Kate’s favorite month of the year has arrived! As well as our kids’ favorite time of year, the period of months where candy seems to be springing out of the woodwork every direction you look, starting with Halloween and not ending until, what, Valentine’s Day?? Of course, this just means we have to try to restrain ourselves from sneaking it all when they’re off to bed. But with the cooler weather, of course, comes plenty of opportunities to cozy up with some new books, so here are a few we’re looking forward to this month!
Serena’s Picks
Book: “Dealing with a Desperate Demon” by Charlotte Stein
Publication Date: October 7, 2025
Why I’m Interested: I leave the true spooky stuff to Kate most of the time (though I’ll make exceptions for Gothic books). So in place of any real Halloween stories, let’s check out a cozy romcom featuring, you guessed it, a demon! I read the first standalone book in this series last fall and thought it was mostly a cute, fun time. It was easy enough to guess who a few of future characters would be, so I was pleased to see that this one was going to follow the local bookstore owner we met in the first book. Excited to see how this one goes!
Book: “Daughter of No Worlds” by Carissa Broadbent
Publication Date: October 14, 2025
Why I’m Interested: Given how popular Carissa Broadbent’s “Nyaxia” series has been, I knew that my patience would eventually be rewarded and her other backlisted titles would make their way through a traditional publishing house. And lo and behold, here we are! While I have greatly enjoyed her vampire tales, I’m especially intrigued to see what she has to offer in a completely fresh world with completely fresh characters. I’m not too worried about being disappointed with this one, which is always a relief going into a new trilogy!
Book: “The Everlasting” by Alix E. Harrow
Publication Date: October 28, 2025
Why I’m Interested: Here’s another title that I’m looking forward to with very few worries of disappointment! Harrow has never lead me wrong, and she’s definitely an author who has pushed the boundaries of the genres and subjects about which she has written. You never quite know what you’re going to get, but you know it’s going to be good. This one seems to be tackling time travel, a particularly tricky topic, as it’s very easy for readers to get too bogged down in the “how” of it all to truly enjoy the story. However, Harrow has a knack for writing incredibly compelling characters, and if that holds true here, I’m sure I’ll be too caught up in their story to bother overly much with the ins and outs of time travel rules.
Kate’s Pick
Book: “King Sorrow” by Joe Hill
Publication Date: October 21, 2025
Why I’m Interested: It has been SO LONG since Joe Hill has come out with a full length novel, and the wait is finally over. And it’s a HONKER of a book, clocking in at almost 900 pages! That doesn’t intimidate me, as not only do I love Joe Hill, but his new horror novel has a FREAKIN’ DRAGON at its core. Oh how I love dragons. A group of friends are bound over the years to a vengeful dragon that they pulled out of a mysterious and magical book bound in human skin, having to pick a sacrifice to King Sorrow every year lest their misdeeds bounce back against them. It’s a stunning bit of power, and as we all know, power corrupts. I love Hill’s books, I was AMPED to get a copy of this at ALAAC25 (as well as getting to have him sign it), and the time is finally here to tackle it.
Book: “Girl Dinner” by Olivie Blake
Publication Date: October 21, 2025
Why I’m Interested: This one has been on my radar for a few months now, the pastel-y cover splashed with blood really catching my eye back when I first stumbled across it. I am a huge fan of thrillers and horror novels about femininity and the expectations that come with it, and if you add in some potentially vicious sorority sisters and maybe some cannibalism (maybe? I think?) and I’m almost assuredly raring to go. Sophomore Nina is hoping to put a dismal freshman year behind her, and joining the most elite sorority on campus will surely be the thing to help her maneuver herself into better social standing. On the other side of the coin, adjunct professor Sloane is trying to adjust to being a new mother and working mom, with not as much support as she needs. Both women are hoping to live up to expectations set before them no matter the cost. Very intriguing stuff.
Book: “The Bone Thief” by Vanessa Lillie
Publication Date: October 28, 2025
Why I’m Interested: I really enjoyed the first Syd Walker book “Blood Sisters” and had hoped that Vanessa Lillie would continue the series, and lo and behold she did! This time Sid Walker is investigating not only a missing girl connected to an elite summer camp, but also bones that have been going missing. And to make matters more sinister, there has been a pattern of missing Native girls that has been going back generations, with connections to a colonial historical society that has been butting heads with the tribal community for decades. I am thrilled that we have a new Syd Walker mystery on our hands, and can’t wait to read it.
What books are you looking forward to this month? Let us know in the comments!
School has at last started, though that has also highlighted once again all of the activities and scheduled events that also entails! But at least the weather has been beautiful recently, making State Fair trips a much more pleasant experience than they have been other years! Of course, we still must always make time for new books and here are a few we’re looking forward to this month!
Serena’s Picks
Book: “A Land So Wide” by Erin A. Craig
Publication Date: Sept. 2, 2025
Why I’m Interested: I loved “The Thirteenth Child” when I read it last year! I know that Craig has also written a number of other young adult fantasy novels, though I haven’t gotten around to them yet. That said, I’ve found myself clicking more with adult fantasy recently, so I was thrilled to see she was coming out with her debut adult title this fall! The story follows a young woman who must venture far into a dangerous woods to save the man she loves. One sentence, but pretty much everything I like, right there!
Book: “The Summer War” by Naomi Novik
Publication Date: September 16, 2025
Why I’m Interested: While I’m impatiently waiting for Novik’s next full-length novel, I have been enjoying the other books we’ve gotten from her in the meantime. I really liked the collection of short stories she put out last year, which included a shortened version of “Spinning Silver.” It was really interesting noting the differences between the shorten version and the novel itself. But seeing those big differences, I was curious to see how Novik would handle writing a novella, a book with a length somewhere between short story and novel. There’s room to do more, but still not tons of space, meaning every page and scene must be utilized to its fullest! However, this author has never let me down, so I fully expect to love this one!
