January was a full month for book releases and February is no different, apparently! I have a dozen books to share in my list of anticipated February 2026 book releases. As usual, the books are mostly fantasy and I of course won’t be able to get to all of them no matter how much I want to. I do have a couple ARCs from the list, which I need to tackle soon. Anyway, dive into this list of February 2026 book releases. Maybe you’ll add more to your TBR!
- February 2026 Book Releases
- Love and Other Brain Experiments by Hannah Brohm
- The Apple and the Pearl by Kim Kechacha
- The Forest on the Edge of Time by Jasmin Kirkbride
- Queen of Faces by Petra Lord
- The Lies that Summon the Night by Tessonja Odette
- Nightshade and Oak by Molly O’Neill*
- Apparently, Sir Cameron Needs to Die by Greer Stothers
- Footeprint: Eunice Newton Foote at the Dawn of Climate Science and Women’s Rights by Lindsay H. Metcalf
- A Forest, Darkly by A.G. Slatter
- Agnes Aubert’s Mystical Cat Shelter by Heather Fawcett**
- The Blood Countess by Shelley Puhak
- The Trident and the Pearl by Sarah K.L. Wilson*
* = I have an ARC of this book.
** = I preordered this book.
February 2026 Book Releases
Love and Other Brain Experiments by Hannah Brohm
Series: None
Genre: Romance
Age Category: Adult
Publisher: Atria Books
Publish Date: February 3, 2026
Print Length: 384
Purchase: Bookshop.org
Synopsis
An academic-rivals-to-lovers rom-com set at a New York conference about two neuroscientists who are forced to pretend they’re dating, leading to unexpected chemistry and a heartfelt journey of self-discovery.
Neuroscientist Dr. Frances Silberstein has success on the brain. As a grad student, she was offered a job by her brilliant boyfriend, but determined to make it on her own, she turned it—and him—down. Now, stuck in postdoc purgatory with no job security and no personal life to speak of, Frances is desperate to make a breakthrough. Her best shot is a summer conference packed with her field’s leading scientists. The only problem? It’s organized by her ex, who has found the success that’s eluded her. But backing out is not an option, because Frances desperately needs to network to save her career.
Enter Dr. Lewis North: her perceptive, meticulous, and inconveniently attractive rival. When their academic sniping gets mistaken for flirtatious chemistry, Frances doesn’t deny it—putting her integrity and career on the line. As soon as her prefrontal cortex is operational again, Frances realizes she needs to keep up the charade, or risk everything she’s worked for. Faking data is out of the question, but fake dating? That might just be the solution she needs.
But as Lewis starts to make her reward centers spark and a major setback has Frances questioning everything, she must confront what she’s willing to chase—for love, for science, and for the future she thought she wanted.
The Apple and the Pearl by Kim Kechacha
Series: None
Genre: Fantasy
Age Category: Adult
Publisher: Titan Books
Publish Date: February 3, 2026
Print Length: 336
Purchase: Bookshop.org
Synopsis
A richly atmospheric fantasy set across one day, as a ballet troupe of lost souls perform an ancient dance for the faerie realms, knowing they could be snatched away by their audience of faerie princes, imps and sprites at any moment.
For fans of The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern, Caraval by Stephanie Garber, Pantomime by Laura Lam and The Queen of the Night by Alexander Chee.
As dawn breaks on All Souls Day, the lingering mists part to unveil an unending vista of serried gravestones. Between them looms a theatre like a haunted house and the sleek iron carapace of a steam train – the Pearl. On board are the cast, orchestra and crew of a travelling ballet company, performing The Apple and the Pearl.
As he stumbles toward the restaurant car the lighting director, Zach, asks the new recruit, Lara, “Have you ever worked in ballet before?
“Have you had any contact with the supernatural?”
Everyone from the principal ballerina to the first violinist, from the wardrobe mistress to the newest members of the corps de ballet, have committed their lives to the perfection of the show. But every night they must also confront the malevolent glamour of their audience of Fae creatures only too eager to snatch them away into the Otherworld.
