A rundown of Amazon's Best Books of 2026 So Far and how they compare with Barlin's Books' top picks.

A running ranking of the books that I have reviewed this year, updated and reranked after each book that I finish.

Whether you’re looking for the next viral BookTok recommendation, a thriller from a favorite author, or a Pulitzer-worthy literary fiction masterpiece, I’ve rounded up the top upcoming books of 2026 that you need to preorder now.

★★★★★ A brilliant retelling of Cinderella from the "wicked" stepmother's perspective, this witty, inventive historical drama completely reimagines a classic villain.

★★★☆☆ A Texas farm family faces a massive storm, corporate threats, and a string of burglaries in this multi-layered, yet muddled, thriller.

★★☆☆☆ While not exactly a sequel, Matt Haig revisits the premise of 2020's The Midnight Library with another examination of the different paths our lives can take.

★★★★★ In her first book since The Help, Kathryn Stockett transports us to 1933 Mississippi where a female-driven cast exposes the misogynistic society of the time.

★★★★☆ A 36-year-old woman navigates divorce and reclaims her identity from a comic character based on her in this latest adult novel from Rainbow Rowell.

★★☆☆☆ A multi-timeline story that had me hopeful for something akin to Cloud Cuckoo Land unfortunately sputters to a disjointed and wholly unsatisfying conclusion.

★★★★☆ A haunting, dual-timeline tale of estranged siblings reckoning with a traumatic childhood serves up a unique blend of family drama and dark fairy tale.

★★★★☆ Six authors compete on a remote Scottish island to finish a dead writer's final novel in this middling Clue-like send-up of the publishing industry.

★★★★☆ When a woman's fiancé leaves her on their wedding day, she ends up taking her lifelong (gorgeous, heterosexual) male best friend on her honeymoon. What could happen?

★★★★★ Jaw-dropping dialogue and moral judgement set the tone for this dark exploration of five neurodiverse characters, one of which we're told will die by the end of the book.

★★★★☆ A thought-provoking sci-fi debut exploring identity and immigration through "instances" where a copy of a person is created when they immigrate to a new country.

★★★★☆ In this unflinchingly honest memoir, Christina Applegate lays bare her life in Hollywood and her private battles with breast cancer, MS, and self-loathing.

★★★★★ When a professional matchmaker meets her "fated" match, she must choose between her prophesied destiny and an undeniable connection she has with someone else.

★★★★☆ A gripping and fascinating piece of investigative journalism that seeks to uncover the truth behind the mysterious death of a young London man in 2019.

★★★★☆ Set in a dying Australian mining town, Harper's latest centers around a couple trying to solve the mystery of their son's disappearance five years prior.

★★★☆☆ A young Vietnamese-American man and an elderly Lithuanian woman form a bond in this bleak book which should have be titled "The Emperor of Sadness".

★★★★☆ An immense and dense epic literary journey through the South Pacific of 1000 years ago that explores the struggle for power on Tonga.