The Most Anticipated Books of 2026
- Greg Barlin
- May 12
- 9 min read
Updated: 5 days ago
Ready to refresh your TBR pile? As we head into the most anticipated book releases of 2026, the literary world is buzzing with everything from high-stakes fantasy sequels to the most talked-about debut novels of the year. 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. From the return of beloved authors like Barbara Kingsolver, Matt Haig, and Emily St. John Mandel to groundbreaking new voices like Caro Claire Burke, here is your definitive guide to the stories everyone will be talking about this year.
As a bonus, I've included links to those where I've been fortunate to receive an Advance Reader Copy (ARC), so that hopefully I can help you as you ponder which to pick up next. As always, you can find my full reviews in my Best Books of 2026: A Running Ranking post, updated and reranked after each book that I finish.
We Burned So Bright
by TJ Klune | ★★★☆☆ | Full Review
Publication Date: April 28, 2026
Don and Rodney, partners for 40 years, must travel from Maine to Washington state before a rogue black hole consumes the Earth in this latest offering from TJ Klune. Few do sweet, sappy, and slightly fantastical stories as well as Klune. Ever since The House in the Cerulean Sea, he has been bringing emotionally-charged LGBTQ+ love stories to the masses. This latest novella (just 176 pages) has many of those signature elements, but it also continues Klune's trajectory towards darker, less optimistic prose. It's a sad premise made even more depressing as one gets deeper into the story—a satisfying read, but one from which I was hoping for more.
A Violent Masterpiece
by Jordan Harper | ★★★★☆ | Full Review
Publication Date: April 28, 2026
Generating lots of early buzz, this story that follows three people in modern-day Los Angeles—a live-streamer, a street lawyer, and a private concierge—and lays bare an L.A. with an underbelly of crime and perversion accessible only by the ultra-rich.
It's also one of the more grisly novels that I have read recently. A few small nits—and, frankly, the level of violence—will keep me from recommending this universally, but it was a high 4-star read that I devoured in a few days (perhaps not my best word choice...iykyk). If you're in the mood for an edgy exploration of the dark side of Los Angeles, this will satisfy; just make sure you read it on an empty stomach.
Our Perfect Storm
by Carley Fortune | ★★★★☆ | Full Review
Publication Date: May 5, 2026
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 possibly happen?
There's little mystery to what's coming in this one. The primary conundrum is "what took these two so long to act on what was obvious to everyone and to them?" And that's where the book falls just a bit short. These are no ordinary friends; they have been joined at the hip since age nine. They have lived together. They know what the other is thinking (allegedly). They finish each other's sentences. They're both each other's favorite person. And they're both wildly attracted to the other physically. There is, of course, the age-old trope of not wishing to put their friendship at risk, and perhaps one could accept that their belief is so powerful that they would never explore a relationship before this point. But like with People We Meet on Vacation, it needed something more to reinforce why they'd avoided their mutual attraction for so long. Satisfying, despite its minor flaws.
The Calamity Club
by Kathryn Stockett
Publication Date: May 5, 2026
Can you believe it's been seventeen years since Kathryn Stockett published The Help? With over 11 million copies sold, it's even more shocking that she hasn't had another book come out...until now. The setting once again transports us back in time to Mississippi, this time journeying all the way to Depression-era 1933, where we follow a group of marginalized women as they attempt to take back power from a hypocritical social order that seeks to keep them dependent, silent, or institutionalized.
Broken Dove
by Dani Francis
Publication Date: May 12, 2026
Who wasn't captivated by last year's latest romantasy hit Silver Elite? I certainly was, and fortunately we only had to wait a year until Wren Darlington's story continues in the second book in the series by mysterious author Dani Francis.
