Intrigued? Read on to discover the synopsis and an excerpt from The Fourth Princess by Janie Chang, which releases on February 10th 2026.

Shanghai, 1911. Lisan Liu is elated when she is hired as secretary to wealthy American Caroline Stanton, the new mistress of Lennox Manor on the outskirts of Shanghai’s International Settlement. However, the Manor has a dark past due to a previous owner’s suicide, and soon Lisan’s childhood nightmares resurface with more intensity and meld with haunted visions of a woman in red. Adding to her unease is the young gardener, Yao, who both entices and disturbs her.

Newly married Caroline looks forward to life in China with her husband, Thomas, away from the shadows of another earlier tragedy. But an unwelcome guest, Andrew Grey, attends her party and claims to know secrets she can’t afford to have exposed. At the same party, the notorious princess Masako Kyo approaches Lisan with questions about the young woman’s family that the orphaned Lisan can’t answer.

As Caroline struggles with Grey’s extortion and Thomas’s mysterious illness, Lisan’s future is upended when she learns the truth about her past, and why her identity has been hidden all these years. All the while, strange incidents accelerate, driving Lisan to doubt her sanity as Lennox Manor seems unwilling to release her until she fulfills demands from beyond the grave.

FOR SALE OR LEASE: LENNOX MANOR

A five-acre country estate just outside Shanghai, minutes from the junction of Brenan and Jessfield Roads. Fully furnished, all rooms are well-appointed with a tasteful mix of superior European and Asian furnishings. Three-year minimum lease with option to purchase.

Three floors of gracious living. On the ground floor, the impressive entrance foyer features a marble floor, double curved staircase, and a Venetian crystal chandelier. The formal drawing and dining rooms overlook spending French-style gardens. Other areas on the ground floor include a parlor, billiards room, smoking room, and private library.

The servants’ quarters are adjacent to the kitchen, which has been updated with the latest conveniences. On the second floor are three suites of rooms, each with attached bathrooms and dressing rooms, six smaller bedrooms, and two additional bathrooms, plus nursery with nanny room. The top floor boasts a magnificent ballroom with parquet flooring and orchestra platform. Electric lights and fans are installed throughout, fireplaces and stoves for heating.

The grounds include a formal French garden, rose garden, Oriental garden, orchard, tennis court, croquet lawns, and a man-made lake. This is the ideal home for owners who entertain frequently and in style.

CHAPTER 1

Shanghai
March 1, 1911

Lisan was not doing anything forbidden, not yet. She had managed to get away from the house unseen, granted anonymity by the large black umbrella, the crunch of gravel under her feet muted by thunder and rainfall, water droplets on windowpanes making it unlikely that Master Liu would bother looking out. She would face his displeasure only if she was successful, and at the moment, her chances of success seemed less substantial than ripples on a pond.

Luck was on her side. Old Mah the gatekeeper wasn’t at his station and she slipped out onto the street. At the intersection, she expected to wait because rickshaws were generally in short supply on wey days, but one pulled up just as she approached and let off a passenger. She hurried over to the corner and the puller held aside the tarp as she climbed onto the seat and huddled under the shelter of its canopy. She had to haggle; it would be a long ride out to the External Roads Area. A horse carriage would’ve been faster, and a motorcar even better, but she couldn’t afford either. The rickshaw puller agreed to wait and bring her back, adding to his fee.

They soon left the busy streets of Shanghai’s French Concession, the rickshaw puller jogging at a surprisingly fast pace. The canvas tarp attached to the rickshaw’s canopy offered protection against the downpour, but the constant strum of raindrops on its threadbare surface echoed Lisan’s agitation and made her anxious. She pulled aside the tarp just a few inches to look at the surroundings.

“Where are we now?” she called.

Rain coursed off the rickshaw puller’s cape of woven bamboo and palm leaves. He turned to reassure his passenger with a shout. “We’re on Bubbling Well Road, nearly at Jing’an Temple! Then we cut over to Yuyuen Road and up to Brenan Road!”

Lisan flinched as cold rain lashed her face and hair, hastily closed the tarp. She had to look decent when she arrived at Lennox Manor.

Bubbling Well Road had once been just a dirt track used by visitors to Jing’an Temple and its cemetery. The city had improved the road and it was now a wide street planted with shady sycamores. As Shanghai expanded, the building lots along the road were snapped up by wealthy Chinese and foreigners. Some properties were the size of small city parks and held mansions with formal gardens in front and lawns extending far behind. Rose gardens, kitchen gardens, tennis courts, and even horse stables were common features. The McBain residence was one of the grandest, a three-story mansion on ten acres. Farther along was a house familiar to Master Liu, the family estate where he had lived before moving to a modest villa in the French Concession. Lisan had only seen it from the outside, a vaguely Tudor-style complex of mansions that housed the extended Liu household, multiple generations of family and their retainers, some four hundred people.

