Top Ten Tuesday is a feature hosted by Jana at That Artsy Reader Girl.
Today's Top Ten Tuesday prompt is "Bookish Discoveries I Made in 2025". Here are my favorite of the new-to-me authors I found last year.
1. Celeste Baxendell, a no-spice romantic-fantasy author, was a top discovery of last year. This Rotting Heart (my review) and Ties of Starlight (my review) were both five star reads for me. That's all I've read by her so far, but I highly recommend both.
2. Mike Ripley wrote a continuation of Margery Allingham's Campion series. I first read Mr. Campion's Christmas in December and loved it enough to continue the series this month. I'll definitely be reading more of his Campion stories.
3. I first enjoyed the Western non-magical fairy tale retellings by Rachel Kovaciny (her site) last year, as well. So far, I've only read two of her series and one stand alone, but loved them all.
4. Roseanna M. White writes Christian historical fiction. I first read The Number of Love in February, and enjoyed two more of her books last year.
5. I stumbled across Gladys Mitchell last year, too. She was a Golden Age mystery writer, sadly neglected now, with a morally gray main character, Mrs. Bradley. If you decide to try these out -- some of which are very good -- you MUST start with the first one, Speedy Death, to appreciate Mrs. Bradley to the fullest.
6. Dorothy Eden was a popular gothic romantic-thriller writer who wrote a large amount from the 1940s through the 1980s. I just discovered her last year when I was in the mood for just such novels, and devoured seven of them. Yes, they are often silly and melodramatic, but I found them a great deal of fun. Cat's Prey and An Afternoon's Walk were my favorites.
You’ve piqued my interest about Gladys Mitchell.
ReplyDeleteSpeedy Death is definitely worth reading, in my opinion!
DeleteDorothy Eden sounds interesting & my local library carries Darkwater! yay
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed Darkwater, too. This is what I wrote when I read it: "This is an entertaining mystery/suspense taking place on the moors in Victorian England. It was easy to pinpoint the villian, and one thing was never answered to my satisfaction, but regardless, I found it atmospheric, enjoyable, and engrossing." If you try her, let me know what you think. Sometimes you need a cheesy gothic thriller!
DeleteI think I hadn't come across Gladys Mitchell yet, but I'm curious now! I've loved the British Library Crime Classic series for learning more about the breadth of the genre, but that obviously has limitations too.
ReplyDeleteI read one or two of Dorothy Eden's books a while back and they were fun, I should look out for more!
Speedy Death was quite good; I really recommend it! The British Library Crime Classics series has been such a treasure for me, too!
DeleteI agree -- Dorothy Eden is just plain fun. Don't go into them expecting quality literature, and you'll have a good time!
Thanks for sharing your #TTT discoveries!
ReplyDeleteI'll have to check out Celeste Baxendell's books! No-spice romance fantasy is one of my favorite genres. I hope you find many more amazing authors this year 😊.
ReplyDeleteIf you'd like to visit, here's my TTT: https://thebooklorefairyreads.wordpress.com/2026/01/26/top-ten-tuesday-bookish-discoveries-i-made-in-2025/
~ Marwah @ The Booklore Fairy
Oh, I do hope you try her books! Start with one of those two if you can, because they are so good! I'm reading one of her earlier works and it's not as stellar -- still good, but just not as good as those two are.
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