Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl. Each Tuesday is assigned a topic.
This weeks topic: Top Ten Most Anticipated Books for the Second Half of 2026
This is the list of books I’m looking forward to later this year. A mix of mostly fantasy books but also a few, mystery, horror, and romance books in there. These are in no particular order.
Title: The Knave and the Moon
Author: Rachel Gillig
Expected Publication: September 1, 2026
Genre: Gothic Romantasy
Series: The Stonewater Kingdom
Synopsis:
Aisling Cathedral is in ruins. Rodrick Myndacious, Bartholomew, and Maude Bauer are rumored to be dead—and the king has taken Sybil Delling as his bride. To show off their union and solidify his power over Traum, Benji proposes a series of tournaments throughout the hamlets. Captive and drugged, Sybil remains determined to vanquished him as she once did the Omens, even if she destroys the kingdom’s faith—and herself—in the process.
But then a mysterious knave rises to the top of the lists, a man with no name and no memory who may just be Sybil’s ticket to undoing Benji’s power. For in a land where stories repeat themselves, where a king can prove as cruel as a god, the only way to truly destroy the Stonewater Kingdom’s faith is to save it.
I’ve heard great things about this series. This is the second book in it. I haven’t read the first one yet but it is in my TBR.
Title: Tempest
Author: Victoria Aveyard
Expected Publication: September 8, 2026
Genre: Fantasy, Romance
Synopsis:
May the sea always sing for you
Cat Rose knows what it is to live in two worlds, in two times. Before—as Lady Catrine Rose of the Meridian Empire, chained to a loathsome lord with a dwindling fortune. And after—as the Widow Rose, queen of a pirate tavern in the Lyrian Sea, determined to be the master of her own fate.
But tides turn and winds change. The Meridian Empire looms on the horizon, the full weight of her navy falling on the Lyrian, bent on reclaiming the wealthy colonies and crushing the pirate republic once and for all. Ship after ship is captured, save for one, captained by a pirate who continually evades both noose and blade: the legendary Valerian Kane.
With his fearsome ship and uncanny connection to the song of the sea, Valerian is the only man who might rally the pirates who remain. The only man who threatens the Empire. And the only man Cat has ever loved, blazing in and out of her life like a star.
Desperate for victory, the Empire offers Cat a devastating choice: bring them Valerian or hang. In truth, no choice at all.
But Cat Rose is nothing if not a survivor.
A storm is rising on the Lyrian Sea—the question is, what will it leave in its wake?
I’ve really enjoyed reading the books by Victoria Aveyard so I’m looking forward to this one too!
Title: The Last King of Faerie
Author: Cassandra Clare
Expected Publication: November 3, 2026
Genre: YA, Fantasy
Series: The Wicked Powers
Synopsis:
It’s Drusilla Blackthorn’s third year at Shadowhunter Academy when a chance encounter at a nightclub turns into a kidnapping. Dru finds herself held prisoner by Prince Ash Morgenstern in the land of Faerie, a place that proves just as dangerous as it is beautiful. Despite herself, Dru is drawn to Ash and the darkness that seems to surround him—but one false move could cost her life.
Meanwhile, a shocking disappearance rocks the foundations of the Shadowhunter world. Kit Herondale and Ty Blackthorn must set aside the bitterness that lingers between them and join forces on a perilous quest to save everything they cherish.
The first installment of the long-awaited concluding trilogy to the Shadowhunter Chronicles has all the nail-biting adventure, heart-pounding romance, and trademark humor that makes Cassandra Clare the reigning queen of YA romantasy.
I’ve been reading Cassandra Clare’s books since shortly after her first book in The Mortal Instruments series. It was the first book series I had ever started reading before any visual media was made for it. I have devoured every single book in the core of the series.
Title: Baldur’s Gate 3: Astarion
Author: T. Kingfisher
Expected Publication: September 29, 2026
Genre: Fantasy
Synopsis:
The roguish charlatan Astarion will free himself from a centuries-long fate of servitude or die (a second time) trying—in this decadently dark fantasy adventure by award-winning author T. Kingfisher.
I’ve been playing Baldur’s Gate 3 off and on for the last several years. I still haven’t finished a playthrough but of all the companions for the game Astarion is my favourite. I’m so excited for this book. Last year I read a book by the author that is writing this one, The Hollow Places, it was incredible storytelling and writing so I’m looking forward to this book, as well as others by this author.
Title: The Sixth Faction
Author: Veronica Roth
Expected Publication: October 6, 2026
Genre: YA, Fantasy, Science Fiction
Synopsis:
Beatrice Prior stands on the brink of a decision every person in her world must make: five factions, five futures, five lives.
She has a plan: she’s going to make the bravest choice, and leave Abnegation behind to join Dauntless, even though it means leaving her family behind.
But when tragedy strikes at her Choosing Ceremony, everything changes—her world, her plans, even Beatrice herself.
Her ensuing decision thrusts her into the crosshairs of an underground rebellion, and into the path of a boy with secrets as dangerous as her own—a boy with only a number for a name.
One choice will change everything.
I have been a fan of the Divergent book series for a long time. I’m looking foreward to this sort of retelling of the story, an alternate timeline where Beatrice doesn’t join Dauntless. It’s going to be such an interesting read. I’m looking forward to jumping back into this world Veronica Roth created.
Title: ACOTAR 6
Author: Sarah J. Maas
Expected Publication: October 27, 2026
Genre: Romantasy
Goodreads Page:
There is unfortantely no information on this book beyond the expected publication date so far. Hopefully we will be getting more information soon even just the title would be nice.
