26 SFF Books to Read in 2026!

Well, if it's the first Wednesday of the new year, then it must be time for the biggest and best Can't Wait Wednesday of the new year.

If you're like me, last year's TBR is already giving you dirty looks and rolling its eyes as you admire the new releases coming your way. There's just something about the promise of a new book, the blank slate of unseen, unread, and unreviewed pages. Even if you don't plan to read it right off the shelf, you just have to have it . . . even if it buries last year's TBR a bit deeper or pushes those titles further back on the shelf.

To help schedule your anticipation, I've listed my 26 SFF Books to Read in 2026 in order of release date, with links to Goodreads. Dates (and even releases) are always subject to change, but that distracted reader meme has to start somewhere.

• The Bloody Brick Road by Maude Royer (2026-01-06): In this wildly creative, horror-soaked reimagining of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, nothing is as it seems in Dorothy’s dystopian nightmare. Fans of Tender Is the Flesh and Maeve Fly will want to follow her twisted journey down the yellow-brick road.
• Bound by the Blood by Cecilia Tan (2026-01-15): Dark magic threatens the BDSM community in New York. Good thing Mira’s already got her boots on and a whip in her bag. Long delayed (I've been waiting since 2017!), it's finally free of its original publisher and on the way.
• Enchanting the Fae Queen by Stephanie Burgis (2026-01-27): Stephanie Burgis delivers another irreverent, sparkling, and sexy installment in the Queens of Villainy, where a seductive fae queen meets her unexpected match in the enemy empire's valiant general. My review of Wooing the Witch Queen

• Pendergast: The Beginning by Lincoln Child & Douglas Preston (2026-01-27): From bestselling duo Preston and Child comes THE Agent Pendergast origin story – an event for longtime fans of the beloved series and for new readers who want to start at The Beginning. I'm wary of prequels and origin stories, but it's Pendergast, so I'm all in.
• The Winter Witch by Jennifer Chevalier (2026-01-27): Two sisters set sail on a bride ship from Normandy hoping to leave a curse behind them and find better lives in the wilds of 17th-century Quebec, only to meet a mysterious witch who forces them to confront the truth about magic—and their past.
• Nightshade and Oak by Molly O'Neill (2026-02-03): An Iron Age goddess must grapple with becoming human in this delightful historical fantasy of myth and magic from the author of the instant hit Greenteeth. I've still yet to read Greenteeth, but this sounds fantastic.

• A Lady for All Seasons by T.J. Alexander (2026-03-10): From the acclaimed author of Chef's Kiss and A Gentleman's Gentleman comes a riotous Regency romp, featuring a charming and unforgettable bigender lead.
• Queen of Faces by Petra Lord (2026-02-03): A desperate girl at a cutthroat magical academy faces a choice between life and become an assassin for the enchanted elite or watch her decaying body draw its last breath.
• Secrets of Dorley Hall by Alyson Greaves (2026-02-27): A closeted trans girl successfully infiltrated a secret underground forced feminisation programme. Now she must deal with what comes next. My review of Welcome to Dorley Hall.

• Green and Deadly Things by Jenn Lyons (2026-03-03): For fans of S.A. Chakraborty, Robin Hobb, and Martha Wells's Witch King, a page-turning standalone fantasy of necromancy and magical mayhem from Jenn Lyons, the acclaimed author of The Ruin of Kings. My review of A Chorus of Dragons.
• Hell’s Heart by Alexis Hall (2026-03-10): Gideon the Ninth meets Moby Dick in USA Today bestselling author Alexis Hall's science fiction debut, Hell's Heart! I wasn't a huge fan of Gideon, and the Moby Dick narration of this makes me anxious, but it just sounds so good.
• Sunstone Volume 1 by Stjepan Sejic (2026-03-10): From critically-acclaimed creator Stjepan Šejić (Death Vigil, Ravine, Aphrodite IX, Witchblade) comes Sunstone, a love story like no other.

