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These seasonal most anticipated posts are always some of my absolute favorites and I’ve also been trying to will Fall to hurry itself along since about… May. So. I’m thrilled that September is basically here, in part because it’s my birthday month, and in part because I’m just really excited that we’re so close to each of these books being out in the world. I have ten main books to push on you and then a list of seven honorable mentions I’m also excited about, but in the interest of keeping this list under control am just going to list for you. So, let’s get started!

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When No One is Watching by Alyssa Cole

I am so looking forward to this latest adventure from Alyssa Cole, who I am convinced can write literally any genre at any time. She is a phenomenal writer and I’m really excited about the fact that she’s tackling the thriller genre right now. Have I had an ARC for months but am too much of a chicken to pick it up? Yes. I mean, this book is apparently Get Out and Rear Window. Get Out was terrifying to me. Amazing, but terrifying. So I’m very nervous, but also excited. Gentrification is obviously a huge societal issue that I feel like we still gloss over on a macro level so I’m really intrigued to see how Alyssa tackles it. Here is an absolutely incredible interview with Alyssa Cole via Buzzfeed about the book!

Release Date: September 1, 2020

Transcendent Kingdom by Yaa Gyasi

Tbh, I knew literally nothing about this book before I added it to this list because I’m still so in love with Homegoing that I knew there was no way I wasn’t going to pick this book up. So I just read the synopsis for the first time and I’m now even more excited about it. This book is following Gifty, a Ghanian immigrant or first generation person, studying neuroscience at Stanford’s medical school. Specifically, she wants science to explain to her addiction because her brother died after a high school accident led him to being hooked on oxycodin and mental health problems because her mother is not doing well. Then apparently she winds up reconnecting with her evangelical roots and of course science and church always creates an interesting combination in literature. I’m really excited to read this one. I know it’s going to be heavier than my normal fare, but I loved Gyasi’s writing in Homegoing, so I’m ready for this follow up!

Release Date: September 1, 2020

The Roommate by Rosie Danan

Everyone that has read this has loved it, I think, so needless to say, I am extremely excited. Specifically, I know Nick loved it and the two of us usually have similar taste in books so that just makes me even more excited to get to it! Clara’s crush invites her to move cross-country to live with him, only he bails before she gets there and she finds herself living with Josh instead. Josh works in porn and apparently there’s a lot in this book about the stigma of sex work and also female desire. So I am very excited about this one!

Release Date: September 15, 2020

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Well Played by Jen DeLuca

I really loved Well Met, which was DeLuca’s debut last year, so I’m very much anticipating this follow up. Well Played follows Stacey, who I adored in the first book, and this man she thinks is her Faire fling, Dex MacLean, but is maybe… not him? It sounds like there’s a messed up email situation happening here and falling in love online, which sounds like a delight. I am extremely excited about it and hopefully by the time this posts, I will have read my ARC copy. *fingers crossed*

Release Date: September 22, 2020

Spoiler Alert by Olivia Dade

Arguably my most highly anticipated book of the Fall because I love Olivia Dade and also everything about this synopsis is incredible. Like… Just read this synopsis:

Marcus Caster-Rupp has a secret. While the world knows him as Aeneas, the star of the biggest show on TV, Gods of the Gates, he’s known to fanfiction readers as Book!AeneasWouldNever, an anonymous and popular poster.  Marcus is able to get out his own frustrations with his character through his stories, especially the ones that feature the internet’s favorite couple to ship, Aeneas and Lavinia. But if anyone ever found out about his online persona, he’d be fired. Immediately.

April Whittier has secrets of her own. A hardcore Lavinia fan, she’s hidden her fanfiction and cosplay hobby from her “real life” for years—but not anymore. When she decides to post her latest Lavinia creation on Twitter, her photo goes viral. Trolls and supporters alike are commenting on her plus-size take, but when Marcus, one half of her OTP, sees her pic and asks her out on a date to spite her critics, she realizes life is really stranger than fanfiction.

Even though their first date is a disaster, Marcus quickly realizes that he wants much more from April than a one-time publicity stunt. And when he discovers she’s actually Unapologetic Lavinia Stan, his closest fandom friend, he has one more huge secret to hide from her.

Release Date: October 6, 2020

In a Holidaze by Christina Lauren

Y’all. I think I desperately need this book. The premise is basically that Mae is spending Christmas at her family’s cabin in Utah for the final time because… Idk exactly, but anyway look: “Mentally melting down as she drives away from the cabin for the final time, Mae throws out what she thinks is a simple plea to the universe: Please. Show me what will make me happy.” So Mae gets into an accident and then she wakes up and is REPEATING the vacation. Oh, I’m too excited about this premise. Also, mostly about finding out what will make Mae happy because let’s talk about relatable. My supervisor keeps asking me what my five year plan is and I’m like… “Um…” So doing great over here, clearly, and am definitely going to find my answers in fictional romances.

