#debut novels

[kidsomeday]

Holy shit I just did this and it was bizarre and wonderful. I went to the library and nabbed a book because it looked kinda cool and all I saw on the back was "debut novel" and I was sold. I love weird looking debut novels. Anyway if you're in the mood for some nordic-noir magical realism weirdness with heavy overtones of ecological issues, generational trauma, and sexual assault check out Things We Found When the Water Went Down by Tig Nia Swanson. It's bizarre! I am not sure if it's a good book! Did I enjoy reading it? Hell yes. Forever love weird little novels from the library.

reject booktok culture. go to the library and get a weird little novel you’ve never heard of in your life and read it all in 2 days like god intended.

[fictionophile]

"We Used To Live Here" by Marcus Kliewer - Book Review #HorrorFiction @EmilyBestler @AtriaBooks @Marcus_Kliewer #WeUsedToLiveHere #Spooktober #BookReview

Mind blown! What did I just read? If you are looking for the perfect October read – look no further! “We Used To Live Here” scared the life out of me, and not many novels manage to do that. As the apt cover of the book implies, this is a story of a warped, altered reality. A book that challenges the complexity of the time and space continuum. I’ll say up front that I am not a lover of the fantasy…

[genieinanovel]

Favorite Books from Different Series

[signourneybooks]

Five Debut Novels I Enjoyed | Top Ten Tuesday 439

This week we are talking about the debut novels we enjoyed for Top Ten Tuesday (as always hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl). I have to be honest and say that I don’t often register if something is someone’s debut novel. So I had to really look if some of these were really debut novels. Are you on the look out for debut novels when you decide which book to pick up? The Long Way To A Small Angry…

[gbhbl]

Horror Book Review: Threshold by Murphy St. John

Threshold is the title of author Murphy St. John’s debut horror novel packing a thought provoking storyline, a huge cast of characters and a genuine sense of discomfort and dread. Unfortunately I don’t have a whole lot of information on the author, other than to say that I expect to hear more from him as the man can write. Threshold may be a debut but it’s immersive story and intense characters…

[easternpine]

on debut novels and Shuggie Bain

I am about a quarter of the way through Shuggie Bain by Douglas Stuart. First, let me say that this book is unceasingly dismal. There isn't a shred of hope in it so far. But as a portrayal of 1980s Thatcher era working class Glasgow, it reads as a faithful account of the time. I have seen a comment or two about this book being "trauma porn", but it doesn't read that way to me. It reads as someone who has lived this stuff, and Stuart did live it, according to his various bios. There is an authenticity of place and experience, (the Glasgow patter leaping off the page doesn't hurt either) and the characters never read as completely good or bad, only broken. A similar book, Demon Copperhead, read more like trauma porn than this novel. Not a dig at that book, which I also liked, just a comparison.

Anyway, I was shocked to learn that this was Douglas Stuart's debut novel. He was 44 at the time it came out, and he'd been rejected by 30+ publishers in the process. They'd heaped on tons of praise, but didn't know how they would "market" it. While not a surprise to me at all considering modern publishing, it is still shocking when I consider the quality of the novel. He finally managed to have it published by an independent press and went on to win the 2020 Booker Prize. WITH A DEBUT NOVEL. One of only a handful of debuts that have won that award since its inception. I understand the general forces that drive who gets precious shelf space and who doesn't, but when I consider how much wonderful writing must get passed over, it makes me sad. It makes me sad for writers, it makes me sad for readers, and it makes me sad for art.

[annafromuni]

My Full Review of Hwang Boreum's Welcome to the Hyunam-dong Bookshop

Welcome back to the Hyunam-dong Bookshop, a book you may ecognise from a few weeks ago. Well, I finished reading it a few hours ago at the time of writing this and I couldn’t think of a better review post to write up. Everything I said in my initial reaction to the novel is correct, but I have been pleasantly surprised and comforted while reading this, so let me share some thoughts with you…

[mylifeinfiction]

The Book of Doors by Gareth Brown

She wasn't going to turn her back on magic and impossibility.

