The buzziest, boldest debut novels of 2025

Upon hearing the concept of Maggie Su’s brilliant debut, I dissolved into a formless mass of pure, uncontainable joy. My mind jiggled and shook over the possibilities of the story, about a young woman who finds an unidentified blob-like creature in a parking lot and takes it home, where she—gradually but, oh, so literally—shapes it into a boyfriend. Vi is the kind of heroine I love to root for: totally quirky, frequently surly, and always hilarious. She’s also a recent college dropout navigating a painful breakup, family drama, and a highly triggering frenemy at her entry-level job at Hillside Inn and Suites. From social awkwardness to dealing with casual racism about her Taiwanese American background, Vi’s had a rough go of it, and Bob the blob seems like a soft, squishy place to land. Unabashedly weird, poignant, and utterly unique, Blob is the kind of debut I live for—especially with an experienced narrator like Eunice Wong to give it all the glorious definition one could desire. —Kat J.

Don’t let the title fool you—everything is pretty serious. Thirtysomething tech exec Edie Walker’s life is not going according to plan. Particularly when her best friend Peter is implicated in the death of his recent right swipe—a woman that Edie had begun to idolize during her short time in Peter’s life. Debut author Emily J. Smith, a tech professional herself, leans on her expertise, delivering cutting cultural observations about modern dating, the tech industry, opportunities for women, and more. Nothing Serious is a close examination of why we hold onto toxic relationships for so long, with Edie’s journey to self-discovery expertly narrated by Anna Caputo. —Katie O.

Mariam Rahmani’s debut novel is a fun and exciting take on the classic rom-com. It follows an unnamed adjunct professor in Los Angeles who decides to give up her career and commits to marrying rich, going on 100 dates over the course of a single summer. Set between LA and Tehran, and performed by the author herself, this listen offers such a fresh and original perspective on love, loss, and identity. Imbued with a casual cleverness, Liquid is a riveting tale of self-discovery that tackles themes of desire, ambition, and class while keeping you hanging on every single word. —Michael C.

This is Amal El-Mohtar’s solo debut—but you know her already as the co-author of This Is How You Lose the Time War (alongside Max Gladstone). It won the Hugo for Best Novella, was our pick for best sci-fi novel of 2019, and remains on my list of all-time favorites. I’ve only just dipped into the manuscript for The River Has Roots, but I can already tell this is one I’ll want to savor despite my temptation to devour. It is a story for lovers of stories, for anyone who has pined over punctuation or swooned over sentence construction. It also seems meant to be heard—as the narrator addresses us, the listener, in this tale of ancient magic and legends. I can’t wait to hear how Gem Carmella (also a solo debut narrator for us!) conjures El-Mohtar’s prose. —Sam D.

Every once in a while, a novel comes along that so perfectly paints the world through a pair of young eyes, it makes me feel as though I’m once again observing the world with the perceptiveness of a child. Life Hacks for a Little Alien takes the fundamentally tender experience of childhood and filters it through the lens of a young girl who, as a result of her neurodivergence, senses that she exists on a different planet from those around her. After learning about the indecipherable Voynich Manuscript, she grows determined to put words to what has never been translated before. Narrator Sally Phillips—with her slightly distant yet soothing voice—sounds exactly how I would want a benevolent extraterrestrial to sound, taking this touching debut to the next level.—Haley H.

I’ve had an insatiable appetite for monster fiction since last year’s Someone You Can Build a Nest In, so Molly O’Neill’s debut rocketed to the top of my list this winter. Greenteeth’s monstrous protagonist is Jenny, a centuries-old lake monster who rescues Temperance, a witch who has been cast out of her home and tossed to her death in Jenny’s lake. What follows is a story of friendship and adventure that left me utterly smitten. Narrator Catrin Walker-Booth brings such authenticity and charm to these characters. Cozy fantasy fans, I hope your tea is already steeping for this one. —SD

I was enthralled by The Grand Scheme of Things, a satirical story about an unlikely pair who join forces to expose racial bias in London’s theater scene. The heroine of Warona Jay’s debut is Botswana-born British playwright Relebogile Naledi Mpho Moruakgomo, or “Eddie” for short. Eddie has written a promising new play, but her work is rejected by multiple theater agents, and she fears that having “a name that was practically oral acrobatics” is holding her back. After a fateful coffee shop encounter with Hugo Lawrence Smith, a wealthy white law student and professed theater lover, the two conspire to submit Eddie’s play to Britain’s most prestigious playwriting competition under Hugo’s name. It should come as no surprise that Eddie’s play wins the award, but that’s only the beginning of the chaos that ensues. Alternating between Eddie’s and Hugo’s perspectives, the story moves at a thriller-like pace. Jay’s confident and provocative storytelling left me wanting more, and I can’t wait to hear what she cooks up next. —Margaret H.

Speculative horror is on the rise, and I’m loving every bit of it, especially when it comes to seeing what new authors are bringing to the genre. Listen to Your Sister by Neena Viel follows siblings Calla, Jamie, and Dre Williams as they combat and adapt to life changes that are forcefully bringing them together in ways they couldn’t have imagined. Viel’s debut brings not only horrifying scenarios as dreams and reality begin to blur for protagonist Calla, but also some laughable moments that can only come from the back-and-forth of sibling banter. Narrated by three great performers—Eric Lockley, Kristolyn Lloyd, and Zeno Robinson—this story is a scarily fun listen that leaves you questioning the reliability of the characters as the plot unravels. —Nicole R.

