In the upcoming March 15th issue of Library Journal, HarperCollins will be running an ad featuring books near and dear to our hearts—summer debuts! Keep reading for further details about the scintillating first novels featured in the ad, and be sure to get your subscription to Library Journal by clicking here.
***
The Jane Austen Project by Kathleen A. Flynn
Perfect for fans of Jane Austen, this engrossing debut novel offers an unusual twist on the legacy of one of the world’s most celebrated and beloved authors: two researchers from the future are sent back in time to meet Jane and recover a suspected unpublished novel.
"In her debut novel, Kathleen A. Flynn…creat[es] a vivid portrait of Regency England in all its glory and squalor. Flynn illuminates the stark contrasts between that era and our own, and movingly depicts the heartbreak of those who might try to travel between the two." —Lauren Belfer,
author of And After the Fire and A Fierce Radiance
Click here to download the egalley from Edelweiss
Sycamore by Bryn Chancellor
An award-winning writer hailed as "amazing, sensitive, and thoughtful" by Kevin Wilson makes her debut with this mesmerizing page-turner in the spirit of Everything I Never Told You and Olive Kitteridge: a coming of age story, a mystery, and a moving exploration of the elemental forces that drive human nature—desire, loneliness, grief, love, forgiveness, and hope—witnessed through the lives of one small Arizona town.
"Bryn Chancellor explores the complexities of a small-town girlhood with insight and compassion. A page-turner and a heart-breaker, Sycamore marks the arrival of a shining new voice."
—Tayari Jones, author of Silver Sparrow
Click here to download the egalley from Edelweiss
She Rides Shotgun by Jordan Harper
A propulsive, gritty novel about a girl marked for death who must fight and steal to stay alive, learning from the most frightening man she knows—her father.
"In Polly McClusky, the eleven-year-old girl at the heart of his darkly irresistible debut novel She Rides Shotgun, Jordan Harper gives us a hero for our times. With shades of Mattie Ross but an intelligence and fervor all her own, she is unforgettable."
—Megan Abbott, author of You Will Know Me
Click here to download the egalley from Edelweiss
Good Karma by Christina Kelly
In the tradition of Mary Kay Andrews and Dorothea Benton Frank, a charming, heartfelt tale of love lost and regained in a gated community in Savannah, Georgia.
"Normal dogs and abnormal people provide an entertaining glimpse of lives in transition in Good Karma. This charming novel is full of unique characters with twists and turns I did not see coming!" —W. Bruce Cameron, New York Times bestselling author of A Dog's Way Home and A Dog's Purpose
Click here to download the egalley from Edelweiss
Our Little Racket by Angelica Baker
A captivating debut about wealth, envy, and secrets: the story of five women whose lives are dramatically changed by the downfall of a financial titan.
"Our Little Racket is a gratifying peek over the hedgerows of Greenwich, laden with delicious anthropological detail. But like a modern day Henry James, Angelica Baker uses the lives of the one percent to explore themes—of love and loyalty, family and friendship—that matter to all of us."
—Rumaan Alam, author of Rich and Pretty
Click here to download the egalley from Edelweiss
The End of Men by Karen Rinaldi
Four New York City women push the boundaries of convention to live life according to their own rules. The novel that inspired the acclaimed Rebecca Miller film Maggie’s Plan, starring Julianne Moore, Ethan Hawke, and Greta Gerwig.
"Karen Rinaldi’s The End of Men is in every way marvelous. A sharply drawn story—or more accurately, stories—that gets everything right. Warm hearted but painfully close to the bone." —Anthony Bourdain
Click here to download the egalley from Edelweiss
My Sister's Bones by Nuala Ellwood
In the vein of Fiona Barton’s The Widow and Renée Knight’s Disclaimer, My Sister's Bones is a psychological thriller about a war reporter who returns to her childhood home after her mother’s death and becomes convinced that all is not well in the house next door—but is what she’s seeing real or a symptom of the trauma she suffered in Syria?
"A formidable debut thriller, My Sister's Bones rivals The Girl on the Train as a compulsive read (and beats it for style)." —The Observer (London)
Click here to download the egalley from Edelweiss
Like a Fly on the Wall by Simone Kelly
From talented debut author Simone Kelly comes this suspenseful novel that crackles with intrigue, sex, and plenty of surprises—perfect for fans of Zane and Carl Weber.
