Winn debuts and launches her Merciless Realms series with this action-packed romantasy. When Nizzara Glindella, the princess of Zarr and heir to the throne, is forced into a betrothal by her father, her only chance of breaking the arrangement is to enter the King’s Duel, a fighting tournament. As a caster, she’s capable of wielding “power over lifeless objects” with the help of Liha, a spirit who has bonded to her, and uses this advantage to defeat her early opponents. As the tournament progresses, however, her chances of winning narrow. Enter half-ghost Dagen Corvonna, who was king of Zarr before Nizzara’s father murdered him and took his throne a decade prior. Dagen strikes a deal with the death god: to escape the underworld, return to his people, and reclaim his throne, all he has to do is deliver Nizzara’s soul. The catch is that Nizzara must surrender willingly. So Dagen sets out to seduce Nizzarra and bond with her, lending her power in the tournament. The worldbuilding is inventive, as is the setup to what eventually plays out as a fairly standard and somewhat rushed enemies-to-lovers romance. The seduction, revelations, and betrayals will suck readers in, but the abrupt cliffhanger ending will leave many frustrated. Romantasy fans will hope the next installment comes soon. (Oct.)

Reviewed on 10/10/2025 | Details & Permalink

In the afterword to the first English-language edition of this wonderfully weird 1961 novella that inspired the classic kaiju film Mothra, translator Angles describes the story as “written by relay,” with each author taking one section. Nakamura’s opening follows Chūjō, a linguist on a joint research expedition conducted by Japan and the fictional Rosilica (an amalgamation of the U.S. and Russia). New evidence suggests there may be an indigenous population on Infant Island, previously thought to be uninhabited and used as a Rosilican hydrogen bomb testing site. There, Chūjō encounters a “beautiful lady” of “fifty or sixty centimeters.” In the next section, by Fukunaga, intrepid reporter Fukada uncovers the island’s creation myth: divine lovers created a giant egg, Mothra, that lies dormant at the island’s heart as well as four Airena, or fairies. Tragedy strikes when Rosilican opportunist Nelson invades the island, takes the Airena captive, and forces them to perform in New Wagon City. Hotta provides the final and most politically pointed section, in which Mothra awakens, undergoes metamorphosis, and attacks. All three authors describe paranormal phenomena in blunt, even occasionally stilted prose, lending the novella a peculiar quality reminiscent of the oldest fairy tales. In the extensive and illuminating afterword, Angles dives into the story’s political context and the process of cinematic adaptation. Creature feature buffs will be thrilled. (Jan.)

Reviewed on 10/10/2025 | Details & Permalink

Jacobs’s debut is a sumptuous feast for new adult romantasy fans. Clía has been raised to be a perfect princess for the kingdom of Álainndore, with the understanding that one day she’ll be married to Prince Domhnall of Scáilca, one of her closest friends. But as rumblings of war stir in the kingdoms, Domhnall abruptly ends their betrothal agreement, citing his need for a queen who can hold her own on the battlefield, not just the ballroom. Determined to prove herself, Clía follows Domhnall to Caisleán Cósta, an elite warrior training academy. Also at the academy is Ronan Ó Faoláin, Domhnall’s closest friend and the captain of his guard, who has long dreamed of studying under his idol, General Kordislaen. Chance and political machinations bring princess and captain together as he agrees to tutor her in the art of war. However, Domhnall’s presence and whispers of betrayal and danger threaten their budding military careers—and their budding relationship. It’s essentially Legally Blonde transported to a medieval fantasy setting—and the result is exactly as delightful as that sounds. Jacobs’s knack for characterization and irreverent tone add to the fun. This hits all the right notes. (Oct.)

