This week’s topic for Top Ten Tuesday (hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl) is: Bookish Discoveries I Made in 2025
There were lots of authors I tried for the first time last year, but the ten I’m listing below are all authors whose work I enjoyed and would like to explore further (or in some cases, already have).
1. Caroline Blackwood – The Stepdaughter was a very dark and unsettling novella but I was gripped by it and will be looking for more of her books.
2. Kim Curran – I read The Morrigan for Reading Ireland Month last year and have just finished her new book, Brigid, which I’ll be reviewing soon.
3. Carys Davies – This time, an author I read for Reading Wales Month! Clear was a beautifully written book and I would be happy to try her previous ones.
4. Beth Lewis – The Rush, set in Canada during the Gold Rush, was one of my books of the year in 2025. Her previous books all sound interesting, but very different.
5. Graham Greene – I liked, though didn’t love, The End of the Affair, my first Greene novel. I’m definitely planning to read more of his books and have put Brighton Rock on my new Classics Club list.
6. Hannah Dolby – I loved No Life for a Lady and will be reading How to Solve Murders Like a Lady soon. I can’t wait to meet our heroine Violet Hamilton again!
7. Patrick Ryan – Ryan’s family saga Buckeye was possibly my favourite of all the books I read last year. It’s his first adult novel, although he has previously written young adult novels and short stories.
8. Benjamin Wood – Seascraper was another of my books of the year for 2025. I read it for Novellas in November and thought it was beautiful.
9. Moray Dalton – I read The Art School Murders for Dean Street December and was very impressed. Luckily, there are lots of other books in the series for me to look forward to!
10. Tarjei Vesaas – I read two books by this Norwegian author last year – The Birds and The Ice Palace – and enjoyed both. He has a few other books also available in English.
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Have you read any of these authors? Which new-to-you authors did you try for the first time in 2025?
She Reads Novels 
I have Clear, The Rush and Buckeye on my TBR!
They’re all great books!
I do love Caroline Blackwood!
I was very impressed with The Stepdaughter and definitely want to read more!
I love Hannah Dolby’s books and hope it’s not too long before Violet has another adventure.
I still need to catch up with the second book, but hopefully there’ll be a third one on its way soon!
I nearly put Benjamin Wood on my list but realised thanks to Goodreads I’d read another of his books – his debut actually – The Bellwether Revivals years ago. I have no memory of what it was about though!
It’s hard to keep track, isn’t it? I’m pretty sure Seascraper is the only one I’ve read!
Carys Davies and Beth Lewis seem to be 2025 discoveries for many of us 🙂
My TTT: https://laurieisreading.com/2026/01/27/top-ten-tuesday-2025-releases-i-did-read-in-2025/
They’re both great authors!
Graham Greene is SO different in his different books. I loved The End of the Affair and hated Brighton Rock, but you may prefer the latter!
I liked The End of the Affair but it wasn’t a complete success with me, so I thought I would try Brighton Rock next as it sounded so different! I hope I get on better with it than you did.
The only one I’ve read from that list is ‘The End of the Affair’ which I (mostly) liked and found interesting for a number of reasons. ‘The Morrigan’ is definitely on my interest list!
I mostly liked The End of the Affair too, but I’m hoping I’ll love the next Graham Greene novel I try! The Morrigan was fascinating as I know very little about Irish mythology.
I loved Brighton Rock! I have Caroline Blackwood on my list after your review and must also try Moray Dalton; I was looking at the list yesterday may be I’ll start with this one!
I’m glad you loved Brighton Rock! I can definitely recommend The Art School Murders as a starting point for Moray Dalton.
I haven’t heard of most of these. I’m planning to read Buckeye. I’m interested in Moray Dalton, Beth Lewis, and Kim Curran.
I hope you love Buckeye as much as I did!
Of these ten authors, the only one I’ve read is Graham Greene. Though I have a couple of Beth Lewis’s books on my TBR list. 😀
I’m definitely planning to read more of Beth Lewis’s books, but her earlier ones all sound so different to the one I read!
Kim Curran was a new author for me last year too. I can’t wait to see your review for Brigid. I remember seeing a couple of other people highlight The Rush as a favourite too. I hope you get to read more by all of these authors soon and enjoy the experience 🥰
I’ll probably be reviewing Brigid next week. I think I preferred The Morrigan overall, but they are both good books. I definitely want to read more books by Beth Lewis after enjoying The Rush so much, but I don’t know which one I’ll choose as they all sound completely different.
Now that shes written one historical story hopefully more will follow in the future 🤞
I haven’t read any of these, but I do want to read The Stepdaughter. I’ve heard some very interesting things about it!
The Stepdaughter was fascinating! Very dark, but I couldn’t put it down. I’m hoping to read more of her books soon.
I’ve only read a couple of titles by Graham Greene (and those only recently) and Carys Davies whom, like you, I first tried for a past Reading Wales event. I’d be happy to try more from them when I’ve whittled my TBR pile down a bit!
I think I’m going to have to move Buckeye farther up on my pile, closer to the front.
I also didn’t love The End of the Affair, and I want to read Vesaas