I have this book on pre-order ACOTAR was my introduction to the Romantasy world. As it was for many other people it seems. I didn’t realize it at the time though. I have since read everything that Sarah J. Maas has published, twice over, once in ebook form and then again in Audiobook form. I’m looking forward to diving back into Prythian. Especially afer what we learned in the Crescent City series.
Title: The Women in White
Author: Sarah Pekkanen
Expected Publication: August 4, 2026
Genre: Mystery, Thriller
Synopsis:
The newest next thriller from #1 Bestselling Author Sarah Pekkanen combines a decades-old mystery with spine-tingling paranormal elements in this twisty novel of the seen and unseen.
Extrasensory perception.
The Gift.
A Sixth Sense.
Or something else….
In 1964, four remarkable young women at a prestigious university became the subjects of parapsychology experiments by a visionary scientist. On the cusp of a historic breakthrough, the women mysteriously vanished and the program was erased from history. Decades later, Riley Bell, newly divorced and desperate for a fresh start, accepts a caretaker job for an elderly widow named Betty. Riley steps into a home that is frozen in another era – no microwave, television, or cell phones, and Betty has never heard of the internet. Why has Betty lived in such profound isolation for so many years, and why does she need Riley now? As the story unfolds across two timelines – Betty’s 1960s era of 5 o’clock martinis and high-stakes experiments, and Riley’s quest to uncover the truth about the missing women – old secrets rise to the surface. And the only way to survive is to confront the mystery that has lingered for sixty years.
I was approved for an E-ARC copy of this book. I’m looking forward to reading it.
Title: Portrait of A Haunting
Author: Madison Tyler Nelson
Published: October 6, 2026
Genre: Horror, Thriller
Synopsis:
After fearing it all her life, a young woman embraces her ability to see ghosts after a murder occurs that appears dangerously linked to her past.
To Tatum Alexander, the Sight—her ability to see spirits—has always been more of an affliction than a gift. Inheriting the power from her mother, Amarina, an infamous artist known for murdering her lover and using his blood for her final painting, Tatum has been reluctant to step into her talent or even get close to the man she loves.
She’s been able to find a safe space to hide her Sight with the largest witch coven in Manhattan and her best friend, Mischa. But when Mischa is murdered, a crime that’s eerily connected to Amarina’s, a traumatized Tatum must reckon with the loss and the sudden surge of spirits vying for her attention and her life.
The spirits have a the murderer is coming for her next and a price must be paid. To learn the truth of her past and catch the killer she’ll have to rely on her loved ones’ helping hands—some witchy friends, the man who won’t let her go, and her eternally perplexing mother—in order to embrace her Sight while keeping them all safe.
The clues will lead Tatum to a dangerous secret that Amarina has spent decades trying to keep. And when the secret is out, Tatum will be forced to risk the lives of those who know her… or risk it all.
I was approved for an E-ARC for this book by NetGalley. It sounds like it will be a good read. I’m hoping it is. It combines a murder mystery and some paranormal aspects that I love. Two of the genre types I love.
Title: Peculiar Stars
Author: Rebecca Yarros
Expected Publication: November, 17, 2026
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Synopsis:
Callista Moran has spent a lifetime putting her own plans aside to care for other people. Once she and Darren Knight announce their engagement, she thinks her future is finally set. But when a routine sailing trip goes tragically wrong, a cyclone blows those carefully made plans away.
Stranded on an island for the next eighteen months alongside the crew and her fiancé’s cousin, Callista discovers a strength she never knew she had. And begins to question the life she always thought she wanted. With Dominic, an ex–army medic, she finds true peace―and a version of herself that she doesn’t need to explain. They resist their connection at first, but as months wear on, and the hope of rescue fades, something real starts taking shape, built on who they are when everything else is stripped away.
When they’re finally found, the world hasn’t changed. But they have. In the height of a modern media frenzy, learning to live as the people they’ve become will challenge not only their definition of survival, but love.
I’ve only read what’s been published in the Fourth Wing series so far by Rebecca Yarros. I’ve been meaning to look into other books by her as I’ve heard a lot of great things about her other books. This one sounds like it will be very good. I’m looking forward to it and it releases right around my birthday so I will be able to pick it up during my birthday book haul this year!
Title: Dive Bar at the End of the Road
Author: Kelley Armstrong
Expected Publication: October 6, 2026
Genre: Horror, Thriller
Synopsis:
Final Destination meets The Cabin at the End of the World in this supernatural horror from New York Times bestselling author Kelley Armstrong, in which a series of car accidents traps a group of strangers at a dive bar.
A forested road at night, slick from the pounding rain and eerily illuminated by flashes of lightning. Just before midnight, a car swerves to avoid something—or someone—mysteriously standing in the road, only to slam into a fallen tree instead. In the pitch black, four more cars follow in a pileup no one can seem avoid.
Stumbling out of the wreckage, soaked from the rain and nursing various injuries, five strangers find themselves in a backwoods dive bar, waiting for daybreak and hoping for cell service. But as tensions rise and the storm rages on outside, the occupants of the dive bar start to notice that not everything is as it seems. Time is moving differently, and they quickly learn that going outside—whether to assist another accident victim or to hike for help—is a very bad idea.
There’s something in the woods, something that isn’t natural. Could the figure in the road have been a warning? Or something more sinister? None of this is normal, and they’ll need to work together to figure out what’s happening if they have any hope of surviving through the night.
This one was mentioned as being in my TBR for summer last week on my Top Ten list. I have an E-ARC copy of it from NetGalley. I recentley started the A Rip through Time Series so this one will probably be read right after I finish that series.
Thanks for reading!
What books would you have added to your list?
Were any of these on your lists too?
Are there any books you would recommend based on this list?
Leave a comment below and let me know!
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