Top Ten 2023 Books by Debut Authors I’m Excited About

Welcome to another TTT! Before I get into this week’s topic, I wanted to let you know that I visited every single one of the blogs who linked up for last week’s freebie topic! I couldn’t comment on them all, but I loved seeing your creativity and I even stole a few of your topics for future use! Also… while I was out visiting, I discovered that there are so many pretty blogs out there and several do not have white backgrounds for blog posts. This means that when you use the TTT logo/image/header I made for this meme, it sits in a blaring white rectangle on top of your pretty pink/blue/green post box. This simply won’t do. So I have made a TTT logo with a transparent background so you won’t have to deal with the white rectangle anymore. If you like the white rectangle, keep using it! But now you have the option. :) The transparent background TTT image is now in use on the future/past topics page as well as in today’s post, so you can grab it in either place. I can’t guarantee it’ll always be in use on the weekly topics because I might forget and revert to the one I’ve always used, but I’ll try!

Ok, on to this week’s topic! I love supporting new authors, so today I’m sharing some of the 2023 debut I’m excited about! These can be actual brand new authors, age-group-shifting debuts like when a YA author writes their first adult book, or genre-shifting debuts like when an author who has always written romance releases a thriller. I’m mostly going for brand new authors today, but am starting out with a YA author who is making her adult debut!

1. The Hundred Loves of Juliet by Evelyn Skye
(August 1, 2023)

Evelyn has always written YA books, and I’m so excited to check out her adult debut!

When Helene was young, she dreamed of the perfect man and filled her notebooks with stories about him and about love in its purest form. But after a messy divorce, she has let go of such naive fantasies. She has moved to a small town in Alaska, where she is ready to write her novel and build a new life without romance. Fate has other plans, though.

Helene soon meets Sebastien Montague, a handsome fisherman who is her invented hero made flesh, down to the most idiosyncratic details. But how can a man she created possibly exist in the real world?

While Helene tries to discover the truth behind his existence, Sebastien is determined to keep that truth from her, for he is a man scarred by serial tragedy, hiding a secret that has broken his heart time and again. Yet the shadows of the past emerge, endangering Helene and Sebastien’s future before it even begins–and it becomes clear that it won’t be easy to forge a new ending to the greatest love story of all time.

A woman fleeing her disastrous marriage discovers that she is part of a legendary love story that spans lives, years, and continents in this modern-day reimagining of Romeo and Juliet.

2. You, with a View by Jessica Joyce
(July 11, 2023)

Jessica convinced me to read Lisa Kleypas last year and we all know how that went for me, so I’m super excited to read her book after she introduced me to my new favorite author!

Two high school enemies must reunite for a road trip inspired by their grandparents’ broken engagement in this electric debut romance.

Noelle Shepherd is unemployed, living with her parents, and grieving the loss of her beloved grandmother when she discovers decades-old photos of Gram and a smitten man, tucked alongside a love letter. She creates a TikTok to search for the mystery man, which goes viral, and she’s shocked when his grandson responds—a man who happens to be her high school nemesis, Theo Spencer.

Noelle refuses to let Theo’s annoying accomplishments in adulthood—or his sexy smirk—stand in the way of meeting his grandfather and unlocking the secrets he knew about her gram as a young woman. When she learns that their plans to elope were thwarted, Noelle decides to take the honeymoon road trip they planned but never got to carry out. There’s a catch, though: Paul, Theo’s grandfather, asks to come with her, and he insists that Theo join them.

It’ll be a miracle if they make it through the trip without Noelle throwing Theo out of the moving car—or the bed they end up sharing. As the miles tick by, the tension simmers hotter between them…until she discovers that Theo’s hiding a secret that could cause their tenuous relationship to end before it can restart.

3. It Happened One Fight by Maureen Lee Lenker
(July 11, 2023) 

From Entertainment Weekly writer Maureen Lee Lenker comes a swoony romantic comedy set in the world of 1930s film.

Joan Davis is a movie star, and a damned good actor, too. Unfortunately, Hollywood only seems to care when she stars alongside Dash Howard, Tinseltown’s favorite leading man and a perpetual thorn in Joan’s side. She’s sick of his hotshot attitude, his never-ending attempts to get a rise out of her―especially after the night he sold her out to the press on a studio-arranged date. She’ll turn her career around without him. She’s engaged to Hollywood’s next rising star, after all, and preparing to make the film that could finally get her taken seriously. Then, a bombshell drops: thanks to one of his on-set pranks gone wrong, Dash and Joan are legally married.