"Simone Kelly is a welcome new voice to the fiction genre. She has crafted a modern-day hero who breaks the mold of the traditional archetype and a heroine that is sure to be his match. An entertaining read." —Donna Hill, bestselling author of My Love at Last and What Mother Never Told Me
Click here to download the egalley from Edelweiss
The Lost Ones by Sheena Kamal
A dark, compulsively readable psychological suspense debut, the first in a new series featuring the brilliant, fearless, chaotic, and deeply flawed Nora Watts—a character as heartbreakingly troubled, emotionally complex, and irresistibly compelling as Stieg Larsson’s Lisbeth Salander and Jo Nesbø’s Harry Hole.
Click here to download the egalley from Edelweiss
Talon of God by Wesley Snipes and Ray Norman
The acclaimed actor makes his fiction debut with this enthralling urban fantasy in which a holy warrior must convince a doctor with no faith to help stop a powerful demon and his minions from succeeding in creating hell on earth—a thrilling adventure of science and faith, good and evil, damnation and salvation.
Check back soon for the egalley!
The Half-Drowned King by Linnea Hartsuyker
An exhilarating saga of the Vikings that conjures a brutal, superstitious, and thrilling ninth-century world and the birth of a kingdom—the debut installment in a historical literary trilogy that combines the bold imagination and sweeping narrative power of Game of Thrones, Vikings, and Outlander.
"Lovers of epic rejoice! Hartsuyker illuminates these old stories with authority and visceral detail, bringing to life the adventure, bleak beauty and human struggle that lies at their heart. A vivid and gripping read." —Madeline Miller, author of The Song of Achilles
Click here to download the egalley from Edelweiss
Rebellion by Molly Patterson
A luminous cross-generational story that recalls the works of Jane Smiley and Isabel Allende, this sweeping debut novel tells the stories of four women who dare to challenge the boundaries of their circumscribed lives.
"Molly Patterson is a writer of the first order, and her debut novel is a revelatory, immersive miracle. Ambitious in scope and exacting in its language, Rebellion becomes a grand exploration of fate and circumstance. It becomes its own wondrous universe." —Claire Vaye Watkins, author of Gold Fame Citrus
Click here to download the egalley from Edelweiss
The Dress in the Window by Sofia Grant
A perfect debut novel is like a perfect dress—it’s a must have and when you try it on, it fits perfectly. In this richly patterned story of sisterhood, ambition, and reinvention, Sofia Grant has created a story just right for fans of Vintage and The Dress Shop of Dreams.
"In The Dress in the Window, Sofia Grant writes about sisters and mothers with a hand as deft as the needles her characters wield. This gorgeous novel transports and transforms, leaving the reader reluctant to step away from its pages."
—Rachael Herron, author of The Ones Who Matter Most
Click here to download the egalley from Edelweiss
The Sworn Virgin by Kristopher Dukes
Dukes’s gripping historical novel tells the tale of a desperate Albanian woman who will do whatever it takes to keep her independence and seize control of her future…even if it means swearing to remain a virgin for her entire life.
"Dukes has chosen an engaging setting for this novel, with its mix of medieval and modern elements, and fleshes it out with vivid details…. A compelling story of a woman’s trauma and strength." —Kirkus Reviews
Check back soon for the egalley!
The Lightkeeper's Daughters by Jean E. Pendziwol
With the haunting atmosphere and emotional power of The Language of Flowers, Orphan Train, and The Light Between Oceans, critically acclaimed children’s author Jean E. Pendziwol’s adult debut is an affecting story of family, identity, and art that involves a decades-old mystery.
"Even more than its vivid evocation of a unique time and place, The Lightkeeper's Daughters is a sensitive and moving examination of the nature of identity, the importance of family, and the possibility of second chances." —Heather Young, author of The Lost Girls
Click here to download the egalley from Edelweiss
***
Read any of these titles and want to share your thoughts? Email us at librarylovefest@harpercollins.com. Finding yourself intrigued but want to know more? Again, email us! For more exciting news on upcoming debut and midlist authors, check out our Under the Radar, Over the Moon video series here.
-Chris