Top 5 new authors of 2022

I have a vague recollection earlier in 2022 of crying because I was sent an ARC of The Trouble With Hating You back in April 2020… and I just never read it. And I was crying because this book is AMAZING. Talk about a show-stopping debut.

However, doing this post has reminded me that I was then planning to run out and buy all of Patel’s other books — First Love, Take Two, The Knockout, and My Sister’s Big Fat Indian Wedding… and I also forgot to do that. So, expect to see these on a haul coming soon. Also, Isha, Unscripted is out in 2023, so I’ll add it to the list too.

Displacement was another 5 star read that I had been holding on to for who knows how long. But I DID read it in 2022. And it was amazing.

Kiku Hughes is the author and artist of this amazing graphic novel that came out in 2020. I honestly couldn’t recommend it more. And, I’m still searching for a copy of The Ghosts We Are and the Ghosts We Will Become, which was Hughes’ debut back in 2017.

If you didn’t read Only a Monster when it came out in 2022, then… well, you should rectify this. (I can’t shame anyone after the above two…) Len’s debut YA novel was amazing, and I loved it. And, I’m not so patiently awaiting the sequel, Never a Hero. You know, and the third book too.

I also love that I have an Aussie author on this list. It doesn’t always happen, but it makes me so happy when it does!!

I knew that I would love Wintersong when I bought a copy a million years ago. And by ‘a million years ago’, I mean in 2018. Which FEELS LIKE a million years ago.

What I didn’t know was that I would love how absolutely haunted this book felt. Wintersong and Shadowsong aren’t just your average YA fae books. They are are also about mental illnesses and family. They’re about giving up your dreams for the ones you love. These books are heavy — which is part of the reason it’s taking me so long to read Shadowsong. But I wouldn’t change a word in them.

S. Jae-Jones is a phenomenal writer, and I can’t wait for anything else she published.

Umm, pretty sure I screamed loudly after stumbling across and reading A Proposal They Can’t Refuse. Because this amazing debut novel by Natalie Caña is superb.

Who doesn’t love meddling families (especially grandfathers), enemies to lovers, only one bed, fake dating… Just *chefs kiss*!! I still think this is one of the best romance books I read in 2022, and you may see it again on my top books of 2022 list. (Not sure because I haven’t finished that post yet…)

Anyway, it was amazing, I loved it — and I can’t wait for more of the Vega family drama!!