These are some books on my TBR that I have BIG expectations for! I’ve compiled a slightly eclectic mix of new releases and some that were published back in the 90s. Whether it’s because I’ve heard great things or I think it sounds exactly up my alley, all of these are just waiting for the perfect moment for me to pick them up.

I have a tendency to put off books I think I’m going to reaaaally love – for delayed gratification? For fear they won’t live up to my expectations? Either way, here are some of the reads I anticipate being SO good that I’m almost putting them off.

• Realm of the Elderlings by Robin Hobb

Let’s start off strong with the big one, shall we? If you’ve been anywhere on the fantasy side of bookstagram / blogs, you’ll be aware of Robin Hobb’s the Realm of the Elderlings, of which Assassin’s Apprentice is the first instalment. Her magnum opus of 16 books divided into trilogies, ROTE truly takes the reader on a journey. And I’ve been putting off getting aboard, purely because I know it’s going to take over my life when I do. I’m waiting for the perfect moment, but maybe I’ll have to bite the bullet soon. After all, it’s getting ludicrous to call myself a fantasy-lover when I haven’t read Assassin’s Apprentice.

Epic fantasy

Blurb: Young Fitz is the bastard son of the noble Prince Chivalry, raised in the shadow of the royal court by his father’s gruff stableman. He is treated as an outcast by all the royalty except the devious King Shrewd, who has him secretly tutored in the arts of the assassin. For in Fitz’s blood runs the magic Skill—and the darker knowledge of a child raised with the stable hounds and rejected by his family.

As barbarous raiders ravage the coasts, Fitz is growing to manhood. Soon he will face his first dangerous, soul-shattering mission. And though some regard him as a threat to the throne, he may just be the key to the survival of the kingdom.

• The Unicorn Hunters by Katherine Arden

This one is slightly more straightforward, and one I fully expect to get to in the coming weeks – but it’s the Unicorn Hunters by Katherine Arden. I read the Winternight trilogy years ago and loved it. Arden is the master of lyrical prose and a gorgeously atmospheric historical setting, and I’m expecting the Unicorn Hunters to be no different.

Historical fantasy

Blurb: Anne of Brittany was a child when France invaded and drove her royal father to his death. Now she is a young woman, sovereign duchess of an occupied realm, and France means to crown their conquest by marrying her to their king. Such an alliance would put her title, her lands, and her body forever in the hands of her enemies.

But Anne refuses to be the last duchess of Brittany.

Her only hope of resisting conquest is another alliance sealed with marriage, so Anne arranges a daring last gambit: a secret betrothal to Charles of France’s greatest rival. But secrets are hard to keep in a world where rival courts spy on each other with diviners.

The forest of Brocéliande was once the haunt of Merlin the Enchanter and the long-lost faerie queen. But magic is long gone from Broceliande, except for the occasional sight of a unicorn and one critical quirk: This ancient forest is completely hostile to divination.

While pretending compliance with France, Anne plans a unicorn hunt in Brocéliande. A bit of pointless pageantry. A diversion so she can wed in secret.

Or so she thinks.

• The Poet Empress by Shen Tao

This is a recenter release that came out in February but I haven’t got around to yet. I think I’m going to really love this, as a lot of trusted reviewers and friends have sung its praises, and I do love a fantasy that tackles some heavy real-life themes.

Epic fantasy

Blurb: In the waning years of the Azalea Dynasty, the emperor is dying, the land consumed by famine, and poetry magic lost to all except the powerful.

Wei Yin is desperate. After the fifth death of a sibling, with her family and village on the brink of starvation, she will do anything to save those she loves.

Even offer herself as concubine to the cruel heir of the beautiful and brutal Azalea House.

But in a twist of fate, the palace stands on the knife-edge of civil war with Wei trapped in its center…at the side of a violent prince.

To survive, Wei must harden her heart, rely on her wit, and become dangerous herself. Even if it means becoming a poet in a world where women are forbidden to read—and composing the most powerful spell of all. A ballad of death…and love.

