my favourite books of 2026 so far

2026 has been an interesting year when it comes to my reading life. I have not been posting here or on youtube and I think that is thanks to burnout. I am slowly starting to feel motivated again and I have 25 books so far this year and there are a few standouts I want to take the chance to gush about. You will notice they are from a range of genres because I have really embraced the fact that I am a mood reader and I think I was overwhelmed by all of the fantasy I had been reading the last few years. I have also been listening to a lot of non-fiction and I have been loving that. Will talk about those in a different post!

From New York Times bestselling and Hugo Award–winning author T. Kingfisher comes an enthralling contemporary fantasy seeped in horror about a woman trying to escape her past by moving to the remote US desert—only to find herself beholden to the wrath of a vengeful god.

With only a few dollars to her name and her beloved dog Copper by her side, Selena flees her past in the city to claim her late aunt’s house in the desert town of Quartz Creek. The scorpions and spiders are better than what she left behind.

Because in Quartz Creek, there’s a strange beauty to everything, from the landscape to new friends, and more blue sky than Selena’s ever seen. But something lurks beneath the surface. Like the desert gods and spirits lingering outside Selena’s house at night, keeping watch. Mostly benevolent, says her neighbor Grandma Billy. That doesn’t ease the prickly sense that one of them watches too closely and wants something from Selena she can’t begin to imagine. And when Selena’s search for answers leads her to journal entries that her aunt left behind, she discovers a sinister truth about her new home: It’s the haunting grounds of an ancient god known simply as “Snake-Eater,” who her late aunt made a promise to that remains unfulfilled.

Snake-Eater has taken a liking to Selena, an obsession of sorts that turns sinister. And now that Selena is the new owner of his home, he’s hell-bent on collecting everything he’s owed.

We may as well get the T. Kingsfisher out of the way. I will be honest, I have not had a lot of five-stars this year but I can always count on T. Kingfisher to save the day. Snake-Eater is one of her standalones that leans more horror with a touch of fantasy and it is arguably my favourite horror from her as, admittedly, they can be hit or miss for me. I think that she gets the tone right in a way only she could. It is the perfect blend of disgusting, suspenseful, humorous, and surprisingly wholesome? It takes a lot for me to become invested in characters in horror novels because I naturally put up a wall knowing there is a good chance something bad will happen, especially to side characters. But everyone in this town won me over and I could not put it down. There is an older woman who is a complete badass and I adored her. This is just proof that I can trust T. Kingfisher to write the perfect found family! It is funny that I read this in January and it is the relationship between the characters that has remained with me- along with the desert setting.

Aiden Valentine has a secret: he’s fallen out of love with love. And as the host of Baltimore’s romance hotline, that’s a bit of a problem. But when a young girl calls in to the station asking for dating advice for her mom, the interview goes viral, thrusting Aiden and Heartstrings into the limelight.

Lucie Stone thought she was doing just fine. She has a good job; an incredible family; and a smart, slightly devious kid. But when all of Baltimore is suddenly scrutinizing her love life—or lack thereof—she begins to question if she’s as happy as she thought. Maybe a little more romance wouldn’t be such a bad thing.

Everyone wants Lucie to find her happy ending… even the handsome, temperamental man calling the shots. But when sparks start to fly behind the scenes, Lucie must make the final call between the radio-sponsored happily ever after or the man in the headphones next to her.

A hopeless romantic meets a jaded radio host in this cozy, Sleepless in Seattle-inspired love story from beloved author B.K. Borison.

I put off reading First-Time Caller because it was so hyped and I did try to read Lovelight Farms in the past and put it down so I was reluctant, but everyone was right to love this one! I think because it revolves around a radio show the audiobook is the way to go and it is so well done. It felt like I was reading a true rom-com, which makes sense given it was inspired by Sleepless in Seattle. That probably lead to the nostalgic feeling I got while reading it. The fact that Lucie and Aiden end up working on a radio show together leads to great banter and allows for a slow burn. There were moments that felt over the top and borderline cheesy but that contributed to the old school rom-com feeling. I adored the side characters and I am so thrilled this a series where some of them will have their main character moment.

A Black country music star who lied about writing his only hit risks his comeback to reunite with the woman he stole it from, a first love the lyrics won’t let him forget.

Every Thursday night, former country music heartthrob Luke Randall has to sing “Another Love Song.” God, he hates that song. But performing his lone hit at an interstate motel lounge is the only regular money he still has. Following another lackluster performance at the rock bottom of his career, Luke receives the opportunity of his dreams, opening for his childhood idol—90’s era Black country music star, JoJo Lane, who’s being inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame. But the concert is in Arcadia, Arkansas, the small hometown he swore he’d never see again. Going back means facing a painful past of abuse and neglect. It also means facing JoJo’s daughter, August Lane—the woman who wrote the lyrics he’s always claimed as his own.

