If there’s one thing we can all agree on, it’s that our TBR piles are like laundry baskets: no matter how many books we read, they somehow keep overflowing. But when the August release list looks this good, how can we possibly resist adding a few more?

At Once Upon a Book Club, we live and breathe bookish excitement, and while these titles aren’t featured in our subscription boxes, they’ve definitely caught our attention. Whether you’re into heart-racing thrillers, laugh-out-loud magical romcoms, or dark academia that literally journeys to Hell, this month has a little something for everyone. 

 

Katabasis by R.F. Kuang

Release Date:  August 26th, 2025

If you’ve ever thought graduate school was hell, well, R.F. Kuang has taken that quite literally. In Katabasis, two rival grad students must journey to the underworld to save their professor’s soul. Yes, you read that right: Hell. With only their thesis-level trauma, a handful of pentagrams, and an ancient Greek word that means “descent to the underworld,” Alice and Peter must put aside their academic bitterness to rescue the mentor they don’t even like. It’s dark academia with actual demons and magical duels, combined with all the crazy energy you would expect to find! Buckle up, it’s about to get infernal.

The Locked Ward by Sarah Pekkanen

Release Date:  August 5th, 2025

Imagine your sister is accused of murder, insists she’s innocent, and is now locked in a psychiatric hospital with the most violent offenders in the country. Do you help her? Or do you run? In The Locked Ward, Amanda is faced with this exact nightmare when her estranged twin, Georgia, whispers, “I didn’t do it. You’ve got to get me out of here.” Suspense, twisted family secrets, and a psychiatric ward straight out of your worst nightmares, this one will have you questioning who's really insane and whether some doors truly should stay locked. (Spoiler: they should.)

The Entanglement of Rival Wizards by Sara Raasch

Release Date:  August 26th, 2025

Enemies-to-lovers? Check. Wizard grad school? Check. Mutual academic destruction? Triple check. The Entanglement of Rival Wizards gives us Sebastian and Thio, two magical scholars forced to share a research grant (and a lab) without murdering each other (or falling in love... oops). Think Ali Hazelwood meets D&D, but with biceps, brooding, magical chaos, and a suspiciously pampered familiar. It’s a romcom with sparks, spells, and so much nerdy tension you’ll be rooting for them to either kiss or duel to the death. Possibly both.

The Secret Book Society by Madeline Martin

Release Date:  August 26th, 2025

Victorian London just got a lot more interesting. In The Secret Book Society, three women stuck in stifling marriages and rigid expectations receive a mysterious invite to Lady Duxbury’s for afternoon tea, which turns out to be a cover for a very forbidden (and very fabulous) book club. With secrets, sisterhood, and just a touch of murder mystery (did her husbands really all die naturally?), this novel has magically blended historical charm with fierce female rebellion. Pour yourself some tea, darling, scandal is brewing.

I Know How This Ends by Holly Smale

Release Date:  August 12th, 2025

Margot is in self-destruct mode, swiping left and right through the usual dating apps and gleefully torching her career post-breakup when—bam!—she sees a vision of herself with a man she hasn’t met. Enter Henry: single dad, walking déjà vu, and the exact person from her vision. As Margot continues glimpsing her future, she realises she can’t change it, so how does she live in the now? I Know How This Ends is funny, heartfelt, and perfect for anyone who's ever tried to outwit fate (or Googled “how to reverse a life spiral”).

Too Old For This by Samantha Downing

Release Date:  August 12th, 2025

Lottie Jones is your sweet, small-town grandma… who also used to be a serial killer. And when an investigative journalist starts sniffing around her past, Lottie does what any sensible former murderer would do: she considers killing again. In Too Old For This, Samantha Downing delivers a deliciously wicked thriller with humour, sass, and bingo-night mayhem. Let’s just say if someone tries to expose Lottie’s secrets, they'd better bring more than a notepad; they’ll need backup. And probably a bodyguard.

 

The Executioners Three by Susan Dennard

Release Date:  August 26th, 2025

Freddie just wanted to do the right thing when she called the cops on a strange sound in the woods. Instead, she accidentally kicked off a rivalry-fueled prank war... and possibly woke up a centuries-old curse. In The Executioners Three, there’s murder, mayhem, mysterious poems, and a handsome prankster with an inconvenient charm. Think X-Files meets high school hijinks with a dash of blood-soaked supernatural folklore. Freddie's under pressure to unmask the killer, no easy feat when you’re racing the clock along with a whole lot of teen drama.

Accomplice to the Villain by Hannah Nicole Maehrer

Release Date:  August 5th, 2025

Evie Sage thought she was applying for an admin job with light paperwork. She didn’t expect occasional beheadings, magical chaos, and a dangerously attractive villain for a boss. Accomplice to the Villain is a hilarious, enchanted-office comedy where romance blooms between the kingdom’s most terrifying evil mastermind and his reluctant, sarcastic assistant. Prophecies are unraveling, assassins in the break room, and frogs in tiny crowns. It’s charming, chaotic, and proof that falling for the bad guy might be the most fun you’ve ever had at work.

The Lost Baker of Vienna by Sharon Kurtzman

Release Date:  August 19th, 2025

In this sweeping dual-timeline novel, a young journalist in modern-day America unearths the secrets of her family's past and finds herself drawn to the story of a mysterious woman in post-war 1946 Vienna. The Lost Baker of Vienna delivers on our favorites: love, resilience, and the haunting legacy of WWII. This one stays with you long after the first page. If you love historical fiction, you’re in for a treat!

Forget Me Not by Stacy Willingham

Release Date:  August 26th, 2025

Claire is trying to forget her sister’s disappearance, until a return to her hometown and a job at a muscadine vineyard drag her into a new mystery. In Forget Me Not, old secrets resurface thanks to a chilling diary, a string of unsolved crimes, and a summer that quickly becomes anything but relaxing. This Southern thriller blends small-town nostalgia with page-turning suspense, as Claire edges closer to the truth and maybe, just maybe, to what really happened to her sister.

Lucky Day by Chuck Tingle

Release Date:  August 12th, 2025

The world went off the rails during the Low-Probability Event–think 8 million people dying in statistically impossible ways. Years later, Vera, a former probability professor, is the only person who might be able to stop another disaster, this time tied to a suspiciously “lucky” Vegas casino. Lucky Day is weird, wild, and deeply existential in all the best ways. From typewriter-wielding chimps to rogue statisticians, Chuck Tingle’s latest proves that probability is no longer theoretical and luck can kill.

The Possession of Alba Díaz by Isabel Cañas

Release Date:  August 19th, 2025

In 1765 Mexico, young Alba seeks refuge from a plague only to discover something far more terrifying: herself. Haunted by hallucinations and a demon that’s wormed its way into her very soul, she must rely on Elías, a man she shouldn’t trust and definitely shouldn’t want to survive. The Possession of Alba Díaz is gothic, romantic, and spine-chilling, with secrets, spirits, and star-crossed longing. One thing’s for sure: you’ll want to keep the lights on while reading.

Because One Book Is Never Enough

From haunted vineyards to villainous office romances and time-traveling existential crises, August’s new releases have set the bar high. If any of these titles end up on your nightstand, just know we fully support your “just one more chapter” lifestyle.

While these new releases aren’t part of our curated boxes, we’d love to send you on your next reading adventure! Our monthly book box subscriptions are designed to make every story come alive with surprise gifts and an immersive experience. We have something for adults, young adults, and tweens, plus plenty of exciting ready-to-ship boxes available for those spontaneous reading urges.

So go ahead, treat yourself! Your future favorite read might just be waiting at your doorstep.