Top Ten Tuesday: 2026 Releases (First Half)

Posted January 13, 2026 by Nicky in General / 36 Comments

This week’s Top Ten Tuesday theme is about the books we’re looking forward to in the first half of 2026. I’m not always great at keeping an eye on this kind of thing, but it turns out I do have some books I really, really want.

Cover of Agnes Aubert's Mystical Cat Shelter by Heather Fawcett Cover of Night Shade & Oak, by Molly O'Neill Cover of Strange Buildings by Uketsu Cover of Charlotte Brontë's Life through Clothes by Eleanor Houghton Cover of Star Shipped by Cat Sebastian

  1. Agnes Aubert’s Mystical Cat Shelter, by Heather Fawcett. I actually have an ARC of this one, so I have to get round to it as soon as possible! I’ve enjoyed Fawcett’s other books, though this one basically had me at “mystical cat shelter”, to be fair.
  2. Nightshade & Oak, by Molly O’Neill. I really liked Greenteeth, so I’m quite hopeful about this one too, especially since it sounds like it has similar roots. I just got a copy of this from Hachette yesterday morning, so I’m going to dig in soon!
  3. Strange Buildings, by Uketsu. I enjoyed Strange Pictures and especially Strange Houses, so I expect to have fun with this one as well. Maybe I’d better see if I can wishlist it at the library, because Strange Houses was in high demand when it came out.
  4. Charlotte BrontĂ«’s Life Through Clothes, by Eleanor Houghton. I’m not interested in fashion or clothes per se, but more in what clothes and fashion can tell us about the people who wore them, the times when they were fashionable, etc. I like some of the BrontĂ«s’ work, and especially Jane Eyre, so I’m interested both as someone mildly interested in the BrontĂ«s and as someone interested in the history of clothes.
  5. Star Shipped, by Cat Sebastian. I love Sebastian’s work (and feel it seems to keep on getting better), and I’m very amused by the setting of the two characters being stars in a sci-fi show. Looking forward to this!
  6. Apparently, Sir Cameron Needs to Die, by Greer Stothers. I know comparatively little about this one, but it sounds like a fun romance.
  7. The Lost Book of Lancelot, by John Glynn. It was high time someone played with ‘The Book of Galehaut’ (there was a retelling that was almost a translation, which I don’t count), because Lancelot and Galehaut’s relationship in the Vulgate Cycle is heckin’ intense, and it’s quite the addition to the Arthurian legends… but sadly ignored. I’m not sure how close a retelling this is going to be, but I look forward to seeing what the author does with it, all the same.
  8. Solo Leveling (manhwa), vol 14, by Dubu etc. This contains side stories for Solo Leveling, so I’m verryyyyy curious. As people on my blog know, I’ve got very into both the manhwa and the novels, though I’m close to finished with the novels, so it’s nice to have something new to look forward to from the manhwa.
  9. After the Disabled God of War Became My Concubine, vol 1, by Li Gou Hua. This danmei isn’t from one of the authors I’ve read before, so I don’t know a lot about what to expect, but I like the idea of the premise (professor ends up transmigrating to the past and discovering that a weird thesis he read is true, and he’s living it). It’s a familiar sort of theme for light novels and I’m enjoying the many permutations of it immensely.
  10. Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint (novel), vol 3, by singNsong. I’m reading both the manhwa and the novel, and I am very excited to dig in and get to the next bit in the novel. By that time I think I’ll have read just past it in the manhwa, but it’s always interesting to see how manhwa adapts the stories and sometimes places slightly different emphases. And of course, sometimes there are slightly different translations or notes on translations too.

Cover of Apparently, Sir Cameron Needs to Die by Greer Stothers Cover of The Lost Book of Lancelot by John Glynn Cover of Solo Leveling manhwa vol 14 by Dubu Cover of After the Disabled God of War Became My Concubine vol 1 by Liu Gou Hua

Quite a weird mix, I’m sure, and also no doubt I’ve missed loads of stuff I’d be interested in. Looking forward to seeing everyone’s lists!

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36 responses to “Top Ten Tuesday: 2026 Releases (First Half)”

  1. Louise

    I don’t really read NF anymore, but I might make an exeption for Charlotte Brontë’s Life Through Clothes!
    I loved Agnes Aubert’s Mystical Cat Shelter, and Star Shipped and Apparently, Sir Cameron Needs to Die are both already high priority for me. I’ve been seeing more and more of the Uketsu books around lately, so I really need to give at least one a try.

    Reply
    • Nicky

      I’m looking forward to that one — though of course, I read quite a bit of non-fiction, hehe.

      I wasn’t sure what I’d think of the Uketsu books, but I absolutely inhaled both of them in one session each. The mystery paired with the images that you have to try to interpret is pretty fun.

      Reply
  2. Tammy

    I’m also reading Agnes Aubert and Nightshade & Oak (hopefully both soon!) And I’m so curious about Strange Buildings and the rest of that series.

    Reply
    • Nicky

      I really liked Strange Houses, so I’m pretty excited for Strange Buildings, especially as it was a really fast read for me — just yanked me in and didn’t let go!

      Reply
  6. HarpGriffin

    I admit I’m dreading Star Shipped. I don’t like contemporary romance, fan fiction (especially real person fiction), *and* I have yet to see anything set on a television set that looks anything like what it really is like. Cat Sebastian got me to read baseball romance but this might be too hard a sell for me, even from her.
    HarpGriffin recently posted…A classic book from a country not your ownMy Profile

    Reply
    • Nicky

      I hadn’t heard about it before I saw it in the Hachette newsletter, but I’m definitely looking forward to it now, I liked Greenteeth a lot.

      Reply
  10. Anne@HeadFullofBooks

    I always miss books when I am looking ahead. I try to keep an eye out for favorite authors’ upcoming books but I am not always successful and I end up bumping into them wondering where I have been. Clearly looking in the other direction. Right now I am trying to finish up on books I wanted to read in 2025 and didn’t get to. Then I can face forward and move more confidently into 2026 and its new titles.
    Anne@HeadFullofBooks recently posted…TTT: Anticipated Upcoming BooksMy Profile

    Reply
    • Nicky

      I really like both the manhwa (it’s Korean, not Japanese, so it’s manhwa, not manga!) and the light novel, though they’re very similar so you only “need” to read one unless you get super into it.

      Reply

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