As 2023 comes to a close and we reflect on some of our favorite reads of the year, it goes without saying that finding some of the freshest new voices helped us get out of reading slumps and ignore our sleep schedule. Here are some of our favorite new voices and our favorite debuts from 2023!
First things first, here is the book that you, the She Reads audience, voted as the Best Debut of 2023:
The Chain-Gang All Stars by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah
If she’s lucky, Loretta Thurwar is about to be freed from prison. Her lover and teammate, Hamara “Hurrican Staxxx” Stacker are the stars of the Chain-Gang All Stars where they compete in death matches in exchange for their freedom. As Thurwar shows defiance to the games, the Criminal Action Penal Entertainment (CAPE) – the popular and controversial program – will stop at nothing to keep the status quo.
Congrats Nana!
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Now, make sure you check some more of these astounding debut novels from 2023!
Stone Cold Fox by Rachel Koller Croft
Bea is no stranger to swindling men. Her mother taught her how to do this at a very young age and now as an adult, Bea wants to marry a man who is filthy rich. Bea finds her perfect target in the blue-blooded and wealthy Collin Case but proves that things might not be as easy as she expects when she’s trying to get approval from Collin’s family and his best friend, Gale Wallace-Leicester.
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The Quiet Tenant by Clemence Michallon
From the outside looking in, Aidan Thomas seems to be a respectable and kind man who lives in upstate New York. In reality, Aidan is a kidnapper and serial killer who has murdered eight women while the ninth victim, Rachel, is locked in his backyard shed. When Aidan and his thirteen-year-old daughter, Cecilia, decide to move, Aidan has no choice but to take Rachel along with them. In their new town, local restaurant owner, Emily, finds herself crushing on Aidan and is about to get too close to the truth about his relationship with Rachel.
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Love Buzz by Neely Tubati Alexander
Serena Khan is not having an exceptional time on the four-day New Orleans destination bachelorette party for her cousin, the bride-to-be. Through the foggy hangovers and the insane Madi Gras crowd, Serena meets a handsome man from Seattle – also where she’s from – only for their conversation to be cut short. Once back in Seattle, Serena is on a mission to find this man.
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Maame by Jessica George
Maddie is her father’s primary caregiver and a woman trying to find her place in the world. When her mother returns from Ghana, Maggie takes this as an opportunity to have new experiences in new places.
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How I’ll Kill You by Ren DeStefano
Sissy is the most normal one in her family between her and her two serial killer sisters, who leave nothing but destruction in their wake. Now that they’ve arrived in Arizona, it’s Sissy’s turn to make a man fall in love with her only to kill him. Her target is the wider Edison, but the problem isn’t that Sissy isn’t capable of murder. It’s that Sissy is actually falling in love with Edison as her restless sisters remind her that someone has to die.
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In Memoriam by Alice Winn
During World War I, the war seems like it’s in a different world for Henry Gaunt, Sidney Ellwood, and their classmates who reside at their boarding school in the English countryside. Henry, who is half-German, is infatuated with Sidney and completely unaware the feelings are mutual. When Henry’s family asks him to enlist, he does so to escape his feelings only for Sidney to join him.
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Don’t Forget the Girl by Rebecca McKanna
Jon Allan Blue is a serial killer who is about to be executed as two estranged friends, Chelsea and Bree, reunite. The two friends are frustrated to find that Blue’s crimes and news of his execution overshadow their friend Abby’s disappearance from twelve years ago. Although Abby was believed to have been a victim of Blue’s, her body was never found and now a podcast is about to make Jon Allan Blue their new subject.
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Really Good, Actually by Monica Heisey
At the age of twenty-nine, Maggie is broke, stuck with her graduate thesis, and divorced. Trying to find herself with hobbies, Maggie decides now is the best time to start dating again. With the support of her friend, Amy, and her group chat, Maggie navigates the first year of her new single life.
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The Bandit Queens by Parini Shroff
Five years ago, Geeta’s husband left her and she has no idea where he went. The entire village in India that Geeta lives in believes she killed him. When the other women in the village begin to seek Geeta out for advice in how to get rid of their husbands, the peace she was experiencing with everyone leaving her alone comes to an end. When one woman’s plans go south, everything is about to change for all of the women in the village, including Geeta.
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