Pre-Order More Page-Turners š
This is part two of our Novel Creature List where Iām sharing page-turners you should definitely keep on your reading radar. With gorgeous covers and captivating stories, you may just want to pre-order these sci-fi, fantasy, and speculative fiction adjacent reads. Letās get into it!
Return of the Sistah Samurai by Tatiana Obey
Release Date: June 19, 2025
Afro Samurai meets The Boondocks in this anime-inspired novel
I've wanted nothing more than to become a Sistah Samurai. When I was expelled from the training academy for sneaking in my stupid ex-boyfriend, I still had hope that I could cry enough to convince them to take me back. Then, demons invaded the capital and decimated the clan, and there went my dreams of ever naming my own pair of pink swords.
Until I heard a rumor of one last Sistah Samurai. I packed my favorite outfits and my trusty teddy bear, and recruited my forever bestie to help me find her. If we could manage not to interrupt her lunch, maybe we could convince her to train us? We were ready to do whatever she asked, even if that meant confronting old flames and taking down the patriarchy.
As long as we looked good while doing it.
The sequel of Sistah Samurai is an Action Fantasy novella that is an homage to the anime, Afro Samurai. Both works feature a feudal Japan-inspired setting that is rife with anachronisms. In the words of Samuel L. Jackson, "Is that a motherf-ing RPG?"
And the River Drags Her Down by Jihyun Yun
Release Date: October 7, 2025
When her older sister is found mysteriously drowned in the river that cuts through their small coastal town, Soojin Han disregards every rule and uses her ancestral magic to bring Mirae back from the dead. At first, the sisters are overjoyed, reveling in late-night escapades and the miracle of being together again, but Mirae grows tired of hiding from the world. She becomes restless and hungry . . .
Driven by an insatiable desire to finish what she started in life, to unravel the truth that crushed her family so many years ago, Mirae is out for revenge.
When their town is engulfed by increasingly destructive rain and a series of harrowing, unusual deaths, Soojin is forced to reckon with the fact that perhaps the sister she brought back isnāt the one she knew.
Mayhem and the Mortal by Shanora Williams
Release Date: October 7, 2025
Dungeons & Dragons meets The Wizard of Oz in this darkly hilarious romantasy adventure in which a young woman who will do anything to rescue her sister from an evil sorcerer's curse hires a ruthless assassin. They embark on a quest with a band of misfits, one of whom harbors a devastating secret that could ruin her fairy-tale ending.
Fortress of Ambrose by J. Elle
Release Date: October 14, 2025
Seductive magic. Deadly betrayal.
Donāt miss the explosive finale of the dark, romantic fantasy of the New York Times-bestselling House of Marionne series, which #1 bestselling author Alex Aster praises as "a sweeping fantasy brimming with magic, secrets, and romance."
With the future of the Order clouded in uncertainty, and the evil within its ranks coming to the surface, Quell Marionne has nowhere left to turn.
Everyone Quell cares about is gone and she still canāt escape the powerful legacy that wants to destroy her. But when she uncovers an earth-shattering revelation, she must choose: be the hero the magic world needs or save Jordan.
Meanwhile, a darkness festers inside Dragunheart Jordan Wexton. His path to survival means becoming the monster he was bred to hate, if he can overcome the power rotting within himself.
In a world where the line between proper and forbidden magic blurs, Quell and Jordan, along with two unlikely allies ā bitter assassin Yagrin Wexton and magicless Heir Nore Ambrose, must navigate a treachero's path where freedom hangs by a thread. Can love tip the scales toward freedom? Or will rivalries and deadly betrayals shatter their hearts and destroy the world they once knew?
An Ocean Apart by Jill Tew
Release Date: October 14, 2025
An electrifying dystopian novel packed with a tantalizing love triangle, gripping political intrigue, and a Bachelor-style competition from the critically acclaimed author of The Dividing Sky, Jill Tew.
Eden Lowell has plenty to be frustrated about. In the flooded Marshes of former Miami, each day is about survival. Even her feelings for her best friend Henry are more complicated than they should be. Luckily, Eden knows exactly who to blame: the Cruisers, corporate elite who sail the world on massive ships instead of facing the environmental crimes theyāve committed on land.
When Eden learns that a Cruiser family is hosting a dating competition for their heir, Theo Desjardins, she seizes an opportunity. Aided by a political agitator known as the Ringmaster, sheāll infiltrate the competition, break Theoās heart, and then steal his money for the Marshes. A perfect planā¦
Until she gets to know Theo, whoās not only handsome but surprisingly kindā¦
As Eden drifts deeper down into the Cruisersā world, the line separating truth and lies becomes murky. Torn between two identities, two loves, and two futures, will she choose the mission, or her heart?
