Top new literary-fiction books out this week: 11 Jan - 17 Jan 2026
Last updated:
January 17, 2026
This week featuring new releases by Emily R. Austin, Sarah Crouch, Rebecca Hannigan, Suanne Laqueur, Katherine Wela Bogen, K.N. Wilder, Vanessa Lawrence, Madeleine Dunnigan, Madeline Cash, Kathleen Boland and many more.
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Is This a Cry for Help? by Emily R. Austin
Emily Austin, the bestselling “queen of darkly quirky, endearingly flawed heroines” (Sarah Haywood, author of The Cactus), returns with a luminous new novel following a librarian who comes back to work after a mental breakdown only to confront book-banning crusaders in an empowering story of grief, love, and the power of libraries.Darcy’s life turned out better than she could have ever imagined...fiction · contemporary · lgbtq · wlw · literary-fiction · mental-illness · audiobook · lesbian-mc · romantic-love · humor -
![The Briars by Sarah Crouch]()
The Briars by Sarah Crouch
The USA TODAY bestselling author of Middletide returns with a lush and atmospheric novel of suspense following a young woman whose job as a game warden puts her in the path of a murderer in a small town eager to protect its own...mystery · fiction · suspense · outdoors · young-adult · romance · murder · literary-fiction · crime · book -
![Darkrooms by Rebecca Hannigan]()
Darkrooms by Rebecca Hannigan
“Haunting, fast-paced, and unforgettable.”— Karin Slaughter, #1 New York Times bestselling author of We Are All Guilty Here“A lush, moody mystery. Darkrooms is gripping and atmospheric, as two women wrestle with guilt and injustice...mystery · fiction · audiobook · suspense · literary-fiction · thriller · slow-burn · contemporary · murder · whodunit -
![The Great Dane by Suanne Laqueur]()
The Great Dane by Suanne Laqueur
This book is dedicated to all of us.At one point or another, all of us have wondered who we are.All of us have scratched at a label put on us, feeling it didn't quite fit.All of us have felt pressured to be something we're not.All of us have wished we were someone else.All of us have looked in a mirror and been confused at what we see... -
![Queering Him by Katherine Wela Bogen]()
Queering Him by Katherine Wela Bogen
For fans of books by Sally Rooney and LUSTER by Raven Leilani. In this propulsive debut novel, QUEERING HIM, Katherine Wela Bogen chronicles the scalding-hot story of millennial enemies turned lovers Avra and Kieran. Bullied by Kieran at high school, Avra begins to recognize something familiar in his threatening, but always lingering, gaze...romance · lgbtq · fiction · literary-fiction · contemporary · dark · mental-illness · bisexuality · coming-of-age · steamy -
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![Knife To Meet You: A Dark Romantic Comedy by K.N. Wilder]()
Knife To Meet You: A Dark Romantic Comedy by K.N. Wilder
She eliminates men who deserve it. He's her next target. The only problem? He refuses to die.Jiya Kline has mastered the art of the permanent goodbye: seduce, poison, problem solved. But her latest target, the infuriatingly gorgeous Calloway Frost, keeps surviving her best efforts... -
![Sheer by Vanessa Lawrence]()
Sheer by Vanessa Lawrence
An electrifying, propulsive novel about the rise and fall of a controversial beauty mogul and the moral gray areas at the intersections of beauty, power, and ambitionIt’s 2015 and Maxine Thomas, the founder and creative director of the cult makeup company Reveal, has just been suspended by her own Board for a scandalous transgression...fiction · historical-fiction · lgbtq · contemporary · literary-fiction · urban · female-mc · friendship · book · adult -
![Jean by Madeleine Dunnigan]()
Jean by Madeleine Dunnigan
Seventeen–year–old Jean, a troubled Jewish boy caught in the countercultural swirl of 1970s London, arrives at Compton Manor, a rural alternative boarding school for boys with “problems.” Though he is an outcast among these outcasts, he is befriended by Tom, a much wealthier, more popular classmate, and it seems as if Jean’s world might change... -
![Lost Lambs by Madeline Cash]()
Lost Lambs by Madeline Cash
Rippling with humor, warmth, and style, Lost Lambs is a new vision of the charms and pitfalls of family dysfunction.The Flynn family is coming undone... -
![Scavengers: A Novel by Kathleen Boland]()
Scavengers: A Novel by Kathleen Boland
A cautious daughter and her eccentric, estranged mother venture west in search of buried treasure—and a way back to each other—before they run out of patience, money, and options... -
![I Could Be Famous: Stories by Sydney Rende]()
I Could Be Famous: Stories by Sydney Rende
"A terrific fresh, original, and surprising." -George Saunders For fans of Homesick for Another World and HBO's Girls, a magnetic debut story collection following ten ambitious women and one male superstar as they pursue their desires-however deluded-for more. A listless woman befriends an influencer at a rooftop party, only to discover her lifestyle is not as glamorous as it seems... -
![Your Tomorrow Was Today by Oyindamola Dosunmu]()
Your Tomorrow Was Today by Oyindamola Dosunmu
A Nigerian woman’s evocative chronicle of modern womanhood, navigating love, family, and the radical desire to remain child-free in a patriarchal world.Karen has spent years building an independent life in the city, far from her fractured family, leaving no room for love—until she receives news of her mother’s sudden death... -
![The Hitch by Sara Levine]()
The Hitch by Sara Levine
From the author of the cult classic Treasure Island!!!, a delightfully unhinged comedy following a woman as she attempts to exorcise the spirit of a dead corgi from her nephew and renegotiate the borders of her previously rational world Rose Cutler defines herself by her exacting standards...