The Forest on the Edge of Time by Jasmin Kirkbride
Series: None
Genre: Science Fiction
Age Category: Adult
Publisher: Tor Books
Publish Date: February 3, 2026
Print Length: 368
Purchase: Bookshop.org
Synopsis
The Future of Another Timeline meets The Bone Clocks in this dazzling piece of time-travel climate fiction.
Recruited by the mysterious Project Kairos to change history and save the future from ecological disaster, Echo and Hazel are transported through time to opposite worlds. Echo works as a healer’s assistant in Ancient Athens, embroiled in dangerous politics and wild philosophy. Hazel is the last human alive, in a laboratory on a polluted island with nothing but tiny robots and an untrustworthy AI for company.
Both women suffer from amnesia, but when they fall asleep, their consciousnesses transcend time and they meet in their dreams. Together, they start to uncover their past – but soon discover the past threatens humanity’s survival.
If Echo and Hazel have a chance of changing the future, they must remember to forget…
THE FOREST ON THE EDGE OF TIME is a novel about family and duty and the worlds we try to save along the way.
Queen of Faces by Petra Lord
Series: Queen of Faces #1
Genre: Fantasy
Age Category: Young Adult
Publisher: Henry Holt and Co. (BYR)
Publish Date: February 3, 2026
Print Length: 432
Purchase: Bookshop.org
Synopsis
A desperate girl at a cutthroat magical academy faces a choice between life and death: become an assassin for the enchanted elite or watch her decaying body draw its last breath.
Anabelle Gage is trapped in a male body, and it’s rotting from the inside out. But Ana can’t afford to escape it, even as the wealthiest in Caimor buy and discard expensive designer bodies without a thought. When she fails to gain admittance to the prestigious Paragon Academy—and access to the healthy new forms the school provides its students—her final hope implodes. Now without options, Ana must use her illusion magic to try to steal a healthy chassis—before her own kills her.
But Ana is caught by none other than the headmaster of Paragon Academy, who poses a brutal ultimatum: face execution for her crime or become a mercenary at his command. Revolt brews in Caimor’s smog-choked underworld, and the wealthy and powerful will stop at nothing to take down the rebels and the infamous dark witch at their helm, the Black Wraith.
With no choice but to accept, Ana will steal, fight, and kill her way to salvation. But her survival depends on a dangerous band of renegades: an impulsive assassin, a brooding bombmaker, and an alluring exile who might just spell her ruin. As Ana is drawn into a tangled web of secrets, the line between villain and hero shatters—and Ana must decide which side is worth dying for. Perfect for fans of Leigh Bardugo, Brandon Sanderson, Lev Grossman, and R.F. Kuang.
The Lies that Summon the Night by Tessonja Odette
Series: #1
Genre: Fantasy
Age Category: Adult
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Publish Date: February 3, 2026
Print Length: 320
Purchase: Bookshop.org
Nightshade and Oak by Molly O’Neill*
Series: None
Genre: Fantasy
Age Category: Adult
Publisher: Orbit
Publish Date: February 3, 2026
Print Length: 288
Purchase: Bookshop.org
Synopsis
An Iron Age goddess must grapple with becoming human in this delightful historical fantasy of myth and magic from the author of the instant hit Greenteeth.
★ “Yet another excellent story rooted in the folklore of the British isles, this one charged with queer love.” – Booklist (starred review)
When Malt, the goddess of death, is accidentally turned human by a wayward spell, she finds she’s ill-equipped to deal with the trials of a mortal life. After all, why would a goddess need to know how to gather food or light a fire?
Unable to fend for herself, she teams up with warrior Bellis on a perilous journey to the afterlife to try to restore her powers. Frustrated by her frail human body and beset with blisters, Malt might not make the best travelling companion.
But as animosity slowly turns to attraction, these two very different women must learn to work together if they are to have any hope of surviving their quest.
