THP’s 12 Most Anticipated Books Of 2026

Here’s to a new year of books and audiobooks! The book team at THP are so blessed to be able to share our reviews with you every month. And now we’re ready to give you our most anticipated books of 2026!

We’ve rounded up our favorite 2025 books by genre, so be sure to check out our lists. As we enter the new year, our TBR has already doubled from the last time we checked. If these book announcements are any indication, it’s that 2026 will be such a stacked year! Here are our top 12 most anticipated books of 2026.

Content warning: The Honey POP encourages mindful reading and checking the author’s website for content warnings.

Carnival Fantástico By Angela Montoya

Step up and welcome all to Carnival Fantástico! A magical and mysterious place where fortune-teller Esmeralda hopes to escape her old life under the commander of the King’s army by earning the lead role in the Big Top Show. Ignacio, on the other hand, has run away from the army and is determined to uncover evidence proving his father’s corruption. Except, he never thought he’d find his old love on the way. Suddenly back in each other’s lives, Esmeralda and Ignacio decide to help each other. She’ll help expose his father in exchange for his help in getting her the job position. But with their romantic history and mounting secrets, things won’t be so easy. We are so excited to dive into another magical, exciting, and romantic world by Angela Montoya!

Preorder Carnival Fantástico here!

The Social Circle By Sophie Wan

Our next 2026 book is a bit of an underdog. Sophie Wan’s The Social Circle comes out March 3, and if you remember her incredible debut novel, Women of Good Fortune, then get ready for her second book! The Social Circle follows Maggie and her group of college friends who start a social media platform in the early internet days. After a scandalous falling out, Maggie leaves the company and her friends behind. That is, until an exposé reveals a new truth 10 years later, and Maggie must decide to either run away again or fight for a second chance.

Preorder The Social Circle here!

Prodigal Tiger By Samantha Chong

We know our THP readers love diverse books as much as we do! Samantha Chong’s upcoming debut, Prodigal Tiger, brings us a contemporary fantasy world brimming with Malaysian folklore. After years of living in exile, Caroline Chua, an eighteen-year-old witch, is summoned home to Malaysia. She’s determined to save her older brother Aaron, even if it means facing vengeful, hungry ghosts to get him back. Caroline must also face the past she left behind, including her old friends and first love, J.J. Together, they race to save the island and keep its magic from being taken by the ever-growing list of enemies.

Preorder Prodigal Tiger here!

Immortal Game By Allison Saft

Chess lovers will be excited to learn about Allison Saft’s latest LGBTQ+ romantasy! Immortal Game takes place in a world where, every century, a chess tournament is held in the world of Faerie, where competitors vie for the honor of playing the King of the Otherworld. If they’re successful against him, they’re granted one wish. Shea is determined to be the first winner, after all, it’s the only way she can get her sister back after she was kidnapped by the king. She’ll just have to beat Princess Ciara, a faerie and her rival, to have a fighting chance. But with competitors dying as the tournament goes on, Ciara and Shea will have to work together to make it to the end. We are so excited to see what this book has in store! Knowing Allison, it’ll be filled with swoonworthy romance, beautiful world descriptions, and stunning prose.

Preorder Immortal Game here!

She Knows All The Names By Michelle Jabès Corpora

You know how much we LOVED His Face is the Sun by Michelle Jabès Corpora. So prepare to be sick of us when its sequel, She Knows All the Names, comes out this May! This Ancient Egyptian-inspired fantasy series absolutely blew us away with its rich, seamless storytelling. Now we get to see Princess Sita, priestess Neff, the rebel Rae, and the thief Karim continue their fateful journey. Who will meet each other for the first time in this installment? What new secrets and prophecies will be unlocked? We have no clue right now, but we’re dying to find out!

Preorder She Knows All the Names here!

Change Of Plans By Sarah Dessen

We grew up on Sarah Dessen’s many romance novels, and we couldn’t be more excited for her upcoming 2026 book, Change of Plans. A romantic coming-of-age novel that’s perfect for the summer, Change of Plans follows a Finley, a girl who prefers being in the shadows. She goes on a last-minute trip to her distant mom’s family vacation house, staying with her estranged aunts and cousins. When her relationship with her boyfriend Colin starts to fall apart, all her post-high school plans follow suit. Finley must spend the summer with, for the first time, no set plans. She uncovers her family’s past, makes some new friends, and even falls for a charming guitarist. Most of all, she learns how to find herself, including the parts she didn’t know she was missing.