But she wasn’t going to an address on Bubbling Well Road, smoothly paved with stone and illuminated with streetlamps at night. She was due at Lennox Manor on Brenan Road, which was a rutted menace. Like many roads in Shanghai, it was covered with a mixture of dirt and clay intended to smooth out an uneven base of rocks and rubble, but with all the rain this spring, the clay had been washing away in muddy trickles. The rickshaw jounced with every pothole, the puller swearing loudly each time his foot hit a rock.

Lisan risked another peek through the gap in the tarp. Houses along the road grew sparser as the rickshaw made its way farther west. They rolled past Jessfield Park, then the railway station. Brenan Road was becoming a fashionable residential area, but its westernmost environs were still considered too remote—more than an hour by rickshaw; half that time by motorcar. With spindly young trees and empty lots, this stretch of Brenan Road felt like an abandoned territory rather than an extension of urban Shanghai.

Lennox Manor was the last house on the road. The rickshaw stopped and Lisan lifted the tarp to venture another look. The rickshaw waited in front of a pair of gates, all elaborate wrought iron curlicues and pointed finials set into high brick walls. A hedge of evergreen yews a few yards inside the gates created a dense screen that obscured views of the house and garden from casual passersby. Perhaps the landscaper had been Chinese and chose to use greenery in place of a spirit wall to shield the house from evil spirits. Beside the iron gates a wicket door set into a brick arch creaked open and the gatekeeper scurried out, opening a large umbrella as he darted toward her.

“I have an appointment with Mrs. Stanton,” Lisan called out to him. If she’d been in a chauffeur driven automobile, if she’d been a white foreigner, the gatekeeper would’ve rushed to open the gates without question.

The rain had lightened to a misty drizzle and Lisan kept the canvas tarp pulled open as the rickshaw rolled along an oval driveway of crushed gravel. Inside the oval was what had to be a rose garden. It was a sad sight, grass between flower beds sodden from the rain, shrubs brown and withered from neglect. At first all she could see of the house through the mist was a heavy, hulking shape at the end of the oval. Set so far back from the road, Lennox Manor looked desolate, a solitary outpost against windswept skies. As the rickshaw drew closer, the silhouette resolved into a looming edifice of timber and brick, a bulky, squat building that gave the impression of being perched uneasily on its foundations.

Details emerged as she neared the house: dormer windows, a forest of chimneys, lamplight shining through mullioned windows. Slim pillars and latticework adorned balconies but they seemed tacked on, an afterthought to remedy the mansion’s heavy lines. The house was the strangest blend of Chinese and Western elements. Lisan stared in fascination at the swooping eaves of the roof, the faces of reptilian demons that glared down from each corner. At the top of the roof, Chinese spirit guardians shaped from green and yellow glazed pottery paraded around a mansard roof.

Normally such spirit guardians marched atop the ridge of a steep, gabled roof. What was the point of putting spirit guardians up there to fend off evil spirits when the roof’s flat top made it easy for evil spirits to land? But of course foreigners wouldn’t know any better. It wasn’t that Lisan was superstitious, it was more that the jumble of styles was so jarring, odd and disturbing, and not just for aesthetic reasons, though she couldn’t have explained exactly why. It made Lisan wonder if the inside of the house was as strange as its exterior.

As the rickshaw drew closer, Lisan felt anxiety and anticipation like a hand gripping her heart, an odd and disconcerting sensation. No doubt she was feeling nerves at the prospect of the interview. A movement drew her eyes to a window on the second floor. A woman in red was standing at the window, her features blurred behind the rain-spattered glass. A blink later, she was gone.

The manservant who answered the door gave the rickshaw puller permission to wait for Lisan under the shelter of the porte cochere, a relief since it was unlikely she would find another rickshaw this far away from the center of town.

The servant stood at the door, patiently waiting. She hurried up the few steps and he held open the door, wordless. Inside, another manservant took her coat and hung it inside a cloakroom just off the entrance. Tall and silent in a long blue tunic vest, his black trousers and cloth shoes immaculate, he beckoned her to follow. They crossed a foyer dominated by a magnificent double staircase that curved down from the second-floor mezzanine to terminate at a broad semicircular landing with a half dozen steps descending to the marble floor. The landing and steps were directly in line with the front door. Lisan could just imagine what Master Liu would say, shaking his head over the lack of attention to feng shui. Luck would run down those stairs and straight out the door like a waterfall.

