Ten Of My Most Anticipated 2015 Debuts

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Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature hosted by The Broke & The Bookish in which we can spotlight our favourite books according to the topic of the week. If you want a full list of upcoming topics, check out this page.

This week's topic is most anticipated debut novels of 2015. Considering I only recently returned to the blogosphere, I've not been around the hype for 2015 releases, so this was a tough list for me to make. I finally came up with ten, however, and I can't wait to get my claws into each of them.

1. RED QUEEN BY VICTORIA AVEYARD

The poverty stricken Reds are commoners, living under the rule of the Silvers, elite warriors with god-like powers. To Mare Barrow, a 17-year-old Red girl from The Stilts, it looks like nothing will ever change.

Mare finds herself working in the Silver Palace, at the centre of those she hates the most. She quickly discovers that, despite her red blood, she possesses a deadly power of her own. One that threatens to destroy Silver control.

But power is a dangerous game. And in this world divided by blood, who will win?

ADD TO GOODREADS.

I absolutely love the idea of a normal, human girl having the ability to overthrow society, and this novel sounds like it's going to be an epic read. I've seen a lot of mixed reviews from folks who have already read and reviewed their ARCs (lucky!), but I'm not going to let it put me off. This book sounds right up my alley.

2. THE CONSPIRACY OF US BY MAGGIE HALL

Avery West's newfound family can shut down Prada when they want to shop in peace, and can just as easily order a bombing when they want to start a war. Part of a powerful and dangerous secret society called the Circle, they believe Avery is the key to an ancient prophecy. Some want to use her as a pawn. Some want her dead.

To unravel the mystery putting her life in danger, Avery must follow a trail of clues from the monuments of Paris to the back alleys of Istanbul with two boys who work for the Circle — beautiful, volatile Stellan and mysterious, magnetic Jack. But as the clues expose a stunning conspiracy that might plunge the world into World War 3, she discovers that both boys are hiding secrets of their own. Now she will have to choose not only between freedom and family - but between the boy who might help her save the world, and the one she's falling in love with.

ADD TO GOODREADS.

I do enjoy novels that feature secret societies, and even more so when ancient prophecies are involved. The synopsis mentions Paris and Istanbul, so it looks like there's going to be some travel. I do hope the author has done her research on the local cultures. There's nothing worse than reading a book that features foreign lands but don't go into detail. All in all, this sounds like a truly interesting story, and I can't wait to check it out.

3. INK & ASHES BY VALYNNE E. MAETANI

Claire Takata has never known much about her father, who passed away when she was a little girl. But on the anniversary of his death, not long before her seventeenth birthday, she finds a mysterious letter from her deceased father, addressed to her stepfather. Claire never even knew that they had met.

Claire knows she should let it go, but she can’t shake the feeling that something’s been kept from her. In search of answers, Claire combs through anything that will give her information about her father... until she discovers he was a member of the yakuza, the Japanese mafia. The discovery opens a door that should have been left closed.

So begins the race to outrun his legacy as the secrets of her father’s past threaten Claire’s friends and family, newfound love, and ultimately her life.

ADD TO GOODREADS.

Japanese mafia? Yes please. I absolutely adore anything Japanese, and this book sounds really interesting. I get the feeling that this is going to be a really tense read, and I can't wait until May to finally read it.

4. DUPLICITY BY N.K. TRAVER

In private, seventeen-year-old Brandon hacks bank accounts just for the thrill of it. In public, he looks like any other tattooed bad boy with a fast car and devil-may-care attitude. He should know: he’s worked hard to maintain that façade. With inattentive parents who move constantly from city to city, he’s learned not to get tangled up in things like friends and relationships. So he’ll just keep living like a machine, all gears and wires.

Then two things shatter his carefully-built image: Emma, the kind, stubborn girl who insists on looking beneath the surface – and the small matter of a mirror reflection that starts moving by itself. Not only does Brandon’s reflection have a mind of its own, but it seems to be grooming him for something—washing the dye from his hair, yanking out his piercings, swapping his black shirts for … pastels. Then it tells him: it thinks it can live his life better, and it’s preparing to trade places.

And when it pulls Brandon through the looking-glass, not only will he need all his ill-gotten hacking skills to escape, but he’s going to have to face some hard truths about who he’s become. Otherwise he’ll be stuck in a digital hell until he’s old and gray, and no one will even know he's gone.

ADD TO GOODREADS.

I cannot believe the amount of stellar reviews this book has already received, though judging by the synopsis, I'm not surprised. This novel is about a hacker who's reflection in the mirror is trying to change his life. I'm intrigued, to say the least.

5. TRACKED BY JENNY MARTIN

On corporately controlled Castra, rally racing is a high-stakes game that seventeen-year-old Phoebe Van Zant knows all too well. Phee’s legendary racer father disappeared mysteriously, but that hasn't stopped her from speeding headlong into trouble. When she and her best friend, Bear, attract the attention of Charles Benroyal, they are blackmailed into racing for Benroyal Corp, a company that represents everything Phee detests.

Worse, Phee risks losing Bear as she falls for Cash, her charming new teammate. But when she discovers that Benroyal is controlling more than a corporation, Phee realizes she has a much bigger role in Castra’s future than she could ever have imagined. It's up to Phee to take Benroyal down. But even with the help of her team, can a street-rat destroy an empire?

