Blogmas Day 11: Top 5 Favourite Authors of 2017

Hi, and thanks for stopping by.

Today's post is all about appreciating authors for the amazing work they do. I'm going to talk you through my five favourite writers of the year, in reverse order, counting down to my overall favourite author of 2017. My rule for this post has been that an author is only eligible if I've read more than one of their books this year and if more than one of their books has been an incredible, 5-star read for me. The reason for that is mainly because I didn't want this to be talking about all the same things as my Top 5 Books of 2017 post and also because it logistically makes sense to me!! (Obviously three of the se authors did come up in that post, but that makes sense, too, I guess!)

So, thank you to all of these incredible writers for their beautiful books. Let's get started!

5. Morgan Matson/Alice Oseman

I really struggled with picking the number five spot, because I was torn between Morgan Matson and Alice Osman, obviously. I felt like choosing just one wouldn't be a completely genuine/accurate depiction of my favourite authors. There were books by either author that I gave five stars to, one of each was in the running even for top 5 books of the year, even, which meant I really couldn't choose between them. So I'm cheating - don't shout at me. These two pictured books are my favourite of Morgan Matson's, but I also gave Amy & Roger's Epic Detour 5-stars; it's only her most recent book, The Unexpected Everything, that I wasn't so much of a fan of. Her books are really great celebrations of being a teenager, full of lots of vivid and complicated friendships and great depictions of falling in love for the first time.  Second Chance Summer is my favourite of her books, where our protagonist Taylor has one summer to say her goodbyes to her father, who has been diagnosed as terminally ill. Alice Oseman's books are so incredibly original and unique and her sense of humour is absolutely brilliant. I also read Solitare this year, but I don't have my own copy of this yet, hence why only Radio Silence is pictured. Speaking of, Radio Silence was brilliant; it had great friendships, chilling family relationships and plenty of geekiness. It really moved me.

4. liane moriarty

This is a pretty exciting one, because Liane Moriarty is the only Adult Fiction author I'm going to talk about. This year I read every single book that she has had published, and completely fell in love with her work. My favourites would have to be Big Little Lies and The Husband's Secret. Liane Moriarty writes amazing contemporary thrillers - they are thrillers for a wider audience though, because they're detailed and funny, not just full of "suspenseful" tropes like a lot of thrillers. Her writing is so hilarious, and her characters are rich and vivid. All of the books are set in Australia, and there's a huge focus on female experience, friendship, family and secrecy. I think Liane Moriarty is a really great transitional writer actually - if you're used to reading YA and you want to try some Adult fiction, I'd start with Big Little Lies. Likewise, if you enjoy her work, you'd definitely enjoy certain YA books, too.

3. jenn bennett

Jenn Bennett's writing is so superior - her style is full of humour and she writes characters with such charm and rich personalities. I read both Night Owls and Alex, Approximately this year (the first back in January, and the second during the summer) and I completely fell in love with not only both romantic interests, but also both female protagonists. Jenn's female characters are funny and feisty and her male characters are charismatic, yet have substance as well as style. Jenn also writes some really incredible mental health representation (schizophrenia and anxiety, in these two books) without shying away from the truth of the diseases or attempting to romanticise them in any way. Night Owls and Alex, Approximately are definitely two of the most beautifully written YA contemporary romances I have ever read (and BOY have I read a lot of them) and I will continue to buy and read everything she writes until I am proved wrong!!

2. holly bourne

Holly Bourne has to be the best UK-YA author I've come across so far. All of her books, without exception, are hilariously funny yet all of them have hidden depths, some more clear than others. It is worth mentioning here, that of all of her seven YA novels that I read this year, I gave four of them 5-star reviews and the remaining three between 3.5 and 4 star reviews (still pretty great). The four stand-out books are Am I Normal Yet? (best of all!), How Hard Can Love Be?, What's a Girl Gotta Do? and It Only Happens in the Movies. Another really important part of Holly's writing is the fantastic feminist elements that you will find traces of in pretty much everything she writes (that I've come across so far, anyway!) - I think she writes feminism in a really accessible, humorous way. I can't imagine better books for young teenage girls in particular to be reading - Holly's writing will teach them about female friendship, feminism, first love, expectations vs. reality and mental health. I know that Holly is having an Adult Fiction novel published, so I can't wait to read that and see how it differs.

1. emery lord

I know I've said this before, but the love I discovered for Emery Lord's writing this year really did surprise me a bit. Last year I read When We Collided and really wasn't a fan of it, so I was a little reluctant to pick up The Names They Gave Us this year. Thank goodness I did, because I discovered one of my favourite books of all time. That then encouraged me to read The Start of Me and You, which I also completely adored. I think the most amazing thing about the writing of these two books is how immensely emotive they are - I felt myself so completely absorbed in the characters and their struggles and triumphs. Both female protagonists, but most especially Lucy in TNTGU, were completely relatable, believable teenage girls, who were both incredibly likeable but realistically flawed. Male love interests were so different from YA cliches - geeky, kind, good, instead of "bad boys" (there's a place for those types, don't get me wrong, but they're so overdone and often done badly). Finally, great representation of diversity - transgender characters, lesbian characters, black characters. I cannot wait to read more from Emery Lord - I'm pretty sure I saw that she is writing a sequel to The Start of Me and You, which fills me with so much joy!!! I cannot recommend these two books enough - the definition of beautiful YA contemporary.

So that's it! My favourite authors of 2017. I also want to take this opportunity to mention how much I adored reading Jojo Moyes, Josephine Angelini, Holly Smale, Adam Silvera & Becky Albertalli this year, too. 

Thanks for reading! Hope you enjoyed. Let me know what you think of my choices, and also let me know who yours are for this year.

Till next time

Katie