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The Best Books of 2026

59ranked

14five-star

3.9avg rating

10genres

Every book I finished this year, ranked best to worst — re-ranked the day I put each one down, so a novel I read in January can still move.

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The top ten at a glance

Mad Mabel

Sally Hepworth

59 of 59 Updated Jul 26

Rank

Book

Rating

Genre

Lady Tremaine

Rachel HochhauserAudiobook

★★★★★Audiobook

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

★★★★★

Literature & Fiction Historical Fiction

Yesteryear

Caro Claire Burke

★★★★★

A "tradwife" and Instagram influencer has cultivated a seemingly idyllic life for herself and family, but it's all upended when she wakes up one day in 1855.

★★★★★

Literature & Fiction Science Fiction Mystery and Thriller

Five

Ilona Bannister

★★★★★

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.

★★★★★

Mystery and Thriller Literature & Fiction

Phoebe Berman's Gonna Lose It

Brooke AverickAudiobook

★★★★★Audiobook

One month shy of her thirtieth birthday, Phoebe Berman is determined to conquer her neuroses and finally lose her virginity in this laugh-out-loud rom-com.

A moving generational novel that authentically captures a litany of life moments, from the highs of true love to the challenges of addiction.

★★★★★

Literature & Fiction

We Are All Guilty Here

Karin Slaughter

★★★★★

Two teenage girls are abducted in a small Georgia town in this mystery filled with twists and family dynamics that will keep readers guessing.

When a $50k debt meets a fake-dating scheme with a wealthy heir, love blooms in Annabel Monaghan's modern retelling of Pretty Woman.

★★★★★

Romance

The Strength of the Few

James Islington

★★★★★

The sequel to The Will of the Many sees the footprint expand from a single world into three, an ambitious choice that is impressively executed.

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 funny, heartwarming character study of a sardonic 81-year-old former convict whose quiet life unravels when a neighbor turns up dead.

★★★★★

Mystery and Thriller

#11

This Story Might Save Your Life

Tiffany Crum

★★★★★

One half of a famous podcasting duo goes missing in this unique debut that artfully blends mystery with a will-they-or-won't-they romance.

★★★★★

Mystery and Thriller Romance

#12

The Calamity Club

Kathryn StockettAudiobook

★★★★★Audiobook

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.

★★★★★

Literature & Fiction Historical Fiction

An epic story about friendship and betrayal, this behemoth of a novel follows six college friends who make a Faustian deal with a dragon.

★★★★★

Horror Fantasy Literature & Fiction

A coming-of-age novel set at an elite boarding that focuses as much on class, race, and outsider status as it does on the central murder mystery.

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

★★★★★

Literature & Fiction

#16

AVAILABLE AUG 4, 2026

The Infinite StateOut Aug 4

Richard Swan

★★★★★

A woman attempts to found a fledgling nation to escape the suffocating control of a totalitarian empire in this interesting sci-fi space opera.

★★★★★

Science Fiction

#17

Operation Bounce House

Matt Dinniman

★★★★★

A war novel blended with humor and social commentary that pits peace-loving settlers of a planet against an invasion of giant robots intent on killing them.

Patrick Radden KeefeAudiobook

★★★★★Audiobook

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.

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.

★★★★★

Literature & Fiction Horror Fantasy Mystery and Thriller

#20

A Violent Masterpiece

Jordan Harper

★★★★★

A grisly dive into the dark underbelly of Los Angeles that blends the hunt for a serial killer with commentary on the corrupt world of the ultra-wealthy.

After a flight to a remote island goes missing, a dual-timeline thriller follows two sisters—one who was on the flight and one who missed it.

★★★★★

Mystery and Thriller

#22

A Court of Mist and Fury

Sarah J. Maas

★★★★★

Following the events of A Court of Thorns and Roses, the story continues in a longer and more polished follow-up that's a step up from Book 1.

★★★★★

Romantasy Fantasy Romance

A tragic accident on a remote sheep station eventually leads to a dark family secret in this character-driven exploration of duty and psyche in the Australian Outback.

★★★★★

Literature & Fiction

#24

What Happened to the McCrays?

Tracey LangeAudiobook

★★★★★Audiobook

A man returns home to Potsdam, NY to care for his father after a stroke, forcing him to confront past demons that led to his abrupt departure.

Two actors with an undeniable connection explore a relentless on-again, off-again romance in this spicy, love-it-or-hate-it read built for the theater crowd.

★★★★★

Romance Literature & Fiction

#26

The One Day You Were My Husband

Rosie WalshAudiobook

★★★★★Audiobook

Years after her husband was captured by armed men on their wedding day, a woman discovers that he's alive. She's happily remarried, but compelled to seek him out.

★★★★★

Mystery and Thriller Romance

#27

Our Perfect Storm

Carley FortuneAudiobook

★★★★★Audiobook

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?

A two-tiered whodunit focused on the murder of a prominent Baton Rouge lawyer and its potential connection to a hit-and-run from a decade prior.

A house fire is the jumping off point for this novel less about the partial loss of a home and more about the fractured relationship in it.

