Hello, hello, besties! I won’t lie, brain power is pretty low currently and writing up reviews (or even super coherent posts tbh) is not feeling super likely lately, so I thought it would be nice to share a little anticipated releases list! Although it’s August (what?) and we’re in the later half of the year, there are still some releases coming out this year that I’m so excited for, so we’re going to talk about those today!
Let’s start with some August releases! I’ve got 5 anticipated releases coming out this month, and two of them actually came out today!
I started reading the Shadow of the Leviathan series by Robert Jackson Bennett this year (I actually finished A Drop of Corruption on the 30th) and I’m kind of obsessed! I love this fantasy world and the characters — Ana makes me laugh constantly. It’s such a fun read and the audiobooks are really well done too, so I love listening to the audiobook and reading physically. I can’t wait to get my hands on A Trade of Blood and read it as soon as possible!
If Allison Saft writes it, I am going to be reading it, so of course, I’ve been looking forward to her next YA fantasy, Immortal Game. It’s a sapphic love story centered around chess players with an Irish folklore inspired fantasy world and that sounds so fun! I know…almost nothing about chess, but that doesn’t really matter, I know I’m going to enjoy this no matter what! I was actually able to get a copy of this one on Saturday, so I have it and will hopefully be reading it soon!
We all know that I’m an Olivie Blake girlie. I get her and she gets me. Her next novel, Dreamland, comes out on the 11th. There’s murder, mystery, a gothic villa, it has quite literally everything that I look for in a novel, and with it being written by Olivie Blake, you know that it’s going to have some wild moments. I’m buzzing with excitement over it. The Barnes and Noble I went to recently had it out (a whole week and a half early?) and I couldn’t resist, so I bought it and it is currently in my possession and ready to be read!
Another book coming out on the 11th is She Haunts Me Still by De Elizabeth. I didn’t hear about this book until a few weeks ago, but once I read the summary, I had to add it to my anticipated list. It centers around a theatre major who lands the role of Juliet in Romeo and Juliet, which, really, if you want me to read a book you could just stop there, but there’s a haunting and “a bargain that dates back to the New England vampire panic”, I’m honestly so intrigued!
My last anticipated release for August is Suffer a Witch: A Memoir by Joy McCullough, which comes out on the 18th. Enter the Body by Joy McCullough is easily one of my favorite books of all time, and I loved Everything is Poison by her, so I’ve been eagerly awaiting her next release. The title drew me in right away, and it being a memoir makes me very curious. It says it’s for readers of Know My Name by Chanel Miller and fans of Broadway’s John Proctor Is the Villain, so basically, a book made for me. It touches on topics such as sexual abuse, so it will definitely be a very heavy read, and with McCullough’s gorgeous writing, I know that this is a book that will really make an emotional impact. I do have an ARC of it, so I’ll be starting it this week!
September is another great month for anticipated reads, as another of my 5 most anticipated are coming out!
On September 1st, a book that, if you know me really well, will probably surprise you by being on my anticipated list, is Our Strange Duet by Erin A. Craig. The reason it will surprise you is Our Strange Duet is a reimagining of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Phantom of the Opera. While Phantom is the most enjoyable of ALW’s musicals for me, I am not an ALW fan (I stand with Patti LuPone on this, okay), so I typically avoid anything involving him if I can, but I am super intrigued by this one as it’s fully focused on Christine Daaé. I’m really curious as to what Craig is going to do with this story — I’ve read one book from her and really liked her writing style, and based on that book, I think her writing style is going to work really well for this kind of story. This is one that I’ll definitely be reading via audio (and physically if I can) because the audiobook not only has full cast narration, but the cast is full of Broadway/West End performers, such as Beatrice Penny-Touré as Christine, Jordan Fisher as Raoul, Sierra Bogges as Carlotta, Norm Lewis as Ubaldo Piangi, and Stephanie Styles as Meg, plus Dan Stevens as Monsieur André. This audiobook specifically sounds like it was made for me!
Probably my most anticipated release for the rest of the year, Thoughts Be Bloody by Auden Patrick, comes out on September 15th, and I have an ARC! I’ve talked about Thoughts Be Bloody on the blog before and basically haven’t shut up about it since I heard about it so I won’t go too far into why I’m looking forward to it, but it’s a Hamlet retelling and that’s really all you need to know (and has the most gorgeous cover). My only 5 star read so far this year was a Hamlet retelling…do we think Thoughts Be Bloody can do the same?
Emily St. John Mandel is such a brilliant writer. Both Station Eleven and Sea of Tranquility were in my top books the year that I read them; I think that she has such a way with words and her books always make me connect with her characters and feel a lot of big feelings. I’m really looking forward to her next release, Exit Party, which comes out on September 15th. Exit Party centers around a man who disappears from a party in Los Angeles and a woman who is searching for answers. Great. I’m sold, I don’t need to know any more. Emily St. John Mandel always has really great commentary on social issues in her books as well, so I’m really curious to see what sort of social commentary Exit Party will have.
Earlier this year I read Hekate – The Witch by Nikita Gill and absolutely loved it. The second I finished it I went to add Styx – The River to my tbr and I’m so glad that it’ll be out on September 15th. It’s no secret that my love for Greek Mythology has really been reawakened this year and I’ve been reading and adding to my tbr a lot of Greek Mythology retellings. What I love about Nikita Gill’s retellings is that they’re told in verse. Even without lengthy descriptions, I was able to fully visualize the world of the story and was completely immersed in it, and I’m sure Styx – The River will be the same. Give it to me now! Also look at the cover! Absolutely stunning.
It feels like it’s been 84 years since the last Truly Devious novel was released, but on September 29th The Velvet Knife is finally coming out and I’m so excited that it’ll soon be in my hands. I love the Truly Devious series, I think it’s such a strong YA mystery series, and I love Stevie as the protagonist. I’m really looking forward to this one being set in New York City. Not only is it one of my favorite places to be, I also think it’ll be a nice change of pace for the series, and there’s a cult? So excited, can’t wait to see where it goes.
I have a few more books I’m looking forward to coming out later this year like To Dream in Darkness by Ann Liang, Free Falling by Lyla Sage, and Mazywood by Tananarive Due among others, but I would say that these 10 are my most anticipated.
What about you? Do you have any more anticipated releases for this year? Let me know in the comments!
Until next time 💜
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