Here’s your guide to the month’s most captivating releases
As winter settles into its final stretch, February arrives with a literary lineup designed to sweep you off your feet—whether you’re craving slow-burn romance, cosy fantasies, or edge-of-your-seat suspense. This month’s releases offer something for every mood: cosy cat shelters shrouded in magical intrigue, meteorologists sparring over more than just weather patterns and mysteries that’ll keep you up well past midnight. This month’s book lineup promises to make your February infinitely more compelling.
Haven’t explored our guide to the most anticipated books of 2026 yet? You’ll want to check that out. And if you’re still catching up on this year’s early releases, our January 2026 reading guide has you covered.
All the best new books to read in February 2026:
The Wild Card
Stephanie Archer
For those who love a simmering, slow-burning romance, we’d recommend this as your next go-to read. When Jordan Hathaway is coerced to leave her bar behind and work at the Vancouver Storm—the hockey team her dad owns and wants to sell—she is forced to work with former star player and current coach, Tate Word, to save the team. But when she spends more time with him and his daughter, the lines between boss and employee blur, and they both need to learn what it means to be selfish.
Release Date: 3 Feb 2026
Agnes Aubert’s Mystical Cat Shelter
Heather Fawcet
A cosy fantasy read, Agnes Aubert’s Mystical Cat Shelter, follows Agnes Aubert, who has devoted her life to finding homes for lost cats. But when Agnes is forced to move her cat shelter, she discovers that her new spot serves as cover for an internationally notorious magic emporium. Her new landlord, Havelock Renard—chaotically charming magician, reformed Dark Lord, and purveyor of illicit enchantments—draws a global clientele. Agnes couldn’t care less about magical intrigue; there are cats to rescue. But when enemies from Havelock’s former life surface, threatening both establishments, she faces an impossible dilemma: to save her beloved shelter, must she protect the man who once courted apocalypse—and is now courting her?
Release Date: 17 February
The Sun and the Starmaker
Rachel Griffin
From the New York Times bestselling author of The Nature of Witches comes a whimsical romantic fantasy about Auroro Finch, who gets swept away by the Starmaker, who senses a powerful magic within her—demanding her to control and learn her powers with his guidance. When a deadly frost approaches, Aurora must figure out the secrets of the Starmaker before she lets the world freeze over an endless winter and never see the sun again.
Release Date: 17 February
Kin
Tayari Jones
From the author of An American Marriage, Tayari Jones is back with another smart, funny and profound novel. This time, Jones delves deep into the complexities of being a woman in the American South, where Vernice and Annie, two motherless daughters raised in Honeysuckle, Louisiana takes off to start a new life. When a devastating tragedy strikes, their world converges, and their journey goes off course.
Release Date: 24 February
And Now, Back to You
B.K. Borison
If you loved “First Time Caller” by B.K. Borison, this will be no different. In this romantic comedy, two competitive meteorologists get paired up to cover the snowstorm of the century—they must learn to work together without sheathing their claws and clashing. But when the unlikely partnership becomes a surprising friendship, Jackson and Delilah need to decide whether they can withstand the storm of love, career and life.
Release Date: 24 February
The Girls Before
Kate Alice Marshall
A perfect mystery for the ongoing cold days, The Girls Before, follows Audrey, a search and rescue expert who is on the hunt for her ex-best friend, Janie, who disappeared when they were teenagers. When her investigation leads to a trail of a teenage runaway being kidnapped by the town’s most prominent family, she starts digging through decades of secrets.
Release Date: 24 February
Whisper Sweet Nothings
Laura Pavlov
In this small-town romance, Archer Chadwick scrambles to find a nanny for his little girl—without falling apart and being a good father figure. When Winnie comes in like a saviour, she’s hired instantly. But what he didn’t expect was to fall for the young woman who was living in his house and taking care of his whole world. With banter, spice and yearning, Whisper Sweet Nothings is a cosy read for the loved-up month.
Release Date: 24 February
How to Get Away with Murder
Rebecca Philipson
In need of another thriller? Add this debut book to your list. This murder mystery follows a Scotland Yard detective on the hunt for the author of the self-help book “How to Get Away with Murder”, which was found in the victim’s backpack—a book that inspired London’s newest murderer. But to find the killer and get justice for young Charlotte, Samantha Hansen must learn to trust her instincts once before someone really does get away with murder.
Release Date: 24 February
Cruel Summer
C.W. Farnsworth
It’s never too early to start your summer reading. Cruel Summer follows Wren Kensington, who gets into a brief summer fling with Sawyer Bennett, but when the brief fling crosses continents, things go awry, and they’re both doing everything they can to safeguard their secrets and hearts, when neither of them believes it’ll work out. However, they can only push and pull so much until love gets in the way.
