The best books to prepare for the B2 First (FCE) [Updated 2026]

Are you studying English and need to know which are the best books to prepare for the B2 First (FCE)? Then don’t miss this post.

Updated on 25/02/26

Are you thinking about preparing for the FCE but don’t know where to start? Every month I receive several emails asking me about the best books to prepare for Cambridge exams. Thanks to the time I’ve spent teaching as an English teacher, I’ve had the opportunity to use quite a few preparation books with my B2 students, which has allowed me to know which ones work best and which ones don’t, at least in my case. That’s why, in today’s post, I’m bringing you the list of the best books to prepare for B2 First (FCE), commonly known as FCE or First Certificate in English.

All this information is based on my own experience, so you can be sure that the books I recommend below are top-notch 😂. In a previous post, I already told you which were the the best books to prepare for C1 and also the best ones for B1, so in this one I will focus on the best books to prepare for Cambridge B2 and some extra materials that I always recommend to my students. Let’s get started!

What is B2 First (FCE)

The B2 First, commonly known as FCE or First Certificate, is an English exam developed by Cambridge Assessment English, part of the University of Cambridge.

As the letter and number in its name indicate, the B2 First is designed so that people with an upper-intermediate level of English can demonstrate it officially, thus obtaining a B2 level certificate, according to the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages.

Today, more than 8,000 educational institutions, businesses and government departments accept this exam as proof of a B2 level of English.

The Best Books to Prepare for B2 First (FCE)

When we start preparing for the B2 First on our own, we cannot make the mistake of thinking that one single preparation book will be enough to reach the B2 level of the First Certificate. For this reason, in this section I am going to present the best books to prepare for Cambridge B2 divided into categories, according to their objective and the use you should give to each one.

Books for General B2 First Preparation

Firstly, I’m going to talk to you about the best general preparation books for the First Certificate. These are books that focus on all skills equally and are usually used in English courses to prepare for B2 First, whether they are annual, intensive or semi-intensive courses. So here are the best books I’ve used in recent years to prepare for B2 First with my students.

Complete First (FCE) for Spanish Speakers [Third Edition]

This is the preparation book we use with the weekly B2 groups, and I quite like it, although it’s not perfect. And I don’t think my students have any complaints either. It has 14 quite comprehensive units and works on all parts of the B2 First exam equally, as I said before. Furthermore, it comes with a Workbook that emphasises the grammatical and semantic aspects worked on in each unit, so it’s recommended to work through them together.

Compact First (FCE) Self-study Pack [Third Edition]

With this book, I prepare those students who are already practically at a B2 level and want a general but intensive review of the exam. Therefore, this B2 First book is recommended for private tuition and intensive courses.

Because of this, if you are not yet at B2 level or very close to it, it is better to choose another B2 preparation book, as Compact First offers very good tips for exam techniques and plenty of practice for B2 exam-style exercises, but relatively few explanations.

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Exam Books for B2 First

As I always say, FCE exam books have a great advantage and a major drawback. On the one hand, they give you the opportunity to test yourself with real exam exercises. However, the problem they have is that they are limited and, in general, they don’t teach anything; they simply tell you if you’ve answered correctly or not, and some don’t even tell you how to calculate your First score. Knowing this, we must distinguish between official exams from Cambridge University Press, and unofficial exam books from other publishers such as Pearson or National Geographic, among others.

Official Books with B2 First (FCE) Exams

In this context, we have top-tier material as far as realism is concerned. These books offer 4 B2 First exams that were already used in previous exam sittings. For this reason, the level is perfect for getting an idea of how well or poorly prepared we are for the exam. The two problems I find with these books are: 1) They are relatively expensive, as they only contain 4 exams; 2) They don’t teach, they simply have exam-style exercises with their respective answers.

Cambridge English First Exam books

As I’ve already mentioned, this type of book from Cambridge University Press has 4 real exams that have appeared in official sittings. Although the price of each is a bit high, I highly recommend them, but only to prepare ourselves in the final stretch before taking the B2 First. That way, we will know for certain if we are well or poorly prepared.

Cambridge English First Trainer

This preparation book is the only official material with real exams that actually offers some preparation. It is a B2 First exam preparation book that offers 6 practice exams, and the first 2 come with preliminary exercises to perfect exam techniques and help us better prepare for each part of the exam. I use it regularly as complementary material in class, along with the Complete First mentioned in the previous section.

KSE Academy Books to Prepare for B2 First

For the B2 First (FCE) exam, at KSE Academy we have gone a step further. We know that this level is a big leap for many students, so our guides are designed to break down each part of the exam and offer you the exact tools you need: from key expressions to real exam models. Here is our collection to make the First a piece of cake (well, almost, haha).

Other Unofficial Books with B2 First Exams

In this section, I’ll talk about preparation books for the First Certificate that have not been published by Cambridge University Press, but by other publishing houses. The great advantage of these books is that, as well as having a more affordable price, they usually provide more exams, and many of them include explanations, guides and other resources to help us learn. The only problem is that, occasionally, some of the parts may seem a bit easier or harder than those in the real exams from the previous books. But, speaking from experience as a Cambridge exam trainer, they are truly worth it for practising and measuring our skills.

Exam Essentials: Cambridge English First 1 and 2

In each of these books, you will find 8 exams and they are significantly more affordable than those from Cambridge University Press. On the other hand, these B2 First preparation books contain margin notes that help you develop proper techniques for sitting the exams, and they come with the audio for the Listenings, videos of Speaking tests and tips for tackling the Speaking exam. This, in my opinion, is a major plus for this series. That’s why I use it quite a bit in class.