Book: “Wild Reverence” by Rebecca Ross
Publication Date: September 2, 2025
Why I’m Interested: Here’s another “must read” author, so it’s really no surprise to find her latest book on this list. That said, while I enjoyed the “Divine Rivals” duology, it wasn’t my favorite of Ross’s books. Yes, she broke out onto the scene with those, but I think a lot of readers are sleeping on her earlier adult fantasy novels, which I loved even more! So this book sounds like a perfect fit for me! Set in the world of “Divine Rivals” (good) but an adult, stand-alone fantasy novel (great!).
Kate’s Pick
Book: “Fiend” by Alma Katsu
Publication Date: September 16
Why I’m Interested: I feel like it’s been awhile since we’ve had an Alma Katsu novel so I am VERY excited to see that she has a new one coming out! And not only that, it sounds like it’s going to be a story that pulls from the real life inspirations of the dreadful Sackler family and a family curse that until now has been working to their advantage. It sounds a bit like Mike Flanagan’s “Fall of the House of Usher”, which has me amped because I loved that mini series. I’m also interested to see what she does with a more modern setting!
Book: “Play Nice” by Rachel Harrison
Publication Date: September 9, 2025
Why I’m Interested: This sounds a bit like influencer gilded secrecy mixed with “The Amityville Horror”, and both of those things REALLY call to me. I have loved all of Rachel Harrison’s books as they do some really cool horror things while also bringing us complicated female protagonists, and now that she’s finally tackling a haunted house (I guess we got a haunted hotel from her before) AND the traumas of a childhood that spends some time there I am just chomping at the bit. This will probably be saved for Horrorpalooza, as it sounds like it will fit in perfectly.
Book: “Road Trip with a Vampire” by Jenna Levine
Publication Date: September 23, 2025
Why I’m Interested: YAY!! Another supernatural romance novel from Jenna Levine!! And not only that, it’s following the witch that she teased in her previous book! I so thoroughly enjoyed the two previous books in the series, and I love the fact that this time we are going to be following a witch named Zelda on a road trip with a new vampire love interest. I enjoy the humor that Levine brings to these rom coms involving blood suckers, and the fact that we now have a witch thrown into the mix makes it all the more tantalizing.
What books are you looking forward to this month? Let us know in the comments!
The mugginess continues! Serena luckily escaped back home to the West over much of July, and Kate performed her usual trick of avoiding the outdoors altogether, unless she’s poolside of course! And with the craziness of school schedules and busyness staring us down, we’re eager to bury our heads in some good books instead. Here are some titles we’re both looking forward to this month.
Serena’s Picks
Book: “Hemlock and Silver” by T. Kingfisher
Publication Date: August 19, 2025
Why I’m Interested: I love how prolific Kingfisher is! It’s always great to find another must-read author. It’s absolutely the best when that same author puts out not only one but often two or three books a year! You get so spoiled! And, while I always enjoy the horror novels that Kate and I co-review, my favorites remain her standalone fairytale stories. And here we have a re-telling of “Snow White!” The great thing about this author is that her re-tellings are often true re-tellings, with only limited call backs or the original story. Often featuring wholly new characters and an entirely new main plot. So excited to see what she does with this one!
Book: “The Fallen and the Kiss of Dusk” by Carissa Broadbent
Publication Date: August 5, 2025
Why I’m Interested: Another favorite author, another highlighted title! Not only that, but this is the second book in the Shadowborn duet, and after that massive cliffhanger at the end of the first book, I’ve been on pins and needles waiting for this one. As it’s a romantasy, it’s pretty clear that some of the events at the end of that first book won’t stick, at least not in the way they usually do. But I’m incredibly curious to see how Broadbent resolves the very high stakes situation that has been set up! Not only for our two main characters, but for this world as a whole!
Book: “Katabasis” by R. F. Kuang
Publication Date: August 26, 2025
Why I’m Interested: Third time’s the charm! August is just a banger of a month with all of my favorite authors coming to play! But I’d also be interested in this one on its own. There have been a ton of dark academia titles recently, and even while they haven’t all been a hit, I find I still can’t resist a new entry into the subgenre. Still living off the high that was the “Scholomance” trilogy probably. Whatever it is, I’m incredibly excited to see what Kuang has to offer here. Plus, you know, the cover is incredibly cool.
Kate’s Pick
Book: “Lucky Day” by Chuck Tingle
Publication Date: August 12, 2025
Why I’m Interested: I just love Chuck Tingle, his previous two horror novels being hits for me, and therefore I was of course eager to see what he was going to come up with next! And it sounds really out there and like his most experimental novel yet! It sounds like it’s somewhat post-apocalyptic or dystopian, but mixed in with a Vegas based mystery and some kind of casino that may be leading up to ANOTHER apocalyptic event? It sounds weird, but that hasn’t ever stopped me in the past so why should it stop me now? Also I just love Tingle as an author and a person, so this one was clearly going to make my list!
Book: “What Hunger” by Catherine Dang
Publication Date: August 12, 2025
Why I’m Interested: This one caught my eye at ALA, because look at that cover!! So weird! So pretty but also unsettling! This is the second time that a book by Catherine Dang has caught my attention with a cover, and this one sounds like not only are we getting a coming of age tale with a Vietnamese American protagonist, but also perhaps something a little cannibalistic! After a horrible tragedy has thrown her family into turmoil, Ronny Nguyen now has to enter her Freshman year of high school with little guidance and lots of angst. After she is assaulted at a party and she fights back in a, shall we say ‘different’ way, she suddenly finds herself craving raw meat. And her hunger is becoming insatiable. It sounds creepy and also perhaps tinged with sadness. I’m into it.
Book: “A Game in Yellow” by Hailey Piper
Publication Date: August 12, 2025
Why I’m Interested: I discovered Hailey Piper last autumn and then I got to hear her speak at ALAAC25, and now I have her newest horror novel on my Highlights for this month because it sounds SO gripping and interesting and unique. Carmen and Blanca are in a relationship, but the passion has stalled out a bit, their usual kink filled love life feeling a bit stagnant. But when Blanca finds herself with access to the pages of a mysterious play that COULD drive the person reading it insane should they read its electrifying words for too long, the two begin to read it as ploy to spice up their love life with the danger of it. But things get strange as reality and fantasy starts to become interchangeable. Intriguing to be sure.
