January 2026 Book Releases
I am so excited about the January 2026 book releases, and I cannot wait to get my hands on these books. It is always so much fun finding the upcoming new books. I included a list of the books I am most excited to read, along with a brief summary of each book.
This month, there are some fantastic picks. I love seeing some of the trends that are popping up this year. We are starting out strong with several books about books. I’ve got a historical fiction, a nonfiction, a romance, and two fantasy books about books.
There is also a lean toward more cozy books, especially in the romantasy and mystery genres. I am so excited to include some debut authors on this list. One of my favorite things is finding gems by debut authors. I also have a list of December 2025 book releases by genre if you want to have a look.
If you want some in-depth reviews before the books are published, you can check out our Beyond the Bookends Book Club. We host a monthly Zoom meeting where we share our favorite upcoming books with you. We give you the scoop on what to read and what to skip!
You can help authors by going into your favorite reading app and adding these books to your To Be Read pile. You can also head to your local indie bookstore and pre-order the books you know you will love. This helps the authors a lot. All the books on this list are linked to Libro.fm and Bookshop.org. Both of these sites are associated with independent bookstores!
Most Anticipated January 2026 Book Releases
Most Anticipated Fiction
Crux by Gabriel Tallent – Jump to Section
Most Anticipated Historical Fiction
Meet the Newmans by Jennifer Nivens – Click here to read more
Most Anticipated Fantasy/ Sci-Fi
The Charmed Library by Jennifer Moorman- Click here to read more
Most Anticipated Thriller
Water Lies by Amy Meyerson – Click here to read more
Most Anticipated Mystery
Definitely Maybe Not a Detective by Sarah Fox- Click here to read more
Most Anticipated Romance
The Elsewhere Express by Samantha Sotto Yambao- Click for more
Most Anticipated Nonfiction
Nothing Random by Gayle Feldman- Click here to read the synopsis
Most Anticipated YA
Beth is Dead by Katie Bernet – Click here to read more
*January 2026 Book Releases Post contains affiliate links. Purchases made through links result in a small commission to us at no cost to you.
January 2026 Fiction Book Releases
Plot
Dan and Tamma are in their last year of high school in the Mojave Desert. They seem like an unlikely duo, yet they have a strong bond that develops through shared dreams of adventure. Over the year, their friendship is put to the test as they are pulled apart. This pick from the January 2026 book releases looks like a powerful book about friendship and I cannot wait to read it.
Dandelion is Dead
Author: Rosie Storey
Release Date: January 13, 2026
Genre: Fiction
More info: Debut Author
Plot
Poppy makes a split second decision to respond to a stranger on her late sister’s dating app. She chooses to meet him on what would have been Dandelion’s 40th birthday and tell Jake the truth. But when they meet, the connection is palpable. Poppy becomes stuck living a double life and will have to decide if she can risk telling Jake the truth or keep her sister’s memory alive. This book is on my TBR.
The Future Saints
Author: Ashley Winstead
Release Date: January 20, 2026
Genre: Fiction
More info: For fans of Daisy Jones and the Six
Plot
The Future Saints are a California pop band whose manager died tragically. Now, Theo, a record exec, is tasked with getting them to make their next album. When Hannah, the lead singer, debuts her rock side, the album goes viral. The Future Saints have their big break if they can stay out of their own way. Hannah becomes close with Theo while the relationship with her sister deteriorates. This is a novel about musicians, but also a story about sisters and friendship.
Is this a Cry for Help?
Author: Emily Austin
Release Date: January 13, 2026
Genre: Fiction
More info: Book about Libraries
Plot
Darcy and her wife, Joy are living a life they love. Darcy is a librarian and loves her job, but when she receives news that her ex-boyfriend has died, it sends her into a downward spiral. She needs to take medical leave from the library. When she returns, she is confronted with protests from the community and calls for banning books. This is a book that not only looks at the importance of libraries but also explores the idea of community and coming of age as an adult.
