Top Ten Tuesday: My picks for 'New To Me Authors I Read In 2014'.

1) Jack Wolf.

I'll start with the very first book that I read and reviewed this year: 'A Tale Of Raw Head & Bloody Bones'. There were so many great things about this book and it surprised me in so many ways (though I fully expected to enjoy it), so I had to give Jack Wolf a mention! His ability to come up with a very original, interesting plot-line impressed me and his characterisation skills were fantastic.

2) Marissa Meyer.

Many others had already read at least one book from 'The Lunar Chronicles', so when my turn came I was very excited. Meyer's writing impressed me in many ways, but what I loved most was the way that she completely twisted a very well-known Fairy Tale and made it her own. I'm reading 'Scarlet' now and can't wait to let you guys know my thoughts!

3) John Green.

'The Fault In Our Stars' was one of the most talked about books that I can remember this year and it's film was held in high esteem. As well as that I managed to find time to read and enjoy 'Paper Towns'. Green has a really unique writing style and goodness knows, he can make me cry. For me, he was a very impressive Author that I ha not read before!

4) George R.R. Martin.

The 'A Song Of Ice & Fire' series, as I have found out, is actually quite old. Still, over the last couple of years the hit TV show has made it popular again! After watching a couple of seasons, I decided to bite the bullet and plunge into these epic books because I believe it would be an insult to keep enjoying the TV Show without doing so. I've read the first two this year and I was not disappointed. Martin has an undeniable talent and I admire his ability to handle the scope of his world so well, particularly with relation to the political context of the plot.

5) Danielle L. Jensen.

Yes this was a debut Author, and also one new to me this year. I have high hopes for her 'Malediction Trilogy' however, as I completely fell in love with the first book: 'Stolen Songbird'. Jensen has a knack for writing characters. The heroine was feisty yet kindhearted, the male romantic lead was absolutely hilarious (seriously, their conversations were laugh out loud funny sometimes) and the inhabitants of Trollus were both easy to picture and likeable.

6) Jessie Burton.

Yet another debut Author of 2014 whose work I enjoyed very much! I had pretty high expectations of 'The Miniaturist', and I'm glad to say they were easily surpassed. The characters were well-written, the writing style was unique and I'm a huge fan of the fact that Burton's plot-line managed to keep surprising me. It's been named Waterstones' book of the year. Enough said.

7) Benjamin Alire Sáenz.

I don't read a lot of Contemporary novels, but 'Aristotle & Dante Discover The Secrets Of The Universe' was definitely my favourite of the year. Sáenz writes characters ridiculously well and it was so interesting reading from Ari's perspective, and getting to fall in love with all of the people that he meets. Watching him fall in love was heart-warming too. My favourite thing about Sáenz's writing was his quotability. His style was just so unique and I spent the entire read grinning from ear to ear.

8) Pierce Brown.

Oh hello! Yet another debut Author this year that I am very excited about! I don't read a lot of Sci-Fi, but Brown basically converted me in one book! I loved his style, the characters, and most importantly: the world-building. I never stop stressing how important it is to me that a story's world is well-researched and detailed. Brown certainly managed that, and I commend him for it.

9) Sue Monk Kidd.

I ended up reading 'The Invention Of Wings' quite by accident actually! I won it in a Giveaway, and rather than just putting it on the ever-growing TBR pile, I gave it a read. I call that some amazing intuition because it turned out to be one of the most thought-provoking reads I have read this year. It is well-researched, the characters are complex and likeable and I was gripped from start to finish by Kidd's writing.

10) Eowyn Ivey.

I had never even heard of Eowyn Ivey, other than the fact that this book had been sat on my shelf for so long. Having read it however, she is now on the auto-buy list. She takes a not very well-known Russian folk tale, 'The Snow Child' and turns it into a tear inducing, emotionally raw tale that plays havoc with your heart strings. Her vivid descriptions are to die for too, I can't wait to read more of her work!