15 Books by Latine Debut Authors to Read This Year

Archive of Unknown Universes by Ruben Reyes Jr.

Ruben Reyes Jr. is the author of the short story collection There Is a Rio Grande in Heaven, and this book is his debut novel. It’s a genre-bending tale of two families in alternate timelines of the Salvadoran civil war. In 1978 Havana and 2018 Cambridge, their stories explore displacement and loss, but also belonging and love. This is one of those books that asks big questions about what could have been.

The Many Mothers of Dolores Moore by Anika Fajardo

Thirty-five-year-old Dolores Moore has been laid off from her job and is going through a breakup, and now she’s grieving the loss of her mother. She’s staring down the task of sorting out her inheritance, all while a Greek chorus of dead relatives’ voices follows her around offering unsolicited advice. Those voices have big feelings about a deathbed promise Dorrie made to her mother to return to her birthplace in Colombia, but she feels like it’s the worst time to leave home. Then a minor medical emergency brings an old flame back into her life, one who offers to house sit so Dorrie can make good on her promise. With the chorus egging her on and a handdrawn map of Cali, Colombia in her possession, she sets out on a journey she’ll never forget.

An Amateur Witch’s Guide to Murder by K. Valentin

“Mateo Borrero has 99 problems—and all of them hinge on his missing bruja mother and the demon she trapped inside his body.” What an opener! This queer romantic fantasy has a witchy pretender, a nepo baby with a curse that keeps killing people around him, a deadly magical conspiracy, and the aforementioned demon. I need this yesterday.

But Not Too Bold by Hache Pueyo

This is a sapphic monster novella with gothic fantasy elements inspired by a very specific version of Bluebeard. What kind of monster, you ask? A (gulp) giant humanoid spider named Anatema, Lady of the Capricious house, who just killed the keeper of the keys by, you know, eating her. Now the keeper’s protégée, Dália, must take up the task of locking and unlocking the drawers of Anatema’s memories. The good news: access to these memories could be the key to unraveling the crime that made her predecessor a spidey snack. The bad news: Anatema loves her a beautiful woman, and has this pesky habit of devouring the ones who cross her path.

Beasts of Carnaval by Rosália Rodrigo

The cover got me, and the premise sat me right on down: historical fantasy set in a world inspired by Puerto Rico featuring magical realism, Caribbean carnaval culture, and Taíno mythology. Isla Bestia is a secretive island where the wealthy elite come to engage in all types of indulgent revelry. Sofía is a freedwoman from a nearby colonized island who’s there for one thing: to find her missing twin brother. Her resolve is strong, at first, but there’s something about this place that… changes you. To find her twin and make it out of Isla Bestia alive, she’ll have to peel back the curtain to find out what really goes on in this seemingly magical place.

Malinalli by Veronica Chapa

Malinalli, also known as La Malinche, is the woman who served as Hernán Cortés’ translator in his conquest of what we now know as Mexico. Though enslaved and almost certainly a victim herself, she’s one of the most controversial women in history: the term “malinchista” is used to this day to refer to a sellout or traitor. Veronica Chapa reimagines her story with a lot of nuance and a little bit of magic, the tale of a woman crushed by loss and robbed of all agency who dares to seek vengeance and reclaim her power. As a lover of stories that flesh out the narratives of history’s most maligned women, I am a fangirl for this book.

Bochica by Carolina Flórez-Cerchiaro

In 1923 in Colombia, Antonia and her family settle into a big ol’ mansion that sits above a legendary waterfall. Sure, it’s haunted and every night they spend there is riddled with nightmares, but they stay until tragedy strikes and Antonia’s mother falls into the waterfall to her death. Antonia’s father is destroyed by grief (understandably) but tries to burn the house down with Antonia still in it. Three years later, Antonia returns to the home that has haunted her dreams when it’s converted into a swanky hotel, a trip that brings up a lot of old feelings, suspicions, and fragmented memories that make Antonia question the circumstances around her mother’s death.

Mayra by Nicky Gonzalez

Ingrid hasn’t heard from her best friend Mayra in years, not since she left their Hialeah neighborhood in Miami for college in the northeast. When Mayra calls to invite Ingrid to her house in the Everglades, Ingrid accepts despite some misgivings about the whole thing. The journey to the house isn’t particularly reassuring, but Mayra is exactly who Ingrid remembers, and for a moment, it feels like the weekend will be just like old times. Then Mayra’s husband shows up unexpectedly, and old resentments bubble up like they’re wont to do. On the surface, it’s all lavish dinners and a sumptuous setting, but nothing is truly what it seems.

