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We are already more than halfway through the second month of the year. It’s surprising how quickly things have moved and how long 2026 has already felt. If there’s one thing we can celebrate, it’s this: the books we see on the shelves keep us entertained, informed, and prepared to endure. I don’t know about you, but as this winter continues, I’m finding a lot of comfort and hope in reading.
New releases start to increase this week, and we will see this pattern continue over the next few months. However, it should be noted that there are no new book series being published in either hardcover or paperback. Everything here stands on its own, and is a real treat for some readers—including readers themselves.
This week, you’ll be dealing with mischief with the gods, a little love on ice, a Halloween party gone terribly wrong, and more. Whatever genre you prefer, there’s something calling your name.
New YA hardcover releases out this week
New hardcover series releases:
“Farewell and Everything After” by Mai Koyoto
Nika’s father died five years ago and her family has never taken time to truly grieve. They commemorate her father every year on the anniversary of his death, and practice the Filipino belief bagbag – that you can never return home after visiting the grave or else the ghost of the dead will follow you.
This year, Nika’s mother’s new fund shows up at the cemetery during their visit, and her mother is angry enough to run out and go home. This causes the ghost of Nika’s father to return to the house, but only Nika can see him.
Nika uses this time to reconnect with her father, including learning about his history with her mother. When Nika herself begins to fall in love with Saif, her father’s memories of his love for Nika’s mother are renewed. Little by little, Nika’s father feels more and more alive, and now she worries about what happens when she loses him again.
All members continue to reach out below for more of this week’s hottest new guys.
Love is My Sword: A Novel Based on the Life, Letters, and Diary of Young Sylvia Plath by R. L. Toalson
Inspired by the true memoirs and letters of acclaimed and celebrated poet Sylvia Plath, this novel explores the highs, lows, and challenges she faced during her high school and college years. More specifically, it addresses the tension between what were the expectations of women of her era—marriage, children, and homemaking—and Plath’s own ambitions for a literary career.
Postscript by Corey McCarthy
Few humans survived the fast-moving apocalypse. But when West shows up to the place that was once Cape Cod, he changes the lives of the few survivors in unimaginable ways. He’s an amateur anthropologist who challenges survivors to resist resigning themselves to extinction. Building a family may be the most important tool and strategy they can imagine.
They Call It “Regret” by Chanel Desamours
Simone Washington loves Halloween, and this year, she’s having her annual epic Halloween party in honor of her 18th birthday. She and the party will be the talk of the school. It will include an overnight stay at Dolls Head Lake and plenty of campfire tales. One of the attendees? A witch called Regret.
At the party, Simon’s best friend dies under mysterious circumstances and some of Simon’s secrets begin to come to light. Enter our witch Regret, who makes Simon a very big offer: if Simon can break the curse that binds Regret to Dolls Head Lake within two weeks, Keira will be brought back to life. If Simon fails, Kira will be killed again and no one will think the killer is anyone other than Simon.
Wicked Chaos by Salma Sorin
If crossing mythological deities into the mortal world is your cup of tea, add this to your TBR. It’s steeped in Egyptian mythology as well.
On her 17th birthday, Amira Shah broke up with her boyfriend, Kaydan Jaziri. It was unexpected, and something Amira wouldn’t give up easily, especially since she had just heard Kaidan fighting with someone else in town. She decides to follow him after that battle and enters the portal that takes her to the Underworld.
From here you discover that Kaidan is a descendant of Apep, the God of Chaos. Suddenly, all these problematic situations made Kaidan Amira start to make sense.
What is happening is much greater than what Amira expected. Kaidan wants to know the reason behind a series of murders in the human world because the victims are descendants of another. He’s worried he might be next on their list.
Amira, feeling an unexpected connection to this world, offers to help Kaidan on his quest. It turns out that her unexpected connection might not be so unexpected at all — Amira might be part of this pantheon, too.
More new hardcover releases:
- Maker of the Sun and Stars by Rachel Griffin
- This forlorn beauty is by Elle Grenier
A new YA paperback comes out this week
Four Feasts and a Funeral by Farida Abeke Imedi and Adiba Jaigirdar
Happy away from boarding school, but returns to New Crosshaven after the death of his favorite librarian. He’s there for the funeral and all summer long. His goal is to avoid meeting his ex-boyfriend Tiwa and postpone telling his Bangladeshi parents that he wants to become an artist.
Tiwa doesn’t want to see Sayid all summer, partly because she thinks he’s gotten a bit arrogant from boarding school and partly because, well, she doesn’t understand why he’s starting to ignore her at all. Fortunately, she has plenty to keep her busy, including helping her mother celebrate Eid at her beloved Islamic center.
When a fire breaks out at the Islamic Center and exposes the mayor’s plans to get rid of the center entirely, Saeed and Tiwa have to talk. They have to work together to save their beloved Islamic center and ensure a successful Eid, and…well, you know, sparks may have flown.
Love on Ice by Sarah Nye
Harper has long admired the star of her school’s hockey team, so when he crashes in her backyard after stealing the rival school’s mascot, she sees her chance. Harper will keep quiet about it in exchange for Easton agreeing to be her prom date.
However, it won’t be long before things get more complicated because they are here now TRUE Feelings grow between them.
More YA paperback releases this week:
- I Am the Cage by Alison Sweet Grant
Get excited not just about this week’s new releases. Check out the upcoming YA book and movie adaptations you have in store this year.
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