Debut Spotlight (1/3/23)

If your New Year’s resolution was to read more debuts, you’re in luck! Today we are spotlighting an immersive tale inspired by a true story, a heartwarming journey of one family rewriting their history, a woman looking for love amidst a new American civil war, a contemporary Black southern Gothic set in the age of OnlyFans, and a modern yet timeless love story that deals with friendship and mental health.

THE SECRET DIARIES OF CHARLES IGNATIUS SANCHO by Paterson Joseph

Available for download on Edelweiss know more. LibraryReads votes due by March 1st.

“Charles faces an uncertain future, but eventually he will meet the king, compose and play praiseworthy music, become the first Black person to vote in Britain, and lead the fight for abolition. A debut based on real-life events; actor Joseph wrote and starred in a play about Sancho.”–Library Journal Pre Pub Alert

IF WE’RE BEING HONEST by Cat Shook

Available for download on Edelweiss know more. LibraryReads votes due by March 1st.

“When Gerry Williams dies, his best friend delivers a eulogy that completely upends the family. Gerry’s widow, Ellen, tries to remain dignified, but the cousins run riot with their own upsets. Delia whines about her ex, Alice reels over when she spots her high school sweetheart, suddenly famous Grant (he was on The Bachelorette) seeks to launch an inadvisable affair, and Red wonders where he fits in.”–Library Journal Pre Pub Alert

HESTIA STRIKES A MATCH by Christine Grillo

Available for download on Edelweiss know more. LibraryReads votes due by March 1st.

“It’s 2023 (coming soon!), and the United States has devolved into civil war. Fortyish Unionist Hestia is truly alone, her husband and parents having sided with the Confederates; her one true friend is an octogenarian named Mildred, who lives at the retirement village where Hestia works. As Hestia scrambles to find love and meaning, Mildred surveys the current chaos and affirms, ‘It’ll pass…. It always does.'”–Library Journal Pre Pub Alert

HOUSE OF COTTON by Monica Brashears

Available for download on Edelweiss know more. LibraryReads votes due by March 1st.

“Orphaned 19-year-old Magnolia Brown is poor, Black, and stuck in a going-nowhere job at the gas station in her God-obsessed Southern town when a stranger offers her a job modeling at (of all places) a funeral home. It more than pays the bills, but her assignments are getting increasingly creepy. From an attention-getting Affrilachian author.”–Library Journal Pre Pub Alert

ADELAIDE by Genevieve Wheeler

Available for download on Edelweiss know more. LibraryReads votes due by March 1st.

“Far from her U.S. hometown, Adelaide Williams is enjoying a carefree existence in London when she falls hard for Rory Hughes. He doesn’t exactly return her affections, but Adelaide is convinced that they are fated to be together and stands by him through a terrible crisis. In the end, she’s the one who falls apart.”–Library Journal Pre Pub Alert

THE SECRET DIARIES OF IGNATIUS SANCHO by Paterson Joseph; 9781250880376; 4/11/23
IF WE’RE BEING HONEST by Cat Shook; 9781250847546; 4/18/23
HESTIA STRIKES A MATCH by Christine Grillo; 9780374609979; 4/18/23
HOUSE OF COTTON by Monica Brashears; 9781250851918; 4/4/23
ADELAIDE by Genevieve Wheeler; 9781250280848; 4/18/23