January 2026 Historical Fiction Book Releases
Meet the Newmans
Author: Jennifer Niven
Release Date: January 6, 2026
Genre: Historical Fiction
More info: For fans of Lessons in Chemistry
Plot
The Newmans, Del, Dinah, and their sons, have been America’s Favorite Family on television for two decades. By 1964, the ratings were dropping, and the picture-perfect family seemed to be out of touch with real family life. When Del is in a car accident, Dinah has to hire someone to help write the final episode. Juliet is young and full of ideas that are very different from what Dinah envisions. Will the Newmans be able to change TV history, or will they be canceled before they have a chance?
The Last of Earth
Author: Deepa Anappara
Release Date: January 16th, 2026
Genre: Historical Fiction
More info: Edgar Best First Novel Award for Djinn Patrol on the Purple Line
Plot
This historical fiction novel from the January 2026 book releases follows an Indian school teacher spying for the British Empire and a “lady ” explorer as they travel to Tibet. Balram is searching for his best friend Gyan, who he believes is captive in Tibet. Katherine wants to be the first European woman to reach Lhasa. Together, they will have to face weather and the wild to survive.
The Star Society
Author: Gabriella Saab
Release Date: January 6, 2026
Genre: Historical Fiction
More info: Inspired by Audrey Hepburn
Plot
Before Ada moved to Hollywood, Ada was fighting for the Dutch resistance. She is shocked when Ingrid, the sister she thought was dead, shows up at her house. Ingrid escaped the Nazi invasion and fled to Washington, D.C. Ingrid has been sent to rid Hollywood of communism, and her sister is on her list. She must determine what side Ada is fighting for. Ada has her own mission: to find the Nazi agent who terrorized her hometown and bring him down. This pick from the January 2026 book releases is a perfect book about sisters.
Plot
Caroline Douglas arrived in Hobart, Australia in 1939. She has a boy in her care, and she is determined to start a new life. But she is also searching for her father, who committed a horrible crime. The lives of Caroline, her father, and the people of the people of Hobart come together is powerful ways
Bookbinder’s Secret
Author: A. D Bell
Release Date: January 13, 2026
Genre: Historical Fiction
More info: Book About Books
Plot
Lily is an apprentice to a master bookbinder in 1901. When she is given a bruend book with a hidden letter in the binding, it starts her on a pathway she could not have imagined. She becomes more intrigued with the mystery of forbidden lovers, and soon realizes the quest is more dangerous than she thought. Is finding the rest of the story worth the risk she must take?
January 2026 Fantasy/ Sci-fi Books
The Charmed Library
Author: Jennifer Moorman
Release Date: January 6, 2026
Genre: Magical Realism
More info: USA Today bestselling author
Plot
Stella works in a library in Blue Sky Valley, North Carolina, where she feels frustrated, overqualified for the job, and in emotional turmoil over the loss of her father. She hasn’t yet noticed that in this library, the fictional characters jump off the page and into the real world.
When she burns her journal, everything changes. Words begin to appear to her, and she bumps into Jack Mathis, a fictional character who also happens to be Stella’s first book crush. When Stella realizes Jack only has a limited time out of his book, she will have to figure out what the words are telling her before it’s too late.
Graceless Heart
Author: Isabel Ibañez
Release Date: January 13, 2026
Genre: Fantasy Romance
More info: Adult Debut
Plot
Ravenna Maffei is a sculptor with a secret. When she enters a competition in order to save her brother, she discovers dark magic. Now she is captive and forced to complete a task where failure means death. She is caught between trusting an immortal and the Pope’s war against magic.
Plot
Emerson Clarke feels out of control with her life. Her mother is an alcoholic, and her daughter has suddenly shut her out. When her father dies from Alzheimer’s, Emerson steals his vintage typewriter to rewrite happiness for her and her daughter. When everything she writes comes true, she knows she should destroy the typewriter. With magic comes a price, and soon dark secrets from the family’s past begin to emerge.
Thrillers for January 2026
The Water Lies
Author: Amy Myerson
Release Date: January 1, 2026
Genre: Thriller
More info: International bestselling author of The Book of Yesterdays
Plot
Tessa is pregnant with her second child when her son starts having a meltdown in a coffee shop, calling to a woman Tessa has never seen before. When that same woman is found dead the next day outside of Tessa’s Venice Beach home, Tessa does not think this is a mere coincidence. Barb Geller does not believe that her daughter’s death was an accident. Now the two mothers work together to find answers.
