Bestseller lists are great and all, but a lot goes into them and just because people are buying books, it doesn't mean people are actually reading them. So how do you find the books that people are actually reading and not just talking about? Goodreads. The site reports over 45 million users a month and those dedicated readers log everything they read on the site, which provides some incredible data for what people are reading and loving.

Now that we're halfway through the year, Goodreads has released the most popular books of 2026. The Goodreads team determined this list by how many members added this book to their currently reading or want-to-read shelves as well as how books were rated (out of five stars) and the list only includes books with at least a 3.5-star average rating.

So without further ado, these are the most popular 2026 releases according to Goodreads users.

Yesteryear by Caro Claire Burke

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It's no surprise to see Yesteryear on the list of the most popular books. A satire on tradwife culture in which an influencer wakes up to find herself in 1855, Yesteryear is a novel of the internet and people can't stop talking about it. With over 300K reviews on Goodreads, Yesteryear by Caro Claire Burke has a 4.0-star rating.

Strangers by Belle Burden

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Belle Burden's memoir, Strangers, is a personal, revealing story of the unraveling of her marriage. It's clearly touched many readers as it reckons with heartbreak and divorce and coming out the other side of a major betrayal. It has a 4.2-star rating on Goodreads from nearly 175K reviews.

Dear Debbie by Freida McFadden

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The bestselling author of The Housemaid, Freida McFadden, is back with her next twisted thriller. Dear Debbie centers on Debbie Mullen, the author of the Dear Debbie advice column. As her life falls apart around her, she decides to take matters into her own hands with killer consequences. Dear Debbie has an impressive 4-star rating from 483K reviews.

Our Perfect Storm by Carley Fortune

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Carly Fortune's bestselling book, Every Summer After is now a Prime Video series, but her latest book Our Perfect Storm was released May 5. In Fortune's latest, best friends Frankie and George make the most of Frankie's called off wedding, taking her honeymoon to Tofino to heal Frankie's heart. It's chance to repair their friendship too, even if it means confronting long hidden feelings. With 108K reviews on Goodreads, Our Perfect Storm has a 4.1-star rating.

My Husband’s Wife by Alice Feeney

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The twists keep coming in Alice Feeney's My Husband's Wife. In the novel, Eden Fox returned to her home, Spyglass, to find a woman answering the door. A woman who Eden's husband claims is his wife. In one house, there's one husband, two women both claiming to be his wife, but someone is lying. With a 4-star rating from 329K reviews, it's safe to say it was a fan favorite.

The Calamity Club by Kathryn Stockett

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The author of The Help, Kathryn Stockett has finally returned with her next novel The Calamity Club, in which a group of unbreakable women in 1933 Oxford, Mississippi, come together to fight for freedom, despite the consequences. Even though it was just released in May 5, it already has nearly 42K reviews and a 4.6-star rating.

Into the Blue by Emma Brodie

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Emma Brodie's Into the Blue is a decades spanning romance beginning in small town Massachusetts to New York City. It tells the story of AJ Graces and Noah Drew who found each other by chance and now must confront what happened between them all those years ago. With over 42K reviews, it has a 4.1-star rating.

Kin by Tayari Jones

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Amazon book editor's named Kin by Tayari Jones the best book of 2026 (so far), and Goodreads users agree, giving it a 4.2-star rating from over 45K reviews. The novel centers on Vernice and Annie, best friends and neighbors since childhood, the pair a bound to different futures as each navigate the complexities of being a woman in the south.

Lady Tremaine by Rachel Hochhauser

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Rachel Hochhauser's Lady Tremaine reimagines the evil stepmother myth, as Lady Etheldreda Verity Isolde Tremaine Bramley uncovers a secret hidden in the depths of a royal family. The royal family that Lady Tremaine's stepdaughter is meant to marry into. This fairytale reimagining has earned a 4.2-star rating from over 47K on Goodreads.

The Midnight Train by Matt Haig

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Author Matt Haig is expanding his Midnight World with his latest, The Midnight Train. In this time-traveling love story, the Midnight Train takes you back to relive the moments that mean the most, letting you go back and have the chance to relive it all.

Keeper of Lost Children by Sadeqa Johnson

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According to Goodreads users, the historical fiction release of the year is Sadeqa Johnson's Keeper of Lost Children. The novel centers on three perspecitives. Ethel Gathers, the proud wife of an American Officer, who discovers an orphanage of abandoned mixed-race children of German women and Black American GIs. Ozzie Phillips, a volunteer in the now desegregated army who meets a local woman, Jelka, while serving in Manheim, Germany. And finally, Sophia Clark, attending a prestigious all-white boarding school, who discovers a secret that threatens to upend her entire identity. Johnson's Keeper of Lost Children has 28K ratings with a 4.4-star rating.

A Parade of Horribles by Matt Dinniman

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The eighth book in Matt Dinniman's Dungeon Crawler Carl series, A Parade of Horribles, made a splash this year with fans giving it a 4.7-star rating out of 51K reviews. With the Faction Wars underway, Carl and Donut find themself on the 10th floor of the dungeon, and the stakes have never been higher.

Famesick by Lena Dunham

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Lena Dunham was living the dream in the midst of her hit HBO series Girls. At least that's what it looked like from the outside. Because despite the awards shows and Met Gala appearances, Dunham felt that existing in her body was “like towing a wrecked car across town at midnight.” In Famesick, Dunham confronts if her ambitions were worth the cost of so much pain, in a book that's earned a 4.3-star rating on Goodreads from 50K reviews.

The Burning Side by Sarah Damoff

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What starts with a fire, unfolds into a family saga of heartbreak and forgiveness in Sarah Damoff's The Burning Side. In the face of their house burning in the middle of the night, April and Leo retreat to April's childhood Dallas home with their two young children. But that's just the beginning as the aftermath of the fire, exposes the cracks already present in their marriage. The Burning Side, has a 4.3-star rating from 18K reviews on Goodreads.

The Caretaker by Marcus Kliewer

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Macy Mullins is intrigued when she sees the Craigslist post: Caretaker urgently needed. Three days of work. Competitive pay. Serious applicants ONLY. But little does she know, this job on the wild Oregon Coast brings her face to face with grave danger and soon she will be the only thing standing between evil and humanity. That all takes place in Marcus Kliewer's The Caretaker, which has a 3.7-star rating from 25K reviews.