Apparently, Sir Cameron Needs to Die by Greer Stothers
Series: None
Genre: Fantasy, LGBTQ+
Age Category: Adult
Publisher: Titan Books
Publish Date: February 3, 2026
Print Length: 384
Purchase: Bookshop.org
Synopsis
In this hilarious gay fantasy romance, a reclusive sorcerer is forced to protect a cowardly knight after a prophecy ties their fates together. Funny, touching and inventive, this brilliant debut is perfect for fans of How to Become the Dark Lord and Die Trying and Dreadful.
In Which Many Dangerous and Homosexual Things Happen.
All his life, Sir Cameron has stayed as far away from danger as possible. He is quite frankly too handsome to die a pointless death in battle. But then the Church hands down a prophecy to his fellow knights: the only way to defeat their nemesis, the mad sorcerer Merulo, is to kill Sir Cameron. Short of ideas, Cameron throws himself on the mercy of the one person who now actually wants him to survive: the mad sorcerer.
Merulo isn’t thrilled to be babysitting a spoilt, attention-seeking knight, but transmogrifying him into a vulture is at least entertaining. Cameron, meanwhile, is on a voyage of self-discovery. It turns out he’s really, really into surly sorcerers who lock him up and tell him what to do. Who knew?
As a legion of knights surround their stronghold, the sorcerer’s poisonous ambitions draw ever closer to fruition. Cameron is quite invested in not dying, but he finds he’s also invested in Merulo. And sometimes, supporting the sorcerer you care about means taking an interest in their hobbies. Even if that hobby is trying to kill God.
Even if it might get you killed, too.
Fall in love with this laugh-out loud, genre-bending romp full of concussed elves and queer romance like you’ve never seen before.
Footeprint: Eunice Newton Foote at the Dawn of Climate Science and Women’s Rights by Lindsay H. Metcalf
Series: None
Genre: Historical Fiction, Poetry in Verse
Age Category: Young Adult
Publisher: Charlesbridge Teen
Publish Date: February 10, 2026
Print Length: 304
Purchase: Bookshop.org
Synopsis
A fascinating historical novel-in-verse for young adults capturing the discoveries of Eunice Foote, a remarkable woman in science WAY ahead of her time.
A fictionalized account of the first woman to identify carbon dioxide as a cause of climate change in 1856 when most people preferred that women be seen rather than heard.
Fictionalized only to weave together some unknown pieces of Eunice’s life, this is a journey through time, triumph, trepidation, and trauma, revealing the extraordinary life and work of Eunice Newton Foote.
Eunice’s most important discovery was recognizing the effect of excess carbon dioxide in the atmosphere: a warming planet. But in a society driven by coal, kerosene, and crude oil, Eunice’s warnings went unheeded. After all, who would listen to a woman—especially a woman known to consort with suffragists?
From the Seneca Falls Convention to the halls of the US Patent Office in Washington, DC, Eunice Newton Foote blazed a trail for independence and inquiry. Today Eunice’s discoveries feel ever more prescient. She knew that reliance on fossil fuels would have a devastating effect. Today she is finally receiving the credit she deserves.
Eunice Newton Foote’s extraordinary tale is told in novel-in-verse format, perfect for teenagers interested in STEM.
A Forest, Darkly by A.G. Slatter
Series: None
Genre: Fantasy
Age Category: Adult
Publisher: Titan Books
Publish Date: February 10, 2026
Print Length: 368
Purchase: Bookshop.org
Synopsis
Perfect for fans of Ava Reid and Lucy Holland, this is a page-turning dark fantasy of persecuted witches, snatched children, twisted magic, changelings and the sins that bind.
Set in the multi-award-winning author’s acclaimed Sourdough universe, this standalone story sits alongside previous novels, including All the Murmuring Bones and The Briar Book of the Dead.