My Husband’s Wife
Author: Alice Feeney
Release Date: January 20, 2026
Genre: Thriller
More info: New York Times Bestselling Author
Plot
I love Alive Feeny’s books, so I cannot wait to read this pick from the January 2026 book releases. Eden Fox comes home to Spyglass from a run to find that the key to her house doesn’t fit in the lock. When a woman who looks like her answers the door, her husband insists that the stranger is his wife.
Six months earlier, Birdy inherited Spyglass from a long-lost grandmother. She finds a clinic that can predict anyone’s date of death. Secrets begin to spill, and Birdy wants to right some past wrongdoings.
The Storm
Author: Rachel Hawkins
Release Date: January 6, 2026
Genre: Thriller
More info: New York Times Bestselling Author
Plot
Geneva Corliss is the owner of the Rosalie Inn, a place famous for surviving every hurricane that comes to St Medard’s Bay, Alabama. When a writer comes to town to research a famous crime, Geneva is hopeful that it may be successful enough to get her some new business. But when August Fletcher shows up with Lo Bailey, a woman accused of murder in 1984, Geneva wonders why Lo really came back home.
The First Time I Saw Him
Author: Laura Dave
Release Date: January 6, 2026
Genre: Thriller
More info: Sequel to New York Times Bestseller The Last Thing He Told Me
Plot
I loved The Last Thing He Told Me and cannot wait to read this sequel from the January 2026 Book Releases. This book picks up from the epilogue of the first book. It’s been five years, and Hannah and Bailey have a new life together in Southern California. They have a relationship with Bailey’s grandfather and are making things work. When Own suddenly appears, the women are in danger once more. Will they have to say goodbye to Owen or is there a way they can be together?
Dear Debbie
Author: Freida McFadden
Release Date: January 27, 2026
Genre: Thriller
More info: Bestselling author of The Housemaid
Plot
Debbie was an advice columnist for Dear Debbie. For years, women have written to her for advice after they are ignored, belittled, and made to feel less than. After Debbie loses her job, she begins to spiral. Her husband is keeping secrets and her daughters are acting strange. She decides its time to take her own advice and get some revenge!
Mysteries for January 2026
Definitely Maybe Not a Detective
Author: Sarah Fox
Release Date: January 6, 2026
Genre: Mystery
More info: Book 1 of The Wyatt Invertigations Mysteries
Plot
Emersyn is a 28-year-old who is raising her niece and living in a seniors-only apartment complex after her ex-boyfriend stole all her money. She decides to get the money back by hiring a private investigator to prove he stole it. The cath? The PI, Wyatt, is not a real investigator. It is all made up, including fake business cards. But when the superintendent of her building turns up dead, the neighbors find the fake business cards and turn to Emersyn and Wyatt to help.
Cross Your Heart and Hope He Dies
Author: Jenny Elder Moke
Release Date: January 20, 2026
Genre: Mystery Rom-Com
More info: Book About Books
Plot
Juliette Winters’s entire life is consumed by her job in publishing. She has secured a book deal that will save her company from ruin. Warren Ellingham, the business tycoon, has given Juliette the rights to his memoir. But when Warren drops dead and the memoir is stolen, Juliette suspects that someone went to a lot of trouble to stop the secrets from being exposed. Now, she needs Charlie Hawkins to help her investigate whether Warren’s death was actually murder.
Romance: January 2026 Book Releases
The Elsewhere Express
Author: Samantha Sotto Yambao
Release Date: January 20, 2026
Genre: Romance magical realism
More info: Deluxe edition from the Nationally bestselling author of Water Moon
Plot
I can’t wait to read this book from the January 2026 book releases. Raya is a lost soul who dreamed of becoming a songwriter until her brother died. Since then, she has been living out his dreams. One day, she finds herself on the Elsewhere Express, a special train that carries a sense of purpose and peace. There, she meets Q, someone who also lost his purpose. They will travel through the train cars together to find thier true purpose.
