Deciding what books to read in 2026? Explore my most anticipated books of 2026 and start filling your to-read list with exciting upcoming releases.
2026, could you come a little faster?
I know I’m supposed to want time to slow down and not want my children to grow up so fast. Yet, the upcoming releases of 2026 look so promising that I’m willing to rush things a bit.
If you are looking for the best books to read in 2026, I’ve got you covered. If you don’t want to scroll through my full list of upcoming releases, here are my most-anticipated books to read in 2026.
I’m starting with my 15 most anticipated books of 2026 because I couldn’t settle on just 10. I might update my list as more new releases are announced in the upcoming months.
As always, be sure to let me know in the comments what 2026 new releases you are most excited for!
Anatomy of an Alibi
Ashley Elston
Camille Bayliss suspects her husband Ben, a hotshot lawyer, has been hiding dirty secrets for years but she can’t prove it because he tracks her every move. Aubrey Price blames Ben for the worst night of her life a decade ago. Together, Aubrey and Camille hatch a plan to switch places for twelve hours so Camille can spy on Ben. When Ben is found murdered the next morning, only one of them as an airtight alibi.
Publication Date: 20 January 2026
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A Box Full of Darkness
Simone St. James
Fell, New York, is known for bizarre occurences. A fact that hit home for the Esmie siblings when their little brother Ben disappeared during a game of hide and seek in their home. Haunted by the ghosts of their home, the siblings all left home to never look back. Until decades later when the ghost of Ben calls them home to finally find answers.
Publication Date: 20 January 2026
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Fireflies in Winter
Eleanor Shearer
In 1796, Jamaican orphan Cora has never experienced cold as she does in Nova Scotia. In the woods, Cora meets Agnes, a young girl and her dog living in the wilderness. When Cora is forced to run from her adopted family, she and Agnes set up together in the woods. When Agnes’s past closes in, the two must fight for the freedom and their love.
Publication Date: 10 February 2026
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The Astral Library
Kate Quinn
Growing up unloved in the foster care system, Alix has always found refuge in books. While reading in the Boston Public Library, Alix stumbles upon a hidden door that leads her to a hidden library. In the Astral Library, you can find a new life inside your favorite book. As Alix befriends the Librarian and prepares for her new life, an enemy emerges who threatens the very foundations of the library.
Publication Date: 17 February 2026
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Kin
Tayari Jones
From the author of An American Marriage comes a tale of two lifelong friends who reconnect after a tragedy. Vernice and Annie both grew up as motherless children in Louisiana but life has taken them in vastly different directions. After her mother’s death, Vernice was raised by her aunt and eventually attends Spelman College where she joins a group of powerful Black women in a world of affluence and inequality. Meanwhile, Annie sets off to find the mother who abandoned her in a journey of love and adventure that eventually threatens her life.
Publication Date: 24 February 2026
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A Far-Flung Life
M. L. Stedman
From the author of The Light Between Oceans comes a sweeping family saga set in remote Western Australia. The MacBrides have lived at Meredith Downs, a thousand acres of arid land, for generations. In 1958, Phil MacBride swerves to avoid a kangaroo and the lives of the MacBride family are forever changed. As further tragedies ensue, the youngest MacBride is forced to make decisions between love and duty.
Publication Date: 3 March 2026
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Ruins
Lily Brooks-Dalton
Professor Ember Agni is struggling to balance her rising career in archaeology with her failing marriage. After a decade, she’s running out of funds to search for the lost city that no one else believes exists. When a former student finds an artifact that suggest Ember may have been correct, Ember must decide how much of her personal life she is willing to risk in pursuit of her career ambitions.
Publication Date: 31 March 2026
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The Ending Writes Itself
Evelyn Clarke
V. E. Schwab and Cat Clarke team up to pen a locked-room mystery satirizing the publishing industry. Six authors have been invited to the private Scottish island of bestselling author Arthur Fletch. At arrival, they learn that Arthur is dead and his agent wants them each to take a shot at writing the last chapter of his unfinished mystery novel. Whoever can write a successful ending will also have their career revived. With only 72 hours, all they need to do is write a killer ending.
Publication Date: 7 April 2026
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The Girls Trip
Ally Condie
Hope, Ash and Caro met in an online book club and have been close friends ever since even though they’ve never met in real life. When each woman hits a crossroads in her life, they decide to plan a girls trip to a national park. Hope needs to get away from her recent fame as an actress, Ash has watching her marriage struggle as she’s grown her business, and Caro has been hit hard by the loss of a patient. Together, they hope to escape life for a few days but when one woman vanishes they learn that know of them have been telling the whole truth.
Publication Date: 7 April 2026
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Last One Out
Jane Harper
Once a vibrant New South Wales town, Carralon Ridge has been bought up and abandoned by the local mine with only a few stubborn residents remaining. Ro used to scorn those who left but she to flees after her son’s disappearance. While home visiting from college, Sam was working on an oral history of the town when he vanished. On the one year anniversary, Ro returns to town and finds large gaps in the investigation. Somebody wants Carralon Ridge’s secrets to die with the town.
Publication Date: 14 April 2026
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Mad Mabel
Sally Hepworth
The curmudgeonly old Elsie Fitzpatrick has lived on Kenny Lane for sixty years and mostly kept to herself until the nosy little girl across the street insists on becoming Elsie’s friend. When Elsie’s neighbor dies, the police are quick to suspect Elsie after they learn she is the notorious “Mad Mabel.” For the people around Elsie have a history of dying.
Publication Date: 21 April 2026
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The Midnight Train
Matt Haig
The bestselling author of The Midnight Library presents a new novel about second chances. The Midnight Train cannot change the past but it can let you relive moments that mean the most to you. Those moments that flash before your eyes at the end of your life. For Wilbur, his best days were his Venice honeymoon with Maggie. He wishes he could go back and change things but doing so might just risk everything.
Publication Date: 26 May 2026
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The Calamity Club
Kathryn Stockett
During the Great Depression in Oxford, Mississippi, three women come up with an audacious plan to take control of their lives. At the county orphanage, eleven-year-old Meg fights to keep her spirits up even though she is unlikely to be adopted. Birdie has come to town to beg her social-climbing sister to help the family she left behind. Meanwhile, Charlie is determined to overcome her past with fury and grit. Together, they must show resilience in a time where women’s freedom is fragile in the newest novel from the author of The Help.
Publication Date: 5 May 2026
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The Unicorn Hunters
Katherine Arden
As a child, Anne of Brittany watched her realm invaded and her father killed and, under the threat of war, she is forced to marry the King of France. To fulfill her promise to her father that the realm would never be taken, Anne secretly betroths herself to France’s greatest enemy. Taking her court into the woods on an imaginary unicorn hunt, Anne stumbles on an actual unicorn and a magical realm that might hold the power to save her kingdom.
Publication Date: 2 June 2026
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Whistler
Ann Patchett
While visiting the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Daphne Fuller and her husband find themselves followed by an older gentleman. Turns out it’s her former stepfather, Eddie Triplett, who was married to her mother for less than a year when she was nine years old. Reunited, Daphne and Eddie reexamine their relationship and the fateful event that changed both of their lives forever.
Publication Date: 2 June 2026
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What are Your Most Anticipated Books to Read in 2026?
What books are you most excited for next year? Any guesses what the best books of 2026 are going to be? As always, let me know in the comments!
More New Book Releases & Best of Lists:
Recommended
The Most-Anticipated Upcoming Book Releases
The New York Times Best Sellers 2025
English (US) · 