Release Date: October 6, 2020

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Black Sun by Rebecca Roanhorse

This is Roanhorse’s first book in a new adult fantasy series and I am utterly thrilled to follow her into yet another new world. Here is a quote from this interview Tor did with Roanhorse when they unveiled the map we’re going to get with this book:

The world of Black Sun is called the Meridian. It is a secondary world inspired by the various and diverse pre-Columbian cultures that spanned the length and breadth of the Americas – geographically, culturally, and historically. While I didn’t try to maintain historical or cultural accuracy in an imaginary world populated by giant corvids and mermaids, I did want the world to feel something like the sources I drew inspiration from, which included the Maritime Maya, the mound builders of Cahokia, the Incans, and the ancestral Puebloans. I even drew from traditional Polynesian sailing methods for a notable sea voyage. (Did I mention mermaids?) I also made a lot of things up, as fantasy writers are wont to do. You are as likely to find megafauna and blood magic as you are merchants and priests.

So, in other words this epic fantasy is going to be epic and I’m really excited. I’m also excited about the dynamics we’re going to be exploring on Xiala’s ship where it is apparently only her and one other passenger, Serapio, whom the synopsis describes as “a young man, blind, scarred, and cloaked in destiny.” Like!!!! And then this line: “As Xiala well knows, when a man is described as harmless, he usually ends up being a villain.” So yeah, I can’t wait.

Release Date: October 13, 2020

Snapped by Alexa Martin

This book is the fourth in the Playbook series, which is a series I’ve been loving since Intercepted! Elliot is the Strategic Communications Manager for the Mustangs and she’s trying her best to live her best life. When star quarterback, Quinton Howard, Jr., decides to take a knee, Elliot is assigned the task of getting Quinton back in line. I will be honest and say I’m a little nervous going into this one, but I love Alexa Martin’s writing so much and I’m optimistic that despite the reviews I’ve seen from Jen and Melinda that somehow this book will do justice to the serious social issues being tackled in this rom com format. I did find reviews indicating that people felt the topics covered (racism, tokenism, specifically taking a knee during the National Anthem in the States) were well handled, such as this one, and although the end of Blitzed left a bit of a sour taste in my mouth, I do trust Alexa Martin to have done this well.

Release Date: October 20, 2020

Crazy Stupid Bromance by Lissa Kay Adams

This is a friends to lovers romance that sounds absolutely precious, although I do want to acknowledge that we really need to stop using harmful language like “crazy” and “stupid”. I know it’s a play on a common saying, but that’s not a great excuse. Here’s the synopsis from Goodreads:

Alexis Carlisle and her cat café, ToeBeans, have shot to fame after she came forward as a victim of a celebrity chef’s sexual harassment. When a new customer approaches to confide in her, the last thing Alexis expects is for the woman to claim they’re sisters. Unsure what to do, Alexis turns to the only man she trusts—her best friend, Noah Logan.

Computer genius Noah left his rebellious teenage hacker past behind to become a computer security expert. Now he only uses his old skills for the right cause. But Noah’s got a secret: He’s madly in love with Alexis. When she asks for his help, he wonders if the timing will ever be right to confess his crush.

Release Date: October 27, 2020

Archangel’s Sun by Nalini Singh

THE HUMMINGBIRD IS GETTING A BOOK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! If you were expecting me to have any chill about the latest Nalini Singh release, I’m afraid I’m definitely going to disappoint because Y’ALL, the only thing better than the Hummingbird getting her own book would be if Aodhan and Illium would get a book. I live in hope.

Release Date: November 24, 2020

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Honorable Mentions

All Scot and Bothered by Kerrigan Byrne out September 29, 2020

A Deadly Education by Naomi Novick out on September 29, 2020

Murder on Cold Street by Sherry Thomas out on October 6, 2020

Salvaged Steel by Vanessa North out October 12, 2020

A Princess for Christmas by Jenny Holiday out on October 13, 2020

If the Boot Fits by Rebekah Weatherspoon out on October 27, 2020

Written in the Stars by Alexandria Bellefleur out on November 10, 2020

Duke I’d Like to F by Sierra Simone, Joanna Shupe, Eva Leigh, Nicola Davidson, and Adriana Herrera out on November 17, 2020

What books are you most anticipating? Do you think I left off any that should absolutely be on my list? If so, let me know!

xx