Most Anticipated Holiday Releases of 2026

Happy Tuesday, y’all! This week, Jana from That Artsy Reader Girl is asking us to share books we want to read by new-to-us authors. Honestly, most authors are new to me, unless I’ve read them before. Instead, I’ve decided to stick with my Blogmas-in-July theme and highlight my most anticipated holiday releases of 2026.

I found several that looked like fun, but they are part of a series. So I’m focusing on standalones, or the first book in the series. Books are listed in order of their anticipated Canadian release date. All titles are linked to Goodreads.

Now, let’s look at my most anticipated holiday releases of 2026!

A Killer for Christmas by Kim Harrington

Christmasville, Maine, is the only place where Kelsey Hendricks has ever felt happy. When she loses both her job and her boyfriend, the move is a no-brainer, especially when she sees a listing for a position as Christmasville’s social media manager. Surrounded by twinkling lights and candy canes and with the perfect job, this tinsel town is working its magic on Kelsey. With two heartthrobs vying for her attention, her life is now just like a Christmas movie.

Except for the murders.

The first one is dismissed as an accident. But after the second, and definitely the third, it becomes abundantly clear that Santa is leaving coal in someone’s stocking this year.

Determined to bring back the holly jolly spirit to the town before tourists begin canceling their reservations, Kelsey must sleuth her way out of a chilling murder mystery and back to a holiday rom-com.

The Twelve Loves of Christmas: An Advent Romance Collection by Alexandria Bellefleur et al

The Twelve Loves of Christmas is a swoon-worthy short story collection about finding love during the most magical time of the year. Including a playful forced proximity romance featuring a woman and her older brother’s grinchy (yet unexpectedly endearing) best friend, a tender love story of two neighbors who decide to skip Christmas together, a second-chance spark reignited between exes stranded at the airport, and many more festive love stories, there’s a little holiday magic waiting for every reader.

Open one sealed story each day in the lead-up to Christmas to unwrap a season full of love, warmth, and happily-ever-afters.

A Christmas Guide to Family and Murder by Dianne Freeman

Frances and George are looking forward to a Christmas season enlivened by all the diversions London can provide. But family comes first, and George’s sister Fiona and her husband persuade everyone to gather at their Norfolk estate for the holiday. The weather will be chilly, but the prospect of snow delights the youngsters. And with blazing fires and invigorating country walks in store, Frances envisions a peaceful, jolly Christmas. 

Instead of a picturesque snowfall, however, Norfolk is hit by pounding rainfall and high winds. In the aftermath of the storm, Frances, Fiona, and the children make an unpleasant discovery in a nearby field—the body of their neighbor, dead in suspicious circumstances. Sir Joshua Penhollow was the local doctor, though not a well-respected one. Indeed, most viewed him as a quack, and even his own stepdaughter held a grudge against him.  

With the menfolk gone to help clear a blocked road, the investigation falls to Frances and Fiona, who must also curb the young people’s excitement at encountering a real-life murder. Combing through a village full of colorful characters and more than a few suspects, Frances feels any hope of a quiet Christmas slipping away. But more pressing is the need to stop a killer whose heart is as cold as the season . . .

Murder on 34th Street by Mariah Fredericks

New York, 1932. Grace Verlander is the secret beating heart of Macy’s. She’s the “assistant to the assistant to the someone who’s in charge”, the go-to person for keeping everything running smoothly behind-the-scenes at the famous, bustling store.

It’s not every day you get a letter from Santa Claus, but three days before the Macy’s annual Thanksgiving Day Parade, Grace arrives at work to find a note in her locker from the store Santa Claus, saying that someone has sent him a death threat. Shocked, Grace promises to look into it and speaks to the store detective about the parade’s security, confident that they’ve found a solution that will keep everyone safe. But on the day of the parade, despite all their precautions, a dead body is found in the holiday section of the store.

Using her wits and deep knowledge of the ways of the place, Grace is determined to find the killer and seek justice—not just for the dead man, but to save the reputation of this iconic store from ruin.

