Someone Like You
Authors That Made 2015 A Better Reading Year For Us
The past couple of months haven't been great for me in a lot of ways, and for the first time ever, I've gone a while without reading. But, 2015 has been GREAT for me discovering new authors! And wondering where they'd been all my life!
So as this year comes to a close, I figured, why not share our favorite author discoveries of 2015 with our lovely readers!
Click through to read more!
Alisha Rai
Best author find of 2015! And those book covers.... YES, PLEASE! I've talked about her a lot this year, and have had the pleasure of reviewing all the books of hers I read. She's also in our best books of 2015 post here! There's so much to love about her books, but what makes it all better is that she seems absolutely amazing as a human being, and definitely a Saucy Wench after our own hearts! I've been telling people to follow her on twitter all year, and to read her books! Definitely some of the best erotica romance I've read, some of the most diverse and real books I've read in ANY genre, and those women she writes... are amazing. The men are pretty fucking great, but those women are such well rounded characters a part of my soul wept when I realized it wasn't a one time thing and that's just how she wrote her women. Brava, Alisha Rai. I'm so glad I found you.
Sherry Thomas
I was on a Lisa Kleypas binge and was almost out of books to read when I stumbled across Sherry Thomas. Off the bat, I realized there was something very different about her period romances. For starters, each book was completely different from the last. And that is something amazing in a genre that relies heavily on formula. Divorced couples that were shit at communication getting to know each other after years apart, not your usual attractive women getting with very attractive men, polite and cold marriages where the couple spend years on different continents that evolve into something more. There is no shortage of unique scenarios that end up in passion and romance, even when you least expect it! And I loved every second of them! I also found out that English is her second language, and that she's come a long way from using her Chinese-English dictionary to help her out. And it just made me love her more! Definite recommendation for fans of the genre! You can literally start anywhere. The Luckiest Lady in London is one of my faves!
Samantha Young
I'm usually one to avoid anything that has a "New Adult" tag on Goodreads. Somehow, On Dublin Street made it under my radar, and the rest, as they say, is history. I can't even count the number of times I was reduced to tears reading these books. These are beautiful, wonderful stories, centered around characters you will feel so many things for. Did I mention that the sex was insanely hot? Because it is. My personal favorite is Before Jamaica Lane and Nate and Olivia are basically one of the best things to ever happen to romances. I NEED a Nate of my own. SO bad. Sigh. Readers, trust me, you'll want to get started on this series asap. You'll thank me. And if you don't need a cold shower, chocolate, and a bucket to cry in a hundred times during the books (ESPECIALLY NATE AND OLIVIA'S) I'll eat my hat.
Cherie Priest
Maplecroft is one of the best books I read this year, as I mentioned in our best non 2015 books read this year here. I remember the cover grabbing my attention. It's a great cover (I'm sensing a theme here, I seem to judge a lot of books by their covers!) and I didn't expect it to catch, and keep, my interest once I started it, but one chapter in, and I knew I had to keep reading till I finished it. Cherie Priest made me feel the way I did when I was a child and read Dracula, Frankenstein, and other books, again. And I loved every second of it. I will always fall in love with an author than can both intrigue me, and make the hair at the back of my neck stand on end with just one scene. And she did that many times over. Chapelwood was an excellent sequel to an exceptional book and I am now definitely a fan of Ms.Priest and basically anything she writes.
Viola Carr
This is going to be another case of the cover catching my eye. And of the book keeping me invested way past the pretty cover. The Diabolical Miss Hyde is a gorgeously written book. And more than that, it's interesting, the mystery was riveting, the characters are wonderful, and the story just keeps you hooked from start to finish. That last chapter literally had me begging for more and counting down to The Devious Dr.Jekyll. Steampunk London has never been more interesting, and the darker side of human nature has never been more magnetic. Viola Carr has written a story that is a potent mix of mystery, magic, mechanics, and good old lust and romance, and somehow made it something completely new and very much her own. She also made it to our list of best reads of 2015 here.
Sierra Simone
Sigh. Sierra Simone. I want to thank her for Priest. Because it was both so much more than, and not at all, what I expected. This was the highlight of my erotica binge this year, when I couldn't stop reading erotica, and it had degenerated into me reading some pretty badly written stuff. I was starting to hate the genre till I bought this PURELY because of the cover and the first chapter. And I have to say, I am so glad I did. There's many reasons this book made it to our best books of 2015 list here, and I urge you to check out our review here and buy the book. Because I won't be able to do it justice here. But great characters, toe curlingly amazing sex scenes, sexual chemistry you'll be able to feel off the pages, and characters worth investing in. Together or apart. They're consistently great. I can't wait to see what the future brings us from Ms.Simone!
Leylah Attar
Leylah Attar was my favorite find of the year, as I told you about here, here, here, and here. I started with The Paper Swan and then needed to read everything this author had ever written. I'm still heartbroken and shocked that there are only three total books in her catalog. The story structure, the stunning word pictures, the ability to make the reader sympathize with unsympathetic characters and situations all point to a writer with significant experience. Which is why I cannot wait to see what Leylah Attar is going to give the world next. I have no doubt it will be spectacular. ~~Barb
Lisa Kleypas
I know, I know. I am super late to this party. Lisa Kleypas is a well loved author in this genre, but somehow, even though I've been reading these since I was a teen, I hadn't read her yet. Blasphemy! People had been telling me to read her for years, but this year, another favorite author, Karen Marie Moning, mentioned how much she loved Derek Craven, and I HAD to find out why. Let me tell you, I understand completely. I fell for him.. hard. And then I met Sebastian St. Vincent. And so many more characters that basically had me falling in love every two seconds. The best thing is, the women weren't vapid, pretty things that never know they're beautiful and are exceedingly dull about stuff. These things never bothered me as a teen, and I won't mention authors who wrote one dimensional women and the angry, rage filled, jealous men who basically wanted to own them. But as an adult, I found the genre lacking except for Amanda Quick, whom I love. And then I found Lisa Kleypas, and all was well in my Regency/Victorian romance world. If, like me, you hadn't gotten around to her before, start now! Preferably with The Gamblers!
Gillian Flynn
Oh, Gillian Flynn, your twisted mind and twisted tales were awful and made the Wenches feel icky. In the best possible way. It seems counter-intuitive, but these dark and disturbing tales were just what I needed when life got rough this year. Reading about people who were horrible, who were broken, who were desperate was like watching a train wreck, only it's fiction so no one really got hurt. With each book better than the one before it, I'll be looking for another awful/wonderful Gillian Flynn tale to horrify me with the worst of humanity. ~~Barb
Keri Lake
Keri Lake has an urban fantasy series out there, but I haven't been in a UF/PNR place this year, so she is on this list solely because of Ricochet. Ricochet is the book that started me on my Dark Romance road, and what a doozy that first step was! I talked about Ricochet here, here, and here. Arguably the most brutally graphic book I've ever read, Ricochet is tempered with a stunningly beautiful love story about two people who fill in the broken pieces of one another. With a dark, dirty, and corrupt Detroit as a character, and chock full of wisdom and life lessons, Ricochet is easily one of the best books I read this year. I will always make Keri Lake's contemporary novels must-reads on release day and I am stalking my e-reader for the next one, Backfire, due in 2016. ~~Barb
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