The Burning Side
by Sarah Damoff | ★★★★☆ | Full Review
Publication Date: May 19, 2026
The Burning Side shines the spotlight on a family who loses their house to a fire, causing them to move back in with the wife's parents, only to be forced to reckon with a series of challenges facing the extended family. Like with her debut novel The Bright Years (one of my favorite books I read this year), Damoff captures small life moments among those that are life-altering, a technique that builds an added layer of connectedness between the reader and the characters. She also once again tackles past trauma and its impact on the present. The characters' reactions and choices can frustrate a reader, but it's primarily to underscore that past unresolved issues lead to flawed decisions in the present. Where The Bright Years struck a beautiful balance between the highs and lows of life, The Burning Side is a bit more focused on the lows. This is a sad read more than it's not, but there is enough redemption and hope peppered in to offset the melancholy.
When an author delivers a stellar debut, one can't help but compare the follow-up to it. While I connected more completely with The Bright Years, much of what made that such a great book is present here as well. Those that enjoyed Damoff's debut will almost certainly like The Burning Side also; it's worth a read.
The Midnight Train
by Matt Haig
Publication Date: May 26, 2026
I didn't love The Midnight Library quite as much as the masses, but I thought it was good, and after a brief departure from that universe, author Matt Haig returns with The Midnight Train. Dubbed as "a magical, time-traveling love story," the novel follows a man named Wilbur as he seeks to relive his honeymoon in Venice with the love of his life, Maggie.
Dolly All the Time
by Annabel Monaghan | ★★★★★ | Full Review
Publication Date: May 26, 2026
The cusp of summer is always a great time for romance, and in the absence of a May release from Emily Henry, this latest from Annabel Monaghan is the perfect way to scratch that itch.
Dolly Brick is a single mom who determinedly finds way to solve problems. When she returns home to Rhode Island to help out her dad and brother, she unexpectedly enters into a business relationship with the handsome son of the richest family in town, only to have their connection drift away from "business" and more towards "relationship".
Monaghan's modern retelling of Pretty Woman is a sweet, touching love story that will plaster a smile on your face. The connection between Dolly and Stewart was just the right amount of awkward and sweet and genuine that it had me hooked early, and I thoroughly enjoyed immersing myself in their love story. Fully recommended for a feel-good romantic summer read.
Sublimation
by Isabel J. Kim | ★★★★☆ | Full Review
Publication Date: June 2, 2026
In her thought-provoking debut novel, Isabel J. Kim explores a world in which copies of people are created when a person chooses to immigrate to a new place. "Instancing" happens when the person crosses the border, and does so with intention. The novel can be a bit mind-bending at times, but Kim does a good job of keeping perspectives clear. There is extensive exploration of the psychological impact of immigration. The characters have never considered a world without instancing, because that world has never existed. But at some point they begin to ask themselves if instancing is a good thing, and would the world be better if you didn't have to leave a copy of yourself behind. And if that world existed, who should have control over that decision? Is it the individual or the government?
The Children
by Melissa Albert
Publication Date: June 2, 2026
The adult children of a famous writer—who inserted them into her novels as the main characters—must confront their past, twenty years after their mother's death in a house fire. What really happened the night of the fire? And what dark history lies behind their mother's fantasy world?
Whisper Creek
by Allison Brennan
Publication Date: June 23, 2026
A single mother, Ellen McKenna, alone with her children on a Texas farm in the midst of summer storm season is the setting for this taut thriller. An injured man, stranded kids, and a raging storm force Ellen to the brink in this tense family drama.
Habits of the Sea
by Shea Ernshaw
Publication Date: July 7, 2026
Ernshaw's last novel for adults, 2021's A History of Wild Places, was distinctly better than I expected it would be, and so I'm excited to see what she brings to the table with this latest offering in which twelve-year-old Ellie Mills discovers a fabled floating island off the coast of Nova Scotia. When she explores the island, she meets Clay Lockhart living in the weatherworn farmhouse perched on its highest hill. But then the island vanishes overnight, and Ellie is left questioning whether it ever existed at all. Decades later, the island resurfaces—and Ellie, now in her thirties, returns, determined to uncover the truth. What she finds is even stranger: Clay is still living on the island, and he hasn’t aged a single day.
