Happy New Year!
2020 is set to be an incredible year of reading with some highly anticipated releases from popular authors including sequels and new series aplenty. House of Earth and Blood, the first book in Sarah J. Maas’s new adult fantasy series, comes out March 3rd, there’s a new series from Cassandra Clare, a vampire novel from Jay Kristoff, the conclusion of Libba Bray’s The Diviners series and many, many more releases I know readers are eagerly looking forward to.
With all of these exciting releases from favorite authors coming our way, I thought it’d be a good time to focus on lesser-hyped books from 2020 debut authors.
A Good Man
by Ani Katz
Expected publication: January 16th 2020
Thomas Martin is everything a man is supposed to be. He has a beautiful wife and a loving daughter, a good house on Long Island, a flourishing career at a prestigious Manhattan advertising firm. He’s a good son and brother, taking it upon himself to support his ailing mother and adult sisters. He knows it’s his God-given duty to shield them, his girls, from the everyday horrors of the world. But he has failed, and unspeakable tragedy has befallen his family. Now, Thomas struggles to come to terms with what has become of his life. If only he can tell the story as he saw it, he believes he might find out how and why things unravelled so horribly; how he failed so disastrously. Because Thomas Martin is a good man.
A Good Man is a psychological suspense novel and one that sounds particularly unsettling if the early reviews are anything to go by. It seems to be a deep dive into a man’s guilt and the effect his past may have on his family.
Before Familiar Woods
by Ian Pisarcik
Expected publication: March 10 2020
On the outskirts of a town too tired for its own happenings, the boys were found dead inside a tent. Three years later, their fathers have disappeared, too. Ruth Fenn’s son was the boy they blamed. For three years, Ruth has accepted her lot as pariah, focusing on her ailing mother and the children left in her care by the struggling single parents of North Falls, Vermont. But now the additional loss of her husband is too much to bear, and she has no choice but to overcome the darkness or be consumed by it. But as she edges closer to the truth, she begins to uncover some secrets that are better left buried. That’s when she meets Milk Raymond, a war vet who comes home to find his nine-year-old son abandoned by his mother. Unable to find work, with no idea how to be a father, Milk turns to Ruth for help. But as the mystery of Ruth’s missing husband deepens, the fragile stability Milk has created for Daniel is shattered by the ill-fated return of Daniel’s mother, who will stop at nothing to get her boy back. As these unsettled and interconnected lives hurtle towards a devastating conclusion, both Ruth and Milk are about to learn that their dying Vermont town has more secrets than they ever thought possible–and there are those who will do anything to protect them.
Before Familiar Woods seems like an atmospheric small town mystery that focuses on the strained relationships within a community and how the disappearances affected them. Certainly intriguing.
The Silence of Bones
by Jane Hur
Expected publication: April 21 2020
I have a mouth, but I mustn’t speak; Ears, but I mustn’t hear; Eyes, but I mustn’t see. 1800, Joseon (Korea). Homesick and orphaned sixteen-year-old Seol is living out the ancient curse: “May you live in interesting times.” Indentured to the police bureau, she’s been tasked with assisting a well-respected young inspector with the investigation into the politically charged murder of a noblewoman. As they delve deeper into the dead woman’s secrets, Seol forms an unlikely bond of friendship with the inspector. But her loyalty is tested when he becomes the prime suspect, and Seol may be the only one capable of discovering what truly happened on the night of the murder. But in a land where silence and obedience are valued above all else, curiosity can be deadly.
The Silence of Bones sounds quite unique for a YA novel. I’ve yet to read one set in Korea, let alone a historical fiction murder mystery. Full of dark secrets and politics as seen through a 19th century indentured woman’s point of view in Korea, The Silence of Bones is sure to be a breath of fresh air in the YA genre.
The Paper Girl of Paris
by Jordyn Taylor
Expected publication: May 26 2020
Now: Sixteen-year-old Alice is spending the summer in Paris, but she isn’t there for pastries and walks along the Seine. When her grandmother passed away two months ago, she left Alice an apartment in France that no one knew existed. An apartment that has been locked for more than seventy years. Alice is determined to find out why the apartment was abandoned and why her grandmother never once mentioned the family she left behind when she moved to America after World War II. With the help of Paul, a charming Parisian student, she sets out to uncover the truth. However, the more time she spends digging through the mysteries of the past, the more she realizes there are secrets in the present that her family is still refusing to talk about. Then: Sixteen-year-old Adalyn doesn’t recognize Paris anymore. Everywhere she looks, there are Nazis, and every day brings a new horror of life under the Occupation. When she meets Luc, the dashing and enigmatic leader of a resistance group, Adalyn feels she finally has a chance to fight back. But keeping up the appearance of being a much-admired socialite while working to undermine the Nazis is more complicated than she could have imagined. As the war goes on, Adalyn finds herself having to make more and more compromises—to her safety, to her reputation, and to her relationships with the people she loves the most.
This book strikes me as particularly interesting because it is exactly the type of book I gravitate towards–a multi-generational WWII historical fiction with a bit of a mystery to unfold–but it’s YA. I haven’t read much YA historical fiction and I’m curious how a difference in tone affects this type of story.
Where Dreams Descend
by Janella Angeles
Expected publication: June 2 2020
In a city covered in ice and ruin, a group of magicians face off in a daring game of magical feats to find the next headliner of the Conquering Circus, only to find themselves under the threat of an unseen danger striking behind the scenes. As each act becomes more and more risky and the number of missing magicians piles up, three are forced to reckon with their secrets before the darkness comes for them next. The Star: Kallia, a powerful showgirl out to prove she’s the best no matter the cost. The Master: Jack, the enigmatic keeper of the club, and more than one lie told. The Magician: Demarco, the brooding judge with a dark past he can no longer hide.
As one of the seemingly few readers disappointed by The Night Circus and Caraval (my review), I’d greatly enjoy a strange and truly captivating novel based on the idea of magicians and a twisted circus. Perhaps this could be it.
A Golden Fury
by Samantha Cohoe
Expected publication: October 13 2020
Is it science or magic? Power or possession?
1792. With Europe in the throes of revolution, a teenage alchemist is on the verge of a discovery that will change the course of history. But the cost may be her own mind….
This is an incredibly vague synopsis and there’s not much being said about this novel as of yet. However, according to an early review (5 stars), this book is about a young woman who is an apprentice to her alchemist mother. There’s mention of the Philosopher’s Stone but I won’t say much else, just that it’s very intriguing.
What do you think of these 2020 debut novels? Will any of them make your TBR? Tell me about your 2020 reading goals in the comments!
Thanks for reading,
Madison
I have way too many 2020 books on my TBR although I’ve now got to add two of these as well 😅 a three were already on mine – Silence Of Bones, Where Dreams Descend & A Golden Fury. They all sound amazing. I’m super excited for A Golden Fury even if the synopsis is vague plus I love that Where Dreams Descend has been compared to Moulin Rogue 😍