Cover Image: Fall 2018 Debut Fiction Sampler

Fall 2018 Debut Fiction Sampler

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Member Reviews

I love samplers and enjoy being introduced to new authors. I foud two new authors that I liked and went on to buy their books!

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Fall 2018 Debut Fiction Sampler contains extracts from My Sister, The Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite, Sight by Jessie Greengrass, The Adults by Caroline Hulse, The Water Cure by Sophie Mackintosh, The Kennedy Debutante by Kerri Maher, Tell Me You're Mine by Elizabeth Norebäck, We Cast a Shadow by Maurice Carlos Ruffin, One Day in December by Josie Silver and Ways to Hide in Winter by Sarah St. Vincent. This sampler was a great way to try books by authors I might not have discovered otherwise.

My Sister, The Serial Killer is a thriller novel about Korede whose sister has a habit of killing her boyfriends and then asking her to help clean up the mess. I have read this book and although the premise sounded really unique and interesting, I found myself disappointed by its execution as the book felt quite repetitive and lacked any real emotion.

Sight is a literary fiction about how we see others and ourselves. Straight away the premise of this didn't sound like something I would particularly enjoy and although the extract had some beautiful lines in it, I didn't find myself engrossed in the story so won't be finishing this one.

The Adults is a contemporary fiction about Claire and Matt who are divorced by agree to spend Christmas together for the sake of their daughter Scarlett. The premise of this book and the extract seem really fun and I could definitely see myself picking this book up at some point over the holiday season.

The Water Cure is a dystopian novel about three sisters isolated on an island who are taught to fear men. I thought the premise of this book sounded interested and was intrigued to see how it would play out. However after reading the extract, I found the author's writing style wasn't for me.

The Kennedy Debutante is a historical romance novel set in London in 1938. Usually historical romance isn't really my thing however from the extract I did like the main character so maybe one day I'll pick up this book if I'm in the mood for something a bit different to what I usually read.

Tell Me You're Mine is a domestic thriller novel about a woman who meets a girl who she believes to be the daughter she lost. The title and the premise of this book really intrigued so I was excited to read the extract to get a glimpse of the plot and writing style. The extract was gripping and I now desperately want to read the rest of this book.

We Cast a Shadow is a dystopian satire about a father who is willing to black son white in order to give him a better chance in life. This book sounded fascinating and I enjoyed the writing style of the extract so I'm excited to continue reading this.

One Day in December is a festive, romance novel about Laurie who meets eyes with a man whilst she's on the bus and is convinced it's love at first sight. I don't like the insta-love trope so I wasn't a fan of this extract and therefore wouldn't be interested in reading the rest of this book.

Ways to Hide in Winter is a mystery/thriller set in the Blue Ridge mountains about a woman who befriends a fugitive from Uzbekistan. The premise of this book was really intriguing to me and I thought the setting sounded interesting and atmospheric. The extract did a great job of building up an atmosphere and I have definitely been convinced to read this!

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A few great excerpts in this one - I particularly loved My sister the serial killer and went on to buy it! There were some others I hadn't heard of at all, and a good variety across the samples.

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I’m so addicted to these I’ve even been hunting down the old ones to see if there’s any interesting books I’ve missed!

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Am eclectic sampler of 2018 reads that whet my appetite for books I had missed when they appeared in 2018.

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I am doing a challenge where I need to read books from each year. I wanted to try and find some books I haven’t heard of before or wanted to sample and see how I liked them. This sampler worked out very well.

I added 1. My Sister, the Serial Killer, 2. We Cast a Shadow 3. Sight 4, The Adults. I really enjoyed reading a sample and have decided to include these as full length book I will read.

Thank you NetGalley for granting me a copy of this guide.

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Didn't really see any books that I would be particularly interested in. I am really fussy about my fiction titles.

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Fantastic batch of excerpts! My Sister, The Serial Killer is a sure stand out - my favorite of the bunch. The Adults is also an intriguing novel. Will definitely be adding several to my TBR. Highly recommended

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Even though this sampler was put out in 2018, I had never read or even heard of most of these books. I love these samplers because I can read little bits of a lot of books and decide which ones I want to add to my TBR list.

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I find these sampler's so helpful to assist me in determining what upcoming books I want to read and I anticipate receiving them when they become available.

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I never have anything bad to say about these books because it gives you a sneak peek into upcoming releases. There is always a good mix of authors being featured along with release dates. Being able to read excepts definitely gives it another element because there have been books I wasn't sure about buying and then having those few chapters ended up selling me on the book.

I love these because most of the time I discover a book coming out that I didn't know about at first or some hidden gems. It's a great resource to keep you updated on upcoming books.

