This year has been one for the books, literally. We’ve had sizzling love stories, bone-chilling thrillers that require daytime-only reading (IYKYK), moving tales inspired by historical events, and fantasy books that have awoken our imagination. It’s also been an exciting time for debut novels, especially those in the romance genre. Debut novels are for everyone, whether you're a self-proclaimed book nerd or 2024 marked the first time you picked up a book since high school. With the year coming to a close, I compiled a list of the best debut novels of 2024, featuring some of my favorite new authors.
RELATED: 6 Thrillers That Won't Keep You Up at Night.
1. Take Me Home by Melanie Sweeney
Penguin Random House
Calling all enemies-to-lovers fans! This cozy rom-com follows college grad students Hazel and Elliot, who embark on a chaotic road trip back home for the holidays. However, their time together doesn’t stop there. Once back in their hometown, Hazel and Elliot quickly find themselves leaning on one another for support in ways they never expected.
2. Four Weekends and a Funeral by Ellie Palmer
Penguin Random House
Alison Mullally shows up to her ex-boyfriend’s funeral because it’s the right thing to do—only to find out that Sam never told them about their breakup.Yikes. Being the good-hearted person that she is, Alison agrees to pack up Sam’s apartment alongside his grumpy best friend, who also happens to be single.
3. Call It What You Want by Alissa DeRogatis
Alissa DeRogatis
This one goes out to all the situationships. It’s about an almost-love story between Sloane Hart and Ethan Brady, who, for all intents and purposes, just can’t seem to get their connection fully off the ground. Sloane’s big life plans include moving to NYC; however, that’d mean leaving Ethan and their could-be relationship behind. Ethan’s charming exterior can only woo Sloane so far. At some point, he’s going to have to bear his heart, or he’ll lose her for good.
4. The Storm We Made by Vanessa Chan
Simon & Schuster
Told in alternating perspectives, The Storm We Made follows the Alcantara family as they weather the ramifications of war in 1940s British-colonized Malaya. A life of espionage comes with a long list of challenges, of which Cecily’s children know well. But what they have yet to uncover is that their life trajectory is driven by a pact their mother made a decade prior.
5. How to End a Love Story by Yulin Kuang
Harper Collins
What are the odds that Grant Shepard would get assigned to write the TV adaptation for his former high school classmate’s best-selling YA series? Turns out they’re pretty high!
Thirteen years after the terrible accident that forever bound their lives together, Helen and Grant cross paths in Hollywood. Over the course of team bonding exercises and late-night writing sessions, the pair reconnect in ways they never imagined.
Fun fact: Yulin Kuang is also writing the screenplay for Emily Henry’s People We Meet on Vacation and has been tapped to direct Beach Read.
6. The Switch by Lily Samson
Penguin Random House
If you’re looking for a thriller to sink your teeth into that won’t keep you up at night, add The Switch to your TBR list. In this domestic thriller, love birds Elena and Adam weasel their way into London’s high society while house-sitting in a fancy part of town. When Elena strikes up an unexpected friendship with their neighbor (and her dashing husband!), an alluring game of cat and mouse unfolds.
