2025 Best Debut Novel
In a war-torn land where the spiritual and the material are blurred, an ambitious bard who falls out of favor with his powerful superiors and falls into a life of grace, freedom, and fulfillment when he joins the followers of an ancient Lord and embraces their paradoxical path of light and life.
When a dusty old diary turns up in a Paris apartment during renovations, a curious photographer unearths the lost life of Cécile Dubonnet—a woman nearly erased by war, silence, and time—and discovers that some stories refuse to stay buried, no matter how much the world moves on.
A Sentient AI from an ancient civilization, transported to earth on a meteor fragment, infects then is unleased on the Internet and quickly ceases control of B-613, a shadow, deep-state cabal that has circumvented the five-eyes intelligence group. Humanity is offered abundance, but at what price?
Determined archaeologist, Melody Thornton, has been burdened by debilitating visions since she was a young girl. Now a lecturer at a prestigious university, the visions have reached a new height and Melody knows she must find the swaddling clothes that once held the baby Jesus. With the help of...
Daniel McDavid, the oldest child of Irish immigrants, finds himself in dire circumstances; orphaned, stripped of his family home, separated from the joy of his little sisters, and on his own. Taken in by a German family, Daniel is taught a new meaning for family and security, while growing in...
After a devastating divorce, a military wife swaps city life for the Appalachian Mountains where she navigates disastrous and hilarious attempts to start over, faces heartbreaking loss, and inspires resilience with optimism and uncommon humor in her haphazard challenge to move on.
It wasn’t just another live shot … TV reporter Pete Lemaster anticipates nothing more riveting than filming a short lifestyle segment for an upcoming college football rivalry when he arrives at the Jacksonville Waterfront pregame tailgate party. Then chaos erupts.
With great power comes your past incarnations and future self playing chess with your existence.
Two modern-day siblings are swept back to the Caribbean’s Golden Age of Piracy and become entangled on opposite sides of a civil war. As they struggle to reunite and return home, they fall in love, uncover their brother's fate, and must decide whether to fight for their beliefs-no matter the cost.
Jessica Meeks has spent a decade hiding from the cartel and the memory of the man she loved. But when her cover’s blown and a violent storm traps her with a deputy U.S. Marshal with secrets of his own, she must decide who to trust—before the past catches up and buries her for good.
Four paranormal investigators search for a missing friend, spooky sleuth Kevin Starkly, and stumble into a terrifying conspiracy involving the 1897 crash of a UFO in Aurora, Texas and the alien creature allegedly buried in the local cemetery. What price will the world pay for Starkly's curiosity?
Kendall's life changes when he finds himself in a secret world where events mysteriously intertwine. Under the wise old master's guidance he uncovers new realities and experiences different time axes, which lead him to come across secrets hidden by ancestors of his same blood-line.
Tweens have questions—and Auntie Aisha is here to answer them! In a world full of confusing misinformation about growing up, you may not know who to turn to for reliable, nonjudgmental guidance. Enter Auntie Aisha! Aisha’s no-nonsense advice is there for you for turbulent tween years and beyond.
On the run from the law an unfortunate accident lands Chrissy in the town of Tuoyawon. A town with seemingly no roads out. A town filled with the deja vu of the past. With every move made to escape Chrissy finds herself sinking deeper into the belief that she may be more guilty than she had eluded.
After losing 100 pounds, Rob Rogers decided to try backpacking at a state park in Central Florida. When depression then forced him to take a medical sabbatical, he learned that backpacking helped him cope with his inner demons; it also fostered a love affair with the natural spaces near his home.
A boy with no name escapes from the hole in which he has been imprisoned for his entire life and finds the last remaining monsters of the Old World. When they discover he can mimic any ability he sees, including theirs, they follow him in an uprising against the world's greatest monster: humanity.
Based on Omotola's story (Parkinson’s Africa founder and mother of two) following her diagnosis with young-onset Parkinson's disease, this powerful graphic novel brings a fresh perspective to the link between PD and Lewy body dementia, while highlighting everyday ways we can improve our brain heath...
Desperate to save his career, a local journalist stumbles on a scoop that could make his name, but to sell it he has to tell a small lie - and put a boy’s life at risk.
Brick hides painful secrets. While working together, Tish unveils them and so much more. Love, a dangerous conspiracy, a scientific anomaly, and a family broken by forced genetic mutation. In The Ghost’s Shadow is a gripping dark sci-fi packed with romance, betrayal, and reality-bending powers.
A book of Vengeance, Hate, Avarice & Love. Where Love is, so is Hate, Kindness, Avarice exists. Every house has a story, Every Home has its secrets...
