Mark your calendars, pre-order your copies, and prepare your emotions.
We are halfway through 2026 and my pre-order list has gone fully feral. The first half of the year already did damage, but the back half is where it gets dangerous, and as a dark romance girl, I mean that as the highest possible compliment. We have got series finales, a brand new H.D. Carlton, a surprise Empyrean drop and a fresh ACOTAR, all stacked into a few short months.
So here are the new romance books of 2026 I am most excited for, the ones still to come, with actual release dates so you can pre-order and emotionally brace yourself in advance. Quick housekeeping: I have not read these yet, obviously, they are not out. This is a hype list, not a review list. Reviews come later, once they have wrecked me properly.
Everything below is dated at the time of writing, and a lot of these are dark romance with serious content warnings, so always read the warnings and double check the date before you one-click.
The releases I’m excited for
Baby Girl by Harley Madison (29 July 2026)
The final book in the Sugar Life series, and I am not emotionally prepared to say goodbye. If you have been keeping up with this one, July is your month. A series finale is always a risk to the heart, and I am walking in fully aware that Harley Madison is going to do something to me.
My Darling Reverie by H.D. Carlton (27 August 2026)
The big one for the dark romance crowd. This is book two of the Hollow Graves Duet, the follow-up to My Dreadful Darling, so we are picking up the second half of the story. H.D. Carlton is the queen of the warning-label read, and a duet conclusion from her is exactly the kind of thing I will clear my whole weekend for. Read book one first, and read the content warnings before either.
Sinners Reunion by Lauren Biel (31 August 2026)
The billed finale of the Slaycation series, Lauren Biel’s dark rom-com world of banter, body counts and questionable holiday decisions. If you came for Sinners Retreat and stayed for the chaos, this is the send-off. Dark humour, dark romance, and presumably at least one situation that should not be as funny as it is.
The Daddy’s Girl by Sara Cate (1 September 2026)
Sara Cate continuing the Salacious world with Salacious Legacy book three, and the premise alone has me. Matis has been running a kink club in Paris for thirty years, and his best friend’s daughter, Amelia, hatches a plan where they help each other find a partner. We all know how that goes. Spicy, age-gap, forbidden-adjacent, and exactly the kind of trouble I read Sara Cate for.
Untitled Empyrean (Not Book Four) by Rebecca Yarros (29 September 2026)
Yes, that is the actual placeholder title. Rebecca Yarros announced a surprise Empyrean book that is NOT book four and NOT the graphic novel, a shorter return to the dragon-rider world while we wait for the main event. The title may have firmed up by the time you read this, but the date is locked for late September and I will be reading whatever it turns out to be, immediately.
A Court of Thorns and Roses #6 by Sarah J. Maas (reportedly 27 October 2026)
The romantasy event of the year. ACOTAR book six is reportedly landing on 27 October, and the BookTok ground is already shaking. After the wait this fandom has endured, a new ACOTAR before year end feels almost fake. The usual caveat applies to marquee releases: treat the date as “reportedly” until the publisher confirms, and watch the pre-order page like a hawk.
Quick answers
What are the best dark romance books coming out in late 2026?
My most anticipated picks are My Darling Reverie by H.D. Carlton (27 August), Sinners Reunion by Lauren Biel (31 August) and The Daddy’s Girl by Sara Cate (1 September), plus the Sugar Life finale Baby Girl by Harley Madison (29 July). All lean dark or spicy, so check the content warnings going in.
What new romantasy is coming in late 2026?
Two big ones: the surprise Untitled Empyrean (Not Book Four) by Rebecca Yarros on 29 September, and A Court of Thorns and Roses 6 by Sarah J. Maas, reportedly 27 October. Both are returns to worlds readers are obsessed with.
When is the new H.D. Carlton book out?
My Darling Reverie, book two of the Hollow Graves Duet, is set for 27 August 2026. Note that book one, My Dreadful Darling, released earlier in 2026, so start there if you have not yet.
When is ACOTAR 6 coming out?
A Court of Thorns and Roses book six is reported to release on 27 October 2026. Because it is such a high-profile release, confirm the date on the publisher’s listing before you bank on it, but late October is the target.
Final verdict
The back half of 2026 is going to be expensive for my wallet and devastating for my sleep schedule, and I would not change a thing. Two series finales, a new H.D. Carlton duet conclusion, a surprise Empyrean and a fresh ACOTAR is the kind of reading run you plan your life around.
Tell me which one you are pre-ordering and which one you are nervously waiting for reviews on. I will be over here refreshing the ACOTAR pre-order page like it owes me money, with a dark romance or three to keep me busy until then.
And because every TBR spiral ends with a voice note to my best friend, here is the one I sent after building this list:
“Okay I just added SIX books to my pre-orders, two of them are series finales that are going to emotionally end me, there’s a new H.D. Carlton, AND a surprise Empyrean book, AND ACOTAR six, and I have to survive until October on willpower and instalments. This is not a TBR, it’s a budgeting crisis. What are you pre-ordering, I need a support group.”
