Ten Books on My Fall 2026 TBR, From YA Horror to Mythic Fantasy

My fall reading plans have a familiar weakness: a book can sit on my list for months, even years, before the right moment arrives. Of the eight titles on my Spring 2025 TBR, I’ve read five since then, which feels like meaningful progress, even though some landed well beyond that season. I’m learning to let books wait until I’m ready for them.

This list is my first TBR post in a while and my return to Top Ten Tuesday, hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. I’m calling it a fall list, though past experience suggests it could easily become an end-of-year plan. The ten books are a mix of advance copies, library holds, titles I’ve carried over from earlier lists and discoveries from my work in libraries or my own browsing. My ambition is clear; my reading schedule is less so.

Horror, heists and a long-awaited fantasy

Kill Your Darlings by Yuvashri Harish

Yuvashri Harish’s YA horror brings together a rule-following teenager, a legendary author and a horde of monsters. Thulasi is used to babysitting her seven-year-old cousin, so even Halloween night begins as another ordinary evening of responsibility. Then a book of horror stories summons its creatures, along with Addison Greer, the town’s celebrated author and Thulasi’s literary hero.

Addison has a revenge plan of her own, and Thulasi is pulled into a dangerous bargain. She’ll have to work with Sam, a cute quarterback who’s also on babysitting duty, to protect their young charges and stop Addison before midnight. The stakes include the town and the people Thulasi loves, giving this premise a brisk, spooky countdown.

I picked up an electronic advance copy through NetGalley when the book was available to read immediately. The title and cover caught my eye first; the description brought to mind J.A. White’s Nightbooks and the kind of monster-filled Goosebumps stories I loved as a kid. A revenge story is an added draw. I’m always looking for books by South Asian authors to consider for a South Asian display at the library, so this would have interested me even if I’d found it somewhere else.

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Heirs of Infamy by Kyla Zhao

Kyla Zhao sets this story in a postwar San Francisco Chinatown shaped by two rival crime families. East Phoenix trades in secrets and stealth; West Dragon relies on force. Both are losing money as anti-Chinese hostility rises, and their already delicate truce is under strain.

Alexis Sung is the daughter of East Phoenix’s most powerful boss, but her father won’t let her join the family business. After her first job goes wrong, he shuts her out. Zachary Ren, an orphan raised by West Dragon, wants a different life too. He and Alexis have history: he once ruined her chance to prove herself. A high-stakes heist brings them together again, with the promise of a score large enough to save both families. Alexis defies her father and makes an uneasy alliance with Zachary, even as old hurts and new attraction complicate the plan.

This was another NetGalley discovery that I requested as an electronic advance copy after its title, cover and description caught my attention. I’m hoping to read it after Kill Your Darlings. That’s the plan, at least; my TBR lists have a long record of making promises on my behalf.

Goodreads · Left Bank Books · Bookshop · Amazon

The Final Empire by Brandon Sanderson

Brandon Sanderson’s fantasy begins with a world where ash has fallen for a thousand years, the Skaa live in enslavement and fear, and the Lord Ruler has held absolute power for generations. Kelsier, a half-Skaa who discovers he’s a Mistborn, sets out to take on the ruler himself. His crew of skilled allomancers is assembled for what he calls the greatest heist in history, but the real goal is to end the Lord Ruler’s reign.

Then Kelsier meets Vin, a half-Skaa orphan whose difficult life has taught her to expect betrayal. She has powers she doesn’t yet understand, and learning to trust Kelsier may be as important as mastering them. The story’s central question—what happens if the prophesied hero fails?—is a strong invitation into a series I’ve been meaning to start.

My immediate reading hopes depend on my friend’s library holds moving along, so I can unsuspend my own hold and read the book with them. I’m trying to manifest a quick turnaround. The more realistic possibility is that we won’t get to it until next year.

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The Wrath Gods Reap by Abigail Owen

The third and final book in Abigail Owen’s Crucible trilogy is among my most anticipated releases this fall. This time, Hades is the one facing deadly trials: he must compete against the gods of Olympus to win back his powers. Meanwhile, the narrator watches from the sidelines with little comfort, as the god she loves risks his life and a figure known only as the Deceiver works to destroy Team Underworld.

