Must-Read Books January 2026 |
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| The Royal Artisan by Tessa AfsharAn artisan for Queen Esther in ancient Persia, talented Sazana creates beautiful pottery while hiding her Jewishness. When a court official manipulates the king into ordering the killing of Jewish people, Sazana must reunite with the man who broke her heart in order to save her people and help the queen in this sequel to The Queen's Cook. For fans of: faith-filled biblical fiction with touches of romance. |
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| Sunward by William AlexanderIn this cozy science fiction, space courier Tova Lir decides to start training "baby bots," young emergent AI machines who behave more like teenagers than computers. When Tova and her latest charge, Agatha Panza von Sparkles, accidentally catch the attention of an assassin, the two must race across the solar system to evade death and save the rest of her foster bots. For fans of: LGBTQIA+ space opera with memorable characters such as Riley August's The Last Gifts of the Universe. |
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| Huguette by Cara BlackA teenage Huguette, ill-treated by her father and others, survives the Nazi occupation of France during World War II. During the lawless aftermath, she assists a famous film director and deals in black market material. Fans of the author's acclaimed Aimée Leduc mysteries set in contemporary Paris will appreciate meeting her grandfather, a kind cop who helps Huguette, in this compelling standalone tale. Read-alike: Pam Jenoff's Last Twilight in Paris. |
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| And Then There Was You by Sophie CousensHoping to impress her more accomplished classmates (including her former best friend, film director Sean Adler) at her ten-year college reunion, stuck-in-a-rut Chloe Fairway joins an exclusive dating service to secure her perfect plus-one. Rob is everything she could have dreamed of...but he’s a robot. Will her fake romance lead to real love? For another witty and heartfelt romance with speculative elements, try Magical Meet Cute by Jean Meltzer. |
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| Made You Look by Tanya GrantA glamorous influencer getaway in the Catskills turns lethal when a blizzard cuts off cell service and traps the group together. As egos clash and hidden scandals erupt, one guest ends up dead -- and more violence follows. With no escape, the entourage realizes the killer is likely one of them. For fans of: Ruth Ware and Lucy Foley. |
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| When the Fireflies Dance by Aisha HassanOn the edge of Lahore, Pakistan, seven-year-old Lalloo's family lives in modern indentured servitude, making bricks by hand. When his brother is murdered, Lalloo is spirited away by his father to be a mechanic's apprentice. As Lalloo grows, he makes friends and saves money, wanting to free his parents and sisters in this slow-burn, haunting debut that examines grief, hope, and family love. For fans of: Khaled Hosseini's The Kite Runner. |
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| Sparks Fly by Zakiya N. JamalReady to lose her virginity, 27-year-old journalist Stella Johnson tags along with her best friend to a sex club, where she has a sizzling meet-cute with Max Williams. After she gets cold feet and flees, Stella is shocked to learn that Max is none other than the CEO of a tech company her workplace is partnering with -- and that his penchant for using AI means Stella's job may be on the chopping block. Try this next: How to Sell a Romance by Alexa Martin. |
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| Best Offer Wins by Marisa KashinoFormer journalist Marisa Kashino’s debut is a darkly comic thriller about the ruthless Washington, D.C. housing market. Desperate to secure her dream home and start a family, Margo Miyake’s obsessive pursuit escalates from awkward charm offensives to manipulative, violent schemes. Sharp, satirical, and chaotic, the novel explores millennial anxieties, material obsession, and the extremes of ambition. |
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| The Keeper of Magical Things by Julie LeongNovice mage Certainty Bulrush wants to be useful to the Guild, but her lack of power hasn't made it easy for her to keep up. When she is assigned to work with chronic overachiever Aurelia, the two of them form an unlikely bond moving magical artifacts -- and may learn that magic is stronger when shared instead of hoarded. For fans of: queer romantic fantasy with charm and whimsy, such as Maiga Doocy's Sorcery and Small Magics or Rebecca Thorne's Can't Spell Treason Without Tea. |
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| Silent Bones by Val McDermidIn 2025 Scotland, a motorway landslide unearths the body of investigative journalist Sam Nimmo, who'd gone missing 11 years ago just after his girlfriend was murdered. In their compelling 8th outing, DCI Karen Pirie of Police Scotland's Historic Cases Unit and her team dig into the case that has ties to Scottish Independence, gambling, and Edinburgh's The Scotsman Steps. Try these next: Stuart MacBride's Logan McRae mysteries; Jane Casey's Maeve Kerrigan novels. |
