Debut Novels

Playing Books & Bites Bingo? Try these debut novels.

Updated August 11, 2025
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33 Place Brugmann
Austen, Alice
Paper Book
**The international bestseller** An unforgettable historical debut set in Second World War Brussels: exploring love, resistance and courage in all their forms 'I adored it ... It finds courage and love amidst the ruins, and I read with my heart in my...
Legends & lattes : a novel of high fantasy and low stakes
Baldree, Travis
Paper Book
An Instant New York Times Bestseller A Barnes & Noble Best Book of 2022 A Library Reads Pick An Indie Next Pick A Goodreads Best Fantasy Choice Award Nominee The much-beloved BookTok sensation, Travis Baldree's novel of high...
The Ministry of Time
Bradley, Kaliane.
Paper Book
A 2024 literary highlight in the Sunday Times, BBC, Grazia, Dazed, Sunday Express, GQ, i-D, Stylist, Bookseller and Literary Friction'Outrageously brilliant' ELEANOR CATTON'Make room on your bookshelves for a new...
The Book of Doors
Brown, Gareth.
Paper Book
The spell-binding, mind-bending, heart-pounding fantasy adventure and instant Sunday Times bestseller, perfect for fans of The Binding, The Midnight Library and A Discovery of Witches. **ONE OF GOODREADS' TOP 6 MOST-READ DEBUTS OF 2024** *...
To gaze upon wicked gods
Chang, Molly X.
Paper Book
A No. 1 and Sunday Times Bestseller! Red Queen meets These Violent Delights and Iron Widow in the epic first book in the captivating anti-colonial fantasy series, Gods Beyond the Skies. This gorgeous hardback features special cover finishes, a secret...
All that life can afford : a novel
Everett, Emily
Paper Book
A REESE'S BOOK CLUB PICK "An effervescent debut chock full of Austenian nods. Swoonworthy!" --Sarah McCoy, New York Times bestselling author of Mustique Island "All That Life Can Afford is about love, ambition, and the cost of belonging, and I cannot...
Mrs Quinn's Rise to Fame
Ford, Olivia.
Paper Book
In their sixty years together, Jennifer Quinn has only kept two secrets from her husband. One is that her love of baking has just won her a spot as a contestant on primetime TV show Britain Bakes. The other she hopes will stay hidden forever . . . Whisked into an unfamiliar world...
Lessons in chemistry
Garmus, Bonnie
Paper Book
THE FUNNY AND INSPIRING, MULTI-AWARD-WINNING BESTSELLER WITH MORE THAN 8 MILLION COPIES SOLD, now a major Apple TV+ series starring Brie Larson A Book of the Year for: Guardian, Times, Sunday Times, New York Times, Good House Keeping, Woman & Home, Stylist, TLS Oprah...
The husbands
Gramazio, Holly
Paper Book
A thrillingly original debut, THE HUSBANDS brilliantly asks how we navigate life, love, and choice in a world of never-ending options. "Brilliant, hilarious, surprising and wise. I devoured it!" --Naomi Alderman,  NYT bestselling author of THE POWER. Thirty-something Lauren...
We used to live here
Kliewer, Marcus
Paper Book
House of Leaves meets Parasite in this gripping and eerily haunting debut psychological horror, soon to be a Netflix film starring Blake Lively. Perfect for fans of Stephen King and Leave the World Behind. ⭐ Winner of Reddit NoSleep Scariest...
The life cycle of the common octopus
Knight, Emma.
Paper Book
River east, river west : a novel
Lescure, Aube Rey
Paper Book
SHORTLISTED FOR THE WOMEN'S PRIZE FOR FICTION Set against the backdrop of developing modern China, this mesmerizing literary debut is part coming-of-age tale, part family and social drama, as it follows two generations searching for belonging and opportunity in a rapidly changing world-...
How to solve your own murder
Perrin, Kristen
Paper Book
*THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER* 'VERY funny' Jennie Godfrey 'Smart, twisty, and original' Heat 'Terrific' J. M. Hall 'Superb' Glamour 'Wildly original' Elly Griffiths
Greta & Valdin
Reilly, Rebecca K.
Paper Book
SHORTLISTED FOR THE WATERSTONES DEBUT FICTION PRIZE 2024 THE INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER 'Delightfully confident . . . a total pleasure' TIMES 'Warm, witty and utterly idiosyncratic' ALICE SLATER 'Hilarious, touching and hotly sublime'...
Sugar, baby
Saintclare, Celine
Paper Book
From the high-rises of Canary Wharf to the turquoise pools of Miami, introducing SUGAR, BABY: the most darkly funny, shocking, intoxicating read of the summer . . . Perfect for fans of Luster, Queenie, Insatiable, BBC's Clique and HBO's Industry.
Lincoln in the bardo : a novel
Saunders, George
Paper Book
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * WINNER OF THE MAN BOOKER PRIZE The "devastatingly moving" (People) first novel from the author of Tenth of December: a moving and original father-son story featuring none other than Abraham Lincoln, as well as an unforgettable cast...
White teeth
Smith, Zadie
Paper Book
One of the most iconic fictional debuts of all time turns 25 this year! 'What's past is prologue...' First published in the year 2000, Zadie Smith's White Teeth was one of the most celebrated novels of the new millennium. Adored by critics and readers alike...
The secret history
Tartt, Donna
Paper Book
Truly deserving of the accolade Modern Classic, Donna Tartt's cult bestseller The Secret History is a remarkable achievement - incredibly compelling, dramatic and playful. Under the influence of their charismatic classics professor, a group of clever, eccentric misfits at...
Listen for the lie
Tintera, Amy
Paper Book
Am I a murderer? You tell me . . . Lucy Chase can't remember anything about the night her best friend was murdered. Lucky her, you're probably thinking. Who would want that to be their last memory of someone they love? But for Lucy, it's become an issue....
The dictionary of lost words
Williams, Pip
Paper Book
The safekeep : a novel
Wouden, Yael van der
Paper Book
WINNER OF THE WOMEN'S PRIZE 2025 SHORTLISTED FOR THE BOOKER PRIZE 2024 SHORTLISTED FOR THE DYLAN THOMAS PRIZE 2025 SHORTLISTED FOR THE WALTER SCOTT PRIZE 2025 LONGLISTED FOR THE WINGATE PRIZE 2025 An exhilarating tale of twisted desire, histories and...

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