Most popular books published in January 2026

Books most frequently added to Goodreads members' shelves, updated weekly

#1

The New York Times bestselling Queen of Twists is back with a psychological masterpiece that will leave you questioning everything you know about love, identity, and revenge.

Eden Fox, an artist on the brink of her big break, sets off for a run before her first exhibition. When she returns to the home she recently moved into, Spyglass, an enchanting old house in Hope Falls, nothing is as it should be. Her key doesn’t fit. A woman, eerily similar to her, answers the door. And her husband insists that the stranger is his wife.

One house. One husband. Two women. Someone is lying.

Six months earlier, a reclusive Londoner called Birdy, reeling from a life-changing diagnosis, inherits Spyglass. This unexpected gift from a long-lost grandmother brings her to the pretty seaside village of Hope Falls. But then Birdy stumbles upon a shadowy London clinic that claims to be able to predict a person's date of death, including her own. Secrets start to unravel, and as the line between truth and lies blurs, Birdy feels compelled to right some old wrongs.

My Husband’s Wife is a tangled web of deception, obsession, and mystery that will keep you guessing until the last page. Prepare yourself for the ultimate mind-bending marriage thriller and step inside Spyglass – if you dare – to experience a story where nothing is as it seems.

#2

Dear Debbie

Freida McFadden

171k shelvings

A brand new twisted thriller that will have you cheering "good for her!" from the #1 New York Times bestselling and global sensation Freida McFadden, author of The Housemaid!

Sometimes, enough is enough…

Debbie Mullen is losing it. For years, she has compiled all of her best advice into her column, Dear Debbie, where the wives of New England come for sympathy and neighborly advice. Through her work, Debbie has heard from countless women who are ignored, belittled, or even abused by their husbands. And Debbie does her best to guide them in the right direction.

Or at least, she did.

These days, Debbie’s life seems to be spiraling out of control. She just lost her job. Something strange is happening with her teenage daughters. And her husband is keeping secrets, according to the tracking app she installed on his phone. Now, Debbie’s done being the bigger person. She’s done being reasonable and practical. It’s time to take her own advice.

And now it’s time for payback against all the people in her life who deserve it the most.

From #1 New York Times and international bestselling author Freida McFadden comes a biting, subversive thriller about what happens when women finally choose to take justice into their own hands – with killer results.

#3

Anatomy of an Alibi

Ashley Elston

132k shelvings

Two women. One dead husband. And only one alibi.

Everyone at Chantilly’s Bar noticed out-of-towner Camille Bayliss. Red lips, designer heels, sipping a Negroni. But that woman wasn’t Camille Bayliss. It was Aubrey Price.

Camille Bayliss appears to have the picture-perfect life; she’s married to hotshot lawyer Ben and is the daughter of a wealthy Louisiana family. Only nothing is as it seems: Camille believes Ben has been hiding dirty secrets for years, but she can’t find proof because he tracks her every move.

Aubrey Price has been haunted by the terrible night that changed her life a decade ago, and she’s convinced Benjamin Bayliss knows something about it. Living in a house full of criminals, Aubrey understands there’s more than one way to get to the truth—and she may have found the best way in.

Aubrey and Camille hatch a plan. It sounds simple: For twelve hours, Aubrey will take Camille’s place. Camille will spy on Ben, and the two women will get the answers they desperately seek.

Except the next morning, Ben is found murdered. Both women need an airtight alibi, but only one of them has it. And one false step is all it takes for everything to come undone.

#4

Half His Age

Jennette McCurdy

117k shelvings

From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of I’m Glad My Mom Died comes a sad, funny, thrilling novel about sex, consumerism, class, desire, loneliness, the internet, rage, intimacy, power, and the (oftentimes misguided) lengths we’ll go to in order to get what we want.

Waldo is ravenous. Horny. Blunt. Naive. Wise. Impulsive. Lonely. Angry. Forceful. Hurting. Perceptive. Endlessly wanting. And the thing she wants most of all: Mr. Korgy, her creative writing teacher with the wife and the kid and the mortgage and the bills, with the dead dreams and the atrophied looks and the growing paunch. She doesn’t know why she wants him. Is it his passion? His life experience? The fact that he knows books and films and things that she doesn’t? Or is it purer than that, rooted in their unlikely connection, their kindred spirits, the similar filter with which they each take in the world around them? Or, perhaps, it’s just enough that he sees her when no one else does.

Startlingly perceptive, mordantly funny, and keenly poignant, Half His Age is a rich character study of a yearning seventeen-year-old who disregards all obstacles—or attempts to overcome them—in her effort to be seen, to be desired, to be loved.

