I’m a little late, since we’re halfway through July, but today I’m sharing my most anticipated books for July, August and September. I’ve picked my top five for each month, and at the end of this post I’ll show you how I did last quarter (not bad, actually!) Titles are linked to Goodreads, here we go:
July 2026 Most Anticipated:
Carry Me To My Grave by Christopher Golden. This will be my first Christopher Golden book, and I hope to start it soon:-)
The Winter Folk by Jen Julian. The combo of words “Appalachian gothic horror” is hard to resist!
Home Sick by Rhiannon Grist. A remote location. A weird neighbor. Strange happenings. What could go wrong?
The Exquisite Torment of Loving Your Enemy by Brigitte Knightley. I have already read this and LOVED it. Don’t ask questions, read my review if you need convincing.
Sea of Charms (The Spellshop #3) by Sarah Beth Durst. I’m really enjoying this cozy, humorous series with lovable characters.
August 2026 Most Anticipated:
The Art of Charming a Changeling by Sylvie Cathrall. This is a cozy fantasy by a favorite author that revolves around art conservation (with a touch of magic!) It sound so good!
The Night Pool by Lauren Lee Smith. This Gold Rush era horror story is being compared to Lone Women by Victor LaValle, which was fantastic, so I have high hopes for it!
Be Still My Unbeating Heart by Josh Winning. I am currently reading this, and it’s funny but I’m not completely sold yet. I will report back soon!
The Calamities by Chuck Wendig. This is probably my most anticipated book of August!
The Two of Us at the End of the World by C.A. Fletcher. I just downloaded this from NetGalley (and hoping the publisher will offer a physical copy) and I cannot wait!
September 2026 Most Anticipated:
September is Out. Of. Control. I literally have twice this many “must read” books on my list!
Something of a Calling by Zoje Stage. This is a horror/mystery, a combo I love, and even better I love the author too:-)
All Her Beautiful Deaths by A. Rushby. Rushby’s last book was so original, I immediately added her to my must read list. This sounds fantastic too!
Kiss Slay Replay by Rachel Harrison. A new Rachel Harrison will always make my “most anticipated” list!
Worry Box by Chris Panatier. Even though this has a September release date, I actually plan to read it in August for Summer of Horror:-)
Newbourne Park by Jennifer Thorne. I am both excited and scared to read Thorne’s follow-up to the amazing Diavola.
Second Quarter Results:
I didn’t do too badly, I read 12 out of 15 picks from last quarter! If I had to pick my favorite of these, it would be The Children🙂
These look good and you’re doing great with your reading. I have book 1 in that Spellshop series.
The Spellshop is really good, I hope you get to read it.
I’ve got a lot of these on my tbr too!
I hope we both love them:-)
Great job on the 2nd quarter — I loved The Children too! The Two of Us at the End of the World is one that I”m really looking forward to as well, and of course I’ll absolutely be reading the new Rachel Harrison and Jennifer Thorne books. So many great books ahead!
It’s a crazy summer/fall book season for sure:-)
The Rachel Harrison sounds like so much fun and a follow-up to Diavola! yay!!
Super excited for both of those, especially the Jennifer Thorne!
Lots of good looking books here! And you did a good job with the anticipated ones up till now!
Thanks Lisa!
So fun to see what books are coming out these next few months. I’m really looking forward to Kiss, Slay, Replay and The Art of Charming a Changeling. Calamities looks really good, too. Happy reading any and all of these. 😀
Thanks Lark! There are so many books coming up, it’s going to be hard to read them all:-)
A Sea odf Charm and The Exquisite Torment of Loving your Enemy are also on my list Tammy!
I am so curious to see what you think of Exquisite Torment!
I just finished Carry Me to My Grave but have read a few by this author and anticipated really liking it. I never would have guessed the supernatural entity in this one – such a unique spin and hope you love it.
It sounds so good, I need to start it soon!
The Art of Charming a Changeling looks really good! Happy reading and I hope you enjoy all the new releases!
Thanks Brittany!
I only recently found out about The Art of Charming a Changeling and I am looking forward to it a looot.
I love her writing, and this sounds VERY different from her last series which was sci-fi.
So many exciting books on the horizon. I cant wait to hear what you think of your first Christopher Golden book and am very curious to hear what you think of The Winter Folk and Home Sick.The Art Of Charming A Changeling is one of my most anticipated books of the quarter too and it makes me so happy to hear that you consider the author a favourite also. There are others I’m curious about here too and I hope you love them all.
It looks like you did wonderfully with last quarters choices too. You definitely do a great job of picking up the books on these lists each quarter.
I hope I can get to all of them! My TBR coming up is so packed. But the Christopher Golder for sure is a must read.
You have some books on your list I’m very curious to hear about, so get reading! 🙂 As for myself, I’ve only just begun thinking about what I might want to read in the coming months. All I’ve decided so far is I want to read a classic, a great non-fiction title, and an epic fantasy, but I’ve not decided what else or what any of those will be. May not decide until I’m ready to start each one.
I think picking your book right before you start reading is the perfect idea:-)
Despite what Todd said, none of these are on my list, so… maybe take this quarter off And/or have fun? A fun and productive month, or a Rip Van Winklesque break, both are good;)
I love the idea of a Rip Van Winkle break, lol!
I need to read Sea of Charms because I loved The Spellshop , I hope to get to the rest of that series soon! Be Still My Unbeating Heart sounds excellent that’ll be on my August list as well! As well as The Art of Charming a Chageling.I don’t recognize any of your Sept picks but I do like a Rachel Harrison book and would love to read more by her. So many great picks! And well done on reading so many books from last quarter !!
Thank you! I hope to read Sea of Charms very soon. The series hasn’t let me down yet:-)
Many of these are new to me which is pat of why I read your blog!
Aww thanks Anne!
I’m hoping to read, “Calamities” and “The Two of Us at the End of the World,” too! Are you going to read, “Victorious” by V.E. Schwab?
I’m curious to read your thoughts about “Thistlemarsh.” I started reading it, but I couldn’t get past the first 2 chapters. I’ll keep an eye out for your review.
I would love to read Victorious, although it’s been so long since the last book and I don’t have time for a reread.
12 out of 15 is great progress!
Thanks!
I hope you continue to do as well with this next selection as you did with the last. The Children is definitely one of my favourites so far this year and I would also love to read Japanese Gothic.
Lynn 😀