This year marks a lot of amazing book releases, both for ongoing series, and new ones alike. Given that, I’ve built a list below of both that I am really looking forward to this year. As always, there are a lot of books coming into the market each year, so this isn’t a complete list of every book out there, but those I’ve heard about and plan/want to grab this year!
Anticipated Additions to Series:
- Chain of Iron by Cassandra Clare
- The second book in the Last Hours series, there are a lot of editions out for this book already for pre-ordering. I’ve already put in mine for the Waterstone’s edition this year! I am dying to see how the Merry Thieves end up dealing with everything that went down in book one, and on edge with poor Cordelia.
- A Court of Silver Flames by Sarah J Maas
- The long awaited continuation of the A Court of Thorns and Roses series, this book follows Nesta and Cassian, but I am looking forward to getting more of the entire Night Court. A little mixed on this one, I am both excited, but also waiting to see what this one will be like since Frost and Starlight wasn’t really my favorite. What are your thoughts on this one?
- Bone Crier’s Dawn by Kathryn Purdie
- The sequel to Bone Crier’s Moon, Bone Crier’s Dawn picks up in the aftermath of the last story as the world for Bone Criers is rapidly changing. Ailesse, Sabine, and Bastien are now in roles they hadn’t originally anticipated as the boundaries of life and death are now also changing.
- When Night Breaks by Janella Angeles
- One of my surprise favorites of the year, this book is the sequel to Where Dreams Descend as Kallia goes through the mirror with the dark and dangerous Jack, leaving Daron Demarco to discover how to bring her back. Book one was a perfect mix of mystery and magic, so I’m really excited to see how this all ends.
- Rule of Wolves by Leigh Bardugo
- It’s been a good while since I read King of Scars, but while I may need some brushing up on Nikolai’s adventures I’m nonetheless excited to read this book and see how pretty the cover is in comparison to King of Scar’s (Am I the only one??).
- The Box in the Woods by Maureen Johnson
- The Box in the Woods isn’t part of the initial series’ mystery, but I honestly got hooked on the mystery solving in Johnson’s series and really interested in how she’ll pull us into a new one. This isn’t Sherlock Holmes level mystery, but the series had me on edge, and wondering what would happen next, so there’s no doubt this one will be just as exciting.
- Portrait of a Scotsman by Evie Dunmore
- Most of my reads in these lists end up being Fantasy, so the League of Extraordinary Women is a great series to have each year. I like that each book keeps the same group of characters, while introducing us more to one of the members of the group. This one is planned to follow Hattie in her adventures, so I’m hoping we’ll get a little more of her Scottish heritage in there in addition to getting to revisit some of the already explored characters now that they’ve found their significant others.
- The Mask Falling by Samantha Shannon
- This is one of the books on the list that I need to catch up and revisit the series first before getting to read it since it’s been a while since I’ve read the last book, and didn’t finish at the time. So why add this? For one, I really did enjoy this series, and the unique take on having clairvoyants in a dystopian style story. Second, I’ve been meaning to return to the last book I read in the series since I didn’t finish only because a bad reading slump. It’s one of those books on my shelf that likes to taunt me (anyone else have those?).
- The Righteous by Renee Ahdieh
- The Damned, was a bit of a letdown as far as the series went for me, but I’m still looking forward to reading the Righteous. I’ve loved Renee Ahdieh’s books, from her Wrath & the Dawn series to the Flame in the Mist, so reading this next installment kind of comes as a given. I also think that what went wrong for me as a reader is that the second book was quite a bit of setup for the next, so it was slower as far as sequels went, but a good indicator for what may be coming in book three.
- Kingdom of the Cursed by Kerri Maniscalco
- A favorite of 2020 for me, Kingdom of the Wicked was really addictive to read. It wasn’t perfect, leaving less description of the world than I would like, but I’m thinking we’re about to get a lot of world building in this follow-up, and even more romance? One may not know now, but man am I counting down the days to this release.
Anticipated New Releases:
- The Betrayals by Bridget Collins
- A mysterious academy? An even more mysterious contest? I’ve been looking for dark academia stories and this one just sounds top notch. In this novel, Leo Martin returns to Montverre disgraced after his political career. While his career is in shambles, Claire Dryden has become the first female Magister of the school, but when the two meet there is an odd connection between the two. Set during an important and mysterious competition this book promises mystery, danger, and a romance all in one.
- Into the Heartless Wood by Joanna Ruth Meyer
- A Romeo and Juliet, impossible lovers type story, Into the Heartless Wood follows Owen, a human, and Seren, one of the witch’s daughters. The two meet one night as Owen is lured into the dangerous wood, and instead of being killed is saved by Seren, who as he returns again and again begins to desire being human more and more.
- Cast in Firelight by Dana Swift
- The first book in a new duology, Cast in Firelight is the tale of two heirs betrothed to one another in order to better align two kingdoms against a looming threat. A tale of magic, secret identities, and a big threat, this series promises to be an epic and expansive YA Fantasy.
- Lore by Alexandra Bracken
- An early release for the year, Lore is an urban Fantasy combining Greek Mythology, a competition for immortality, and a reluctant participant, Lore Perseous. With Athena included in the cast of characters this one seems to bring a mix of the old world with the new as we enter a deadly competition, the Agon.
- Pride and Premeditation by Tirzah Price
- A retelling of Pride and Prejudice, this novel sees Lizzie Bennet as an aspiring lawyer looking to take on a big case, the only problem? The person she wants to defend already has legal team, and at the head of it is one, Fitzwilliam Darcy. I’m always good for a great Pride and Prejudice retelling, so the two as lawyers? Sounds pretty good, since they loved to argue anyway!
There are some series I missed last year, so of course I’m hoping to try out a few releases that aren’t listed if those series end up hooking me. What books are you most looking forward to this year? Any special editions? This year looks like it will be a good one for new releases!
A Writer Can Dream 
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