Reputation on the line, Joan agrees to star alongside Dash one last time and move production to Reno, where divorce is legal after a six-week residency. But between on-set shenanigans, fishing competitions at Lake Tahoe, and intimate moments leaked to the press, Joan begins to see another side to the man she thought she had all figured out, and it becomes harder and harder to convince the public―and herself―that her marriage to Dash is the joke it started out as.

4. Wanderlust by Elle Everhart
(July 4, 2023)

A round-the-world trip with the guy you ghosted? What could possibly go wrong…

When Dylan Coughlan impulsively rings into a radio competition she never expected to win. But now she’s about to travel around the world. The catch? Her travel partner is a random contact from her phone. And of course it had to be Jack the Posho, the man she accidentally ghosted.

The two couldn’t be more different, and as the trip kicks off, Jack seems like he’d sooner fling himself into the sun than have a conversation with Dylan. But more is hinging on this trip than the chance to see the world. If Dylan’s able to make a series about their trip successful, her overbearing boss will give her a chance at a permanent column.

Dylan’s willing to do anything to make this a hit, even if it means embellishing her and Jack’s relationship. But as the column’s popularity grows, so does the bond between Dylan and Jack, and Dylan is forced to consider if the one thing she thought she always wanted is worth the price she’ll have to pay to get there.

Perfect for fans of Emily Henry, The Unhooneymooners and Tessa Bailey

5. Seven Rules for Breaking Hearts by Kristyn J. Miller
(May 16, 2023)

Love breaks all the rules.

Margo Anderson is sworn off commitment. Alongside her best friend, Jo, she runs a viral podcast featuring rules for hooking up without catching feelings. So when Jo surprises her by deciding to get married and taking up a sponsor’s offer to host an all-expenses-paid wedding trip on Catalina Island, they have the whole internet to answer to.

In a scramble for content to appease their disappointed listeners, Margo cooks up a social experiment: Break all her own dating rules, just to prove that it’s a bad idea. And she’s found the best man for the job in the groom’s best friend and her old high school nemesis, Declan Walsh. He may be easier on the eyes than Margo remembered, but he’s sure to be as smug and annoying as he was before—there is no chance Margo will ever catch feelings for him . . . until she does.

The more time they spend together through cake tastings and wedding party activities, the more Margo can’t ignore their obvious spark, and she may actually be enjoying getting to know Declan. But can she let go of the rules to let him in?

6. The Book Proposal by K.J. Micciche
(May 16, 2023)

Broke up with, broke, and with a vicious case of writer’s block, romance writer Gracie Landing is a hot mess. She can hardly be blamed for drinking one (or a few) too many cocktails when out with her besties in an attempt to cheer herself up. Sometime in the foggy wee hours, she recklessly emails her unrequited high-school crush, Colin Yarmouth, who is now a successful attorney harboring regrets of his own. When she receives an intriguingly friendly (not to say flirty) response, her acute embarrassment is overcome only by her fervent curiosity—what would a hottie like Colin be like as a grown up? The two forge an unlikely friendship that’s unmistakably headed for more. Colin’s tales of his own woeful break-up become fodder for Gracie’s fertile imagination and her current work-in-progress takes off. With the deadline looming and her checking account dwindling, Gracie has no idea that borrowing Colin’s story could wreak havoc on her life, her career, and her own chance at happily-ever-after…

7. The Writing Retreat by Julia Bartz
(February 21, 2023)

The Plot meets Please Join Us in this psychological suspense debut about a young author at an exclusive writer’s retreat that descends into a nightmare.

Alex has all but given up on her dreams of becoming a published author when she receives a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity: attend an exclusive, month-long writing retreat at the estate of feminist horror writer Roza Vallo. Even the knowledge that Wren, her former best friend and current rival, is attending doesn’t dampen her excitement.

But when the attendees arrive, Roza drops a bombshell—they must all complete an entire novel from scratch during the next month, and the author of the best one will receive a life-changing seven-figure publishing deal. Determined to win this seemingly impossible contest, Alex buckles down and tries to ignore the strange happenings at the estate, including Roza’s erratic behavior, Wren’s cruel mind games, and the alleged haunting of the mansion itself. But when one of the writers vanishes during a snowstorm, Alex realizes that something very sinister is afoot. With the clock running out, she’s desperate to discover the truth and save herself.

