Must-Have Monday is a feature highlighting which of the coming week’s new releases I’m excited for. It is not meant to be a comprehensive list of all books being published that week; only those I’m interested in out of those I’m aware of! The focus is diverse SFF, but other stuff sneaks in occasionally too.

THIRTY-THREE books this week! October continues to be PACKED!

(Books are listed in order of pub date, then Adult SFF, Adult Other, YA SFF, YA Other, MG SFF.)

Mosswood Apothecary by J.P. Rindfleisch IX
Genres: Adult, Fantasy, Queer Protagonists
Representation: M/M
Published on: 13th October 2025
Goodreads

A struggling alchemist.
A small town with ancient secrets.
And… a mysterious shadow ferret?

Botanical alchemist Rowan Mosswood didn't expect much when he finally graduated, so a remote research assignment in Frostfern Valley seemed fitting. With his reputation in tatters after a public alchemical mishap, and his discipline of magic considered antiquated, Rowan agrees to the university's fix up an old greenhouse, study the mysterious loss of magic, and send regular reports. If he can manage all that, his student debts will disappear.

The assignment sounded Mundane enough, a wrist slap to be endured—until Rowan discovers the greenhouse is falling apart, the crops refuse to grow, and a wily shadow creature has taken up residence in his new home. As if that weren't complicated enough, there's a too-handsome-for-his-own-good carpenter who seems determined to help… and fluster…Rowan.

With strange magic stirring in the forest, stubborn townsfolk to win over, and a year-long deadline ticking down, Rowan must decide whether to focus on the assignment or the life he's beginning to build in Frostfern.

Mosswood Apothecary is a cozy queer fantasy brimming with botanical magic, slow-burn romance, queer found family, cottagecore vibes and small-town charm.
This edition contains the map and three illustrations.

Aww, this sounds sweet!

You can read an excerpt here (where it says Read a Sample to the right of the cover)!

Chronicles of Ori: An African Epic by Harmonia Rosales
Genres: Adult, Fantasy, Historical Fantasy
Representation: African cast and setting
Published on: 14th October 2025
Goodreads

From the acclaimed fine artist Harmonia Rosales, a sweeping retelling of African myth illustrated throughout with Rosales’s spectacular paintings.

In Chronicles of Ori, her debut book, Harmonia Rosales retells the African myths she has long treasured, crafting an enthralling epic that spans the birth of the universe to the modern world of colonialism and resistance. She writes of the powerful, temperamental deities called the Orishas; of the founding of Yorubaland by the shrewd leader Oduduwa; of the young heroine Eve, born in a time of violence and despair, who would help her people regain their past splendor; and of shimmering serpents and monstrous shadows who stalk the lands of mortals. At the center of these linked tales is the bond, sometimes fraying, between the Orishas and the humans who worship them. It was the Orishas who made humans, and who gave them their most precious their Oris, or destinies. Vividly brought to life by Rosales’s artwork, Chronicles of Ori will enlighten and delight readers for years to come.

I’ve followed this artist for a while, and when she started to talk about her novel…! Which is illustrated, naturally! So, so excited for this alt-history!

You can see Rosales’ art, including some of the paintings from Chronicles of Ori, at her insta, and read an excerpt from Chronicles here (where it says Read Sample beneath the book cover)!

The Works of Vermin by Hiron Ennes
Genres: Adult, Fantasy, Secondary World Fantasy, Horror, Queer Protagonists
Representation: Bi/pansexual MC, chronically ill MC, MLM MC, major trans-or-SOMETHING character
Published on: 14th October 2025
Goodreads

He was sent to kill a pest. Instead, he found a monster.

One of BookPage's Most Anticipated SFF & Horror of Fall 2025

Enter the decadent, deadly city of Tiliard, a metropolis carved into the stump of an ancient tree. In its canopy, the pampered elite warp minds with toxic perfume; in its roots, gangs of exterminators hunt a colossal worm with an appetite for beauty.

In this complex, chaotic city, Guy Moulène has a simple goal: keep his sister out of debt. For her sake, he'll take on any job, no matter how vile.