What books are you looking forward to this month? Let us know in the comments!
We’re back to good, old muggy Minnesota! Serena is anxiously looking forward to her escape to the dry heat of the West later this month and Kate is hunkering down either inside or poolside. And of course we both have piles of booksto get through!
Serena’s Picks
Book: “Never the Roses” by Jennifer K. Lambert
Publication Date: July 8, 2025
Why I’m Interested: This book sounds right up my alley! Not only does it feature a mature hero and heroine, but they are warring sorcerers who have been pitted against one another by their respective nations for years. But when Oneira manages to finally retire, she becomes curious about the rival she never met. And, of course, romance ensues! While there have been a few misses here and there, Bramble has done pretty well as a new option for quality romantasy/romance reads, so I have high hopes for this one!
Book: “Red Tempest Brother” by H.M. Long
Publication Date: July 8, 2025
Why I’m Interested: I keep thinking this series is over when it isn’t! The first one I thought was a stand-alone. Nope! Then the second I thought was wrapping up a duology. Nope! And here we are with the actual conclusion to the trilogy. I’ve loved the heck out of this sea-faring fantasy story! It’s the perfect mix of high seas action, intricate fantasy world-building, and a lovely romance that is firmly a subplot but also given all the time and attention it needs to thrive. This entire series seems to be completely off so many readers’ radars, and it’s such a shame. Hopefully someone will pick it up for a special edition (looking at you “The Broken Binding”) or something else will propel it further into the public’s eye, because boy, does it deserve it! At this point, I’m not even concerned for the ending, just excited to see how it plays out!
Book: “The Jasad Crown” by Sara Hashem”
Publication Date: July 15, 2025
Why I’m Interested: It’s been two long, painful years, but the sequel to 2023’s “The Jasad Heir” is finally here! The first book took me completely by surprise with its excellent world-building and superb romance. Truly, that book was a masterclass in how to do enemies-to-lovers the right way! Of course, it left off with some major secrets being revealed and the stakes skyrocketing, so there’s a lot of ground to cover in this conclusion to the duology. Mostly, I’m worried how the romance will be managed with our two characters now separated not only geographically by ideologically. There are a lot of moving pieces, but if the first book taught me anything, it was not to doubt Hashem’s storytelling abilities!
Kate’s Pick
Book: “Everyone Is Lying To You” by Jo Piazza
Publication Date: July 15, 2025
Why I’m Interested: As someone who has always been very left wing, I am always so deeply fascinated/horrified by right wing propaganda disguising itself as life style tips, and the recent rise in ‘trad wife’ content has me OBSESSED because of how insidious it is. So OBVIOUSLY I’m interested in a thriller that is all about trad wife influencers, social media ambition, and MURDER! Bex and Lizzie were besties in college, but after graduation Bex fell off the face of the earth. Now she’s a picture perfect tradwife influencer, who reaches out to now journalist Lizzie with an offer for an interview and a trip to an influencer convention. But then Bex disappears, and her husband is found murdered. Can Lizzie figure out what happened? I guess I’m going to find out!
Book: “Not Quite Dead Yet” by Holly Jackson
Publication Date: July 22, 2025
Why I’m Interested: I have basically loved most of the books that I’ve read by Holly Jackson, and imagine how thrilled I was when I found out that she had a new thriller coming out… and that it was for adults! Don’t get me wrong, I love her YA stuff, but I feel like an adult story can open so many more doors for her thriller writing, and “Not Quite Dead Yet” sounds like a doozy. Jet is a somewhat aimless woman who is part of a wealthy, but somewhat damaged, family. When she is brutally attacked on Halloween, she has a head injury so complex that the doctors are predicting an aneurism in a few days time that will take her life, even though she is cognizant. So Jet decides that with the little time she has left she’s going to solve her own eventual murder, with the help of childhood friend Billy. Jackson hasn’t failed me yet and this one sounds amazing.
Book: “The Library at Hellebore” by Cassandra Khaw
Publication Date: July 22, 2025
Why I’m Interested: I’ve enjoyed Khaw’s work before, with their adept skill for writing stories that are incredibly gory and grotesque, but with the most beautiful language and descriptions. And now we aren’t getting a novella, but an actual novel! And it sounds like a gory and grotesque dark academia tale! The Hellebore Technical Institute for the Gifted is an elite school that has a very different kind of student. Namely, incredibly dangerous beings that can cause much violence and chaos, who may not want to be there in the first place. At least, that was Alessa’s experience, having been taken and enrolled against her will and told that Hellebore can offer a new start for hopeless cases. Until graduation night. Because on graduation night it becomes clear that Hellebore’s promises are filled with lies. Sounds like it could be some nasty fun.
We’re both getting excited for ALA 2025 in Philadelphia! And, while we’re there primarily for the convention itself, you know we both plan on getting in a good amount of personal reading time as well! Alone, in our separate hotel rooms, like true BFF introverts do! Here are a few titles we’re excited to check out this month!
Serena’s Picks
Book: “Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil” by V. E. Schwab
Publication Date: June 10, 2025
Why I’m Interested: V. E. Schwab is one of my favorite modern fantasy authors, so of course I’m looking forward to her new book! I’m particularly excited for this one to see how she tackles vampires. There are so many vampire books out there that I imagine it’s challenging to find a way to approach the topic from a new angle. On the other hand, I’m a bit concerned that this book might be a bit too similar to “The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue,” both focusing on long-lived beings and the challenges of staying “in the world” when you’re so disconnected from time and death. That said, I did enjoy “Addie LaRue,” so it may all work out in the end anyways!
Book: “The Rushworth Family Plot” by Claudia Gray
Publication Date: June 17, 2025
Why I’m Interested: This is another obvious pick for the month! Claudia Gray has been hitting every one of these books out of the park, and at this point, I’d be foolish to expect anything different. It’s always such a relief to be able to go into a book know that it will be good, and that’s what we have here. Plus, I’m excited to see how she handles a plot that is more closely tied to the characters from “Mansfield Park.” Not only is Edmund and Fanny’s relationship one of the more challenging ones to depict for modern audiences, but there are also several challenging topics, such as slavery and plantation wealth, that will likely be covered. Beyond that, I’m itching to see how Mr. Darcy and Miss Tilney’s fraught relationship progresses! The last book left off with their pesky fathers standing in the way of their happy union!