Anne of a Different Island
Author: Virginia Kantra
Release Date: January 20, 2026
Genre: Romance
More info: For lovers of Anne of Green Gables
Plot
Anne Gallagher sees herself in the character Anne Shirley and made life choices to follow her favorite character. So when she is called back to Mackinac Island when her father dies, she finds herself living her life off script. She has to decide if she is able to create her won story and happy ending.
The Odds of You
Author: Kate Dramis
Release Date: January 6, 2026
Genre: Romance
More info: Deluxe Limited Edition
Plot
A romance about an author in Scotland? Yes, please. Sage is a writer struggling with her second novel. When Sage meets Theo Sharpe, a famous actor, on a plane flight, the paparazzi assume the two are dating. When Sage flees to Scotland to clear her head, and she bumps into Theo again, she begins to wonder if meeting twice is fate.
Plot
Georgia is on a reality dating show called Love Shack, but not for the reasons the producers think. She is there to write an exposé. But when her one-night stand from a year ago turns out to be the show’s host, it becomes much more difficult to keep up with the drama without exposing who she really is.
January 2026: Best Nonfiction Book Releases
Nothing Random: Bennet Cerf and the Publishing House He Built
Author: Gayle Feldman
Release Date: January 13, 2026
Genre: Nonfiction
More info: The Ultimate Book About Publishing
Plot
This is the amazing true story of Bennet Cerf, the founder of Random House. He signed some of the greatest writers of all time and made Random House into an institution in the publishing world. This is a must-read book from the January 2026 book releases.
Neptune’s Fortune: The Billion-Dollar Shipwreck and the Ghosts of the Spanish Empire
Author: Julian Sancton
Release Date: January 27, 2026
Genre: Nonfiction
Plot
This is an amazing true story of a Spanish galleon that sank off the coast of Colombia with more than one billion dollars worth of gold and silver. Roger Dooley accidentally discovered the story of the shipwreck and joined treasure hunters in a quest to find the ship and its treasure.
A Year of Nothing: AS Heard on BBC Woman’s Hour
Author: Emma Gannon
Release Date: January 22, 2026
Genre: Memoir
Plot
Emma Gannon experienced chronic burnout that left her bedbound. Emma spent a year stepping away from the business of life and embracing the small things in life to help her find happiness.
Best YA January 2026 Book Releases
Beth is Dead
Author: Katie Bernet
Release Date: January 6, 2026
Genre: YA Thriller
More info: Retelling of Little Women
Plot
This is a retelling of Little Women from the January 2026 book releases. When Beth March is found dead, the sisters vow to find her killer. But as they search for who could do such a thing, they realize that there is more than one person who would benefit from her death, including each one of the March girls. Beth’s story is told in flashbacks next to Meg, Jo, and Amy.
Oxford Blood
Author: Rachael Davis-Featherstone
Release Date: January 13, 2026
Genre: YA Thriller
More info: Dark Academia
Plot
This dark academia pick from the January 2026 book releases is at the top of my TBR. Eva is invited to Oxford for an interview. Oxford has always been her dream, but now she is at the center of gossip on an anonymous student forum, Oxford Slays. When her best friend George is found dead, Eva knows he was murdered. She will have to find the killer before she is accused or becomes the next victim.
More January 2026 Book Releases
Expert Tip
Looking through books can be daunting if you are trying to add some books to your TBR. Remember that this list of the most anticipated January 2026 book releases is for fun. You may add books to your TBR stack and never read them. That is OK! I have two tips to help narrow down the choices for you.
- If you do not want to look through all the descriptions, I selected a top pick from each genre. I narrowed it down for you!
- If you have a favorite genre that you like to read, head over to that section and pick from those books.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the most anticipated January 2026 book releases?
With so many great books releasing in January 2026, it is hard to choose. Kirsten and I are so excited to read Beth is Dead by Katie Bernet, Water Lies by Amy Myerson, Crux by Gabriel Tallent, and Meet the Newmans by Jennifer Nivens.
Related Content
Epilogue
Which January 2026 book releases are you most looking forward to reading?