As an exterminator, Guy hunts the uncanny creatures that crawl up from the river. These vermin are all strange, and often dangerous. His latest quarry is different: a centipede the size of a dragon with a deadly venom and a ravenous taste for artwork. As it digests Tiliard from the sewers to the opera houses, its toxin reshapes the future of the city. No sane person would hunt it, if they had the choice.

Guy doesn't have a choice.

“I will follow this writer anywhere.” —Gillian Flynn, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Gone Girl

Hi, allow me to introduce you to ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE DECADE! It’s queer rococo bugpunk for fans of Metal From Heaven and Asunder. You will love it!

You can read an excerpt here (where it says Read Excerpt beneath the book cover)!

My review!

Local Heavens by K M Fajardo
Genres: Adult, Queer Protagonists, Sci Fi
Representation: Queer Filipino-American MC, M/M
Published on: 14th October 2025
Goodreads

A corporate hacker. An elusive billionaire. A society trying to survive the American Nightmare.

New York City, 2075. Filipino-American Nick Carraway has just moved to the heart of the fractured New Americas, where he’s struck by the city’s contradictions—shining corporate towers casting bleak shadows over the slums of a crumbling middle class.

When Nick meets alluring new-money Jay Gatsby, he falls for Gatsby’s frank charm and confident aura. But in a city where the wealthy flaunt tech-enhanced bodies to cheat death, surfaces aren’t all they seem—and as a corporate- sanctioned cyberspace hacker, Nick knows that no secret can stay buried forever. He’s the reason they don’t. And his latest assignment? Investigate Gatsby himself.

As Nick becomes entangled in the dark affairs of the elite—and the devastating fallout of their actions on the city’s most vulnerable—he must reckon with the limits of compassion and accountability across class and status. What takes precedence: Love, or truth? Heart, or soul?

A brilliant reimagining of Fitzgerald’s classic tale of glamour, desire, and desperation, Local Heavens examines the guardrails of morality… and the price of desire.

One of my book-besties has been absolutely feral for this book since it was still in editing, and by this point I am not even a TINY BIT chill about it! I couldn’t care less about Great Gatsby as a thing, but I’ve loved a lot of retellings (like Vo’s The Chosen and the Beautiful) and I will be SHOCKED if I don’t love this one too!

You can read an excerpt here (where it says Read a Sample beneath the book cover)!

The Flowers I Deserve by Tamara Jerée
Genres: Adult, Fantasy, Queer Protagonists
Representation: Black sapphic cast, F/F/F
Published on: 14th October 2025
Goodreads

Weeping luna is as common as wildflowers, and in the northern kingdoms, assassination by its floral poison is rampant. Those born with immunity are coveted by heretic clerical orders and the endangered aristocracy—and shunned by a superstitious society.

One so gifted, or cursed, Carlotta embraces her newfound power as the currency to deliver her from a land in the grip of drought. Luxury and beauty, glimpsed only through the portal of her late mother’s letters, become an easy trade to consider in exchange for her life. And looming always in her imagination is the symbol of it all—King Emelia, a demon who rose to power under mysterious circumstances. Rumor claims her to be a monstrous woman like the poison girls who serve and adore her. Yet in the warnings of evil, Carlotta sees her own reflection.

Once initiated into the world of sensual indulgence and ancient magic within the castle walls, however, Carlotta finds that not even a king’s devotion is enough to sate her. As the castle’s ghosts coalesce, Carlotta must also confront what her own dead want for her and, even at the heights of her seduction, what she truly wants for herself.

The Flowers I Deserve is a spicy character-driven FFF gothic fantasy novel with lyrical prose. Content notes are available on the author's website and inside the book.

Jerée’s debut wowed me despite being way outside my usual comfort zone, and this one sounds written for me so I am HYPED! Feral hedonist girls ftw!

You can read the first four chapters here (where it says ‘preview’ beneath the Buy Now button)!

An Amateur Witch's Guide to Murder by K. Valentin
Genres: Adult, Fantasy, Queer Protagonists
Representation: Queer Latine/Latinx MC, M/M
Published on: 14th October 2025
Goodreads

A wannabe witch tries to break a curse on a clueless client in this laugh-out-loud debut for fans of queer fantasy like TJ Klune and Tamsyn Muir.

