With the beginning of December comes the start of the end of the year blog posts and I could not be more excited! I have many of these end of the year type of posts planned for the month, but we’re going to start with one of my favorites, my anticipated reads of 2026!
If you’re curious as to which books are at the top of my list for 2026, grab yourself a comforting beverage, a cozy blanket and let’s talk about some 2026 releases!
This coming year, I’ve tried pretty hard to really pare down my anticipated list and have kind of split it into three different categories. I feel very fortunate to have some of my anticipated releases already via ARCs, so first, let’s talk about my 2026 ARCs.
First, coming out on January 20th, we have A Very Novel Murder by Ellie Alexander. This year I started reading Ellie Alexander’s cozy mysteries, starting with the A Secret Bookcase Mystery series. I read all 6 books in the series very quickly, then moved onto the A Bakeshop Mystery series and have been steadily reading those. I love her cozy mysteries, and I’m so excited that she’s starting another series with A Very Novel Murder. What’s even better, is actually that this is the continuation from the A Secret Bookcase Mystery series and is following the main character from that series, Annie, who is opening a detective agency above her bookshop! Literally, could a book be more Caitlyn coded? I am seriously so excited to read this!
Flatiron very kindly sent me a physical copy of Kate Alice Marshall’s latest adult release, The Girls Before, and I can’t wait to read it. Something that I think Kate Alice Marshall does really well in her mysteries is tie together past and present timelines and from the summary it sounds like that’s what we’ll be getting in this one. I also love mysteries that are about strong and determined women, and a search and rescue expert who has never stopped looking for her ex-best friend who disappeared when they were teenagers sounds exactly like that.
If Megan Lally writes it, I will be reading it! I loved her two previous novels, That’s Not My Name and No Place Left to Hide, so the second I heard that she had another book, What We Did to Survive, coming out in 2026 I jumped on the chance to get the ARC and now it happily sits in my Kindle library. When Megan Lally says she’s written a thriller, she has written a thriller. Her books always leave my heart pounding and me furiously flipping to the next page practically before I’ve read the last word on the previous page because I’m just dying to know what happens next. Getting lost at sea sounds absolutely terrifying to me, so I know that What We Did to Survive is going to keep me on the edge of my seat, I just have to make sure that I read it when I will have no interruptions!
Something that you may not know about me, but I’m sure won’t be a surprise to anyone, is that I love an escape room. It’s probably because of my love for locked room mysteries, that I think doing an escape room is so much fun. I’ll be fully honest, I’ve never read anything from Tamara Moss, and the one book I read from Marissa Meyer I thought was just fine, but I’ve been obsessed with the synopsis for The Escape Game since I first saw it, so I just had to snatch a digital ARC when they were available on NetGalley. A book about an escape room themed game show that then turns into a murder mystery sounds exactly like something that I need to read. Also, the cover? Absolutely stunning, I’m obsessed with the colors and just everything about it. I truly hope that I love this book because I want that cover on my bookshelves!
Ann Liang my most beloved 💜I don’t really need to read a synopsis for one of Ann’s books to know that I’ll be reading it. It’s by Ann Liang, I’m gonna read it and then I’m gonna be obsessed with it. I Could Give You the Moon has some magical realism elements, which is something that I think Ann does so brilliantly so I know that aspect of the book will be fantastic. This one also has a little bit of a mystery element which really intrigues me. I have a feeling that I will not only love I Could Give You the Moon but that it will also be a top book of the year. Also, the book title just so happens to be very similar to a One Direction lyric from Stand Up from the Up All Night album, so every time I say the title of this one I just hear Zayn singing in my head 🤣
The next category is my top anticipated reads. A few of the books that I have ARCs of also fall into this category, such as What We Did to Survive and I Could Give You the Moon, so here are the rest of my top anticipated reads.
After reading Marcus Kliewer’s debut novel, We Used to Live Here, last year and being completely blown away by it, I knew that I’d read absolutely anything that he writes, so I’m dying to read his next novel, The Caretaker. The summary for this one is a little vague, which I’m actually really down for. Based on We Used to Live Here, I think going into this one pretty blind is a great idea; really, the less I know the better, I just wanna be along for the ride. Based on the end of the summary, it looks like there’s also some morse code in this book as well, and I truly can’t wait to get my hands on a copy. Goodreads giveaway gods, please be on my side with this giveaway entry!
