With over 600 unread books in my TBR (I know… I have a little problem 🙈), I shouldn’t be thinking about the new 2026 book releases, but it seems to me like the Universe wants me to grow my collection (yes! It’s the Universe’s fault that I have too many books. This is definitely not a self-control issue).
Here is a list of the fantasy, sci-fi, and horror books coming out between January and April that will become part of my library.
January 2026
The Swan’s Daughter — Roshani Chokshi (January 6)
I haven’t read anything by Roshani Chokshi yet, but I’ve heard so many great things about The Gilded Wolves and The Last Tale of the Flower Bride that I’m very curious about her upcoming romantasy release.
The Swan’s Daughter tells the story of a cursed prince who has to survive a very dangerous problem: marriage (scary, I know!! 💀). Thanks to a badly worded wish, every potential bride might be there to literally steal his heart, so a tournament of brides becomes a high-stakes game of romance vs. murder. With the help of a truth-singing magical ally, he has to figure out who wants him for love—and who wants him for the throne.
The Poet Empress — Shen Tao (January 20)
The Poet Empress has been mentioned by a couple of my all-time favorite authors, including Shannon Chakraborty, so I will definitely look into it.
This fantasy debut follows a young woman who enters a brutal imperial court to keep her family from starving and promptly finds herself surrounded by violence, politics, and a prince who could get her killed. In a world where poetry is literal power and women aren’t even allowed to read, survival means becoming dangerous—and breaking every rule that exists. Dark, ruthless, and absolutely not here to be gentle. I’m in!
The Elsewhere Express — Samantha Sotto Yambao (January 22)
The Elsewhere Express follows a drifting young woman who boards a magical train that only appears to people who’ve lost their sense of purpose. As she travels through surreal, dreamlike cars and grows close to another lost soul, she discovers the train is hiding something far darker than it first appears. A whimsical-but-emotional fantasy about grief, identity, and figuring out what you’re actually meant to do with your life.
The premise of this book reminds me of Water Moon, also written by Samantha Sotto Yambao—a book that I absolutely loved despite all its flaws—so I’m definitely getting this one.
To Ride a Rising Storm — Moniquill Blackgoose (January 27)
To Shape a Dragon’s Breath has been on my TBR for a very long time, and I was going to read it before the end of last year. But then I saw that the sequel, To Ride a Rising Storm, was coming out by the end of January, so I decided to wait for it to drop so I can read them one after the other.
To Ride a Rising Storm follows Anequs after surviving a brutal academy year, only to find her land threatened by outside rule and colonial control. What should have been a quiet break turns into political tension, resistance, and the very real possibility of war. A sharp, emotionally grounded fantasy about dragons, identity, and fighting for the right to self-govern. This one sounds like my kind of story 😃
February 2026
Green and Deadly Things — Jenn Lyons (February 3)
Last year (or the year prior—I can’t remember…), I read The Sky on Fire, and if I’m completely honest, it was not the best book. However, I had so much fun with it. I laughed a lot, and it managed to keep me engaged and entertained until the very end despite all the plot holes. Not to mention the dragons.
Lyons’ dragons are, to me, what Fourth Wing dragons should have been—if Fourth Wing made any sense at all. So yeah, Jenn Lyons’ previous fantasy book was not a good book, but it was a fun book, so I’m ready to give this one a try.
Green and Deadly Things follows a young knight-in-training who discovers that everything he’s been taught about necromancy is… deeply wrong. When forests start waking up and eating people, he makes the very bad decision to revive an ancient necromancer who might be the only one who understands what’s really happening. A weird, clever fantasy about broken history, dangerous magic, and the end of the world creeping in through the trees. If this one is as fun as the previous one, I’m ready for it.
The Sun and the Starmaker — Rachel Griffin (February 17)
Rachel Griffin is another author I haven’t read yet, but I own a couple of her books. I don’t know if it’s the fact that she has the word “witch” or “witches” in the titles of some of her books, but I’m very curious about her work, so I’m interested in this one as well.