A thick Persian carpet covered the foyer’s finely veined white marble floor and a tiered crystal chandelier was suspended from the ceiling, spanning three stories. Heavy tapestries above mahogany wainscoting covered the walls, and a row of clerestory windows emphasized the height of the entrance. Each corner of the ceiling was decorated with a bizarre figure squatting on a bracket, each one different, carved from the same mahogany as the paneled wainscoting. They resembled gargoyles in photographs of European cathedrals, all sneers and protruding eyeballs. But even without those grotesque faces, the house made her shiver. The rich carpet and tapestries couldn’t fend off the damp chill of a rainy afternoon, and the proportions of the space felt wrong. Even the placement of furniture in the entrance foyer seemed unharmonious, everything pushed against the walls.

If she got the job, she would have to live here. If Master Liu allowed it.

The manservant didn’t take her up the curved staircase. Instead, she followed him past the grand marble steps to a doorway just behind, which opened onto a corridor with a stairwell at one end. The steep wooden staircase connected corridors on each level, a hidden byway for servants to move between floors and stay out of sight except when needed. They climbed the stairs, Lisan quickening her steps to keep up with the manservant’s long, effortless stride. They emerged on the second floor, and the servant led her back toward the main staircase and mezzanine. He stopped at the first room beside the main staircase.

He knocked on the door and the voice that replied was low and musical, slightly husky. Lisan entered a room that was a complete contrast to what she had seen of the house so far. A pair of tall windows looked out to the garden, and instead of dark paneling, the walls were covered in pale yellow wallpaper printed with tiny red roses. A blond woman in soft green rose from an armchair, her smile natural and unforced as she greeted Lisan. She appeared to be in her twenties, not much older than Lisan, but with foreigners it was hard to tell. Her face reminded Lisan of a kitten’s, a small pointed chin and wide-set eyes. There was also an older woman in the room; she remained seated on a small sofa, her disapproval so evident even the ruffles on her bright blue gown seemed to bristle with condemnation. The woman in red she had glimpsed was not in this room.

“Caroline, you’re wasting your time.” The older woman spoke as though Lisan weren’t there. “A Chinese secretary? Miss Wallace met all the requirements. Absolutely respectable, familiar with who’s who in our social circle. I would not have referred her otherwise.”

“Oh, Mrs. Easton,” Caroline Stanton said, “it doesn’t hurt to interview someone different.” Her smile as she turned to Lisan carried a trace of amusement, but it wasn’t directed at Lisan. “Now, Miss Liu. You’re nineteen, yes? In your letter, you say you graduated from a school called St. Clare’s Hall. Tell me about it.”

“St. Clare’s is the top school for Chinese girls in Shanghai,” Lisan said. “It provides a Western education while also making sure we are fluently bilingual.”

“Did you really attend St. Clare’s?” Mrs. Easton said. “It’s a school for daughters of wealthy Chinese, so why do you need a job?”

Lisan ignored the accusatory tone. “I’m an orphan, ma’am. My guardian paid my tuition at St. Clare’s as long as I earned good grades. I don’t expect him to continue supporting me, nor do I want that.” That was as much as she was willing to reveal; they didn’t need to know more.

“An orphan,” Mrs. Stanton said. Lisan caught an undertone of sympathy, genuine feeling. It was as unexpected as it was warming. “How old were you when you lost your parents?”

“I don’t know, ma’am,” Lisan said. “I have no memories at all of my life before my guardian took me into his household.” No memories, only nightmares.

Mrs. Easton snorted. “Who knows what slum she came from?” as though Lisan weren’t fluent in English and didn’t understand every word perfectly.

Mrs. Stanton smiled at Lisan. “Can you type?”

Lisan answered Caroline Stanton’s questions as succinctly as she could, all the while observing the American woman’s face, her voice, the way she moved her hands and body. Unlike Mrs. Easton, whose nest of curls threatened to slide off her forehead, Caroline Stanton’s blond locks were pinned in a simple roll, held in a twist at the back with a tortoiseshell comb. The pale green dress emphasized her fresh complexion, and her only visible jewelry, apart from a wedding band, was a pair of cameo earrings, coral pink and finely carved. With such hair and skin, Lisan had expected Mrs. Stanton’s eyes to be blue, but they were strange, even for a foreigner, an indeterminate shade that was neither brown nor green, shifting color as Mrs. Stanton turned her face from window to lamplight.