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Some of the book I read, some I did not. Nice way to read a bit about books to help you decide if you want to put it on your reading list or not. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC of the book in return for my honest thoughts.

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Thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Random House for the chance to read these excerpts!

I was obsessed with the cover and concept of MY SISTER, THE SERIAL KILLER by Oyinkan Braithwaite from the moment I saw it, and I actually have read this book. The excerpt gives you a good idea of what to expect, with the serial killer sister and our oddly accepting narrator, and the hints of dark humor like when Ayoola almost lets someone else onto the elevator while they're trying to smuggle a body out.

SIGHT by Jessie Greengrass is a dual timeline story, about scientists discovering X-rays and a present-day narrator studying their papers. It seems like this will be a story that helps reclaim the contributions of women to science, hidden in the role of "scientist's wife."

THE ADULTS starts out with a 911 call that reminded me of BIG LITTLE LIES. I was very skeptical of Matt and Alex's relationship -- why would you date someone you know has a terrible work ethic? (maybe that says too much about me) -- but then when we went to the Claire and Patrick pairing, with Patrick being weirdly secretive about workouts, I realized everyone was a complete disaster but this might be fun schadenfreude. Particularly because I'm not in my late 30s and these people make me feel like I have my life really together!

THE WATER CURE by Sophie Mackintosh weirded me out. Plural first-person present about how they're too busy fighting to notice their dad dying is not a great way to sell me on a story.

THE KENNEDY DEBUTANTE by Kerri Maher is historical fiction based on JFK's sister and her debut in London as the daughter of the US Ambassador to England. For whatever reason, fictionalized stories of real people make me uncomfortable so I will probably skip this. (Also, I made the mistake of reading her Wikipedia page and feeling sad.)

TELL ME YOU'RE MINE by Elisabeth Noreback seems like a psychological thriller of some kind. Stella did something very bad twenty years ago and now Isabelle, who was someone involved and has now grown into an adult, is out for revenge. I think there is a dead child involved. In any case, this is completely not my cup of tea.

WE CAST A SHADOW by Maurice Carlos Ruffin is...I think supposed to be a satire? Our disastrous law firm costume party is certainly very over the top, with the nameless narrator competing for a promotion, and trying to find the right costume to not scare the white people and maybe even play into their stereotypes, which is how he drunkenly dons a loincloth and dances around wildly. We also meet his white wife Penny, and son Nigel who has a fairy-tale-like birthmark on his face that grows and darkens to make his biracial heritage more obvious. Everything seemed really over the top and I think it *is* supposed to make you uncomfortable?

ONE DAY IN DECEMBER by Josie Silver did not endear itself to me with its list of all the horribly awkward dates the heroine has endured, I have seen this cliche so many times I am very tired of it. And then it turns out she's completely into the same guy her friend is dating, and I see this is melodrama rather than romance, which is not my style.

WAYS TO HIDE IN WINTER by Sarah St Vincent really set me on edge. The narrator's actions seemed disjointed and creeped me out. I'm also weirded out by how she has never met an Eastern European person before and disappointed that she literally thinks of him as "the foreigner." This is not a person for whom I enjoyed spending time in their head.

Ultimately this was a mixed bag for me, as so many of these grab-bag excerpts are! I did enjoy MY SISTER THE SERIAL KILLER already, and I hadn't heard of THE ADULTS so I'm excited to get to read what promises to be an enjoyably hot mess (the characters, not the book).

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It was good to discover some new books that I didn’t know about. I added many more books to my to be read pile

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I loved this sampler collection of 2018 fiction books.

I most especially enjoyed One Day in December. Before picking this up I wouldn’t have heard of it.

I highly recommend this sampler.

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I received a complimentary review copy of the Fall 2018 Debut Fiction Sampler from NetGalley.

This sampler includes extended previews of 9 novels. I really enjoyed being able to preview enough of the book to know whether I'd be interested enough to read the whole thing. Each excerpt starts with a page showing the book cover, and the publication date is listed on the copyright page.

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My Sister the Serial Killer is the stand-out excerpt from this collection. Its pacing immediately drags you in and makes you want more. It's funny, dark, and deeply insightful on the complexities of the sister dynamic. It's so good I ended up purchasing the novel - highly recommend!

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There are some great reads in this sampler. I have already read one of them and plan to read at least a couple of them.

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Fantastic as always! Sorry I forgot to rate this earlier, but I am still working off the list and enjoying may of the titles!. Keep them coming! Thanks!

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Penguin Random House has such a great selection. I plan on using this sampler as a trampoline to tackle my TBR pile. I enjoy a wide variety of genres, and love that this sampler covers a range of selections. I am looking forward to checking out My Sister, the Serial Killer and I already know I loved Josie Silver's We Met in December.

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