It is hard to imagine with the summer heat blazing, but autumn is on its way. And so are a lot of amazing new books. So, I’ll just keep it short: here are the 16 best book releases in Autumn 2020.
Short Preview of Book Releases of Autumn 2020
- Blood & Honey: YA Fantasy Romance, sequel of Serpent & Dove, released 1st of September
- Cemetery Boys: YA Fantasy, LGBT, released 1st of September
- The Lost Book of the White: YA Fantasy Romance, LGBT, Urban Fantasy, released 1st of September
- Legendborn: YA Fantasy, released 15th of September
- Battle Ground: Urban Fantasy, Dresden Files, released 29th of September
- Skyhunter: YA Dystopian Sci-fi, released 29th of September
- The Lives of Saints: YA Fantasy, Short stories related to the Saints in the Girshaverse, released 6th of October
- The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue: Adult Fantasy, released 6th of October
- The Once and Future Witches: Historical Paranormal Fantasy, released 13th of October
- The Last Druid: Epic Action-Adventure Fantasy, last installment of the Shannara Chronicles, released 20th of October
- Smoke and Mirrors: Short Fiction and Illusion: Fantasy, Sci-fi, horror, short stories, released the 27th of October
- Rhythm of War: Adult Fantasy, fourth installment of the Stormlight Archive, released 17th of November
- These Violent Delights: YA Historical Fantasy, Romance, Retellings (Romeo & Juliet), 17th of November
- Ready Player Two: Dystopian YA Sci-Fi, sequel to Ready Player One, released 24th of November
- How the King of Elfhame Learned to Hate Stories: YA Fantasy Romance, Fae, Fairytales, Short Stories related to Cardan (the cruel prince), released 24th of November
- The Burning God: Adult Fantasy, the third installment of the Poppy War, released 26th of November
Book Releases Autumn 2020
September
See more upcoming releases in September here.
Blood & Honey (Serpent & Dove #2) – Shelby Mahurin
Genre: YA Fantasy Romance
Pubdate: 1st of September
Publisher: HarperTeen
It’s the sequel to Serpent & Dove! I’m currently listening to Serpent & Dove, so I’ll be ready for Blood & Honey. The sequel promises to have even more romance and darker magic.
In Blood & Honey, Lou, Reid, Coco, and Ansel are now on the run from coven, kingdom, and church. Lou and Reid know they need allies, and strong ones at that. But nothing comes for free, so the group needs to embark on separate quests. Lou and Reid try to close the widening rift between them, while Morgane keeps on baiting them and threatens to destroy something more than just a coven.
Cemetery Boys – Aiden Thomas
Genre: YA Fantasy, LGBT
Pubdate: 1st of September
Publisher: Swoon Reads
How annoying is it when you summon a ghost, and now he doesn’t go away? Yadriel knows it’s quite a pain. While his traditional family has problems accepting his gender, Yadriel is determined to prove himself. He performs a ritual and sets out to find the ghost of his murdered cousin to set it free. Unfortunately, he summons the wrong ghost, called Julian Diaz, who’s a bit of a bad boy, and he doesn’t want to go quietly into death. He wants to find out what happened to him and tie up some loose ends. Yadriel agrees to help him, since he doesn’t really have another choice, but finds he’s becoming more and more reluctant to let Julian go.
The Lost Book of the White (The Eldest Curses #2) – Cassandra Clare & Wesley Chu
Genre: YA Fantasy Romance, LGBT, Urban Fantasy
Pubdate: 1st of September
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
While I haven’t read any of the shadowhunter books (it’s on my tbr, I swear), I have watched the Netflix show. And, Magnus and Alec were without a doubt my favorite couple on the show. So the fact that there’s a book series with the pair is freaking exciting! I might just start my initiation in the shadowhunter book universe with this very series.
Anyway, Magnus and Alec are living their best life, together with their son Max, until two old acquaintances break into Magnus’ apartment to steal the powerful Book of the White. So they need to get it back. It takes them to Shanghai, together with Clary, Jace, Isabelle, and Simon. Unfortunately, Magnus gets stabbed with a magical weapon, causing his magic to grow increasingly unstable, and the demons keep flooding into the city. They might just have to get to the source: the realm of the dead. Can they stop the threat?
