 Hi everyone, welcome back to my channel. Thank you so much for joining me. Today I'm coming at you with a massively exciting video. I'm going to be chatting about the books that are being released in the second half of this year that I am most excited about. There are so many great sounding books coming out in the second half of this year, far more than are on this list. I had to wheel it down to the very best sounding ones so as to avoid this list being like a million years long. We have tons of literary fiction, obviously. We have some poetry, some historical fiction, some YA. Some of these books I have already kindly received copies of from the publishers. So for the books that I hold up physical copies of that is where they have come from. I'm going to talk about these books in publication order and I really hope you hear about something that sounds good to you. One more quick thing before we get into the books. My gorgeous new earrings are made by my friend Kat and I will leave a link to her shop down below if you want to go and check it out. The jewellery is really really cute. So the first book that I'm going to be talking about is Pondweed by Lisa Blower and this was released on the 1st of July by Myriad Editions. This is a literary fiction novel that follows two childhood sweethearts who have been together for many many years when they go on a road trip from Stoke on Trent to Wales. I believe the novel follows the characters over the course of a couple of weeks exploring both their relationship with one another and their own individual self-discoveries. So something about this one just really caught my eye. Of course I love character-driven novels and this one certainly seems to tick that box. I love the idea of a road trip and going on a physical journey as well as an emotional one. There also seems to be a hint of mystery surrounding this book. I think we get glimpses into the characters' pasts throughout and there are some kind of secrets to untangle. I think this could be really great and I'm looking forward to seeing what it has to offer. Next is Loveless by Alice Oseman and this one came out on the 9th of July by HarperCollins Children's. This is a hugely anticipated YA novel and I'm just as excited as everybody else. It follows a teenage girl called Georgia who is just starting university. I believe it explores themes of love and friendship and it is already renowned for its asexual and aromantic representation. So I absolutely adore Alice Oseman. I have read two of her other YA novels. We were born for this and Radio Silence. She is one of the best YA authors I have ever read, hands down. She does so many things well in her novels. The characters are dynamic and relatable and interesting. Her stories are so contemporary, so relevant. They actually feel like real present-day stories. Her representation when it comes to sexuality and different gender identities and different ethnicities are so true to life. She's fab and I have really high expectations for this one. Next is Nothing Can Hurt You by Nicola May Goldberg and this one came out on the 9th of July by Raven Books. This is a literary fiction novel that is based off of true events I believe. It focuses in on multiple perspectives to explore the aftermath of a female college student's murder in the 1990s. This is being blurbed as Little Fires Everywhere meets the Virgin Suicides and I love Little Fires Everywhere and I really enjoyed the writing in the Virgin Suicides, not so much the plot. Obviously this comparison might mean nothing at all. I work in the publishing industry. I'm aware of how we throw these comparisons around but it's definitely got me intrigued. I've also read this book Gives Three Women Vibes which is a non-fiction book I really enjoyed. It focuses on different people's experiences. It explores social issues and is based very heavily in fact and this one of course explores the ever-relevant issue of gendered violence. I've actually just started this one and I think it could be really really great. It's definitely a dark and quite hard hitting read but I think it could be really really interesting. So definitely looking forward to getting more into this one. Next is The Great Garden by Meg Rossoff. This one also came out on the 9th of July. This one by Bloomsbury YA. So this is the only other YA novel on this list and if you know my reading tastes at all you might actually be surprised that two made it. I don't tend to read much YA but I am very excited for these. So this one follows a family over the course of a life-changing summer from the perspective of a teenage girl. In enters two brothers and I believe one of the brothers has a dark secret. Bear with me. So Meg Rossoff is the author of two books that I read and loved as a teenager. How I Live Now and What I Was. I was obsessed with her writing at the time. I thought it was so beautiful and so mature and that is basically exclusively what I want to read this book. I'm just super excited to see what she is writing about now, whether her writing has developed, whether I will still enjoy it at all. The premise here obviously sounds quite standard but I think if it is done well, which I'm hoping it will be, I could really love this. I do enjoy a good character-driven coming-of-age novel and plus how gorgeous is this cover? I am so obsessed with this and this is only a proof. So yes, I think this one is going to be a lot of fun. Next is The Sin Eater by Megan Campezi and this one is published on the 23rd of July by Mantle. This is a historical novel set in the 16th century that follows a 14 year old orphan girl who becomes a sin eater. Someone who hears the final confessions of the dying and eats their sins so that they can pass into