Top 5 anticipated books Jul-Sep 2026

Technically… I’ve already read this.

And technically… I’ve already cried.

One of the perks of supporting Alice Oseman’s Patreon is getting to experience these moments before the physical book arrives, but that absolutely doesn’t stop me from wanting the finished edition on my shelves. Possibly multiple editions.

Heartstopper has always balanced sweetness with honesty in a way very few stories manage. It celebrates love while never pretending that growing up, navigating mental health, or figuring out who you are is easy.

I already know exactly what’s coming. I also already know I’m going to cry all over again.

Blurb:

Everyone in school knows Nick and Charlie. Everyone knows they’re going to be together forever. But Charlie’s busy with his bid to become head boy. And while Nick is preparing to leave for college, he’s starting to wonder who he’ll be… without Charlie.

Sometimes you just know a book is going to be fun.

I have loved Farah Heron’s romances since Accidentally Engaged, and they always manage to balance humour with heart, and this one sounds exactly like the sort of palate cleanser I’ll probably need between the rest of these emotionally devastating fantasy sequels.

Give me witty banter. Give me ridiculous romantic situations. And give me characters who accidentally fall in love while insisting they absolutely won’t.

Honestly, that’s all the convincing I need.

Blurb:

Meera Noorani has spent her whole life playing it safe.

Raised by her single mom, she’s had to — especially in love. After all, it has been proven, generation after generation, that all Noorani women are cursed to have partners who ruin their lives.

And though she tried her best to avoid it, Meera’s fate comes a-calling, and within the span of a week, she’s broken up with, arrested, and then shipped to small-town Canada, where she’ll be completing her community service under the watchful eye of her mom and her new stepdad.

Meera’s spent her whole life being good, and this is the thanks she gets?

If she can pose a threat to Mom’s perfect new life, though, maybe she can get back to the city. And there’s no better way to do that than date one of her fellow teen delinquents. Noah has got the piercings, tattoos, and rumors to prove that he’s the town’s most infamous bad boy… but when the bad boy isn’t actually bad, what’s a girl meant to do?

SCREAMING.

If you’ve read Assistant to the Villain, you’ll understand why this book made the list before I’d even finished reading the blurb. In fact, I still don’t think I’ve read the blurb. Who needs a blurb when you have Evie and the Villain?!

This series is just ridiculously entertaining. It manages to poke fun at fantasy tropes while still delivering characters you become genuinely attached to, and the humour lands every single time.

Mostly though… I just need to know what happens next.

This is one of those books I’ll probably start reading the day it arrives. And the worst part is that it’s not even the last book. 😭

Blurb:

HR Update: The position of “adversary to the villain” has been filled. Evie Sage does not recall applying.

Evie has always tried to be helpful, loyal, and only mildly involved in treason. But with a dangerous prophecy threatening the very magic of Rennedawn — not to mention the race to claim its necessary artifacts before King Benedict does — things are starting to feel… less like a career path and more like a serious problem.

The prophecy won’t stop pointing in Evie’s direction. The Villain’s magic keeps choosing her. And honestly, if you’re going to be accused of evil anyway, you might as well commit.

Unfortunately, the more Evie leans into her alleged villain era, the more her boss starts acting like the hero of a completely different story. Trystan is getting closer — closer than is wise, advisable, or even remotely professional — and looking at her like she’s already chosen a side. His.

Which is deeply inconvenient, because if Evie can’t save the kingdom’s magic, she might just become its greatest threat.

Hello, yes, hi. I would like to speak to Kate Golden’s manager please. I have a complaint.

My complaint? That ending. How very dare any of you.

*Although, just quietly, I also blame you, Sam! Why would you make this a book club pick months ago?! This has been torturous.

The cliffhanger at the end of Half City was absolutely brutal, which means this sequel has gone from “that looks good” to “I NEED this immediately.”

The thing I’ve loved most about this series is how well it balances romance with high-stakes fantasy. The emotional investment is just as strong as the action, which makes every twist land even harder.

September cannot come quickly enough.

Blurb:

To rescue someone close to her, Viv Abbot must team up with Reid’s violent, unpredictable older brother, Deacon. Her uneasy truce with him offers Viv something Reid never could: the chance to embrace her darkness.

Viv’s mission takes her to the center of Astera’s seedy underbelly with none other than the White Stag as her guide. But when a bounty on Viv’s head puts those she cares about in danger, Viv will be forced to go to lengths she never dreamed in order to protect them.

With enemies closing in from all sides and a ticking clock on her life, Viv must save the Half City from destruction while surviving a betrayal that strikes at the heart of everything she’s fighting for. Because in a world where monsters wear familiar faces and temptation cuts deeper than any blade, making it through her second semester at Harker will take more than skill—it will take everything Viv has left to give. Who can she really trust in a city that thrives on lies?

Excuse me.

EXCUSE ME.

Look, I know this is technically book 6 on my list, but you’re all just going to have to deal with this while I lose my ever-loving mind.

Do you remember approximately one week ago when I wrote my top 5 books of 2026 …so far post and jokingly asked Travis Baldree to give my favourite chaos goblin her own adventure?

Apparently he was listening.

Tales from the Territory is a collection of stories set in the world of Legends & Lattes, and one of them stars Zyll.

ZYLL. (I’m just going to go cry now.)

This means my favourite tiny agent of absolute chaos is getting her moment in the spotlight, and honestly, I have never clicked “pre-order” faster.

Blurb:

The world fell in the love with the cozy fantasy world of the No.1 New York Times bestselling series that started with Legends & Lattes and continued in Bookshops & Bonedust and Brigands & Breadknives.

Now award-winning storyteller Travis Baldree takes us back to the Territory in a heart-warming set of five stories, three making their first appearances in Tales from the Territory, that give readers a brand new look at beloved characters.

The delightful “Goblins & Greatcoats” is a tale of murder and intrigue that introduces Zyll, a goblin with too many pockets and a disturbing affinity for cutlery on a rain-soaked night that features four adventurers, a pair of corpses, a junk-drawer knife, some unfortunate taxidermy, and a beleaguered Gatewarden.

We all know what happened in Legends & Lattes, where retired-soldier Viv dreamed of opening a cafe and ended up with a found family and perhaps the love of her life. “Just a Thimbleful” tells us how one of the most beloved of those family members, Thimble, found his way from a frustrating and unhappy house to creating sweet treats that brought Legends & Lattes to life.

Tandri is a succubus and being a succubus comes with…well…certain expectations and pressures. In “Mirograph” we meet Tandri as an art student at Ackers University trying to find a way to be seen as something else, something more.

And in the longest story here, “Cavaliers & Coffees,” we get a glimpse of trouble for our cafe crew when a new and unscrupulous business comes into town, stealing all of Viv and Tandri’s ideas, undercutting them for price and putting everything they’ve worked for in peril.

Tales from the Territory is another triumph of low stakes and high fantasy, of friends trying to make their way in a challenging world.