Wondering what to read now? Here are all the hot new January 2026 book releases for you. I’ll let you know what I’ve read, what I can’t wait to read, and what’s getting all the attention this month.
In case you’re new to Booklist Queen, every month I cover all the hottest new book releases. I try to read as many new book releases as I can to give you an honest perspective on what to read and what to skip.
However, I realize that my to-read list might not exactly match yours. That’s why I’ve also included some of the most popular January 2026 book releases from your favorite authors.
Enough from me, let’s get on to the January 2026 book releases so you can fill up your to-read list.
Top January 2026 Book Releases
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 death of her parents 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 has an alibi.
After the success of her bestselling thriller First Lie Wins, Ashley Elston returns with a complex mystery covering three timelines and multiple character perspectives. Although the author clearly states the who and when of each chapter, I initially had a hard time keeping everyone straight and the jumping narrative might be even harder for audiobook listeners to track. With a crazy premise and plenty of twists and turns, Anatomy of an Alibi was an entertaining read. However, it lacked that extra spark that really elevates a great thriller.
I received a complimentary copy of this book from Viking Penguin through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
My Rating:
Publication Date: 13 January 2026
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My Husband’s Wife
Alice Feeney
Eden Fox returns home from a run to find her key doesn’t fit in the lock at Spyglass, the enchanting old house she recently moved into with her husband. Stranger still, her husband is claiming a woman who looks a lot like Eden is his wife. Meanwhile, six months earlier, Birdy inherits Spyglass and moves to the seaside town where she discovers a clinic that can predict a person’s date of death. With a tangled web of deception, Alice Feeney will keep you guessing in her newest psychological thriller.
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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Crux
Gabriel Tallent
On the surface, Dan and Tamma couldn’t be more different. One’s a golden child and the other’s a mouthy burnout. But the two form a strong bond climbing boulders in the parking lot during cold desert nights, both dreaming of adventure after high school. Yet as their high school graduation looms, their options seem to dwindle and their decisions become more consequential until something has to give.
Publication Date: 20 January 2026
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Half His Age
Jennette McCurdy
After her bestselling memoir I’m Glad My Mom Died, Jennette McCurdy is ready to try her hand at fiction. In her debut novel, Waldo is a naive, lonely, impulsive teenager who sets her sights on Mr. Korgy, her married creative writing teacher. Obsessed with her middle age teacher, Waldo is willing to go to any lengths and try to overcome any obstacles to get what she wants.
Publication Date: 20 January 2026
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The Future Saints
Ashley Winstead
Music executive Theo is tasked with reviving the Future Saints, a pop band that has been tanking ever since the death of Ginny, the band manager and the lead singer’s sister. When lead singer Hannah channels her grief into a new rock sound, Theo uses it to create a new tour and a new album. But Hannah’s increasing volatility seem to be sabotaging all of Theo’s efforts as grief and fame don’t seem to mix in this story of sisterhood and the ghost that haunts us.
The Future Saints shines with a memorizing story of grief spiraling into addiction and a mental breakdown. You can’t help but root for devil-may-care Hannah as her desperation to keep her sister’s memory alive results in creativity and growing fame yet also drives her to the breaking point. With a thought-provoking look at the exploitation of the music industry, Theo’s kindness serves as a compassionate counterbalance to Hannah’s volatility and their slow burn love story hits perfectly. The Future Saints is an unputdownable tale that showcases the messiness of humanity in all its highs and lows.
I received a complimentary copy of this book from Atria Books through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
My Rating:
Publication Date: 20 January 2026
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Book of the Month – January 2026
Receiving my blue box from Book of the Month Club is a highlight of every month.
Here’s how it works – each month, they pick 5-7 books and you get to choose one book or skip until the next month. If you want to add any extra books, then you get them at a discounted price.
Each month is usually a mix of new releases and advance copies of unreleased books. If you are interested in joining, right now you can use my Book of the Month Club affiliate link to get your first book for $5!
The January Book of the Month selections are:
See the Complete List of Upcoming Releases!
Reese’s Book Club January 2026 Pick
The First Time I Saw Him
Laura Dave
In a sequel to The Last Thing He Told Me, Hannah Hall and her stepdaughter Bailey have settled into a new life five years after Owen disappeared. When Owen suddenly reappears at one of Hannah’s exhibits, she knows that she and Bailey are in danger. Forced to run, Hannah must do everything she can to protect Bailey from Owen’s past while realizing there might be only one way out for the three of them.
The First Time I Saw Him is an unnecessary sequel written solely so the tv adaptation of The Last Thing He Told Me could have a second season. Admittedly, I wasn’t very invested in the first book so I probably should have just skipped the sequel. People who enjoyed the The Last Thing He Told Me will probably be grateful for more backstory and a happily-ever-after for Hannah and Bailey. As far as the writing, my biggest complaint is that the pacing was all over the place. Dave constantly flips from action to introspection and from past to present, dragging the whole book down to a dull slow pace.
My Rating:
Publication Date: 6 January 2026
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Read with Jenna’s January 2026 Book Club Pick
Homeschooled
Stefan Merrill Block
Homeschooled is a memoir of a mother’s overwhelming love and the dangers of an unregulated education system. When he was nine years old, Stefan Merrill Block’s mother pulled him from school fearing it was stifling his creativity. With homeschooling having just become legal in Texas, she taught Stefan in their living room with formal math lessons and random unhinged projects. After five years, Stefan begged to go back to public school where he was in for a rude awakening as a freshman.