#5

The First Time I Saw Him (Hannah Hall, #2)

Laura Dave

67.2k shelvings

Laura Dave continues Hannah Hall’s pulse-pounding journey in the riveting and deeply moving sequel to the #1 New York Times bestselling blockbuster and Apple TV+ show, The Last Thing He Told Me.

Five years after her husband, Owen, disappeared, Hannah Hall and her stepdaughter, Bailey, have settled into a new life in Southern California. Together, they’ve forged a relationship with Bailey’s grandfather Nicholas and are putting the past behind them.

But when Owen shows up at Hannah’s new exhibition, she knows that she and Bailey are in danger again.

Hannah and Bailey are forced to go on the run in a relentless race to keep their past from catching up with them. As a thrilling drama unfolds, Hannah risks everything to get Bailey to safety—and finds there just might be a way back to Owen and their long-awaited second chance.

A gripping, rich, and deeply moving novel about the power of forgiveness, The First Time I Saw Him picks up right where the epilogue for the “genuinely moving” (The New York Times) The Last Thing He Told Me left off, giving listeners the eagerly awaited and absolutely exhilarating sequel to Dave’s global blockbuster.

#6

The Storm

Rachel Hawkins

64.5k shelvings

St. Medard’s Bay, Alabama is famous for three things: the deadly hurricanes that regularly sweep into town, the Rosalie Inn, a century-old hotel that’s survived every one of those storms, and Lo Bailey, the local girl infamously accused of the murder of her lover, political scion Landon Fitzroy, during Hurricane Marie in 1984.

When Geneva Corliss, the current owner of the Rosalie Inn, hears a writer is coming to town to research the crime that put St. Medard’s Bay on the map, she’s less interested in solving a whodunnit than in how a successful true crime book might help the struggling inn’s bottom line. But to her surprise, August Fletcher doesn’t come to St. Medard’s Bay alone. With him is none other than Lo Bailey herself. Lo says she’s returned to her hometown to clear her name once and for all, but the closer Geneva gets to both Lo and August, the more she wonders if Lo is actually back to settle old scores.

As the summer heats up and another monster storm begins twisting its way towards St. Medard’s Bay, Geneva learns that some people can be just as destructive—and as deadly—as any hurricane, and that the truth of what happened to Landon Fitzroy may not be the only secret Lo is keeping…

#7

A Vow in Vengeance (Immortal Desires, #1)

Jaclyn Rodriguez

59k shelvings

Deadly tarot, wicked schemes, dangerous alliances . . . can you survive the Forge?

Sexy, action-packed, and brimming with magic, A Vow in Vengeance is an unputdownable romantasy debut.

Rune Ryker has nothing left to lose. Everything’s been stolen by the Immortals—her family, her home, her freedom. But she’s done playing by their rules.

Each year, humans are forced to journey into the Immortal Realms, but twenty-year-old Rune orchestrates her own selection, determined to find her family and destroy anyone who stands in her way. Rune is used to doing whatever it takes to survive, and now she must endure the Forge, a cutthroat college for the Immortal druids’ elusive tarot magic. When Rune’s magic reveals itself to be the rarest and most powerful, she must live with its only other wielder—Prince Draven. As arrogant as he is ruthlessly ambitious, he’s the last person she can trust.

Rune’s abilities also draw the eyes of the most dangerous druids in the realms. Some want to use her. More want her dead. Draven offers to train her . . . for a price. As Rune becomes ensnared in Draven’s dangerous games, she learns there are secrets at the heart of the kingdom that some will kill to protect.

And Rune and Draven’s growing attraction may be the spark to ignite a brewing war.

Tropes
Enemies to Lovers
Fake dating/ fake fated mates
Coming of rage
There’s only one bed

#8

Woman Down

Colleen Hoover

52.8k shelvings

In this twisty thriller from New York Times bestselling author Colleen Hoover, a frustrated author looks for her muse in a remote hideaway, but what she finds defies all expectations…and reality.

Her words used to set the page on fire. But a viral backlash over her latest film adaptation forced Petra Rose to take a hiatus, resulting in missed deadlines and an overdue mortgage. Branded a fraud and fame-hungry opportunist, she learned the hard way what happens when the internet turns on you. And she’s been uninspired to write ever since.

Now, with her next suspense novel outlined and savings nearly gone, she retreats to a secluded lakeside cabin, hoping to find inspiration. It’s Petra’s last-ditch attempt to save her career—and herself.

Then he shows up.

Detective Nathaniel Saint arrives with disturbing news, his presence igniting a creativity in her she thought long since burned out. Petra’s words return in a rush, and her fictional cop character begins to mirror the very real cop who’s becoming her muse.

