Anticipated Releases (October-Decemeber 2026)

 Hey guys, this is Abi here, 

And I'm back, with the last 2026 Anticipated Releases post! 

I have to admit, I was pleasantly surprised to see how many of my old YA favourites were releasing books towards the end of this month! If you follow bookstagram much, you may have heard of these, and be just as overjoyed as me. 

Of course, different people have different tastes, so there may be some that you're looking forward to, that I haven't included. Please do let me know in the comments, what your anticipated releases are, as I would love to hear about them! 

Without further ado, I hope you enjoy! 

~October~

1. The Pools, by E. Lockheart 

Release date: 6/10/2026

A new book from the author that wrote, possibly, the biggest plot twist in YA history? Of course this is going on my anticipated releases list! 

I think the easiest way to talk about what this book is about, is to just quote the blurb. I don't want to confuse people, by mixing the tenses up, and this one flows in and out of the present so much, I can't even be sure where it's at. 

"Once, in a small New England town known for it's hot springs, something terrible happened. 

Something that should have been a warning to stay away from the pools, if the stories were to be

believed. 

But no one is afraid of the water anymore, even if they should be. 

When new girl Lexie meets golden boy Chester, their chemistry is undeniable. She's running from a 

glittering life she won't speak about. He's hiding secrets of his own. Their connection feels bigger 

than both of them, despite their damage. 

One frigid winter morning in that small New England town, five people go for a swim in the pools. 

Five people, including Chester. What happens there sends shock waves through the town, changing

life as Lexie knows it forever."

Now, it says on the cover that this is a love story. Honestly, I don't fully believe that. Based off of the type of storyteller I believe E. Lockhart to be, I get the feeling that somebody dies in those pools. Also, how big are these pools? How much can actually go on, without someone noticing? I guess we'll find out. 

2. The Sixth Faction (The Sixth Faction #1), by Veronica Roth 

Release date: 6/10/2026

I love the comments on Goodreads on this book's page. Those commentors are not holding back. 

Okay, so what I know about this book, is that, Tris has already decided what faction she wants to join- Dauntless. Then something happens- which hasn't been revealed yet, and she's thrusted into an underground rebellion- and into the path of a boy with secrets as dangerous as her own- with only a number for a name. 

The Sixth Faction is the first book in a duology, the second book expecting a release sometime next year- and to quote Minne (Back :))- This is either going to fix everything or prove that girl was doomed no matter what. 

No idea to be honest, but I'm excited to find out. 

3. Victorious (Villains #3), by V.E. Schwab 

Release date: 6/10/2026

It's been eight years since book 2 of this series came out. Nowhere near as long as the wait for graphic novel Saga, Volume 10 to come out, but close enough. 

Will definitely need to re-read book 1&2: Vicious & Vengeful, but as it didn't take me long to read those the first time, it should be the same the second time around. 

Very simple premise, with a very simple meaning behind the title. Victorious: who will be the final winner. 

"Eli Ever. Victor Vale. 

Two men, first best friends, then mortal enemies, each destined to be the other's shadow. 

One left standing- but the game isn't over yet. 

Against all the years- and the odds- a group of allies and archrivals meet on a chessboard set by

an opponent they couldn't have predicted... to see who will be victorious."

I definitely need to re-read the first two, or else the big reveal will never have as much impact as it could (forgotten all of the characters, apart from our main two). 

4. It's Only Dancing, by Jasmine Guillory 

Release date: 6/10/2026

After reading this through a couple of times, I'm getting (clean version) Dirty Dancing vibes. 

-Katherine (Kitty to family and friends) wants to spend the last summer before her senior year working for an important organisation or doing something impressive- but instead is forced to spend it with her family at a camp in Southern California. 

-First night, she catches a glimpse of a staff party- where the entire staff are dancing freely, without a care in the world. Kitty is envious, especially as the last time she danced like that was when she quit ballet two years, sick of the insults that were constantly directed at her. 

-When she and Jordan, hip hop dance instructor extroadinaire, start to fall in love, she starts lying to her family, in order to spend more time with him. Eventually, she realises that spending too much time with Jordan could tarnish her reputation, and so, she is left with a choice: what is she willing to risk in order to feel free? And is it possible that dancing with Jordan could reignite her love for dancing once more?

Anybody else? 

Honestly, it's been so long since I read a book like this. I think the last one was Instructions for Dancing, by Nicola Yoon, which was back in 2021. This might just be the perfect book to go next to that one. 

5. Wondrous, by Heather Fawcett 

Release date: 6/10/2026

Simple premise, this. 

Timed to the 75th anniversary of Alice in Wonderland, this is the perfect for the Halloween season, if you want something more action, and less creepy. 

This is the sequel to the original, with an Alice, who is now eighteen, and feels much more secure in Wonderland, than in the 'real world'. After all, in Wonderland, no one will judge you for being weird. 

Until the most weird thing to ever happen in Wonderland... happens. Two other Alices, claiming to be the 'real' Alice, also arrive. And all three are frogmarched to the Queen's castle. 

The Queen explains that it has been prophesized that one day, a 'blue Alice' will save Wonderland from terrible peril. Ever since, the White Rabbit has been opening portals, in order to pull any children, dressed in blue and called Alice, down to Wonderland. 

And now there are three dragons, running rampant around Wonderland. The first Alice to slay all three dragons is the 'real' Alice. The others- cast off forever. 

Is Alice the real Alice, or is she just a footnote in someone else's story?

Okay, maybe not so simple a premise, but this story is so good, it was worth writing all of that out. 

Like I said before, seems like the perfect Halloween-action tale full of whimsical, and exciting characters. Looking forward to this coming out.

