Must-Read Debut Novels

In this wise and warm debut novel, an Italian American grandmother, daughter, and granddaughter all named after the Roman myth of the Three Graces find their lives—and their secrets—colliding when, after years apart, they come to live under the same roof.
 

A paramilitary operative confronting his grief on a path of retribution. A CIA analyst hunting a conspiracy that leads to the Oval Office. A Russian agent hiding in plain sight. Jason Matthews’s Red Sparrow meets Jack Carr’s The Terminal List in Beyond Honor, a debut political thriller that plunges readers into a world of international espionage, where loyalty and duty are tested.
 

Three generations of the Ansaldo family grapple with the aftermath of a tragic murder in this sweeping, cinematic debut set in 1980s Rome, for fans of Elena Ferrante and Liz Moore.
 

Based on a true story, an exquisitely illustrated, singular graphic novel about a life-changing friendship between a seventeen-year-old girl and the dying stranger who moves into her family’s home.
 

A dreamy debut novel about the summer love that changes two girls at the edge of adulthood.
 

The solo debut from the New York Times bestselling coauthor of Widow's Point: The Complete Haunting, a post-apocalyptic/survival horror novel written in the bestselling traditions of Stephen King’s The Mist and Josh Malerman’s Bird Box.
 

"A delicious treat of a novel! Heartfelt, hilarious, poignant, and lovely!" —Sarah Beth Durst, New York Times bestselling author of The Spellshop

Steel Magnolias meets Practical Magic in this charming contemporary fantasy about a thirty-something kitchen witch who is recruited to help a reclusive warlock and discovers love on the other side of the next bake.
 

Nora Ephron meets The Hangover in this screwball romantic comedy and family drama with a big, beating heart, set in the sun-bleached neon of Las Vegas.
 

For fans of The Love of My Afterlife and The Seven Year Slip, Reese’s Book Club LitUp Fellow Natalie Messier’s heartfelt contemporary romance debut follows a woman who gets a second chance at a formative time in her adult life—this time to win the “one that got away.”
 

“Tender, lyrical, and brimming with the small moments that shape an impossibly long life. Tordoff is an author to watch.” —Shea Ernshaw, #1 New York Times bestselling author

A jaded immortal woman and a time traveler fall in love across the centuries, learning what it means to really live and love before their time together runs out. Perfect for fans of The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue and The Ministry of Time.

In the vein of Pineapple Street and Such a Fun Age, a smart, heartfelt debut novel about two expecting mothers navigating motherhood, family life, and female friendship, whose bond is threatened by a shocking revelation.
 

A debut novel for fans of Jane Austen, Elin Hilderbrand, and Gilmore Girls, Worse Than Strangers is a beachy retelling of Austen’s Persuasion set against the backdrop of a cottage on Nantucket about finding romance, second chances, and a new path in life.
 

Bunny meets The Craft in this speculative debut about four best friends who perform a ritual on the moon in a last-ditch attempt to hold onto one another but are forced to reckon with the consequences.
 

For fans of Lessons in Chemistry and Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine, a bold, big concept debut about a secret club of women who risk everything to ask the question: If you could be anyone…who would you dare to become?