When a black GI in 1943 is unjustly accused of murder, will the inhabitants of the Devon town in which he is based put aside prejudice to uncover the truth?
A fantastic adventure! When art curator Katie Bauer discovers a mysterious painting, her search for its provenance takes her from Texas to New York and Tuscany. As she uncovers its secrets, a reclusive vintner may hold the key to its past. The Lost Canvas celebrates resilience of the human spirit.
Mischievous little Tommy Wilcox meets a mysterious young girl, invisible to everyone but him. Unknown to him, she harbours a secret mission to persuade him to undertake a series of adventures to save the world which pit him against a powerful psychopath, an immortal empress, and a magical old man.
Autumn is a poignant tale of forgiveness, redemption, and the transformative power of human connection. It reminds us that, no matter our past mistakes or present struggles, love and friendship can bloom in the unlikeliest of places, bringing light to even the darkest corners of our lives.
After the death of her human companion, immortal Freydis must decide how far she is willing to go to find the place she truly belongs. Will she risk revealing the truth about what she is, clinging to her pseudo-humanity, or embrace the unknown and accept the magic in her blood?
A vision quest after her mother's death seemed simple enough, but an encounter in the desert hijacks her plans… and her heart. An extraordinary story—decades-long in the making, following True as she unravels the message of a vision and navigates grief, trust, love, and the power of saying “yes.”
The security situation in the Sahel has deteriorated. When an ambitious warlord acquires a hellfire missile from a crashed American drone, US intelligence officer Brent Cunningham must face his past on a fateful mission to prevent an atrocity in Niger, West Africa. Hopeless on his own, Brent...
What would you do if you could start again? What would you do if you had to? Will Harper would have done anything for a new beginning. Now it’s essential for his survival. The Deconstructors is a fast paced, humorous, crime novel. A reminder that even at their simplest, things can always fall apart...
A reporter survives back to back 9+ earthquakes, that remind him of a 30-year-old CIA coverup. Is there a connection to the present? Chance encounters lead to his understanding the plan to subjugate all of humanity. Can he expose the dark plan?
Moving to a new home, Lou is drawn to a nearby field, with strange trees beckoning to be explored. With her sister Kerry and friend Tim, she discovers something sinister and unexpected. Together they navigate a summer of bullies, young love, and one horrible event that will forever change them all.
Two brothers from the streets of LA get caught in the crosshairs of hedge fund fixer. Javier Jimenez is headed for college and his brother Alex is headed for trouble, but neither has any idea what George Jones has in mind for the neighborhood.
Upon his death, Benjamin finds himself in an unexpected afterlife where healing means remembering, and peace requires letting go. Through the guidance and companionship of his fellow travelers, he must explore his own past to uncover the truth of who he was—and decide who he’s willing to become.
On the eve of her five-year wedding anniversary, a devastating terrorist attack in Paris thrusts former CIA analyst Kate Preacher into a lethal cat-and-mouse game of kill or be killed…Is Kate just a pawn in a deadly international plot, or can she outplay a ruthless killer?
A young woman whose personal and professional life is in tatters, is taken on a journey of self-discovery by a mysterious Advent calendar. Despite of the challenges the calendar presents her with every day, she is led to find authenticity, connection and love in the process.
Tragic childhood events open up a dark and terrifying side to an artist's life over which he has no control, ultimately raining down nightmare consequences on the complicated ill-fated relationship triangle he forms. When love, morality, jealousy and deceit collide justice must be served, but is it?
Amid the witch trials of 1590s Scotland and the plague-strewn streets of Paris, a midwife fights for her life and a young doctor searches for the truth—each confronting the dark forces shaping Europe’s most turbulent era.
A childhood accident gave Faer a perfect memory—and a glimpse of something not human. Now trapped in the 1960s with a ghost at his side and an alien predator in his past, Faer must solve a mystery buried in time before history resets with him erased.
Imagine a world where the West was never won, where the colonists were confined to the original thirteen colonies. Now, imagine that 250 years have passed…
From the innocent and prim surroundings of a Norfolk girls’ school to the secret, whip-lashed delights of the Tokyo BDSM scene, Elizabeth Hendrick shares with unflinching honesty the tortuous ordeals she endured at the hands of a Japanese dominatrix before finally coming to terms with her sexuality...
What if Lolita told her own story? When a girl feels complicit in her own abuse, how does that thwart the adult woman? Uncompromising and sparing no one, What Was Lost propels the reader on a psychological tale of forgiveness and revenge, revealing how abuse reverberates through generations.
