I specifically mean authors who are not insanely popular, though I might talk about my opinions on them in another post.

N.K. Jemisin

N.K. Jemisin is the author of 14 novels, a comic book series, and an anthology of short stories called How Long ‘Til Black Future Month. While I have only completed one of her books and am part way through another one of her books, I still highly recommend her books. She utilizes mostly adult fantasy novels as (not subtle) political and social commentary. 

Her book The City We Became is my favorite book. Called a “love letter to New York City,” this book (and its sequel The World We Make) is about the real people of New York City. Throughout history, major cities form avatars, a person who embodies the city as a whole, serving as the soul of the city. Depending on the size of the city, a number of supporting “avatars” embody different parts of the city. New York City is broken into the 6 boroughs, all there to support the main avatar, who has fallen into a magical coma. The point of the book is to paint a true picture about who makes up New York City, not the whitewashed media portrayal so often seen by the public. 

I highly recommend her novels, and I will definitely be reading more of her books in the future.

Roshani Chokshi:

Roshani Chokshi is an incredibly well-rounded author. She is the author of 5 short stories, 5 middle grade novels (the Pandava series), 7 young adult novels (The Gilded Wolves (trilogy), The Star-Touched Queen (duology), and two standalone novels), and will be making her adult debut in February of next year with The Last Tale of the Flower Bride. Roshani Chokshi is an Indian and Filipino author who uses her culture to craft beautiful novels. She is honestly the sweetest person I’ve ever had the pleasure of talking to. She is someone that I aspire to be, and she is someone that I think everyone should support. 

The Gilded Wolves trilogy was what introduced me to her novels. I just picked it out because I needed an audiobook to listen to while I was cutting the grass. It ended up sucking me in and I could not stop listening. The book is about a group of kids who commit heists. And no, it is not a copy of Six of Crows. The only real similarity is that there are 6 people committing heists, which is not a revolutionary concept. The heists and plots are completely different (and The Gilded Wolves is much more thought out and centers around the heists. There are not the same amount of plot holes, and they make you actually think and try to figure it out). That being said, if you liked Six of Crows, you will like this series, unless you like the heist to be laid out for you and to not have to do any thinking about it.

The Pandava series (published under Rick Riordan) are about Aru Shah, and her experience with real life Hindu mythology. To read a story about a culture that I am not familiar with, but still be enthralled and understand what is happening in the story, was incredibly enjoyable. I got the series for my brother as a Christmas gift (well, technically my parents did, but I am the one who actually got it), but ended up stealing the series and reading them when he was done because he loved them so much.

Renée Ahdieh

Renée Ahdieh is a Korean-American author who writes beautiful novels that will keep you captivated from start to finish. Her novels mostly target the older part of the Young Adult audience. Author of 7 novels and 3 novellas, it is truly hard to pick a favorite among her books, unlike so many other authors who have a standout book. With many authors, it feels as though I am reading the same story with different characters, but with her novels, it is the exact opposite. While I have not read all of her books, the ones that I have read are so different from each other and stunning in their own unique way.

The Wrath & The Dawn was the first book (and series) that I read from her. My best friend (shoutout to Maya who has the best book taste and who I miss more than my family) had just read her newer book (see: The Beautiful) and loved it, so I bought both The Wrath & the Dawn and its sequel The Rose & the Dagger on a whim, but ended up loving so much that I have reread it 6 times because I cannot stop thinking about it. A fantastical story about Scheherazade (Shahrzad in this story) from Arabian Nights, The Wrath & The Dawn is a story about how women are badass, men suck (except like 2), and that things are not always as they appear to be. Every night, a woman is chosen from the kingdom to marry the Caliph, and by sunrise every morning, she is killed. However, this night is different. For the first time ever, a woman has volunteered to be the new bride. Shahrzad has come to the palace, not to tell the Caliph stories, but to kill him.

The Beautiful is a story about vampires in 1872 New Orleans. Celine Rousseau has fled her life in Paris to the Ursuline convent. While falling in love with the city, she becomes entangled with La Cour des Lions (in english, the court of the lions), the underworld of the city. However, it soon becomes apparent that there is a serial killer running around the city, and Celine comes to suspect the group’s leader, Sébastien Saint Germain (the only man I will ever love but that’s a whole other conflict outside of the story (in other words, my sexuality)), may be the one behind it all and she may be next. Battling her growing attraction to the mysterious man (while still hating him because this is an enemies to lovers story that is not toxic), she begins to dig deeper, and learns that not all is as it seems.

Others who I will talk about another time:
Chloe Gong
Sabaa Tahir
Tracy Deonn

Popular authors I think actually deserve the hype (maybe I’ll do a post on this, I don’t really know):
Leigh Bardugo
Holly Black
Cassandra Clare (please don’t judge her off of some of the choices made in The Mortal Instruments, if you know you know)
Alice Oseman
Casey McQuiston