Most Anticipated Books Releasing in the First Half of 2026
My Most Anticipated Books Releasing in the First Half of 2026 include racing romances, a locally based novel, and so much more!
This list is for Top Ten Tuesday hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl.
1) All To Play For by Josie Juniper
Releasing 9th April 2026 | Add to Goodreads
Sage Sikora, the new driver for the Emerald F1 team, is bold and daring, on and off the track. This season, as the only female driver on the grid she has a single-minded goal: to be the first woman to win a Grand Prix. But there’s one thorn in her side, the unfairly gorgeous and spoiled journalist and popular blogger Alexander Laskaris-who seems to have it out for Sage.
When one of his blog posts goes too far, Alexander finds himself working for Emerald as penance and his new boss is none other than Sage herself. Despite their battle of wills, the pair end up as allies when trouble arrives and Alexander begins to fall for F1’s Queen of Chaos. Sage soon realises there’s more to spoiled playboy Alexander than meets the eye. But with the critical eyes of the racing world upon them, she has too much to prove and even more to lose. Can her feelings take a backseat or will Emerald’s first female driver fail to reach the podium?
2) Enemies Until After Hours by Natalie Anderson
Releasing 26th February 2026 | Add to Goodreads
Her nemesis at work…
no rules after dark!
Tycoon Sante is appalled to meet his new assistant: Mia, his enemy’s sister! Worse, their chemistry is as scorching as their mutual hatred. Sante’s all about discipline over desire. But that’s before he’s stranded with Mia overnight…
Experience taught Mia that avoiding heartbreak means moving faster than her feelings. So beneath a smouldering Sicilian storm, she recklessly suggests some no-strings passion to exorcise her unwanted attraction. Yet each illicit touch strips back more of her boss’s hard exterior… Will this intended detox become a dangerous addiction?
3) Overtake by S. J. Sylvis
Releasing 12th February 2026 | Add to Goodreads
Rome Pierce is Formula One’s golden boy—reckless, ruthless, and wrapped in an ego as polished as his race suit. Arrogance isn’t just a trait; it’s his personal trademark.
As the daughter of Vanstone Racing’s chairman, I’ve spent my life loathing everything about him—and the family name he carries. The rivalry between our teams runs deeper than lap times and podiums. It’s personal.
So when my father steps back for health reasons and hands me a front-line role, I don’t hesitate to prove to the world that I’m more than just the pretty Halston daughter in the paddock.
I plan to beat Rome Pierce fair and square.
Except the promotion comes with a catch I never saw coming.
Rome Pierce isn’t driving for his father anymore.
He’s driving for mine.
Now I’m the crew chief for the one man I swore I’d never work with—the rival who knows exactly how to get under my skin. Every race is a power struggle. Every briefing feels like a war. And somewhere between late nights in the garage and two hundred mile an hour battles on the circuit, the thin line between hatred and heat starts to blur.
I think Rome Pierce came here to overtake my team.
I just never expected him to also alter the course of my heart.
4) Don’t Fall in Love With Me by Paige Toon
Releasing 23rd April 2026 | Add to Goodreads
What if the person you love the most is the one you can’t have?
Grace has loved Jackson since she was fifteen – when they spent every childhood summer exploring France’s breathtaking Ardèche region together. They were best friends, until life took its course and Jackson married someone else.
Years later, Jackson re-enters Grace’s life with an irresistible her dream job in the very town where their story began. And he’s newly single.
As memories from those idyllic summers flood back, Grace encounters an old friend Étienne, who proposes a plan to help make Jackson jealous. But as their scheme unfolds, Grace finds herself questioning if the sparks between them might not be so pretend after all…
Unbeknownst to Grace, Étienne is harbouring a secret that could shatter her world.
Will learning the truth finally set her heart free?
Or is this the beginning of a love story bigger than she ever imagined?
5) The Fly-Half and the Fling by Lasairiona McMaster
Releasing 5th February 2026 | Add to Goodreads
Rhiannon
I walked out of my wedding and straight into the arms of a stranger.