At the end of twenty minutes, Mrs. Stanton stood up and pulled the bell. “I think you’ll do, Miss Liu. Can you start on Monday? Come at noon. There will be a room ready for you by then.”

“Thank you, Mrs. Stanton,” Lisan said. “Yes, I can be here on Monday. Thank you.” She dug her fingers into the palm of her hand to contain her excitement. In just a few days, a new life.

In answer to the bell, the same manservant glided in to show her out. Just before the door to the parlor closed, Lisan heard Mrs. Easton’s censorious words. “Really, Caroline. This will hardly enhance your position. What could a girl like that understand?”

Walking away from the door, Lisan couldn’t make out Caroline Stanton’s reply, only the tone of her voice, and to Lisan it sounded rather amused. But it was clear Mrs. Easton would do her best to make young Mrs. Stanton change her mind.

Not that any of it would matter if Master Liu didn’t let her take the job.

Excerpted from The Fourth Princess: A Gothic Novel of Old Shanghai, by Janie Chang. William Morrow Paperbacks, 2026. Reprinted with permission.

The post Read An Excerpt From ‘The Fourth Princess’ by Janie Chang appeared first on The Nerd Daily.

Get ready to look forward to some great fiction book releases in 2026! We’ve rounded up just a few fiction books releasing between January and June from thrillers and historical fiction, to stories of friendship and family, and more. With new releases from Jennifer Niven, Simone St. James, Claire Heywood, Catriona Ward, CG Drews, Natalie Haynes, Megan Lally, Xochitl Gonzalez, Emma Straub, Kylie Lee Baker, Nick Cutter, Catherine Adel West, Jennifer Saint, Rob Hart, and more, plus debut novels, you’ll be sure to find quite a few exciting new reads within this list!

Be sure to check out our other 2026 round-ups too, including our Most Anticipated, Romance, Fantasy and Sci-Fi, and Young Adult lists!

JANUARY 2026 FICTION BOOK RELEASES

Meet the Newmans by Jennifer Niven

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Funny, big-hearted, and deeply moving, Meet the Newmans is a rich family story about the dual lives we lead. Because even when our lives aren’t televised weekly, we all have a behind-the-scenes.

Is This A Cry For Help? by Emily Austin

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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.

Women of a Promiscuous Nature by Donna Everhart

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Based on the long-buried history of the American Plan, this powerful and shockingly timely story of resistance and resilience exposes the real government program designed to regulate women’s bodies and sexuality throughout the first half of the 20th century.

Dandelion Is Dead by Rosie Storey

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With sparkling wit and aching tenderness, debut author Rosie Storey gives us a modern love story about the courage it takes to live again after loss and finding hope in the most unexpected places.

Skylark by Paula McLain

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The New York Times bestselling author of The Paris Wife weaves a mesmerizing tale of Paris above and below—where a woman’s quest for artistic freedom in 1664 intertwines with a doctor’s dangerous mission during the German occupation in the 1940s, revealing a story of courage and resistance that transcends time.

You’ll Never Forget Me by Isha Raya

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In this captivating cat-and-mouse thriller, a struggling actress is only just beginning to enjoy the life sheʼs always wanted after inadvertently killing her rival—but now she must contend with the woman who threatens to take it all away.

Burn Down Master’s House by Clay Cane

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Inspired by long-buried true stories of enslaved people who dared to fight back, this powerful novel offers a searing portrayal of resistance. 

The Midnight Carousel by Fiza Saeed McLynn

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The Night Circus meets Water for Elephants in this enchanting, darkly glittering story of grief, obsession, revenge, and enduring love.

The Briars by Sarah Crouch

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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.

Just Watch Me by Lior Torenberg

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Fleabag meets Big Swiss in this bold debut about a charismatic misfit who livestreams her life for seven days and nights to raise money to save her comatose sister—a poignant and darkly funny exploration of grief, forgiveness, and redemption.

A Box Full of Darkness by Simone St. James

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Simone St. James, the New York Times bestselling author of The Sun Down Motel, returns with her scariest, most shocking novel yet in this pulse-pounding story about siblings who return to the house they fled 18 years before, called back by the ghost of their long-missing brother and his haunting request: Come home.

The Seven Daughters of Dupree by Nikesha Elise Williams

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From the two-time Emmy Award–winning producer and host of the Black and Published podcast comes a sweeping multi-generational epic following seven generations of Dupree women as they navigate love, loss, and the unyielding ties of family in the tradition of Homegoing and The Love Songs of W.E.B. DuBois.