Legendborn (Legendborn #1) – Tracy Deonn
Genre: YA Fantasy
Pubdate: 15th of September
Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry Books
After her mother dies in an accident, Bree wants nothing to do with her childhood home. Thankfully, she gets accepted into a residential program for bright high-schoolers. But then Bree witnesses a flying demon feeding on human energies on her very first night there. A teenage mage who goes by the name ‘Merlin’, who is part of a secret society called ‘Legendborn’ tries to wipe Bree’s memory, but fails. This unlocks Bree’s own magic and a buried memory, unveiling an important piece of information about her mother’s death. Bree’s set on finding out the truth, even if she has to infiltrate the Legendborn.
Battle Ground (The Dresden Files #17) – Jim Butcher
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Pubdate: 29th of September
Publisher: Ace
Yep, a new Dresden Files is coming! This time, Harry faces an extremely powerful being, The Last Titan, and she’s bringing an army with her. She declared war on the city of Chicago, ready to subjugate humanity. Naturally, Harry can’t let that happen, so the wizard needs to stop the Titan. Which seems pretty much impossible. Will he succeed?
Skyhunter (Skyhunter #1) – Marie Lu
Genre: YA Dystopian Sci-fi
Pubdate: 29th of September
Publisher: Roaring Brook Press
Mara is one of the last free nations in the world, with refugees fleeing to its border, all trying to escape a fate worse than death. A transformation into mutant war beasts, creatures made by the Karensa Federation. Mara’s elite fighting force, the Strikers, is trained to stop them, but the number of creatures grows and Karensa closes in. But one Striker, Talin Kanami, is not about to give up. Especially when a mysterious prisoner is brought from the front. A spy? Or a weapon that can save them all?
October
The Lives of Saints (Grishaverse) – Leigh Bardugo
Genre: YA Fantasy, Short stories
Pubdate: 6th of October
Publisher: Imprint
A new book especially for the Grishaverse. While I loved Ninth House, I have yet to read her other books. I will. At some point.
Anyway, this book contains beautiful illustrations together with stories of the saints who are both in and not in the Shadow and Bone trilogy. Some familiar saints include Sankta Lizabeta of the Roses and Sankt Ilya in Chains. It’s supposed to provide a fuller background on the Grishaverse, and every story is accompanied by full-color illustrations.
The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue – V. E. Schwab
Genre: Adult Fantasy
Pubdate: 6th of October
Publisher: Tor Books
In France, 1714, a young, desperate woman bargains to live forever, and in exchange, is cursed to be forgotten by everyone she meets. This is the life of Addie LaRue, gauging to see how far she will go to leave her mark on the world. But what happens when, after nearly 300 years, Addie meets a young man in a hidden bookstore who remembers her name?
The Once and Future Witches – Alix E. Harrow
Genre: Historical Paranormal Fantasy
Pubdate: 13th of October
Publisher: Orbit
After so many burnings, witchcraft has pretty much died out in 1893. Now, it’s just simple charms and nursery rhymes. For any kind of power, a woman needs to find the ballot box. In New Salem, the Eastwood sisters—James Juniper, Agnes Amaranth, and Beatrice Belladonna—join the suffragists, and slowly the women’s movement into the witch’s movement. But there are still forces that will not suffer a with to vote (or live). So, the sisters need to delve into the oldest magics and forge new alliances if they want to survive.
The Last Druid (The Fall of Shannara #4) – Terry Brooks
Genre: Epic Action-Adventure Fantasy
Pubdate: 20th of October
Publisher: Del Rey Books
It’s been a long ride, but the conclusion to the entire Shannara series is finally here. While I have only read the first two books myself, I can imagine this is a book anticipated eagerly by fans.
The Four Lands are battling a brutal invasion from across the sea, a nation that is determined to make the Four Lands their own. What are our heroes willing to risk in order to save the integrity of their home? One group is fighting to defend their homeland, while another undertakes a journey across the sea, to the invaders, carrying a new piece of technology that could change the world forever. Unfortunately, one of their key allies has been banished to the Forbidding: a demon-filled prison from which there is no escape. The one who sent him there now walks freely with a fearsome demon at her side. Can a young girl free her mentor from the Forbidding in time to stop the invasion? Can a strange technology reach the foreign shore in time to alter the fate of the two nations?