 

6. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince Illustrated Edition (Harry Potter #6), by J.K. Rowling (author) & Levi Pinfold (illustrator)

Release date: 6/10/2026

It's been at least two years since the last one came out. I may have read the physical book already, but there was no way I wasn't going to include this on today's post. 

7. As We Fall Through Time, by Claire North 

Release date: 13/10/2026

A new Claire North book! I haven't read one of her books since A Sudden Appearance of Hope, in 2017!

Another time travelling book, but this sounds bloody good. 

This is the story of what happens, after the world ends. 

When time traveller Cal, meets a soldier of the French Revolution, he knows his lover is going to die. But what's the point of being a time traveller if you can't make a couple of tweaks along the way- if only to save the one you love? 

When Fadimmatu walks into a museum in 2018 to find her own corpse, she sets herself in a path to a betrayal that has already killed her, and a murder that has not yet come to pass. 

In arranging these tweaks, these moments in time rip a hole in the very fabric of time, breaking both past and future. In order to re-store time, they must reckon with death foretold, love forsaken, and a secret that will shatter time itself. 

This, like A Sudden Appearance of Hope, feels like it's going to be a 500+ page book, and I am absolutely here for it! 

8. Queen of Lombard Street, by Lisa Kleypas

Release date: 20/10/2026

I love the idea of this book. Upon hearing about it, all I knew from the description was that it was about a woman, wanting to make the first female bank, in the Victorian Era, and her struggles to establish this against the pressures and restrictions in that time period. 

After reading about it on Goodreads, I learned: 

1. Women weren't allowed their own bank account, let alone their own bank. Reina, our protagonist, knows better, after being raised by her spanish mother.

2. The mentor she built the idea with is a criminal, and may be responsible for the biggest financial heist of that century. 

3. Her mentor needs her expertise in concealing potentially criminal files, which means that Reina is left with a choice: Does she betray her mentor, or abandon the families that she has been working with since the beginning. Either way, her dream of owning a bank one day may well be over. 

I really am a sucker for a woman independence story. 

 

9. Whale Harbor, by Mary Beth Keane

Release date: 20/10/2026

I don't know what drew me to this book, but something about it felt real to me. It tells the story of a father, a father and his eleven grieving sons. In the wake of tragedy, he makes a decision regarding his boys. Of the eldest half, they are all to emigrate to England to work, whereas the younger of the sons are to stay behind. 

Second eldest, Macdara is offered the chance to work on a Montana cattle range, and is ready to leave on the off. His younger brother, Rian, begs to come along. When he's older, Macdara says, and leaves before he can change his mind. 

But then one day, Mac gets the call that Rian has gone missing, without a trace. 

This call will haunt the family for generations. 

Set in 1960s Ireland. 

Why on Earth did I think this family were African? My head is all over the place, I swear. 

Anyway. This feels like the type of book that's going to be one of Waterstones' Book of the Month when it comes out, to be honest. It fits right for Fiction. 

It feels like a best-seller to me. 

Just a gut feeling. 

~November~

1. Orlando, by Harry Whittaker 

Release date: 5/11/2026

After dedicating over a year, reading all of Lucinda's Riley's books a couple of years ago, there was never a question as for whether this was going to be included on this list. Orlando is a side character in the third Seven Sisters book, The Shadow Sister. This takes place after that book, with Star and Orlando working together to uncover secrets that start with the arrival of a new A Christmas Carol...

Feels like the perfect winter book to me, to be honest. 

2. Murmuration , by T.J. Klune

Release date: 17/11/2026

Despite only reading the one book, I know that whatever I pick up, I will love when it's written by him. 

Murmuration takes place in a small town called Amorea, in 1954. I haven't read many books set in that time period, nearly 10 years after the war, so this sounds interesting. 

"In the small mountain town of Amorea, it's stretching towards autumn of 1954. The memories of a

world at war are fading in the face of a prosperous future. Doors are left unlocked at night, and

neighbours are always there to give eachother a helping hand. 

The people here know certain things as fact: 

Amorea is the best little town there is. 

The only good Commie is a dead Commie. 

The women's club of Amorea runs the town with an immaculately gloved fist. 

And bookstore owner Mike Frazier loves that boy down at the diner, Sean Mallard. Why they 

haven't gotten their acts together is anybody's guess. It may be the World's longest courtship, but no 

one can deny the way they look at each other. 

Slow and steady wins the race, or so they say.

But something's wrong with Mike. He hears voices in his house late at night. There are shadows 

crawling along the walls, and great clouds of birds overheard that only he can see. 

Something's happening in Amorea. And Mike will do whatever he can to keep the man he loves." 

~December~

1. Slow Burn, by Trinity Nguyen 

Release date: 29/12/2026

There's not really much I need to say to describe this:

-Hate to love romance. 

-Two characters, Lizzie Ly, and and Ethan Huang, both want to win the cooking competition they were invited to participate in, on tv, a program called Sweet Heat. First prize is a mentorship under top chef Harrison Moss. 

Lizzie Ly wants to win, so she can help contribute to her family's struggling cooking business; and Ethan wants to win, to prove that his cooking hobbie is more than, well, a hobbie.

This seems like the perfect book to pick up in the cold winter months, when we're all craving a hot meal. 

And it might encourage me to actually try some of the hot meals I've got collected on my instagram account too. 

What's not to love about this book?  

Okay! Those are all of my Anticipated Releases for the last three months of the year! I hope you enjoyed reading about them, and feel free to note them in the comments below! 

I hope you have a lovely evening, and I'll see you soon with another story entry! 

Byeeeeee! 

-Abi xxxxxx