Best Fiction Books of 2026

Family Drama

Author: Rebecca Fallon

Year: 2026

Genre: Fiction

More info: Debut Novel

Spice Rating:💋💋

Age Range: 16+

Plot

In this haunting debut, 7-year-old twins Sebastian and Viola are devastated at the loss of their mother, Susan. When they grow up, Sebastian and Viola discover that their mother used to be a famous Soap star. Sebastian wants to know all about the woman whose absence was all-consuming, but Viola shies away from her memories until she meets her mother’s famous co-star and is forced to confront her feelings and learn about her mother after all.

Trigger Warnings

Cancer

Why Kirsten loves it

I’ll forever love a family saga and this one delivers in major ways! The nonlinear storytelling helped me feel connected to Susan even though the story opened with her death. It also helped guide my feelings towards her children, her husband, and even about her – I don’t think any of the emotional punches would have delivered in a standard format. I might not have even liked Susan if the story was told another way!

Sebastian’s story was interesting, but it was Viola who stole the show for me. I loved how she ended up addressing her grief. I connected with all of the characters at various times and I was so sad when the story ended. #Gifted by Simon & Schuster

Find this book in: Books Set in Maine / Hollywood Novels / Best Books About Siblings / Summary of Like Mother, Like Mother by Susan Rieger

So, I Met This Guy

Author: Alexander Porter

Year: 2026

Genre: Fiction

More info: UK Bestseller

Age Range: 16+

Plot

Maggie, a 40-year-old gallery owner, has just been conned by the man she thought was the one. Now, she wants to find him and get it all back. Enter Flick, a charming young reporter who is happy to spend her summer traveling around Europe looking for the villain of Maggie’s (and probably a few other women’s) story.

Why Kirsten loves it

What a fun story! I loved how these women bonded during their Euro summer trip! From planes to cars to boats, this book has all forms of transport, but the road trip bits were my favorite as they allowed Flick to learn Maggie’s backstory. The ending left me smiling. I’d recommend this to anyone looking for a fun beach read! #gifted by Zibby Publishing

Find this book in: Road Trip Novels / Best Beach Reads 2026

Summer State of Mind

Author: Kristy Woodson Harvey

Release Date: May 5, 2026

Genre: Fiction

More info: New York Times Bestselling Author

Spice Rating:💋

Age Range: 16+

Plot

Daisy Stevens has left her job as a NICU nurse and moved to Cape Caroline, looking for a different life. She has happy memories of Cape Caroline as a child. On her first day, the baseball coach, Mason Thaysden, finds an abandoned baby and brings her to the NICU, where Daisy is working.

Sparks begin to fly between Daisy and Mason as they bond over the baby they saved. Daisy begins to feel more attached to the child, but knows they have to continue the search for the baby’s parents.

Mason’s Aunt Tilly often finds herself stuck in the past. When Daisy arrives, she becomes fast friends with Tilly, and suddenly, there is someone who is ot family who may be able to keep her in the present.

Trigger Warnings

NICU, Death of a baby

Why Jackie loves it

Harvey has become a must-read author for beach season. Her books are filled with beautiful relationships and lots of heart.

Find this book in: Best Beach Reads 2026 / Books With Summer in the Title

Go Gentle

Author: Maria Semple

Release Date: April 14, 2026

Genre: Fiction

More info: April 2026 Oprah Book Club Pick
Bestselling author of Where’d You Go, Bernadette?

Spice Rating:💋💋💋

Age Range: 18+

Plot

Adora Hazzard is a divorcee who works as an in-house philosopher for an extremely wealthy family. She lives in the Ansonia, on the same floor as a group of women she affectionately calls her “coven”. When she meets a handsome stranger at the ballet one night, her world is turned upside down.

She is torn between her desire to be with him and the ethics that have driven her life for the past 15 years. Soon, she is over her head, and she does not know who she can trust when secrets from her past come back to haunt her.

