These are the best books being released in January

January is the perfect time to embrace a quieter way of living, and one lifestyle trend we can't get enough of is the analogue trend. People are ditching screens for a cszier way of living by focusing on hobbies like colouring, journaling, and reading in 2026 (find our top reads for 2026 here), and it's undoubtedly making many people feel calmer. There's nothing relaxing about scrolling through social media, which is why we're trying to read more in 2026, and here are six new releases we've got our eyes on.

Your Every Move by Sam Blake (January 1st)

Sam Blake never lets us down and always writes an enthralling page-turner, and this is no different.

Irish estate agent Rosie Kinsella loves her job selling high-end properties in London. But when she's targeted by a mysterious stalker, her amazing life is turned upside down. Who is 'Michael', and why does he seem to think he and Rosie are in a relationship? How does he know where she lives and where she works? And how has he managed to take photos inside her house? Rosie's colleagues and friends rally round to protect her. But who can she really trust?

Buy here.

Meet The Newmans by Jennifer Niven (January 6th)

This is one for fans of Lessons in Chemistry and The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo.

Los Angeles, 1964. For two decades, Del and Dinah Newman and their sons, Guy and Shep, have ruled television as America's Favourite Family. Millions of viewers tune in every week to watch them play flawless, black-and-white versions of themselves. But now the Sixties are in full swing, and the Newmans' perfection suddenly feels woefully out of touch. Ratings are in free fall, as are the Newmans themselves. Del is keeping an explosive secret from his wife, and Dinah is slowly going numb. Steady, stable Guy is hiding the truth about his love life, and rock 'n' roll idol Shep may finally be in real trouble. When Del is in a mysterious car accident, Dinah decides to take matters into her own hands. She hires Juliet Dunne, an outspoken young reporter, to help her write the final episode. But Dinah and Juliet have wildly different perspectives about what it means to be a woman, and a family, in 1964 America. Can Dinah Newman bring her family together to change television history? Or will she be cancelled before she ever had the chance? Maybe it's time for perfection to fall out of style.

Buy the Kindle version here.

Disappoint Me by Nicola Dinan (January 8th)

Nobody writes about the complexities of modern relationships quite like Nicola Dinan.

Max didn't mean to fall for Vincent - a corporate lawyer and hobby baker whose trad friendship group are a world away from her life as a trans woman. But after years of bad dates and dysphoria, he's a breath of fresh air. Their connection seems genuine, his care feels real. But Vincent is carrying his own baggage. On his gap year in Thailand a decade prior, he vies for the attention of a gorgeous traveller, Alex, with secrets of her own. Is Vincent really the new face of the Enlightened Man, or will the ghosts of his past sabotage his and Max's happiness?

Buy here.

Esther Is Now Following You by Tanya Sweeney (January 15th)

If you're looking for a fast-paced book about our weird obsession with celebrities and social media, then this is the book for you.

Esther first sees Ted walking in a park in London. They lock eyes, and for a fraction of a second, she feels something she’s never felt before.

She starts by reading up about his life in Canada and his work as an actor. Then she watches every interview with him online. It isn’t long before she’s joined Ted’s fan site online, where she and the ‘Tedettes’ stalk his every move.

When Ted gets a new celebrity girlfriend, Esther decides that things have gone far enough. She leaves her husband, takes all their savings, and buys a one-way ticket to Canada.

After all, Ted might not know it yet, but they are meant to be together – he just needs a little bit of persuading.

Pre-order here.

Half His Age by Jenette McCurdy (January 20th)

One of the most anticipated releases of the year, Half His Age is Jenette McCurdy's fiction debut.

Waldo is ravenous. Horny. Blunt. Naive. Wise. Impulsive. Lonely. Angry. Hurting. Endlessly wanting. And the thing she wants most of all? Mr. Korgy, her creative writing teacher.

Mr Korgy, 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 that she doesn’t? Or are they actually kindred spirits, sharing the same 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.

Pre-order here.

Nothing Good Happens After 2am by Niamh Hargen (January 29th)

Niamh Hargen has long been one of the most underrated Irish writers of all time, but this is set to be her breakthrough release.

Behind the unmarked door of Love and Death, a tiny speakeasy in East London, Robbie Saunders and El Tippett are cocktail-making stars on the rise.

As London's bar scene explodes around them, Robbie and El circle each other, connected by passion and competitive spirit. From Hackney to Soho in the small hours, as the city transforms itself, nothing – and no one – has ever felt so alive.

But when it all comes crashing down, something indefinable keeps drawing Robbie and El back into each other's orbit. Over the years that follow, in bars around the world, one unexpected, ill-advised, and utterly glorious late night after another, can they put aside professional betrayals to build something brand new?

Pre-order here.