Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly bookish meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. It’s a fun way to get to know fellow bloggers while simultaneously enjoying the fun of a list! And what’s more, a list about BOOKS! What could be better?
January 15th: Top Ten 2013 Debuts I’m Looking Forward To
This is a list I needed to make, so thanks to those at The Broke and the Bookish because without it, I might still be wondering how I was going to get anywhere near my goals with the Debut Author Challenge this year.
1) The Cadet of Tildor by Alex Lidell – On the one hand, if you’ve been following this blog for at least a little while, the fact that The Cadet of Tildor is on this list shouldn’t surprise you because, hello, it’s blurbed as Tamora Pierce meets George R. R. Martin and my love for Tamora Pierce is well-documented. But I was in SUCH a blogging funk last year, that this completely escaped my notice until some rave reviews started catching my attention. And NOW I’m chomping at the bit for it. [January 10, from Dial] [On Goodreads | On Amazon
2) Level 2 by Lenore Appelhans – When I went to BEA last year, Level 2 was one of those “Unicorn” ARCs… with sightings so rare, they seemed mythical. I attended an event at Books of Wonder where Lenore spoke and I am still thinking about her “tagline:” “Run for your afterlife.” I’ve wanted to read Level 2 since then. [January 15, from Simon & Schuster] [On Goodreads | On Amazon
3) Prophecy by Ellen Oh- Okay, there are a lot of comparisons being drawn between this one and Graceling, and lots of people on le internet seem to be finding that it’s falling a bit short of those parallels, but I don’t NEED it to be Graceling. I just want it to be some quality fantasy. [January 2, from HarperTeen] [On Goodreads | On Amazon
4) Splintered by A.G. Howard- No secret that I’m a sucker for an interesting retelling or spin on classics, and Splintered, a spin on Alice in Wonderland, seems like one that fits that criteria. PLUS, the MC might be a little cray-cray and I love a well-done unreliable narrator. [January 1, from Amulet Books] [On Goodreads | On Amazon
5) Etiquette and Espionage by Gail Carringer- SPIES! STEAMPUNK-ery! Spies and such are another thing that I love in novels and don’t see enough of. I am REAL excited to tear into this one. [February 5, from Little, Brown Books for Young Readers] [On Goodreads | On Amazon
6) City of a Thousand Dolls by Miriam Forster- OH LOOK, another fantasy novel. Shocker, right? But not only does City of a Thousand Dolls sound like it is going to have an awesome plotline, but I am crossing my fingers for a different sort of world that is splendidly built (along the lines of Shadow & Bone and The Girl of Fire and Thorns). Cross your fingers with me, please and thank you! [February 5, from HarperTeen] [On Goodreads | On Amazon
7) Linked by Imogen Howson- I first heard of this one when I took a YA writing course with literary agent and author, Mandy Hubbard. Hubbard used Howson’s query of a girl who finds out she’s psychically linked to a twin sister on the run that she never knew about as a strong query example and I’d say that it did the job because almost every student in the class, along with myself, had the same question: WHEN CAN I READ THIS? [June 11, from Simon & Schuster] [On Goodreads | On Amazon
8) Starglass by Phoebe North- This sounds like some legit sci-fi with a heroine in situations just this side of impossible. Murder, betrayal, deception, and space ships? Sounds like a recipe for a compelling plot to me! [July 23, from Simon & Schuster] [On Goodreads | On Amazon
9) Maid of Secrets by Jennifer McGowan- MOAR SPIES! But guys, guys, GUYS, this one is a historical novel centering around a female spy in QUEEN ELIZABETH’S COURT. Ohmigosh, GIMME. This sounds like just my kind of book. [May 7, from Simon & Schuster] [On Goodreads | On Amazon
10) The Rules for Disappearing by Ashley Elston- LOL, I think this is the only contemporary debut on my list (which is funny since the 2013 Contemporary Challenge is one of the few I’m participating in). But this centers around a teen in the Witness Protection Program with her family– only she’s never known why. I find the idea of the WPP fascinating and think constant identity shifting could make for some NICE internal conflicts. I hope I’m right! [May 14, from Disney Hyperion] [On Goodreads | On Amazon
Which debuts made your list?