August also hates that song. But she hates Luke Randall even more. When he shows up ten years too late to apologize for his betrayal, she isn’t interested in making amends. Instead, she threatens to expose his lies unless he co-writes a new song with her and performs it at the concert, something she hopes will launch her out of her mother’s shadow and into a songwriting career of her own. Desperate to keep his secret, Luke agrees to put on the rogue performance, despite the risk of losing his shot at a new record deal.

When Luke’s guitar reunites with August’s soulful alto, neither can deny that the passionate bond they formed as teenagers is still there. As the concert nears, August will have to choose between an overdue public reckoning with the boy who betrayed her, or trusting the man he’s become to write a different love song.

The Art of Scandal is one of my favourite romances and it is highly underhyped, so I thrilled I finally got to August Lane and it lived up to my expectations. I love books that follow musicians and this is a standout. It is a second chance romance and definitely not a rom-com. It takes only some deeper themes and conversations, which I appreciated. It is told in multiple POVs and timelines and there are interviews included as well. It is one of those books that you become fully immersed in and you learn the characters’ histories to the point you almost forget they aren’t real and that you are reading fiction not a biography. It is messy, emotional, and definitely a slow burn. In some ways I would think of it more as a love story than a romance. It is definitely not one of those books you put down and then immediate forget- it has stayed with me. Cannot wait to see what Regina Black writes next and I hope more people start to pay attention to what she is putting out because it is excellent.

A family on a remote island. A mysterious woman washed ashore. A storm gathering force.

Dominic Salt and his three children are caretakers of Shearwater, a tiny weather-lashed island that is home to the world’s largest seed bank. As Shearwater risks being lost to rising sea levels, the island’s researchers have fled, and only the Salts remain.

Until, during the worst storm in living memory, a stranger washes ashore. The family nurse the woman, Rowan, back to strength, but it seems she isn’t telling the whole truth about why she’s there. And when Rowan stumbles upon sabotaged radios and a recently dug grave, she realises that she’s not the only one on the island with a secret.

A novel of breathtaking twists, dizzying beauty and ferocious love, Wild Dark Shore is about the impossible choices we make to protect the people we love.

I have been wanting to read something by Charlotte McConaghy for years and I do own Migrations, but after seeing Wild Dark Shore on so many “best books of the year” lists I knew I had to a make it a priority. While it ended up being a four star read for me and not a favourite book of all time, I completely understand why so many people love it. I appreciated McConaghy’s writing style, when I wasn’t reading this book I was thinking about it, and I was invested in the relationships between the characters. The mystery itself, which is what drives the plot, didn’t quite hit the way I was hoping to would but the stories other strengths made this a win for me. If you are like me and you love at atmospheric read, I think that alone is a reason to give this book a chance. Between the setting and McConaghy’s lush writing, I felt fully immersed. Definitely more for character-driven readers than plot ones!

Meddy has spent her whole life as a footnote in someone else’s story. Out of place next to her beautiful, immortal sisters and her parents—both gods, albeit minor ones—she dreams of leaving her family’s island for a life of adventure. So when she catches the eye of the goddess Athena, who invites her to train as an esteemed priestess in her temple, Meddy leaps at the chance to see the world beyond her home.

In Athens’ colorful market streets and the clandestine chambers of the temple, Meddy flourishes in her role as Athena’s favored acolyte, getting her first tastes of purpose and power. But when she is noticed by another Olympian, Poseidon, a drunken night between girl and god ends in violence, and the course of Meddy’s promising future is suddenly and irrevocably altered.

Her locs transformed into snakes as punishment for a crime she did not commit, Medusa must embrace a new identity—not as a victim, but as a vigilante—and with it, the chance to write her own story as mortal, martyr, and myth.

Exploding with rage, heartbreak, and love, I, Medusa portrays a young woman caught in the cross currents between her heart’s deepest desires and the cruel, careless games the Olympian gods play.

I started the year reading I, Medusa and that is something I put a lot of pressure on. I would not call myself superstition at all but for some reason I make a big deal out of the idea that the first book I read in a new year has to be a good one. I honestly don’t know why I settled on this book, especially since I used to love Greek myth retellings but became overwhelmed by them. I was hearing some buzz about it and the author in general so I went for it. That was a great decision because I loved this. I don’t tear up when reading very often but something about this version of Medusa’s story got to me.

“I’ve arrived in London without incident. There are few triumphs in my recent life, but I count this as one. My existence of the last three years has been nothing but incident.”

The Year is 1883 and Emma M. Lion has returned to her London neighborhood of St. Crispian’s. But Emma’s plans for a charmed and studious life are sabotaged by her eccentric Cousin Archibald, her formidable Aunt Eugenia, and the slightly odd denizens of St. Crispian’s.

