A running ranking of the books that I have reviewed this year, updated and reranked after each book that I finish.

Whether you’re looking for the next viral BookTok recommendation, a thriller from a favorite author, or a Pulitzer-worthy literary fiction masterpiece, I’ve rounded up the top upcoming books of 2026 that you need to preorder now.

★★★★★ A funny, heartwarming character study of a sardonic 81-year-old former convict whose quiet life unravels when a neighbor turns up dead.

★★★★☆ Two actors with an undeniable connection explore a relentless on-again, off-again romance in this spicy, love-it-or-hate-it read built for the theater crowd.

★★★★☆ A woman attempts to found a fledgling nation to escape the suffocating control of a totalitarian empire in this interesting sci-fi space opera.

★★★★☆ Years after her husband was captured by armed men on their wedding day, a woman discovers that he's alive. She's happily remarried, but compelled to seek him out.

★★★☆☆ A stranded group faces predators—both animal and human—in a South African game reserve in this twisty thriller that falls short on execution.

★★★★★ A coming-of-age novel set at an elite boarding that focuses as much on class, race, and outsider status as it does on the central murder mystery.