2026 Book Releases I’m Already Planning My Life Around
If you’re trying to balance backlist reading with new hype, here are the 2026 book releases I’m making time for, month by month.
Most Anticipated 2026 Book Releases
I’m trying to make space for the books I’ve missed, the older series I want to finally start, the authors I keep saying I’ll get to. But there are also so many new 2026 book releases that already have my attention, and it feels silly not to keep track.
These are the books I’m most anticipating right now and why each one caught my eye or went on my TBR.
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January 2026 Book Releases
The Younger Gods by Katie Shepard
A former priestess sails into the Underworld to bring her fallen lover home, only to learn the gods she thought she beat are regrouping. And the man she’s risking everything for might not be who she thought he was.
I haven’t read Katie Shepard before, but this is her first fantasy book. The premise sounds great and I haven’t read a good mythology book!
Grab The Younger Gods on Amazon
Fruit of the Flesh by I.V. Ophelia
A ballerina and a sculptor marry for convenience in Gilded Age New York, then realize they’re both hiding something sharp-toothed. It’s gothic, seductive.
I first read I.V. Ophelia in 2025 (The Poisoner) and she’s become an auto buy for me.
Grab Fruit of the Flesh on Amazon
The Serpent’s Sin by Kathryn Ann Kingsley
She’s infiltrating a vampire crime family to destroy it, which would be easier if she wasn’t stuck in a deadly alliance with the most dangerously tempting vampire in the room. Add siblings plotting betrayal and it’s basically a blood-soaked chess match.
This one is non-negotiable. The first book in this series was one of my top 5 books of 2025!
Grab The Serpent’s Sin on Amazon
Want even more? Check out the 11 January 2026 book releases on my TBR plus what new release this month is the perfect fit for your zodiac.
February 2026 Book Releases
Crown of War and Shadow by J.R. Ward
A cursed outcast has to cross the Badlands to save the world, and her ticket there is a brooding mercenary who charges in favors and trouble. Forced proximity, big stakes, and the kind of slow burn that snaps at the end.
J.R. Ward is giving us a fantasy romance? I’m sat!
Grab Crown of War and Shadow on Amazon
Half City by Kate Golden
She’s juggling adulthood in an expensive city while secretly hunting demons, and then a reformed demon offers her a place at a hunter academy. Mystery, danger, and a very inconvenient attraction wrapped in supernatural school chaos.
This is giving me Buffy and old school urban fantasy vibes and I can’t wait to read it. We need more of this.
Only Friends by Lydia San Andres
A screenwriter and a gorgeous model team up to make spicy Regency thirst content, and it starts as a business plan and ends as feelings. It’s flirty, funny, and exactly the kind of premise that shouldn’t work but absolutely does.
I’ve had this author on my TBR for such a long time and this one sounds adorable.
March 2026 Book Releases
Star Shipped by Cat Sebastian
Two sci-fi show co-stars who can’t stand each other agree to fake a public friendship, which turns into a reluctant trip and a slow, surprising softening. It’s enemies-to-lovers with backstage mess, sharp humor, and real heart.
Besides the fact it’s a Cat Sebastian and that cover looks amazing, it was also recommended by a friend so it’s on my list as one of the 13 books recommended by friends I’ll be reading this year.
Game On by Navessa Allen
He blackmails her into fake dating as part of a revenge plan, and she’s fully aware he’s trouble… while still being unable to stop kissing him. Dark romance, big power games, and chemistry that makes every decision worse.
I’m going into this one a little more cautious because of Caught Up, but I’m excited to read Tyler’s book.
This Kingdom Will Not Kill Me by Ilona Andrews
A superfan wakes up inside the unfinished dark fantasy series she’s obsessed with and realizes the plot knowledge in her head might be the only thing keeping people alive. Portal fantasy with epic stakes, monsters, and “I know how this ends and I hate it.”
Ilona Andrews…. enough said.