• Tempest by Victoria Aveyard

Listen, I was sold at pirates written by Victoria Aveyard. The blurb sounds absolutely incredible and I cannot WAIT to have this one in my hands.

Adult fantasy romance

Blurb: Cat Rose knows what it is to live in two worlds, in two times. Before—as Lady Catrine Rose of the Meridian Empire, chained to a loathsome lord with a dwindling fortune. And after—as the Widow Rose, queen of a pirate tavern in the Lyrian Sea, determined to be the master of her own fate.

But tides turn and winds change. The Meridian Empire looms on the horizon, the full weight of her navy falling on the Lyrian, bent on reclaiming the wealthy colonies and crushing the pirate republic once and for all. Ship after ship is captured, save for one, captained by a pirate who continually evades both noose and blade: the legendary Valerian Kane.

With his fearsome ship and uncanny connection to the song of the sea, Valerian is the only man who might rally the pirates who remain. The only man who threatens the Empire. And the only man Cat has ever loved, blazing in and out of her life like a star.

Desperate for victory, the Empire offers Cat a devastating choice: bring them Valerian or hang. In truth, no choice at all.

But Cat Rose is nothing if not a survivor.

• The Sword of Kaigen by M.L. Wang

I’m a huge M.L. Wang fan from the single book of theirs I’ve read – Blood Over Bright Haven. But that book was SO good and actually moved me to tears (and it’s not often I cry at books). So I have utter confidence in this author and the prospect of an epic fantasy story written by them makes me so excited.

Epic fantasy

Blurb: On a mountainside at the edge of the Kaigenese Empire live the most powerful warriors in the world, superhumans capable of raising the sea and wielding blades of ice. For hundreds of years, the fighters of the Kusanagi Peninsula have held the Empire’s enemies at bay, earning their frozen spit of land the name ‘The Sword of Kaigen.’ Born into Kusanagi’s legendary Matsuda family, fourteen-year-old Mamoru has always known his purpose: to master his family’s fighting techniques and defend his homeland. But when an outsider arrives and pulls back the curtain on Kaigen’s alleged age of peace, Mamoru realizes that he might not have much time to become the fighter he was bred to be. Worse, the empire he was bred to defend may stand on a foundation of lies.

Misaki told herself that she left the passions of her youth behind when she married into the Matsuda house. Determined to be a good housewife and mother, she hid away her sword, along with everything from her days as a fighter in a faraway country. But with her growing son asking questions about the outside world, the threat of an impending invasion looming across the sea, and her frigid husband grating on her nerves, Misaki finds the fighter in her clawing its way back to the surface.

When the winds of war reach their peninsula, will the Matsuda family have the strength to defend their empire? Or will they tear each other apart before the true enemies even reach their shores?

• Daughter of the Forest by Juliet Marillier

I feel like I’ve been hearing the entire world rave about the work of Juliet Marillier for years now and it sounds like something I would eat up! Again, it’s been a matter of waiting for the perfect moment, but I think this summer might be the summer I finally dive in.

Historical fantasy / Fairytale retelling

Blurb: Lovely Sorcha is the seventh child and only daughter of Lord Colum of Sevenwaters. Bereft of a mother, she is comforted by her six brothers who love and protect her. Sorcha is the light in their lives: they are determined that she know only contentment.

But Sorcha’s joy is shattered when her father is bewitched by his new wife, an evil enchantress who binds her brothers with a terrible spell, a spell which only Sorcha can lift—by staying silent. If she speaks before she completes the quest set to her by the Fair Folk and their queen, the Lady of the Forest, she will lose her brothers forever.

When Sorcha is kidnapped by the enemies of Sevenwaters and taken to a foreign land, she is torn between the desire to save her beloved brothers, and a love that comes only once. Sorcha despairs at ever being able to complete her task, but the magic of the Fair Folk knows no boundaries, and love is the strongest magic of them all…

• The Tainted Cup by Robert Jackson Bennett

Again, this is a situation where some of my trusted reviewers online have loved this book, and I trust them with my life. I’m a simple gal – if Lexi aka Newlynova says to read the Tainted Cup… I will read the Tainted Cup.