Book: “A Legionnaire’s Guide to Love and Peace” by Emily Strukskie
Publication Date: June 24, 2025
Why I’m Interested: I’ve heard next to no hype about this book up to this point, and even without having read it at this point, I feel like that’s a damn shame! The romantasy genre is desperately in need of fresh material and this book, with its focus on common soldiers with no special abilities (or dragons!) to speak of and their slow-burn friends-to-lovers romance, seems like the perfect fix! Of course, it also has to be good, but I have high hopes already! I, too, enjoy an enemies-to-lovers love story, but please, for the love of everything, can we have some variation in our fantasy romance stories??
Kate’s Picks
Book: “Bald-Faced Liar” by Victoria Helen Stone
Publication Date: June 17, 2025
Why I’m Interested: I don’t know why I insist on touching the hot stove of the huge triggering topic that is The Satanic Panic, but whenever a book about this ludicrous and highly maddening time comes out, I have to read it. So of course “Bald-Faced Liar” caught my eye! Elizabeth May is a traveling nurse who has been trying to run from her past as a witness to a high profile trial that involved the Satanic Panic, especially since she was revealed to be a liar who put innocent people in prison. Now she has settled down in Santa Cruz, still hiding, still planning to move on. But then someone starts stalking her, someone who may be eager to expose her identity, and to punish her for what she did. Sounds devilishly twisty.
Book: “Atmosphere” by Taylor Jenkins Reid
Publication Date: June 3, 2025
Why I’m Interested: I have loved every Taylor Jenkins Reid book that I have read, and while this may not end up being reviewed on the blog as it’s outside my genres (though if I love it enough I may make an exception), “Atmosphere” is high, high, HIGH on my anticipated titles for the year. Joan Goodwin is one of the women who has been selected to be a part of the NASA Shuttle Program of the 1980s, fulfilling a dream that seemed impossible until she was given the position. And when she meets Vanessa Ford, an aeronautical engineer who is a skilled pilot to boot, she realizes that not only could she potentially help make history, she could also perhaps find a kindred spirit. If Reid can do for space flight what she has done for 1970s rock bands, dysfunctional families, and tennis players, this will surely be a winner of a read.
Book: “With A Vengeance” by Riley Sager
Publication Date: June 10, 2025
Why I’m Interested: I haven’t missed a Riley Sager book yet and I don’t intend on doing it now! And besides, it wouldn’t be summer time if I didn’t have a Sager book at the ready. And this one sounds a little different. Anna has been plotting revenge against those who wronged her family for years, and her plan has all led to luring her targets onto a train in hopes of turning them all in after she makes them confess to their crimes. But then someone else commits a murder against one of her targets, and that just won’t do. Because SHE is the one who gets to get her revenge, not someone else! So now she has to figure out who wants them dead, and how she can save them… for now. Always nice to have Sager back in my reading rotation!
Summer is so close we can taste it! We have a cabin trip planned with book club at the end of the month, the sun stays out later and later, and we have a few books that we are very much looking forward to as we start to march towards the changing season! Here’s what we are excited about this month!
Serena’s Picks
Book: “The Knight and the Moth” by Rachel Gillig
Publication Date: May 20, 2025
Why I’m Interested: I read “One Dark Window” back when it came out, but didn’t connect with it. From there, I watched the entire duology become something of a phenomenon within the fantasy genre and began to wonder if maybe it was just me?? That being the case, I was excited to see the author coming out with the start to a new duology, and this time debuting in adult fantasy fiction! Books that tackle destiny, prophesy, and free will are also often right up my alley, so I’m definitely excited to see what Gillig will do with these themes!
Book: “Anji Kills a King” by Evan Leikam
Publication Date: May 13, 2025
Why I’m Interested: It feels like it’s been too long since I’ve read a debut epic fantasy book, and this one looks just about perfect! Not only does it sound like it’s going to be a “travelling” fantasy book, of the sort where people trudge back and forth across the land ala “Lord of the Rings,” but who wouldn’t be interested in a book with this unique of a title and cover?! I really don’t know what to expect with this one, and that’s half the fun!
Book: “The Devils” by Joe Abercrombie
Publication: May 6, 2025
Why I’m Interested: Yes, yes, I’m one of those rare fantasy fans who HASN’T yet read a Joe Abercrombie book. Mostly this is become grimdark fantasy isn’t often my thing, and that’s what he primarily writes. But this one, with its focus on an oddball troupe of characters forced to march a would-be empress across a dangerous landscape sounded too good to resist! And who knows, maybe I’ll be a convert and will have an entire backlist of fantasy titles to check out! I’m a bit nervous about the large cast of POV characters, as that’s often a particular sticking point for me. But Abercrombie has to be as popular as he is for some reason, so I’ll trust that he has it well in hand.
Kate’s Picks
Book: “Bochica” by Carolina Flórez-Cerchiaro
Publication Date: May 13, 2025
Why I’m Interested: This is the first of two Gothic haunted house tales that I wanted to mention this month, and this one has been on my radar for a long while. In 1920s Columbia a family moves into a huge and foreboding mansion called La Casona. They are haunted by visions and nightmares of an angry spirit trapped on the property, leading to tragedy when the mother falls to her death and the father tries to burn the house down with his daughter inside. Though she escapes, the daughter can’t forget, and finds herself back at La Casona, hoping to get answers about her mother’s death and her father’s actions. But whatever was there before is still there….
