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If I were to break down my day by what I spend the most time doing, reading would obviously top my activities. But after that, the next thing would probably be making lists of books. I spend a good part of my day adding titles to lists! Books organized by months, books organized by genre, my favorite books, books I want to buy, ideas for book posts, books I want to read, books I want to read even sooner… You get the idea. I am a list-making machine!
I have a document with over 3,000 titles coming out in the remainder of 2025 to keep me aware of upcoming releases. For this post, I dipped into that list to pick my five most anticipated fantasy books of the summer. Now, I am patient with most things, but I really hate waiting to read books. Like, Veruca Salt levels of impatience. Luckily, there are so many other books that I can distract myself with available titles! But you can bet when these books are available, I’ll be zipping off on my broom to get them right away. Let’s check them out!
A Witch’s Guide to Magical Innkeeping by Sangu Mandanna (Berkley, July 15)
Sangu Mandanna’s The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches was a fabulous, cozy delight, and this follow-up sounds equally as charming. It’s about a young witch named Sera Swan. Sera has lost her powers and been cast (ha) from her guild. Now she runs an inn with her no-longer-dead great-aunt, whom she restored to life (which might have something to do with her getting the boot from the guild), and a talking “semi-villainous” fox. Then one day, a magician shows up, hoping to also discover the spell that Sera has recently learned could restore her magic. Prediction: Kissing parts to follow.
The Library at Hellebore by Cassandra Khaw (Tor Nightfire, July 22)
Taking things in a completely different direction than the last pick is this wicked dark fantasy from the author of The Salt Grows Heavy and more. The attendees of The Hellebore Technical Institute for the Gifted are some of the most powerful entities in the world(s) and are taught by a dangerous faculty. When that faculty goes on a rampage on graduation day, eating most of Alessa Li’s classmates, she and the remaining survivors will have to figure out how to escape the library before they also become food. Prediction: nom nom nom.
The Magician of Tiger Castle by Louis Sachar (Ace, August 5)
This is the adult debut from the bestselling author of Holes! In the kingdom of Esquaveta, the king sees only one option to save his crumbling empire, and that’s by arranging a marriage between his daughter and a repugnant prince. But the princess has fallen in love with a scribe and doesn’t want to marry the prince, so the king calls on his magician for help. Anatole the magician has been nothing but a failure since he came to Esquaveta, and suddenly, now the fate of the kingdom falls on him. Will he be able to cast a spell to make the princess fall for the terrible prince and save the day? Can he even bring himself to do such a thing? Prediction: Abracadabra!
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Hemlock & Silver by T. Kingfisher (Tor Books, August 19)
In her second of three books coming out in 2025, T. Kingfisher tackles the story of Snow White. Anja is a poison-drinking healer who is called to the castle by the king to save his dying daughter, Snow. All of Anja’s abilities are unable to cure her—until she discovers a magic mirror that houses a secret world. Does this world actually house the cure…or their destruction? T. Kingfisher is an auto-buy author for me, which means I have many of her books, because she is so prolific! But honestly, this book had me at “narcissistic cat.” (Which is redundant.) Prediction: “She always had that little drop of poison.”
Katabasis by R. F. Kuang (Harper Voyager, August 26)
Wrapping things up with one of the biggest releases of not just the summer, but the year: Katabasis, from R. F. Kuang, the author of Yellowface, Babel, and more. A student of Magick must descend into the realms of Hell to save her professor, after an accident (that was possibly her fault) kills him. Alice needs Professor Grimes to achieve her dreams of being the most powerful magician, but her bitter rival, Peter, also has the same idea. Now they must traverse Hell together, unsure if they can trust one another, in a race to save their professor and their futures. Prediction: It’s getting hot in here, so take off with your foes… (Sorry, not sorry.)
Okay, star bits, now take the knowledge you have learned here today and use it for good, not evil. If you want to know more about books, I talk about books pretty much nonstop (when I’m not reading them), and you can hear me say lots of adjectives about them on the Book Riot podcast All the Books! and on Bluesky and Instagram.
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The following comes to you from the Editorial Desk.
This week, we’re highlighting a post about the literary events that should be on your calendar for the rest of 2025. From awards announcements to famous authors’ birthdays to Banned Books Week, these are the dates readers should have on their radars. Read on for an excerpt and become an All Access member to unlock the full post.
The Most Anticipated Literary Events of (the Rest of) 2025
For some, the major literary events of the year come as a pleasant or interesting surprise—something to enjoy in the moment, rather than to anticipate. For others, there’s big appeal in bookmarking these occasions in advance to plan, predict, and build around. I and the rest of the editorial team are in the business of thinking ahead about what the year has in store for book lovers, publishers, industry experts, and the like, which is why we all got together toward the end of 2024 to plot out everything from birthdays of literary greats, to anniversaries of books that have made a deep cultural impact, to literary awards and events coming up this year. We’ve been marking these events as they happen on the site for what’s shaping up to be a very busy year in books, but there are still so many big, exciting literary events of 2025 to anticipate.
Whether you’re a book-focused or -adjacent content creator, someone who beefs up their TBR with literary awards honorees, or a book lover who appreciates being in the know, I’m here with a starting place for calendaring out the rest of this storied year…
Sign up to become an All Access member for only $6/month and then click here to read the full, unlocked article. Level up your reading life with All Access membership and explore a full library of exclusive bonus content, including must-reads, deep dives, and reading challenge recommendations.
