August 2026 Reading Wrap-Up: 7 Fantasy and Romantasy Books I Read

August wrapped up my summer reading with seven more fantasy and romantasy books, and this month felt especially satisfying because it mixed new-to-me worlds, series continuations, a brand-new release I had been waiting for, and the second half of Demi Winters’ Summer Reading Challenge.

I finished:

• Smoke and Scar by Gretchen Powell Fox
• Splintered Kingdom by Gretchen Powell Fox
• Kissed by the Gods by Caty Rogan
• Unwritten by the Gods by Caty Rogan
• This Monster of Mine by Shalini Abeysekara
• Between Tides and Thunder by Leena Kazak
• Adversary to the Villain by Hannah Nicole Maehrer

Those seven books brought my 2026 total to 47 books, which means my original goal of reading 30 to 40 books is officially far behind me.

At this point, I am not really chasing the number anymore. I am just enjoying seeing where my reading takes me.

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My August 2026 Reading Stats

Books read in August: 7
Books read so far in 2026: 47
Original 2026 reading goal: 30 to 40 books
Summer reading challenge: Continued Demi Winters’ 8 Books in 8 Weeks challenge
Main August mood: fae kingdoms, dangerous trials, gods, forbidden romance, emotional devastation, and one very chaotic villain

July was the month I officially abandoned my original summer TBR to participate in Demi Winters’ reading challenge, and August continued that detour.

I am glad I did.

The original plan helped me build momentum earlier in the year, but these last two months have reminded me that some of the best reading happens when I leave enough room for challenges, new releases, and unexpected recommendations.

The 7 Books I Read in August 2026

1. Smoke and Scar by Gretchen Powell Fox

August started with Smoke and Scar, the first book in Gretchen Powell Fox’s Shattered Crown trilogy.

This one gave me exactly the kind of epic romantasy setup I tend to gravitate toward: a brutal magical competition, a divided world, a grieving fae warrior, a human knight out for revenge, and two people who have very good reasons not to trust each other.

The Arcane Crucible forces Elyria and Cedric into an uneasy alliance as humans and magical races struggle with generations of hatred. It is a slow-burn enemies-to-lovers story built around deadly trials, elemental magic, political division, and plenty of tension.

Read this if you enjoy:

• Enemies to lovers
• Deadly magical trials
• Fae and human conflict
• Slow-burn romantasy
• Shadow and elemental magic
• Epic fantasy worlds

[Find Smoke and Scar on Amazon]

2. Splintered Kingdom by Gretchen Powell Fox

I did what I have apparently been doing all year: I finished the first book and immediately continued with the sequel.

Splintered Kingdom is the second book in the Shattered Crown trilogy and picks up after the Arcane Crucible, with Elyria and Cedric dealing with the consequences of everything that happened in book one. The fragile peace between their realms is threatened, Elyria is struggling with the darkness within her, and Cedric is dealing with powers he cannot fully control.

This is the kind of series where the first book establishes the world and relationships, then the second gets to make everything messier.

Which is usually when I become even more invested.

Continue with this series if you enjoy:

• Fantasy politics
• Expanding magical worlds
• Fae and human alliances
• Ongoing romantic tension
• Characters dealing with the consequences of book one
• High-stakes series reading

[Find Splintered Kingdom on Amazon]

August Series Binge #1: The Shattered Crown Trilogy

Apparently, one of my strongest reading habits in 2026 is discovering a fantasy series and immediately reading everything I can get my hands on.

Smoke and Scar and Splintered Kingdom gave August its first mini-binge.

I especially liked having the chance to read both installments close together because the worldbuilding, politics, relationships, and emotional fallout stayed fresh. I am now officially invested in seeing how the trilogy ends.

3. Kissed by the Gods by Caty Rogan

Next came Kissed by the Gods, the first full-length book in Caty Rogan’s Eternal Wars series.

This was one of those books that seemed designed specifically for my 2026 reading mood.

Leina is a survivor whose divine power erupts after soldiers come for her brother. Instead of being executed, she is taken to a brutal military fortress where she must learn to wield a gift she never wanted and survive a war she never asked to join. The romance brings in forbidden attraction, he-falls-first energy, found family, slow burn, and trial-by-combat stakes.

Honestly, winged horses, divine fury, war, romance, and a heroine who has reached her limit?

Yes.

Read this if you enjoy:

• Gods and divine magic
• Forbidden romance
• He falls first
• Found family
• Trial-by-combat stories
• Fierce heroines
• Slow-burn romantasy

[Find Kissed by the Gods on Amazon]

4. Unwritten by the Gods by Caty Rogan

I also read Unwritten by the Gods, the prequel novella to the Eternal Wars series.

