Book Mail: A Roundup of the Book Mail I Received Last Week

Early January feels like a clean notebook and a sharp pencil, and this week’s book mail made that fresh-start feeling even sweeter. My TBR pile has grown with quiet optimism, thanks to a book haul filled with new book releases that seem to whisper promises of who I might be by spring. Each package arrived with thoughtful book recommendations, little nudges from the reading universe saying, start here. And as I line them up on the table, I can’t help but think that somewhere in this stack are the best books of 2026—waiting patiently, like the year itself, to be opened.

Where to Buy These Books:

Shop This Stack on Bookshop.org to Support Local Bookstores

Shop This Stack on Amazon

I want to note that I do not get paid to do these posts, I just love authors and the book industry. However, they do take time and energy to create. If you want to donate a few dollars to my coffee fund, which keeps this blog going, you can do so here: https://venmo.com/AshleyHasty or here: http://paypal.me/hastybooklist.

This Week’s Book Mail Includes:

Kissing the Sky by Lisa Patton — A sheltered Southern singer hits the road for Woodstock and finds her voice, first love, and hard-won freedom amid the beautiful chaos of 1969.
Breaking the Barnyard Barrier by Linda Rhodes — A young woman veterinarian battles sexism, high-stakes farm emergencies, and a fragile marriage while proving she belongs in the dairy country of 1970s Utah.
Why Space Will Freak You Out: The Scariest, Strangest Parts of the Universe by Dr. Kimberly Arcand — A wildly fun, photo-filled tour of the universe’s grossest, creepiest, most mind-melting phenomena—from zombie worlds to spaghettification.
Jean by Madeleine Dunnigan — At a rural alternative boarding school in 1970s England, a troubled teen is swept into an intense, dangerous first love that threatens to become his escape—or his undoing.
Behind These Four Walls by Yasmin Angoe — Ten years after her best friend vanishes, a woman infiltrates a powerful family’s mansion to uncover the truth—only to realize the missing girl may have been playing a far darker game.
The Water Lies by Amy Meyerson — When a toddler insists he recognizes a woman who turns up dead the next day, two mothers team up to chase the truth the police refuse to see—before the danger reaches their own homes.
Uniquely Us by Eli Harwood — A guided mother-daughter journal packed with playful prompts helps you build trust, deepen connection, and create a shared record of who you are—together.
Missing by E.A. Jackson — A detective haunted by a notorious 1990 baby abduction reopens the case after a key figure dies, risking her career to uncover what really happened in the heatwave that started it all.
Keeper of Lost Children by Sadeqa Johnson — Across postwar Germany and 1960s America, three lives intertwine around mixed-race children left behind by history—and a woman determined to change their fate.
Like This, But Funnier by Hallie Cantor — A jealous, flailing TV writer in Hollywood crosses an unforgivable line for a hit show idea, only to watch her marriage—and her moral compass—spiral out of control.
Mend or Move On by Kate King — A compassionate, practical guide to spotting toxic dynamics, setting boundaries, and choosing—without guilt—whether a relationship can heal or needs to end.
Spirit Daughter by Jill Wintersteen — A neuroscientist-turned-spiritual teacher shares the breakdown that became her breakthrough, offering tools for intuition, manifestation, and rebuilding life from the inside out.
Hollow by Celina Myers — After dying in a car crash and waking as a vampire, a former bookstore clerk is pulled between rival clans, forbidden romances, and a returning supernatural gift that could save—or doom—everyone.
Darkrooms by Rebecca Hannigan — Two women with a fraught past reunite to investigate a child’s long-ago disappearance in an Irish town where the woods remember—and the truth refuses to stay buried.
The Einstein Vendetta by Thomas Harding — A haunting true-crime investigation traces the WWII murder of Albert Einstein’s relatives in Nazi-occupied Italy and a family’s long pursuit of justice.
The Shop on Hidden Lane by Jayne Ann Krentz — Two heirs from feuding psychic families must hunt for missing relatives and a lethal secret, trusting each other—and their undeniable attraction—before a conspiracy strikes again.
Konfidenz by Ariel Dorfman — In a tense, nine-hour phone conversation, a woman in Paris is drawn into a chilling game of secrets, exile, and resistance where truth is a weapon and loyalty is never simple.
The Younger Gods by Katie Shepard — A former priestess sails into the Underworld to reclaim her dead lover, only to discover the gods are rising again—and the man she loves may be one of them.
The Pain of Others by Miguel Ángel Hernández — A writer returns to a horrific crime from his adolescence and confronts the uneasy ethics of turning real tragedy into literature.
The Stay-At-Home Mother by Nicole Trope — When her little boy vanishes and a shocking call exposes a sinister secret, a mother realizes someone knows far more about her family than they should.
Still Life by Malin Persson Giolito — Ten razor-sharp stories reveal how ordinary people, driven by fear, love, or good intentions, can still end up branded as criminals in modern Sweden.
For Our Next Song by Jessica James — Two rock-star best friends finally give in to their long-simmering desire—until their secret romance goes public and forces them to choose between fame, safety, and each other.
The Midnight Carousel by Fiza Saeed McLynn — In 1920s Chicago, a dream of an amusement park turns deadly when an antique carousel linked to past disappearances begins claiming riders again.
Axe and Grind by Taylor Hutton — A broke optimist agrees to fake-date a reclusive tech billionaire to launch his AI “perfect match” app—until obsession and the criminal underworld turn their steamy experiment lethal.
The Magic of Untamed Hearts by Raquel Vasquez Gilliland — A misunderstood woman with a touch of magic strikes a bargain with her ambitious neighbor to change her town’s mind—only to discover love asks for even braver truth.
Like in Love with You by Emma R. Alban — In a Regency Bath social battlefield worthy of Mean Girls, a revenge plot becomes a scorching rivals-to-lovers romance when the queen bee is the one she can’t resist.
The Lust Crusade by Jo Segura — A librarian and the archaeologist she’s always loved are forced to fake an engagement while hunting a legendary gem in Greece—because the only thing more dangerous than smugglers is falling for real.
A Field Guide to Murder by Michelle L. Cullen — A cranky widower and his spirited millennial caregiver turn nosy neighbors into suspects as they investigate a murder that puts their quiet condo community—and their lives—on edge.
A Spell for Drowning by Rebecca Ferrier — On the Cornish coast, an ambitious young woman bargains with a terrifying sea god to save her mentor, risking everything for power, belonging, and the price of being needed.
The Venice Double by Jesse DeRoy — A reluctant thief heads to Italy with his chaotic crew to pull off a high-pressure “reverse” heist—while dodging rivals, family ghosts, and a debt that could cost him more than money.
The Charmed Library by Jennifer Moorman — A small-town librarian whose words come alive unlocks a secret magic that can summon fictional characters, turning heartbreak into a wild, bookish fight for love and courage.
The Spaces That Make Us by Danish Kurani — An architect reveals how design shapes our health, relationships, and happiness—and teaches a practical philosophy for reshaping any space to reshape your life.
Ways to Find Yourself by Angela Brown — Grieving and unmoored, a woman returns to a beloved beach town and begins meeting younger versions of herself—each encounter guiding her toward who she can become next.
They Could Be Saviors by Diana Colleen — Five billionaires are kidnapped by a collective of women using psychedelic therapy to force reckoning and change—because saving the planet may require dismantling power from the inside.