Book: “Lore Olympus: Volume 8” by Rachel Smythe
Publication Date: May 6, 2025
Why I’m Interested: I am still absolutely adoring this series by Rachel Smythe, and after reading and reviewing a book about the Persephone Myth in YA Fiction with my friend David for a classics journal I got all the more hyped for the newest Volume of the romantic and thrilling retelling of Persephone and Hades. When we left off Persephone and Demeter were on trial for the coverup they did of Persephone’s unapproved smiting of mortals, and now Zeus is going to have to render a verdict. But Hades will do anything to keep Persephone safe, and it will surely lead to a showdown between brothers that could wreak havoc on Olympus and beyond. Especially when a truth about Apollo is revealed.
Book: “The Manor of Dreams” by Christina Li
Publication Date: May 6, 2025
Why I’m Interested: This sounds like it has the dynamics of a classic haunted house story, with some shades of Hollywood secrecy and questions of identity and generational trauma. Vivian Yin is a lauded Hollywood starlet, who became the first Chinese American to win an Oscar for Best Actress, and who leaves an old and glamorous mansion behind when she dies. Her family expects to inherit it, but then another estranged family connected to the house pops up, staking their claim as per the will, and leading to both families moving in to fight it out on paper. But something is haunting the house, and things get to the point where the feuding families may need to band together to confront the presence as well as their own secrets and resentments.
I think that for many people, once April hits they would be able to say that they are sinking fully into Spring. Well, we’ve had two snow storms already here in Minnesota. But we also have some decidedly Spring-y things coming up, including the usual Spring holidays (Easter for Serena with chocolate bunnies, Passover for Kate with a harried planning of a big Seder), and slowly greener neighborhoods. We also have some books we can’t wait to read!
Serena’s Picks
Book: “A Drop of Corruption” by Robert Jackson Bennett
Publication Date: April 1, 2025
Why I’m Interested: Not only have I loved all the books I’ve read by this author before, but I absolutely adored the first book in this series, with its perfect balance of mystery, fantasy, and even a healthy dose of horror! Plus, the core duo is made up of a wholly unique version of the Holmes and Watson dynamic! The story picks up a bit after the last one, with Ana and Din assigned to a case on the very outskirts of the Empire. There they find mysterious experiments, a delicate political situation, and, of course, the titular drop of corruption, both literal and philosophical! Can’t wait to see what this one has in store!
Book: “The Rave Scholar”
Publication Date: April 15, 2025
Why I’m Interested: This is the exact sort of new high fantasy book that would immediately draw my attention. Yes, there is the well-trodden ground of a magical competition at its heart, but that’s never enough to fully put me off, especially when the book description features such a unique narrative voice: that of a Raven god himself! Beyond that, I’ve seen a lot of early hype for this one. Now, if the past is any guide, that means I’ll either love this one or absolutely hate it! Crossing my fingers for the former.
Book: “The Ashfire King” by Chelsea Abdullah
Publication Date: April 15, 2025
Why I’m Interested: I could only give you the barest talking points about what happened in the first book in this series. Not only was it a fairly complex fantasy world, but it’s been a few years now since the first book was released. That said, I do remember really liking it, so I’m excited to finally get the second entry in the series. I also really like the cover on this one and am super curious about the bird especially. I don’t remember anything about that in the first book, so we’ll see what this one gets up to!
Kate’s Picks
Book: “The Staircase in the Woods” by Chuck Wendig
Publication Date: April 29, 2025
Why I’m Interested: I really love Chuck Wendig’s horror stories, as they are usually guaranteed to not only disturb, but to also bring big emotions. Last time the big emotional gut punches involved fathers and daughters, and it looks like this time it’s going to be old friends. “The Staircase in the Woods” follows four friends who have drifted apart over the decades after their fifth disappeared… after climbing up a mysterious staircase in the woods they were exploring, only for both him and the steps to disappear. Now they are back together, grudgingly, to try and solve what happened. And if Wendig is involved, it’s going to go poorly for them. I’ve always loved the urban legend of mysterious steps in wooded areas, so I can’t wait to see what he’s doing with it.
Book: “Bat Eater and Other Names for Cora Zeng” by Kylie Lee Baker
Publication Date: April 29, 2025
Why I’m Interested: This sounds like it could be combining not only a supernatural horror story, but also a disturbing mystery involving the targeting of Asian American women due to racism and misogyny, all investigated by a determined crime scene cleaner dealing with her own loss and trauma. Cora cleans up crime scenes for a living. She sees the aftermath of terrible violence every day on the job, but it can’t compare to the violence she saw when someone murdered her sister in front of her. As more women in Chinatown are being murdered, and Cora wants to solve the mystery, she has a harder and harder time ignoring a presence that has been haunting her recently. One that is a bit otherworldly. This one sounds so intriguing and will probably also have lots of emotional oomph.
Book: “Julie Chan is Dead” by Liann Zhang
Publication Date: April 29, 2025
Why I’m Interested: This one has had a fair bit of buzz in book circles that I follow, and the plot sounds twisty and soapy. So clearly I’m all about that. Julie is a working class supermarket worker who is struggling to make ends meet. She has an identical twin sister named Chloe, who is a successful social media influencer, and with whom she has barely had a relationship in many years of their lives. But when Julie finds Chloe dead, she decides to take over her identity and to live the glamorous and high end life of an influencer. But keeping up appearances may not be so easy. Especially since Chloe was actually a target for something sinister. Give it to me NOW.
March is always a bit of a mixed bag here in Minnesota. We get the teasing of a faux Spring that makes us think that Spring is here, only to dump more snow and cold on us. But hey, lambs and lions aside, we both have some book titles we are quite looking forward to this month!
Serena’s Picks
Book: “The Trouble with Anna” by Rachel Griffiths
Publication Date: March 4, 2025
Why I’m Interested: It’s been a while since I’ve reviewed a historical romance novel! I’ve read a few here and there, but for whatever reason, haven’t gotten around to posting full reviews. Well, I received an ARC of this one, so I’m excited to dive back into this genre! Plus, the hook of the story revolves around Anna, a young woman with a distinct knowledge of horses who sets out to save her estate and stables after her grandfather passes away. And, of course, may find love along the way!
