Hey all, Dani here.
The closer I get to my interview, the more nervous I get about it all. This job is one that would definitely be a step in the right direction for me. It is an office job that deals with the company’s daily newsletter and other online communications. Yes, the pay would be better, but most importantly I feel like this job would allow me to utilize some of my college experience and degrees, which makes that massive student loan debt feel a teeny tiny bit worth it. I just have to spend the next few days going over all of my resume and my content portfolio, and hoping that it all goes well.
Anyway, today it is recommendation time, and with my mind as distracted as it has been, I struggled to figure out what topic to utilize for today’s post. But then I thought about some of the truly amazing first novels I’ve read over the past few years, and honestly why shouldn’t I highlight some authors to keep an eye out for now and in the future?
I’m only going to go with book debuts that have come out and/or that I’ve read since I started this blog (so January 2016). Oh…and I have them listed by the year I read them, not the year that they were released.
2016
Each of these books had a really compelling writing style, even The Thousandth Floor, which is not the usual type of read I go for. There was just something so interesting about the teen drama in that one. It kept me hooked. And of course, as a fan of “Firefly,” I couldn’t help but love The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet. I should probably re-read it again sometime soon.
The Wrath & The Dawn by Renee Ahdieh
The Thousandth Floor by Katharine McGee
The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet by Becky Chambers
2017
This year was one of awesome fantasy reads, contemporary female friendship, and an unexpected futuristic dystopian favorite.
The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden
All Rights Reserved by Gregory Scott Katsoulis
Kat and Meg Conquer the World by Anna Priemaza
The City of Brass by S.A. Chakraborty
2018
I found one great fantasy read after another, which is awesome, honestly. But I also ended up once again finding a book outside my comfort zone, this time a thriller/murder mystery type novel, and that was pretty exciting too.
Sky in the Deep by Adrienne Young
Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi
Stalking Jack the Ripper by Kerri Maniscalco
The Monster of Selkirk Book I: The Duality of Nature by C.E. Clayton
Girls of Paper and Fire by Natasha Ngan
Wicked Saints by Emily A Duncan
2019
The year’s not over yet, but I’ve already found so very many great books: a couple contemporaries, a couple historical fantasies, and a couple straight up fantasies. I’m excited to see what the final few months of 2019 will bring, because it seems like the future of books is bright.
Again, But Better by Christine Riccio
Four Dead Queens by Astrid Scholte
The Philosopher’s Flight by Tom Miller
The Poppy War by R.F. Kuang
The Merciful Crow by Margaret Owen
There Will Come a Darkness by Katy Rose Pool
Well Met by Jen DeLuca (review coming 9/18)
Okay, so this recommendations post has taught me that in the first year of my blog I was bad about posting reviews, which makes sense because I was only posting once a week then and so I didn’t cover many book reviews. This post also shows that I’m finding more great reviews with each year, likely because I’m reading more books with each year that passes.
All right, so what are some of your favorite author debuts? Let me know in the comments and I’ll be back soon with more bookish content.
Free State of Geek 