Mateo Borrero has ninety-nine problems, and all of them hinge on the fact that his terrifying and currently-missing bruja mother trapped a demon in his body when he was born. His mother forbade him from ever using magic, but now that she’s gone, magic’s his only marketable skill, and he’d really like an exorcism—which costs money he doesn’t have. What’s the harm in making a quick buck by calling himself an Occult Specialist and chanting a few half-remembered spells in his crappy Spanish?

Enter Topher, a naive nepo baby with a curse that keeps killing people around him. Most importantly, he’s rich, and too clueless to clock that Mateo–and his (absolutely-not-the-assistant) astral-projecting best friend Ophelia–have never actually had a client before. Lifting Topher’s bad luck curse should be simple, but as luck would have it, nothing is simple, and Topher–who Mateo sort of, kind of likes–might be at the center of a deadly magical conspiracy. 

To make matters worse, the more magic Mateo does, the stronger the demon inside him grows and the more he wants to eat people. But would caving to the urges of an ancient evil really be that bad if it helps him get a payday?

Legends and Lattes meets A Grim Reaper’s Guide to Catching a Killer in this hilarious and charming contemporary fantasy readers won’t want to miss.

This sounds like a ton of fun and I’m here for it!

You can read an excerpt here!

The Gilda Stories (Penguin Speculative Fiction Special) by Jewelle Gomez
Genres: Adult, Fantasy, Historical Fantasy
Representation: Black lesbian MC, Native American sapphic love interest, F/F
Published on: 14th October 2025
Goodreads

The winner of two Lambda Literary Awards (fiction and science fiction) The Gilda Stories is a very American odyssey. Escaping from slavery in the 1850s Gilda's longing for kinship and community grows over two hundred years. Her induction into a family of benevolent vampires takes her on an adventurous and dangerous journey full of loud laughter and subtle terror.

All right, I hate this with a passion, but that is very much the minority opinion and it’s such a seminal book I couldn’t NOT include this new edition!

You can read excerpts here, here, and here!

As the Earth Dreams: Black Canadian Speculative Stories by Terese Mason Pierre
Genres: Adult, Fantasy, Sci Fi
Published on: 14th October 2025
Goodreads

A ground-breaking anthology of haunting speculative stories by contemporary Black Canadian writers that explore growth, futurity, and joy.

This bold and innovative anthology of speculative short fiction reveals and uplifts the spectacular imaginings, reveries, reflections, experiments, and hopes of Black writers in Canada. A woman attends her mother’s latest resurrection, only to encounter family she’s never met. A postdoc instructor navigates an almost-life in an Elsewhere realm of safety and comfort. After social collapse, a former sex worker leaves her precarious station, and her memories, behind. A woman isolating from a new virus starts hallucinating. In lyrical fragments, a young nanny accepts a job with a peculiar employer. A medium is tasked with summoning a spirit that hits too close to home. And two teenagers test a friendship over magic carpet flying practice. These breathtaking stories explore natural and urban landscapes, living and dead relationships, economic catastrophe, love, and desire—all while celebrating the persistent and ever-changing self, and envisioning beautiful Black futures.

Featuring stories

Trynne Delaney

francesca ekwuyasi

Whitney French

Aline-Mwezi Niyonsenga

Chimedum Ohaegbu

Suyi Davies Okungbowa

Chinelo Onwalu

Lue Palmer

Zalika Reid-Benta

These sorts of collections are always such a great way to discover new ride-or-die authors!

You can read an excerpt here!

Call and Response by Christopher Caldwell
Genres: Adult, Fantasy, Queer Protagonists
Representation: Black + mostly queer MCs
Published on: 14th October 2025
Goodreads

In these deftly written stories of the fantastic, Christopher Caldwell unravels the complicities of personhood and gender, slavery and war.

Saints and sailors, scoundrels and surfers.

Caldwell's characters appear in contrasting duets--first notes during the initial half, and then again in counterpoint, when the dominoes fall in the second half.