Grab This Kingdom Will Not Kill Me on Amazon
April 2026 Book Releases
West of Wicked by Nikki St. Crowe
Dorothy lands in a cursed Oz where the Yellow Brick Road is a trap and the woods are not friendly. The stranger she saves is charming, dangerous, and very possibly tied to whatever Dorothy really is.
A Wizard of Oz story by one of the authors that made me top 5 authors I read in 2025. Sign me up!
The Art of Loving You by Natasha Bishop
A mentor’s final wish sends exes on a scavenger-hunt road trip, and every stop is basically forcing them to admit what they’ve been avoiding. Sweet, spicy, and so good for readers who love second chances with real feelings.
This is another author I previously read and really enjoyed and I can’t wait to read another book by her. This sounds deliciously amazing.
Grab The Art of Loving You on Amazon
Witch Queen Rising by Savannah Stephens
A powerful New Orleans witch gets dragged back into the legacy she ran from and ends up in the middle of rival Houses, curses, and paranormal politics. There’s a werewolf ex, vampires circling, and enough family secrets to ruin a person.
This is giving me all the Anne Rice vibes and I will never resist that.
Grab Witch Queen Rising on Amazon
May 2026 Book Releases
Behind Five Willows by June Hur
Historical Korea, government censorship, and a girl secretly transcribing banned books for money and joy. Then she meets the uptight nobleman chaperoning a courtship and realizes he’s hiding the most scandalous secret: he writes fiction too.
This is a new to me author but when I saw it’s got all the Pride and Prejudice vibes, I’m all in.
Grab Behind Five Willows on Amazon
A Curse of Beasts and Magic by Jeaniene Frost
She’s got a Beast inside her that feeds on violence, and the Warden who guards the border between worlds thinks she could destroy everything. Allies-to-lovers-or-enemies, monster politics, and attraction that feels like lighting a match near gasoline.
When Jeaniene Frost writes something, I read it. That’s the truth. But when she says it’s a Beauty and the Beast retelling but what if she’s the Beast? Ohmygawd.
Grab A Curse of Beasts and Magic on Amazon
Deathbringer by Sonia Tagliareni
A death mage enrolls at a magic institute to uncover how her power killed her sister, then gets stuck working with a poison mage who can’t stand her. Add a campus killer and a magical bond, and things get intense fast.
This dark academia premise sounds so amazing to me, I couldn’t pass it up.
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June 2026 Book Releases
Scandal of the Summer by Alexandra Vasti
A debutante flees the Marriage Mart and crashes a princess’s estate, only to find smugglers pretending to be staff and a suspiciously charming man running the whole scheme. It’s a Regency con job with sparks and lies in equal measure.
I have become a rabid fan of Alexandra Vasti and I cannot stop.
Grab Scandal of the Summer on Amazon
Big Stick Energy by Sarina Bowen
A hockey admin accidentally DMs her NSFW fantasy to the team captain, and the embarrassment somehow turns into fake dating through wedding season. It’s funny, hot, and weirdly tender when you least expect it.
The first book in this series was so adorable and the premise here? So good!
Grab Big Stick Energy on Amazon
The Very Definition of Love by Sophia Benoit
A wallflower writing a dictionary of bawdy slang strong-arms the town rake into a marriage and then basically hires him as her indecent-language tutor. Witty, sexy Regency chaos with yearning and a rake who catches feelings mid-lesson.
I was sold on this by the cover, I admit. But it sounds so cute.
Grab The Very Definition of Love on Amazon
July 2026 Book Releases
In Stormy Weather by Chelsea Curto
Academic rivals-to-lovers, but they’re meteorologists storm-chasing during hurricane season in Florida. She’s brilliant and done with everyone, he’s her flashy TV rival, and close proximity turns the tension into a full weather event.
How many things can I be excited about with this one? It’s a Chelsea Curto book, it’s got meteorologists and they’re rivals!