In the vein of Jennette McCurdy’s I’m Glad My Mom Died, Stefan Merrill Block’s memoir shows the danger of a mother who manipulates her love to force her child to fill some desperate need inside themselves. Block’s memoir is heartbreaking and shocking as his mother neglects his education and stifles his interactions with his peers. Block’s struggles to reintegrate in high school and the lasting repercussions of his homeschooling years warn of the dangers of unregulated homeschooling for those who use it to hide their neglect and abuse from public view.
My Rating:
Publication Date: 6 January 2026
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GMA’s January 2026 Book Club Pick
Skylark
Paula McLain
In 1664, Alouette Voland is unjustly imprisoned in a notorious French asylum with thousand of other women. With a small group of allies, Alouette dreams of creating a life bigger than any she had previously imagined. In 1939, Kristof works as a psychiatrist resident in Paris. When the Nazis descend on the city, Kristof knows that helping his Jewish neighbors might risk his work as a doctor. McLain takes you into an underground city below Paris with two parallel tales of defiance and rescue.
Publication Date: 6 January 2026
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The Most Anticipated January 2026 Book Releases
Strangers
Belle Burden
In March 2020, Belle Burden was adjusting to life at home amid a global pandemic when her husband of twenty years announced he wanted a divorce. Overnight, he changed from a steady caring husband to a man she hardly recognized. Mining her marriage for clues, Burden examines how her husband was not who she thought he was. Along the way, she learns to buck the expectations of compliance and become someone determined to speak out.
Publication Date: 13 January 2026
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The Storm
Rachel Hawkins
St. Medard’s Bay, Alabama, is known for its hurricanes, its historic Rosalie Inn, and its local girl Lo Bailey who was suspected of the the murder of politician Landon Fitzroy during Hurricane Marie in 1984. When Geneva Corliss hears a true crime writer is researching Fitzroy’s murder, she sees an opportunity to bring more business to the struggling Rosalie Inn. When the writer arrives with Lo Bailey, Geneva wonders if Lo is there not to clear her name but to settle old scores. With another hurricane making its way toward town, Geneva suspects Lo’s secrets might be even more destructive than any hurricane.
Publication Date: 6 January 2026
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Rings of Fate
Melissa de la Cruz
Dreaming of escape, Aren Bellamore is too busy fending off men as she runs the Raven’s Beak tavern to worry about fairy tales. Until Prince Dietan stumbles in to her life. Dietan is cursed to carry the Rings of Fate whose magical power is slowly killing him. With Aren as his fake fiancée, Dietan is sure he can outrun his enemies and break his curse. Except real feelings start to blur the line at the fate of the world might depend on a cynical barmaid and a cursed prince willing to risk their hearts.
Publication Date: 6 January 2026
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Vigil
George Saunders
From the author of Lincoln in the Bardo comes a story of the last hours at the deathbed of an oil baron as he prepares to move to the next life. Jill “Doll” Blaine arrives on earth to fulfill her assignment to usher yet another soul to the afterlife. Unlike all her other charges, K.J. Boone lived a big bold life which he doesn’t regret in the least, fully believing the world is better for his actions. Vigil examines capitalism, corporate greed, environmentalism, and the question of good vs evil.
Publication Date: 27 January 2026
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All the Little Houses
May Cobb
In a Texas town in the 1980s, Nellie Anderson is the queen bee at school. She has the glossy life and her mother Charleigh will ruthlessly do anything to keep their family on top. When the Swifts move to town, they are the polar opposite of the Andersons: old-fashioned Southern vibes with Bibles and modest dresses. Suddenly Nellie and Charleigh find themselves in a vicious battle to stay on top in a thriller about mean moms and mean girls.
Publication Date: 20 January 2026
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Dear Debbie
Freida McFadden
For years, Debbie has been the voice of reason in her advice column to the wives of New England, helping them overcome being belittled and abused by their husbands. When Debbie loses her job and suspects her husband is cheating, she decides she is done being reasonable. Now Debbie is ready for payback against all the people who have wronged her.
Publication Date: 27 January 2026
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Graceless Heart
Isabel Ibañez
In 15th century Italy, sculptor Ravenna Maffei desperately enters a competion held by the city’s immortal family hoping to save her brother. When Ravenna reveals her forbidden magical ability, the Luni family steals her away to Florence. There, Ravenna must do a dangerous task for the enigmatic dei Luni heir all while the Pope’s crusade against magic is closing in on the city.
Publication Date: 13 January 2026
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Woman Down
Colleen Hoover
Petra Rose used to ride high as an acclaimed author but after a disastrous film adaptation, the internet has turned against her. Ever since, she’s struggled to write, missing deadlines and getting behind on her mortgage. In a last ditch effort to save her career, Petra retreats to a remote lakeside cabin to finish her novel with the help of Detective Nathaniel Saint. When Petra’s fictional detective and Nathaniel start to blur together, she learns that inspiration comes at a cost.
Publication Date: 13 January 2026
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UPCOMING JANUARY 2026 BOOK RELEASES BY DATE
January 6th Book Releases
January 13th Book Releases
January 20th Book Releases
January 27th Book Releases
What January 2026 Book Releases are You Most Excited to Read?
What books can you not wait to get your hands on this month? Did I miss any January 2026 book releases that you are anticipating? As always, let me know in the comments!
More New Book Releases:
Recommended
The Most-Anticipated Upcoming Book Releases
The New York Times Fiction Bestseller List
The Latest Celebrity Book Club Picks
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