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The first two titles on this list are already available to buy or maybe even borrow from your local library, and I’m sharing the release dates for the rest of them as well.

1. How Simi Got Her Groom Back by Sonali Dev

Why I Want to Read It: The reference to the 90’s romance film How Stella Got Her Groove Back was honestly what first caught my attention because I loved that movie, but the blurb sounds really good as well.

2. Daughter of Crows by Mark Lawrence

Why I Want to Read It: High fantasy isn’t a genre I’ve read in ages, and it may be time to change that.

3. The Calamity Club by Kathryn Stockett

Release Date: April 7

Why I Want to Read It: Both the 1930s and stories about orphans who probably will never be adopted are of interest to me.

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4. Mad Mabel by Sally Hepworth

Release Date: April 21

Why I Want to Read It: Mabel sounds like a delightfully exasperating and interesting character. Sometimes I need to read about folks who aren’t all sweetness and light.

5. Where the Earth Meets the Sky: A Story of Penguins, People, and Place in Antarctica by Louise K. Blight

Release Date: April 26

Why I Want to Read It: Of course I want to read about penguins. I am lowkey fascinated by them.

6. The Correspondent by Virginia Evans

Release Date: April 29

Why I Want to Read It: Letters aren’t included often enough in modern fiction for my tastes, so I’m hoping this will be a good example of what an epistolary novel can be like in the twenty-first century.

7. Enormous Wings by Laurie Frankel

Release Date: May 5

Why I Want to Read It: Like #4, this features a senior citizen protagonist. I think it’s really cool that we’re getting more stories about that age group.

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8. John of John by Douglas Stuart

Release Date: May 5

Why I Want to Read It: There’s something so interesting to me about characters who fail at their original goals and must find alternative ways to live a good life.

9. Say Nephew: On Boyhood, Unclehood, and Queer Mentorship by Steven Pfau

Release Date: May 26

Why I Want to Read It: This sounds like such an interesting read.

10. Spawning Season: An Experiment in Queer Parenthood by Joseph Osmundson

Release Date: May 26

Why I Want to Read It: There is so much I don’t know about this topic, and I’m curious to hear how the discussions between the author and the women who were thinking about using him as a donor turned out.

Hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl

It amazes me that books have already been scheduled for publication this upcoming summer!

How far in advance publishers schedule these things?

If it’s not a season-specific title, how do they decide in which month a book should be published?

Sometimes I‘ve seen publication dates being pushed back by a few months, too, which is another mystery.

I don’t expect anyone reading this to know the answers to these questions, but it’s sure fun to think about.

These are ten of the titles I’m looking forward to reading in the first half of 2026.

1. She Made Herself a Monster by Anna Kovatcheva

Release Date: February 10

Why I Want to Read It: Vampire hunters are interesting to read about.

2. Shake Out the Ghosts by Al Hess

Release Date: March 10

Why I Want to Read It: I love a good ghost story.

3. Everyone in the Group Chat Dies by L.M. Chilton 

Release Date: March 13

Why I Want to Read It: The playful title caught my attention.

4. Wolf Worm by T. Kingfisher

Release Date: March 24

Why I Want to Read It: How does Kingfisher write so quickly? I’m amazed and interested in seeing what this one is about.

5. Japanese Gothic by Kylie Lee Baker

Release Date: April 21

Why I Want to Read It: Portal fiction often grabs my attention.

6. We Burned So Bright  by T.J. Klune

Release Date: April 28

Why I Want to Read It: Black holes are one of those natural phenomenon that truly scare me. I can’t imagine a happy ending for these characters, but maybe it will be a memorable one?

7. Young World by Soman Chainani 

Release Date: May 5

Why I Want to Read It: The plot sounds like something from The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. Pure silliness!

8. All Them Dogs by Djamel White

Release Date: May 19

Why I Want to Read It: This sounds dense, heavy, and thought provoking. Sometimes that’s exactly what I need to read.

9.The Unicorn Hunters by Katherine Arden

Release Date: June 2

Why I Want to Read It: I’ve enjoyed some of her previous books and hope this one is good, too.

10. Land: From the no. 1 bestselling author of Hamnet, a multigenerational epic of loss, hope and reunion (Audible Audio) by Maggie O’Farrell

Release Date: June 2

Why I Want to Read It: Hamnet is still on my TBR list, but this sounds like a great read as well.