Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme that currently resides at The Artsy Reader Girl and features bloggers sharing lists on various book topics. For this week’s Top Ten Tuesday I continue to look at what some of my favourite books of 2019 were. I have already looked at my favourite audiobooks of 2019, as well as my favourite new-to-me authors, so this week I am going to list my Top Ten Favourite Debut Novels of 2019.

2019 has been a good year for debuting authors in a number of different genres, and I have been lucky enough to check out some remarkable debut novels that I have really enjoyed. As a result, I think it is only proper that I highlight some of these great debuts, all of which I would strongly recommend. I was very impressed with a number of these debut books, and I am looking forward to seeing what these authors come up with in the future.

I was able to come up with 10 amazing novels for this list, although in one or two cases I might have slightly stretched the definition of debut. I am also very aware that I missed a number of terrific sounding debut novels in 2019, which, if I had read them, may have appeared on this list. No doubt several of these books will appear on a future Top Ten Books I Wish I Had Read in 2019 list I am planning. However, I am very happy with the list I have come up with, and look forward to checking out some more awesome debuts in 2020

Honourable Mentions:

Red Metal by Mark Greaney and Lieutenant Colonel Hunter Ripley Rawlings IV (USMC)

I have included Red Metal in my honourable mentions because it was the debut novel of one of the authors, Lieutenant Colonel Hunter Ripley Rawlings IV (USMC). This was one of my favourite books of 2019; however, as it was co-written with an established author, I decided to leave it off my main list. I really hope that Rawlings continues to write, and I would love to see some form of sequel to Red Metal in the future.

Shadow of Athens by JM Alvey

Shadow of Athens was another fantastic book, and I really liked the amazing historical mystery it contained. However, it is not technically a debut as the author has already written a number of fantasy books under the name of Juliet E. McKenna. That being said, I decided to give it an honourable mention as it was the debut novel of this pseudonym, and it was also the author’s first historical fiction novel.

Top Ten List (in no particular order):

Master of Sorrows by Justin Call

Let us start the list with one of the best fantasy debuts of the year. Master of Sorrows was a compelling new fantasy adventure that focused on a school that trained operatives to steal and contain dangerous magical artefacts. Featuring an inventive new fantasy world and an intriguing story, this was a great start to a new series, and the sequel, Master Artificer, is coming out in August next year.

Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir

The second book on my list is Gideon the Ninth, which is certainly one of the most entertaining books I read this year. Gideon the Ninth is a madcap blend of science fiction and fantasy, with necromancers in space, which also features a great murder mystery storyline and a fun collection of characters. The sequel to this book, Harrow the Ninth, is coming out in June, and it sounds like it will be a pretty amazing read.

We Are Blood and Thunder by Kesia Lupo

This was a really clever and well-written young adult fantasy read that featured an excellent use of two separate character perspectives to tell a captivating story. Lupo’s second novel, the upcoming We Are Bound by Stars, will be set in the same universe as We Are Blood and Thunder, and should prove to be an intriguing follow-up to this fantastic novel.

Blood & Sugar by Laura Shepherd-Robinson

To my mind, Blood & Sugar was the best historical fiction debut of 2019, and I had an outstanding time reading it earlier this year. This book featured a complex and addictive murder mystery storyline set during the height of the English slave trade. Really worth checking out and I am looking forward to the author’s next book, Daughters of Night.

Legacy of Ash by Matthew Ward

This is actually the book I am reading at the moment, but I am enjoying it so much I had to add it to this list. Legacy of Ash is a massive read that blends great fantasy elements with some exciting political intrigue. It is a really fun novel, and I am intrigued to see how it finishes up.

Half Moon Lake by Kirsten Alexander

Half Moon Lake is another excellent historical fiction novel that provided an amazing account of a shocking kidnapping case from history. This was a deeply compelling story, and well worth checking out.

The Gutter Prayer by Gareth Ryder-Hanrahan

The Gutter Prayer was one of the most anticipated fantasy debuts of 2019, and it actually lived up to its hype. With an outstanding group of characters and some truly unique and memorable new fantasy elements, this was a terrific and dark read, and the upcoming sequel, The Shadow Saint, should prove to be a fantastic follow-up to it.

Blood in the Dust by Bill Swiggs

Bill Swiggs’s debut novel, Blood in the Dust, was a cool Australian take on the western genre that I knocked off in one long night. An action-packed and dramatic historical adventure, this was a compelling Australian read which I was really glad I checked out.

Star Wars: Force Collector by Kevin Shinick

I only just put up a review for this last night, but it was a brilliant Star Wars adaption that ties together the events of a number of the films into a fantastic young adult novel. This debut is well worth reading, and I hope that Shinick revisits the Star Wars universe in the future.

Warrior of the Altaii by Robert Jordan

The final book on my list is Warrior of the Altaii by Robert Jordan, which is Jordan’s previously unpublished first novel. Technically, this isn’t a debut novel per se, as his first published novel was released in the 1970s. However, as this novel is one of the first things Jordan wrote, and it helped him break into the fantasy genre and eventually produce one of the best fantasy series of all times, I think it is appropriate to include it on this list, and the old-school adventure it contains was actually pretty good.

That’s my Top Ten list for this week. I am pretty happy with the varied collection of debut novels I read this year, and I think that all the above authors are going to go to do amazing things. Let me know what your favourite 2019 debut novels are in the comments below.