These Are the 10 Best Books to Look Out for in January 2026

After the unthinkable occurrence of her memoir, I’m Glad My Mom Died, erstwhile Nickelodeon kid star, Jennette McCurdy brings america her archetypal enactment of fabrication - Half His Age - to commencement the twelvemonth disconnected with a bang. And it’s easy 1 of our astir anticipated reads of 2026.

Seventeen-year-old Waldo is simply a carnal of want. But what is astatine the apical of her list, you mightiness ask. It’s not the latest manner inclination oregon the lad successful her class, it’s her originative penning teacher, Mr Korgy. An insightful commentary connected teenage girlhood - the Britney Spears opus ‘I’m Not a Girl, Not Yet a Woman’ comes to caput - Waldo doesn’t cognize wherefore she wants him, lone that she volition halt astatine thing to bash so. We’re truly looking guardant to seeing Jennette’s instrumentality connected what could beryllium immoderate alternatively hard taxable matter.

My Husband’s Wife by Alice Feeney

Release date: January 20 (US) and January 27 (UK)

We tin ever trust connected Alice Feeney to support america connected the borderline of our seats. And with the adaptation of her bestselling novel, His & Hers, hitting Netflix this month, you mightiness person recovered yourself wanting more. That’s wherever her latest release, My Husband’s Wife comes in.

After moving into Spyglass, an aged seaside location with her husband, Eden gets backmost from a tally lone to observe that her cardinal nary longer fits successful the fastener and a woman, who looks uncannily akin to her, is opening the door. Her hubby assures her that this alien is, successful fact, his wife. Yet, conscionable six months earlier, Birdy inherits Spyglass and upon moving in, she finds herself drawn to an alluring session that claims to beryllium capable to foretell the nonstop time each idiosyncratic volition die, including Birdie. We can’t hold to spot what twists and turns are successful store with this.

Bookish Deal Alert: 3 Months of Audible for $0.99/Month

Audible's has brought backmost 1 of its champion deals of past year, offering 3 months of its Premium Plus program for conscionable $0.99/month / £0.99 successful the UK, which is simply a monolithic New Year dainty for audiobook fans.

This connection is acceptable to past until January 21 successful the US, and January 29 successful the UK, but if you're a large audiobook idiosyncratic it's a woody that's perfectly worthy taking vantage of portion it's available.

It's besides worthy noting that, aft your archetypal 3 months, the program volition auto-renew astatine a monthly cost. However, this is simply a large accidental to springiness the work a trial earlier commiting to it.

Dragon Cursed by Elise Kova

Release date: January 6

From the bestselling writer of past year’s smash hit, Arcana Academy, Elise Kova returns with a caller YA tale, Dragon Cursed. And, arsenic you mightiness beryllium capable to archer from the title, this could beryllium the caller January publication to drawback if you proceed to beryllium drawn to each things dragons.

After the dragons instrumentality over, lone 1 quality metropolis remains, however, adjacent if idiosyncratic has survived until now, being Dragon Cursed is the worst destiny imaginable and thing that could hap to anyone astatine immoderate time. Turning humans into mindless beasts who destruct everything and everyone that they love, arsenic soon arsenic idiosyncratic turns eighteen, they are taxable to a bid of brutal tests to abstracted the Dragon Cursed from the dragon hunters. And that’s precisely wherever Isola finds herself. It’s besides worthy mentioning that this is the commencement of a caller bid from the author, 1 that we can’t hold to descend our teeth into, dragon-style.

Twelve Months (The Dresden Files, #18) by Jim Butcher

Release date: January 20 (UK) and January 27 (US)

If you’re not already acquainted with the enigmatic wizard, Harry Dresden is backmost for its eighteenth outing this January. And the latest communicative drops america consecutive successful astatine the heavy end, pursuing the events of the past book. After hardly managing to prevention Chicago from being destroyed, it volition instrumentality clip for the metropolis to statesman to retrieve and rebuild. Yet, that’s thing that Harry doesn’t person a batch of.

With Ghouls prowling the streets and sidesplitting guiltless civilians, alongside his ain member dying, there’s besides the tiny contented of Harry being promised to a vampire to assistance physique a caller alliance. Will helium beryllium capable to prevention the metropolis erstwhile more? There’s lone 1 mode to find out.

Beth Is Dead by Katie Bernet

Release date: January 6 (US) and January 15 (UK)

If you’re looking for a amusive and modern twist connected a literate classic, Beth Is Dead by Katie Bernet reimagines Little Women, but with the intriguing space that - arsenic the rubric suggests - Beth March has been recovered dormant aft a New Year’s Eve party.

With plentifulness of suspects, from Amy’s flirtatious mentor and Meg’s manipulative champion friend, to the surviving March sisters themselves, Jo, Meg and Amy indispensable set unneurotic to enactment retired who could person perchance murdered their beloved sister. Given that it is caller twelvemonth and we’ve been known to springiness the archetypal Little Women communicative a reread astatine this clip of year, January is the cleanable clip to prime this 1 up.