In addition to collecting incredible stories previously published in venues like FIYAH, Strange Horizons, and Uncanny, Call and Response also features the original short story "The Lonesome Sea."

advance praise for
CALL AND RESPONSE

"Throughout, Caldwell brings his all-Black, mostly queer protagonists to vivid life while exploring the collision of the natural and the supernatural. This stuns."
-Publishers Weekly (starred review)

"Call and Response is a great showcase for Christopher's particular his sophisticated prose, so changeable from story to story, but always distinctive in voice, playful and masterful in style!"
-Kai Ashante Wilson, author of A Taste of Milk and Honey

"I am so glad I get to live in the time-space where Christopher Caldwell is creating. And so happy to see these horny, heartbreaking, world-changing stories gathered together in one truly staggering collection."
-Sam J. Miller, author of Boys, Beasts & Men

"Christopher Caldwell's stories are lyrical and wondrous, his gaze unflinching and kind. Here are visions of doomed whaling voyages, bank robbers on the run from arcane enforcers, desperate characters confronting the world's evils, gods and saints, betrayals and joys. Caldwell calls us to witness the world as it is and as it could be. The tales in Call and Response are magic: they'll transform you."
-Izzy Wasserstein, author of These Fragile Graces, This Fugitive Heart

"Call and Response is one of the most honest, brutal and beautiful collections of short work I've ever read. It is full of love and pain and a will to not just endure, but thrive. Caldwell's rich characterization and voice infuses every story with a flesh and blood heart-a heart that will leap from the page and beat in time with your own. I am in awe of this collection. Thank you for writing it."
-Suzan Palumbo, author of Skin Stories and Countess.

Kai Ashante Wilson loved this. Kai Ashante Wilson!!! I’m sold.

The Dorvethan Conspiracy by Harry Rey
Genres: Adult, Queer Protagonists, Sci Fi
Representation: Queer MC
Published on: 14th October 2025
Goodreads

The world changed after Roswell.

To protect Earth from the Messenger’s warning, America and the Soviets formed UNSOC, an uneasy alliance to guard against the alien threat the world still waits for. Some say it was all a hoax.

Now, with the solar system on the verge of privatization, UNSOC Inspector Vladimir Marlowe is pulled into a forgotten murder-suicide spanning the dark underbelly of known space. But between his crumbling marriage, far-right conspiracists, and the whispers of a forgotten truth in his grandfather’s forbidden diary, Marlowe stumbles into a far deeper mystery—one that could unravel decades of state secrets.

The world stopped believing. What’s coming doesn’t care.

Harry F. Rey is a Scottish author of more than a dozen novels spanning science fiction, romance, and historical drama. A member of the Penguin WriteNow collective and a Pushcart nominee, his works include the royal romance series The Line of Succession, the WWII-era gay fiction Why in Paris?, and the historical MM romance Six Days in Jerusalem. He is also the author of the acclaimed Galactic Captains queer space opera series, and his young adult debut , Of Gods and Boys, recently topped the Amazon teen charts. His upcoming releases include the sweeping historical drama Dalriada and the queer political thriller The Prince.

Sci fi alt-history, YES PLEASE.

Kill the Beast by Serra Swift
Genres: Adult, Fantasy, Queer Protagonists
Representation: Bisexual MC
Published on: 14th October 2025
Goodreads

The Witcher meets Howl’s Moving Castle in this debut original faerie tale of revenge, redemption, and friendship―for fans of T. Kingfisher, Naomi Novik, and cozy fantasy with a dash of gritty adventure.

The night Lyssa Cadogan's brother was murdered by a faerie-made monster known as the Beast, she made him a promise: she would find a way to destroy the immortal creature and avenge his death. For thirteen years, she has been hunting faeries and the abominations they created. But in all that time, the one Beast she is most desperate to find has never resurfaced.

Until she meets Alderic Casimir de Laurent, a melodramatic dandy with a coin purse bigger than his brain. Somehow, he has found the monster’s lair, and―even more surprising―retrieved one of its claws. A claw Lyssa needs in order to forge a sword that can kill the Beast.

When the witch Ragnhild decrees that Alderic and Lyssa must gather the other ingredients to forge the weapon together, or else the spell will fail, Lyssa gets more than she bargained for. Alderic is ill-equipped for the task at hand, and almost guaranteed to get himself killed.

But as the two of them search for the materials that will be the Beast's undoing, Alderic reveals hidden depths: dark secrets that he guards as carefully as Lyssa guards hers. Before long, and against Lyssa's better judgment, they begin to forge a blooming friendship―one that will either lead to the culmination of Lyssa's quest for vengeance, or spell doom for them both.

