Top Ten Tuesday/ New To Me Authors

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by thatartsyreadergirl with a new topic every week.

April 12: Authors I Haven’t Read, But Want To (Submitted by Deanna @ A Novel Glimpse)

I guess it’s a good time to look at my kindle books and find some new to me authors to discover and live in new worlds through the pages.

Goodreads Blurb:

It’s all fun and games… until your heart is on the line!

When she isn’t busy building her fashion business, Samadhi ‘Sam’ Ranaweera turns to her other passion to de-stress: competitive late-night gaming (in secret, of course). She can’t believe her luck when she’s selected to play in a virtual tournament with notoriously elusive gamer Blaze.

Blaze is a little cocky and very self-assured – no surprises, given his huge online popularity – and Sam feels under pressure to impress him with her gameplay. But she has no idea that in real life, he’s just shy Luke Burneside, the awkward guy from her office.

And despite his regular coffee deliveries to her desk, Sam barely notices Luke… because with each day, she’s falling harder for Blaze.

As her crush intensifies with each game and she becomes obsessed with winning Blaze’s attention, will Sam lose her chance with the man right under her nose? 

Goodreads Blurb:

Maya Ellis
New mom. Retirement community member. Avoider of men.

Am I single? Yes. Am I ready to mingle? Not even kind of–especially now that I have my son to think about. My dating track record speaks for itself, and it is not pretty. It’s a good thing I accidentally moved into a retirement community; I’m not interested in guys thirty years older than me.
But now the new complex manager–the young, attractive complex manager–has realized I’m not supposed to live here, and he’s trying to kick me out. It doesn’t help that he’s my new neighbor, or that I somehow end up pretending to be his girlfriend for his cousin’s wedding. The man is insufferable. Pretty to look at–and fine, sometimes maybe a little funny–but insufferable.
Good thing I have my anonymous online friend to keep me sane. He keeps my opinion of men from tanking completely…

Dex Anthony
Complex manager. Secret pen pal. Clark Kent lookalike.

My job as the manager of a retirement community isn’t what I thought it would be. I didn’t expect the senior citizen version of the black market, for example. I didn’t expect feisty old women. And I definitely didn’t expect Maya Ellis, a young mom who somehow managed to skirt the community age requirements.
Unfortunately, Maya is my best chance at avoiding my matchmaking mother. So she’ll be my fake girlfriend for two days–just two. Then my life will go back to normal: working, doing jigsaw puzzles in my sweats, and chatting with my mysterious internet pen pal. And I’ll get Maya Ellis to leave this retirement community, because she’s way too young to live here…
Even if I’m starting to like having her around.

Goodreads Blurb:

I can’t fall in love with my husband.

Elena
What was I thinking? To convince my friends I was over my ex, I signed up for a reality dating show. Only to be matched up with the hottest guy on the island.
I know his type. Lying. Cheating. Insert derogatory term here.
Kye would never look at me in the real world. But he’s saying all the words I want to hear, and I’ve just said, “I do.”
If we stay married for six months, we win the cash and Kye will get more Instagram followers than he can count.

The man in my bed is rapidly stealing my heart. But can I stop from falling in love with my husband before he leaves?

Kye
I thought reality TV would lead to fame and fortune. Except, the producers paired me up with Australia’s Newest Sweetheart.
If I break her heart, they’ll crucify me in the edit.
I was willing to do anything for fame and money. But will I throw it all away for the woman I never meant to love?

Goodreads Blurb:

Dating? Lower than a bikini wax on my list of priorities.

Blind dating? Let’s just say I’d rather have a Brazilian – and not the hot soccer-player variety.

So the fact I’ve agreed to do a blind-date feature for Pink, the magazine I work for, and write it all up Bridget Jones style means one thing – Pink is in dire straits and this is my best shot at saving my job.

Make that my only shot because date number one is with Jack Reese – the son of the publisher of Pink – and he dislikes me as much as I dislike him.

Or at least I thought he did.

Goodreads Blurb:

20 November
Went in to wake up The Monkey this morning and found his teddy bear tied to the bed with black electrical tape and looking very much the worse for wear. The Monkey was still fast asleep with a very satisfied smile on his face. I knew it was a bad idea to let him download 50 Shades of Grey onto his iPad. Cultural references he said… Just wanted to see what all of the fuss was about he said… My arse!

Me and The Monkey went to see Skyfall, the local cinema is running a load of Bond films over the next week. Nearly kicked off when the girl offered him Chunky Monkey ice cream – he doesn’t like stereotypes (when it suits him…). Rescued it with Phish Food and a large box of butter popcorn but he kept giving the girl evils all the way to the screen…

23 November
There seems to be bad blood between The Monkey and next door’s dog. I asked The Monkey what the problem was and he muttered something about being double crossed on a coke deal, and then told me to, ‘Mind my own business, bitch.’ Well at least he’s not flinging shit about…

24 November
The Monkey has been on my eBay account and bid for a JCB. I really hope the bid doesn’t win…

I’m sure The Monkey has been watching Geordie Shore… I heard drunken shouts of whey-aye coming from the living room but when I opened the door, he was watching Family Guy. Although he did have a guilty look on his face and the remote control was covered in monkey spit…

25 November
So, got to the bottom of the Geordie Shore thing. Apparently, The Monkey thought someone had shaved a bunch of Bonobo chimps and made a documentary about them. He couldn’t watch it with me in the room because it embarrassed him so much (I think this may be a first for him). Since discovering that they are human he says he has gained new levels of contempt for our species…

Welcome to the blog…

Well there’s this talking monkey who won me in a game of Othello in a coffee shop in Amsterdam. He came back to Cornwall with me and has become a prolific reader and dabbler in magic.