I ended up enjoying The Book of Doors quite a bit despite its many irksome flaws. Gareth Brown's debut novel suffers the same frustrating problems we so often see in debuts. Its clunky narrative mechanics, uneven character development, and unfocused world-building kept me from really getting into this one for far too long given the fact that it's premise is so ridiculously far up my alley.

However, once those hurdles are cleared, we're given more of the special books, and the endgame begins to come into focus, we're given an entertaining final third that brings creatively violent action together with character moments that felt true and some interesting ideas that tie the books themes together rather effectively. It's nothing earth-shattering, and it doesn't reinvent the wheel (if it's trying to, it's a resounding failure), but once you get past the awkwardness of the first third's storytelling, you get an exciting adventure that shows a playful understanding of the magic of books.

7/10

-Timothy Patrick Boyer.

[millennial-book-review]

Debut Books of 2023

The year's almost over, and I want to talk about some of my favorite debut novels of the year.

My favorite thing about each new year is finding new authors. I previously talked about the Best New (To Me) Author of 2023. Today, I want to share my five favorite debut books (and authors) of the year. Please note: this list is not in any particular order. Dream to Me by Megan Paasch This was a book that took me by surprise. The premise seemed interesting enough, but the story blew me away,…

[bunnybirds]

In Princess Aster's world, bunnybirds live in contented isolation, keeping themselves detached from the world in order to practice magic. Nothing is ever wrong, and no one is ever angry...even as Aster's people seem to be slowly disappearing. When her father is next to vanish, Aster resolves to find and rescue the missing bunnybirds—even if it means journeying over the rim of the world itself!

My middle grade graphic novel is officially available for preorder! Bunnybirds is a story about trauma, friendship, and my experience with autistic masking. It was drawn entirely with Prismacolor colored pencils and Pandafly markers, with Photoshop applied for color enhancement and text.

Check it out maybe! :D

That last panel with Carlin (the brown bunnybird) facing the corner was directly inspired by this wonderful TMA comic by @nubs-mbee!

[lizfielding99]

Joan Hessayon Award 2023

Joan Hessayon Award I’m absolutely thrilled to announce that Dark Sanctuary by Sarah Callejo is an contender for the prize this year, which will be awarded at the Gala Dinner at Romantic Novelists’ Association‘s conference in July. Dark Sanctuary Best-selling author, Katie Fforde, said of Dark Sanctuary, that it is “An intriguing tale from an exciting new talent.”  And a 5* review on Amazon sums…

[humans-are-tasty]

[fictionophile]

"The September House" by Carissa Orlando - #AudiobookReview @PRHAudio #TheSeptemberHouse

Written by Carissa Orlando ; Narrated by Kimberly Farr“That is to say, I was not looking forward to late September, and the nightly screaming. It was going to be a long month.” I chose to listen to this audiobook after learning it won a Goodreads Choice Award AND the fact that this is the month of September. As many of you are aware, I do not usual listen to audiobooks, but thought I would give…

[genieinanovel]

Ten Debut Novels I Loved

This week’s prompt is fun, which is “Debut Novels I Enjoyed” though I’m taking it a step further and using the “L” word, haha. My list isn’t in any particular order of which ones I liked the best, because that would just make this prompt harder. So this is just a plain list of ten debut novels I really loved and made me want to read more of the authors’ work, or wait (impatiently) for their…

[holley4734]

Top Ten Tuesday: 2023 Debut Novels

@ArtsyReaderGirl @BlazedRTs @LovingBlogs @bloggingbeesrt #bloggingbeesrt #booktwitter #books #toptentuesday #booktwt @bibliophileRT @bloggershutRT @allthoseblogs

[specialagentartemis]

every time I see someone recommending Benjanun Sriduangkaew in the name of supporting queer women and queer POC I’m always like. Yeah except for the ones she viciously harassed I guess. Maybe she turned over a new leaf and I’m being unfair by holding her old sins against her but I’ve never seen an apology or an acknowledgement from her that she did anything wrong.

And like. If you want to support queer Asian sff writers. I can name half a dozen off the top of my head who are amazing and creative and deserve more attention and have NOT spearheaded internet harassment campaigns against other writers. So.