Top Ten Tuesday used to be a weekly post hosted by The Broke and the Bookish, but was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl. “It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together.” This is definitely something I can understand and want to participate in.
So far, I’ve already done posts about my favorite nonfiction books of 2022, my monthly favorites, and some about audiobooks that I really enjoyed. So this time, I want to talk about my favorite debuts of 2022:
- Once More With Chutzpah by Haley Neil — a beautiful YA novel featuring a girl coming to terms with grief, her own identity on the asexual spectrum, and her Jewish identity.
- Wahala by Nikki May — an immersive novel featuring three Anglo-Nigerian friends who add another woman to their social circle, with disastrous results leading to a tense and thrilling outcome.
- Kaikeyi by Vaishnavi Patel — a historical fiction set in ancient India and telling the woman’s side of a well-known Indian myth, and I couldn’t put this one down.
- The Memory Keeper of Kyiv by Erin Litteken — a historical fiction set in dual timelines, one during the oft-overlooked Holodomor, or death by starvation in Ukraine in the late 1920s and early 1930s, and the other in present day as a young grieving mother is trying to learn more about her grandmother who is losing her memory. It was especially timely since it came out during the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
- The Stardust Thief by Chelsea Abdullah — this Arabian-inspired fantasy involving tea magic, djinn, and desert sands was fantastic and I wanted to second one immediately after finishing the first!
- Blood Orange Night by Melissa Bond — a memoir of how easy it is to slip into physical dependence even when following doctor’s orders, and how difficult it is to dig your way out.
- Night of the Living Rez by Morgan Talty — a short story collection about what it means to be Indigenous in today’s world, and how centuries of survival and tragedy continue to have a major impact on people’s lives.
- Honey and Spice by Bolu Babalola — a fantastic and lively novel about being a confident and intelligent Black British woman who knows what she wants and won’t settle for less, and the audiobook version is my recommendation.
- Thistlefoot by GennaRose Nethercott — I’m thrilled to see people talking about this one, because I loved everything about this story based in Jewish history and Russian folklore, intergenerational trauma and mending relationships, found family and finding acceptance.
- One Dark Window by Rachel Gillig — the perfect spooky season read, this combined gothic elements with fantasy and hints of romance in the best possible way, and a great plot that left me ready to snag book two as soon as possible!
What are some 2022 debuts that you loved?
Categories: Top Ten Tuesday
Leah's Books 
My favorite debut of the year was The Extraordinary Deaths of Mrs. Kip by Sara Brunsvold. It was my favorite book of the year, far and away.
You’ve got some interesting books on your list! I’ll have to check them out.
Happy reading in the new year!
My Top Ten
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Thank you! I hope you fall in love with them like I did. And I’ve never heard of The Extraordinary Deaths of Mrs. Kip, but I’m going to have to check it out, it sounds pretty intriguing! Happy New Year!
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I seem to have missed your earlier posts on the favorites of 2022 – will hunt them down. In the meantime, picking up Thistlefoot as I like all things Baba Yaga.
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I’d definitely suggest giving The Witch and the Tsar by Olesya Salnikova Gilmore a read as well – it’s a historical fiction but also a unique take on Baba Yaga that I also loved. I’m a sucker for Baba Yaga as well, and I’m really enjoying all the creative directions these stories are going!
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Honey & Spice sure sounds interesting.
My post: https://lydiaschoch.com/top-ten-tuesday-favorite-books-of-2022/
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I really enjoyed it, and was so glad for the libro.fm influencer program that lets me get outside my comfort zone and check out books that wouldn’t ordinarily come up on my radar.
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It looks like you found some great new authors in 2022.
Pam @ Read! Bake! Create!
https://readbakecreate.com/my-ten-favorite-books-of-2022/
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I really did! There were so many amazing debut authors in 2022, and I’m looking forward to see what 2023 brings!
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I haven’t read any of these. They sound like great reads. I’m glad you liked them.
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I loved them! I hope I’ve inspired you to consider at least one!
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I only read one debut novel last year and it ended up on my disappointments of the year! Oops!
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Oh no! Which one? They can’t all be winners, right?
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What a fun list. All of these sound great, especially Thistlefoot. Thanks for sharing.
https://thebookconnectionccm.blogspot.com/2023/01/top-ten-tuesday-top-ten-favorite-books.html
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Thistlefoot was probably my favorite book of the entire year. I’ve been recommending it to everyone!
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I read The Stardust Thief. It was good but I would say it my favorite.
Have a great week.
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I really enjoyed that one. Enjoy your week!
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Thistlefoot has been on my radar recently so it’s good to see it on so many favourites lists. Hope you have a great reading year ahead of you!
My favourite books of 2022
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That’s how you know it’s a good one! Here’s to hoping that 2023 is as good as 2022 was for books!
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One Dark Window is on my TBR for 2023 so I’m so happy to see you loved it!
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Ooooh you’re in for a great read, and the sequel is scheduled to come out this year as well! Enjoy.
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I’m glad you loved these books as much as you did. I got THE STARDUST THIEF from Book of the Month, but I haven’t had a chance to read it yet. Hopefully, soon! 😀
My TTT
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Thank you! I’ve only seen people saying good things about The Stardust Thief, so I really hope you love it too.
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NIGHT OF THE LIVING REZ sounds excellent. I’m not really into short stories, but I think I’m going to check this out anyway. Glad you enjoyed it and all these others.
Happy TTT!
Susan
http://www.blogginboutbooks.com
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I hope you do! I’m not usually a big fan of short stories but these were really good, and I highly recommend the audiobook!
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I’m glad you found so many good books! I’m really bad at remembering which books are debuts, so I have no idea which ones are my favorites!
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It took a bit of looking into, but I found a lot of really great books in 2022!
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