Reviewed on 10/10/2025 | Details & Permalink

Debut novelist Costa sets this astounding tale of alchemy, prophecy, and adventure in Washington’s Olympic Peninsula in 1889. Gentle Montgomery and his mentor, Liam O’Kelly, make their living as embalmers while Liam endeavors to complete the Great Work of alchemy, “the conquest of death.” When Liam drowns in Dalton Lake, the rumored home of a water-dwelling dragon, Gentle is determined to carry on Liam’s work and certain that the dragon’s own blood is the final ingredient necessary to resurrect his dead friend. His 14-year-old nephew, Kitt, arrives unexpectedly from Ohio, fleeing his abusive father, Gentle’s brother, and insists on hunting the monster with Gentle. The pair embark on their quest with a goal but no determined path, plagued along the way by disturbing dreams and accompanied by their faithful mule, Abe, who carries Liam’s embalmed body in a casket. What follows are a series of wonderfully strange episodes, reminiscent in timbre of The Odyssey or Huckleberry Finn. Colorful characters met as they track the monster through the Pacific Northwest include “unlikely hunter” Hercules Belmont and the Sons of Adam, a group who believe themselves to be the “Leviathan’s chosen.” This is a weird western done right: surprising, bizarre, occasionally grim, but ultimately life-affirming. (Nov.)

Reviewed on 10/10/2025 | Details & Permalink

Thompson (The Last Witch in Edinburgh) spins a haunting gothic tale of generational trauma, misogyny, and the blurred line between madness and magic. For centuries, the Cole women of Juniper Island have kept the lighthouse lit, bound by a curse that ensures each lighthouse keeper will have exactly one daughter, who will inherit her mother’s place—and eventually surrender her life to the sea. Thompson interweaves the fates of Mabel Cole in 1951, her daughter, Rebecca, in 1971, and her granddaughter, Simone, in 1998. Each struggles under the weight of inherited duty and community ostracism while yearning for love and belonging. This nonlinear structure creates a sense of inevitability as they hurtle toward their fates. Thompson’s prose vividly evokes the New Hampshire coast and captures the fraught intimacy of mother-daughter bonds, while successfully balancing the gothic and the psychological, calling into question whether the curse is really supernatural or the product of generational wounds. The presentation of the feminist themes occasionally verges on didactic, but the emotional thrust of the Coles’ story—particularly Mabel’s tender romance and Simone’s reckoning with her heritage—is poignant and impactful. This atmospheric exploration of sorrow and resilience will resonate with fans of Practical Magic and Spells for Forgetting. (Dec.)

Reviewed on 10/10/2025 | Details & Permalink

King (In the Garden of Monsters) highlights art and history’s importance to humanity in this immersive, heart-racing fantasy. Historian Aida Reale struggles to find work after she loses her teaching gig and her publisher goes under. Then she receives an eerily timed and out-of-the-blue offer from a mysterious company, MODA, inviting her to Italy to document various artworks and historical locations. With unbelievable pay and luxurious accommodations, it seems “too good to be true,” but Aida hesitantly accepts. Her task is to measure the happiness of each location she visits and report back to her strange new bosses quarterly. Dreamy fellow “happiness collector” Luciano Leto is equally suspicious of the gig and when he and Aida compare stories, they notice a pattern of terrible things happening to the places they document shortly after their visits. This mystery is solved when a goddess appears to them and reveals that their employers are gods working to erase human happiness. Aida and Luciano are mere pawns in a divine war, but it’s up to them to save the world. King’s prose can be somewhat overwrought, but her descriptions of Italy are wonderfully evocative and the mythological intrigue propels the plot at a brisk clip. Armchair travelers and contemporary fantasy fans alike will be thrilled. Agent: Amaryah Orenstein, GO Literary. (Dec.)

Reviewed on 10/10/2025 | Details & Permalink

A father-son bonding trip to an isolated Maine campground is interrupted when aliens come to call in this high-octane mash-up of extraterrestrial horror and family drama from bestseller Robinson (the Nemesis Saga series). Marcus Lockwood and son Elias are recovering from the horrific murder of Elias’s mother, Isabella, whose body was mutilated and arranged “like a bonsai tree.” A brochure leads them to Moose Hollow, where they’re embraced by a chummy group of long-time campers who make the expedition an annual gathering. But lights in the sky and lost-time incidents warn of a pending alien abduction. Worse, Marcus and Elias learn that the brochure that brought them there was faked, leaving them suspicious that Isabella’s killer may have set a trap for them. Chapters from the serial killer’s perspective add chills while neatly concealing the killer’s identity and posing a weirdly convincing argument for sacrificing the few in order to save all of civilization. Ancient aliens who ruled Earth as gods and messed with human DNA become almost a footnote to the Hannibal Lecter antics of the killer, but the sci-fi reveals are still well executed. Readers will need strong stomachs for this one, but horror fans will find plenty to enjoy. (Dec.)