One night. No names. No regrets.
Until I find out who he really is—Robert McAllister, the investigative journalist who nearly destroyed my family. Now the tabloids think we’re a couple, and the only way to control the chaos is to fake-date the man my whole family hates.
Smile for the cameras. Lie through your teeth. Try not to punch him in the throat.And whatever you do, don’t fall for the enemy.
Robert
Sleeping with Rhiannon Morrigan hours after she jilted her fiancé wasn’t my smartest move.
She’s a rugby icon. A walking headline. Off-limits in every way, and the one subject I swore I wouldn’t write about. But my editor’s ultimatum is clear—write her story or lose my job. Now we’re faking it for the press, and I’m holding the biggest scoop of my career…
If I write it, I’ll lose her.
If I don’t, I might lose everything else.
6) The Naked Truth by Ana Kirk Shaw
Releasing 16th January | Add to Goodreads
Two truths and a lie:
1. I’m crushing on a faceless por—adult content creator.
2. I’m road-tripping to a wedding with my worst enemy.
3. These are totally unrelated problems.
After torching what was left of my reputation at my twin sister’s engagement party, I’ll do anything for redemption—even if it means traveling for a week in a car with my oldest nemesis: the smug, infuriatingly rich and successful Nico Giannuzzi.
My plan? Keep my head down, survive this sister-mandated road trip, ignore the driver (even if he ruined my entire life), and focus on flirting wi—sorry—ghostwriting the cookbook for the anonymous por—sorry—adult content creator chef whose emails make me smile.
Even if Nico apologizes with my favorite foods.
Even if he defends me in public, cooks for me in private, and looks at me like I’m the next thing on his menu.
Even if he tries to uncover my secrets… and starts to share some of his own.
Getting my act together means not letting Nico under my skin. Or my shirt.
But… why won’t he take his off?
Why does the way he moves in a kitchen seem so familiar?
And why does this man making me laugh over breakfast suddenly feel exactly like the one who’s been lighting up my inbox for months?
7) Perfect Scent Match by Emily Antoinette
Releasing… well… Amazon & Goodreads say November, but authors’ IG says February! I can only hope… | Add to Goodreads
Three scent matches, two blind dates, and one accidental first heat.
Ruby is done pretending to be the perfect omega. If that means her odds of finding a pack that won’t bristle at her boldness are astronomically low, then so be it. When she finds out she has a scent match, though, fate might be on her side.
Beau isn’t looking for a pack. He’s been there, done that, and has the broken heart to prove it. But when his sister signs him up for a scent-matching service, even he can’t say no to meeting his match.
Archer is sick of letting his fears control him. Screw worst-case scenarios of what an alpha might do to him as an omega, it’s time for him to finally have some knotty fun. Too bad his nerves didn’t get the memo.
When two blind dates collide, will their hopes for a Valentine’s Day miracle be dashed? Or will these three lonely hearts be set ablaze when things unexpectedly heat up?
8) Punchline and Uppercuts by Skyee Graystone
Releasing 6th February | Add to Goodreads
Boxing gloves, blackmail, and banter… what could possibly go wrong?
Rowan Blake has two settings: fight or flirt. Unfortunately for her, Malik Carter seems immune to both. The grumpy boxing coach with the velvet voice and cinnamon-roll heart is the only man in the gym who refuses to rise to her bait…until a charity tournament forces them onto the same team.
He’s calm. She’s chaos.
He plans. She punches first and apologizes never.
What starts as an insult-trading partnership turns into something messier: late-night training sessions, accidental confessions, and one very public bake-off disaster. But Malik’s past is a fight he hasn’t finished, and Rowan’s afraid of losing every battle that feels too much like love.
Between cupcake blackmail, best friend intervention mayhem, and a “compliment fighting” rivalry that sounds suspiciously like flirting, these two opposites might just find that the only thing harder than throwing a punch… is letting someone in.
And maybe—if they can survive each other—a happily-ever-after worth every bruise.
