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.
This week’s prompt was submitted by Angela @ Reading Frenzy and it’s such a great one. I’m going to talk about ten debut novels I enjoyed, meaning the first published book by an author. It is going to make me think a little harder than I would normally, to discover which books might be debuts that I didn’t realize, but I really have been enjoying a lot of debuts lately. I have a feeling that this year is going to be awesome for debuts, so here are some of my favorite recent debuts that I’ve read:
- Lenny Marks Gets Away with Murder by Kerryn Mayne. This was such a powerful story, and I really loved it. It was kind of like Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine heads to Australia. Goodreads | Amazon
- The Sins on Their Bones by Laura R. Samotin. This queer, Jewish-themed fantasy was lush, atmospheric, and darkly lyrical, and I couldn’t put it down. Goodreads | Amazon
- The City of Stardust by Georgia Summers. I adored how beautiful this story was, and there’s something wonderful to be said about a standalone fantasy novel. Goodreads | Amazon
- The Cloisters by Katy Hays. I got so caught up in this gorgeous story about a lesser known museum in New York City and old tarot cards that I couldn’t stop thinking about it for months. Goodreads | Amazon
- Seven Percent of Ro Devereux by Ellen O’Clover. I can’t resist a good YA read about a girl who knows what she wants to do and isn’t afraid to step boldly into the world of STEM. Goodreads | Amazon
- Rubi Ramos’s Recipe for Success by Jessica Parra. Here’s a super adorable but totally meaningful YA read about a teen girl who knows what she wants for her future, but is struggling to keep everything balanced between her own wishes and the expectations her parents have. Goodreads | Amazon
- Shield Maiden by Sharon Emmerichs. How could I possibly not love a Beowulf-inspired tale that features a woman in the main character role, especially a woman with a disability? Short answer is that I can’t. I loved it. Goodreads | Amazon
- Maame by Jessica George. This debut novel blew my mind with the story of a young Ghanaian woman torn between living her own life and devoting herself to caring for her sick father while her mother spends most of her time back in Ghana. Goodreads | Amazon
- Don’t Want to Be Your Monster by Deke Moulton. This was one of my favorite debuts of 2023, and I especially loved how Moulton deconstructed the vampire story to separate the antisemitism that’s become inherent in the genre. Goodreads | Amazon
- Mean Baby: A Memoir of Growing Up by Selma Blair. I adored this memoir, since I love Selma Blair’s acting career, and wanted to learn more about who she is as a person. She turned out to be a fantastic writer, and she narrates the audiobook herself! Goodreads | Amazon
Have you read any of these? What are some of your favorite debut novels?
Categories: Top Ten Tuesday
Leah's Books 
Jessica’s book looks so cuuute! Definitely one I need to read about because that cover art draws me in. 🙂
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I’m guessing you’re talking about Rubi Ramos and not Maame, because Jessica Parra’s book is a cute and fun read, while Jessica George’s book is a lot heavier in some places. And both covers are so bright and beautiful, but I do love a great cartoon cover!
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I haven’t read any of these books. I’m not in a fantasy mood lately so I doubt whether I will pick up one of these in the future.
My TTT: https://laurieisreading.com/2024/07/23/top-ten-tuesday-introductions-to-authors-i-enjoyed/
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Thanks for stopping by!
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Maame is on my list this week too. It’s such a fascinating read.
Pam @ Read! Bake! Create!
https://readbakecreate.com/debut-novels-ive-read-recently-and-enjoyed/
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Great minds think alike!
It really was such a great read, and I remember being so impressed that it was a debut because it felt like she was an experienced writer.
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Don’t Want to be Your Monster looks great.
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Of course you’d pick out my favorite debut from the list! You’ve got great taste Lydia – I hope you give this one a read.
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I loved the setting in The Cloisters. I have always always wanted to visit the real Cloisters so it was cool to read a book set there. I had mixed feelings about it though! I liked it, and then the end.. I wasn’t sure of. But it was a very atmospheric book and beautifully written.
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The end wasn’t the strongest part of the story, but I did love the book and the setting of the Cloisters. I actually live not far outside of NYC, so the Cloisters could be an easy day trip for me – that’s going to have to be a priority for me this year.
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That is awesome! I remember reading the book Annie on My Mind at some point in time and thinking it sounded like such a cool place to visit. How great it is so close!! I hope you will post about your visit too!!
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Absolutely, when I get there!
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I’ve not read any of these, but the covers for several are really pretty! Here is our <a href=”https://www.longandshortreviews.com/miscellaneous-musings/top-ten-tuesday-debut-novels-i-enjoyed/“>Top Ten Tuesday.</a> Thank you!
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Thank you! Hopefully one of the covers (and stories inside) will capture your attention and your heart!
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I had to look up Don’t Want To Be Your Monster based on the cover, and the premise seems intriguing! I only read one or two middle grades a year, but this is one I might have to pick up!!
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Yay! I’m not much of a middle grade reader either – usually two max per year and they’ve got to be really good. And Deke Moulton *always* makes my list.
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I hope to read The Cloisters and The City of Stardust this autumn
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Both awesome books. I hope you enjoy them as much as I did!
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I haven’t read any of these but I do have a couple of my TBR. I’m glad to hear that you loved them so much! 😀
https://jennielyse.com/top-ten-tuesday-46/
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I love when that happens, especially if I’m kind of on the fence about a book and then read about how someone else really enjoyed it. I hope you give them a read soon and enjoy them!
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Shield Maiden made my list this week too. Such a great read!!
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I’m not surprised! That was such a great read, and I really enjoyed that we buddy read it. We’ve been on a roll with great buddy reads.
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I’ve not heard of any of these but I love the cover of The City of Stardust. I’ll have to look further into that book. Happy reading! My TTT https://readwithstefani.com/the-10-best-books-i-read-in-the-last-10-years/
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Thank you! And I really enjoyed The City of Stardust – the cover is so pretty, but the story was so whimsical and wonderful that I couldn’t help but love it. I hope you enjoy it if you decide to check it out!
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I really need to get round to trying Shield Maiden! It’s been awaiting me on my TBR for far too long. Good list!
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Thanks! And yes, you should! I buddy read that one and we flew through it, it was that good!
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Ok how did I forget about The Cloisters… that book was so good, and The City of Stardust as well! Debut’s really are knocking it out of the park recently aren’t they. There are a few on here that I hadn’t heard of, so I’m off to check them out 🙂
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There are some really great debuts lately, and I’ve just been so impressed with them. I loved The Cloisters, and it’s really not that far from where I live. I have to arrange a visit there. I can’t wait to sneak a peek at your list, because I’m sure I’ll find some great ones on it too!
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