July is around the corner and that means that the first half of 2025 is already gone. How?! Even though I didn’t read many of the books I was looking forward to for the first half of the year (I actually lost track of some), it’s time to find books I’m curious for in the second half of the year. I’ve stopped anticipating books long ago, because A) I end up not reading them until eons later and B) they often end up to be disappointing in the end. So, I rather call these books “Books I’m curious for” instead. For this list, I only looked at books from the “my authors” section on Goodreads, so all of these books are by authors whose work I’m familiar with. So, what books managed to grab my attention, and will I be on the lookout for from July to December?

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together.

1. Not Quite Dead Yet by Holly Jackson (Expected July 22) – I didn’t even hear about this book till many people put it on last week’s Top Ten Tuesday post where we created our summer TBR. I have mixed experiences with Jackson’s books, but this seems to be an adult novel and this makes me curious. YA authors transitioning into books for an adult audience could go both ways: either successful or unsuccessful. We have seen enough examples for both in the past few years. So, let’s see if, and when, I’ll pick this one up!
2. Fateless by Julie Kagawa (expected July 15) – Even though I’m still not fully caught up with Kagawa’s backlist, I’m still curious for this book. Yes, even though pirates are not really my thing. But when I was able to interview the author for a Dutch bookish platform back in 2018, she mentioned that she was about to write a book about pirates, so I believe this is the one she was talking about back then. Keep in mind that Shadow of the Fox was just released and this series had to be finished first. I’m not sure if I will read this book in Dutch or English, as I read most of this authors’ work in Dutch.
3. The Fallen & the Kiss of Dusk by Carissa Broadbent (expected August 5) – this one is a bit of a doubtful case on this list. I really enjoyed The Serpent & the Wings of Night after being in a reading slump for months, but the “Crowns of Nyaxia” series quickly went downhill from there. I strongly disliked The Songbird & the Heart of Stone, but I just can’t face the fact that this series has only 1 good book yet. So, I’ll keep an eye on it, but I don’t know if I will ever pick it up. And maybe I should do and read it in summer for once instead of winter when I always hit my annually returning reading slump.
4. The Secret Book Society by Madeline Martin (expected August 26) – Another book that has been brought to my attention due to last week’s Top Ten Tuesday topic. I read just one book by this author in 2023, but this new one makes me curious as it’s set in a different time period.
5. The Primal of Blood and Bone by Jennifer L. Armentrout (expected September 23) – I already pre-ordered this final book in the “Blood and Ash” series and although the story is getting a bit dragging and repetitive at times, I still want to know how it all ends for Poppy and Casteel. This book was scheduled for June but got pushed back to September eventually.
6. Every Step She Takes by Alison Cochrun (expected September 2) – A sapphic romance novel? Adding this one to this list is a no-brainer.
7. Espíritu by Aiden Thomas (expected September 2) – I think Cemetery Boys was one of the most surprising YA books of the past few years and we finally have a follow-up! This is Julian’s story, which makes me really curious.
8. Alchemy of Secrets by Stephanie Garber (expected October 7) – Another YA author transitioning into adult fiction, let’s see how this one works out.
9. Dark Horizon by Nicole Arend (expected October 9) – Finally, the sequel to Fresh Blood! Even though this book is not the best out there and definitely not original, I ate it all up. I was addicted. However, this was early 2023 and we haven’t had a sequel in this “Vamps” series until October. I just can’t wait!
10. Coldwire by Chloe Gong (expected November 4) – I want to end this list with a new book by Chloe Gong, which marks the start of a new dystopian series involving virtual reality. Her previous series were not so successful for me, apart from the Shanghai duet. But I still want to give this one a try.

I didn’t even look into December, because there apparently are more books I look forward to than I initially thought. Besides these, there are some Dutch editions for books that already have their English counterparts I look forward to. Oh boy, I don’t even know when I have the time to read all books on my TBR!

What books are you most looking forward to in the second half of 2025?