Cambridge English First Practice Tests Plus Volume 1 and 2

Much like the National Geographic practice books, Pearson offers these preparation books with 7 practice exams to which they add a multitude of extra materials: Writing samples, Speaking test videos, downloadable audio, transcripts, etc. I have a copy of each which I often turn to when I need extra material to work with.

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Books to Prepare for Each Part of the B2 First

In this section, we are going to delve into each of the parts of the B2 exam. This way, if you need more practice or support for one of the parts, you can turn to one of these to ensure sufficient preparation before taking the B2 First.

Books to Prepare for the B2 First Reading & Writing

Although one of the most recommended ways to prepare for the Reading and Writing of the First Certificate is to read books and articles regularly, there are also some books that help you with the specific techniques (skimming, scanning, etc.) that you will need in this Cambridge exam. In fact, I always recommend the following:

Reading for First

As the title correctly indicates, this book will help you pass this part of the exam which, although it might not seem like it, can present great difficulties for many people who do not read regularly in English.

Cambridge English Skills Real Reading & Writing (Level 3)

The Real Skills series from Cambridge is highly recommended for working on each of the language skills separately. Therefore, if you want to prepare for the FCE, you can take a look at these books, as they can be fantastic for reinforcement.

Books to Prepare for the B2 First Use of English

For preparing the First’s Use of English there are many more options than for preparing the Reading. However, I have my favourites, and these are the following:

Books to Prepare for the B2 First Listening & Speaking

Cambridge English Skills Real Listening & Speaking (Level 3)

Here we have another book from the Real Skills series, in this case for Listening & Speaking, all-in-one.

But to improve Listening in English and Speaking, I always recommend other materials like the ones you will see in the following section.

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Other Recommended Resources for the B2 First (FCE)

Being a B2 level of English, the best books to prepare for the First Certificate are probably not enough to achieve an optimal level to face the exam. For this reason, in this section I’m going to recommend what I believe are the best extra resources to prepare for the B2 First.

Scribd

Scribd is a very versatile platform that offers a variety of resources that can help you in many aspects: audiobooks, ebooks, PDF documents, magazines, etc. Currently, I am subscribed to Scribd (approximately £8/month), and I use it mainly to listen to audiobooks. For this reason, I highly recommend it to my students, as listening to audiobooks is a perfect way to improve listening, vocabulary, grammar and practically everything that has to do with English. Also, as Scribd also offers ebooks, you can read and listen at the same time, which is certainly a great help to improve.

Amazon Prime Video

Any online streaming platform for watching films and series is highly recommended to improve our English. And if what you want is to prepare for the First, I highly recommend that you try one like Netflix or Amazon Prime Video. The latter, I remind you, is completely free if you are an Amazon Prime member (only £20/year). If you want to try Amazon Prime and Amazon Video, I recommend the Amazon Prime 30-day free trial, which is what I did before subscribing.

English Class 101

Among all the podcasts for learning English that I know, English Class 101 is, without a doubt, one of the best. With many lessons not only at B2 level but at all levels below and above, you can listen to audios, watch videos and download them along with their transcripts. Without a doubt, one of the best ways to improve Listening for the B2. If you want to know more, don’t hesitate to click below.

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Speaking Exam Videos for B2 First

With all the materials I have previously recommended to you to prepare for the B2, you already know all the parts of the First. However, it never hurts to watch some videos of real Speaking exams to get a good idea of what a real B2 First Speaking exam is like. So here’s one published on the official Cambridge English channel, so you can start getting ready for what’s in store for you. 😅

What are the best books to prepare for the B2 First in 2026?

1. Complete First (FCE) for Spanish Speakers [Third Edition]
2. Compact First (FCE) Self-study Pack [Third Edition]
3. Cambridge English First 1. Practice Tests with Answers and Audio CDs
4. Cambridge English First 2. Practice Tests with Answers and Audio CDs
5. B2 First 4 Student’s Book with Answers with Audio With Resource Bank
6. Cambridge English First 5 Self-study Pack
7. Cambridge English First Trainer (B2 First Trainer 3 Trainer with Answers with Digital Pack)
8. Writing B2: The Ultimate FCE Writing Guide for B2 Cambridge
9. Use of English B2: 10 Use of English Tests for B2 First (FCE)
10. Use of English B2 Part 4: 100 Key Word Transformation Sentences
11. Speaking B2: The Ultimate FCE Speaking Guide for B2 Cambridge & 10 Practice Tests
12. Speaking B2 for Schools: The Ultimate FCE for Schools Speaking Guide & 10 Practice Tests
13. Phrasal Verbs B2: Master Essential Phrasal Verbs for FCE Through Topic-Based Exercises
14. Short Stories in English for Intermediate Learners (B1 and B2) with AUDIO
15. Exam Essentials: Cambridge English First 1, With Key
16. Exam Essentials: Cambridge English First 2, With Key
17. Cambridge English First Practice Tests Plus Volume 1
18. Cambridge English First Practice Tests Plus Volume 2
19. Reading for First (MacMillan)
20. Cambridge English Skills Real Reading 3 with answers
21. Cambridge English Skills Real Writing 3 (+ Key)
22. Use of English: Ten more practice tests for the Cambridge B2 First
23. Use of English: Ten practice tests for the Cambridge B2 First
24. Use of English: Another ten practice tests for the Cambridge B2 First
25. Cambridge English Skills Real Listening and Speaking 3 with Answers and Audio CD

Great. Done. Now you know the best books to prepare for the B2 First and complementary materials that could really help you succeed. If there is any book or resource you think I should try and include in this list, don’t hesitate to leave a comment below. I’ll be happy to take a look and try it with my students. And if you found this article useful, why not share it with your friends, colleagues and other English students and teachers? And don’t forget to follow KSE Academy on social media! 🙂

And until the next article, don’t forget to keep smiling!