2025 had readers bringing in books to the online media, including TikTok, Instagram and other platforms. It left consistent readers buzzing for what the new year will bring to the shelves.
1.“Just Friends”
A book that caused lots of buzz when announced was “Just Friends” by Haley Pham, an online book influencer. She began writing her book over the summer of 2025. It’s a standard friends-to-lovers story, inspired by her own life. It comes out on Mar. 6, and she’ll be doing a book tour that she recently announced. It includes places like New York, LA, Chicago, Austin and Houston.
2. “The Artisanal Library”
“The Artisanal Library” is a magical mystery, as the author Kate Quinn took the phrase “books are uniquely portable magic” by Stephen King literally. Her characters live inside the books, turning the objects into portals. It’s science fiction fantasy, with the main character, Alexandria “Alix” Watson, being the result of a tough foster care system. It will be released on February 17.
3. “The Daisy Chain Flower Shop”
“The Daisy Chain Flower Shop” is part of Laurie Gilmore’s six-book series “Dream Harbor.” Coming out on May 19, it features a summer theme, incorporating writing tropes such as small-town and found family.
4. “The Book Witch”
A follow-up to Meg Shaffer’s previous book, “The Wishing Game,” is “The Book Witch.” It’s yet another fantasy mystery book. Shaffer took a Mary Poppins-type turn and gave her main character, Rainy, a magic umbrella to jump into books. It officially gets published on April 7.
5. “Adversary to the Villain”
“Adversary to the Villain” is the fourth and final book in the “Assistant to the Villain” franchise by Hannah Nicole Maehrer. The series originated on TikTok as a web series and evolved into an actual book later in 2023. The next book in the series has been published every year since 2023. This novel comes out Aug. 4.
6. “The Sun and the Starmaker”
Objectively, “The Sun and the Starmaker” has one of the most decorative and gorgeous cover designs in this lineup. Rachel Griffin, the author, clearly knows what she wanted, as the composition of the book aligns with the story. On Feb. 17, Aurora Finch escapes her village to study under the Starmaker’s guidance, who sensed a source of magic in her, despite only hearing stories about the mystical man.
“The cover itself is a masterpiece of color, detail, and otherworldly art,” Greta Tornielli says on the topic of the previous book. “It seems like an amazing book, and I can’t wait to add it to [my] book pile.”
7. “Everyone in This Bank Is a Thief”
Benjamin Stevenson wrote his final book in the Ernest Cunningham series, called “Everyone in This Bank Is a Thief.” The fourth edition includes ten suspects, as all of them, including even Ernest himself, are locked in the bank trying to find out who the murder.
8. “I Could Give You The Moon”
“I Could Give You The Moon” by Ann Liang is a spin-off sequel to her debut novel, “If You Could See The Sun,” back in 2022, almost four years later. Fans of the novel have been eagerly waiting since she announced her new book, hoping for more on the memorable characters. It’s a young adult magical realism book set in a Beijing school. It follows the main characters, Chanel Cao and Ares Yin, as they try to find Ares’s missing brother and save Chanel’s famous family from getting socially destroyed. It’ll be out on Apr. 14.
9. “The Gilded Blade”
Another book in a spin-off is “The Gilded Blade” by Jennifer Lynn Barnes. It’s the third book in “The Grandest Game,” a spin-off series for the “Inheritance Games,” which is an even more well-known series. It’s a YA mystery thriller, with puzzles and secrets that you can figure out along with the plot. It comes out on July 14.
10. “Six of Crows”
“Six of Crows” is a duology that also got a TV series adaptation. Now, a new addition to the series is coming out, as Leigh Bardugo wrote a short story continuing from the last book. It was only recently announced that it would come out in June.
11. “Innamorata”
On Mar. 17, “Innamorata” by Ava Ried, the author of the hit trilogy, “A Study In Drowning,” was published. The book follows Lady Agnes, who is on a mission to give her cousin, betrothed to Liuprand, heir to the royal throne, despite not speaking for seven years.
12. “Elysian”
“Elysian” is the official name for the very anticipated tenth book in “Keeper of the Lost Cities,” as fans waited for almost two years after “Unraveled,” which was considered the ninth and a half book. While not much other than the title has been announced, Shannon Messenger updates fans through her Instagram once in a while with updates on her writing progress. The first chapter, however, is in the paperback version of the latest book. It’s believed to be released later this year.
“I’ve been reading since I started in sixth grade, and it’s what got me into reading,” Addison Erro said. “It’s such a big part of what got me into something that I love now.”
From mystery to fantasy to realism, there are even more books arriving this year, and maybe one of those will also make a huge impact, and with that, 2026 could be even bigger for the book community than before.