• The Fox and the Devil by Kiersten White (2026-03-10): An obsession with a beautiful serial killer entangles a vampire hunter’s daughter in an immortal sapphic romance in this enthralling gothic fantasy. Hide and Lucy Undying are both on my TBR, so this still has a chance to be my first KW book.
• This Kingdom Will Not Kill Me by Ilona Andrews (2026-04-02): A page-turning, unforgettable fantasy set in a city peopled with ruffians, spies, malcontents and murderers. Experience out-of-this world adventure and dangerous politics as Maggie tries to survive waking up in her favourite fictional world.
• The Goblin Crown by Brenna Raney (2026-04-07): When shapeshifter Aren's foster mother is killed in a mysterious disaster, he must infiltrate a foreign court to learn what caused the same disaster the last time it happened-three hundred years ago in the elfland. The shapeshifting and gendershifting element has me hooked.

• Six Bullets and a Crown by Alexis Calder (2026-04-21): Perfect for fans of ACOTAR and The Gunslinger, this sizzling, enemies-to-lovers romantasy is a bullet-laced ride through a magic-starved kingdom. I'll be honest, this hooked me with the Gunslinger reference.
• First Mage on the Moon by Cameron Johnston (2026-04-14): Cameron Johnston returns in this innovative space fantasy, where wizards race to be the first on the moon – also known as the land of the gods. Space fantasy? Wizards on the moon? Come on, this sounds awesome.
• The Duke by Anna Cowan (2026-04-26): A sapphic regency romance about the duke who fears nothing... until the woman she never forgot walks through the door and brings her to her knees. I've had a digital ARC of this since August (wow!), so it's nearly time to start reading.

• Blood Bound by Ellis Hunter (2026-04-26): A debut high-stakes fantasy romance trilogy set against a once-in-a-generation duel to the death between rival witches and dragon riders as they battle to control the source of all magic in their kingdoms. 
• Bones of Contention by Karen F. Williams (2026-05-01): An aquatic landscape designer and an undertaker with a heart of gold must unravel a decades-old mystery, fend off a restless spirit, and figure out whether love can survive where the dead don’t stay buried, and the living dig deeper. I'm already in love with this couple and I've only read the blurb!
• The Tapestry of Fate by Shannon Chakraborty (2026-05-12): Set sail into the second adventure of Amina al-Sirafi as her quest to track down magical artifacts brings her to the island lair of a sorceress whose woven enchantments are impossible to flee… My review of The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi.

• The Unicorn Hunters by Katherine Arden (2026-06-02): With her country's future and her own life at stake, an orphaned duchess must journey into a world of myth and there discover a power that may be her salvation—or her demise.
• Vanyel and Vixen by Mercedes Lackey (2026-06-30): From a New York Times-bestselling author and beloved fantasist comes a new Valdemar tale as, for the first time in over thirty years, fan-favorite Vanyel returns to the page! I never thought we'd see a new Vanyel novel, so count me in for this.
• The Eye of Leviathan by M.A. Carrick (2026-07-14): A new historical fantasy duology by M.A. Carrick, inspired by the Fae and set within the remarkable backdrop of the Spanish Golden Age. I didn't love The Mask of Mirrors, but I also think it was a victim of bad timing, so I'm happy to try Carrick again.

• Elvenbred by Mercedes Lackey & Ben Ohlander (2026-08-18): An ending fans have been waiting more than 20 years The long-awaited conclusion to one of fantasy’s most beloved sagas. Alliances fracture, old powers fall, and new legends rise. The prophecy completes. The circle closes. And fantasy history is made. New Vanyel and new Halfblood in the same year? I'm afraid I'll wake up in high school again.
• The Halls of the Dead by S. M. Hallow (2026-08-18): A queer, gothic horror romance set in a necromancy-tinged London, sure to entrance fans of The Death of Jane Lawrence and Mexican Gothic.

Bonus Picks (Maybe)

• Talisman 3 by Stephen King & Peter Straub: No cover and no official release date, but King has announced it's done (it ties explicitly into the Dark Tower universe), so fingers crossed. Time for a re-read!
• Walk in Shadow by Steven Erikson: No cover or official release date for this either, but Erikson posted on Christmas day that he should have this done by the Spring so, again, fingers crossed. Time to catch-up!