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| The Burning Grounds by Abir MukherjeeIn 1920s Calcutta, India, by the river where the dead are burned, a popular British philanthropist is found murdered. Police detective Sam Wyndham is assigned to the case, giving him a chance to reignite the career he sacrificed to help his wrongly accused colleague, Surendranath Banerjee. Meanwhile, Banerjee has returned from Europe to look for his missing cousin, leading the two to reunite in order to help each other in their gritty, intricately plotted 6th outing. |
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| The Stories We Carry by Robin W. PearsonBookstore owner Glory Pryor isn't ready to let go of her North Carolina shop and retire, even if her kind husband of five years thinks she should. Then the arrival of a widow and her young child, who have connections to Glory's past, shake up everything in this warm-hearted Christian novel. Try this next: Lauraine Snelling's The Florence Legacy. |
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| House of Day, House of Night by Olga TokarczukThis reissuing of a book first published in Polish in 1998 by a Nobel and Booker Prize winner explores life in a small village along the Polish-Czech border. Stylistically complex and using a variety of elements (stories, gossip, recipes, etc.), Olga Tokarczuk's "scattered fragments are beautifully tied together to form a unified whole" (Library Journal). Try this next: Vaim by Jon Fosse. |
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| Beasts of the Sea by Iida TurpeinenPart of Captain Bering's Great Northern Expedition in 1741, naturalist Georg Steller notices an animal that's never been documented. But the starving men hunt and kill the gentle sea cows for food, which leads to their extinction just 27 years later. As years pass, a sea cow skeleton is found, studied, and moved to a museum in the 1950s in this "masterful debut" (Booklist) that fuses science and literature. Read-alike: Ethan Rutherford's North Sun, or The Voyage of the Whaleship Esther. |
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| Mexico: A 500-Year History by Paul GillinghamHistorian Paul Gillingham's evocative and nuanced history of Mexico's global influence chronicles the country's evolution, from Spain's colonization of the Aztec empire in the early 16th century to Mexico's role today. Further reading: America, América: A New History of the New World by Greg Grandin. |
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| Daring to Be Free: Rebellion and Resistance of the Enslaved in the Atlantic World by Sudhir HazareesinghHistorian and Black Spartacus author Sudhir Hazareesingh's thought-provoking revisionist history eschews Eurocentric notions of abolition to reveal the forgotten ways in which enslaved Africans and African Americans actively resisted their captors in thought and deed. Further reading: Brooding Over Bloody Revenge: Enslaved Women's Lethal Resistance by Nikki M. Taylor. |
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| Paper Chase by Julia Donaldson; illustrated by Victoria Sandøy When Ginger's paper airplane collides with James' book under the tallest tree in the forest, it kicks off a friendship full of joyful, imaginative play. This endearing story in verse also depicts how trees become paper, and how natural resources should be used respectfully. |
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| Xolo by Donna Barba Higuera; illustrated by Mariana Ruiz Johnson In Aztec mythology, the feathered serpent god Quetzalcoatl gets the credit for reviving humanity after their destruction. But in this eye-catching and emotional graphic novel, dog-headed Xolotl (god of lightning, misfortune, and death) proves himself as the real hero. For fans of: underdog characters and bright, bold artwork. |
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| There's Always Next Year by Leah Johnson and George M. JohnsonOn New Year’s Day, influencer Dom returns to Indiana hoping for viral success. Meanwhile, his cousin Andy is searching for evidence to stop gentrification in her town. As their paths collide, they must reckon with the truest versions of themselves. Read-alikes: Laura Taylor Namey’s With Love, Echo Park; Elise Bryant’s Reggie and Delilah's Year of Falling. |
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| Mindworks: An Uncanny Compendium of Short Fiction by Neal ShustermanA hot tub monster, an all-consuming virtual reality game, and a sky full of bats are just some of the things menacing the characters in this short story collection showcasing science fiction, dystopian settings, and horror. Fans of Neal Shusterman’s Arc of a Scythe series will also appreciate two new stories from that world. |
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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