Book: “Slaying the Vampire Conqueror” by Carissa Broadbent
Publication Date: March 25, 2025
Why I’m Interested: Bramble is really messing up my plans to draw out the process of reading Carissa Broadbent’s back catalog! They keep releasing her books one after another! So, obviously, here I am again. While I’ve enjoyed all of books, I will say I’m especially looking forward to this one as its the first stand-alone I’ve read by her (not including the novella). It’s always nice to have a contained story, and after the cliffhanger at the end of her most recent book, I feel like she owes me an HEA right now, in the meantime! This one also introduces a new god/religious order to this word. Who wants to bet that it’s extremely messed up??
Book: “Faithbreaker” by Hannah Kaner
Publication Date: March 13, 2025
Why I’m Interested: While the second book was a bit of a let down from the highs of the first, I have endless hope for this one, especially because our main trio have been reunited at last! There were a few side plots that seemed to wander a bit astray as well in the previous book, but it also ended with a bang, setting up the greater conflict to be tackled here. Beyond that, I’m simple excited to get to spend more time with Kissen; she’s such an excellent main character!
Kate’s Picks
Book: “Vanishing Daughters” by Cynthia Pelayo
Publication Date: March 11, 2025
Why I’m Interested: I really love Cynthia Pelayo and have loved her for a long while, so obviously I am excited for her newest horror story with a Chicago based flair. A woman named Briar has been haunted in multiple ways since the death of her mother, whether it’s bad dreams, strange happenings in her home, or the heavy weight of grief. While Briar tries to cope, a serial killer is murdering women all over Chicago. When a mysterious person reaches out to Briar as she does her own investigating, she starts to realize that maybe there’s a connection between her personal demons and a very real monster lurking in the shadows. Pelayo always has creepy but absolutely gorgeous horror stories, so this has been a highly anticipated read for me this year.
Book: “The Haunting of Room 904” by Erika T. Wurth
Publication Date: March 18, 2025
Why I’m Interested: This was one of my overall picks for 2025 on our Highlights for the Year list, and we are now in the publication month for this new ghost story from Erika T. Wurth. Olivia is a reluctant medium who never even had the gift until her sister Naiche, who was a medium herself, passed away. Now Olivia is seeing ghosts wherever she goes, and has managed to turn this into a successful ghost hunting business. Her most recent case brings her to a hotel with a notorious room where multiple people have died. As Olivia investigates she finds unexpected connections to her own life. I loved Wurth’s previous novel “White Horse” so this has been on my radar for awhile.
Book: “The Buffalo Hunter Hunter” by Stephen Graham Jones
Publication Date: March 18, 2025
Why I’m Interested: HOORAY, a new Stephen Graham Jones horror story! And this time he’s taking on VAMPIRES!!! In this epistolary horror novel we find the diary of a Lutheran pastor who, during the early 20th Century, interviews and records the life, experiences, and confession of a man named Good Stab, who has been living in and around the Black Foot reservation in the area. The confession is strange and otherworldly, and tells of many horrors, supernatural and human alike. Another most anticipated read of 2025 for me!
So far it’s been cold, but the snow has been lacking, for now the second year in a row! We know other places have been getting their share (if not MORE than their share at times). Why are we hitting negative digits but having to stare out at dirty, brown lawns?? Oh, who are we kidding. Our eyes are too glued to our books to be looking out windows. Here are some upcoming titles we can’t wait to check out!
Serena’s Picks
Book: “The Beasts We Bury” by D. L. Taylor
Publication Date: Feb. 4, 2025
Why I’m Interested: For one thing, I just think this cover is incredibly unique and interesting. For another, the subject matter sounds super unique and interesting! If a bit traumatic, since one of the main character’s abilities seem to be tied to animal death. I don’t love that topic, but if done well, I can also see how it could be used to craft a powerful character arc revolving around power and cruelty. It’s a duel POV title, however, between two love interests, something that I often struggle with. So we’ll see how this one goes!
Book: “Emily Wilde’s Compendium of Lost Tales” by Heather Fawcett
Publication Date: Feb. 11, 2024
Why I’m Interested: Well, obviously. This is probably my most anticipated sequel of the year, honestly. After the wild success of the first two books, I have every confidence that Fawcett will nail the landing on this one, too! I’m not sure if this is the last one in the series or not (hopefully not!), but the stakes have definitely never been higher! Emily and Wendell are finally making their way together back into Fae to reclaim Wendell’s kingdom. Of course, this is an excellent academic opportunity. But Fae politics are also nothing if not dangerous. It’s really been killing holding off on reading my early copy of this one until an appropriate time!
Book: “Upon a Starlit Tide” by Kell Woods
Publication Date: Feb. 18, 2025
Why I’m Interested: This one could go either way. On one hand, while the first book by this author I read had potential, I by no means loved it. It was maybe a 6 or 7? I also didn’t fail to notice the two portraits of men on the cover, heavily implying there will be a love triangle involved. But, on the other hand, I love fairytale fantasies, and “The Little Mermaid” has been a particularly difficult one to nail down. On the other, OTHER hand, I’m not so sure about the inclusion of “Cinderella,” as well! So, as you can see, I have some very mixed feelings going into this one. But the cover is gorgeous, and I’ve definitely had some surprises from authors on my second attempt with them!
Kate’s Picks
Book: “The Vengeful Dead” by Darcy Coates
Publication Date: February 18, 2025
Why I’m Interested: We are finally at the end of Darcy Coates’s “Gravekeeper” saga, and while I am eager to see how it ends, I’m also not ready to say goodbye to Keira and her ragtag group of friends and her ghostly adventures. I am such a fan of Coates and her really scary stories, but this sort of cozier and lighter series has been such a joy and has shown off her range. I am really hoping that she sticks the landing, but knowing her she will nail it.
Book: “Listen to Your Sister” by Neene Viel
Publication Date: February 4, 2025
Why I’m Interested: I am always on the look out for new voices in the horror genre, and this one has been getting a bit of buzz from other creators and horror reviewers that I generally trust. And when you are comparing it to the works of Jodan Peele I’m absolutely going to be very, very interested. “Listen To Your Sister” is a horror novel about family, hardship, sibling love and complications, and the way that our siblings can be both the most important thing in our life AND a huge stressor. This one caught my eye and I am very interested to see how it all shakes out.