The danger reaches beyond the trials. Deception spreads through Olympus, the gods’ relationships begin to fracture, and the narrator must help expose the hidden enemy. She’s also wrestling with a power growing inside her, one she doesn’t yet understand. The book promises a final clash for the trilogy, with both the struggle against the Deceiver and that awakening power pressing toward a reckoning.

I’m excited to read it, but I’m also a little nervous about the size of the cast. I mentioned in my review of The Things Gods Break that the next installment could be crowded after the second book introduced so many characters. Owen handled that sequel well: the main characters remained central even as the supporting cast expanded. That gives me confidence she can carry the story through its finale.

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Returning to favorite worlds

Twisted Vows by I.V. Marie

I.V. Marie’s dark fantasy prequel returns to Blackwood Academy eighteen years before Immortal Consequences. The novella traces how Wren and August’s rivalry began and grew into romance. Wren arrives at the magical school on the fringes of the afterlife and discovers she’s dead, caught between life and death, and expected to learn how to guide lost souls to the Other Side. Her first assignment pairs her with Augustine Hughes, the student known as the “Demon of Blackwood.”

August has his own reasons for getting close to Wren, and they become harder to manage as their connection deepens. Their time together unfolds amid the school’s dark setting and its cutthroat students, with the story’s description hinting at betrayal as well as romance.

I struggled with Ruinous Ends after loving Immortal Consequences, but Wren and August are two of my favorite characters from the duology. I saw the novella on NetGalley and resisted requesting it; when my library made it available, I joined the hold list instead. It’s a quick read, and that list is shorter than the ones for The Wrath Gods Reap and The Final Empire, so I’m hopeful I’ll get to it soon after it releases.

Goodreads · Left Bank Books · Bookshop · Amazon

Under the Oak Tree, Vol. 1 by Suji Kim

This volume presents the updated translation of Suji Kim’s Under the Oak Tree, described as the number-one webnovel on MANTA. It collects chapters 1–76 of the original story. Lady Maximilian, daughter of Duke Croyso, has spent much of her life confined to her family’s castle because her stutter is treated as a threat to its reputation. Her father forces her to marry Riftan, a knight of humble birth caught up in one of his schemes. Their wedding night ends with Riftan leaving without a word.

Three years later, Riftan returns as a war hero and still wants Maxi as his wife. As she adjusts to a life beyond her father’s control, Maxi begins to discover her own courage and strength. The premise puts a difficult marriage at the start of a story about finding agency and building a new life.

This is one of my favorite webtoons on MANTA, though I still need to catch up on season five. I’m looking forward to reading the translated edition. I also have the second volume waiting on hold through Libby, which was meant to encourage me to start the first. The third volume is expected this fall and the fourth early next year, so perhaps a growing stack will finally persuade me to read the available volumes back to back.

Goodreads · Left Bank Books · Bookshop · Amazon

Royalslinger by Graci Kim

Royalslinger closes Graci Kim’s Slinger duology, a fantasy series with dragons and phoenixes in Seoul, meals that appear according to a person’s mood and dreams that become real. Aria has passed the Annual Royal Slinger Trials and is preparing to begin her second year at the Royal League of Dreamslingers. She and her bloom dragon, Rio, need to pass their final Fellowship exam to become Fellows.

Before their training can begin, the king cancels the exam and orders the novices to retrieve the Touch of Death, an ancient relic stolen from the kingdom by Aria’s mother. Aria also suffers a devastating loss and begins to consider joining the rogue freedom slingers. Her grief and the choices she makes could put the League itself at risk.

I meant to read this when it came out in July, but my library copy is still sitting in my room. At least the borrowed book signals that there’s demand for Graci Kim’s books. I remember enjoying Dreamslinger and wanting to find out what happened after the Slinger trials. I also enjoyed Kim’s debut trilogy, The Gifted Clans, so I’m keen to return to her work. I hope I get to this one before the year is out.