Reviewed on 10/10/2025 | Details & Permalink

Written partly in prose and partly as a script, Fleischer’s thrilling sophomore horror outing (after The Roommate) introduces recent drama school graduate Corey, an aspiring playwright who feels betrayed when her mentor, Maxine, reveals she’s leaving Texas for an opportunity in Chicago. In a serendipitous twist, Corey then encounters a clairvoyant in a strip mall who encourages her to put a curse on Maxine. What follows is an entanglement of the psychological and the supernatural as Corey follows Maxine to Chicago and eagerly awaits the curse’s results. Fleischer keeps the tension taut and the action exciting, but the plot is undermined slightly by the tenuousness of Corey’s motivations, especially as Maxine’s betrayal is relatively minor compared to Corey’s outsize reaction. Readers are thrust into the women’s relationship at its crisis point, and without seeing more of their shared backstories the dynamic becomes difficult to grasp. Still, Fleischer’s stylistic flair and plenty of striking supernatural set pieces make this well worth a look. (Oct.)

Reviewed on 10/10/2025 | Details & Permalink

A tenacious young heroine drives this stirring romantic fantasy from Harwood (The Thorns Remain). Eighteen-year-old Irina’s seven-year-old sister, Catalina, has been in a coma since falling from a tree, and the local witch warns that “her body came back from death. Her soul did not.” Meanwhile, a vampire, Stefan, has been preying on their small Romanian village. The town priest says the only way to lay his soul to rest is to grant Stefan a wish from when he was still living, namely by offering him a bride. Irina sees a chance to solve both problems: she willingly marries Stefan hoping to persuade him to be her guide through the land of the dead so she can retrieve Catalina’s soul. It’s a perilous trek, one neither will survive without the other. Along the way, Irina hopes to learn who the jaded Stefan was in life, how he died, and why no one can locate his grave. As Stefan opens up, Irina sees his more thoughtful side and the pair grow closer—only to be faced with a devastating decision at the end of their quest. The enemies-to-lovers romance and robust action keep the pages turning as Harwood maneuvers courageous Irina through the vividly imagined expanse of the underworld. It’s utterly immersive from beginning to end. (Dec.)

Reviewed on 10/10/2025 | Details & Permalink

The Substance gets transported to 1970s Singapore in YA author Lee’s gruesome and evocative adult debut (after The Dark We Know). Contrarian teen Adeline Siow inherited her mother Kim Yen’s ability to summon fire at will, but resentfully lives by her mother’s rules to keep these blazes small and secret. She gets her thrills picking the pockets of customers in her mom’s clothing store and snooping into Kim Yen’s secrets, like her ties to the White Orchid bar, a haunt of the Red Butterfly gang. There, Adeline sees and becomes infatuated with gang member Ang Tian. After a mysterious fire destroys the Siow home and Kim Yen is burned alive, Adeline learns that her mother was the Red Butterfly’s leader. She tracks down Tian, joins the Red Butterflies, and feels a sense of belonging for the first time. Danger arises, however, from rival gang Three Steel, which has begun dealing strange pills that promise to make users beautiful but just as often transforms them into monsters. Adeline is a well-drawn but challenging heroine who constantly lashes out at everyone around her, and the close third-person POV from such a relentlessly prickly perspective can be wearying. However, those seeking a purposefully unlikable narrator and blood-drenched body horror will find much to enjoy. Lee should win a new set of fans with this. (Oct.)

Reviewed on 10/10/2025 | Details & Permalink