The Summer Solstice is upon us! And with it comes plenty of new books and lots of warm weather and natural light to read them in.

Below are some titles that I am personally looking forward to checking out this Summer, most of which land in the science fiction, fantasy, horror, roleplaying, historical fiction, and non-fiction categories and their respective subgenres. The first list of books is presented in order of release date from May 2026 through August 2026. After this main list, I’ve included some older titles to read before their new movie/TV adaptations come out. Finally, you’ll find a bonus section featuring themed Cookbooks, Craftbooks, Guides, Coloring Books, Sourcebooks, Card Sets/Games, Journals, and Accessories that are perfect companions for your Summer reading adventures, and also make great gifts. This guide contains links to each item; for books, I’ve included print, ebook, and audiobook editions.

Continue on to check out my list of Summer 2026 Book Recommendations & Gifts…

Dungeons & Dragons: Player’s Workbook of Epic Adventures
An Official Companion to the Player’s Handbook
D&D Accessory; Wizards of the Coast
Hardcover
By Andrew Wheeler; Official Dungeons & Dragons Licensed
Publisher: Clarkson Potter
Release Date: May 5, 2026

The best part of playing a role-playing game is always getting to create a new character for the campaign. This is where we get to impose our interests and creativity onto a player character that we will then take on a (hopefully) multitude of adventures and watch the PC get more and more powerful as we progress. In decades past, I always tracked everything on a player character sheet in pencil, as you never know what might happen to make you alter some information on there. With the Dungeons & Dragons: Player’s Workbook of Epic Adventures, this has been given a boost. In fact, it is akin to a steroid-enhanced explosion of character building. Please allow me to expand upon this statement.

Dungeons & Dragons: Dungeon Master’s Workbook of Worldbuilding
An Official Companion to the Dungeon Master’s Guide
D&D Accessory; Wizards of the Coast
Hardcover
By Andrew Wheeler; Official Dungeons & Dragons Licensed
Publisher: Clarkson Potter
Release Date: May 5, 2026

Alright, alright, alright. Hello, my lovelies. I hope you are all doing well, even with these exorbitant gas prices we are being subjected to these days. I am here to bring a little light to your lives with a new offering from Andrew Wheeler for the discerning DM: the Dungeon Master’s Workbook of Worldbuilding. This tome is so fancy, they even stitched a ribbon into the binding so you are never without a bookmark. Of course, there is far more to the book than that, if you would allow me to guide you.

Heroes’ Feast: The Deck of Many Morsels
50 Cards for Conjuring Snacks, Libations, and Sweets (Dungeons & Dragons: Heroes’ Feast Series)
Boxed Card Set
By Kyle Newman, Jon Peterson, Michael Witwer, Sam Witwer
Publisher: Clarkson Potter
Release Date: October 1, 2024

Welcome to my newest book review. Or should I say deck review? Recipe card review? Oh, whatever. Here is my newest Dungeons & Dragons-related review! Here we have Heroes’ Feast: The Deck of Many Morsels, which is a big honking box of recipe cards, hence my pondering what to call this article (although, this card set was created by the authors of Heroes’ Feast Flavors of the Multiverse: An Official D&D Cookbook). Herein are 50 cards that cover yummy appetizers, sweet snacks, and refreshing drinks, all for your consumption before, during, or after a D&D game! Of course, you may find that some of these make the regular meal rotation, as a few are simply amazing!