Most Anticipated Releases of 2020 (July to December) 💕

Hello fellow bookworms 💕 It’s time to talk about the upcoming 2020 releases again!! I always love shouting about what books I’m anticipating and as we’re already in July now, I’m talking about my most anticipated releases for the second half of 2020 today! 🥰 However, in this part two, I won’t including some of the books whose release date got pushed back to the last half of the year (10 Things I Hate about Pinky, The Enigma Game, Where Dreams Descend, Cemetery Boys) because I already mentioned them in my first post, so if you want to know my thoughts you can read them over there! 😄 In general, I feel like compared to the first half of the year, not that many books that I’m 100% excited for are coming out in the last half of the year. There are still some amazing books that I’m anticipating (15 books in total), but especially in the summer months not (July/August) and I don’t even have one book in December to mention, and only one in November. However, September literally has ALL the books that I would love to read! If you’re excited about a book releasing in July/August/November/December feel free to let me know as I’d love to add some more new releases to my list!

Me trying to keep up with all the new releases

Note 🌻 As always I tried to include the representation of the diverse books on my list, please let me know if I missed something or got something wrong! As always I’ve included a link to the Goodreads pages of the books in my post, just click the cover! 😊

The Crow Rider (Kalyn Josephson) 💕 Expected Publication: July 7th 💖  MC with depression 📚 Conclusion to The Storm Crow ➽ I read and loved The Storm Crow last year, so I’m very excited for his sequel/conclusion! What I appreciate most about the first book was how it subverted a lot of common Fantasy tropes and had such an interesting magic system, based on different crows. I feel like we need more Fantasy books whose magic is based on animals, especially as I love animals ❤ I also appreciated the Depression representation, as mental health rep in Fantasy is still rare. The book explored the main character’s struggles with her mental health and her mission to save her kingdom and I cannot wait to see where this takes us in this book!

Cinderella is Dead (Kalynn Bayron) 💕 Expected Publication: July 7th 💖  Black Sapphic MC ➽ I already mentioned this book in my 20 Books by Black Authors I’d Like to Read post and by the time you’re reading this post it’s already out!! I’m definitely excited about this Cinderella retelling, especially as it’s got a different premise and revolves more around the aftermath of the fairytale than the retelling aspect itself! Plus, it seems to be raising a lot of discussion about challenging the social norms and expectations, especially when those are steeped in sexism and heteronormativity!

Darius the Great Deserves Better (Adib Khorram) 💕 Expected Publication: August 25th 💖 Gay Iranian MC with Depression ➽ I just recently read Darius the Great Is Not Okay and loved it so much! It was a fantastic, emotional contemporary full of so much friendship and family dynamics, plus discussions about mental health and identity. I’m always a bit hesitant about contemporaries getting sequels, but this one sounds really good, plus I like Darius a lot (and agree wholeheartedly with the title). It’ll definitely be interesting to see him navigating exploring his first relationship on top of everything else going on.

 

Queen of Volts (Amanda Foody) 💕 Expected Publication: September 1st 💖  Black Bisexual MC 📚 Conclusion to Ace of Shades ➽ AAHHHH!! Ace of Shades is one of my favorite books, so I’m very excited for this conclusion! This probably shares the spot of my most anticipated release with The Tower of Nero! I have to admit that I haven’t yet read the second book in the series – King of Fools – but I want to reread the first book and read this next book with a friend right before the last one releases 🥰 I love the world and characters so much, so I’m both nervous for them but also excited to get more content, even though the series will sadly be over then.

Recommended For You (Laura Silverman) 💕 Expected Publication: September 1st 💖  Jewish MC  ➽ Recently I loved the author’s book You Asked for Perfect, so now I definitely want to read everything she puts out. Recommended for You definitely sounds like I could enjoy it because it’s about a bookworm working in a book store and entering a competition with the new boy to sell the customers the most books as whoever wins will get the desired holiday bonus. It definitely sounds like an enjoyable romance with a lot of book love involved and I always appreciate books that feature characters who love reading 📚

The Reckless Afterlife of Harriet Stoker (Lauren James) 💕 Expected Publication: September 3rd 💖  ➽ I loved Lauren James’s The Loneliest Girl in the Universe, so I have been wanting to read more of her books, especially as I don’t see them mentioned nearly enough. This new one definitely sounds intriguing, it’s about the afterlife and ghosts who seem to reside in it. But when the titular Harriet Stoker dies she threatens to unleash all her power as a newbie ghost and it seems to be causing some problems for the other inhabitants of the afterlife. This already found very mysterious and I like that it’s about ghosts – which get neglected a lot in Fantasy – so I hope it’s as going to be good!

The Other Side of the Sky (Kaufman & Spooner) 💕 Expected Publication: September 8th 💖  ➽ I really love the Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner teamups, as both write such great novels together! I loved These Broken Stars as well as Undying, so I cannot wait to get my hands on their next sci-fi story! This one is about two places – one in the sky and the other on the surface – and the terrible prophecy that links them both. I’m definitely intrigued to see the different countries/kingdoms as I love a good story about places that are the opposite from each other. Kaufman and Spooner have proven that they can write such interesting story and a great romance as well, so I’m excited to read their newest release!