Book: “Deep End” by Ali Hazelwood
Publication Date: February 4, 2025
Why I’m Interested: Well I am once again putting a book that is out of genre for me on my most anticipated list, and it in all likelihood won’t end up reviewed on here, but I don’t care, let me live! I have enjoyed almost everything Ali Hazelwood has put out, and she keeps up with the sub-genre jumping by taking on a sports romance with “Deep End”! I’ve had this one on pre-order from one of my favorite local bookstores for awhile now, and I can’t wait for it show up on my doorstep!
What books are you looking forward to this month? Let us know in the comments!
There are always so many books to look forward to each year. So in this post, we tackle the impossible task of choosing some favorites that we’re most excited about in the next twelve months!
Serena’s Picks
Another year absolutely packed with great books! Now that we’ve finally started doing these “year of” lists, I’m not almost thinking that we need to do one every six months. As you’ll see, this list is heavily loaded towards the first half of the year, mostly because those are the ones that we have firm dates for at this point. I’m sure there will be tons more this coming fall that I haven’t even discovered yet. This year seems to be the year of sequels and returning authors, however, as after I made these lists, I only then noticed they were all picks from authors I’ve enjoyed in the past. To start, here are a few honorable mentions that didn’t make the list: “Emily Wilde’s Compendium of Lost Tales” by Heather Fawcett, “Hemlock & Silver” by T. Kingfisher, “Queen Demon” by Martha Wells, “Upon a Starlit Tide” by Kell Woods (this is an author I read before but didn’t love, so there you go, almost like a new pick!), and “The Witch Roads” by Kate Elliott.
Book: “The Amber Owl” by Juliet Marillier
Publication Date: February 25, 2025
Book Summary: Stasya lives in an isolated farming village on the edge of the mysterious Heartwood Forest with her unusual dog for company. Thought odd by the locals, she is tolerated for her rare gift with animals. Engaging with her fellow humans is difficult, with one goatherd Lukas, who shares her love of storytelling.
The peace of Heartwood is shattered when a group of soldiers descends, under orders from the Ruler of the Northlands. Their to hack a path through the forest and find the fabled treasure said to lie deep within. Under the grueling decree, Stasya’s village falls into chaos. The task is clearly impossible. The forest is alive with bears and wolves, and the old tales speak of evil spirits, monsters and uncanny beings. Nobody has ever gone deep into Heartwood Forest and returned safe and well.
When Stasya raises her voice in protest she is removed from her beloved home and transported to court – a different world. Word of her special skills has reached the Ruler’s ears, and Lady Elisabeta has a job for her. But Stasya will not break her vow to protect the forest, even under the most appalling threat. Help comes from an unlikely quarter.
Secrets abound; dangers lie everywhere; and it is hard to tell friend from foe. As Stasya and her band of unlikely allies embark on a perilous mission, it becomes apparent that uncanny forces may indeed be involved. Maybe the old tales of the Hermit are true.
Book: “The Floating Word” by Axie Oh
Publication Date: May 13, 2025
Book Summary: Sunho lives in the Under World, a land of perpetual darkness. An ex-soldier, he can remember little of his life from before two years ago, when he woke up alone with only his name and his sword. Now he does odd-jobs to scrape by, until he comes across the score of a lifetime—a chest of coins for any mercenary who can hunt down a girl who wields silver light.
Meanwhile, far to the east, Ren is a cheerful and spirited acrobat traveling with her adoptive family and performing at villages. But everything changes during one of their festival performances when the village is attacked by a horrific humanlike demon. In a moment of fear and rage, Ren releases a blast of silver light—a power she has kept hidden since childhood—and kills the monster. But her efforts are not in time to prevent her adoptive family from suffering a devastating loss, or to save her beloved uncle from being grievously wounded.
Determined to save him from succumbing to the poisoned wound, Ren sets off over the mountains, where the creature came from—and from where Ren herself fled ten years ago. Her path sets her on a collision course with Sunho, but he doesn’t realize she’s the girl that he—and a hundred other swords-for-hire—is looking for. As the two grow closer through their travels, they come to realize that their pasts—and destinies—are far more entwined than either of them could have imagined…
Book: “The Listeners” by Maggie Stiefvater
Publication Date: June 3, 2025
Book Summary: JANUARY 1942. THE AVALLON HOTEL AND SPA offers elegance and sophistication in an increasingly ugly world. Run with precision by June Hudson, the hotel’s West Virginia born-and-bred general manager, the Avallon is where high society goes to see and be seen, and where the mountain sweetwater in the fountains and spas can wash away all your troubles.
June was trained by the Gilfoyles, the hotel’s aristocratic owners, and she has guided the Avallon skillfully through the first pangs of war. Now, though, the Gilfoyle family heir has made a secret deal with the State Department to fill the hotel with captured Axis diplomats. June must convince her staff—many of whom have sons and husbands heading to the frontlines—to offer luxury to Nazis. With a smile.
She also must reckon with Tucker Minnick, the FBI agent whose coal tattoo hints at their shared past in the mountains, and whose search for the diplomats’ secrets disrupts the peace June is fighting so hard to maintain. Hers is a balancing act with dangerous consequences; the sweetwater beneath the hotel can threaten as well as heal, and only June can manage the springs.
As dark alliances and an elusive spy crack the polished veneer of the Avallon, June must calculate the true cost of luxury.
Book: “Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil” by V. E. Schwab
Publication Date: June 10, 2025
Book Summary: Santo Domingo de la Calzada, 1532. London, 1837. Boston, 2019.
Three young women, their bodies planted in the same soil, their stories tangling like roots.One grows high, and one grows deep, and one grows wild.And all of them grow teeth.
Book: “Katabis” by R. F. Kuang
Publication Date: August 28, 2025
Book Summary: Katabasis, noun, Ancient Greek:The story of a hero’s descent to the underworld.