Their “research” sessions blur the lines between fantasy and reality. Each glance, every touch pulls Petra deeper into a world she thought she’d never lose herself in again. She’s never felt more alive. But inspiration this powerful comes at a cost.

When Saint starts taking his role in her career a little too seriously, Petra’s forced to confront the chaos she created. But doing so could cost her more than the reputation she’s been trying to salvage. The reputation the world wrote for her—the reputation only she can reclaim.

#9

Hollow

Celina Myers

47.1k shelvings

This special-edition hardcover will include beautifully designed endpapers and sprayed edges, a gorgeous foiled cover, and a brand-new author’s note.

From TikTok sensation Celina Myers comes a fresh, intriguing novel about a woman who finds her destiny and her family after being turned into a vampire.

Mia Adair isn’t even twenty-five yet, but she’s starting to wonder if her peak has already passed. She’s spent years working at her local bookstore, a job that was supposed to be temporary. As a kid, she experienced a strange sort of fame within the paranormal community thanks to her inclusion in a book that revealed Mia’s ability to talk with the dead. But that was then, and Mia’s “gift” dried up once adolescence set in. These days, she feels like she’s nobody special.

Until she dies in a tragic car crash and reawakens as a vampire…

Forced to leave behind everything she knew, Mia must choose to live with one of two rival vampire families. The Bellamy and Sutton clans share a dark, complicated history that spans centuries. As Mia learns about their age-old traditions and extraordinary powers, along with their forbidden romances and betrayals, she’s drawn toward two very different loves. And as she feels her gift returning, more potent than ever before, Mia realizes she’ll need it to protect innocent lives—and save the only family she has left.

#10

The Future Saints

Ashley Winstead

46.6k shelvings

Perfect for fans of Daisy Jones and the Six and In Five Years—a beautiful, powerful, and transportive new novel about a music executive desperately trying to bring a rock band back from the brink, from bestselling author Ashley Winstead.

This is a love story, but not the one you’re expecting.

When record executive Theo meets the Future Saints, they’re bombing at a dive bar in their hometown. Since the tragic death of their manager, the band has been in a downward spiral and Theo has been dispatched to coax a new—and successful—album out of them, or else let them go.

Immediately, Theo is struck by Hannah, the group’s impetuous lead singer, who’s gone off script by debuting a whole new sound, replacing their California pop with gut-wrenching rock. When this new music goes viral, striking an unexpected chord with fans, Theo puts his career on the line to give the Saints one last shot at success with a new tour, new record, and new start.

But Hannah’s grief has larger consequences for the group, and her increasingly destructive antics become a distraction as she and her sister Ginny—her lifelong partner in crime—undermine Theo at every turn. Hannah isn’t ready to move on or prepared for the fame she’s been chasing, and the weight of her problems jeopardize the band, her growing closeness with Theo, and, worst of all, her relationship with her sister—all while the world watches closely. The Future Saints’s big break is here—if only they can survive it.

A novel about sisterhood, friendship, and the ghosts that haunt us, The Future Saints is “a mesmerizing look at grief, love, and the music industry that's so raw and emotional, you’ll want to play it on repeat.” (Laura Hankin, author of One-Star Romance).

#11

The Seven Daughters of Dupree

Nikesha Elise Williams

44.4k shelvings

From the two-time Emmy Award–winning producer and host of the Black and Published podcast comes a sweeping multi-generational epic following seven generations of Dupree women as they navigate love, loss, and the unyielding ties of family in the tradition of Homegoing and The Love Songs of W.E.B. DuBois.

It’s 1995, and fourteen-year-old Tati is determined to uncover the identity of her father. But her mother, Nadia, keeps her secrets close, while her grandmother Gladys remains silent about the family’s past, including why she left Land’s End, Alabama, in 1953. As Tati digs deeper, she uncovers a legacy of family secrets, where every generation of Dupree women has posed more questions than answers.

From Jubi in 1917, whose attempt to pass for white ends when she gives birth to Ruby; to Ruby’s fiery lust for Sampson in 1934 that leads to a baby of her own; to the night in 1980 that changed Nadia’s future forever, the Dupree women carry the weight of their heritage. Bound by a mysterious malediction that means they will only give birth to daughters, the Dupree women confront a legacy of pain, resilience, and survival that began with an enslaved ancestor who risked everything for freedom.

The Seven Daughters of Dupree masterfully weaves together themes of generational trauma, Black women’s resilience, and unbreakable familial bonds. Echoing the literary power of The Twelve Tribes of Hattie by Ayana Mathis, Nikesha Elise Williams delivers a feminist literary fiction that explores the ripple effects of actions, secrets, and love through seven generations of Black women.

