2026 Reading List | Must-Reads Booktok Is Raving About
I'm on a journey to unrot my brain this year, and one of the first steps I'm taking is setting a reading goal and making a list so that it's easier to stick to my goal. Here are the books I'm planning on 2026 (lots of romantasy, a little fiction, and even some self help)!
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When I very first started this blog (9!!! years ago), I used to make yearly, and even seasonal, reading lists of the books I planned on reading. Writing them was so much fun, and planning what I was going to read and making these lists REALLY helped me stay on track with my reading goals for the year.
The last reading list I made was allllll the way back in 2021 (crazy), but this year I'm really wanting to work towards unrotting my brain. I want to spend less time on social media/ short-form content, and more time consuming long-form content like books. I set a reading goal every year for how many books I want to read, and for the last 3 years, I've fallen short of that goal. So, this year, I'm getting really serious about it and doing whatever I can to set myself up for success!
For this list, I found a bunch of different books I've seen people RAVING about--books that sound so good I'm EXCITED to read them (which will be important for making sure I choose to read them over scrolling tiktok lol).
Here are all the books I've heard insanely good things about that I'm planning on reading in 2026!
This post is all about my 2026 reading list.
My 2026 Reading List
1. Holly (Belladonna 3.5)
This is the book I am starting off the year with! At the end of 2025, I finished Wisteria, which was the final book in the Belladonna series. Highly recommend the series if you like atmospheric, gothic romantasy.
I'm reading this cute Christmas novella of the series now!
2. The House In The Cerulean Sea
I've heard GREAT things about this book. My friend (who has impeccable book taste) has recommend it to me several times. I asked her for a magical, atmospheric book rec, and she told me this, so I'm excited to see if it lives up to the hype!
3. Throne Of Secrets (Prince Of Sin Book 2)
This book is by the same author who wrote Kingdom of the Wicked and Stalking Jack the Ripper, if you're familiar with either of those. The Prince of Sin series is a spin off of Kingdom of the Wicked (which I highly recommend). I really enjoyed the first book of this series, so I'm excited to read this one. The next book comes out this year as well, so I'll potentially read that too!
Related Post: 21 Amazing YA Fantasy Books You Absolutely Must Add To Your List
4. The Midnight Library
I found this book because I saw lots of people raving about it on tiktok. I'm still not entirely sure what it's about, but I've seen lots of people say this book changed their perspective on life and life's "what ifs." I'm excited to see if it does the same for me!
5. The Song Of Achilles
I've heard SO many people say that this is one of those books that sticks with you forever. I saw one specific tiktok that said "can everyone give be their absolute 5 star books. I'm talking inject in your veins, tattoo it on your body, gut wrenching, utterly mind consuming, take over your life and personality 5 star reads." This one was recommended in the comments A LOT.
6. The Seven Husbands Of Evelyn Hugo
This is another book that I saw recommended in the aforementioned tiktok comment section A TON. I've also seen a lot of recommendations for this book over the years, and hopefully this is the year I finally get to it!
Related Post: 12 Highly-Anticipated Fantasy Books You Must Read This Year
7. Binding 13 (Boys Of Tommen #1)
I'm usually not crazy about high school based books, so this is definitely not one I would usually pick up on my own. However, this series came HEAVILY recommended on tiktok. I decided not to put this one on my list multiple times just based on the summary, but I just kept seeing more and more people going crazy for this series, so I decided to at least try the first one to see if I like it.
8. One Dark Window (The Shepherd King #1)
One of my favorite booktokers made a video about this book, and everyone in the comments was saying how amazing it is. I love some good dark/ gothic fantasy, and based on what I've seen people saying about this book, I think this is the book I'm most excited to read on this list!
9. Two Twisted Crowns (The Shepherd King #2)
This is the second book in the formerly mentioned series! I'm assuming I'm going to like the first book at least enough to want to read the second, so I added it to the list.
Related Post: Books I've read so far in 2021 + currently reading
10. A Fire In The Flesh (Flesh And Fire #3)
The Flesh and Fire series was one of my absolute favorites when I first read it. I've unfortunately put off reading this for years because the companion series (Blood and Ash), which also used to be one of my favorite series, got a little convoluted for me to the point I didn't want to finish it.
I did really like this series though, so I want to give it a chance even though the companion series disappointed me. So, I'm going to at least try to read this this year. It did get a Goodreads Choice award, so that says something!
11. Born Of Blood And Ash (Flesh And Fire #4)
This is the final book in the Flesh and Fire series. I'm assuming I'll like the third book enough to want to finish the series, so I put this one on the list as well!
12. Wild Reverence
One of my favorite booktokers (@mandysreads) said "I think that this is literally the most beautiful book I've ever read. Like it makes me wish I could paint it. Definition of YEARNING." That pretty much convinced me to read this book!
I've also heard one of this author's other books, Divine Rivals, is really good. If I really like this one I might add that one to the list as well!
13. The Poppy War
After reading the synopsis of this book I'd decided NOT to add it to my reading list for this year. However, after hearing WAY too many people recommending it, I've specifically made this list longer than I was originally going to, because this seems like a must-read.
Related Post: Books I read in 2021 Part 2 + currently reading
14. The 4 Hour Work Week
I've been wanting to read this for years, but it's never squeezed its way into my shuffle of self-help books. As a small business owner, I'm definitely going to prioritize reading it this year! A friend, who is also a business owner, highly recommended it to me as well. I'm excited to see what I'll learn from this one!
15. The Alchemist
This book has been on my TBR for probably 10 years at this point. It's another that just hasn't managed to squeeze it's way into my self-help lineup yet. I'm a firm believer that spiritual/ perspective-changing books like this one come into your life when you most need them though, and I finally plan to read this this year, so it must be the right time!
16. The Artists Way
I've started this book twice now, once in 2024 when my boyfriend gifted it to me, and again in 2025. I love what I've read so far, and I've also heard SO many people say how life-changing this book is. Unfortunately, I keep getting caught on the journal prompts, so I keep getting stuck and forgetting to continue this book. Hopefully I can dedicate myself to actually doing the exercises in the book at some point this year!
17. The Pivot Year
I've read some of Brianna Weist's other books, and absolutely loved them. This book has lots of raving reviews.
This post was all about my 2026 reading list.
More Posts You'll Love:
21 Amazing YA Fantasy Books You Absolutely Must Add To Your List
12 Highly-Anticipated Fantasy Books You Must Read This Year
Books I've read so far in 2021 + currently reading
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