The Undoing of Alejandro Velasco by Diego Boneta

If your reading taste leans towards “sinister, but make it sexy,” you’ll want to write this one down. Tennis star Alejandro Velasco has died, and his handsome friend and rival Julian has just arrived at the Velasco estate for the funeral. It’s immediately apparent that this family is a special kind of glamorous, especially Alejandro’s mercurial and very alluring sister Sofia. Julian can’t seem to resist the pull of the Velasco orbit or Sofia, going toe-to-toe with her on and off the courts. But Julian has a secret: he knows Alejandro didn’t meet his end by accident, and it’s becoming more and more apparent that this family—including and perhaps especially Sofia—cannot be trusted. Julian, honey. You are in danger!

The Latina Anti-Diet by Dalina Soto

Because my plan to live forever subsisting on spite is not sustainable, I went on a semi-recent journey to tighten up my nutrition knowledge and realized there were some big gaps in my game plan. My nutritionist helped me tons, as did a handful of nutritionist and dietician content creators on TikTok. Dalina Soto is one of my all time favorites (@yourlatinanutritionist on TikTok and Insta), a staunch advocate for culturally inclusive approaches to health and nutrition. This is her fantastic debut, dedicated to “everyone who’s been told to lay off the tortillas and swap their white rice for brown,” because “food is so much more than calories; it’s about celebrating our culture and living a life full of flavor.” Salsa is a veggie! Dalina has been trying to tell us.

Latine Herbalism by Iosellev Castañeda

Not to make this all about me, but another interest I recently decided to pursue is herbalism. I enrolled in a renowned nationwide program and have been learning a ton, but I’ve always known that I would need to seek out additional resources to tap into the sides of plant medicine that were rooted in my own culure. Latine Herbalism is a guide into the art of Modern Curanderismo and the rich history behind its herbal remedies, plant medicine, holistic and spirituals, and more. So basically what I’m saying is this book came riiiight on time and I need to get my hands on it ASAP.

Make It Plant-Based! Mexican: 50+ Recipes for Vegan Soups, Tacos, Tortas, and Sweets by Andrea Aliseda

Learn to Love You by Jade Hernandez

I added this to my TBR when all I knew is that it’s part of a planned series called “El Rancho Los Corazones.” Junior and Mayde are totally into one another—and have been!!— but all they do is pine, pine, pine and convince themselves they’re alone in their feelings. Por favor!!! Junior is expected to take over the family’s rancho, but secretly has different desires that his family would never support. Mayda is the family friend who practically is family, but who’s always kept the Águila-Gutierrez familia a little bit at bay to avoid them finding out about her mother’s battle with addiction. He likey her and she likey he, and after years of all that pining, something’s gotta give.

Sparks Fly by Zakiya N. Jamal (December 2)

I present you with a two-for-one special: Sparks Fly is out in December, but Zakiya N. Jamal’s YA debut (If We Were a Movie) came out earlier this year! The setup for Sparks Fly is just so good: a late bloomer takes her roomie up on a last-minute invite to a sex club to jump start her love life and ends up making an instant connection with a very sexy stranger. Stella would have been down to do the deed for the first time, too, but when she and the hottie discover they don’t have protection, she takes it as a sign that it wasn’t meant to be. Imagine her surprise when said hottie, actual name Max, walks into her office the next day, the CEO of a an AI company she’s surprised to learn her digital media website is partnering with. So the guy she almost let into her panties is the guy who’s now threatening her job. Awkward! Lucky for our anxiety levels, this is a romance.

Guatemalan Rhapsody by Jared Lemus

This story collection was already on my radar when Susie Dumond wrote this glowing recommendation earlier this year. “Guatemalan Rhapsody is full of characters and situations that crackle with tension, desire, and hunger for something just out of grasp. Each story comes alive in vivid color from its first words, with gripping settings across Guatemala and the Guatemalan diaspora in the U.S. Jared Lemus brilliantly interrogates themes of Guatemalan heritage, masculinity, responsibility, and loyalty in his debut short story collection, proving himself a dazzling new writer to watch.” I know I’ll be watching.