I’m back with some more summer reading list inspiration! This time, I’m sharing my most-anticipated science fiction, horror, and fantasy books of summer 2023. With books from popular authors like Chloe Gong and Silvia Moreno-Garcia – plus some fabulous debut authors – you’re sure to find a new read to get excited about!
If you missed my first post in this series, check out my list of the hottest 2023 fiction books (including general fiction, literary fiction, romance, and magical realism)! And if you’re looking for mysteries and thrillers, you can find my most-anticipated thriller books of 2023 here.
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Highly-Anticipated Fantasy, Sci Fi & Horror Books of Summer 2023
From a fantasy book that completely blew up on Bookstagram (in a good way!) to a new book by Silvia Moreno-Garcia (author of Mexican Gothic) and exciting novels by debut authors, these are all must-read books coming in summer 2023!
You might also want to check out these exciting fall 2023 fantasy and science fiction books!
Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros
Genre: Fantasy/Romance/New Adult
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Synopsis: This breakout bestselling fantasy novel is about a bookish young woman who is forced to join a war college for dragon riders, where cadets are subjected to deadly trials designed to train them for war. (It’s like a cross between The Hunger Games, ACOTAR, and Eragon!)
Here are more details about Fourth Wing & the rest of The Empyrean series.
Release date: May 30th, 2023
The Wishing Game by Meg Shaffer
Genre: Fantasy/Contemporary Fiction
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Synopsis: A beloved children’s author resurfaces years after his mysterious disappearance with a new novel. But only a select few are invited to his home on Clock Island and given the chance to compete for the only copy of his new book.
Release date: May 30th, 2023
The Endless Vessel by Charles Soule
Genre: Science Fiction/Fantasy/Dystopia
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Synopsis: When a plague that causes depression threatens to destroy humanity – in a world similar, but not quite the same, as ours – a young scientist sets out on a journey to search for the Endless Vessel to happiness.
Release date: June 6th, 2023
On Earth As It Is On Television by Emily Jane
Genre: Science Fiction/Humor
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Synopsis: This humorous story follows three very different people, and how their lives are affected with the sudden arrival – and just as sudden departure – of a fleet of alien spaceships above Earth.
Release date: June 13th, 2023
The First Bright Thing by J.R. Dawson
Genre: Fantasy/Historical Fiction
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Synopsis: A fantasy novel set just after World War I about a traveling circus troupe of magical misfits, who cross paths with another circus troupe led by a ringleader with dark and malevolent powers.
Release date: June 13th, 2023
Dead Eleven by Jimmy Juliano
Genre: Horror/Mystery/Thriller
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Synopsis: On Clifford Island, the locals seem to all be stuck in 1994, with their clothes, their outdated technology, and even what they watch on TV. When one outsider comes looking for answers about her son’s death, she disappears – and her brother is drawn to the strange island to find out what happened.
Release date: June 27th, 2023
Burn the Negative by Josh Winning
Genre: Horror/Thriller
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Synopsis: A former child star sets out to end the curse of the notorious slasher film that ruined her life years ago, after someone decides to carry on the film’s legacy with a new TV series.
Release date: July 11th, 2023
Immortal Longings by Chloe Gong
Genre: Fantasy/Romance/Retelling
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Synopsis: This adult epic fantasy follows a trio of competitors – a disgraced princess, an exiled aristocrat, and a king’s adopted son – who team up in a kingdom’s deadly set of games. But they each have conflicting reasons for why they want to win. (Inspired by Shakespeare’s Antony & Cleopatra.)
Release date: July 18th, 2023
The Deep Sky by Yume Kitasei
Genre: Science Fiction/Mystery/Thriller
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Synopsis: Just as Earth collapses, a space ship with 80 chosen people sets out toward a new planet as humanity’s last hope. But when a deadly bomb goes off and sets the ship off course, one woman is determined to find out what happened – because she’s the main suspect.
Release date: July 18th, 2023
Silver Nitrate by Silvia Moreno Garcia
Genre: Horror/Thriller/Historical Fiction
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Synopsis: This dark thriller is about a curse that surrounds a lost Mexican cult horror film. A sound editor and her best friend and crush – a fading soap opera star – team up to solve the mystery of the film, until strange occurrences begin to haunt them. (From the author of Mexican Gothic.)
Release date: July 18th, 2023
Looking Glass Sound by Catriona Ward
Genre: Horror/Thriller
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Synopsis: In a remote cottage on the coast of Maine, a writer begins the last book he will write – about the terrors of one childhood summer, and the best friend who betrayed him. But soon, he’s finding notes around the cottage from this friend, and fears he’s losing his grip on reality.
Release date: August 8th, 2023
Whalefall by Daniel Kraus
Genre: Horror/Thriller/Science Fiction
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Synopsis: A scuba diver – wracked with guilt over his father’s death – is swallowed by a massive whale, and only has one hour to figure out how to escape before his oxygen runs out. (This book has been compared to Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir!).
Release date: August 8th, 2023
Mister Magic by Kiersten White
Genre: Horror/Mystery/Thriller
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Synopsis: Thirty years after a popular children’s TV show is shut down due to tragic circumstances, the former stars of the show come together to figure out what really happened.
Release date: August 8th, 2023
Vampires of El Norte by Isabel Cañas
Genre: Horror/Historical Fiction
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Synopsis: Set in the 1840s on the Texas-Mexico border, the daughter of a rancher and her childhood sweetheart – who seemingly abandoned her years ago – are forced together by the war between the United States and Mexico, and another horror of a supernatural nature.
Release date: August 15th, 2023
Thornhedge by T. Kingfisher
Genre: Fantasy/Retelling
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Synopsis: This novella is a retelling of Sleeping Beauty turned inside out, about a sort-of fairy named Toadling who is forced out of hiding to uphold a curse when a knight comes to break it.
Release date: August 15th, 2023
There you have it: my most-anticipated science fiction, horror, and fantasy books of summer 2023. Let me know which summer reads you’re most excited for! Happy reading. 🙂
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