Top Ten New-To-Me Authors I Read In 2013

 

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created over at my other blog, The Broke and the Bookish.

Cristin Terrill (All Our Yesterdays) Anything time travel grabs my attention, and this was no exception. I love her concept of time travel and of time itself.

Sarah J. Maas (Throne of Glass) LOVE LOVE LOVE this series! Now that I actually have time to read I get to read the sequel! 

Rainbow Rowell (Fangirl) Instant love. I've read Fangirl and Elenore and Park, I plan on reading everything else she writes!

Robert Galbraith (The Cuckoo's Calling) Okay, I'm totally cheating with this one. We all know that "Robert Galbraith" is actually JK Rowling. HOWEVER, I did not know it was her when I purchased the book. (The book was fantastic. Watch the blog for a review!)

Lauren Graham (Someday, Someday, Maybe) Yes. THAT Lauren Graham. Our own Lorelai. And she can write! Really enjoyed this, especially all of the wonderful details about NYC!

George R. R. Martin (Song of Ice and Fire) I knew who he was, but I hadn't read his books until this year. I'm completely addicted, just ask Daisy. I also refer to him as Evil Santa. 

Leigh Bardugo  (Shadow and Bone) Picked up one of her books by accident and fell in love with her storytelling and world building. 

John Green (The Fault in Our Stars) Yes yes yes, I know. I'm late to the party on this one. I had no idea who he was. Someone was talking about how much they loved TFiOS so I gave it a try... I don't think I've ever loved a book more.

Ruby Preston (Staged) I was introduced to this book by her publisher when she offered me a copy of the book for review. I loved it. It's another theatre book, and it shows the other side of theatre. Producing!

A.G. Howard (Splintered) I am so excited for the sequel for this! And completely envious of those lucky people who got an ARC!

A little exciting bit of news... I GRADUATED ON FRIDAY!!!! Yep! It finally happened! To show my excitement I leave you with a dancing Time Lord.

STAGED by Ruby Preston

Book/Author: Staged by Ruby Preston
Publisher: Circle Dress Publishing
Series: Yes
How I got it: From the lovely people at Circle Dress Publishing.
Publication Date: March 12, 2013
Add it: Goodreads
Rating: 4.5 Stars

 

Aspiring Broadway producer Scarlett Savoy has almost everything she needs to make her first musical a huge success- millions in financial backing, a talented (not to mention handsome) young director, and a big-name Hollywood starlet as her female lead. But with none of the theater owners in town willing to back a novice, she’s missing one final piece of the puzzle: a Broadway theater. Just when Scarlett thinks her show might never see the footlights of day, an unexpected meeting with the young, eligible son in the Stewart theatrical empire changes Scarlett’s Broadway prospects forever.

 

 My Thoughts

A quote from a review of the first book in this series, Showbiz, describes it perfectly. “Will have you dreaming of Broadway even if you’re miles away.” (TheatreMania) As I was reading this I found myself remembering my own adventures in NYC… and I was homesick. So much that I actually created an entire board on Pinterest dedicated to it. The author describes the city in such detail, and with such affection, that I was completely immersed in the story. The culture and charm of New York simply oozed from the pages, it’s obvious that the author has a lot of affection for it. I got excited every time she talked about something that I remembered seeing for myself when I was in NYC, the TKTS bleachers, the hawkers in Times Square vying for your attention, trying to get you to come see their show, the restaurants…

 

The story itself was quite enjoyable too. I felt like I knew the characters personally, because I know people, friends, who are very similar. Especially Scarlett’s brother and her best friend, I swear I know people just like them. I felt myself stressing along with Scarlett as she struggled to make her show work. I’ve been part of a production that is just getting started. The stress of finding just the right people for the show, funding, location, publicity, funding, going to read throughs, did I mention funding? Scarlett’s deep devotion and love for the theatre is evident on every page. Not just the “oh, the Arts are popular and we must preserve them”. But the love of the history, culture, tradition… I feel like we're kindred spirits.

 

The only part of the book that I felt was a bit off was the situation Scarlett finds herself in, it was a bit far-fetched and almost felt out of place with the realism of the rest of the book. And yet… it’s New York, and even more importantly, Broadway. ANYTHING is possible.


Oh, and as a warning to those who appreciate show tunes. They are referenced constantly throughout the book. You WILL have them running through your head for days after. I think I'm going to make a Spotify playlist for the songs referenced in this book...


I'll leave you with a picture of Times Square. :)