FEBRUARY 2026 FICTION BOOK RELEASES

The Exes by Leodora Darlington

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Who hasn’t wanted to murder an ex—figuratively, at least? In this explosive debut thriller, a woman’s seemingly perfect romantic life is on the verge of collapse as she uncovers a hidden history surfacing dark secrets that have deadly consequences.

A Crown of Stars by Shana Abe

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A sumptuously vivid and poignant account of the Lusitania’s fateful last days, drawn from the true story of an extraordinary young actress who survived the unthinkable—for fans of Marie Benedict, Louis Bayard, Fiona Davis, Kate Quinn, and HBO’s The Gilded Age.

The Wandering Queen by Claire Heywood

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An epic and fiercely imaginative retelling of the story of queen Dido, the legendary founder of Carthage, from the author of the national bestseller Daughters of Sparta.

Where the Wildflowers Grow by Terah Shelton Harris

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From acclaimed author Terah Shelton Harris comes a poignant story of survival and redemption that questions what it means to stop existing and start living.

The Fourth Princess by Janie Chang

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From the internationally bestselling author of The Porcelain Moon comes a haunting Gothic novel set in 1911 China. Two young women living in a crumbling, once-grand Shanghai mansion face danger as secrets of their pasts come to light, even as the mansion’s own secret threatens the present.

Out of the Loop by Katie Siegel

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The Seven Year Slip meets Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice for Murderers in this wholly original time loop mystery.

Superfan by Jenny Tinghui Zhang

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From National Book Foundation 5 Under 35 honoree Jenny Tinghui Zhang, a novel about a pop idol and his superfan, whose stories shockingly collide

The Midnight Taxi by Yosha Gunasekera

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When the last fare of the night turns up dead in her backseat, a Sri Lankan American taxi driver works off the clock to clear her name in this mystery novel by debut author Yosha Gunasekera.

Adrift by Will Dean

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A high-tension thriller about a family’s descent into darkness that is perfect for fans of Dennis Lehane and Lisa Jewell.

A Sociopath’s Guide to a Successful Marriage by MK Oliver

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A whip-smart and darkly funny crime novel—perfect for fans of My Sister, the Serial Killer and The Maid—that follows a wife and mother with a deadly secret that she must suppress if she wants to maintain her picture-perfect façade.

Bad Asians by Lillian Li

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From the acclaimed author of Number One Chinese Restaurant comes an affecting novel about an unforgettable group of friends trying to make their way in the world without losing themselves, or one another.

Nowhere Burning by Catriona Ward

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Nowhere Burning is a harrowing tale of survival that places the dark fairy tale of Peter Pan and the ruthless dangers of Lord of the Flies into the unforgiving maw of the Colorado Rockies.

MARCH 2026 FICTION BOOK RELEASES

No Friend To This House by Natalie Haynes

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No Friend to This House is an extraordinary reimagining of the myth of Medea from the Sunday Times bestselling author of Stone Blind, Natalie Haynes.

Wretch by Eric LaRocca

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From rising horror star and award-winning author of Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke comes a nightmarish, haunting, tech-Gothic thrill ride about sorrow, memory, and the unabashed complexity of love as a transgressive act.

You Did Nothing Wrong by C.G. Drews

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Domestic suspense meets haunted house horror in this adult debut from the New York Times bestselling author of Don’t Let the Forest In.

Strangers In The Villa by Robyn Harding

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From the international bestselling author of The Drowning Woman, a psychological thriller about a couple rocked by infidelity who moves to a villa in Spain’s Costa Brava to rebuild their relationship, only to welcome a pair of visitors who have no intention of leaving.  

How Simi Got Her Groom Back by Sonali Dev

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Two sisters face the real consequences of a fake marriage scheme in an emotional yet hilarious novel about immigration, healing, and family from USA Today bestselling author Sonali Dev.

Bloom by Robbie Couch

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From the New York Times bestselling author of If I See You Again Tomorrow comes a delightful and heartwarming novel about family, love, grief, and one precocious houseplant, that reminds us of the beauty of living a life in full Bloom.

Dig by J. H. Markert

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J. H. Markert returns with a surreal horror novel, perfect for fans of Graveyard Shift and What Moves the Dead.

This Story Might Save Your Life by Tiffany Crum

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Best friends Benny and Joy like to say they’ve been saving each other’s lives since the moment they met. Until the day Joy disappears and Benny is suspected of murder . . .

Turn Off the Light by Jacquie Walter

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Two women living centuries apart are bound by the same dark secret in this haunting novel that “upends everything you think you know about ghost stories” (Jennifer McMahon, author of The Winter People).

