Top Ten Tuesday: My Top 12 Most Anticipated Releases in the Next 6 Months

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by the lovely Jana at The Artsy Reader Girl.

I had this topic all prepared for last week, but, wouldn't you know, I failed to hit the publish button. As a result, you are getting it a week late. My Top Ten Tuesday topic is the Top Ten Twelve Most Anticipated Book Releases for the First Half of 2020.

There are, of course, many more upcoming releases I am looking forward to, but these are the ones I am extra super excited about getting my hands on and reading! (covers are linked to Goodreads)

1. The Secret Chapter by Genevieve Cogman (01/07/2020) ~ This may be cheating a bit because I currently am reading The Secret Chapter, the 6th in the Invisible Library’s series. It is one of my favorite series and is full of intrigue and magic with steampunk flare, along with gateways to other worlds, and dragons and fae. This particular installment in the series finds our heroine, Irene, and her companion Kai teaming up with a group of misfits to pull off a heist in early twenty-first century Vienna.

2. Stars Beyond by S.K. Dunstall (01/21/2020) ~ To say I have been waiting impatiently for this release would be an understatement. Oh, how I have missed the Another Road crew, and I am looking forward to diving into this science fiction series again! This is only the second book in the Stars Uncharted series, but I loved the first. Always in search of something and on the run from someone else . . .

3. The Sun Down Motel by Simone St. James (02/18/2020) ~ The Broken Girls by the same author was in my top five favorite books read last year, and as soon as I saw this one I knew I had to read it. Set in a rundown hotel that holds lots of secrets, this novel is part ghost story, part thriller and part mystery about the hotel, a young woman, and her aunt who worked at the motel thirty-five years before. Doesn’t this sound good?!

4. Red Letter Days by Sarah Jane-Stratford (02/25/2020) ~ Another book by an author whose last book (Radio Girls) I adored. I have a soft spot for historical fiction and am excited about Sarah Jane-Stratford’s latest which is about two women who escape McCarthy-era Hollywood by going to London. Even from that distance, the two women do what they can to fight the injustices of the Red Scare.

5. Death with a Dark Red Rose by Julia Buckley (02/25/2020) ~  This is the 5th in her Writer's Apprentice series, and I have only read the first one. It's a good reminder though that I need to get back to it! I love a cozy mystery series with a bookish theme!

6. The Deep by Alma Katsu (03/10/2020) ~ Horror is not a genre I read often, but The Deep appeals to me for many reasons. It may be the fact that I keep seeing praise for the author’s work lately or that gorgeous cover. Or it could be that it involves the sinking of the Titanic. A bit of history mixed with the paranormal is a sure draw for me. I am looking forward to reading this one!

7. The Shape of Family by Shilpi Somaya Gowda (03/17/2020) ~ I was first introduced to Shilpi Somaya Gowda’s work when I read The Secret Daughter, which I loved. Her upcoming novel sounds just as compelling. This one is about a family struck by tragedy and their finding their way back to each other as they work through their individual pain and grief. I bet this book will make me cry. A lot. I cannot wait to read it!

8. The Sisters Grimm by Menna van Praag (03/31/2020) ~ If the title was not enough to call out to me, the author’s name certainly would. I enjoyed The House at the End of Hope Street, loved it in fact. The Sisters Grimm is being billed as a departure from her past work going deeper into the fantasy realm. Four sisters born to a demon father, each have magical abilities of their own. Pulled apart at 13, the girls have gone their separate ways. Five years later they must find their way back to each other, rediscover their magic and come face to face with their fate, one that is uncertain and may mean fighting for their lives as well as the lives of those they love.

9. A Stroke of Malice by Anna Lee Huber (04/07/2020) ~ This is the 8th in the author's Lady Darby series, which I have not even started yet. I love her Verity Kent series, however, and do want to give this one a try! Historical mysteries are my favorite type of mystery.

10. Afterlife by Julia Alvarez (04/07/2020) ~ The sudden death of her husband changes everything for Antonia. Then her sister goes missing, and she finds a pregnant undocumented teenager at her door. Aontonia has always found solace in literature, but her current circumstances may be too much for even that to bring her any comfort—or answers. In the Time of Butterflies made quite an impression on me and when I saw mention that Julia Alvarez had a new adult book coming out, I knew I wanted to read Afterlife. This novel takes on current and moral issues. It is definitely a book I want to read.

11. Universe of Two by Stephen P. Kiernan (05/05/2020) ~ Stephen P. Kiernan never ceases to amaze me. I liked his The Curiosity and absolutely loved his Hummingbird. I still need to read The Baker’s Secret, which I have a feeling I will love as well. Given my interest in most things World War related, it is no wonder this particular novel would interest me on its merit alone. Universe of Two is a fictionalized novel about Charlie Fisk, a mathematician who worked on the Manhattan Project, and his wife Brenda. Described as a love story and a story of redemption, I can only imagine this is another book that will have me in tears. But then, I expect no less from Kiernan.

12. Girl, Serpent, Thorn by Melissa Bashardoust (05/12/2020) ~ I admit it was the title that first attracted me to this book. Upon closer look, I knew it would have to go on my wish list. Described as “a captivating and utterly original fairy tale about a girl cursed to be poisonous to the touch, and who discovers what power might lie in such a curse . . . “ How can I not want to read this?!


Are you interested in reading any of the same ones I am? What are your most anticipated releases in the next 6 months? 

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