A Month of Favorites: Best Debuts of 2014 (5 Faves by a Theme)

A Month of Favorites

For the month of December, I’m participating in A Month of Favorites hosted by GirlxoxoTraveling with T and Estella’s Revenge. We’ll be sharing our favorite reading experiences from 2014. 

As part of A Month of Favorites, we’re asked to share our 5 Faves by a Theme. As I mentioned in yesterday’s review of my reading year, I’ve had great success with debuts this year! In fact, debuts are shaping up to comprise a third of my overall Best Books of 2014 List! So, this list will contain more than 5 books…because there were just more than 5 great ones!

My Favorite Debut of 2014

The Wife, The Maid, and The Mistress, Ariel Lawhon, Tammany Hall, Joseph Crater disappearanceThe Wife, the Maid, and the Mistress by Ariel Lawhon (full review)
This fiction based on true crime novel about a New York State Supreme Court Judge who disappeared in 1930 is the book I recommended the most this year. And, it’s in the running for my overall favorite book of 2014.
Affiliate Link: Buy from Amazon

Best Debuts of 2014

Best Debuts of 2014

An Untamed State by Roxane Gay (full review coming soon)
This novel about the kidnapping of the daughter of a wealthy Haitian construction magnate   is horrifying and gut-wrenching. Though it’s emotionally difficult to read, I was enthralled.
Affiliate Link: Buy from Amazon

Black Chalk by Christopher J. Yates (full review)
In this psychological thriller, six best friends at Oxford University decide to play “a game of consequences, silly forfeits, and childish dares”, which devolves into humiliation and tragedy. Think The Hunger Games meets The Secret History meets The Interestings. Black Chalk was probably my biggest surprise of the year and a book I recommended often.
Affiliate Link: Buy from Amazon

Dollbaby by Laura Lane McNeal (full review)
The “tell it like it is” characters and enveloping New Orleans setting steal the show in this novel of “Southern eccentricities and secrets” set in the 1960’s-70’s. Dollbaby was a favorite from my Summer Reading List!
Affiliate Link: Buy from Amazon

Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng (full review)
The story of a Chinese-American family living in 1970’s Ohio whose shining star of a daughter (Lydia) turns up dead in the first line of the book. This one is part mystery (what happened to Lydia?) and part portrait of a family dealing with tragedy and being outsiders. Amazon recently named Everything I Never Told You the Best Book of 2014.
Affiliate Link: Buy from Amazon

The Martian by Andy Weir (full review)
Astronaut Mark Watney (who, incidentally, is hilarious) gets stuck on Mars and must try to survive against the odds in this inspirational novel that’s a little reminiscent of the movie “Castaway”. And, The Martian gets a gold star for actually getting me to like a Science Fiction book.
Affiliate Link: Buy from Amazon

Shotgun Lovesongs by Nickolas Butler (full review)
The characters and the “yes, that’s exactly how it is” writing made me love this novel about old friends and the restorative qualities of home. Shotgun Lovesongs made Bookpage’s Top 50 Books of the Year List and will also be on my Best Books of 2014 List (coming on December 16).
Affiliate Link: Buy from Amazon

We Are Not Ourselves by Matthew Thomas (full review)
This emotional saga about a family trying to live the post-WWII American Dream while dealing with a health tragedy was heart-wrenching. It’s long and takes a bit of time to pick up steam, but is overall an extremely powerful book.
Affiliate Link: Buy from Amazon

Whiskey Tango Foxtrot by David Shafer (full review)
Well-drawn characters and a snarky writing style drew me to this thriller about a secret cabal trying to take over all the information in the world and the people trying to take them down.
Affiliate Link: Buy from Amazon


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21 Comments

  1. I read The Wife, The Maid, & The Mistress (adored) and Shotgun Lovesongs (LOVED) but the rest of those are on my mental tbr. I’m sure you know what I mean…that giant list in our head of all the books we want to get to 😉 Great list!

    Posted 12.2.14 Reply
  2. You have a great group of books here! A few I need to check out 😉

    Posted 12.2.14 Reply
  3. Megan wrote:

    I love excellent debuts, and these all sound great. I’ve got Dollbaby waiting on my shelf, but the rest of these will need to report directly to my wish list!

    Posted 12.2.14 Reply
  4. And just like that, my reading list has expanded because of this list! The Martian and Bad Feminist are now added – oh and Black Chalk because that cover is begging me to read it – it’s so awesome.

    Posted 12.2.14 Reply
  5. Great choices! I see lots of books on my own TBR. Gives me hope! lol

    Posted 12.2.14 Reply
  6. I don’t guess I realized that you’d reviewed Shotgun Lovesongs; I’d heard mixed things about it, even though I was really interested when it came out, and never got around to reading it. Thanks for the reminder and a great review! Why are there so many books that I want to read?!? GAH! Great post, Sarah!

    Posted 12.2.14 Reply
    • admin wrote:

      I think I reviewed it before we’d found each other’s blogs! It was early in the year. It’s a character novel…not tons happens with the plot, which could be why the reviews were mixed. The writing was amazing, which is what made it for me!

      Posted 12.2.14 Reply
  7. Bellezza wrote:

    I got 3/4 of the way through We Are Not Ourselves and somehow just became bogged down, although I did appreciate the writing very much. I also own Whiskey, Tango, Foxtrot, but I haven’t read it yet. Guess I ought to!

    I tried to leave a comment yesterday, but my computer was having none of it. Still, I’m enjoying your posts.

    Posted 12.2.14 Reply
    • admin wrote:

      I did think We Are Not Ourselves was slow in the beginning (esp the early focus on Eileen’s childhood), but I really got into once the focus changed to Ed.

      I got your comment and approved it – you should see it now!
      Thanks for stopping by!

      Posted 12.2.14 Reply
  8. Yes, those are all some great debuts! Loved An Untamed State!

    Posted 12.2.14 Reply
  9. Martha G wrote:

    Just finished Dollbaby and liked it, Shotgun Lovesongs was one of my favorite reads of 2014. All the others, except Black Chalk, are on my TBR list.

    Posted 12.2.14 Reply
  10. Some very strong, impressive debuts here. Thanks for sharing them!

    Posted 12.2.14 Reply
  11. great list! I still need to read The Martian!

    Posted 12.2.14 Reply
  12. All the love for An Untamed State! I enjoyed We Are Not Ourselves but didn’t quite love it.

    I’ve heard good things about Shotgun Love Songs, and I really want to read The Martian!

    Posted 12.3.14 Reply
  13. Colleen wrote:

    We Are Not Ourselves was excellent and definitely on my top books of 2014. It is so well-written and the story of the family just pulled me in – even though their struggles were not extraordinary.

    Posted 12.9.14 Reply
    • admin wrote:

      I’m with you…as soon as they got done with Eileen’s childhood and moved onto her life with Ed and Connell, I was all in!

      Posted 12.9.14 Reply

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