Sweetbitter Song by Rosie Hewlett

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Perfect for fans of The Song of Achilles and from the award-winning author of The Witch of Colchis comes a profoundly moving story of two women on the shores of Ithaca, in the shadows of a legendary war, who must face their own battle – one of sisterhood, survival, and a forbidden love that could destroy them both.

What We Did To Survive by Megan Lally

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A vacation in paradise turns deadly when four teens’ sailing charter hits stormy seas in this propulsive new thriller from New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Megan Lally!

Finlay Donovan Crosses The Line by Elle Cosimano

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From New York Times bestseller Elle Cosimano comes Finlay Donovan Crosses the Line—the highly anticipated next installment in the beloved Finlay Donovan series.

APRIL 2026 FICTION BOOK RELEASES

Last Night in Brooklyn by Xochitl Gonzalez

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New York Times bestselling author Xochitl Gonzalez delivers a captivating story about a young woman whose life becomes ensnared in her glamorous neighbor’s secret past

A Murder Most Camp by Nicolas DiDomizio

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The Guncle meets Every Time I Go On Vacation Someone Dies in this fun, twisty mystery following a spoiled nepo baby forced to work at a struggling summer camp who stumbles into a real-life murder mystery he has no choice but to solve.

We Would Never Tell by Anne-Sophie Jouhanneau

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A high-glamour, high-stakes thriller trailing three ambitious women as they navigate Hollywood’s secrets, sins, and scandals during 12 days at the Cannes Film Festival. 

American Fantasy by Emma Straub

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From New York Times bestselling author of This Time Tomorrow, an irresistible story about what happens when your teenage fantasy comes true after you’re already an adult.

The Girls Trip by Ally Condie

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From the author of Reese’s Book Club Pick and instant USA Today bestseller The Unwedding, a novel of suspense and friendship about three friends who decide to disappear from their lives for a few days while on a trip to a national park—only to have one of them vanish.

The Ending Writes Itself by Evelyn Clarke

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Fans of Agatha Christie’s locked-room mysteries and modern tales like Knives Out will fall for The Ending Writes Itself, which masterfully blends classic mystery elements with genre-bending tropes. Crafted with razor-sharp wit and a meta twist, this satirical take on the publishing world ensures readers will hang on every word, right up to its breathtaking finale.

The Book Witch by Meg Shaffer

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Come along with the Book Witch in this magical and inspiring love letter to reading from the USA Today bestselling author of The Wishing Game.

The Caretaker by Marcus Kliewer

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From Marcus Kliewer, a new “titan of the macabre and unsettling” (Erin A. Craig, #1 New York Times bestselling author), comes a supernatural horror about a young woman who accepts a caretaking job from Craigslist, only to discover the position has consequences far greater—and more dangerous—than she ever could have imagined.

Japanese Gothic by Kylie Lee Baker

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In this lyrical, wildly inventive horror novel interwoven with Japanese mythology, two people living centuries apart discover a door between their worlds.

The Island Club by Nicola Harrison

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Set against the sun-drenched beaches of Balboa Island, with its prim and proper 1950s facade, The Island Club is a story of love, loneliness and the lies we tell ourselves―and what can be gained when the truth is finally revealed.

Ms. Mebel Goes Back to the Chopping Block by Jesse Q. Sutanto

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A nearly divorced trophy wife enrolls in culinary school to win back her husband, only to find a fresh start in the unlikeliest of places in this new novel from the USA Today bestselling author of Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice for Murderers.

Go Gentle by Maria Semple

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The New York Times bestselling author of Where’d You Go, Bernadette returns to form in her most exuberant and life-affirming novel yet with the story of one woman’s cheerful determination to live a life of the mind only to have the heart force its way in.

MAY 2026 FICTION BOOK RELEASES

The Library After Dark by Ande Pliego

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A bookseller must escape the infamously haunted library that holds her darkest secrets, but with a murderer in her tour group, escaping alive is not as simple as it seems, in this twisty locked-room thriller from bestselling author of You Are Fatally Invited.

The Dorians by Nick Cutter

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The all-new novel of terror from “one of the hottest horror authors on the planet” (Paste) and writer of the #HorrorBookTok sensation The Troop!

Caller Unknown by Gillian McAllister

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How far would you go to rescue your child? A mother races against the clock—and finds herself on the wrong side of the law—in a desperate fight to save her teenage daughter in this pulse-pounding thriller.

