s given a name and location by her mysterious boss Mr. Smith, she learns everything there is to know about the town and the people in it. Then the mark: Ryan Sumner. The last piece of the puzzle is the job.

Evie isn’t privy to Mr. Smith’s real identity, but she knows this job will be different. Ryan has gotten under her skin, and she’s starting to envision a different sort of life for herself. But Evie can’t make any mistakes — especially after what happened last time.

Because the one thing she’s worked her entire life to keep clean, the one identity she could always go back to — her real identity — just walked right into this town. Evie Porter must stay one step ahead of her past while making sure there’s still a future in front of her. The stakes couldn’t be higher — but then, Evie has always liked a challenge…

Publisher: Pamela Dorman Books
Publication Date: January 2, 2024
Source: Review copy from NetGalley
Rating: 5 Stars

My Thoughts:

I’ve seen a lot of buzz about FIRST LIE WINS, and I’m happy to say that it lived up to the hype. It’s a cleverly plotted and fast-paced cat-and-mouse thriller that was impossible to put down. In fact, I read the whole thing during a snow day home from work.

Evie Porter (or whoever she really is) was a fantastic unreliable narrator who was fun to try and figure out. She was flawed yet quite likable, and it was interesting to see how she handled each of her sticky situations. If you’re looking for a unique and exciting thriller, I highly recommend this smart and twisty read.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me a copy of this book. Opinions are my own.

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Top Ten Tuesday: Bookish Goals for 2024

This week I’m linking up with Jana @ That Artsy Reader Girl for Top Ten Tuesday. Check out her blog for a new prompt every week. Today’s topic:

Bookish Goals for 2024

1. Cut back on reading challenges.
I love the idea of reading challenges, but I’m not very good at following through with them, then I feel bad that I did so terribly! This year I’m only planning on doing three: Goodreads Reading Challenge, 20 Books of Summer, and R.I.P. in the fall. These are my favorites, and the summer one is especially good for me because it includes all genres and I have extra time to read.

2. Improve my NetGalley ratio.
You know the expression, “Your eyes are bigger than your stomach?” That’s how I was with NetGalley requests, especially in my earlier years of book blogging. I downloaded way too many books, without the time to read them all. My current percentage stinks — it’s around *cough, cough* 55%. I would love to raise that up to at least 65% this year.

3. Spend more time with the book blogging community and less time on social media.
As far as “reach” goes, Instagram (Bookstagram) is a bust. I don’t see the point of spending a lot of time on book content posts that don’t reach Bookstagram as a whole via hashtags. I know it’s all about the mysterious algorithm, and even accounts with huge followings are struggling with this, so my little account doesn’t stand a chance. I’ll still post and visit Instagram occasionally, because I do have a small core group I like to interact with. Threads is ok, though I’m not very chatty, so I don’t engage there much.

4. Read more nonfiction.
This one is difficult for me, because unless it’s nonfiction that reads like a novel, like MIDNIGHT IN THE GARDEN OF GOOD AND EVIL, I tend to lose interest after a few chapters. What helps me is listening to nonfiction on audio, so I may try doing that more this year.

5. Buy less paper books.
Hardcovers, especially, are so pretty, and I love seeing them on my bookshelves. However, I’m running out of room! I’m going to *try* to limit physical book purchases to my BOTM and Aardvark subscriptions, as well as favorites I want for my keeper shelf. I also have a thing about books with spooky houses on the cover, or gothic novels, that I can’t help buying.

6. Master “short and sweet” reviews, and write them immediately after finishing a book.
I love to read, but I don’t always love writing reviews. I end up putting it off, then weeks later I struggle to put my thoughts together. If I knew I only had to write a brief yet thoughtful review, I wouldn’t be such a procrastinator. Let’s face it, some books are easier to review than others. Sometimes books I don’t enjoy as much are easier to deal with, more to say about them.

7. Start a couple of series that have been on my TBR pile forever.
Possible contenders: THE CROSSING PLACES (Ruth Galloway, #1); HAUNTED GROUND (Nora Gavin, #1); IRON LAKE (Cork O’Connor, #1); or A IS FOR ALIBI (Kinsey Millhone, #1).

8. Listen to more audiobooks.
Recently Audible had a good deal to rejoin for four months, so I reactivated my account. I’m not sure how long I’ll keep it, but it was a bargain to get four cheap credits, plus have access to their “Plus” catalog. I also have a Chirp account where I find a lot of audiobooks under $4. There’s the library too, but I don’t like the pressure of finishing before the due date. I’m a slow listener.

9. Stop aimlessly scrolling/playing on my phone and read instead.
I’m looking at you TikTok. Not much else to add to this one, except put down your phone, Diana. Sheesh!

10. Update my LibraryThing account.
I’ve mentioned this one before, but I’m slowing adding all of my “Read” books with reviews from the last seven years to LibraryThing. Around 2017, I quit posting there, probably due to lack of time. I like their platform, I’ve had an account forever, and it’s a good supplement to Goodreads, so I want to be active there again. Plus, they have an fun annual Christmas card exchange. My profile is HERE if you want to connect.

What are your bookish goals this year? Do we have any in common?

Thanks for stopping by!
— 𝓓𝓲𝓪𝓷𝓪