Grab In Stormy Weather on Amazon
Just for the Season by Rachel Griffiths
Regency Bachelorette vibes: one heroine, a summer retreat full of suitors, and a scandal that makes marriage urgent. The lineup is stacked, but the duke who already broke her heart is still standing there, looking inconveniently perfect.
All I had to read was that vibe. Bachelorette vibes are the best. Sign me up.
Grab Just for the Season on Amazon
Spellcast by Sophie Jordan
A girl cursed to be unseen for ten years is finally noticed when dragons arrive and cut through her spell. She gets pulled into a dangerous new world by an alpha dragon, and her own dormant power starts waking up hungry.
This is the third book in the A Fire in the Sky series, although I believe it’s a story set in the world not the main couple we’ve been following. But I love this world, so I will read any and all of it. Gimme!
August 2026 Book Releases
Mutual Discord by Liana De La Rosa
A women-in-history creator falls for an anonymous follower who actually gets her… and then finds out he’s her best friend’s boyfriend. It’s equal parts sweet connection and instant panic, because the chemistry does not care about your morals.
I’ve loved Liana De La Rosa’s historical and no we get a contemporary? Yes, please!
Steelborn by Taylor J. LaRue
A legendary thief teams up with an immortal warrior who hates everything she represents, because he’s running out of time on a deadly curse. Slow-burn enemies-to-lovers with outlawed magic, revolution simmering, and a cure that feels like a trap.
This one was an impulse and I am really looking forward to reading it.
Be Still My Unbeating Heart by Josh Winning
A reformed vampire wants a quiet Italian vacation with his magical talking cat and instead finds a dead body and a town ready to blame vampires. The detective assigned to watch him is brooding, hot, and not buying his innocence.
Italy and vampires? To die for! Literally. It also gives me Lestat vibes for some reason, which means I will devour it.
Grab Be Still My Unbeating Heart on Amazon
September 2026 Book Releases
The Knave and the Moon by Rachel Gillig
Sybil is trapped, drugged, and still planning to burn the whole system down. A nameless knave with no memory rises through the king’s tournaments, and she’s betting everything on him being the crack in the foundation she needs.
This is the sequel to one of my favorite books of 2025. I can’t wait to find out what happens.
Grab The Knave and the Moon on Amazon
Fury in Death by J.D. Robb
Eve Dallas gets a case so brutal it feels personal, and the deeper she digs, the more it reeks of secrets, money, and rage. Biotech shadows, mounting victims, and a mystery that keeps getting uglier the closer she gets.
Every time we get a new Eve Dallas is a magical thing.
October 2026 Book Releases
Heirs of Infamy by Kyla Zhao
1940s San Francisco Chinatown, rival gangs, and a crime boss’s daughter desperate to prove she belongs in the business. A heist forces her to work with the rival heir who ruined her first mission, and their hatred starts heating up.
Just look at the premise for this! I am obsessed. Everything about it, literally.
November 2026 Book Releases
Too Cold for Comfort by Nisha J. Tuli
A sunshine photographer gets snowed in with a grumpy lodge owner, and the cabin gets small fast. Cozy winter rom-com setup, but with enough chemistry to fog the windows.
This sounds like such a cozy story, I already want to wrap it around myself.
Grab Too Cold for Comfort on Amazon
December 2026 Book Releases
Lightning & Thunder by Sara Raasch
A Zeus-descended cyber vigilante gets forced into hero training under the beloved descendant of Thor, and the banter is immediate. Mythology-meets-superhero chaos with secret agendas, missing brother drama, and a romance that’s one bad decision away.
This legit sounds like so much fun! And I’ve been needing more superheroes in my life.
Grab Lightning & Thunder on Amazon
Final Thoughts
So yeah. 2026 is coming for us. My only plan is to keep snacks on hand, clear my schedule, and pretend I’m going to read responsibly right up until the moment I absolutely don’t.
Tell me what you’re most excited for, and what I need to add, because I know there are going to be a few late announcements that show up and immediately knock something off this list.
You can always stay up to date with the latest upcoming book releases here. Bookmark the page!
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