The Calamity Club by Kathryn Stockett

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The Calamity Club will make you laugh, cry, and cheer—an epic testament to underestimated women who know that calamity can be the spark of new beginnings. This is Kathryn Stockett at her most confident, heartfelt, and hilarious—the triumphant return of one of the most beloved storytellers of our time.

The Anniversary by Alex Finlay

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Twisty, high-concept, and emotionally charged, this novel is an utterly compelling story of the hunt for a serial killer. But it’s also a heartfelt―and heartrending―novel about fate, innocence lost, and two souls who find that sometimes being broken is the only way for the light to get in. 

The Young Will Remember by Eve J. Chung

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A sweeping novel about a correspondent trapped behind enemy lines during the Korean War, and the women who help her find her way home, from the national bestselling author of Daughters of Shandong.

Villain by Natalie Zina Walschots

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The Boys meets Assistant to the Villain in the electrifying, sharp, violent, and hilarious sequel to the highly acclaimed novel, Hench. Filled with a queer and neurodiverse cast, Villain asks the question: what happens when a diabolically brilliant henchperson looks back at their already storied career and thinks, I can be so much worse.

The One Day You Were My Husband by Rosie Walsh

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From the New York Times–bestselling author of Ghosted and The Love of My Life comes an unmissable emotional thriller: an up-all-night, page-turning love story with a very dark secret at its heart.

Homebound by Portia Elan

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Five interlocking lives. One beloved story. A dazzling adventure across centuries and continents in search of the things that hold us together.

Lady X by Molly Fader

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The search for a notorious vigilante exposes the secrets among three generations of women in this propulsive novel of female resistance and rage, sweeping from contemporary L.A. to gritty 1970s New York.

The Hope Keeper by Heather Webb

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Set in Jazz Age D.C., the story of possession and obsession, and the ever-looming curse of the legendary Hope Diamond, comes to life as the socialites scheme and the jewels glitter in the evening light. 

The Players Club by Rachel Mills

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For fans of Lessons in Chemistry and Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine, a bold, big concept debut about a secret club of women who risk everything to ask the question: If you could be anyone…who would you dare to become?

JUNE 2026 FICTION BOOK RELEASES

Tell Your Friends by Lauren Wilson

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A former child star and an envious fan collide in this cat-and-mouse psychological thriller about obsession, self-invention, and the dark side of internet fame.

There’s Only One Sin In Hollywood by Rasheed Newson

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A cinematic, razor-sharp novel following a backlot fixer’s daring investigation into the suspicious death of a closeted Black actor within the glamorous world of Hollywood, from the bestselling author of My Government Means to Kill Me.

A Pair of Aces by Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray

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A gripping novel about two trailblazing women on opposite sides of the law—a prosecutor and a madam—who team up to bring down notorious mob boss Lucky Luciano in 1930s New York, from the New York Times bestselling authors of the million-copy bestseller The Personal Librarian.

Strangers Behind Closed Doors by Catherine Adel West

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A twisty thriller about a woman who vanishes from a luxury hotel, and the detective who believes the case is tied to the unsolved disappearances of other Black women in the city.

The Break-Up Retreat by Camilla Sten

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An undercover journalist goes to expose an exclusive psychological wellness clinic where women go to recover from heartbreak, with dire consequences, in this creepy thriller from The Bachelorette Party author Camilla Sten.

A Fortune of Sand by Ruta Sepetys

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The daughter of an automotive magnate escapes to an artistic retreat that holds more secrets—and more intrigue—than she could have ever imagined, in this Prohibition-era novel from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Salt to the Sea.

Girl’s Girl by Sonia Feldman

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From a dazzling new talent, a sensual and spellbinding novel about one summer that shatters the balance between three best friends, forcing them to confront the line between friendship and desire.

This Immortal Heart by Jennifer Saint

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The epic, captivating tale of Aphrodite, the goddess of love, who must reconcile her mind and heart when she is drawn against all odds to Ares, the god of war, from the internationally bestselling author of Ariadne and Hera.

Our Sister’s Keeper by Jasmine Holmes

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A gripping blend of historical fiction and Southern gothic psychological horror, Our Sister’s Keeper is a fierce exploration of Black sisterhood, rage, and resistance.

Three Hitmen and a Baby by Rob Hart

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Welcome back to Assassins Anonymous, where family is everything and danger lurks around every corner.

Pool House by Mary H.K. Choi

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Bestselling young adult author Mary H.K. Choi debuts a brilliantly observed adult novel about mothers, daughters and the complexity of family set against the backdrop of Hollywood.

The Shampoo Effect by Jenny Jackson

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An ambitious young woman insinuates herself into a tight-knit social set, shaking up friendships and marriages in a small seaside town.