Alice Law has only ever had one goal: to become one of the brightest minds in the field of Magick. She has sacrificed everything to make that a reality: her pride, her health, her love life, and most definitely her sanity. All to work with Professor Jacob Grimes at Cambridge, the greatest magician in the world.
That is, until he dies in a magical accident that could possibly be her fault.
Grimes is now in Hell, and she’s going in after him. Because his recommendation could hold her very future in his now incorporeal hands and even death is not going to stop the pursuit of her dreams….
Nor will the fact that her rival, Peter Murdoch, has come to the very same conclusion.
With nothing but the tales of Orpheus and Dante to guide them, enough chalk to draw the Pentagrams necessary for their spells, and the burning desire to make all the academic trauma mean anything, they set off across Hell to save a man they don’t even like.
But Hell is not like the storybooks say, Magick isn’t always the answer, and there’s something in Alice and Peter’s past that could forge them into the perfect allies…or lead to their doom.
Kate’s Picks
At the beginning of the year I always love to scour through the titles that are gong to be coming out, and this year we have some GOODIES. So many authors I have adored in the past have books coming out this year, including Joe Hill, though his new book is a little mysterious at this point. After 2024 where I suffered some serious mental health burn out which affected my reading habits, I hope that this year will have more reading in it, no matter what it brings, though this is only the tip of the ice berg when it comes to titles. I’m sure I’ll have more by the time I leave ALAAC in June. But here are the ones that are sticking out right now! Some honorable mentions that didn’t make the final list definitely need a shout out though. So other books I’m looking forward to include “This Book Will Bury Me” by Ashley Winstead, “The Bewitching” by Silvia Moreno-Garcia, “Atmosphere” by Taylor Jenkins-Reid, “Vanishing Daughters” by Cynthia Pelayo, and “Lucky Day” by Chuck Tingle.
Book: “The Haunting of Room 904” by Erika Wurth
Publication Date: March 18, 2025
Book Description: From the author of White Horse (“Twisty and electric.” —The New York Times Book Review) comes a terrifying and resonant novel about a woman who uses her unique gift to learn the truth about her sister’s death.
Olivia Becente was never supposed to have the gift. The ability to commune with the dead was the specialty of her sister, Naiche. But when Naiche dies unexpectedly and under strange circumstances, somehow Olivia suddenly can’t stop seeing and hearing from spirits.
A few years later, she’s the most in-demand paranormal investigator in Denver. She’s good at her job, but the loss of Naiche haunts her. That’s when she hears from the Brown Palace, a landmark Denver hotel. The owner can’t explain it, but every few years, a girl is found dead in room 904, no matter what room she checked into the night before. As Olivia tries to understand these disturbing deaths, the past and the present collide as Olivia’s investigation forces her to confront a mysterious and possibly dangerous cult, a vindictive journalist, betrayal by her friends, and shocking revelations about her sister’s secret life.
The Haunting of Room 904is a paranormal thriller that is as edgy as it is heartfelt and simmers with intensity and longing. Erika T. Wurth lives up to her reputation as “a gritty new punkish outsider voice in American horror.”
Book: “The Buffalo Hunter Hunter” by Stephen Graham Jones
Publication Date: March 25, 2025
Book Description: A chilling historical horror novel set in the American west in 1912 following a Lutheran priest who transcribes the life of a vampire who haunts the fields of the Blackfeet reservation looking for justice.
A diary, written in 1912 by a Lutheran pastor is discovered within a wall. What it unveils is a slow massacre, a chain of events that go back to 217 Blackfeet dead in the snow. Told in transcribed interviews by a Blackfeet named Good Stab, who shares the narrative of his peculiar life over a series of confessional visits. This is an American Indian revenge story written by one of the new masters of horror, Stephen Graham Jones.
Book: “The Staircase in the Woods” by Chuck Wendig
Publication Date: April 29, 2025
Book Description: A group of friends investigates the mystery of a strange staircase in the woods in this mesmerizing horror novel from the New York Times bestselling author of The Book of Accidents.
Five high school friends are bonded by an oath to protect one another no matter what. Then, on a camping trip in the middle of the forest, they find something a mysterious staircase to nowhere. One friend walks up—and never comes back down. Then the staircase disappears.
Twenty years later, the staircase has reappeared. Now the group returns to find the lost boy—and what lies beyond the staircase in the woods. . . .
Book: “Not Quite Dead Yet” by Holly Jackson
Publication Date: July 22, 2025
Book Description: In seven days Jet Mason will be dead.
Jet is the daughter of one of the wealthiest families in Woodstock, Vermont. Twenty-seven years old, she’s still waiting for her life to begin. She’ll do it later, she always says. She has time. Until, on the night of Halloween, Jet is violently attacked by an unseen intruder. She suffers a catastrophic brain injury. The doctor is certain that within a week, she’ll suffer a deadly aneurysm.
Jet never thought of herself as having enemies. But now she looks at everyone in a new her family, her ex-best friend turned sister-in-law, her former boyfriend.
She only has seven days, and as her condition deteriorates she has only her childhood friend Billy for help. But nevertheless, she’s absolutely determined to finally finish. Jet is going to solve her own murder.
Book: “The Possession of Alba Díaz” by Isabel Cañas
Publication Date: August 19, 2025
Book Description: When a demonic presence awakens deep in a Mexican silver mine, the young woman it seizes must turn to the one man she shouldn’t trust… from bestselling author Isabel Cañas.
In 1765, plague sweeps through Zacatecas. Alba flees with her wealthy merchant parents and fiancé, Carlos, to his family’s isolated mine for refuge. But safety proves fleeting as other dangers soon bare their teeth: Alba begins suffering from strange hallucinations, sleepwalking, and violent convulsions. She senses something cold lurking beneath her skin. Something angry. Something wrong.
Elías, haunted by a troubled past, came to the New World to make his fortune and escape his family’s legacy of greed. Alba, as his cousin’s betrothed, is none of his business. Which is of course why he can’t help but notice her every time she enters a room or the growing tension between them… and why he notices her deteriorate when the demon’s thirst for blood grows stronger.
What books are you all looking forward to this year? Let us know in the comments!
The Library Ladies 