Emma M. Lion offers up her Unselected Journals, however self-incriminating they may be, which comprise a series of novella-length volumes. Armed with wit and a sideways amusement, Emma documents the curious realities of her life at Lapis Lazuli House.

The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion is having a moment and was recently picked up by a traditional publisher, and it deserves it. This series is going to become a comfort read for me. If you want something short and sweet with Jane Austen vibes, this is it. Lived up to all of the hype it has been getting and I loved the audiobook!

From the New York Times bestselling author of The Atlas Six comes the story of three siblings who, upon the death of their father, are forced to reckon with their long-festering rivalries, dangerous abilities, and the crushing weight of all their unrealized adolescent potential.

Where there’s a will, there’s a war.

Thayer Wren, the brilliant CEO of Wrenfare Magitech and so-called father of modern technology, is dead. Any one of his three telepathically and electrokinetically gifted children would be a plausible inheritor to the Wrenfare throne.

Or at least, so they like to think.

Meredith, textbook accomplished eldest daughter and the head of her own groundbreaking biotech company, has recently cured mental illness. You’re welcome! If only her father’s fortune wasn’t her last hope for keeping her journalist ex-boyfriend from exposing what she really is: a total fraud.

Arthur, second-youngest congressman in history, fights the good fight every day of his life. And yet, his wife might be leaving him, and he’s losing his re-election campaign. But his dead father’s approval in the form of a seat on the Wrenfare throne might just turn his sinking ship around.

Eilidh, once the world’s most famous ballerina, has spent the last five years as a run-of-the-mill marketing executive at her father’s company after a life-altering injury put an end to her prodigious career. She might be lacking in accolades compared to her siblings, but if her father left her everything, it would finally validate her worth—by confirming she’d been his favorite all along.

On the pipeline of gifted kid to clinically depressed adult, nobody wins—but which Wren will come out on top?

Do you ever have those books that you absolutely love but have no idea who to recommend them to? That is Gifted and Talented for me, or just Olivie Blake in general to be honest. I would really have to have an understand of your reading taste before putting this one in your hands. That said, it was so for me! It has been described as the show Succession with light magic and that is so accurate. Don’t go into this one for the magic though or the plot or really the characters. They are not likable and that is the point. I was here for the writing and the family drama! I just am fascinated by Olivia Blake’s mind.

In this lyrical, wildly inventive horror novel interwoven with Japanese mythology, two people living centuries apart discover a door between their worlds.

October, 2026: Lee Turner doesn’t remember how or why he killed his college roommate. The details are blurred and bloody. All he knows is he has to flee New York and go to the one place that might offer refuge—his father’s new home in Japan, a house hidden by sword ferns and wild ginger. But something is terribly wrong with the house: no animals will come near it, the bedroom window isn’t always a window, and a woman with a sword appears in the yard when night falls.

October, 1877: Sen is a young samurai in exile, hiding from the imperial soldiers in a house behind the sword ferns. A monster came home from war wearing her father’s face, but Sen would do anything to please him, even turn her sword on her own mother. She knows the soldiers will soon slaughter her whole family when she sees a terrible omen: a young foreign man who appears outside her window.

One of these people is a ghost, and one of these stories is a lie.

Something is hiding beneath the house of sword ferns, and Lee and Sen will soon wish they never unburied it.

Kylie Lee Baker is quickly becoming one of my favourite horror authors and that means a lot considering she is new to the genre. I think the fact that she started in fantasy gives her a unique perspective when it comes to horror. I have never read anything quite like this and it has stayed with me. I loved seeing how the two timelines came together and it made me realize how little I know about Japanese history. Would love to read some nonfiction about that, so let me know if you have any recommendations!

Geeta’s no-good husband disappeared five years ago. She didn’t kill him, but everyone thinks she did–no matter how much she protests.

But she soon discovers that being known as a “self-made” widow has some surprising perks. No one messes with her, no one threatens her, and no one tries to control (ahem, marry) her. It’s even been good for her business; no one wants to risk getting on her bad side by not buying her jewelry.

Freedom must look good on Geeta, because other women in the village have started asking for her help to get rid of their own no-good husbands…but not all of them are asking nicely.

Now that Geeta’s fearsome reputation has become a double-edged sword, she must decide how far to go to protect it, along with the life she’s built. Because even the best-laid plans of would-be widows tend to go awry.

I am kicking myself because I have had The Bandit Queens sitting on my TBR shelf since the day it came out and just now got around to reading it. I had a feeling I would love it and hate that I put it off for this long. But in the end it might have been the perfect time because I fell in love with Parini Schroff’s writing and just learned her sophomore novel comes out this summer, so I don’t have long to wait. Her sense of humour is perfect and unexpected. I loved these characters and the interactions between them.

What is the best book you have read so far this year?

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