The Sun and the Starmaker is a snowy romantic fantasy about a village that survives thanks to a mysterious sorcerer who literally drags sunlight over the mountains every morning. When a young woman with hidden magic is pulled into his icy world, secrets, attraction, and an approaching eternal winter collide. Whimsical, cozy-but-dangerous, and very much a magic, snow, and yearning kind of book. Sounds like something to cleanse my literary palate from all the blood and political intrigue I usually consume.
March 2026
The Dragon and the Sun Lotus — Amélie Wen Zhao (March 3)
The Scorpion and the Night Blossom is another book I intended to read last year, but I finally decided to wait when I realized the sequel was coming out early this year. I don’t like waiting too long for my sequels 😅.
The Dragon and the Sun Lotus picks up as war spreads across realms and soul-eating demons threaten to destroy everything in their path. With betrayals, forbidden love, and ancient powers awakening, An Ying must decide who she can trust and how far she’s willing to go to save her world. Epic, dramatic, and packed with gods, dragons, and end-of-the-world stakes. I’m definitely reading this one.
Innamorata — Ava Reid (March 17)
Set on a fallen island where necromancy once ruled, one surviving house plots its revenge against the conquerors who destroyed everything. Innamorata follows a silent, deadly heiress tasked with restoring forbidden death magic—while arranging a politically dangerous betrothal she absolutely should not care about. Dark, lush, and dripping with doomed romance, vengeance, and very bad emotional decisions.
Ava Reid is already one of my staple authors, and the premise of this book in particular sounds amazing, so I’m sold.
Wolf Worm — T. Kingfisher (March 24)
Leoni, The Book Leo, once said in one of her videos that, for her, reading a T. Kingfisher book was like looking at a pretty painting that provoked no emotions. She could acknowledge the painting was pretty and technically really good, but for whatever reason, she could never get immersed in it.
I’ve had that happen to me a couple of times, but for the most part, I enjoy how quirky T. Kingfisher’s books are and the silly dad-joke type of humor she likes to insert into her stories.
Wolf Worm is a creepy gothic fantasy set in the late 1800s, following a broke scientific illustrator who takes a seemingly perfect job at a remote North Carolina manor. What starts as cataloging insects quickly turns into whispered secrets, strange animal behavior, and something far worse lurking in the woods. Dark, gross in the best way, and deeply unsettling—this one crawls under your skin and stays there.
I have not read any of T. Kingfisher’s horror novels yet, but I trust her writing, and I think this sounds like a great starting point for me.
Seasons of Glass & Iron — Amal El-Mohtar (March 24)
The River Has Roots is one of my favorite books of all time, and perhaps one of the most creative and imaginative short stories I’ve read in the past couple of years, so I’m very excited about this one.
Seasons of Glass and Iron is a collection of short, fairy-tale-inflected stories that feel like peeking through cracks into other, stranger worlds. Told through letters, myths, and fragmented moments, these stories are beautiful, eerie, and quietly devastating—fairy tales with teeth that linger long after you finish them.
I think this would be perfect for readers who love poetic fantasy, experimental formats, and stories that care more about feeling than plot—and it is also perfect for me 😃
Aicha — Soraya Bouazzaoui (March 24)
Aicha sounds more like historical fiction than fantasy, but I’m very excited about this one. It is a rage-fueled epic story set in colonized Morocco, following a warrior born into resistance and sharpened by loss. As the fight for freedom turns brutal, her anger becomes something monstrous—and powerful enough to tear an empire apart.
A love story, a rebellion story, and a full-throttle female rage fantasy all at once. Sounds like everything I love in a book, plus a little history lesson for me.
This Kingdom Will Not Kill Me — Ilona Andrews (March 31)
I don’t know Ilona Andrews’ work very well, but this book was announced back in November as the April 2026 Owlcrate Adult pick, so I’m guessing this is a very anticipated fantasy release—and the premise actually sounds interesting.
