By Caitlin Taylor So
As we approach the halfway point of 2024, there’s still new beginnings to look forward to. Keep an eye out for these books by debut authors—some the first in a series—and you might just find new favorites and obsessions! Click on the titles to find out more!
- So Let Them Burn by Kamilah Cole (Divine Traitors #1) – January 16, 2024
Pick up this Jamaican-inspired fantasy and follow along Faron Vincent, a heroine blessed by the gods as she decides between saving her flesh and blood, her older sister Elara, or protecting the island she calls home, the dragon-riding Langley Empire. After Elara has bonded with an enemy dragon, Faron is called to an international peace summit and learns from the gods that the only way to break her sister’s bond is to kill her. Faron is desperate for another solution, unaware that this will lead her down a dark path.
- You Know What You Did by K.T. Nguyen – April 16, 2024
Annie “Anh Le” Shaw is a first-generation Vietnamese American artist with the perfect life: dream career, beautiful home, and stable family. Watch how quickly each aspect of her life unravels when her mom, a Vietnam war refugee, dies suddenly one night. The line between Annie’s fixations and reality blurs wildly as her obsessive-compulsive tendencies and generational trauma resurface. A prominent art patron disappears mysteriously, and the ensuing investigation narrows in on Annie who starts to question and push everything that was once certain about her life away. As she finds herself in increasingly troubling situations, she can only hold onto the one thing that will never change: her love and willingness to do anything to protect her daughter.
- Perfect Little Monsters by Cindy R.X. He – May 7, 2024
Ella Moore, the queen bee of Sierton High School, has been murdered. The scene of the crime? Her party with too many suspects, all with a potential motive. The police’s prime suspect? The new girl, Dawn Foster, who was the last person to hand Ella a drink. Dawn, however, will not give in. She’s taken it upon herself to clear her name and uncover the truth before the next murder occurs.
- Road to Ruin by Hana Lee (Magebike Courier #1) – May 14, 2024
Jump into this electrifying, gritty, high-speed fantasy world with Jin-Lu, a magebike courier who ventures outside the domed cities on a motorcycle powered by magic. It’s the most dangerous job in the wasteland. Every day, she must brave storms, marauders, and beasts to deliver her cargo. The most previous one being the letters to Princess Yi-Nereen from the prince. The princess is miserable in the clutches of her abusive family and soon-to-be-husband. Jin, in love with both the princess and prince, can’t ignore Yi-Nereen’s pleas for help. Together, the princess and magebike courier flee across the wastes, pursued by the abusive father, the scheming betrothed, and a bounty hunter with powers.
- The Girl With No Reflection by Keshe Chow – August 6, 2024
Princess Ying Yue was once a romantic who believed in love. Until she’s chosen to marry the crown prince, who is cold, indifferent, and cruel, confining Ying to her room for reasons he won’t disclose. Then there are the rumors of the seven other royal brides who mysteriously disappeared after their weddings…
With no one but her own reflection to keep her company, Ying begins to see things. Movements in the corner of her mirror and colorful lights upon its surface. On the eve of her wedding, she somehow tears open a gateway and falls into the mirror world. There she meets the Mirror Prince, who, unlike his real-life counterpart, is kind, compassionate, and loving, and reignites Ying’s trust in love. But before Ying can get too carried away, she must figure out how to bridge the gap between these two worlds. By the time the other brides understood their role, it was too late.
- If I Stopped Haunting You by Colby Wilkens – October 15, 2024
Get ready for this spooky, fun enemies to lovers romance between two feuding writers who end up on a haunted writers’ retreat in a Scottish castle.
Successful horror author Penelope Skinner threw a book at bestselling author Neil Storm months ago. Both authors are struggling to start on their next project and unwittingly meet again at this retreat. Little do they know, they have entered a horror story come to life as ghosts lurk and attack them at every corner.
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Born and raised in Queens, Caitlin Taylor So is a Chinese-Vietnamese writer who is passionate about prioritizing and amplifying marginalized voices. She graduated from Emerson College with a degree in publishing and marketing. Her writing can be found on Business Insider, PopSugar, WebMD, and Her Campus Media.