★★★★★

Literature & Fiction

#30

AVAILABLE AUG 4, 2026

When Lemons Give You LifeNewOut Aug 4

Anna Johnston

★★★★★

A former chef fakes dementia in a nursing home before finding redemption and a new reason to live in this latest from the author of The Borrowed Life of Frederick Fife.

★★★★★

Literature & Fiction

#31

When the Cranes Fly South

Lisa RidzénAudiobook

★★★★★Audiobook

An 89-year-old Swedish man narrates as we sail along this sad journey focused on the challenges and indignities encountered at the end of life.

★★★★★

Literature & Fiction

#32

You With the Sad Eyes

Christina ApplegateAudiobook

★★★★★Audiobook

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

★★★★★

Memoir

#33

Jane and Dan at the End of the World

Colleen OakleyAudiobook

★★★★★Audiobook

A heist/hostage situation at an elite restaurant is the vehicle for this novel to explore marriage and parenting as much as the heist.

★★★★★

Mystery and Thriller Literature & Fiction

A young woman enters a deadly competition to retrieve a goblet of magic in this romantasy that feels like the love child of The Hunger Games and Silver Elite.

★★★★★

Romantasy Fantasy Romance

Wren Darlington's journey picks up immediately where Silver Elite ended, continuing to explore the conflict between the Uprising and Command.

★★★★★

Romantasy Fantasy Romance

#36

People We Meet on Vacation

Emily HenryAudiobook

★★★★★Audiobook

An homage to When Harry Met Sally in which two opposites form a deep platonic friendship before eventually wondering if it could be more.

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 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.

A self-help book from the "World's Greatest Mentalist" in which he shares advice for how best to connect with people based on how the human mind works.

Claire AlexanderAudiobook

★★★★★Audiobook

A depressing, poignant look at agoraphobia and abuse in many forms, focused on a woman who hasn't left her home in over three years.

★★★★★

Literature & Fiction

#41

The Ending Writes Itself

Evelyn ClarkeAudiobook

★★★★★Audiobook

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.

★★★★★

Mystery and Thriller

#42

The Song of the Blue Bottle Tree

India Hayford

★★★★★

A snake-handling drifter crosses paths with a soldier recently back from Vietnam; together they help his family escape an abusive situation.

A "Book Witch" must use her ability to teleport into books to solve a mystery in her own life when her grandfather and most prized possession go missing.

★★★★★

Fantasy Literature & Fiction

#44

Crux

Gabriel TallentAudiobook

★★★★★Audiobook

Two high school friends use rock climbing to try to escape a seemingly predetermined future in this emotionally heavy character study from Gabriel Tallent.

A short story collection masquerading as a novel, it follows the exploits of a family who consistently find themselves on the fringe of honest society.

★★★★★

Mystery and Thriller Literature & Fiction

#46

This Book Made Me Think of You

Libby PageAudiobook

★★★★★Audiobook

Six months after her husband dies, a woman finds out he left her a year of books, one per month, to help her heal and move forward.

★★★★★

Literature & Fiction Romance

#47

The Things We Never SayNew

Elizabeth StroutAudiobook

★★★★★Audiobook

A brief, introspective read in which themes of free will, identity, and interpersonal relationships are explored through a teacher's midlife crisis.

A woman returns to a mythical floating island she once visited as a child, only to become stranded with the ageless man who is living there.

Cynthia D'Aprix SweeneyAudiobook

★★★★★Audiobook

An exploration of the fallout of a 1977 affair and divorce over several decades. Despite nuanced characters, this family drama mostly missed the mark for me.

★★★★★

Literature & Fiction Historical Fiction

When an encroaching "rogue black hole" gives Earth less than a month before annihilation, two men travel by RV from Maine to Washington to complete one final task.

The third and concluding book the "Arc of a Scythe" trilogy answers a myriad of open questions but plods along for much of the story.

An interesting start to a series, but be warned that this is purely setup for a broader story with no resolution in this first installment.

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

A stranded group faces predators—both animal and human—in a South African game reserve in this twisty thriller that falls short on execution.

A boy band cruise tries to offer nostalgia but fails to set sail in this disappointing look at fame and aging that lacks the heart and romance expected.

★★★★★

Literature & Fiction Romance

#56

The Shampoo EffectNew

Jenny JacksonAudiobook

★★★★★Audiobook

A writer joins a tight-knit coastal town only to feel isolated by decades of shared history in this slice-of-life character study full of people I couldn't care less about.

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.

★★★★★

Literature & Fiction

#58

The List of Suspicious Things

Jennie GodfreyAudiobook

★★★★★Audiobook

Two young girls try to catch the Yorkshire Ripper in 1979, but their "list of suspicious things" is just a vehicle to clumsily comment on prejudice.

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

★★★★★

Science Fiction Literature & Fiction

How the ranking works

One list, every book, no ties. When I finish something it goes in against everything else I've read this year, which means the order shifts constantly — a book that sat at 12 in March can be at 20 by August without having gotten any worse. Star ratings and rank are related but not the same thing: among fourteen five-star books, someone still has to be fourteenth.

The next one, in your inbox.

One email on the first of every month with a summary and rating of each book reviewed over the past 30 days, and a look at where the year's ranking stands.