Home for the Homicides by Elle Cosimano & Hannah Morrissey

Welcome to Christmas, a town so cozy and charming it could be the backdrop of a Hallmark movie, where crime is never in season, and it’s the holidays all year round. So when a tourist is found stabbed to death by an icicle in the middle of the town nativity scene, the local police are out of their depth—after all, how do you find a criminal in a town where crime doesn’t exist?

The stakes are the whole town is relying on Holly and Mark to solve the crime before the annual Jingle Bell Jubilee festival (which naturally the town’s entire economic survival relies on), plus, whichever of them cracks the case will receive a promotion to Major Crimes—and there’s only one spot.

Holly and Mark are both on thin ice after screwing up on the job. This assignment is their one shot at redemption if they can put aside their bitter rivalry. And of course, it’s not only their jobs on the line, it’s their hearts, too—regrets of their holiday party hookup last year haunt them like ghosts of Christmas past, so they both want to wrap up this rom-com gone wrong as quickly as possible. But with just twelve days until the festival, the countdown to catch a killer—without killing each other—is on.

The Christmas Curse by Alix Kelinda

It’s the most perilous time of the year…

Devra’s family is cursed. There’s simply no other explanation for the catastrophes that have tormented them every December for the last thirty-odd years—a house fire from exploding string lights, severe burns from spilled hot cocoa, breakup after breakup, always in the lead-up to Christmas. So, she does what anyone with a family curse would do: she goes into hiding and scorns the holidays. But when Bradley, “Mr. Christmas” himself, moves in next door and ruins her perfectly un-festive space with every twinkling, shimmering, blaring decoration imaginable, Devra is certain he’s been sent by the curse to upend her quiet life.

Bradley’s days are looking up. He’s one year sober, with a new home, and what better way to celebrate his fresh start than by honoring his family’s tradition of extravagant holiday decorating. The only problem: his festive spirit has somehow offended his prickly new neighbor, sparking a feud that just might end in attempted snowman murder.

But while Devra seems hell-bent on driving Bradley away, Bradley becomes fixated on solving the riddle that is Devra. And somewhere along the way, their over-the-fence antics spark something deeper: feelings.

Except was Bradley sent by the curse? Or is he the answer to finally breaking it—once and for all?

The Christmas Competition by Zoe Allison

The local rumor mill in Nisa Ansari’s small highland town is swirling about the downfall of her marriage, and in desperate need of a distraction, she enters her town’s Christmas house-decorating competition. The competition comes with the added bonus of getting on neighbor Kerr Murdoch’s last nerve. It’s the least she could do, considering her ex-husband left Nisa for Kerr’s girlfriend. And maybe if Kerr smiled or cracked a joke—just once!—his girlfriend would’ve stayed, and Nisa wouldn’t find herself alone during the holidays.

Introverted Kerr has trouble feeling comfortable around people he doesn’t know well. Newly single, he decorates his house in remembrance of his mother, who always had a soft spot for Christmas lights. But when Nisa’s and Kerr’s decorations end up nearly identical, he incurs Nisa’s wrath.

This means all-out war, complete with gaudy wreaths, twinkle lights, and too many reindeer to count. Never mind that Nisa can’t keep her eyes off Kerr’s toned forearms. Or ignore that he’s a pet-loving veterinarian with a heart of gold. After conceding to her husband’s wishes for years, Nisa is determined to get her way. But as Christmas draws near, Nisa must decide whether to continue the familiar rivalry she’s had for years with Kerr, or open herself up to the chance to fall in love with someone new.

A Married Little Christmas by Abby Jimenez

‘Tis the season to fall in love in these three brilliant novellas from #1New York Times bestselling author of The Night We Met. Anna thought only the food would be a disaster at her Christmas dinner–until her high school ex shows up and they quickly have to hatch a fake-dating scheme to save face with their families. For Matty, the idea of sitting in a diner all day dressed as a zombie Santa after losing a bet has zero appeal. But his cute and funny server might just make him change his mind. And finally, will Lauren be able to convince her best friend that getting married after a three-day relationship is absolutely ridiculous? Or will the town called Little Christmas pull her in with its happily-ever-after magic once she meets the best man?