Legendborn (Tracy Deonn) 💕 Expected Publication: September 15th 💖  Black MC, LGBTQ rep ➽ Another Fantasy book that I’m highly anticipating because it sounds amazing! I love contemporary fantasy stories and this one is set at the local university when the main character witnesses a magical attack and finds out that she has a magic of her own that she never knew about. It already sets up an interesting magic system and promises a lot of secrets and adventure, so I’m definitely down for that! As much as I love high Fantasy stories, I really want more Fantasy stories to be set in the present day like Legendborn, so I’m really executed to read it! 😊

Dear Justyce (Nic Stone) 💕 Expected Publication: September 29th 💖  Black MC 📚 Companion to Dear Martin ➽ I loved Dear Martin when I read it two years ago, so I’m excited to be reading a sequel, though it’s actually more of a companion novel. It follows Quan who goes to prison for a crime he didn’t commit but was found guilty of and the story explores the racism in the justice and prison system in America. It’s going to be a very impactful book unpacking institutionalized racism and it’s also told in flashbacks and letters to the protagonist of the first book – Justyce.

The Tower of Nero (Rick Riordan) 💕 Expected Publication: September 29th 💖  Bi MC 📚 Conclusion to The Trials of Apollo ➽ AHHH!! This is probably my most anticipated release for the rest of the year!! I love Rick Riordan’s books in general, but especially appreciate his Trials of Apollo series as it’s one of my favorites. I love Apollo as a really flawed character so much and the growth he goes through in the book series is truly remarkable and so well-done. I also love all the humor and dynamics, especially as old characters from Percy Jackson and the Heroes of Olympus keep showing up. I definitely cannot wait to see how this story will end and I’m a bit scared too because the books have turned increasingly darker and more sinister – especially now that Apollo faces his greatest threat 😱 This is definitely a book that I’ll be preordering!

Skyhunter (Marie Lu) 💕 Expected Publication: September 29th 💖  Asian MC  ➽ Marie Lu has slowly become one of my favorite authors so I’m very excited to finally get another book from her. I haven’t yet read her 2019 release Kingdom of Back, because it doesn’t appeal to me as much as her other books, but as it’s historical fiction with a dash of Fantasy I’ll make sure to pick it up eventually! Skyhunter however, does sound much more up my alley! It’s a sci-fi story about a world under siege from a huge Federation that is trying to own conquer as much as possible and is sending mutant beasts after the few free places that remain. I love a good sci-fi book set in space and this one seems to be full of adventure and intrigue, so I’m very excited about this new series ❤

 

One Way or Another (Kara McDowell) 💕 Expected Publication: October 6th 💖  MC with anxiety  ➽ I’ve had this on my radar for a while now, as it’s subtly festive and I’m already in the mood of Christmas 🎄In general, this sounds like a really interesting book, especially as it’s told in two parallel timelines that happen depending on what choice the main character makes. I’ve always wanted to tree a book that deals with the What If of choices and explores how things turn out depending on what you choose. This especially releases to me as the main character has anxiety and therefore generally difficulties to choose and I relate to that a lot. The book definitely promises to be really interesting as we’ll see how each decision plays out 😱

Among the Beasts and Briars (Ashley Poston) 💕 Expected Publication: October 20th 💖  ➽ I really like Ashley Poston’s books so I was beyond excited to see that she had a Fantasy book coming out this year! I loved Geekerella so much when I read it back in 2016, though I didn’t love the sequel as much and I’m not sure about the third book – also coming out this year – as it features one of the most unlikable characters. I’m always a bit unsure about books that try to cast a positive light on characters who’ve been acting like a jerk, so I’m much more excited for Among The Beasts and Briars. It sounds really interesting too, as it’s about a creepy, dangerous wood and a girl trying to save her kingdom from a deadly curse that almost cost her everything.🌳

Magic Dark and Strange (Kelly Powell) 💕 Expected Publication: October 27th 💖  ➽ I just recently discovered this book when I was browsing Goodreads, but it immediately caught my eye because it seems right up my alley! Magic Dark and Strange is a mix of historical fiction, mystery and supernatural powers, a combination that has worked out really well for me in the past 🥰 I’ve been wanting to read more mystery books this year and I especially love when they are set in a historical setting, so I cannot wait to get to this book! It definitely sounds intriguing and the perfect historical mystery to start out with!

Instant Karma (Marissa Meyer) 💕 Expected Publication: November 3rd 💖  ➽ With the Renegades Trilogy coming to an end last year, Marissa Meyer is back with a brand new novel, this time a contemporary with a slightly magical twist! I have come to adore Meyer’s works as they are always so entertaining, so much fun to read and have great characters, so I’m also looking forward to reading Instant Karma! I’m a bit nervous about how this ‘karma’ element will be used in the story, especially as the main character seems to be a bit caught up as an overachiever who judges others really harshly – something that might make her really unlikeable. But I’m hoping for the best and a lot of character growth in this story – the premise is definitely interesting enough!

Honorable Mentions ❤

 

m/m romance 💖 inspired by Hindu Mythology 💖 bisexual MC 💖

What’s your most anticipated book for the second half of 2020? Any diverse releases that I should add to my TBR? 💕