It is technically Book 0.5, which means I once again found myself thinking about series order this summer. The novella expands the Eternal Wars world and gives readers another piece of the larger mythology before the series continues.

After reading Kissed by the Gods, I was happy to spend more time in the world rather than immediately moving on.

This year has definitely taught me that I am becoming less of a “one book from each series” reader and much more of a “well, now I need all of them” reader.

Add this to your Eternal Wars reading list if you enjoy:

• Prequel novellas
• Expanded fantasy lore
• Gods and mythology
• Romantic fantasy
• Connected series worlds
• Bonus stories that deepen the main series

[Find Unwritten by the Gods on Amazon]

5. This Monster of Mine by Shalini Abeysekara

This Monster of Mine brought something genuinely different to my August stack.

This dark romantasy combines an Ancient Rome-inspired world with a magical legal thriller, political corruption, murder mystery, forbidden romance, and morally complicated characters. Sarai becomes a prosecutor capable of magically detecting lies while investigating the same system that failed to bring her justice after someone tried to kill her. The man she is assigned to work with also happens to be one of her prime suspects.

That combination immediately stands out from a lot of the romantasy I have read this year.

Courtrooms and magical lie detection instead of another academy or tournament? I am here for it.

Read this if you enjoy:

• Dark romantasy
• Murder mysteries
• Political intrigue
• Forbidden attraction
• Morally gray characters
• Ancient Rome-inspired fantasy
• Fantasy worlds that do something different

[Find This Monster of Mine on Amazon]

6. Between Tides and Thunder by Leena Kazak

Then came Between Tides and Thunder by Leena Kazak.

This is a standalone fantasy romance, which was actually a nice change after how many interconnected series I have been reading this year. The author describes it as high-stakes fantasy romance with a fierce heroine, and the book has apparently earned something of a reputation for packing series-level emotional trauma into one book.

Sometimes you need a sprawling four-book series.

Sometimes you apparently need one book that emotionally destroys you and sends you on your way.

August had room for both.

Add this to your TBR if you enjoy:

• Standalone romantasy
• High emotional stakes
• Fierce heroines
• Fantasy romance with serious angst
• Books that hurt a little
• Stories you can finish without committing to six sequels

[Find Between Tides and Thunder on Amazon]

7. Adversary to the Villain by Hannah Nicole Maehrer

And then August ended with a book I had been waiting for: Adversary to the Villain.

This is the fourth book in Hannah Nicole Maehrer’s Assistant and the Villain series, following Assistant to the Villain, Apprentice to the Villain, and Accomplice to the Villain. It released on August 4, which made it a perfect new-release addition to my August reading.

I have been reading this series throughout 2026, so getting to continue Evie and Trystan’s story felt especially fun.

The series is such a good palate cleanser for me because it still gives me fantasy, romance, magic, and villainous behavior, but with humor and workplace chaos layered into the mix. Maehrer’s series has basically become my “yes, everyone may be in mortal danger, but someone is also going to make an HR joke” corner of fantasy.

Read this series if you enjoy:

• Cozy fantasy romance
• Villains who are terrible at emotional boundaries
• Workplace comedy
• Slow-burn romance
• Magical chaos
• Banter
• Fantasy that does not take itself too seriously

[Find Adversary to the Villain on Amazon]

August’s Reading Theme: New Worlds, Immediate Sequels, and Summer Challenge Chaos

Looking at the month as a whole, August feels less like it had one specific aesthetic and more like it captured exactly what my summer reading became.

I read:

• Two books from the Shattered Crown trilogy
• Two books from the Eternal Wars world
• An Ancient Rome-inspired dark romantasy/legal thriller
• A standalone fantasy romance
• The newest release in one of the series I have been reading all year

July and August were also the months when I intentionally stepped away from my original 2026 monthly TBR to participate in Demi Winters’ Summer Reading Challenge.

That detour ended up being one of the best decisions I made for my reading year.

Instead of looking at my original list and feeling like I had to follow it exactly, I let myself read what fit the challenge, what caught my attention, and what I wanted to continue.

The result?

Fourteen books across July and August.

My original plan was supposed to motivate me to read more, and it did. But now that the habit is firmly established, I do not need the plan to dictate every book.

My 2026 Reading Challenge Progress

At the beginning of the year, my goal was to read 30 to 40 books in 2026.

I reached 40 in July.

Now, at the end of August, I have read 47 books.

Fifty is basically inevitable at this point, so I think the more interesting question is how far beyond it I will end up by December.

And I am perfectly happy not knowing.

What Was Your Best Summer Read?

Now that July and August are over, I want to know: what book completely took over your summer?

Did you stick to your summer TBR, join a reading challenge, or abandon the plan entirely when a new series grabbed you?

At this point, I am firmly in favor of having a plan and being willing to ignore it.