The Night Hunter
by Natalie Moss
Publication Date: July 28, 2026
In this debut novel, Two sisters are reunited following their mother's death, but when they return to South Africa, a trip into the bush suddenly turns deadly. The sisters are forced to take their survival into their own hands, and they soon come to suspect that something more than the animals of the safari may be hunting them.
The Infinite State
by Richard Swan
Publication Date: August 4, 2026
Katherine Fuller’s husband is dead. As an esteemed member of Pater Aeternus—totalitarian governing party of the fascist, galaxy-spanning Decurion Empire—he has left behind an estate of immeasurable wealth. And Katherine is going to inherit it. With it, she plans to secretly purchase a virgin world, and create a better, fairer society.
As long as she can do so without Pater Aeternus discovering her plans...
When Lemons Give You Life
by Anna Johnston
Publication Date: August 4, 2026
Anna Johnston's The Borrowed Life of Frederick Fife was just a little too contrived, coincidental, and overly sappy for me. But it was still enjoyable, and while I expect more sentimentality from this latest offering about a retired Michelin-star chef who rediscovers his love of cooking (and life) while working to reconcile with his estranged sister, I'm skeptically hoping to see if some tweaks have been made to Johnston's recipe.
Under the Falls
by Richard Russo
Publication Date: August 11, 2026
I don't need more than "Richard Russo" on the cover to get me interested in once again immersing myself in his special ability to capture the deep-seated relationships of small town America. This time it focuses on a crime that brings to light long-held secrets among a group of lifelong friends.
The Secrets We Hide
by Karin Slaughter
Publication Date: August 11, 2026
I recently finished last year's We Are All Guilty Here, and the character depth, complexity of the storyline, and several believable twists has me more than ready for more time with the Cliftons of North Falls, GA. I can't wait for this one!
Under Story
by Chloe Benjamin
Publication Date: September 1, 2026
A sweeping epic of speculative science, the author of The Immortalists grapples with the "the precarity of the natural world, and the mysterious webs of consciousness that bind us" as our main character tries to convince her former husband to relive their story a second time.
The Pirate Queen
by Ariel Lawhon
Publication Date: September 8, 2026
Another historical novel by the author of Frozen River? Yes, please. The Pirate Queen is inspired by the real-life story of Grace O'Malley, an Irish folk heroine who rose above the expectations of 16th century Ireland to lead a sea fleet and defend Ireland from the advances of the Queen Elizabeth and the British.
Exit Party
by Emily St. John Mandel
Publication Date: September 15, 2026
On the heels of the successes of Station Eleven and Sea of Tranquility, Emily St. John Mandel once against returns to near-future speculative science fiction, tackling a scenario in which the United States has collapsed and mysteries and strange occurrences abound.
Hollywood, Ending
by John Green
Publication Date: September 22, 2026
In his first novel for adults, acclaimed author John Green (The Fault in Our Stars, Everything is Tuberculosis) blends a behind-the-scenes Hollywood love story with the pressure and cost of living life in the public eye.
Partita
by Barbara Kingsolver
Publication Date: October 6, 2026
Do you even need a description to add a new offering from Barbara Kingsolver to your TBR pile? She once again returns to Appalachia, the setting of so many of her novels—including the most recent (and excellent) Demon Copperhead—this time focused on a woman who had left her past and her love of music behind, only to have it reemerge decades later.
Before You Were Anne
by Emiko Jean
Publication Date: October 6, 2026
Jean's 2024 novel The Return of Ellie Black was one of the better thrillers I read that year, and Before You Were Anne reunites readers with detective Chelsey Calhoun who debuted in Ellie Black. In this latest offering, a woman is found dead and her sixteen-year-old daughter is missing. Once again, Calhoun must unravel a mystery in order to find a missing person before it's too late.
A Court of Thorns and Roses 6
by Sarah J. Maas
Publication Date: October 27, 2026
Perhaps the most anticipated book of the year, Sarah J. Maas returns to the series that started it all for the first time in 5 years. Still untitled Book 6 releases in October, with Book 7 to swiftly follow in January 2027.