A claustrophobic and propulsive thriller exploring the dark side of friendships and fame, The Writing Retreat is the unputdownable debut novel from a compelling new talent.

8. Text Appeal by Amber Roberts
(August 8, 2023)

In this delightful debut novel perfect for fans of Olivia Dade and Kate Stayman-London, STEM gets steamy when a coder takes up sexting to pay the bills.

As the only woman programmer at her firm, Lark is thrilled to land the lead role managing an account for a huge client. But her dream job quickly becomes a nightmare when she accidentally projects a scandalous (and completely unsolicited) picture from her phone onto the screen during a presentation. Before she can recover, her coworkers jump in to steal the account, leaving Lark jobless and broke.

When a friend suggests text message-based sex work as a stopgap between jobs, Lark is dubious. She’s all about sex-positivity, but carrying out sexual fantasies—even digitally and anonymously—with complete strangers is more than a little daunting. How will she explain how she’s earning a living—especially to Toby, her good friend and longtime hopeless crush?

Still, she needs the money, and after a few (embarrassing and hilarious) false starts, sexting turns out to be not so bad. She might even like it, especially with one particularly charming and nerdy client who keeps popping up in her DMs. But when Toby confesses feelings for Lark, she finds herself with a decision to make: tell Toby that she’s a sex worker—and try to forget the anonymous client whose conversation skills have her struggling to separate work from real feelings—or keep the secrets that are piling up in her inbox.

Sure to appeal to readers of Helen Hoang and Jen DeLuca, Amber Roberts’s Text Appeal celebrates women in STEM, friends becoming lovers, and finding lasting love in the digital age.

9. Mrs. Nash’s Ashes by Sarah Adler
(May 23, 2023)

A starry-eyed romantic, a cynical writer, and (the ashes of) an elderly woman take the road trip of a lifetime that just might upend everything they believe about true love.

Millicent Watts-Cohen is on a mission. When she promised her elderly best friend that she’d reunite her with the woman she fell in love with nearly eighty years ago, she never imagined that would mean traveling from D.C. to Key West with three tablespoons of Mrs. Nash’s remains in her backpack. But Millie’s determined to give her friend a symbolic happily-ever-after, before it’s (really) too late–and hopefully reassure herself of love’s lasting power in the process.

She just didn’t expect to have a living travel companion.

After a computer glitch grounds flights, Millie is forced to catch a ride with Hollis Hollenbeck, an also-stranded acquaintance from her ex’s MFA program. Hollis certainly does not believe in happily-ever-afters–symbolic or otherwise–and makes it quite clear that he can’t fathom Millie’s plan ending well for anyone.

But as they contend with peculiar bed-and-breakfasts, unusual small-town festivals, and deer with a death wish, Millie begins to suspect that her reluctant travel partner might enjoy her company more than he lets on. Because for someone who supposedly doesn’t share her views on romance, Hollis sure is becoming invested in the success of their journey. And the closer they get to their destination, the more Millie has to admit that maybe this trip isn’t just about Mrs. Nash’s love story after all–maybe it’s also about her own.

10. Love Buzz by Neely Tubati Alexander
(May 2, 2023)

A chance romantic encounter during a wild night at a Mardi Gras bachelorette party sends strait-laced Serena Khan’s carefully constructed life into chaos.

A wretched maid of honor. A hangover from hell. Raucous Mardi Gras crowds. There isn’t much Serena Khan is enjoying about this four-day New Orleans destination bachelorette party for her semi-estranged cousin, the bride-to-be—until sparks fly with a handsome stranger, who, like her, is also from Seattle. After their conversation is cut short, Serena is overwhelmed by the desire to find the charming man with the brooding eyebrows, but her list of clues is pretty short:

His name is Julian.
He lives on Chamber Hill.
He works at a tech company.
He loves Lil Wayne and Nirvana.

The need to find him is, for Serena, both irresistible and totally irrational. In a few short weeks, her college alumni magazine is featuring her in a “Life at Thirty” feature, cementing her as a success story. She will have officially achieved the safe, stable life her late mother insisted upon. Julian is not part of the plan.

As she combs Seattle for her New Orleans flame, stripping away the perfectly curated life that would have made her mother proud, Serena must decide if the pursuit of real passion is worth it—and fast, before she destroys the life she always thought she wanted.

Which debuts are you looking forward to this year?