Fantasy / Mystery

Blurb: In Daretana’s most opulent mansion, a high Imperial officer lies dead—killed, to all appearances, when a tree spontaneously erupted from his body. Even in this canton at the borders of the Empire, where contagions abound and the blood of the Leviathans works strange magical changes, it’s a death at once terrifying and impossible.

Called in to investigate this mystery is Ana Dolabra, an investigator whose reputation for brilliance is matched only by her eccentricities.

At her side is her new assistant, Dinios Kol. Din is an engraver, magically altered to possess a perfect memory. His job is to observe and report, and act as his superior’s eyes and ears–quite literally, in this case, as among Ana’s quirks are her insistence on wearing a blindfold at all times, and her refusal to step outside the walls of her home.

Din is most perplexed by Ana’s ravenous appetite for information and her mind’s frenzied leaps—not to mention her cheerful disregard for propriety and the apparent joy she takes in scandalizing her young counterpart. Yet as the case unfolds and Ana makes one startling deduction after the next, he finds it hard to deny that she is, indeed, the Empire’s greatest detective.

As the two close in on a mastermind and uncover a scheme that threatens the safety of the Empire itself, Din realizes he’s barely begun to assemble the puzzle that is Ana Dolabra—and wonders how long he’ll be able to keep his own secrets safe from her piercing intellect.

Featuring an unforgettable Holmes-and-Watson style pairing, a gloriously labyrinthine plot, and a haunting and wholly original fantasy world, The Tainted Cup brilliantly reinvents the classic mystery tale.

• The Knave and The Moon by Rachel Gillig

I adored the Knight and the Moth, so you best bet I will be reading the Knave and the Moon the DAY it is released. I’m just so excited to have another Rachel Gillig book and to see where the story takes Sybill, Rory and Bartholomew.

Fantasy romance

Blurb: Aisling Cathedral is in ruins. Rodrick Myndacious, Bartholomew, and Maude Bauer are rumored to be dead—and the king has taken Sybil Delling as his bride. To show off their union and solidify his power over Traum, Benji proposes a series of tournaments throughout the hamlets. Captive and drugged, Sybil remains determined to vanquished him as she once did the Omens, even if she destroys the kingdom’s faith—and herself—in the process.

But then a mysterious knave rises to the top of the lists, a man with no name and no memory who may just be Sybil’s ticket to undoing Benji’s power. For in a land where stories repeat themselves, where a king can prove as cruel as a god, the only way to truly destroy the Stonewater Kingdom’s faith is to save it.

• Jade City by Fonda Lee

Ending on another banger and another series I’m very excited (and apprehensive) to start. If you’ve been reading this blog for any amount of time, you’ll know that I adore books with gangs. The Lies of Locke Lamora, Six of Crows, Red City… I could go on. And ask any fantasy fan of gang-related books and they’ll immediately recommend you this. I also love character-driven stories, which this apparently is. It just sounds perfect in every conceivable way and I’m scared I’m a) going to love it so much it’ll take over my life (like ROTE), or b) it’ll let me down. Now, I flatter myself I know my taste pretty well so I’m quite confident it’ll be a.

Epic fantasy

Blurb: The Kaul family is one of two crime syndicates that control the island of Kekon. It’s the only place in the world that produces rare magical jade, which grants those with the right training and heritage superhuman abilities. 

The Green Bone clans of honorable jade-wearing warriors once protected the island from foreign invasion–but nowadays, in a bustling post-war metropolis full of fast cars and foreign money, Green Bone families like the Kauls are primarily involved in commerce, construction, and the everyday upkeep of the districts under their protection.

When the simmering tension between the Kauls and their greatest rivals erupts into open violence in the streets, the outcome of this clan war will determine the fate of all Green Bones and the future of Kekon itself.

What are some books on your TBR / new releases you have big expectations for? Let me know in the comments.