What 2026 fiction book releases are you looking forward to? Tell us in the comments below!

The post Fiction Book Releases To Check Out In 2026 appeared first on The Nerd Daily.

From the critically acclaimed author of The Library of Legends comes a tender and heart-wrenching novel set at the end of WWI about the lives of two women from very different backgrounds whose paths will intersect and lead them to risky repercussions. The Porcelain Moon is a story of forbidden love, found family, identity, belonging, and what one is willing to risk to attain their personal freedom.

This new historical fiction novel majorly sheds light onto a little-known aspect of the Great War: thousands of able-bodied Chinese men were recruited separately by the British and French governments to do support work and manual labour towards the end of WWI. They were known as the Chinese Labour Corps and they they did work such as loading goods, translating and interpreting, clearing battlefields and handling corpses in the trenches as well as other support services.

This serves as the setting for the stories of the two main characters of this novel. Pauline Deng is a young Chinese girl, the illegitimate niece of the owner of an antiques shop in Paris. She has spent most of her life living with her uncle and her cousin, Theo, and has helped them run the shop. In Paris she has found a sort of freedom and happiness that she wouldn’t have had in China. However, once Theo disappoints his father and becomes a translator and interpreter for the Chinese Labour Corps in Noyelles-sur-Mer instead of taking over the shop, Pauline fears for her future. As the war draws to a close, she is set to have an arranged marriage back in Shanghai. Refusing to accept her destiny and return to a life of misery, Pauline sets off to look for her cousin along with a family friend, Henri, hoping that Theo will be able to persuade her uncle to let her stay in Paris.

Camille is a young married French woman who comes from an aristocratic family and who is trapped in an abusive marriage; she is also Noyelles-sur-Mer postmistress. One day she meets Theo and as they discover their shared love for art, in secret (afraid of prejudices, racism, and her husband), they become each other’s safe haven in the tough times they live in. Pauline and Camille’s paths intertwine when Pauline rents Camille’s gardenhouse in search of her brother who is no longer in Noyelles-sur-Mer. After hearing some devastating news both of their plans are turned upside-down and with one risky decision, both of their lives will be bound forever.

Throughout the whole novel, Chang’s writing is beautiful and informative and carries the story at great pace, making The Porcelain Moon an easy read. Although some of the timelines and time jumps are difficult to grasp at first, the plot gradually smooths out. Chang’s storytelling through the two different perspectives is smart, detailed, and emotive. Her characters are so fleshed out that they feel so real. Both Pauline and Camille are easy to connect with, especially for other female readers who will certainly be able to empathise with some if not most of the same struggles these young women are faced with. Their perseverance and strength at a time where women had so little rights is quite admirable. Of course, since it’s set during World War I, the themes are heavy. So is the racism and abusive relationship Camille has with her husband so make sure to read the trigger warnings before reading.

As for the historical aspect of the book, Chang did a wonderful research job and it’s reflected perfectly in the pages, as well as in the author’s note which is definitely worth the read. Overall, The Porcelain Moon, tells a tender and beautiful story of found family and forbidden love while exploring the experience of Chinese laborers hired for non-combatant work in the WWI.

A compelling storyline with many echoes to the present, thought provoking characters, heartfelt love stories and a fascinating and lesser known chapter of Great War history make The Porcelain Moon the perfect book for both historical fiction fans and readers who may want to dip into the genre for the first time.

The Porcelain Moon is available from Amazon, Book Depository, and other book retailers, like your local bookstore.

Will you be picking up The Porcelain Moon? Tell us in the comments below!

Synopsis | Goodreads

France, 1918. In the final days of the First World War, a young Chinese woman, Pauline Deng, runs away from her uncle’s home in Paris to evade a marriage being arranged for her in Shanghai. To prevent the union, she needs the help of her cousin Theo, who is working as a translator for the Chinese Labour Corps in the French countryside. In the town of Noyelles-sur-Mer, Camille Roussel is planning her escape from an abusive marriage, and to end a love affair that can no longer continue. When Camille offers Pauline a room for her stay, the two women become friends. But it’s not long before Pauline uncovers a perilous secret that Camille has been hiding from her. As their dangerous situation escalates, the two women are forced to make a terrible decision that will bind them together for the rest of their lives.

Set against the little-known history of the 140,000 Chinese workers brought to Europe as non-combatant labor during WWI, The Porcelain Moon is a tale of forbidden love, identity and belonging, and what we are willing to risk for freedom.

The post Review: The Porcelain Moon by Janie Chang appeared first on The Nerd Daily.