This year I read both How To Solve Your Own Murder and How To Seal Your Own Fate by Kristen Perrin, and I’m very much so looking forward to the third book in the series, How To Cheat Your Own Death. I love the characters and the atmosphere, as well as the blend between past and present throughout these books, so I can’t wait to dive back into this world and see where the third book takes us!
The 6th Truly Devious book, The Velvet Knife, is finally coming out in April! Everybody cheered! The last book in the Truly Devious series, Nine Liars, came out in 2022 so this has been a long time coming! I actually reread Truly Devious with the book club I’m part of in September and it was so nice to revisit the start of the series. Since it’s been a while since I read the last book, I’m planning on rereading the rest of the series before April and then I’ll dive straight into The Velvet Knife. I mean, the tag line on the book says “Nobody means to join a cult”, Maureen, say less honestly. I’m so excited to see what shenanigans Stevie and her friends get into with this one.
We all know I’m an Olivie Blake girlie, and I am so excited for her first graphic novel! This graphic novel is in collaboration with Little Chmura, who does the artwork for Olivie’s other books, so you know that the artwork is going to be absolutely stunning. In the summary it says that Clara and the Devil, Vol. 1 “kicks off a series that explores artistry and power through the temptation of the seven deadly sins” and I am fully sold. I can’t wait to have a copy of this in my hands; I already know that you’ll be seeing it make many appearances on my Bookstagram next year!
As a lover of all things Romeo and Juliet, Christina Dodd’s Daughter of Montague series is tailor made for me, and I’m so excited that the third book in the series, Teach the Torches to Burn, will be coming out at the end of June (but also that’s so far away!). This one will be picking up where the last book, Thus With a Kiss I Die, left off, and based on the last two books, I know it’s going to be wild in the best way. Described as Knives Out meets My Lady Jane meets Taming of the Shrew, this is another book that I know I’m going to be obsessed with.
While I’m so thrilled that the sixth volume of Heartstopper will be coming out in 2026, I’m so sad that this is the last volume we’ll get with Nick, Charlie and their beloved friends. The Heartstopper series is so beautiful and heartwarming, I just love it so much. I’m so glad that we’ll get to spend some more time with these beloved characters, and I can’t wait to see where their stories take them.
My girl Olivie Blake has got my back and is releasing a novel in 2026 as well. I’m just intrigued by everything about Dreamland; based on the summary it sounds like there will be some kind of examination of Hollywood, which I’m definitely intrigued by, as well as the power dynamics within the industry which I think always need to be discussed and dissected. Honestly, it’s written by Olivie Blake, is tagged as horror and involves murder — talk about buzzwords for me! Plus, M.L. Rio said it’s “a timely tale of greed, ambition and rivalry…terrific” I’m 100% sold.
And now we’ve got some other books that are on my radar so far for 2026! These books are all books that are high on my want to read list and I’m sure quite a few of them I’ll end up purchasing for myself.
Some authors that have new books coming out in 2026 that I’ve read from before are The Elsewhere Express by Samantha Sotto Yambao, A Box Full of Darkness by Simone St. James, Goodbye and Everything After by Mae Coyiuto, Caller Unknown by Gillian McAllister, The Fortune Flip by Lauren Kung Jessen, Season of Glass and Iron: Stories by Amal El-Mohtar, The Gravewood by Kelly Andrew, and Rootbound by Margaret Owen.
Then there are 3 debut novels that have made it onto my “to keep an eye out for” list and those are Beth is Dead by Katie Barnet, How to Kill a Guy in 10 Dates by Shailee Thompson, This Story Might Save Your Life by Tiffany Crum, and Thoughts by Bloody by Auden Patrick.
And there you have it, my anticipated reads and books to keep an eye on for 2026! I’m sure that more books will be added to the list as we get even closer to 2026 and into the year as there are new book announcements all the time, but I think a list of 24 isn’t too bad 🤣
I’d love to know what books are on your anticipated list of 2026!
Until next time 💜
First and foremost Extracurricular by Rachel Lynn Solomon obviously
Oh, yes! I knew there was a book I forgot to add to the list!