January 2026 Book Releases: My Curated List

January always shows up like it has something to prove. New year, new reading goals, new book releases and suddenly every publisher is trying to be your first five-star of 2026. But don’t get overwhelmed just yet. This is my curated list of January 2026 book releases, meaning: the ones I think are most worth your attention. If you want the complete firehose, skip to the upcoming book releases database. And scroll until the end if you want to know what’s the perfect pick for your zodiac.

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If you read nothing else: my Top 3 January 2026 book releases

If I’m betting on anything this month, it’s Fruit of the Flesh by IV Ophelia, Silver and Blood by Jessie Mihalik, and The Serpent’s Sin by Kathryn Ann Kingsley. These are auto-buy authors for me, the kind where I don’t need reviews or permission, I just need a clear schedule and a beverage. A Gilded Age gothic revenge romance with teeth, a dark and sexy romantasy with cursed magic and a dangerous protector, and a blood-soaked vampire alliance that’s basically “fall in love while everything tries to kill you” are exactly my January vibe. I have extremely high expectations of loving all three, and if one of them disappoints, I will be personally offended on principle.

Rom-com, cozy mystery, and warm-fuzzy reset reads

For when you want charm, banter, and plot stakes that won’t emotionally body-slam you at 2 a.m.

Definitely Maybe Not a Detective by Sarah Fox (1/6)

A fake detective agency turns real when a body shows up in her apartment complex, forcing her and a charming stranger to solve a murder while their lie spirals. It’s giving rom-com mystery, nosey neighbors, and a case that keeps pushing two people into each other’s orbit.

Grab Definitely Maybe Not a Detective on Amazon

Anne of a Different Island by Virginia Kantra (1/20)

Anne of Green Gables-inspired, set on Mackinac Island, and centered on a woman rebuilding after grief, career fallout, and a life that stopped matching the script. This feels like a heartfelt January reset with nostalgia and a real-world glow-up arc.

Grab Anne of a Different Island on Amazon

The Re-Do List by Denise Williams (1/27)

After a very public breakup, a woman decides to re-do her big firsts with help from her brother’s best friend. Sweet and sexy with built-in emotional support and the kind of premise that turns into a one-sitting read fast.

Grab The Re-Do List on Amazon

Regency romance

For when you want historical vibes but the energy is sharp, sexy, and socially lethal.

Like in Love with You by Emma R. Alban (1/13)

Mean Girls meets Northanger Abbey, except the rivalry is sapphic and the chemistry is doing backflips. Two women circle the same suitor because their mothers want drama, and somehow the whole petty social war turns into a slow realization that the real obsession is each other.

Grab Like in Love with You on Amazon

Dark romance, romantic suspense, and obsession

For when you want the vibe to be “hot” and also “slightly concerning.”

Axe and Grind by Taylor Hutton (1/6)

A covert tech CEO mission, an AI dating simulator built to create a user’s “Perfect Match,” and a fake dating setup that starts as steamy role-play and then collides with the criminal underworld. All with a heroine who has to decide how much she can trust the man building the illusion.

Grab Axe and Grind on Amazon

Fundamentals of Being a Good Girl by Sierra Simone and Julie Murphy (1/13)

A sexy single dad professor and a feisty law school grad turned nanny, plus college town proximity and chemistry for days. This one is explicitly pitching “raunch-com,” so expect heat, humor, and power dynamics that are absolutely going to be the point.

Grab Fundamentals of Being a Good Girl on Amazon

Fruit of the Flesh by IV Ophelia (1/20)

Gilded Age New York, a marriage of convenience between a ballerina and a sculptor, and a shared appetite for revenge that turns into something darker. Disappearing bodies, buried secrets, and a “predator and prey” marriage where you’re not sure who’s winning, only that it’s going to be messy.

Grab Fruit of the Flesh on Amazon

Romantasy and fantasy that looks addictive

Magic, curses, underworld quests, and the kind of tension that makes you forget to blink.

The Younger Gods by Katie Shepard (1/13)

A former priestess sails to the realm of the dead to bring back her fallen lover, only to find the gods are reborn and plotting war, and the lover she’s risking everything for may have been one of them all along. Mythic stakes, grief, devotion, and betrayal baked into the premise.

Grab The Younger Gods on Amazon

The Serpent’s Sin by Kathryn Ann Kingsley (1/23)

To destroy the vampires who killed her family, she has to become one of them, inside a criminal empire where betrayal is basically a family hobby. Dark vampire romance with danger, heat, and alliances that can flip in one heartbeat.

Grab The Serpent’s Sin on Amazon

Silver & Blood by Jessie Mihalik (1/27)

A desperate mage enters a forbidden forest to kill a beast, gets rescued by a scarred, powerful man with moonlit magic, and wakes up in a cursed castle with a gorgeous library and too many secrets. Dark, sexy, and suspicious in the best way.

Grab Silver & Blood on Amazon

Thrillers and “everyone is lying”

For readers who want a plot twist with teeth and a main character who should not trust anyone.

Such a Perfect Family by Nalini Singh (1/27)

A whirlwind Vegas wedding turns into a nightmare when the wealthy in-laws’ home explodes, the wife is in a coma, and the husband’s past ties him to multiple dead women he claimed to love. He insists he’s innocent, but the deeper he digs, the more the “perfect family” looks like a carefully staged mirage.

Grab Such a Perfect Family on Amazon

January 2026 new release picks for your zodiac

You want a new release that matches your sign’s vibe without overthinking it. Here are 12 January picks so you can pick the perfect one for you!

Aries: The Lust Crusade by Jo Segura, fake engagement on the run, danger turns into desire
Taurus: The Swan’s Daughter by Roshani Chokshi, lush fairytale courtship where truth is the sharpest weapon
Gemini: Definitely Maybe Not a Detective by Sarah Fox, fake detective agency, real murder, flirty chaos.
Cancer: Anne of a Different Island by Virginia Kantra, homecoming grief reset with a soft second-chance pull
Leo: Last First Kiss by Julian Winters, high-profile wedding sparks and a second chance that bites back
Virgo: Dom-com by Adriana Anders, secret kink meets office rivalry, rules start breaking immediately
Libra: Mr. and Mrs. Mistake by Brighton Walsh, fake marriage turns into real feelings and real problems
Scorpio: The Serpent’s Sin by Kathryn Ann Kingsley, vampire power games, betrayal, and obsessive heat
Sagittarius: Graceless Heart by Isabel Ibañez, forbidden magic in Florence, danger, and a reckless attraction
Capricorn: You’ll Never Forget Me by Isha Raya, ruthless ambition, cat-and-mouse tension, career on the line
Aquarius: A Killer Kind of Romance by Letizia Lorini, crime podcast with a romance that might be a killer
Pisces: The Younger Gods by Katie Shepard, underworld devotion and mythic heartbreak with war brewing

Don’t want to miss next month’s drop?

Want this as a once-a-month email so you never miss this curated list? Subscribe to the New Releases Drop and I’ll send the monthly new releases roundup (plus zodiac picks) straight to your inbox. Plus hear the latest we’ve added to the Book Vault database of upcoming book releases. Sign up here.

Want the full upcoming book releases list

Think of this as your curated shortlist, but if you want the full firehose of upcoming releases, use our Book Vault of Upcoming Book Releases Database to search and filter by genre, trope, character type, setting, or release month.

FAQ: January 2026 book releases

Final thoughts

The excitement of the new year always gets us overloading our TBR and these January 2026 book releases are not helping the situation. But if you are ready to zoom out and see what else is coming, head to my Most Anticipated 2026 Book Releases for the year-at-a-glance shortlist of my top 3 each month.

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