IT’S NOT A ROMANCE! I initially wrote this one off as romantasy, but nope! Finding out that it ISN’T has, shockingly, completely reframed this book for me, and now I can’t wait to get to it!

You can read the first three chapters here!

Whispers of the Elixir (Order of the Ember, 1) by C.P. Silver
Genres: Adult, Fantasy
Representation: East Asian-inspired cast and setting
Published on: 14th October 2025
Goodreads

In Whispers of the Elixir, you will find the political intrigue of Andrea Stewart, the mythic depth of Katherine Arden, and the emotional resonance of M.L. Wang.

A matriarchal empire. A princess with forbidden magic. A mother who would kill to protect her own legacy.

As heir to the Min empire, Tori has spent her life under the iron will of her mother, Empress Zinchen—a sovereign determined to shape the world in her own image. But Tori has been hiding a dangerous a forbidden elemental power tied to the world’s mythic past. If Zinchen discovers the truth, it will cost Tori her life.

Haunted by this threat, Tori flees into the hidden lands—an ancient realm of ghost-flowers, sentient forests, and immortals from a half-remembered age. But magic here is neither blessing nor curse—it is a reflection, a test, a force that shapes as much as it destroys. And as her trials progress, Tori is stripped of certainty and pride. To survive her mother’s ambition, she must use what she learns to suppress the power that could doom her—but in doing so, she risks losing the very future she was born to inherit.

Whispers of the Elixir begins the Order of the Ember series—a character-driven epic of legacy, sacrifice, and the strength of a princess destined to rise from the shadows and claim her place in legend.

Those are some mighty big comps; fingers crossed it lives up to them!

You can read an excerpt here (where it says Preview Now beneath the book cover)!

The Graceview Patient by Caitlin Starling
Genres: Adult, Horror, Queer Protagonists
Representation: Sapphic MC with chronic illness
Published on: 14th October 2025
Goodreads

Misery meets Invasion of the Body Snatchers in this genre-bending, claustrophobic hospital gothic from the bestselling author of The Death of Jane Lawrence.

Margaret’s rare autoimmune condition has destroyed her life, leaving her isolated and in pain. It has no cure, but she’s making do as best she can—until she’s offered a fully paid-for spot in an experimental medical trial at Graceview Memorial.

The conditions are simple, if she will live at the hospital as a full-time patient, subjecting herself to the near-total destruction of her immune system and its subsequent regeneration. The trial will essentially kill most of, but not all of her. But as the treatment progresses and her body begins to fail, she stumbles upon something sinister living and spreading within the hospital.

Unsure of what's real and what is just medication-induced delusion, Margaret struggles to find a way out as her body and mind succumb further to the darkness lurking throughout Graceview's halls.

So far I have loved some of Starling’s books and hated others, so I have no idea which side of the line this will fall on!

You can read an excerpt here (where it says Read Excerpt under the book cover)!

The Scald-Crow by Grace Daly
Genres: Adult, Horror, Queer Protagonists
Representation: Queer disabled MC
Published on: 14th October 2025
Goodreads

Shot through with gallows humor and speaking in the voice of a trusted best friend, this self-deprecating horror novel explores medical trauma through Irish folklore, asking “Can a sick woman ever be trusted?"

Brigid—that’s the Irish Breej, not “Bridge-id,” though it’s not like she’d correct you—has had a rough go of it. Her mother abused her when she was little, her best friend (and secret crush) is too busy chasing some blonde to answer Brigid’s calls, and she lost her job thanks to chronic pelvic pain with no identifiable cause. As a self-doubting, disabled adult, she’s certain that everything that has happened to her is her fault.

Now her mother has gone missing and Brigid’s only option is to move back into her childhood home in the idyllic Midwestern town of St. Charles, Illinois. Soon the uncanny begins: A particular crow that once harassed her reappears, following her everywhere. A painting of Jesus keeps coming back, no matter how many times she throws it away. Frozen body parts show up in places rubber band balls and door stoppers ought to be. Every night the same nightmare repeats: her real mother is dead and decaying in the closet, and the identical mother who raised her is not her mother. But it’s all in Brigid’s head. It’s all her fault. It must be. What other explanation could there be?

After all, since when can a sick woman be trusted?