heaven. I believe that the girl ends up hearing some secrets from two of the queen's courtiers and she ends up getting swept into a world of deadly rumors and treachery and secrets. So I love a dark historical novel every now and again especially if they focus on female protagonists and this one sounds as though it ticks a lot of my boxes. It sounds super intriguing to me. The idea of sin eaters is fascinating and apparently they were real things according to my grandma. I just think this is going to be really, really fun. I'm hoping for some mystery and some drama. I've also heard that this one is quite character focused as well which is cool so I'm definitely looking forward to giving this one a go. Next is Anti-Ammetic for Homesickness by Romalin Antti and this one is published on the 23rd of July by Chateau and Windus. This is a debut poetry collection telling the story of generations of migrants in the UK from the Philippines. It's supposed to explore family and history and colonization. It's supposedly steeped in Filipino folklore and there are sprinklings of tagalog throughout. This collection intrigued me as soon as I heard about it. Firstly I absolutely love this cover. I think it's so gorgeous. I actually have this to read on Kindle from Netgalley but I cannot wait to get my hands on a physical copy. I love reading poetry collections that explore experiences very different from my own and this will certainly do that. And in my experience exploring themes such as these is really powerful and effective in the poetry medium. So I've got really, really high hopes for this one. I've actually already started it and I'm really enjoying it. I'm hoping that it continues to be just as beautiful and eye-opening and emotional so I'm really excited to see what Romalin Antti has to offer. Next is Shuggy Bane by Douglas Stewart and this one is coming out on the 6th of August by Picador. So this is a chunky literary fiction novel. I'm actually already about halfway through this one and wow. This is an amazing book. Set in the 1980s in Glasgow it follows the childhood of a young boy called Shuggy. It explores working-class families and addiction and sexuality amongst the backdrop of Thatcher Era Britain. I love me a chunky literary fiction novel especially ones that have coming of age structures and that are set over multiple decades. I tend to enjoy literature exploring all of the themes that I just mentioned. This one explores and so far this one is delivering on all fronts. It is just what I hoped it would be. And the writing in here is... I cannot believe this is a debut. Douglas Stewart has clearly written things before because this feels very accomplished. It's the kind of writing that you read and you just wish you had written it yourself. This is amazing so far. I am very excited about this whole thing. Next is True Story by Kate Reed Petty and this one is coming out on the 4th of August by Riverrun. This novel tells the story of the aftermath of a college party when two young boys drove a drunk girl home. And if I've understood this correctly, this novel is actually told in four parts where each of the parts tells the story within the framework of a different genre. Some of what happens in here is real, some of it is invented and throughout the whole thing we get to piece together what actually happened. So this idea blew my mind when I first heard about it. Playing around with distinctive genres within the same book sounds like such a cool and inventive idea. And when I received this proof copy I was actually delighted to see four different covers at the beginning of the book representing each of the different genres. How cool. This is supposed to be electrifying and daring, it is supposed to explore abuse and addiction and self-betrayal, and ultimately it explores the many fictions that we tell about men and women. So I'm really interested to see what this one has to offer. I'm really interested to see whether the structure actually works. Can the author actually manage to make this all come together and feel like one cohesive work? Or will it just feel a little bit disjointed? We will see. But if this one is good I think it could be great. The next book I want to talk about is Homecoming by Luanne Goldie, Coming on the 6th of August by HQ. This novel moves between London and Kenya, exploring the stories of three different characters across two decades I believe. It's supposed to explore love and friendship and family and truth. Apart from the fact that this novel sounds very me, character-driven, set over multiple decades and different geographical locations. The main reason I'm excited about this novel is because I read Luanne Goldie's debut novel earlier this year for the women's prize for fiction, and I really liked it. I thought she showed tons of promise in that novel. So this book just ticks tons of boxes for me. It is also blurbed by Diana Evans, which is cool. So I think this one could be really great. Next is Summer Water by Sarah Moss. This one is coming out on the 20th of August by Picador. This is a pretty short literary fiction novel set over the longest day of summer when 12 people are on holiday in a Scottish cabin park. We focus on each of the different characters in this temporary makeshift community until finally night begins to fall and some tragedy occurs. So much about this book is exciting to me. Firstly I adore Sarah Moss. I read Ghost Wall by her last year and I adored it. I fell in love. I've been wanting to read more by her ever since. But also the structuring and the plot in here really have me. I love novels that zoom in and focus in on a really short period of time. I love character-focused books that look at many, many different characters. And