Deep in the forest lives Mehrab the witch, quietly battling her demons. One evening, a young woman arrives at her door pursued by god-hounds, who wish to destroy all those practising magic, and Mehrab’s solitary existence is disrupted. Together they forge a cure for their isolation with heartbreaking consequences… Meanwhile, in the local village, children begin to disappear. Sinister offerings appear on Mehrab’s doorstep, and a dark power pursues her through the trees. As the villagers turn hostile and the god-hounds close in, Mehrab finds herself at the centre of a struggle to save the soul of the forest, the life of an old love – and her own new-formed family.
Set in Slatter’s bewitching gothic Sourdough universe, this is a haunting, gripping tale written with wit and heart. A book to both savour and devour.
Agnes Aubert’s Mystical Cat Shelter by Heather Fawcett**
Series: None
Genre: Fantasy
Age Category: Adult
Publisher: Del Rey
Publish Date: February 17, 2026
Print Length: 368
Purchase: Bookshop.org
Synopsis
A woman who runs a cat rescue in 1920s Montréal turns to a grouchy but charming magician to help save her shelter in this heartwarming cozy fantasy from the New York Times bestselling author of the Emily Wilde series.
Agnes Aubert leads a meticulously organized life, and she likes it that way. As the proudly type-A manager of a cat rescue charity, she has devoted her life to finding forever homes for stray cats.
Now it’s the shelter that needs a new home. And the only landlord who will rent a space to a cat rescue is a mysterious man called Havelock—who also happens to be the world’s most infamous magician, running an illegal magic shop out of his basement. Havelock is cantankerous and eccentric, but not not handsome, and no, Agnes absolutely does not feel anything but disdain for him. After all, rumors swirl about his shadowy past—including whispers that his dark magic once almost brought about the apocalypse.
Then one day a glamorous magician comes looking for Havelock, putting the magic shop—and the cat shelter—in jeopardy. To save the shelter, Agnes will have to team up with the magician who nearly ended the world . . . and may now be trying to steal her heart.
Havelock is everything Agnes thinks she doesn’t need in her life: chaos, mischief, and a little too much adventure. But as she gets to know him, she discovers that he’s more than the dark magician of legend, and that she may be ready for a little intrigue—and romance—in her life. After all, second chances aren’t just for rescue cats. . . .
The Blood Countess by Shelley Puhak
Series: None
Genre: Nonfiction
Age Category: Adult
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Publish Date: February 17, 2026
Print Length: 304
Purchase: Bookshop.org
Synopsis
From the author of the national bestseller The Dark Queens, an incandescent work of true crime and feminist history about Elizabeth Bathory, the woman alleged to be the world’s most prolific female serial killer.
There have long been whispers, coming from the castle; from the village square; from the dark woods. The great lady-a countess, from one of Europe’s oldest families-is a vicious killer. Some even say she bathes in the blood of her victims. When the king’s men force their way into her manor house, she has blood on her hands, caught in the act of murdering yet another of her maids. She is walled up in a tower and never seen again, except in the uppermost barred window, where she broods over the countryside, cursing all those who dared speak up against her.
Told and retold in many languages, the legend of the Blood Countess has consumed cultural imaginations around the world. But despite claims that Elizabeth Bathory tortured and killed as many as 650 girls, some have wondered if the Countess was herself a victim- of one of the most successful disinformation campaigns known to history. So, was Elizabeth Bathory a monster, a victim, or a bit of both? With the breathlessness of a whodunit, drawing upon new archival evidence and questioning old assumptions, Shelley Puhak traces the Countess’s downfall, bringing to life an assertive woman leader in a world sliding into anti-scientific, reactionary darkness-a world where nothing is ever as it seems. In this exhilarating narrative, Puhak renders a vivid portrait of history’s most dangerous woman and her tumultuous time, revealing just how far we will go to destroy a woman in power.
The Trident and the Pearl by Sarah K.L. Wilson*
Series: The Fisher King #1
Genre: Fantasy, Romance
Age Category: Adult
Publisher: Orbit
Publish Date: February 24, 2026
Print Length: 464
Purchase: Bookshop.org
Synopsis
A desperate queen makes a deal with the gods to save her land in this spellbinding romantasy debut from Sarah K. L. Wilson.