Goodreads · Left Bank Books · Bookshop · Amazon

Stories of identity, courage and connection

Kaya of the Ocean by Gloria L. Huang

Gloria L. Huang’s middle-grade fantasy follows thirteen-year-old Kaya, whose anxiety makes daily life difficult and whose history with the ocean includes several near-drownings. She lives in beachside Lihiwai, has close friends, does well at school and works at her parents’ restaurant alongside a boy she likes. But the sea responds to her emotions: waves rise when she’s angry, calm when she’s settled, and fish come when she calls.

Kaya learns she’s descended from the Chinese water goddess Mazu. To control her powers and keep the people she loves safe, she’ll have to face emotions she’d rather avoid. The book brings mental health, the immigrant experience and the challenges of growing up into a sunlit fantasy adventure. It’s also a Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection and an ABA Indies Introduce Selection; School Library Journal gave it a starred review.

For a fall list, this feels like a summer book, but warm weather is still hanging around, and I don’t reserve beach stories for one season. Kaya’s anxiety is what especially interests me. I was an anxious middle-schooler, and I still live with anxiety as an adult. Seeing more middle-grade books treat mental health as part of a young person’s life feels meaningful to me.

Goodreads · Left Bank Books · Bookshop · Amazon

Dominion by Jean Kwok

Jean Kwok’s fantasy centers on Rubi Morningtail, a refugee who lost her memories when the Annihilation destroyed her homeland three years earlier. She survives in the Dominion of the Silver Tyger by working as a ribbon dancer and keeping her small amount of singing magic hidden. When she injures a battle-tyger, she attracts the attention of Blake Axefire, a powerful metal mage and leader of the royal tyger warriors. He sends her into the Bonding, a brutal trial where tygers choose riders and kill those they reject.

Rubi survives and ends up on Blake’s elite team, racing to reseal the Anchors to the demon realm as rebels attack and demons rise. She needs to understand the truth about her magic and her past, while dealing with her dangerous attraction to the warrior who could help or ruin her. I’ve heard the novel draws on Chinese mythology and has been described as Fourth Wing meets Hunger Games—an intriguing combination. The cover caught my eye too.

I wanted to attend Kwok’s event in St. Louis in July to celebrate the book, but I was in the middle of moving and had to pass. I love supporting Asian authors when they visit my hometown, as well as the local independent bookstores that host them. I just can’t afford to buy every book I’d like to read. For now, the library will have to help me make room for this one.

Goodreads · Left Bank Books · Bookshop · Amazon

Letters from the Ginza Shihodo Stationery Shop by Kenji Ueda, translated by Emily Balistrieri

A stationery shop is the setting for Kenji Ueda’s novel about writing, memory and connection. Tucked into a corner of Ginza, the shop offers delicate paper, fountain pens and vividly colored ink. The owner invites customers to a small table upstairs, where writing helps them reach buried memories, private wishes and questions about themselves.

The visitors include a young company employee looking for a link to his past, a club hostess, a high-school archery team’s vice-captain, an aging businessman and a former homeless sushi chef. The shopkeeper’s attentive manner draws out more than their stationery preferences. Readers who enjoyed Before the Coffee Gets Cold and Days at the Morisaki Bookshop may be drawn to this quiet, restorative premise.

I first came across the book on a stationery subreddit or blog, possibly in The Well-Appointed Desk. That was over a year ago. I was excited by the idea of a story set in a stationery shop and even suggested that my local library buy it. The request was declined, and I forgot the title until the memory resurfaced. I could remember that letters were involved, so I searched combinations of words until I found it again.

Then I did what a library fan does: I requested it through Interlibrary Loan. I’m hoping a library somewhere can make my stationery-shop reading plans happen. If the premise appeals to you too, your local library may be a good place to start.

Goodreads · Amazon

What’s on your list?

There are ten books here and no repeated titles, though several authors have appeared on my earlier lists. The group ranges from a Halloween monster story to a series finale, with translated fantasy, middle-grade adventures and a very inviting stationery shop in between. Some are advance copies; others depend on holds, borrowed books and a little luck with my reading time.

I’d love to hear what you’re hoping to read over the next few months, or which of these books you’ve already read. Recommendations might even help me choose what to prioritize, though I’m very much a mood reader. For now, I’m keeping the list close and hoping at least a few of these titles leave the TBR pile before the year ends.