Most Anticipated Books of 2020 – Third Quarter

This year I’ve decided to do my “Most Anticipated” lists a little differently. In the past, I’ve followed the Top Ten Tuesday format of seasonal TBRs (winter, spring, summer, fall), but I like the idea of cleaner, more symmetrical quarterly lists, dividing the year into four neat segments. I’ve seen other bloggers use this format and I really love it! I’m linking up with The Top Ten Tuesday over at That Artsy Reader Girl!

I love the third quarter of the year, because it’s the bulk of summer releases and the beginning of fall releases. Publishers often focus on summer/fall for some of their big new books, and this year isn’t any different. We’re also starting to see some books that were pushed due to COVID-19 finally coming out, and for this reason my TBR for the next few months is a bit out of control! As usual, I’m going to pick my top five anticipated books for each month, but wow it was very hard to keep it to five. Here we go (click on the titles to go to Goodreads):

JULY 2020

The Year of the Witching by Alexis Henderson. So many books are being compared to The Handmaid’s Tale, and here’s another one. That’s not the reason I want to read it, though. Yes, the word “witch” in the title has a lot to do with that! Release date: July 21st.

Afterland by Lauren Beukes. And there’s no shortage of pandemic-themed books either. Here’s one in which most males have died, making them rare and valuable. This is being touted as Beukes’ “Stephen King” book, and I can’t wait to read it! Release date: July 28th.

Random Sh*t Flying Through the Air (The Frost #2) by Jackson Ford. It was recently revealed that Ford is a pseudonym for author Rob Boffard, who’s written quite a few science fiction novels. I love this urban fantasy series and I can’t wait to read this one! Release date: July 7th.

Wonderland by Zoje Stage. This book has been pushed a couple of times, but I believe this is officially a July release, finally. I’m excited to read this horror story, which I’ve heard people describe as “unusual.” Release date: July 14th.

Chaos Vector (The Protectorate #2) by Megan E. O’Keefe. I had a lot of fun with the ambitious Velocity Weapon last year, and I can’t wait to see what O’Keefe does with the sequel. Release date: July 28th.

AUGUST 2020

Lone Jack Trail (Neah Bay #2) by Owen Laukkanen. So many books have been shuffled around over the last few months, so it’s easy to miss new release dates put out by publishers. This is one of those books I missed, for some reason, and just realized it’s now an August release. Release date: August 11th.

The Living Dead by George A. Romero & Daniel Kraus. I’ve been hearing excellent things about this book and I can’t wait to start it! Kraus takes Romero’s classic tale and rewrites it? Or something like that. Not sure, but I hear it’s a wild ride! Release date: August 4th.

Architects of Memory (The Memory War #1) by Karen Osborne. This sounds like a fantastic start to a new space opera series, and it’s a debut I can hardly wait to start! Release date: August 25th.

The Last Uncharted Sky (The Risen Kingdoms #3) by Curtis Craddock. I’ve really enjoyed the swashbuckling, steampunk trilogy, and I can’t believe it’s wrapping up. Release date: August 11th.

A Chorus of Fire (The Sorcerer’s Song #2) by Brian D. Anderson. I loved the first book in the series, The Bard’s Blade, and I’m curious to see where Anderson will take his characters next:-D Release date: August 4th.

SEPTEMBER 2020

The Ghost Tree by Christina Henry. A new Christina Henry book is always cause for celebration, and this one sounds particularly good! A murder mystery with supernatural overtones? I’m definitely going to be ready to read this soon. Release date: September 8th.

The Trials of Koli (Rampart Trilogy #2) by M.R. Carey. I simply loved The Book of Koli, and I can’t wait to continue this dystopian series! Release date: September 17th.

Night of the Mannequins by Stephen Graham Jones. Jones has been busy! This is his second published book this year, and after I was blown away by The Only Good Indians, it’s pretty much a no-brainer that I will read everything he writes. Release date: September 1st.

A Deadly Education (Scholomance #1) by Naomi Novik. I’m having trouble getting a review copy of this book. I’ve been turned down on Edelweiss and it’s “wish only” on NetGalley, which doesn’t bode well for me, lol. I may as well just preorder a copy right now! Release date: September 29th.

The Bone Shard Daughter (The Drowning Empire #1) by Andrea Stewart. This is another fantasy debut I’m really excited about! And the start to a new series as well:-D Release date: September 10th.