Preorder Change of Plans here!

The Secret World Of Briar Rose By Cindy Pham

Another highly anticipated 2026 debut on our list is Cindy Pham’s The Secret World of Briar Rose. It’s a queer retelling of the classic tale, “Sleeping Beauty,” which is all the reason we need to read it! On a search for her sister Elly, Corin ventures into the kingdom’s underground tunnels. She discovers that the sleeping princess Amelia from ancient fairytales actually exists. This YA fantasy transports Corin (and us) to a lush dreamworld that is Amelia’s subconscious mind, where her alter ego Briar Rose resides. But the seemingly perfect paradise has darker stories to tell, and those stories will come to the surface sooner or later.

Preorder The Secret World of Briar Rose here!

Red God By Pierce Brown

Expected summer 2026, Red God is the long-awaited finale to a sweeping saga, and the promise of its scale and political intrigue makes it a must-watch. The anticipation alone signals major world-building, epic stakes, and possibly the darkest chapters yet in a dystopian/sci-fi-fantasy saga. If you love world-ending tension, power struggles, and moral complexity mixed with brutal action, this book could deliver big! We’ll be sure to keep our eyes peeled for the cover reveal and preorder link!

A Darker Shore: Letters From Ketterdam By Leigh Bardugo

Set for release on June 30, 2026, this new entry returns to the gritty underworld of Ketterdam: full of secrets, danger, and the morally gray dynamics fans of the original duology adore. It’s a chance to revisit beloved characters in a darker, more intimate story that blends mystery, criminal intrigue, and the high-stakes atmosphere that suits forbidden-love and tension-driven romance tropes. If you love brooding settings, loyalty-versus-betrayal drama, or relationships forged in danger and desperation, this is one to keep an eye on.

Preorder A Darker Shore: Letters from Ketterdam here!

Eyes Of Kings By Chloe Gong

Another one of our highly anticipated 2026 books is Chloe Gong’s Eyes of Kings. Chloe Gong has been a THP staple for years, and we’re looking forward to the conclusion of her Flesh and False Gods trilogy! After the illegal cliffhanger ending of Vilest Things, Calla and Anton must now face August and Sinoa in a war that changes everything they thought they knew. Then comes the return of old, immortal gods, and the war gets brought on a scale never seen before. We can’t wait to dive into this epic finale!

Preorder Eyes of Kings here!

The Dark In Her Veins By M.K. Lobb

We are big fans of M.K. Lobb’s young adult work, so we were ecstatic to learn that she was writing an adult dark romance. Set in a world where sinning causes physical illness called Bloodrot and madness, murdering someone could kill you. The rich will pay for their violence to be committed, and the poor are left paying the price to survive. We follow Talin, a sinner who works for the Prophet, known as the holiest man in the city. Her Bloodrot is getting worse by the day, and with her life on the line, she jumps at the opportunity to escape. When she meets the Warden, she plans to get close to him so that his life can give her freedom. But the closer she gets, the more his ideals start to rub off on her, and they’ll need to work together if they’re going to survive a conspiracy of the past. We just know we’ll be on the edge of our seats reading this!

Preorder The Dark in Her Veins here!

The Last King Of Faerie By Cassandra Clare

Scheduled for Fall 2026 as the first book of the final trilogy in a beloved urban-fantasy universe, this novel draws you in with its promise of massive conflicts between angels and demons, blood magic, and faerie politics. For those of you who love dark fantasy, high stakes, and morally tangled characters, plus the possibility of romance under dire circumstances, this feels like a natural fit! Its release offers the chance for epic fantasy adventure infused with emotional tension, betrayal, and possibly forbidden romance, making it an exciting wild-card pick for 2026.

Preorder The Last King of Faerie here!

Which books are you most excited for in 2026? Do you recognize any of these titles or authors? Let us know on Twitter! You can also find us on Facebook and Instagram!

Need some more book recs? We got them!

Authors: Julie Dam, Asia Moore, and Paige Lobianco