Laurie L. Dove has written a beautiful novel about an ugly, real-life issue—missing Indigenous girls and women. Carrie Starr is a detective from Chicago, a job she had to leave. Indigenous herself, Starr returns to her father’s reservation and becomes the new tribal marshal. Dove, also of Indigenous ancestry, takes the listener on a tour of the reservation and introduces its inhabitants, flora, animals, and the spirit of the Deer Woman, a figure with the body of a woman and the antlers of a deer. Narrator Isabella Star LaBlanc flawlessly delivers each character’s complicity. On this reservation there is little joy until a missing girl is found. The obstacles are overwhelming, and many give up as a search could take years. In this case, it’s up to Starr and the Deer Woman. —Yvonne D.

Following six actresses competing for a nomination and hopeful win, The Talent is filled with all the drama, intrigue, and glamour you’d expect. As a chief correspondent for Variety and the moderator of the Actors on Actors series, debut author Daniel D’Addario’s unique qualifications really shine through, imbuing a sense of realism to the novel. But even better? It’s performed by a full cast of leading ladies—Cassandra Campbell, Janina Edwards, Nancy Linari, Mia Hutchinson-Shaw, Shakira Shute, and Jade Wheeler. And really, what more can a film fan want in the lead-up to the Academy Awards? —MC

If you’re a massive Belle & Sebastian fan like me, you already know frontman Stuart Murdoch as one of the best lyricists of our time—with his witty turns of phrase, storybook-inspired imagery, and quiet, contemplative musings that catch you off guard and cut straight to the heart. Now, he brings his formidable writing chops to his debut novel, an autobiographical coming-of-age story based on his own experience clawing his way out of chronic fatigue syndrome and toward his life as a musician. To hear him tell this story in his own voice is a delight. Whether he’s narrating or singing, I could listen to him all day. —SD

What first grabbed my attention about Holly Brickley’s Deep Cuts was the playlist that graces its cover—or more specifically, the inclusion of a personal favorite Neutral Milk Hotel track (“The King of Carrot Flowers, Pt. 1”). I’m a sucker for fiction that utilizes music as the backbone for its narrative, and this book, set in the early 2000s, hums with nostalgia and stirs up all the feelings of youth’s messy, beautiful wonder as it dissects art, creation, and the fateful magnetism between two people. It follows twentysomethings Percy and Joe—the latter, a rising musician, the former, a thoughtful listener with an ear for music and no shortage of opinions—as they cycle in and out of each other’s lives. As sound is so central to this story, whether it’s in composing music or analyzing it, it really sings in audio with narrator Jayme Mattler’s husky tone and wry delivery capturing the world through Percy’s perspective. —Alanna M.

Whether you know him for his acting or his comedy, I’m sure you’ll recognize Harry Trevaldwyn’s voice in this funny, heartfelt, and fabulously queer debut novel. Performed by Trevaldwyn himself, this rom-com follows the romantic misadventures of Patch Simmons as he navigates the challenge of finding his first boyfriend before prom. Filled with banter, wit, and tons of queer joy, The Romantic Tragedies of a Drama King pulled all of my little gay heartstrings. I just wish Patch and his sometimes hilariously high levels of self-confidence and flair for the dramatic were around when I was a queer teen trying to figure it all out. —MC

Roisín O'Donnell's debut novel immediately grabbed me and would not let me go. I’ve not rooted for a character this hard in a long time. Ciara Fay is a woman propelled into action despite immense internal and external pressure to relent and just go back to her controlling husband. He's almost convinced her that everything bad in their lives is her fault, but deep down she knows his abuse will only get worse. Even more profound to me is how, despite an almost complete loss of self, something in her knows she can regain that self-worth and create a thriving and love-filled life for herself and her children. But the obstacles are relentless—how much can one woman take? The tension is palpable, and so skillfully brought to life by narrator Louisa Harland (of Derry Girls fame). —TF

This debut romantasy is something special. Brittney Arena delivers a breathtaking story filled with tension, betrayal, and a heroine who refuses to be broken. Framed for a crime she didn’t commit, Vasalie Moran is given a dangerous choice: spy for the king who betrayed her, or never see freedom again. But as she’s pulled deeper into deadly court intrigue, navigating old enemies and unexpected alliances, the cost of survival becomes higher than she ever imagined. The slow-burn romance was perfect, the stakes are brutal, and the disability representation was spot-on. —PR

With climate disasters like extreme acid rain and catastrophic storms to contend with, not much of humanity is left in the crumbled world of The Last Bookstore on Earth. Liz and Maeve, two teens who both lost everything to the storms, find themselves caring for a dilapidated bookstore and sharing kindnesses with strangers amid the destroyed landscape. The vibe is foreboding, but Liz and Maeve are a testament to how we can overcome unimaginable hardships—and that having someone to fight for makes all the difference in the world. Narrator Bailey Carr captures the sensitivity of young love, the nuance of grief, and the horror of a world slowly melting around us. —MB

Although this may be his debut novel, award-winning poet and memoirist Seán Hewitt is no stranger to good writing. Set in a remote English village in the early aughts, Open, Heaven perfectly captures the yearning, sorrow, and angst of exploring your sexuality and finding first love. Hewitt captures the nuance and heartbreak of young queer discovery, and also explores the often thin line between platonic and romantic entanglements. Told in the beautiful and lyrical prose of a poet, Open, Heaven is sure to be one of the most bittersweet novels of the year—not to mention the perfect listen for anyone in need of a good ugly cry. —MC