this sounds as though it might be quite similar in feel to Ghost Wall as well, being quite atmospheric and tense, and working up to some epic climax. There is no doubt in my mind that this is going to be a wonderfully crafted little book, so he is hoping that it lives up. Next up is Strange Flowers by Donal Ryan. This one is coming on the 27th of August by Doubleday. This is another short literary fiction novel. I believe this one focuses in on a married couple whose daughter goes missing in the 1970s, and then years later she returns to them very much changed. So I first read some Donal Ryan last year when From a Low and Quiet Sea was on the book a long list. And while I didn't love that novel as a whole there was a lot that I saw in Donal Ryan's style that I really liked, particularly his lyrical and gorgeous prose and the ways that he looked at his characters. As such, I am really looking forward to giving this one a go and seeing how I find it. It definitely has an intriguing plot. I hear it explores themes of loss and grief and family and love. All things that I adore reading about, so fingers crossed for this one. Next up is Mayflies by Andrew O'Hagan. This one is coming on the 3rd of September by Faber and Faber. This book is set over two timelines, one in 1986 when a small group of friends who have just finished school embark on a celebratory weekend in Manchester. The other storyline is set in 2017 when one of the men from the group reaches out to a friend and asks him to accompany him through his final months and grant him his last wish. So I am extremely excited by this one. Firstly, it is published by Faber and Faber who are one of my favourite publishers of literary fiction ever. It also sounds character focused and reflective and emotional. The cover is awesome. This one just has my name written all over it and if it is done well I think I could just fall in love with it. Next up is The Harpy by Megan Hunter. This one is coming on the 3rd of September by Picador. So I read The End We Start From by Megan Hunter a couple of years ago now and I really, really enjoyed it. Her prose was gorgeous and so I was really excited to hear that she was coming out with a new book. So this one sounds quite strange. I believe it follows a couple and their efforts to save their marriage but it's meant to feel very fairy tale-esque. I believe it is quite dark and fantastical. So I'm massively intrigued by this. I really enjoy magical and otherworldly fiction every now and again. I really enjoy musical prose which I hear this book has. So when I'm in the mood for something a bit different I think this book could be perfect for me and I'm really looking forward to seeing what it's like. Next is The Once and Future Witches by Alex E. Harrow. This one's coming out on the 15th of October by Orbit. Set in the late 1800s this novel follows a group of sisters who join the suffragists in New Salem and I believe they start to explore the forgotten ways of witchcraft to help in the movement. Honestly I just saw the words witchcraft and suffragettes next to each other and that was enough. I have nothing more to say about this one other than I think it could be kickass and dark and feminist and awesome. This one just sounds like a lot of fun and definitely one I will be picking up when I'm in the mood for a darker historical novel. The penultimate book I'm going to be talking about today is Transcendent Kingdom by Yaa Gaiassi. This one is coming out on the 22nd of October by Viking. So this is a book that I have been anticipating for ages and I cannot wait to get my hands on it. I adore Yaa Gaiassi ever since I read Homegoing by her a couple of years ago and fell in love. I have been waiting for her to bring something new out. Like Homegoing this is another deeply layered novel following a Garnayan family in Alabama. It explores themes of family and faith and love. I just have such high hopes for this one. If Homegoing is anything to go off I expect this will be highly intimate and emotional and powerful. I expect the characters will be brilliantly drawn and I will be massively invested in their stories. This is going to be wonderful and I am over the moon about it. And the final book I'm going to talk about today is Dearly Poems by Margaret Atwood which is coming out on the 10th of November by Vintage. So I believe this is Margaret Atwood's first poetry collection in over a decade. It explores themes of love and loss and the passing of time and nature. It is said to be introspective and personal in tone but wide-ranging in topic. So I've read Margaret Atwood's fiction but I have never read any of her poetry and it is said that she is just as accomplished in both. So I very much look forward to seeing whether or not I think that is true. This collection sounds as though it is something that I would like and I'm always looking for new contemporary poetry collections. So I'm very much looking forward to seeing what this one has to say and I think it will be really interesting to see how it is received. So there we have it. Those are all of the books coming out in the second half of this year that I am most excited about. Please let me know any of your thoughts about these books down below in the comments. Let me know if you're also excited about them. And of course let me know about any books that are coming out in the second half of the year that I haven't mentioned in this video that you think I would like. As always thank you so much for watching this video and extra thank you if you are subscribed or comment or leave a like. It really does mean a lot to me. I hope you're all doing well. I can't wait to chat to you down below and I will hopefully see you soon in my next video. Bye everyone!