I don't know about you, but I'm one of those readers who's always looking ahead to what exciting new books are on the publishing horizon. Of course, I love this week's TTT prompt: Top Ten Most Anticipated Books Releasing in 2026. I've actually already read several of the 2026 titles I had been most looking forward to, but there are always more I want to get my hot little hands on. I'm going to list the ones I've already read first, with links to my reviews on Goodreads, so you can see my thoughts on them if you're interested. Then, I'll list ten more that I still want to read. I'm sure there are hot new up-and-comers that I'm not even aware of, so I'm looking forward to perusing your lists to see what other books I should be watching for. 

As always, Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by the lovely Jana over at That Artsy Reader Girl.

2026 Releases I've Already Read:

A Box Full of Darkness by Simone St. James (available January 20, 2026) **** stars

Such a Clever Girl by Darby Kane (available January 20, 2026) ** stars

First Sign of Danger by Kelley Armstrong (available February 17, 2026) **** stars

Missing Sister by Joshilyn Jackson (available March 3, 2026) *** stars

Everyone in This Bank is a Thief by Benjamin Stevenson (available March 17, 2026) **** stars

Mad Mabel by Sally Hepworth (available April 26, 2026) **** stars

When No One Else Will by Amanda Skenandore (available May 26, 2026) ***1/2 stars

1. Murder Your Darlings by Jenna Blum (available January 13, 2026)—Historical fiction author Blum pens her first contemporary novel with this bookish murder mystery featuring two novelists whose relationship becomes very sketchy very fast. 

2. This Book Made Me Think of You by Libby Page (available February 3, 2026)—Another bookish read, this one features a new widow who is shocked when she's informed that her late husband left her a birthday gift at their local indie. The present is twelve books, one for each month of the first year without him, to help comfort and guide her through the grieving process. She vlogs about her reading and reading-inspired adventures, finding a global support system that carries her through a difficult year.

3. The Astral Library by Kate Quinn (available February 17, 2026)—New bookish books for the win! Quinn's latest and greatest centers around a young woman who finds refuge from her struggles in the real world in the reading room at the Boston Library. When she discovers a hidden doorway leading to a secret library where lonely souls can literally disappear inside their favorite books, she's dazzled. Then, she's confronted by a frightening enemy who's a danger to everyone the library has sheltered. As she escapes through various books, she must figure out how to defeat this threatening foe.

4. A Kingdom of Shadows by Emily Bain Murphy (available March 3, 2026)—The first book in a new middle grade fantasy series, this novel introduces a trio of young thieves who live in a world of increasing darkness and despair. When a stranger tells them about a lake of light, they embark on a quest across the kingdom to bring light and life back to their dimming world. Naturally, they get more than they bargain for...

5. The Keeper by Tana French (available March 31, 2026)—This is the final book in French's trilogy starring retired Chicago detective Cal Hooper. Now living in a small Irish village, he's become apart of the tight-knit community's fetes and feuds. When a local young woman is found dead in a river, tearing the townspeople in two over ages-old issues, Cal's fiancèe urges him to stay out of the whole mess. Unfortunately for her, his copper instincts and loyalty to his village mean he has to investigate, even if it makes them a target.

6. Last One Out by Jane Harper (available April 14, 2026)—Even though Harper's newest seems to be getting very mixed reviews, I'm excited to read it. The standalone novel is set in a New South Wales mining town that's been left to rot. Ro's son vanished from the ghost town five years ago while working on an oral history of the place. On the anniversary of his disappearance, the distraught mother returns to the abandoned village determined to figure out what happened to her missing child.

7. Caller Unknown by Gillian McAllister (available May 5, 2026)—I always look forward to a new McAllister thriller. This one has an intriguing premise: while staying in a remote Texas cabin with her daughter, Simone wakes up one morning to find the young woman missing. In her place is a phone with a ransom message. When Simone responds, she discovers that her daughter's kidnappers don't want money; instead, they want her to do something unthinkable. How far will she go to save her daughter?

8. The Calamity Club by Kathryn Stockett (available May 5, 2026)—From the author of The Help comes a new historical novel set in Mississippi during the Great Depression. When the lives of three females—an 11-year-old orphan, a struggling old maid, and a fiery woman with a past—converge, the trio form an unlikely team that will change all of their lives forever.

9. An Ordinary Sort of Evil by Kelley Armstrong (available May 19, 2026)—Armstrong's A Rip Through Time is one of my very favorite historical mystery series. In this fifth installment, our girl Mallory—a modern-day homicide detective trapped in Victorian Scotland—and her employer, undertaker Duncan Gray, are summoned to the home of a wealthy woman. Assuming she has a dead body for them to take care of, they're stunned to find that she actually has a request from the ghost of her dead maid to investigate the maid's murder. Although they're skeptical, they agree to look into the matter, which does indeed present an intriguing mystery.

10. A Pair of Aces by Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray (available June 23, 2026)—This historical novel stars Eunice Carter, Manhattan's first Black prosecutor, who becomes assistant DA for the city of New York. Determined to bring down crime boss Lucky Luciano, she decides to catch him through his hand in prostitution. With the help of Polly Adler, owner of a high-class brothel business, she works day and night to bring Lucky to his knees, no matter the consequences to themselves.

There you go, ten 2026 releases I'm looking forward to reading. How about you? Which up-and-coming titles are you dying to get your hands on? I'd love to know. Leave me a comment on this post and I will gladly return the favor on your blog.