Queen Coralys rules the Kingdom of the Five Isles, but when disaster strikes, killing her husband and destroying half her nation, she pleads with the gods for salvation. And they do save her, turning back the terrible winds and tide and snatching her islands from the brink of destruction.
But the gods have a wicked sense of justice and they demand an exchange for their help: Coralys must marry the first man to set foot on her pier. Coralys expects the fleet of a neighboring country to come to rescue her people, led by its prince, a loyal ally. What she gets instead is a fisherman so sunburnt and stinking that her court can barely keep their breakfast down.
Coralys marries the fisherman just as she promised the gods, and sets out with him in his unkempt dinghy, with nothing but hopes of revenge against the gods to keep her from despair. But what she does not know is that the fisherman is actually the god of the sea. And he stepped on her dock for a reason.
His own kingdom besieged, his body terribly wounded, and his place as a god threatened, the fisherman has plans to turn the tides set against him and finally offer a place of refuge for his people. But working the magic he needs will require the help of the one woman bent on his destruction.
Are any of these book on your own list of anticipated February 2026 book releases?


This type of posts are always dangerous.
😈 hehe
I have quite a few books on my February pile too. I’ve already read Agnes Aubert, which was a lot of fun. I’ve just started Nightshade & Oak, and I have a copy of A Forest Darkly. I’m honestly shocked at all the fantasy I’ve been reading, lol.
I’m waiting to read your review on Agnes Aubert until I get my hands on the book and read it. 🙂 I hope Nightshade & Oak is going ok! I’m reading The Courting of Bristol Keats right now and then I’ll turn to Nightshade & Oak.
Only February and I’m already overwhelmed by the number of books that I want to get my hands on and that I want to keep on my radar. 😂 I’m excited for the half of these that I’ve heard about and have on my list, but I might add a few others you’ve mentioned to my list, particularly The Forest on the Edge of Time! I hope you enjoy the ones you get to 🙂
I know!! I just can’t keep up so I’ll continue to be overwhelmed!
How many interesting titles! The one I am the most excited about is Agnes Aubert’s and the new Splatter’s book. I read my first book by her last year and fell in love. I haven’t managed to read anything else but now all her books are automatically on my TBR! And the one about Bathory sounds intriguing too, even if it’s outside my comfort zone!
The Bathory book is on here because I loved the author’s nonfiction book about two early medieval European queens. It was so interesting. I don’t have as much of an interest in Bathory, but I like that the author is again looking at history from a different point of view (that of a female historian rather than the male gaze).
I completely forgot about The Forest on the Edge of Time for my post. This is a great list! I always enjoy seeing what others are excited to pick up, and it almost always increases the size of my TBR. lol. I looked ahead a bit at March releases while making my February list, and the number of releases in March is going to wreck me.
Seeing others’ lists also always makes me see what I forgot to add, lol. I haven’t looked at March yet aside from the handful of ARCs I have. Now I’m nervous.
I’m trying really hard not to buy anything new until I get my tbr under control, but The Blood Countess is super tempting.
I totally get that! I was originally going to request an ARC of The Blood Countess, but decided to back down. But I liked the author’s book The Dark Queens, so The Blood Countess is still of interest to me, obviously!
Fantastic list, I hope you enjoy the ARCs and preorder 🥰 I especially can’t wait for Agnes Aubert’s Mystical Cat Shelter but Im also especially curious about The Lies That Summon The Night and The Trident And The Pearl. The Blood Countess one sounds interesting and of course I’ve now added The Apple & The Pearl to my TBR as it mentions the fae 😂 I hope you love any of these that you get to and cant wait to see your reviews for both of those arcs.
Thank you! I also can’t wait for Agnes Aubert’s Mystical Cat Shelter. It looks unique and perfect for any cat lover haha.
I see a lot of whimsical-fairytale esque book covers! Love this trend. I hope you enjoy all of them!
Thank you!