Top Ten Tuesday: Recent Releases You Should Be Reading (But Probably Aren't)

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish.

I wasn't going to bother with Top Ten Tuesday because it was Ten Authors You'd Most Like To See On A Reality Show, and I barely watch any TV except Neighbours - but it got opened up to a freebie, which gave me the excuse to plug some underappreciated books!

I've limited it to books with 20 or less ratings on Goodreads and published June 2011 or later.

I've been lucky enough to talk to several of these authors on the blog - hyperlinked names go to interviews.

1. Night of the Purple Moon by Scott Cramer - Drop what you're doing NOW, stop reading this article, and grab the wonderful Night of the Purple Moon for Kindle FREE for today! Argh - you missed it! However, it's currently at a special promotional price of 77p in the UK - here or $1.24 in the US - here. Not sure how long the price is staying that low for, so definitely worth grabbing it while you can. Cramer's story of what happens when everyone who's gone through puberty dies because of some mysterious space dust is excellent, with great characters and a wonderful plot.


2. The Things We Did For Love by Natasha Farrant - I can understand some of the others being fairly unknown, because several of them are self-published and/or e-book only. But for a Faber and Faber book, which is absolutely heartbreaking and beautifully written, to have attracted comparatively little attention absolutely astounds me. I think it was overshadowed by the release of another World War II novel, Code Name Verity, but as great as that is, this is also in my top 5 of the year so far and really shouldn't be missed.


3. Harper Madigan: Junior High Private Eye by Chelsea M Campbell - It's pretty much a Raymond Chandler story set in a junior high with a young teen main characer who's already nearly as jaded and cynical as Marlowe ever was. Brilliant voice in this one and inventing planning of the school ruled with a rod of iron by the PTA, it's well worth reading.


4. Frost Child by Gillian Philip - This is e-book only, which explains why it hasn't received the same level of attention as the rest of Philip's wonderful Rebel Angels series. This prequel, however, is just as well-written as the two excellent novels so far, fills in some important background on a few characters, and is stunning value for money!


5. Sinking Deeper: Or My Questionable (Possibly Heroic) Decision to Invent a Sea Monster by Steve Vernon - Fabulous subtitle, great narrative style and some weird and wonderful characters make this tale of a young boy and his grandfather inventing a sea monster to rejuvenate the sleepy Canadian town they live in well worth checking out.


6. Life, Death and Gold Leather Trousers by Fiona Foden - This MG charmer has a wonderful lead character struggling to deal with the death of her rock star uncle and her parents splitting up. It's a real heartwarmer and has a brilliant supporting cast.


7. The Boo Hag by David Morgan - YA paranormal which stands out as a welcome break from vampires, werewolves, zombies and fairies by taking a villain from South Carolina's Gullah culture. Morgan creates a great central trio and a memorable antagonist.


8. For The Record by Ellie Irving - MG in which a young boy tries to save his village from being demolished to host a waste-incinerator plant by getting the residents to break 50 records. Ultra-sweet, gently humorous, and full of fantastic English eccentrics.


9. Shadowfall and Shadowblood by Tracy Revels - They're not YA, but they feature Sherlock Holmes as a half-fairy with cameos from hosts of great literary characters. If you have any interest at all in detective novels, you need to check these incredible books out!


10. Signs of Love: Love Match by Melody James - MG about a girl who wants to be a journalist on the school webzine but gets stuck doing the horoscopes has a fairly standard plot but some wonderful characters and fabulous dialogue.