Happy Tuesday everyone! This week’s prompt was “Debut Novels I Enjoyed.” I love reading debut novels. It always blows my mind how amazing some debut novels are because writing a book is no joke. I think part of it is because authors tend to pour everything they can into their first book. I also think that there are authors who publish their first book, but have been writing for years.

This is not to say that I will not read another book from an author if I didn’t like their debut. I always make note of how early the writer is in their career because growth happens for all writers!! I tend to also be less picky over an author’s debut. I think back to Leigh Bardugo’s first book Shadow & Bone. I had read Six of Crows first (and loved it), so it was obvious this was her first published book. I still enjoyed it though, but I really think it helped knowing that it was her first book.

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Debut Novels I Enjoyed

I have read a lot of debut novels in my lifetime, but here are ten that stuck out to me.

Queenie

My OG Review: “Queenie” was complex and dark, which wasn’t entirely what I was expecting going in. I think I enjoyed this book so much because it was so relatable specifically to me. Queenie goes through a breakup and spends the rest of the novel going through mental struggles and setbacks while trying to “move on”. Everything she did and thought was almost exactly what I went through when I broke up with my ex a few years back. Queenie wasn’t exactly what you’d call a lovable main character. Her flaws were accented heavily throughout the book but that’s what made the book so REAL. I’m so happy I read this.

The Reading List

Will I ever stop talking about this book??? Literally never. I looked it up, and this book has been mentioned seven times since I read it in January 2023. I honestly don’t know if a book has ever stuck with me as much as The Reading List has, and here I am finding out it’s a debut!? This book literally changed my life (and made me cry in my car).

From a blog post literally last month: he first book that comes to mind when I think of “strong emotions” is The Reading List by Sara Nisha Adams. I don’t really know what I thought the book was going to be about, but for some reason, I went into the book thinking I was going to read a romance. Looking back, I am not entirely sure why I thought this, but imagine my surprise when I was driving home from the city (it’s about a two-hour drive), and I was sobbing hysterically to the audiobook. This book was actually one of my top 10 favorite books of 2023.

Out of Character

This book I actually stumbled upon by accident. Jenna Miller was at a Barnes and Noble while I was shopping there one day, and I decided to purchase the book on a whim! She was so nice to talk to (I learned she had actually grown up in the town where this store was), and I decided to get a copy for me and a copy for my classroom library.

Written in the Stars

This was one of the first books I ever reviewed on Netgalley, and I am so glad that I decided to request this one! Since this book came out, I have read two more of Bellefleur’s books (with two others on my physical TBR), and she hasn’t disappointed yet. Written in the Stars was her first book, and I think they’ve only gotten better.

A Woman is No Man

OG Review: It honestly took all my willpower not to cry and/or throw my phone at a wall when this story ended (I listened to the audiobook). I truly believe everyone should read this story. This book is painful yet powerful. The story follows three generations of Palestinian women and depicts their Arab customs so well. I loved reading and learning about the Arab culture. The characterizations of the women were fantastic as well. Each woman was their own character, which I think doesn’t happen often with multiple points of view. I learned so much from this book. It tore my heart to shreds.

How to Fake It in Hollywood

Here is the link to my full review on my blog: LINK – This is just another great example of why I love finding books on Netgalley. I don’t know if I would’ve picked this one up otherwise, but Ava Wilder has become an auto buy author for me!

House of Salt and Sorrows

I am just going to link my Goodreads review for this one because I was very passionate about this one! See my review HERE. I actually want to reread this one very soon so that I can finally read the sequel. It will be interesting to see if I enjoy it as much as I did four years ago, but I remember being so impressed by the writing.

Annie Bot

At the time of writing this, Annie Bot is actually the last book I finished. I only just now learned it was a debut while looking through my recent reads! I am typically not a science fiction reader but reading about an AI sex-robot develop autonomy over herself was so wacky but interesting. There were so many instances where I physically cringed, but I couldn’t stop reading. I highly recommend this one to even non-science fiction readers!

The Hate U Give

It has been a while since I read this one (about seven years), but I remember this one being impactful. I purchased multiple copies of this book for my classroom, and I recommend it to a lot of students. Because it has been so long though, I would love to reread this one sometime in the near future. I have a feeling that it will impact me even more today than it did back then.

The Love Hypothesis

Can you believe it’s only been three years since Ali Hazelwood released her first book!? She has taken the book world by storm, and I honestly cannot comprehend how she is releasing so many books. Six full-length novels in three years!!

Anyways, I read The Love Hypothesis shortly after it was published, and I have been obsessed with Hazelwood’s writing since. While this one isn’t my favorite by her (Love, Theoretically ftw), I still adored this slow-burn, STEM romance.

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And there you have it! 10 debut novels I enjoyed!

Do you like reading author’s debut novels? Let me know in the comments!

Until next time, xx