Trigger Warnings

Sexual assault, attempted suicide

Why Jackie loves it

The book is told in two timelines. One in the present, and then we jump to the past to learn about Adora and how she moved from a career in comedy to philosophy. The book deals with serious topics in a humorous way. The characters are well-rounded and hilarious. I absolutely loved this book. #gifted

Find this book in: Oprah Club List 2026 / The Best Oprah Books/ Best Beach Reads 2026 / Ultimate List of Feel-Good Books

Ms. Mebel Goes Back to the Chopping Block

Author: Jesse Q. Sutanto

Release Date: April 28, 2026

Genre: Fiction

More info: Bestselling Author of Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice for Murderers.

Spice Rating:💋

Age Range: 14+

Plot

Mabel was looking forward to retirement with her husband when he announces he is leaving her for their private chef. In order to win back her husband, Mabel decides that she is going to learn to cook (that could be the only reason he would leave her for a chef, right?)

When she accidentally enrolls in culinary school in England rather than Paris, she unexpectedly finds friendship with her younger classmates, including Gemma. She starts to learn that there is more to her than being a trophy wife. She starts to question what she wants out of life, rather than what her husband wants.

Why Jackie loves it

This book is hilarious. Mebel made me laugh, and I loved how she came to understand herself. This was a refreshing book that is just what I needed. #gifted PRH audio

Find this book in: Books with Older Protagonists

Start at the End

Author: Emma Grey

Year: 2026

Genre: Fiction

More info: Bestselling Author

Spice Rating:💋💋

Age Range: 16+

Plot

This Sliding Doors-esque story is about Audrey and Fraser, their love, and it’s subsequent end. Audrey is a musician teaching divorcee Fraser’s daughter, their connection grows into love but just before their wedding day, catastrophe strikes.

At this point in the book, the story splits. One timeline imagines that Fraser died, the other imagines that Audrey didn’t survive. The remaing 70% of the story flips between the two as they attempt to handle or avoid their grief.

Trigger Warnings

Grief, Alcoholism, Self-Harm

Why Kirsten loves it

WOW. This story profoundly moved me. The sliding doors premise is why I picked it up, but I could feel the author processing her own grief while writing this book. The gut-wrenching scene that split the narrative broke my heart, but the story’s events eventually stitched it back together. Way to stick the landing, Emma Grey! #gifted by Zibby Publishing

Find this book in: Novels about Grief

Yesteryear

Author: Caro Claire Burke

Year: April 2026

Genre: Fiction / Historical Fiction

More info: April 2026 GMA Book Club Pick

Spice Rating:💋💋💋

Age Range: 18+

Plot

Natalie Heller Mills is a tradwife, but don’t say that to her. She has millions of followers on social media, showing her lifestyle of collecting eggs from the chickens (The Ladies) and preparing beautiful meals for her 6 children. She prides herself on living a faithful, antifeminist lifestyle.

So what if behind the scenes, she has multiple nannies, a producer, a ranch hand, and more staff to help her life appear effortless. Natalie is convinced the haters are jealous.

When Natalie wakes up one morning in 1855 with children who look like hers, but are not the same, and a husband who is Caleb, but not her Caleb, she thinks it might be a sick prank. Until the realities of living without electricity finally hit her.

Trigger Warnings

Domestic Abuse, Detailed description of pregnancy and childbirth, Sexual assault, child abuse/neglect, and animal abuse.

Why Jackie loves it

I loved this book from the start to the finish. I could not put it down. The book is told in multiple timelines: The present, the past, and Natalie’s time in school leading up to her influencer days. Natalie is a totally unlikeable character, and yet, I rooted for her anyway. The story is complex and had me questioning our society, the pressures on women, and our obsession with tradwives. The book is very well-written. Thank you, PRH Audio, for my copy of this book.

Adaptation Information

Currently, an adaptation starring Anne Hathaway is in development.