Eternal Ruin by Tigest Girma
Release Date: November 4, 2025
Like all ruinous things, he came from the abyss.
Kidan Adane has finally embraced her darkness. She's killed without remorse, lied, and broken Uxlay University's most sacred law by inviting elusive rogue vampires, the Nefrasi, into Uxlay.
Trapped with a violently unstable vampire, and reeling from her sister's return, Kidan wields her anger like a weapon. She vows to master her house and protect the sacred artifact hidden inside, even if it means forging an alliance with the depraved leader of the Nefrasi, Samson Sagad--and betraying Susenyos.
A dangerous new philosophical text seems to hold the answers and promises the very thing Kidan has lost: control. Even as the dark pages consume her, Kidan knows no soul at Uxlay is trustworthy--least of all Susenyos. For Kidan and Susenyos, the lines of loathing and attraction may blur, but the quest for power rules them both. And neither is willing to surrender.
As devastating secrets resurface from the past, Kidan and her sister, June, must finally confront each other and take their rightful places in the looming war.
The Last Vampire by Romina Garber
Release Date: December 2, 2025
Pride & Prejudice meets Crave when Austen-loving Lorena Navarro attends a new boarding school expecting to find her own Mr. Darcy, but accidentally finds the worldās last vampire instead!
Pride comes before the fall.
When a boarding school opens in a once-condemned Victorian manor buried in the woods of New Hampshire, Austen-loving Lorena Navarro enrolls in hopes of finding her own Mr. Darcy. Instead, she stumbles across a coffin and accidentally awakens the worldās last vampire.
After hibernating for nearly three centuries, William Pride is desperate to find his familyāand clueless about the modern world. Relying on Lorena for more than just blood, he enrolls at the school to catch up on all heās missed.
Soon, William uncovers a chilling truth: He is the last hope for his kindās return to power. Torn between protecting the humans around him and fulfilling his fate, William must make a choice that could change everything. Will he sacrifice his species for love . . . or will he embrace his dark destiny at last?
An Arcane Inheritance by Kamilah Cole
Release Date: January 20, 2026
A modern-day dark academia fantasy with a twist, perfect for fans of Babel and A Deadly Education.
Warren University has stood amongst the ivy elite for centuries, built on the bones--and forbidden magic--of its most prized BIPOC students...hiding the rot of a secret society that will do anything to keep their own powers burning bright. No matter who they must sacrifice along the way.
Ellory Morgan is determined to prove that she belongs at Warren University, an ivy league school whose history is deeply linked to occult rumors and dark secrets. But as she settles into her Freshman year, something about the ornate buildings and shadowy paths feels strangely...familiar. And, with every passing day, that sense of dĆ©jĆ vu grows increasingly sinister.
Despite all logic, despite all reason, despite all the rules of reality, Ellory knows one thing to be true: she has been here before. And if she can't convince brooding legacy student Hudson Graves to help her remember a past that seems determined to slip through her fingers as if by some insidious magic...this time, she may lose herself for good.
When the Clock Strikes Midnight by Alechia Dow
Release Date: February 3, 2026
The Good Place meets the Brandy version of Cinderella in Until the Clock Strikes Midnight, a cozy, romantic fantasy from award-winning author Alechia Dow.
Darling is the most talentedāand unusualāGuardian to get a chance at winning the coveted once-in-a-generation Mortal Outcome Council mentorship. Getting the spot would mean having the opportunity to shape the future happiness of all mortal realmsāif she succeeds at her first assignment, Lucy Addlesberg. Darling thinks itāll be an easy razzle-dazzle jobā¦ until she actually meets Lucy. Her life is a complete mess, from her failing bookshop in her downtrodden village to her doomed flirtation with the princess of Lumina. But if thereās one thing Darlingās good at, itās a makeover.
Calamity is the most talentedāand arrogantāMisfortune of his class. Itās his job to save mortals from their own terrible decisions made in the pursuit of the mythical "Happily Ever After." When Calam is granted a shot at the Mortal Outcome Council mentorship, he thinks his dreams are finally coming true. But first, he must pass the test. It should be easyāLucy Addlesberg has been unfortunate for years. All he has to do is continue her string of bad luck so she can finally come to terms with reality and settle for a safer, more logical path in life. Yet when he arrives, he finds that Lucy has a Guardian assigned to her tooāa chipper overachiever who is as colorful as the magic pouring from her glittery wand.
To thwart each other, Darling and Calam insert themselves into Lucyās life posing as a betrothed couple. As they try to guide her down what they each see as the best path for her, they start questioning their roles and ultimately what they truly want for themselves... and if those feelings of loathing they have for each other might actually be something more like love.
What reads are you adding to your TBR?
Be sure to check out my full lists at Bookshop.org.