Welcome to 2026!

Each January, I typically identify a few series that I want to prioritize in the coming year. When I started this tradition, my lists were long and ambitious… and I didn’t particularly succeed at sticking to my plans. Last year, I scaled bag and highlighted a much smaller selection of series — and while I didn’t get to all of them, I did finish one series and sampled a few others.

As always, there are a few series (completed or ongoing) that I’d like to at least start. If I like the first book, maybe I’ll decide to keep going… but in any case, I hope to sample a few series starters and then see how I feel.

My priority series to read in 2026 will be:

Haven’s Rock series by Kelley Armstrong: The Rockton series was a highlight for me in 2025, and I’m thrilled that there’s a spin-off series so I can keep spending time with these characters. I’ve been holding off since early December… and now that it’s 2026, I’m reading to dive in.

The fourth book, Sign of Danger, is the newest book, coming in February 2026. I do plan to read all four of these, not necessarily by February, but certainly within the next few months.

Other series to sample or binge in 2026:

The Mary books (Lady Janies series) by Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton, and Jodi Meadows: My one hold-over from 2025! I really did mean to get to at least one of these books, and I’m recommitting to it for 2026.

The Chronicles of St Mary’s series by Jodi Taylor: According to Goodreads, there are 14 primary works plus a whole bunch of short stories in this series — which sounds a bit daunting, and yet, I’ve been seeing so many rave reviews for these books that I feel like I’m really missing out if I don’t give them a try. I’m committing to reading the first in the series, Just One Damned Thing After Another… and we’ll see what happens after that.

The Thursday Murder Club series by Richard Osman: I read the first book late in 2025 — and yes, it lives up to the hype. There are currently four more books in the series, and I plan to read at least one or two (if not more) this year.

Mr. Darcy & Miss Tilney series by Claudia Gray: I read the first book in this series over a year ago, and I’ve been wanting to get back to it, at least for one more book. The 5th book in the series will be released in June 2026.

Children of Time by Adrian Tchaikovsky: I finally read the first book in this series this past year, after having it on my series-to-read list for several years in a row! I liked it a lot, but don’t necessarily feel a burning desire to dive back in right away. Still, I think I’d like to at least give the 2nd book a try, and then decide about the rest — so I’m only including book #2 on my list for now.

The “maybe” books:

And now, all my “maybe” choices — these are all series starters that I’m interested in. Maybe I’ll get to some of these in 2026, and then maybe I’ll want to read more from the same series… or maybe not. In any case, here are the other series starters that I’m considering this year, including several that are holdovers from 2025:

• Something Fabulous by Alexis Hall
• Pines by Blake Crouch
• Legendborn by Tracy Deonn
• Daughter of the Forest by Juliet Marillier
• Virgin River by Robyn Carr
• Wool (Silo, #1) by Hugh Howey
• The Siren of Sussex by Mimi Matthews
• Because of Miss Bridgerton by Julia Quinn

Are you planning to start any new series this year? If you’ve read any of the series on my list for 2026, please let me know what you thought and if you have any recommendations!