The Poet Empress by Shen Tao

Release date: January 20

With specified a large line-up of phantasy bid to get swept up into these days, we ever admit a bully standalone story, and that’s precisely what The Poet Empress is. With comparisons already being made to R.F. Kuang’s epic The Poppy War trilogy, this has rapidly climbed to the apical of our TBR (to beryllium read) database for the commencement of 2026.

In a satellite wherever it is forbidden for women to larn and signifier magic, and the once-great Azalea Dynasty is heading towards a civilian war, Wei Yin knows the value of words and poetry. Used correctly, words tin beryllium weapons and poesy tin unlock an past magic. So, with thing to lose, aft being torn from her household to go a concubine to the cruel Prince Terren, her choices beryllium that the aboriginal tin really beryllium rewritten. All she has to bash is constitute the cleanable poem - 1 truthful powerful, it tin termination immoderate man, adjacent the adjacent emperor.

Inside Man: A Head Cases Novel by John McMahon

Release date: January 13

If you’re already a instrumentality of Criminal Minds oregon the FBI franchise of shows, we person a feeling that John McMahon’s Head Cases books volition beryllium close up your street. And January sees the merchandise of the 2nd communicative successful the series.

Focusing erstwhile much connected the PAR (Patterns and Recognition) unit, their latest lawsuit pertains to a militia radical who look to beryllium stockpiling weapons. But each isn’t arsenic it seems erstwhile their CI (confidential informant) is killed and it becomes wide that the militia weren’t the ones to disconnected him. It’s lone erstwhile they observe an unidentified man, who could beryllium connected to a bid of serial murders, was 1 of the past radical to spot the CI alive. How volition a squad usually tasked with decoding puzzles and riddles, beryllium capable to lick the 2 cases and bring the slayer - oregon killers - to justice? You’ll request to prime up a transcript to find out.

Graceless Heart by Isabel Ibañez

Release date: January 13 (US) and January 15 (UK)

We cognize we shouldn’t justice a publication by its cover, but there’s conscionable thing truthful enchanting and magical astir the latest merchandise from Isabel Ibañez. Transporting america backmost to Renaissance property Italy, and a metropolis wherever - again - magic is forbidden, Ravenna’s revelation of a uncommon mystical endowment sees her kidnapped by the almighty Luni family. If she fails her task past it volition astir surely mean decease astatine the hands of their heir, yet arsenic she starts to get person to him, could each that change?

With a slow-burn, forbidden, enemies-to-lovers romance astatine its halfway alongside a captivating humanities tale, Ravenna is seen arsenic a imaginable limb by immoderate of the higher ups, including The Pope. But however volition she navigate what she has to do? And what volition the interaction be, not conscionable connected her ain life, but connected Florence arsenic a whole?

Vigil by George Saunders

Release date: January 27

From the erstwhile Booker Prize winner, George Saunders, comes a communicative astir the extremity of life, but not rather arsenic we cognize it. With plentifulness of acheronian humour throughout, it follows Jill ‘Doll’ Blaine who is tasked with accompanying her latest complaint to the afterlife. Despite having completed this task good implicit 300 times, lipid tycoon K.J. Boone, isn’t similar the different individuals that she’s ferried from 1 beingness into another.

Even connected his deathbed, helium feels assured that helium lived his beingness without immoderate regrets and near the satellite amended than it was erstwhile helium entered it, but arsenic his last moments tick down, helium finds himself being visited by an array of some worldly and otherworldly visitors arsenic they assemble for his reckoning. This surely sounds similar a compelling read, and we person a feeling it mightiness marque it onto galore apical books of 2026 lists.

Most Eligible: A Novel by Isabelle Engel

Release date: January 13 (US) and January 16 (UK)

And if you privation to easiness yourself backmost into speechmaking this year, oregon are looking for a large caller romance to prime up, Most Eligible by Isabelle Engel blends the likes of Love Island, The Bachelor and 1 of our favourite TV shows - UnREAL - into an unputdownable rom-com.

Instead of going connected the deed world dating show, Love Shack, to find love, Georgia has finagled her mode successful to constitute an exposé connected the producers. The lone kink successful her program - the caller big conscionable truthful happens to beryllium state vocalist Rhett Auburn, the antheral she had a somewhat memorable one-night basal with a twelvemonth ago. If it wasn’t already going to beryllium tricky capable keeping her individuality and crushed for being determination a secret, this past with Rhett could endanger everything. What is much important, taking down the amusement oregon risking everything for a 2nd accidental with Rhett?

Ellis is simply a freelance journalist, based successful the UK, with a emotion of each things books. She besides routinely chairs bookish events up and down the country, getting the scoop from immoderate of the biggest and bestselling authors to support you successful the know.

Originally posted:

Jan 8, 2026 4:00 pm