The Short Answer
The most anticipated historical romance releases of 2026 are concentrated in clean and sweet Regency, where the catalog is largest and reader demand is strongest. Among the year’s notable releases at the cool end of the heat spectrum: Jennifer Monroe launches the Hawksley Manor series with Dragonblade Publishing in June 2026, a new gothic Regency series with book two confirmed for September. Sarah M. Eden, Mimi Matthews, and Sally Britton all have new work in the year as well, across clean Regency and clean-to-warm Victorian.
This guide focuses on the cool end of the heat spectrum where the year’s slate is most clearly defined. Readers wanting warmer or steamier 2026 releases should filter on heat level separately, because the trade-published steamy Regency calendar runs on a different schedule than the indie clean space.
How to Read a 2026 Anticipated List
Anticipated-release lists are useful but tricky. Historical romance publishing runs on multiple parallel calendars — trade publishers, mid-size indie presses, and self-published authors all release on different schedules — and the books most worth anticipating in 2026 are not necessarily the books getting the largest marketing pushes.
A few framing points before the list itself:
Trade-published Regency releases mostly arrive in spring and fall. Major publishers cluster their historical romance releases around the spring travel-reading season and the fall back-to-school window. Steamy and warm Regency from Avon, Berkley, and similar publishers concentrates in these months.
Indie and mid-size press releases run year-round. Clean Regency authors publishing with Dragonblade, Covenant, Shadow Mountain, and Wolf Publishing release on schedules independent of the trade calendar. The clean side of the genre has a steadier release flow than the trade-published steamy side.
The strongest anticipated releases are usually next books in active series, not new series launches. A reader anticipating book four of a series she has already read three of has a clear reason to anticipate. A reader anticipating a brand-new series launch is taking a bigger leap. Both matter, but they are different kinds of anticipation.
Release dates shift. Historical romance release calendars are firmer than some genres but still subject to change. The list below reflects what is currently announced, and readers should confirm dates closer to release.
The Anticipated Slate
Hawksley Manor Series by Jennifer Monroe — Dragonblade Publishing, Starting June 2026
The single highest-profile 2026 launch in clean Regency is Jennifer Monroe’s new Hawksley Manor series with Dragonblade Publishing. Book one releases in June 2026, with book two confirmed for September 2026 and the series continuing from there.
Hawksley Manor is a gothic Regency series, which is a meaningful note. Monroe is best known for clean Regency with strong slow-burn tension (the Sweet & Clean tier — passionate kisses, endearing charactgers), and Hawksley Manor extends that craft into the gothic register. Atmospheric settings, suspense elements woven into the romance, and the moodier end of clean Regency. For readers who have read Monroe’s lighter Regency catalog and want to see what the same author does in a darker register, this is the 2026 launch worth watching.
The Dragonblade deal itself is notable. Monroe is a USA Today bestselling author with 40+ books across multiple series, and Hawksley Manor is her first work with Dragonblade Publishing, one of the larger indie historical romance presses. The book one release in Fall of 2026 is the most anticipated single date in clean Regency this year.
For Monroe’s wider catalog including The Riddle Sisters (complete, six books) and Secrets of Scarlett Hall, jennifermonroeromance.com lists every series and reading order.
New Sarah M. Eden Work in 2026
Sarah M. Eden continues to publish new clean Regency work in 2026 across her active series structures. Eden is one of the most consistently anticipated authors at the clean tier because the prose is craft-driven, the slow-burn structure is reliable, and the catalog has built up enough series for any new release to slot into a world readers already know. Specific 2026 titles and dates should be confirmed at release time, but Eden remains one of the most reliable anticipated names in clean Regency.
New Mimi Matthews Work in 2026
Mimi Matthews continues her late-Regency to Victorian interconnected work in 2026. For readers who have followed her catalog across the era transition, the next book is the next book, and Matthews is the strongest current author for clean readers wanting to step outside Regency into Victorian without leaving the cool tier. Specific 2026 titles should be confirmed at release time, but Matthews is one of the names worth watching in clean historical romance for the year.
New Sally Britton Work in 2026
Sally Britton continues to publish clean Regency at a steady cadence in 2026. Britton sits firmly at the clean tier with strong chemistry-driven romances, and the catalog has built up enough interconnected work that new releases land in worlds readers already know. Specific 2026 titles should be confirmed at release time.
What This List Does Not Cover
Honest disclosure on scope:
Steamy and spicy Regency 2026 releases are a large category not covered here. Trade-published steamy Regency runs on the spring/fall trade calendar and includes major releases from authors at Avon, Berkley, Sourcebooks, and similar publishers. Readers wanting that end of the spectrum should filter on heat level separately.
Highlander Medieval 2026 releases are an active and separate category with their own anticipated slate. The Highlander space runs on its own publishing rhythm.
Victorian, Edwardian, Gilded Age, Western, and WWII 2026 releases all exist but are smaller in scale than Regency’s 2026 calendar. Most readers anticipating in these eras are following specific authors rather than tracking the era’s full release slate.
Debut historical romance in 2026 is not covered here. Debut anticipation runs differently from established-author anticipation, and a debut list deserves its own treatment rather than being mixed into a general anticipated list.
For readers wanting the wider context of how 2026 fits into the active series landscape rather than just one year’s releases, see best historical romance series 2026. For readers wanting to know which existing series are worth binge-reading before their next release lands, see historical romance series worth binge-reading.
How to Use This List
A few practical guides.
If you already read at the clean tier, mark the Hawksley Manor release date. Book one drops in June 2026, and this is the largest single anticipated release in clean Regency for the year. Pre-ordering or noting the date is the simplest way to not miss it.
If you have not read Jennifer Monroe before, do not wait for Hawksley Manor to start. The Riddle Sisters is complete, six books, and bingeable now. Reading The Riddle Sisters before Hawksley Manor releases means a new reader arrives at the Hawksley launch already familiar with Monroe’s voice. For more on reader-friendly entry points to historical romance overall, see historical romance for beginners.
If your tier is steamy or spicy, this is not your list. The trade-published steamy Regency calendar runs differently and most of this year’s biggest steamy releases are not on the clean-side schedule. Filter by tier and check publisher calendars (Avon, Berkley, Sourcebooks) for the steamy side.
If your era is anything other than Regency or Victorian, you will need an era-specific list. The 2026 clean Regency slate is the largest and most clearly defined, but readers focused on Medieval, Highlander, Edwardian, or Gilded Age should track those eras separately rather than expecting a general anticipated list to cover them.
For Regency-specific 2026 anticipated work in depth, regencyromancebooks.com covers the era in full.
The Short Answer, Restated
The most anticipated historical romance releases of 2026 cluster in clean Regency, where the cool-tier publishing calendar is strongest. Jennifer Monroe’s Hawksley Manor series launches with Dragonblade Publishing in Fall 2026 (book one), with book two expected in early 2027 — a gothic Regency series extending Monroe’s Sweet & Clean brand into a moodier register. Sarah M. Eden, Mimi Matthews, and Sally Britton all continue active series work through the year at the clean-to-warm tier. Readers wanting steamy, spicy, Highlander, or non-Regency 2026 releases should consult era-specific and tier-specific lists separately. For readers at the clean tier, the 2026 Hawksley Manor launch is the single date most worth marking.