ADD TO GOODREADS.

Being a huge fan of the Fast & Furious movie series, this book sounds perfect for me. I've read nothing but amazing reviews, and I cannot wait to see how the author manages to add enough action to this novel to give us that true sense that there's more at stake than we realise. It's going to happen. I just know it.

6. MINDWALKER BY A.J. STEIGER

At seventeen, Lain Fisher has already aced the Institute's elite training program for Mindwalkers, therapists who use a direct neural link to erase a patient's traumatic memories. A prodigy and the daughter of a renowned scientist - whose unexplained death left her alone in the world - Lain is driven by the need to save others.

When Steven, a troubled classmate, asks her to wipe a horrific childhood experience from his mind, Lain's superiors warn her to stay away. Steven's scars are too deep, they say; the risk too great. Yet the more time Lain spends with him, the more she begins to question everything about her society. As she defies the warnings and explores Steven's memories, it becomes clear that he's connected to something much bigger... something the Institute doesn't want the world to discover.

Lain never expected to be a rule breaker. She certainly didn't plan on falling in love with a boy she's been forbidden to help. But then, she never expected to stumble into a conspiracy that could ignite a revolution.

ADD TO GOODREADS.

Though it was the cover that drew me to check out this book initially, I will admit that it sounds like an interested premise. I've never read a book in which the main character could erase memories, so I can't wait to see what the author has done with this amazing - yet scary - power.

7. BECAUSE YOU'LL NEVER MEET ME BY LEAH THOMAS

Ollie and Moritz are best friends, but they can never meet. Ollie is allergic to electricity. Contact with it causes debilitating seizures. Moritz’s weak heart is kept pumping by an electronic pacemaker. If they ever did meet, Ollie would seize. But Moritz would die without his pacemaker.

Both hermits from society, the boys develop a fierce bond through letters that become a lifeline during dark times - as Ollie loses his only friend, Liz, to the normalcy of high school and Moritz deals with a bully set on destroying him.

ADD TO GOODREADS.

What would you do if you couldn't meet your best friend without one of you dying? This novel sounds like an absolutely heartbreaking read and one that has the potential to make it into my hall of fame. I just hope the author can live up to my expectations.

8. TWISTED FATE BY NORAH OLSON

When Alyson meets Graham Copeland, the new boy next door, she instantly feels like he’s a kindred spirit - shy and awkward like her, someone who has trouble making friends. It’s impossible to resist having a crush on him.

As usual, her sister, Sydney, sees things differently. In Sydney's mind, Graham's odd personality and secretive past scream psychopath, not sweetheart. Her gut is telling her to stay away from him, and to protect a love-struck Alyson from her own naïveté. But despite her instincts, Sydney is surprised to realize that a part of her is drawn to Graham, too.

And the more Sydney gets to know him, the more she realizes just how right - and wrong - she is about everything.

ADD TO GOODREADS.

I'm a little worried that this novel is going to struggle with the love triangle aspect that I know it will feature, but the premise sounds very intriguing. I want to know who Graham really is.

9. FIFTEEN BY JEN ESTES

Legend has it if you die in your dreams, you die in real life. Fifteen-year-old Ashling Campbell knows that’s not true because when she closes her eyes each night, she doesn’t dream about public nudity or prom dates. Instead, she’s catapulted to the front row of her future self’s execution - fifteen years from now - where monsters have taken control of her hometown and she, or rather, her 30-year-old counterpart, is their public enemy number one.

For three months and counting, it’s been the same dream... until an encounter with an antique dreamcatcher. Ash falls asleep to discover she’s no longer a mere spectator in these dreams - now she’s astral-projecting into the body of her future self. Each night, she goes on the run with a ragtag group of rebels - who have no idea she’s really a high school sophomore and not their noble warrior. She has to make it through each night so that she can wake up and find a way to change the future. For every action she does in the present day, she falls asleep to discover it had an equal impact fifteen years later. It’s up to her to manage her two worlds and make sure she’s still got a place in both.

ADD TO GOODREADS.

I can't even imagine what it would be like to dream about your own execution. That in itself is enough to get me to read this book, but I will admit that the astral projection is the thing I'm most interested in. I can't wait to see what the author does with this. It definitely sounds like an awesome read.

10. DATING DOWN BY STEFANIE LYONS

She thought she loved him. She thought she could change him. She thought if she just believed in him enough, his cheating and his drugs and his lying would stop, and she'd be his and he'd be hers and they'd love each other forever.

But for Samantha Henderson, X - the boy she will not name - is trouble. He's older, edgier, bohemian... and when he starts paying attention to Sam, she can't resist him. Samantha's family and friends try to warn her, but still she stays with him, risking her future and everything that really matters.

ADD TO GOODREADS.

Despite requesting a NetGalley review copy of this novel, I will admit that I'm a little wary of it, due simply to the fact that it's written in poetry. I've always stayed away from this kinds of books, but I thought I'd give this one a shot. The premise sounds relatively lighthearted and I'll definitely read it soon.

So there you have my top ten most anticipated debut novels of 2015! What made it onto your list? Leave me the link to your post/video and I'll be sure to check it out. For now, happy reading!