Thousands of new books get published every day. This means there’s an impossibly larger number of new fiction and nonfiction titles to sort through every month and an enormous backlog of great things that were released before that. If somehow you managed to already read all of the best books of 2025, the good news is 2026 has already been another great year for bookworms.
Popular New Books for 2026 by Month
We’re only a few months into 2026, but there have already been some really exciting new titles to check out. To help you keep track of what’s been released that’s worth reading, we’ve highlighted some of the most popular new books that have come out each month below. You can also click on the header to go to our full list of recommendations for that month.
Best New Books for January
One of the most surprising new releases in January this year was a new entry in Jim Butcher’s Dresden Files. This was the first new Dresden Files book in almost six years and marks the 18th novel in the series to date. Butcher has stated that his next book will come much sooner, so if you’re a fan of that series its absolutely worth diving back in for a re-read.
For fans of romantasy books, January also saw the release of a new Elise Kova novel called Dragon Cursed. Its a fantasy romance from the author of Aracana Academy that’s worth sinking your teeth into.
Best New Books for February
February was a solid month for new sci-fi fantasy books overall. Matt Dinniman (author of Dungeon Crawler Carl) released a new book called Operation Bounce House. The story follows a colonist farmer who has to endure the deadly activation of a corporate video game. It sounds a lot like Dungeon Crawler Carl, but it’s different enough to offer a unique perspective.
The other big release in the fantasy world was Brandon Sanderson’s Isles of Emberdark novella. It’s a smaller expansion into the Cosmere universe, but it’s absolutely worth a read. With Apple TV working with Sanderson on TV adaptations, there’s never been a better time to be a Sanderfan.
Best New Books for March
One of the most interesting releases in March is a book called To the Death. It’s described as a Hunger Games-like story with elements of The Last of Us. This is played out as a reality tv show where contestants have to survive each other while evading the undead.
March also sees the release of T. Kingfisher’s new Southern gothic, Wolf Worm. It’s all about a scientific illustrator who takes a job in a North Carolina helping out an entomologist only to find out there’s some crazy experiments going on.
Biggest Upcoming Books
There are a ton of really exciting books coming further into 2026 and many of them are already up for preorder. First up is the upcoming Dungeon Crawler Carl book, A Parade of Horribles, which is currently set to release on May 12. This is the eighth book in Matt Dinniman’s popular LitRPG series and is already one of the most highly anticipated novels of the year. There’s also a new Murderbot book called Platform Decay coming out in May well ahead of season 2 of the Apple TV adaptation.
A Parade of Horribles (Dungeon Crawler Carl)
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Further into the summer, there’s a new Star Wars book arriving that looks particularly interesting for fans of the movies. Star Wars: Legacy takes place between Episodes VII and IX and focuses on Leia and Rey. That new book will be canon and is currently set to release on July 28. There’s also a prequel to Andor Called Edge of the Abyss getting released later on in September.
October is shaping up to be a big month as well, especially since Sarah J. Maas announced the sixth book in her ACOTAR series would be arriving on the 27th month. There isn’t a title for the new book just yet, but you can already preorder it at Amazon (alongside book 7 as well). Also releasing in October is the sixth installment of the Harry Potter illustrated collection. After the previous illustrator left the project back in 2022, Levi Pinfold was brought in to finish the series three years later. The Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince illustrated edition is available to preorder now and you can even get a preview at some of the illustrations already.
Releases October 27, 2026
A Court of Thorns and Roses 6
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