Within these stories, you’ll find:
• The worst Christmas dinner imaginable
• A granny determined to dismantle the patriarchy
• Matching Christmas sweaters (by accident!)
• A Mission Impossible-style cat rescue (with a saxophone)
• Mouthwatering recipes from Abby for dishes like Disco Pancakes
• Full-page illustrations throughout

Because this year, you deserve the perfect holiday gift.

Eight Ways to Say I Love You by Amanda Elliot

This Hanukkah, Shira Levinson is returning home to New Jersey, riding the high of achieving major milestones. Though she only just graduated from college, she’s got her dream job and a perfect Los Angeles apartment—an actual miracle in the city of dreams.

Life has not been quite as kind to Leo David. Not only did he fail out of college, he was forced to move in with his estranged dad, who he still hates for cheating on his mom years ago. The only silver lining? Getting to see Shira, his childhood friend (and crush, though he’ll never tell her that), while she’s home for her family’s holiday party.

But that’s just the beginning. Over the next eight years, Shira’s and Leo’s lives spin them in all sorts of directions as they grow and change, taking them places they never imagined going. Sometimes those paths take them farther away from each other, and other times closer together. If they can only time it right, they might uncover a love that burns forever.

Are You Staying, Mandy Boyle? by Melanie Moore

Mandy Boyle is thirty-five, still living with her stepfather in his rent-stabilized apartment, and still stuck as a copy editor at The New York Times, awaiting the next big layoff. It wasn’t supposed to be like this, but ten years ago she put her journalism career on hold and moved back to the city to care for her dying mother. Of course, she can’t be salty about that.

Then everything changes when Mandy wins a 100-plus-year-old newspaper in Vermont, AND the apartment over it—a New Yorker’s dream! The only catch? She must run The Vermont Eagle for one year, and can’t sell it to a conglomerate until that year is up. Sounds great, until Mandy discovers the Eagle is definitely old school, definitely not profitable, and that she is definitely in way over her head.

Suddenly, she’s a city girl thrust into a quaint Vermont town at Christmas time, where everyone knows everything about each other. One plus? The mechanic in the next building, Greg Stewart, who keeps trying to sell her snow tires, is very easy on the eyes. Mandy would like to know more about him, but he’s plenty guarded. As she struggles to right the sinking newspaper, she bonds with people in the town, including a young woman who is losing her own mother to cancer, an emotional connection that cracks open Mandy’s own guarded heart.

Through it all, Mandy is drawn to Greg. He just may be her best friend. Maybe the love of her life. But how can two such guarded hearts ever fully fall for each other—especially when Mandy is so sure she’ll be leaving by the time next Christmas rolls around?

In Every Future, It’s Us by Katie Naymon

When childhood neighbors and best friends Florence Parker and Tom Sinclair were on the precipice of graduating college, they made a pact they hoped would link them every year at their families’ lavish New Year’s Eve party; they’d each write five secret predictions about the other’s year ahead. Whoever got the most guesses correct would make one big life decision for the other.

So it went for nearly a decade-until the final year, when one letter shattered their friendship.

Now, Tom and Florence are home for the holidays and haven’t spoken in over a year. To keep up appearances, they’re forced to plan the New Year’s Eve party together. But hidden in the tense silences and charged interactions is a wealth of history they can’t escape, and feelings they’ve never spoken aloud.

It’s their last opportunity to make amends before Florence moves away, but are they willing to take a chance on a future they can’t predict?

Meet Me at Midnight by Sophie Sullivan

This will be Kyra Grand’s year. As the clock strikes midnight and the ball drops, she resolves to finally go after what she wants. This will be the year she leaves behind the family business and makes something of her own. However, a magical one-night stand with her brother’s best friend throws a massive wrench in her plans.

Ethan Reynolds didn’t think he was the type to settle down. Scared of jeopardizing his friendship with Kyra’s older brother, he resolves to never cross that line again. But when an unexpected consequence of their night together complicates things, Ethan and Kyra must grapple through everything standing in their way, to find love that’s waiting on the other side.

What do you think of my most anticipated holiday releases of 2026? Are there any that you’re adding to your list? What are some of your most anticipated holiday releases of 2026?

Are you looking for some more books to read? Check out my other bookish lists, book reviews, and monthly reading wrap-ups.