He also has past life flash backs – the most prominent of which are the Nam special forces ones.

We have partially deceased girlfriends who apparently eat dead bodies.

The Monkey created a sort of black hole in the spare bedroom and now we have a team of nerds investigating it and trying to stop ‘things’ coming out of it.

A bunch of Oriental hit men who appear to believe he is a god attempted to steal The Monkey’s magic lolly pop sticks, but he managed to blow them up in their caravan.

We are off to Cambodia in search of a temple from which came a monkey faced pendant with glowing eyes and we seem to have upset an international cabal who are out to get us.

Oh, and did I mention that The Monkey likes a cigar and we regularly get very drunk on Jack Daniels…

Interested? Perplexed? Worried? Come on in and join the fun.

Goodreads Blurb:

Lesley has always fancied herself as an amateur sleuth, a sort of modern day Miss Marple without the support stockings.

So when Al wants to hire her to investigate his elderly uncle’s young fiancée, she jumps at the chance. It doesn’t hurt that the job will involve posing as Al’s girlfriend and joining his glitzy, star-studded family on holiday in Nice.

Stella still can’t quite believe she’s engaged to legendary actor Sir Peter Bradshaw. She accepted what she thought was a deathbed proposal. Now she has a living, breathing fiancé and a wedding to plan.

First, though, she has to get through a holiday in the South of France with Peter’s extended family, who all seem convinced she’s a gold-digger with her sights set on the family fortune.

As Lesley bonds with Stella over shopping trips and bottles of rosé, she thinks she has it all figured out. After all, it’s no great mystery why a young woman would marry a fabulously wealthy seventy-two-year-old with a heart condition, is it? It’s an old story.

And Al may be the nicest boyfriend she’s ever had (even if he is fake), but Lesley believes in instant attraction and there’s just no spark … no matter how fit he looks in his swimming trunks. So there’s no chance he’s going to grow on her.

But people have a way of surprising you, as she’s about to discover …

Goodreads Blurb:

If you are looking for a happy book about beautiful people, this is the wrong story.
If you are looking for a narrative without emotion, without regrets, and without mistakes, this is definitely the wrong story.

This is by no means an uncomplicated tale about uncomplicated people. It is by no means sweet or light.

This story is ugly.
This story is complicated.
This story is emotional.
This story is tragic.

In short, this story is about being awkward.

Peregrine Storke is an artist with an odd sketchbook full of pictures she’s drawn since she was a child. It is a book full of strange sketches and awkward characters, for there is no better way to hide from bullying and life than to create a world of your own. With a stroke of her pencil, she has given life to a spectacled princess, a freckle-nosed king, a candy loving troll, a two-horned unicorn, and a graceless fairy.

At nineteen, Peregrine leaves her home, her sketchbook, and awkwardness behind. But what happens when something goes wrong in the world of Awkward? Trapped inside of her complex realm with the bully she thought to leave behind, Peregrine discovers there is nothing worse than falling for your own villain.

Goodreads Blurb:

After a standoff in the pizza parlor, Elsie Bennet has decided Fitzwilliam “I-Throw-Fitz” Darcy is the worst customer she’s ever encountered. Also the best looking, but that’s beside the point. She’s horrified to discover Will is not just passing through her small town, he’s her new neighbor.

Will Darcy has all the money and time he could ask for, and yet life never seems to meet his expectations. When his best friend, Charlie, starts dating Jane Bennet, Will becomes their unhappy third-wheel. The solution? Bring along Jane’s sister, Elsie, a girl who challenges him, makes him laugh, plagues his thoughts, and unfortunately, hates his guts.

Will might control a lot of things, but he won’t control her. Elsie’s already been warned away by her new friend, Jeff Wickham, who found out the hard way that Will is not someone to be crossed. Things would be so much simpler if she was attracted to Jeff. But she’s not. She’s attracted to Will, and the tug-o-war between her mind and her heart is going to drive her mad.

Goodreads Blurb:

Sixteen-year-old Ana is a waitress, foster kid, and liar. She might also be the sole heir to a crown on another planet. A crown she never asked for or even wanted.

One year after her mom’s death, Ana discovers her mom’s biggest secret– she was a political refugee from a planet called Bellaton. Ana’s family was one of seven that ruled before they were picked off one by one.

Now, with assassins after her, Ana could be next. With the help of a dazzling array of friends and enemies, Ana must discover her magical “gift”… or risk being named an imposter.

In this world of breathtaking beauty, charm, and magic, will Ana be able to tell friend from foe, reveal her would-be assassin, and take the crown?

Goodreads Blurb:

Beer and polka music reign supreme at Octoberfest, Battle Lake’s premier fall festival. To kick off the celebrations, the town hosts a public debate between the two congressional candidates: straight-laced Arnold Swydecker, and slippery incumbent, Sarah Glokkmann. As a reporter for the Battle Lake Recall, Mira James is roped into writing up the word war. But the festive mood sours when a well-known Glokkmann-bashing blogger is found dead . . . and the congresswoman herself meets a gruesome fate.

To keep the heat off her best friend’s fiance–an ex-con reporter–Mira wades through the candidates’ dirty laundry, their unsavory secrets, and some murderous mudslinging to expose the killer. 

Alex