So how did I do with my Second Quarter list? Not too bad, actually! I read all five April books, four out of five May books (I didn’t have a review copy of Aurora Burning, so it’s not surprising that I didn’t read it), and three out of five June books. AND I have a good excuse for not reading Wonderland or Lone Jack Trail. Publication dates for both were pushed to the third quarter, in fact, which is why you see them listed above. All in all, I feel good about the second quarter!

Second Quarter 2020 Most Anticipated Books

 

Are you planning to read any of these books this quarter?

Posted June 30, 2020 by Tammy in Lists, Top Ten Tuesday / 67 Comments

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67 responses to “Most Anticipated Books of 2020 – Third Quarter”

    • Tammy

      I haven’t seen the reviews for Wonderland yet, but I don’t care, I’m still looking forward to it:-)

      Reply
  4. Will

    You did sooo much better on your 2nd Quarter than I did! And I definitely forgot the Bone Shard Daughter on my list. But I’m mostly surprised on just how different our lists are! I don’t think there’s a single book in common. And yours’ looks so good!

    Reply
    • Tammy

      It’s because there are SO many good books coming out. It’s almost impossible for us all to choose the same ones:-)

      Reply
  6. todd

    I’m not going to bother listing which of these books I’d like to read, there’s too many. 🙂 It’s looking like a good quarter. And speaking of good quarters, great job checking off as many reads as you did this quarter.

    Reply
    • Tammy

      Thanks Todd, I was pleasantly surprised when I went to evaluate last quarter’s reads. Hopefully I can do the same this time:-)

      Reply
  8. Bob @ Beauty in Ruins

    I just reviewed Afterland today . . . sadly, I was disappointed. Chaos Vector looks great, but I still need to read Velocity Weapon and A Chorus of Fire is the same situation (I still need to read The Bard’s Blade).

    Reply
    • Tammy

      There are a lot of sequels coming out, which is great if you’re caught up. I always feel like I’m behind when it comes to popular series:-)

      Reply
  12. Sarah

    Look at you, killing it! lol. I’m also super excited for most of these. Curious to see what you think of Wonderland. Also noticed you were reading Stormblood- which is another I want to check out. And Afterland! I’ve been excited about that since I first saw it on EW last year. Such a good year for books.

    Reply
    • Tammy

      There seems to be a lot of hype around The Year of the Witching. Hopefully it lives up to it:-)

      Reply
  16. sjhigbee

    As ever, a stunning selection. I’m hoping to tuck into Afterland fairly soon – and I’ve just treated myself to Velocity Weapon, thanks to your recommendation and crossing fingers that my request for Chaos Vector is approved! Other than that, I also am in the queue for Deadly Education and waiting with hope in my heart to see if I can get hold of the arc for The Trials of Koli – if I can’t I’m buying it anyway. The quality of reading this year just goes on getting better and better…

    Reply
  17. Caitlin G.

    I really want to start the Curtis Craddock trilogy, I’ve had book one sitting on my shelf forever. I’m so excited for Chaos Vector!! and A Deadly Education also sounds amazing.
    Caitlin G. recently posted…June 2020 Wrap UpMy Profile

    Reply
    • Tammy

      Right?? Every time I get depressed, I try to remember how many books I want to read this year:-)

      Reply
    • Tammy

      I feel like there are SO many books coming out, it’s not that surprising that our lists are different:-)

      Reply
  26. Lynn

    This is a great list with lots of books I’m planning on reading and a few I need to try and fit in.
    Lynn 😀

    Reply
      • Brian D. Anderson

        That’s funny. When I finished my first novel I had to decide on a name. There were several Brian Anderson’s out there – a baseball player, a comic creator, and a skateboarder. So it was a choice between B.D. Anderson and Brian D. Anderson. I went with the latter. It wasn’t until I saw a review that said how much they enjoyed Mistborn that I realized my name looks very much like Brandon Sanderson. Oops! But I thought, “So what? It’s not like this whole writing thing will go anywhere. I doubt he’ll care. And even if he does, it’s not like I’ll ever meet the guy.” Yeah….we’re both with Tor, so those odds have increased.
        The real laughy part is that had I used my full name, Brian Don Anderson. It wouldn’t look like Sanderson, but would sound very close to it.

        Reply
    • Tammy

      I was surprised! I pretty much forgot about my quarterly TBR so when I went to check it was a nice surprise:-)

      Reply
  31. Lisa @ waytoofantasy

    I’m impressed with how well you did with your 2nd quarter list! I wish I’d been that productive when it comes to my own assigned reading LOL. Hope the third quarter is a good one.

    Reply

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