Highly Anticipated Novels From Different Genres (2026)

The year started off strong with Shen Tao’s highly anticipated fantasy debut novel, The Poet Empress. I started hearing rumblings about this book a full six months before it was published, and it definitely lived up to the hype. The indie bookstore I work at continues to sell at least one copy of this book every week, even halfway through the year, and I’m so excited for more people to discover the rich world Tao has created.

I love a strong female lead (obviously), and Wei Yin is one of the strongest, sacrificing herself as a concubine to a cruel heir in order to save her family and her village (I truly cannot fathom such a decision). Did I mention that in this world, women have been forbidden to read? And that poetry magic is only allowed by the most powerful? Wei is determined to become a poet despite these circumstances and compose a poem so powerful that it encompasses both love and death, and one that might just save them all.

Part of what makes Tao’s writing so engrossing and unique is her background: immigrating to Canada at a young age and growing up on both Western and Chinese stories. With her debut, she can now add USA Today bestseller and award-winning author to her bio!

I was lucky enough to read an early copy of this book, and it was torture waiting for it to hit the shelves so I’d have people to talk to about it! To start with, this book has some of the best disabled and chronically ill rep I’ve ever read, especially in a romance! It completely stole my heart and left me craving more.

Nordqvist herself lives with a chronic illness and doesn’t hold punches when it comes to describing that daily reality. However, she balances that truth with the deep friendships, swoony moments, and a great love that doesn’t magically fix everything, but does make it all a little more bearable.

Need more reasons to read this book? The story literally begins with Skylar telling Pike’s mom that she’s sleeping beside him when, in fact, they have never met (I swear it’s for a really good reason!) But then she has to tell Pike, who is, once again, a stranger, what she did, and let me tell you, I was screaming (mostly internally) the entire time. Devolving into a fake dating scheme that includes trips, meddling friends, and the paparazzi, I couldn’t get enough. I’m already (im)patiently waiting for more books by this author.

If you’ve read any of my other articles, you’ll know that I’m not the biggest horror reader, but the premise of this book was so intriguing, I couldn’t help but pick it up. It’s 1928, and things are becoming deadly at the Briarley School for Girls. It all starts when the star student (who just happens to have been getting…closer to the schoolmistress) mysteriously falls to her death.

School rivals Emily and Evelyn are determined to find out what really happened and decide to consult the spirit world for answers (naturally). I was shook when the spirit who answered was the student who passed away! Following this, things at the school continue to go downhill, with more people turning up dead and the threatening atmosphere becoming…well, significantly more threatening. I promise you’ll be hooked until the last page, and then want to display it on your shelf because hello?? This cover??

Part of why this story feels so encompassing and unique is due to Curran’s education and passion. At university, she studied history and became interested in spiritualism, and now has an MA in Victorian Studies. She’s also partway through her PhD in spiritualism and queerness in the nineteenth century (have you ever heard of a cooler degree?). This is all to say, she’s the exact expert you’d want writing a queer, historical boarding school horror.

Don’t worry, Romantasy readers, I’ve got you covered, too! Tesia Tsai’s debut novel is inspired by the Chinese folk practice of necromancy, so I was immediately intrigued when I came across it. Kang Siying has a job I was never told about during career day: guiding the deceased home. Then something happens that, if I had that job, would cause me to quit on the spot.

Instead of her talisman making a dead prince obedient to her directions, it brings him back to life. Hard pass! Because now she has to help him find enough qi (life force) to stay alive, which means finding evil spirits to purify for their qi, encountering vengeful ghosts and spies, and uncovering the dark secrets around the prince’s death (honestly, I’m stressed out just writing that).

Tsai does a great job balancing the fantasy and romance elements with our FMC's inner strength and character growth. Born to Taiwanese parents in Los Angeles, she’s been listening to her mother tell stories since she was a child and grew up to turn that love of books into an English and creative writing degree and this utterly enthralling debut novel.

Honestly, what’s better for the soul than a book centered around female rage? We love them so much at the bookstore I work at that we have an entire section dedicated to the niche! Honey seamlessly fits in as our FMC (Yrsa) is a graduate student who, in the name of feminism, murders bad men. I mean…I get it.

Yrsa’s just going through the motions of her life as a PhD student when she witnesses the professor who stole her best friend’s work unexpectedly die in front of her due to a bee allergy. This sparks something in her, and she decides that her new purpose in life is to rid the area of sexist men. After all, college is meant to help us find our passions, right?

This book kept me on the edge of my seat, waiting to see how much Yrsa could get away with and what would happen next. Thompson first started writing this book in response to all of the violence against women she was seeing on TV. Mix that with her studies in politics and sociology, and singular voice, and you get a horror book you won’t put down until you’ve read it cover to cover. I can’t wait to see what her next book will be about!

Are you ready to be convinced to read a book with only two words? Queer pirates. Truly, chef’s kiss. We have Kit, who is running from an arranged marriage and a future in the House of Lords, and Reggie, the charismatic captain of a ship of pirates.

When Kit finds himself accidentally onboard Reggie’s ship, his days are quickly filled with rum and gunfights, and his nights with…kisses under the stars? Honestly, you can’t blame him! Have you seen Reggie?? But this is clearly Reggie’s life, while for Kit, this is just a detour, and can he really give up being a Lord to become a pirate?

This book was inspired by Abdou’s love of history, the occult, and piracy, which she gained while growing up in historic coastal Massachusetts, and I can only hope she continues to follow that inspiration to give us more amazing, swoony adventures. I will be looking for more pirate romances while eagerly awaiting her next novel!