Always on My Radar: The Authors I Chase

 

I’m trying to be less of a people pleaser but I couldn’t let my last blog post set the tone for the end of 2025. So here I am talking about the authors who are always on my radar. Spoiler alert, there aren’t that many.

Let me take you through my checklist of authors.

1. Consistent Quality – This was a major deal breaker for the authors who didn’t make the cut in my last post. If they can’t deliver consistently, they don’t get my instant buy stamp.
2. That Signature Style – Every author has to have that unmistakable touch, like some people have a signature scent. Is it the humour, the suspense, the way they craft a scene? Whatever it is, it has to be completely, undeniably, irrevocably theirs. Poetic I know.
3. Re-readability – Their books have to make me want to pick them up again and again. If a story doesn’t hit that re-read standard it’s out.
4. Blind Trust – This comes over time naturally. Once it happens you’re locked in. You see their name and the cart practically clicks itself.

 Ana Huang

Let’s start nice and simple. Coming in first, at the top of the pyramid, it’s none other than Ana Huang herself.

Let’s rewind to the moment I discovered this gem of an author. It was a late rainy Tuesday and I stumbled into Waterstones, as you do. There it was—the most beautiful cover I had ever laid eyes on. How could it not catch me? It was King of Wrath, starring Dante “clean up your mess” Russo and Vivian Lau. I spiraled. I read King of Pride, then eager to find more snippets of Dante Russo, I bought the entire Twisted series in one go. From that day on, I never looked back.

From Twisted Love to The Defender, Ana Huang’s writing has come a long way. How is someone this creative? She never runs out of ideas. Ever. Trust me. I’ve reread her books multiple times and the writing always flows effortlessly, like water. I know every author struggles at some point, but with Ana, it never shows. In many other books, you can spot the struggle in disengaging plots or filler chapters before you even realize it. Not with her.

Sure, there are events in her stories I haven’t loved, but that’s taste, not fault. Her signature style is unmatched, and Ana has a knack for turning each release into an event of the year. I blindly trust her with every book, even the ones I’m sceptical about, like The Defender, which has bumped several of her older reads down my personal Ana Huang ranking list. She never misses, and my money is always well spent.

Ali Hazelwood

Coming in hot and fast at second place is none other than Ali Hazelwood. If I had to compare writing styles between Ana Huang and Ali Hazelwood, it would go like this: Ana writes meticulously, every word carefully placed, while Ali writes intelligently, with a sharpness that hits you in all the right ways. Both are brilliant in their own lane.

You wouldn’t catch me reading a STEM romance—let’s be honest—but then I saw Lili Reinhart and Tom Bateman trending on TikTok for The Love Hypothesis, and curiosity got the better of me. I had to re-buy TLH just to give it another shot. Fast forward, and I’m already on book number four in the STEM series, so clearly it worked. Ali Hazelwood knows exactly how to reel you in, and once she does, there’s no turning back.

Elsie Silver

Wheeling into third place is Elsie Silver. Granted, Elsie can be a bit hit or miss compared to Ana and Ali, but when it comes to small-town, cowboy, ranch-life loving books, no one even comes close to the queen.

Why am I unable to tag her in any of my posts? I have no idea. It’s lost on me. That’s honestly the only reason she lands at third instead of second. And if my passion annoys you, maybe this little rant will annoy you more. Call me petty—go ahead—but there it is.

With Elsie, her writing is always there, but sometimes the plot misses the mark. I still can’t wrap my head around the same author who wrote Wild Eyes and Wild Side also wrote Wild Love and Wild Card—the last of which I haven’t managed to get past chapter four. Sometimes the storyline skips too much without reason. Other times, things are dragged out unnecessarily. A prime example is Wild Eyes. Despite it being a five-star read for me, the meeting between West and Skylar could have been done in two chapters instead of five.

Occasionally, you don’t love every book from an author, and that’s normal. The difference between first, second, and Elsie is that the first two hit more and miss less. But her writing style is unmistakably hers, and like I said, no one does cosy, small-town, ranch life like she does.

Rina Kent

 Rina Kent. Let me explain because this one needs context. I feel like I have a love-like relationship with Rina if that is even a thing. Out of all the authors I have read, Rina Kent is the one who pushes my reading boundaries the most. Her Legacy of God series did exactly that. Her worlds are more tangled than Ana Huang’s and I love the way she handles POVs for older characters.

For example, when I read God of Pain, I devoured every snippet of Adrian and Lia and literally screamed when Adrian got a whole chapter dedicated to him. I also devoured Aiden King’s chapter and the interactions between him and Adrian. Of course, even authors I love have books that I do not resonate with as much. For me, that was Sweet Villain and that is perfectly normal. I would be worried if I gave every release from an author a perfect score.

My first read from Rina was God of War. The Monster Trilogy and more recently the Deception Trilogy really scratch the itch for me.

Danielle Lori & J.M. Darhower

Finally, I’ll wrap this up with two authors who have not released anything in years, but if they did, I know without a doubt I would throw my money at them. Those two are none other than J.M. Darhower and Danielle Lori.

If you know the term ‘malyshka’ or the names Nico Russo and Elena Abelli, then you already know Danielle Lori. Even years after the release of her last and final book The Purest Addiction, she set the gold standard for dark romance. It is perfection. I would do absolutely anything to read it again for the first time. It goes to show that words have all the power. No fancy PR team or agent got her the recognition she deserved—it was all her.

The same goes for J.M. Darhower. Ghosted was an incredible, rueful read that left me torn to shreds, and then… nothing. Threads of depth, characters you could feel in your bones, and then silence. If either of them came back today with a pre-order link, I would be their first buyer, no question. I always revisit these authors when I am in a slump. They never fail to pull me out, every single time.

There you have it. Not a very long list, and that is exactly how I like it. I am open to adding more authors, but it is rare because I am picky. I can give a book five stars and still not rush out to buy the next release for years. I love reading, and I love exploring new stories, so if you have any recommendations based on what you’ve read here today, definitely drop a comment.

Today has been a sad one. I received three rejections from three internships I had all the hope in the world for. So, I spent the day being sad and cold emailing. Now I’m going to cosy up and re-read the Deception Trilogy by Rina Kent and hope that tomorrow is a better day.

Sigh. A big feel-sorry-for-me sigh.

Head over to PaperChapter if you want to read more of my thoughts on the future of publishing. All the links you need are on my Contact page.

Anyways, I’m signing off… may your TBR be ever in your favour.

Until next time.

Vivian.