Here are my first anticipated book releases for 2026. One of my goals for 2026 is to read more of my back list of books featured in previous anticipated book release posts. So, I’m keeping in mind when I create my lists for 2026 that I want it to be books I really want to read, not just books that are trending.
January 6
Aren Bellamore has no use for fairy tales—especially the kind that come stomping through her door with royal blood and a death sentence. She’s spent her life slinging ale, fending off drunks, and dreaming of escape. Not romance. Not crowns. Just more.
Prince Dietan is everything she never wanted: brooding, entitled, and bound to the Rings of Fate—ancient magical relics that were never meant to touch human flesh. Now they’re killing him. Slowly. Spectacularly. And when Aren accidentally triggers one, she gets tied to the curse, too.
If he dies, so does the kingdom. If she walks away, she’ll take the magic—and half the realm—down with her.
Their only hope? Each other.
Forced into an uneasy alliance, Aren and Dietan must unravel a mystery buried in legend, outwit a power-hungry usurper, and survive magic that’s turning against them both. And somewhere between dodging assassins and sharing too many fireside glances, Aren starts to wonder if her “more” might include the one thing she swore she didn’t want…
St. Medard’s Bay, Alabama is famous for three things: the deadly hurricanes that regularly sweep into town, the Rosalie Inn, a century-old hotel that’s survived every one of those storms, and Lo Bailey, the local girl infamously accused of the murder of her lover, political scion Landon Fitzroy, during Hurricane Marie in 1984.
When Geneva Corliss, the current owner of the Rosalie Inn, hears a writer is coming to town to research the crime that put St. Medard’s Bay on the map, she’s less interested in solving a whodunnit than in how a successful true crime book might help the struggling inn’s bottom line. But to her surprise, August Fletcher doesn’t come to St. Medard’s Bay alone. With him is none other than Lo Bailey herself. Lo says she’s returned to her hometown to clear her name once and for all, but the closer Geneva gets to both Lo and August, the more she wonders if Lo is actually back to settle old scores.
As the summer heats up and another monster storm begins twisting its way towards St. Medard’s Bay, Geneva learns that some people can be just as destructive–and as deadly–as any hurricane, and that the truth of what happened to Landon Fitzroy may not be the only secret Lo is keeping…
January 13
In 15th-century Volterra, sculptress Ravenna Maffei enters a competition hosted by a secretive, immortal family who offer an invaluable boon to the victor. Desperate to win so she can save her brother, Ravenna reveals a rare magical talent–a dangerous act in a city where magic is forbidden. Her revelation makes her a target, and she is kidnapped by the Luni family and taken to Florence, a city of breathtaking beauty and cutthroat ambition.
There, Ravenna is forced into an impossible task where failure means certain death at the hands of Saturnino dei Luni, the family’s enigmatic and merciless heir. But under his cold reserve hides a vulnerability that draws her closer than she ever intended.
Meanwhile, Ravenna’s forbidden magic does not go unnoticed. The Pope, waging war against Florence, the Medici, and magic itself, has his own interest in her abilities, seeing her as a potential weapon in his ruthless campaign.
As alliances shift and war brews on the horizon, Ravenna must navigate the treacherous line between survival and betrayal, between love and duty. With time running out and her every move watched, the choices she makes will determine the fate of not just her own life, but the fragile balance of magic and power that could unravel Florence itself.
Rune Ryker has nothing left to lose. Everything’s been stolen by the Immortals—her family, her home, her freedom. But she’s done playing by their rules.
Each year, humans are forced to journey into the Immortal Realms, but twenty-year-old Rune orchestrates her own selection, determined to find her family and destroy anyone who stands in her way. Rune is used to doing whatever it takes to survive, and now she must endure the Forge, a cutthroat college for the Immortal druids’ elusive tarot magic. When Rune’s magic reveals itself to be the rarest and most powerful, she must live with its only other wielder—Prince Draven. As arrogant as he is ruthlessly ambitious, he’s the last person she can trust.
Rune’s abilities also draw the eyes of the most dangerous druids in the realms. Some want to use her. More want her dead. Draven offers to train her . . . for a price. As Rune becomes ensnared in Draven’s dangerous games, she learns there are secrets at the heart of the kingdom that some will kill to protect.
And Rune and Draven’s growing attraction may be the spark to ignite a brewing war.
January 20
Eden Fox, an artist on the brink of her big break, sets off for a run before her first exhibition. When she returns to the home she recently moved into, Spyglass, an enchanting old house in Hope Falls, nothing is as it should be. Her key doesn’t fit. A woman, eerily similar to her, answers the door. And her husband insists that the stranger is his wife.
One house. One husband. Two women. Someone is lying.
Six months earlier, a reclusive Londoner called Birdy, reeling from a life-changing diagnosis, inherits Spyglass. This unexpected gift from a long-lost grandmother brings her to the pretty seaside village of Hope Falls. But then Birdy stumbles upon a shadowy London clinic that claims to be able to predict a person’s date of death, including her own. Secrets start to unravel, and as the line between truth and lies blurs, Birdy feels compelled to right some old wrongs.
January 27
It’s 1995, and fourteen-year-old Tati is determined to uncover the identity of her father. But her mother, Nadia, keeps her secrets close, while her grandmother Gladys remains silent about the family’s past, including why she left Land’s End, Alabama, in 1953. As Tati digs deeper, she uncovers a legacy of family secrets, where every generation of Dupree women has posed more questions than answers.
From Jubi in 1917, whose attempt to pass for white ends when she gives birth to Ruby; to Ruby’s fiery lust for Sampson in 1934 that leads to a baby of her own; to the night in 1980 that changed Nadia’s future forever, the Dupree women carry the weight of their heritage. Bound by a mysterious malediction that means they will only give birth to daughters, the Dupree women confront a legacy of pain, resilience, and survival that began with an enslaved ancestor who risked everything for freedom.
The age-old art of matchmaking meets Hollywood as Jaydi Samuels Kuba, founder of LJMatchmaking, takes us behind the scenes of her work as a matchmaker and date coach for the entertainment industry’s most eligible singles. Even the glitziest picture-perfect set-up could flop due to bad dating habits, a frustration that Jaydi specializes in solving. Now, in Your Last First Date, she’s sharing her incredible stories, along with the exclusive practical wisdom we all need.
Meet our real-life characters:
Meera, a young film publicist and hopeless romantic who falls for nearly every guy she meets. When she finally finds a man who matches her intensity, she’s thrilled—but Jaydi warns her that her “twin flames” relationship is likely to combust.
Kent, a seasoned, award-winning director and vineyard owner who refuses to date anyone his age. He treats matchmaking like ordering off a menu until Jaydi introduces him to someone who makes him wonder if he might just be better off trusting the chef.
Callie, a high-achieving studio executive over forty, who is still yearning to start a family. She presents Jaydi with an ultimatum: find her a partner within the year, or she’ll give up on dating, and pursue motherhood on her own.
And Jaydi herself, a candid voice who offers up lessons learned from her own dating history, such as how to leave a controlling relationship and how to recognize your future husband when he walks into your life—even if he’s your client.
Whether you’re the one in a rush to “make it happen,” the one who’s convinced yourself you’re better off alone, or even the one who’s “figured it all out” but wants to play matchmaker for your friends, you’ll recognize yourself in these pages—and in the process, learn more about who you are, and how to achieve your “Hollywood” ending.
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