Most Anticipated Books for the Second Half of 2021

Hi friends! I hope your week has been going well. Can you believe it’s the middle of the year already? I did a “most anticipated books” post for the first half of 2021, so now it’s time for the second half. I’m super excited about all of these releases, so let’s get into it.

Here are my most anticipated books for the second half of 2021!

Most Anticipated Books for 2021 Part 1!

It Ends in Fire by Andrew Shvarts

Goodreads Description: ALKA CHELRAZI IS ON A MISSION:
1. Infiltrate Blackwater Academy
2. Win the Great Game
3. Burn Wizard society to the ground

As a child, Alka witnessed her parents’ brutal murder at the hands of Wizards before she was taken in by an underground rebel group.

Now, Alka is deep undercover at the most prestigious school of magic in the Republic: Blackwater Academy, a place where status is everything, where decadent galas end in blood-splattered duels, where every student has their own agenda. To survive, Alka will have to lie, cheat, kill, and use every trick in her spy’s toolkit.

Release Date: July 6th | Preorder Link

Dark academia will be a theme in this post, especially fantasy dark academia. I have been following this author since he pitched his book and I cannot believe I have an eARC of it. I’m going to be on the blog tour for this one, so stay tuned!

A Lesson in Vengeance by Victoria Lee

Goodreads Description: Felicity Morrow is back at Dalloway School.

Perched in the Catskill mountains, the centuries-old, ivy-covered campus was home until the tragic death of her girlfriend. Now, after a year away, she’s returned to graduate. She even has her old room in Godwin House, the exclusive dormitory rumored to be haunted by the spirits of five Dalloway students—girls some say were witches. The Dalloway Five all died mysteriously, one after another, right on Godwin grounds.

Witchcraft is woven into Dalloway’s history. The school doesn’t talk about it, but the students do. In secret rooms and shadowy corners, girls convene. And before her girlfriend died, Felicity was drawn to the dark. She’s determined to leave that behind her now; all Felicity wants is to focus on her senior thesis and graduate. But it’s hard when Dalloway’s occult history is everywhere. And when the new girl won’t let her forget.

It’s Ellis Haley’s first year at Dalloway, and she’s already amassed a loyal following. A prodigy novelist at seventeen, Ellis is a so-called “method writer.” She’s eccentric and brilliant, and Felicity can’t shake the pull she feels to her. So when Ellis asks Felicity for help researching the Dalloway Five for her second book, Felicity can’t say no. Given her history with the arcane, Felicity is the perfect resource.

And when history begins to repeat itself, Felicity will have to face the darkness in Dalloway–and in herself.

Release Date: August 3rd | Preorder Link

I am here for Dark Academia and Victoria Lee. This book sounds amazing and I cannot wait to get my hands on it. Also, the cover is stunning!

How We Fall Apart by Katie Zhao

Goodreads Description: Nancy Luo is shocked when her former best friend, Jamie Ruan, a top-ranked junior at Sinclair Prep, goes missing and then is found dead. Nancy is even more shocked when word starts to spread that she and her friends–Krystal, Akil, and Alexander–are the prime suspects, thanks to “The Proctor,” someone anonymously incriminating them via the school’s social media app.

They all used to be Jamie’s closest friends, and she knew each of their deepest, darkest secrets. Now, somehow The Proctor knows them, too. The four must uncover the true killer before The Proctor exposes more than they can bear and costs them more than they can afford, like Nancy’s full scholarship. Soon, Nancy suspects that her friends may be keeping secrets from her, too. 

Release Date: August 3rd

Back at it with the Dark Academia. Katie Zhao is one of the best authors I’ve ever interacted with and I cannot wait to read her book. Crazy Rich Asians meets One of Us is Lying in this murder mystery. I am all here for it.

Pre-order How We Fall Apart by Katie Zhao!

The Lost Girls by Sonia Hartl

Goodreads Description: When Elton Irving turned Holly Liddell into a vampire in 1987, he promised her eternal love. But thirty-four years later, Elton has left her, her hair will be crimped for the rest of immortality, and the only job she can get as a forever sixteen-year-old is the midnight shift at Taco Bell.

Holly’s afterlife takes an interesting turn when she meets Rose McKay and Ida Ripley. Having also been turned and discarded by Elton—Rose in 1954, and Ida, his ex-fiancée, in 1921—they want to help her and ask for her help in return.

Rose and Ida are going to kill Elton before he turns another girl. Though Holly is hurt and angry with Elton for tossing her aside, she’s reluctant to kill her ex, until Holly meets Parker Kerr—the new girl Elton has set his sights on—and feels a quick, and nerve-wracking attraction to her.

Release Date: September 14th | Preorder Links

First off, my Twilight heart absolutely loves anything to do with vampires. Who could have predicted vampires would be cool again in 2021? Secondly, this book is compared to John Tucker Must Die. If you haven’t seen John Tucker Must Die, please do yourself a favour and watch it. Then go and preorder this book.

Jade Fire Gold by June C.L. Tan

Goodreads Description: In an empire on the brink of war . . .

Ahn is no one, with no past and no family.

Altan is a lost heir, his future stolen away as a child.

When they meet, Altan sees in Ahn a path to reclaiming the throne. Ahn sees a way to finally unlock her past and understand her arcane magical abilities.

But they may have to pay a far deadlier price than either could have imagined.

Release Date: October 12th | Preorder Link

This book has been pitched as a “Zutara/Dark Avatar” book and I do not need to know anything else. Zutara is my ultimate ship and I will go down with it. All I know is that I need this book yesterday.

Well Matched by Jen DeLuca

Goodreads Description: Single mother April Parker has lived in Willow Creek for twelve years with a wall around her heart. On the verge of being an empty nester, she’s decided to move on from her quaint little town and asks her friend Mitch for his help with some home improvement projects to get her house ready to sell.

Mitch Malone is known for being the life of every party, but mostly for the attire, he wears to the local Renaissance Faire–a kilt (and not much else) that shows off his muscled form to perfection. While he agrees to help April, he needs a favor too: she’ll pretend to be his girlfriend at an upcoming family dinner so that he can avoid the lectures about settling down and having a more “serious” career than high school coach and gym teacher. April reluctantly agrees, but when dinner turns into a weekend trip, it becomes hard to tell what’s real and what’s been just for show. But when the weekend ends, so must their fake relationship.

As summer begins, Faire returns to Willow Creek, and April volunteers for the first time. When Mitch’s family shows up unexpectedly, April pretends to be Mitch’s girlfriend again…something that doesn’t feel so fake anymore. Despite their obvious connection, April insists they’ve just been putting on an act. But when there’s the chance for something real, she has to decide whether to change her plans–and open her heart–for the kilt-wearing hunk who might just be the love of her life.

Release Date: October 19th | Preorder Link

I read the first two books in this series last year and I have been patiently waiting for this one to come out. I love everything about them. The setting, the characters, the Renaissance Faire. I am all in for this.

Read my Well Played Review here!

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What is on your Most Anticipated Books list for the second half of the year?

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