This Kingdom Will Not Kill Me follows a woman who wakes up naked in a gutter inside her favorite unfinished fantasy series—and immediately realizes she knows exactly how this world is supposed to end. Armed only with plot knowledge and the inconvenient fact that she can’t be killed, she gets dragged into deadly politics, dangerous alliances, and a cast of characters she’s suddenly very invested in saving. Meta, fast-paced, and wildly fun, with very real stakes despite the immortality loophole.
April 2026
The Subtle Art of Folding Space — John Chu (April 7)
After reading Annihilation by Jeff VanderMeer, I’ve been a little obsessed with weird sci-fi, and The Subtle Art of Folding Space sounds exactly like that.
This story is what happens when quantum physics, family trauma, and dim sum collide—violently. Ellie is juggling a comatose mother kept alive by illegal universe-breaking tech, a sister who questions her cultural authenticity mid-assassination attempt, and a secret engineering cabal that might literally unravel reality. Saving the universe turns out to be easier than dealing with her family, which is something I can relate to.
The Gravewood — Kelly Andrew (April 7)
Kelly Andrew is another author I’ve been curious about forever, but I haven’t read yet… but I will… soon…
Andrew’s latest work, The Gravewood, is a gothic fantasy about desperation, power, and the slow erosion of choice. Trapped by a lethal forest ruled by vampires, Shea trades her blood for survival, only to find every bargain tightening its grip on her life and her body.
As the deals grow darker and more personal, the line between victim and monster begins to blur—and escape may cost her far more than blood.
Infinite Shores — Pascale Lacelle (April 7)
Infinite Shores is the final installment in the Drowned Gods trilogy that I’ve been following. The first book, Curious Tides, is great—it’s fun, the world and the magic system are very unique, and the male characters are fantastic.
That’s probably why the second book, Stranger Skies, disappointed me so much. It felt like it was trying to do too much at once and ended up feeling scattered, and I really struggled with the two main female characters, who I found frustrating and hard to like. That said, I am deeply invested in the male characters, and I need to know they’ll be okay—so yes, I’ve already preordered the final book.
Infinite Shores continues where we left off in the previous book. Emory risks everything to save her friend from becoming a divine sacrifice, and Baz challenges even time itself to protect the one he loves. Alliances with dangerous gods blur the line between salvation and damnation.
When magic begins to rot and destiny tightens its grip, defying fate may be the most dangerous act of all. The stakes are higher than ever, and I’m ready to finish this story.
The Ending Writes Itself — Evelyn Clark (April 7)
The Ending Writes Itself follows six struggling authors invited to a private island to finish the final novel of a legendary writer—only to arrive and find him dead. With seventy-two hours, a massive career-changing prize, and a locked-room atmosphere thick with ego and desperation, writing the ending might be the easy part. Surviving the weekend is another story entirely.
This is not a fantasy book, but it’s V. E. Schwab, and V. E. Schwab can sell me anything.
The Demonic Inventions of Aurelie Blake — Mara Rutherford (April 14)
The Demonic Inventions of Aurelie Blake is set in a world where every act of innovation summons a demon—and the greater the creation, the deadlier the cost. Aurelie, a gifted inventor chafing against society’s limits, crosses paths with Destrier, a hardened demon hunter, when an impossible invention sets off a dangerous chain reaction.
What follows is high-stakes magic, forbidden ambition, and an enemies-to-lovers connection that could change their world for good.
I am not familiar with Mara Rutherford’s work, but this fantasy book sounds like something I would enjoy very much.
Japanese Gothic — Kylie Lee Baker (April 21)
Kylie Lee Baker has become one of my staple authors. Her writing is not groundbreaking, but her stories are fun and entertaining, and her previous horror novel, Bat Eater, was chef’s kiss—so of course I’ve already preordered Japanese Gothic.
A man fleeing a murder he can’t fully remember hides out in his father’s strange house in Japan—where the walls shift, ghosts linger, and a woman with a sword appears at night. More than a century earlier, a young samurai shelters in the same house, haunted by war, loyalty, and a terrifying omen. One story is a lie, one character is a ghost, and whatever is buried beneath the house was never meant to be found.
What are your most anticipated releases for this year? My TBR isn’t long enough, so I’m open to more recommendations 😉