Book promotional info

​Book awards & honors & lists

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• FINALIST, 2025 Audie Awards®, Best Narration By The Author(s)

• WINNER of the 2024 Readers' Choice Award for Best Adult Novel (Bronze)

Advance praise for The 23rd Hero

"Rebecca Anne Nguyen is so fierce, funny, rollicking, racy, unsparingly insightful about our talent for making a mess of things and irrepressibly optimistic about our chances for fixing them that she makes us eager to follow her anywhere, whether to times past or futures newly imagined. The 23rd Hero is a page-turning, wild and marvelous ride.”

— Susan Choi, Book Prize finalist, Pulitzer Prize finalist, National Book Award Winner for Trust Exercise

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“A love story that transcends time with a hero the reader will never forget. This compulsively readable debut will transport you from a dystopian future to the idyll of 16th-century France, all on the wings of a love story for the ages. Nguyen’s razor-sharp humor, gorgeous prose, and lush world-building had me turning the pages late into the night. A writer to watch.”

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— Jessica Pearce Rotondi, author of What We Inherit: A Secret War and a Family’s Search for Answers

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"Rebecca Nguyen’s novel The 23rd Hero is a breathtakingly original and gripping story of one apparently ordinary woman’s struggle to reverse climate change by revisiting the errors of history. Seamlessly bringing together modern Vancouver and 16th-century France, Nguyen weaves a beautiful and compelling narrative that is ultimately about our universal search for identity and connection—even across the centuries. I stayed up late reading, utterly captivated by this surprising and magical combination of dystopian science fiction, call to environmental action, and passionate love story. A fabulous debut!"

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— Melodie Winawer, critically acclaimed author of The Scribe of Siena and Anticipation

“The 23rd Hero is a thrilling, escapist ride through time, an old-fashioned romance, a modern parable about climate change, and, most importantly, the story of a woman finding her purpose. This is a delightful page-turner by an exciting new voice in fiction. Do yourself a favor and get lost in this story; you’ll return feeling a little more hopeful about everything.” 

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— Mandy Berman, author of The Learning Curve and Perennials

Book review quotes

“The consistently high emotional intensity throughout Nguyen’s novel is the fuel that powers its narrative engine, as is the complex dynamism between the two lead characters. The passion is incendiary…in this Outlander-esque adventure. Fans of time-travel romance are likely to find this story deeply satisfying.” 

— Kirkus Reviews

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“The passion Rebecca Anne Nguyen captures between the two [lovers] is equaled by the challenge to their psyches…as the story evolves. Readers who look for intriguing time travel settings will find the tale steeped in unusual connections. The result will appeal to both romance readers and time-travel enthusiasts…with satisfyingly original dilemmas and outcomes.” 

— D. Donovan, Midwest Book Review

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"A love story that transcends time. The beating heart of the book is the love story between Sloane and Bastian, a man who exists only as a dream until he steps into her life and reveals his true identity. Their chemistry leaps off the page, and the heroine's humor and grit had me laughing and biting my nails to see what happened next! The lush settings of a dystopian future and idyllic French countryside were transporting (let's just say I want a treehouse now). I could not put this down. A brilliant debut from a writer to watch."

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— Jessica Pearce Rotondi, author of What We Inherit: A Secret War and a Family’s Search for Answers, via Goodreads

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Excerpts

• Excerpt on She Reads

• Excerpt in Wintermute Lit

• Excerpt in The Write Launch

• Excerpt in Defenestration