Find this book in: GMA Book Club List 2026 / Best Time Travel Books / Best Beach Reads 2026/ Summary of Yesteryear by Caro Claire Burke / Fictional Books About Influencers / Best Thought-Provoking Books

Saoirse

Author: Charleen Hurtubise

Year: 2026

Genre: Literary Fiction

More info:

Spice Rating:💋

Age Range: 16+

Plot

Growing up in Michigan was so terrible for Sarah that she stole a passport and someone’s identity and escaped at 19 to Ireland. There, she goes by Saoirse and lives with her husband and daughters in a life she loves, creating artwork that helps her process her trauma. When her art gets unexpected acclaim, the new spotlight she’s under threatens to unravel the secrets she holds close and threatens to bring the danger she escaped from with it.

Trigger Warnings

Child Abuse, Rape

Why Kirsten loves it

I was consumed by this book from the opening scene on the airplane to Ireland. Saoirse’s life was harrowing and traumatic, and watching her come into her own was deeply moving. My anxiety was at an all-time high when her past began to catch up with her, but the ending left me satisfied in a way I wasn’t sure would be possible. #Gifted by Celadon Books

Find this book in: Novels About Art

Upward Bound

Author: Woody Brown

Year: March 31, 2026

Genre: Literary Fiction

More info: April 2026 Read with Jenna Book Club Pick
Age Range: 16+

Plot

Upward Bound is an adult disabled daycare center in LA. From the director of the facility to staff and clients, an interwoven narrative is formed that tells the tale of broken dreams and the surprising realities of being among the Upward Bound community.

Why Kirsten loves it

This short novel was a moving multi-narrator look at life inside an adult daycare center. The full cast audiobook brought the story to life as Walter (voiced by T.R. Knight) anchors the story of his time at Upward Bound, and other staff members or community members are given one chapter of insight.

Each story brought the center and its clients to life in a wonderfully rich way. Usually, I think books are too long, but I could have spent way more time with Walter and the gang. #Gifted by Penguin Audio

Find this book in: Summary of Happiness Falls by Angie Kim, Read with Jenna Book Club List 2026 / Books With Neurodivergent Characters

Villa Coco

Author: Andrew Sean Greer

Release Date: June 9, 2026

Genre: Fiction

More info: Pulitzer Prize-Winning author of Less

Spice Rating:💋

Age Range:

Plot

This is a literary fiction whose narrator is “our young man”. He takes a job in the Italian countryside as an archivist for Lisabetta, a wealthy widow known as Coco to her friends. However, when he arrives at the estate, he is given strange tasks, such as ridding the house of a marten and helping with the olive harvest to make olive oil.

What starts off as just a means to a paycheck slowly becomes something much more as the young man learns Italian and befriends Coco’s friends, family, and neighbors.

Why Jackie loves it

At times emotional and other times laugh-out-loud funny, I loved the characters Greer created in this book. This is a character-driven novel that is beautifully written and had me mesmerized from the first page. I was not sure what Coco had in mind with all her crazy antics, but I was happy to follow her to see where the story would lead. #gifted

Find this book in: Coming-of-Age Books for Adults / Books Set in Italy / Best Beach Reads 2026

Mercy Hill

Author: Hannah Thurman

Year: 2026

Genre: Literary Fiction

Age Range: 16+

Plot

This debut novel tells the story of four sisters who grow up together on the grounds of Mercy Hill, a mental hospital, where their mother is the director. Each sister is pushed by their mother to help the hospital by volunteering time, protesting, or heading to D.C. to plead their case for more funds.

Despite their home’s astonishing backdrop and their mother’s pressure to succeed, each girl is still experiencing the mundane struggles of growing up. From fitting in with peers to first love, the sisters grow apart as they each react to their family dynamics in different ways.

Trigger Warnings

Mental Illness, Suicide

Why Kirsten loves it

This coming-of-age story is set during the same time I was growing up, which might be why I found the Cross sisters’ plight so moving. Watching each girl’s development was a study in how different people respond to the same situation in different ways. My heart ached for each Cross girl and the family as a whole while I read this story. Gifted by PRH Audio

Find this book in: Books about Mental Illness & Mental Health