#12

Graceless Heart

Isabel Ibañez

42k shelvings

A lush, atmospheric and achingly magical standalone adult fantasy romance set in Renaissance Italy from a #1 New York Times bestselling author.

In 15th-century Volterra, sculptress Ravenna Maffei enters a competition hosted by a secretive, immortal family who offer an invaluable boon to the victor. Desperate to win so she can save her brother, Ravenna reveals a rare magical talent--a dangerous act in a city where magic is forbidden. Her revelation makes her a target, and she is kidnapped by the Luni family and taken to Florence, a city of breathtaking beauty and cutthroat ambition.

There, Ravenna is forced into an impossible task where failure means certain death at the hands of Saturnino dei Luni, the family's enigmatic and merciless heir. But under his cold reserve hides a vulnerability that draws her closer than she ever intended.

Meanwhile, Ravenna's forbidden magic does not go unnoticed. The Pope, waging war against Florence, the Medici, and magic itself, has his own interest in her abilities, seeing her as a potential weapon in his ruthless campaign.

As alliances shift and war brews on the horizon, Ravenna must navigate the treacherous line between survival and betrayal, between love and duty. With time running out and her every move watched, the choices she makes will determine the fate of not just her own life, but the fragile balance of magic and power that could unravel Florence itself.

#13

The Poet Empress

Shen Tao

39.1k shelvings

Debut author Shen Tao introduces readers to the lush, deadly world of The Poet Empress, a sweeping, epic and intimate fantasy perfect for fans of The Serpent & the Wings of Night, The Song of Achilles and She Who Became the Sun.

In the waning years of the Azalea Dynasty, the emperor is dying, the land consumed by famine, and poetry magic lost to all except the powerful.

Wei Yin is desperate. After the fifth death of a sibling, with her family and village on the brink of starvation, she will do anything to save those she loves.

Even offer herself as concubine to the cruel heir of the beautiful and brutal Azalea House.

But in a twist of fate, the palace stands on the knife-edge of civil war with Wei trapped in its center…at the side of a violent prince.

To survive, Wei must harden her heart, rely on her wit, and become dangerous herself. Even if it means becoming a poet in a world where women are forbidden to read—and composing the most powerful spell of all. A ballad of death...and love.

The Poet Empress is an epic fantasy that explores darker themes, subjects, and scenes that may not be suitable for all readers. Please see the author's content note at the beginning of the book.

#14

A Box Full of Darkness

Simone St. James

36.6k shelvings

Siblings return to the house they fled eighteen years before, called back by the ghost of their long-missing brother and his haunting request to come home.

Strange things happen in Fell, New York: A mysterious drowning at the town’s roadside motel. The unexplained death of a young girl whose body is left by the railroad tracks. For Violet, Vail, and Dodie Esmie the final straw was their little brother's shocking disappearance, which started as a normal game of hide-and-seek.

As their parents grew increasingly distant, the sisters were each haunted by visions and frightening events, leading them to leave town and never look back. Violet still sees dead people—spirits who remind her of Sister, the menacing presence that terrorized her for years. Now after nearly two decades it’s time for a homecoming—because Ben is back, and he’s ready to lead them to the answers they’ve longed for and long feared.

#15

Catch Her If You Can (Big Shots, #5)

Tessa Bailey

35.3k shelvings

This special paperback features gorgeous sprayed edges with stenciled artwork.

#1 New York Times bestselling author Tessa Bailey is back with an all-new marriage of convenience, friends-to-lovers sports romance about a baseball catcher and the burlesque club owner he can’t get out of his head.

Madden Donahue, the newest catcher for the Yankees, has been in love with Eve Mitchell since high school, but for some mysterious reason, the burlesque club owner always turns him down. That never stopped him from being her self-appointed protector. Case in point, now that Eve’s sister has left Eve with her two children indefinitely, Madden steps in with a proposition—marry him for the much needed health benefits.

Eve has secretly harbored feelings for Madden all along, but there’s one problem—her best friend Skylar called dibs on him when they were fourteen. Eve has always put their friendship above all else, and she’s not willing to risk losing Skylar over a man. Raised by the local strip club owner, Eve is woefully short on friends and treasures the ones she has. But with Skylar happily paired off, Eve finds herself accepting Madden’s proposal—on the condition that their marriage remains strictly private. She’s not about to let her unique profession and maligned reputation destroy Madden’s shiny new career.

Madden won’t let Eve get away that easily, though. What starts as a marriage of convenience soon ignites into something much hotter, and now it’s up to Madden to convince Eve that their connection is far more than a business arrangement. As the passion builds, can their fake marriage become the real deal?

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