Debut Fiction Sampler [Various Authors]

I’m back with yet another fiction sampler to review, this time the debut fiction from Fall 2019. There were a lot of books in this one so bear with me as I go through them. While I wasn’t interested in the majority of these novels, there were a few that stood out. I’m going to be addressing them one by one in the order that they were in the sampler, so you’ll have a quick bit of insight into each story included.

The Off-Islander by Peter Colt is practically a poster child for why I tend to not read adult fiction. It blends the mystery of a missing father, a private detective character having gone through a divorce, and a young lawyer in such a way that, for me, is nothing but capital D Dull. I’m sure there are plenty who would enjoy this one. I nearly fell asleep from boredom.

Raymond Fleischmann’s How Quickly She Disappears is another that I really just couldn’t see myself reading anything further in. The book, as a whole, just sounds like it’s bound to be absolutely miserable and nothing in the writing and sample provided really endeared me to any interest in finding out more.

I don’t read horror. I don’t watch horror. I don’t even read YA horror. So, unfortunately, A Cosmology of Monsters is just not for me. That said, what I read was well done. I can’t genuinely see myself really reading further, but I think if you’re a horror fan, this book does genuinely have a lot of potential.

I suppose this is where my love of science fiction really shines through because I am already utterly invested in The Vanished Birds by Simone Jimenez. I want to know everything about this little boy. I’m thoroughly excited about this one and you’re sure to see me adding it to my TBR later.

I’m undecided about The Better Liar by Tanen Jones. I know, unquestionably, that this isn’t the sort of book I would typically pick up. The sample wasn’t really tantalizing enough for me to decide that I do really want to read it, however, I’m intrigued enough to consider.

Eliza Nellums’ All that’s Bright and Gone is definitely not for me. There are some occasions in which I’ll pick up a book like this, but for the most part I find myself shying away from them. The last novel I read that was even slightly similar, while intriguing, just got so boring after a while.

I was turned off by The Secrets we Kept insanely fast. I’ll be honest here, I don’t like war novels. I never have. And while I’ve read a good number of them, I find that I drift off the majority of the time when I read these kinds of books. It’s very rare that I’ll find myself interested in a book like this.

Yikes. I am definitely adding The Red Was to my TBR. I make a point to read books that discuss consent rather often. I know a big reason for this ties into my past, but another reason is simply that I find topics like this extremely important. I also see it as necessary to make sure that any books discussing themes such as this handle the subject matter appropriately.

On Swift Horses by Shannon Pufahl, while decently written, sounds like a book I would get bored of quickly. I can’t say for sure whether that will be the case throughout the entire novel, but I definitely had moments while reading the sampler.

Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid discusses racism. That social commentary is 90% of the reason why I intend to read it. Again, books like this are important to me. And while, in the case of racism, I cannot say for certain that everything is being handled appropriately I at least want to be sure I am making an effort to read more novels that discuss these issues prevalent in our society.

I was provided a free copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

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