Smoke and Mirrors: Short Fiction and Illusion – Neil Gaiman
Genre: Fantasy, Sci-fi, horror, short stories
Pubdate: 27th of October
Publisher: Avon Books
Technically, this is not a ‘new release’, but it is being re-released in this edition. It has more short stories, this time coming from Neil Gaiman. Tales of a Holy Grail sold to an old woman in a thrift store, where you can hire your assassin through the Yellow Pages under “Pest Control”, and a boy negotiating for his life with a troll with a mood, who lives under a bridge. They all sound equally imaginative and entertaining.
November
Rhythm of War (Stormlight Archive #4) – Brandon Sanderson
Genre: Adult Fantasy
Pubdate: 17th of November
Publisher: Tor Books
Yet another series I need to finish before the fourth book comes out. Knowing the size of the books, I think my chances of finishing on time are slim.
Dalinar Kholin and his Knights Radiant have fought a brutal war against the enemy invasion for over a year. Neither side has gained the advantage so far.
However, new technological discoveries begin to change the face of war, and the enemy is preparing a bold and dangerous move. What follows challenges the core of the Radiant ideals, and might uncover secrete of the ancient tower that was once the heart of their strength.
These Violent Delights – Chloe Gong
Genre: YA Historical Fantasy, Romance, Retellings (Romeo & Juliet)
Pubdate: 17th of November
Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry Books
It’s 1926 in Shanghai, and a blood feud between two gangs leaves the streets in red. Juliette Cai, a former flapper, has returned now to assume her role as the heir of the Scarlet Gang— a network of criminals rising above the law. Their rivals? The White Flowers and its heir, Roma Montagov. She was Juliette’s first love and first betrayal. However, both sides show signs of instability, gangsters clawing out their own throats. There is a contagion, a madness, a monster in the shadows. With death tolls rising, Juliette and Roma must work together to stop this mayhem before there is no more city left to rule.
Reading the description, it will not surprise you that this book is a retelling of Romeo and Juliet.
Ready Player Two (Ready Player One #2) – Ernest Cline
Genre: Dystopian YA Sci-Fi
Pubdate: 24th of November
Publisher: Ballantine Books
So, it doesn’t state what the book will be about, only that it’s the sequel to Ready Player One. I’m not sure why there is a sequel, or why it’s coming out now. I don’t think Ready Player One needed a sequel, as it was a great stand-alone. Either way, I have no doubt it will be a great book.
How the King of Elfhame Learned to Hate Stories – Holly Black
Genre: YA Fantasy Romance, Fae, Fairytales, Short Stories
Pubdate: 24th of November
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Autumn seems to be a good season for short stories! This book is also illustrated, and filled with short stories into the world that brought you The Cruel Prince, the world of Elfhame. Before the Cruel Prince became cruel or wicked, he was a faerie child with a heart of stone. Read about a life before the Cruel Prince with stories told from Cardan’s perspective. There’s still plenty of romance, danger, drama and humor, where each chapter is accompanied by full-color artwork.
The Burning God (Poppy Wars #3) – R. F. Kuang
Genre: Adult Fantasy
Pubdate: 26th of November
Publisher: Harper Voyager
My still unread copy of the Poppy War is staring accusingly at me from my bookcase at this moment. Another book to read, and not enough time to read them all. Such a relatable struggle, right?
Fang Runin saved her nation of Nikan from foreign invaders and battled the evil Empress Su Daji, and was then betrayed and left for dead. So much for thanks. On the other hand, Rin hasn’t given up, and decides to return to her roots in the southern provinces, in the village called Tikany. While she doesn’t trust her new allies, Rin realizes the real power lies with the millions of common people who thirst for vengeance. Determined, Rin will use every weapon to defeat the Dragon Republic, the colonizing Hesperians, and all who threaten the shamanic arts and their practitioners. But even as her power grows, will she be strong enough to resist the Phoenix’s voice, urging her to burn the world and everything in it?
Wrap-up
That wraps up the book releases of autumn 2020. So, what do you think? What books are you most excited about? I’m definitely gonna read Blood & Honey when it comes out (I should be finished with Serpent & Dove by then), and hopefully, I can get through the first two Poppy War books before the third one comes out. The Stormlight Archive is also on the list, but I don’t think it’s likely that I’ll be finished before Rhythm of War comes out. I’m also eager to read Cemetery Boys, as I currently don’t have any LGBTQ books, and I need to remedy that asap.
