Best of 2020: Favorite New-to-Me Authors

It's time to celebrate my year in books. I will be spreading my favorites throughout a bunch of categories, but these are all favorites. For more of my favorites, check out my Five Star Friday posts. Today I will be sharing.....

Favorite New-to-Me Authors!

I LOVE discovering new authors. Whether a debut or someone with a backlist, it's a thrill to connect with an author, who creates books I love to read. Most of these are authors, who I have been wanting to read. Their books have been on my TBR for a bit, and boy, am I glad I finally started hitting my backlist, because I absolutely fell in love with these books, and quickly sought more of their work. 

• You Should See Me in a Crown by Leah Johnson - This was Johnson's debuts and one of my favorite books this year. I cannot wait to read lots more from Johnson. 
• What I Carry by Jennifer Longo - This book impressed me so much, I ran out and read Longo's other two books, which were also big hits for me. 
• Barry Squires, Full Tilt by Heather Smith - This book had me laughing and sobbing. It was something special for me. It inspired me to pay full price for another of Smith's books, which also had me feeling too much, and I loved every second of it. 
• Darius the Great Deserves Better by Adib Khorram - This was such a beautiful and touching story, and I could not wait to get my hands on the sequel. I am very much looking forward to reading more from Khorram. 
• Taking Down Evelyn Tait by Poppy Nwosu - Neither of Nwosu's books are new, but they are new to the US. This was my pick from winning the Discussion Challenge, and I am so glad I picked it. Nwosu's other book equally delighted me, and I am ready for more. 

• Only When It's Us by Chloe Liese - You know I really enjoyed a book, when I pre-order the sequels, and that's what happened here. I have not read any of Liese's other series, but I will read books about the Bergman's forever. 
• The Tourist Attraction by Sarah Morgenthaler - Another debut author here, and is it wrong that I want her to write a million Moose Springs books? I am three deep in this series, and each book has been an utter delight for me. 
• Parental Guidance by Avery Flynn - I have seen Flynn's books around for a while, and when I saw her new series was a hockey romance, I knew it was time to check her out. I really enjoyed this book, and the next book was an even better experience for me. I definitely plan to check out her other series as well.  
• The Girl Next Door by Emma Hart - Hart has a million romance books out, and is another author I have been meaning to read something by her forever. I finally did it, and I had such a great time, I have read two more books since then. Her humor really works for me, and I am glad I finally gave her books a try. 
• Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus by Dusti Bowling - Aven Green is one of my most favorite characters ever. I just adored this kid. Shannon had talked about this book, and the title intrigued me, but when I heard about the sequel, I knew I had to give it a go. Both books were huge successes for me, and I hope to read more of Bowling's other books soon. 

Did you discover any great new authors this year?
Let us know in the comments!