In Ireland, the scald-crow (another name for the hooded crow) is a death omen, often connected to banshees in folklore. Alternatively, there’s a very old Irish goddess called Badb who took the form of a scald-crow, and whose name turned into the modern Irish word for crow ‘badhbh’. You know, if you wanted context for the title!

You can listen to an excerpt of the audiobook here (where it says Listen To a Sample beneath the book cover)!

The Princess Knight by Cait Jacobs
Genres: Adult, Fantasy
Representation: Chronically ill MC
Published on: 14th October 2025
Goodreads

A princess desperate to win back the prince who broke her heart follows him to his kingdom's prestigious military academy—and in doing so, falls in love, saves the realm, and continues to look fabulous in this delightful debut fantasy.

Domhnall and Clía are an ideal match—or so everyone says. They are prince and princess of neighboring kingdoms. An alliance the gods will smile on. Until Domhnall ruins everything by refusing to propose.

Heartbroken but determined, Clía makes the perfect plan: Follow Domhnall to Caisleán Cósta, the military academy he’s attending. Show she can protect her kingdom. Secure the betrothal. Sure, the castle has a brutal reputation. But how hard can dueling really be?

Warrior Ronan promised himself he’d never lose his focus. He fought and sacrificed for his place at Caisleán Cósta, and he has no time for blonde princesses who waltz intro arenas like they’re attending a ball. Even if she and her otter-like pet are…well, cute.
He doesn’t want to be intrigued by Clía. But her hunger to prove herself is something he understands. He tells himself there’s no harm training her. Even if his heart does race around her. Even if Domhnall is his best friend.

But as they say, love is a battlefield—and unfortunately for them all, a very real war is looming on the horizon. It’s a fight that will threaten all their kingdoms…and test all their hearts. 

This is the book that was pitched as ‘Legally Blonde but knights’, which sounded like great fun even before I learned the mc is chronically ill. I’m looking forward to an extremely pink fun time!

You can read an excerpt here (where it says Preview Now to the right of the cover)!

Recipes for an Unexpected Afterlife by Deston J. Munden
Genres: Adult, Fantasy
Published on: 14th October 2025
Goodreads

An undead orc knight leaves battle behind for a new kind of afterlife—one with good food, good friends, and maybe even fatherhood.  

Rottgor is worn out. Literally. Barely held together by dark magic, he has protected the necropolis for centuries. When he’s forced into retirement, he’s faced with a new to forge a future guided not by obligation, but by passion.  

Following his heart (and stomach), he decides to open a restaurant where the city’s undead and living residents can share food and community. He’s helped in his quest by an unlikely assortment of neighbors, including elves, skeletons, vampires—and a young orphan girl named Astra, whose ancestry, if discovered, could put her and the entire necropolis in danger. To protect Astra and the life he’s building, Rottgor must face his past and form new alliances built on friendship, loyalty, and love.

As comforting as warm pumpkin bread, this gentle fantasy traces how even a dark history can rise into a bright future. 

Love it when authors give me foodie-ness AND fantasy, yes please and thank you!

You can read an excerpt here (where it says Read A Sample under the book cover)!

Red City (The New Alchemists, #1) by Marie Lu
Genres: Adult, Fantasy
Published on: 14th October 2025
Goodreads

The Godfather meets The Magicians in the sweeping adult debut from #1 New York Times bestselling author Marie Lu. Perfect for fans of V.E. Schwab, Red City is a dark and deadly contemporary fantasy of magical warfare, star-crossed ambition, and the pursuit of perfection at any cost, set in a glittering alternate Los Angeles.

Alchemy is the hidden art of transformation. An exclusive power wielded by crime syndicates that market it to the world’s elites in the form of sand, a drug that enhances those who take it into a more perfect version of more beautiful, more charismatic, simply more.

Among the gleaming skyscrapers and rolling foothills of Angel City, alchemy is controlled by two rival syndicates. For years, Grand Central and Lumines have been balanced on a razor’s edge between polite negotiation and outright violence. But when two childhood friends step into that delicate equation, the city—and the paths of their lives—will be irrevocably transformed.

The daughter of a poor single mother, Sam would do anything to claw her way into the ranks of Grand Central in search of a better life. Plucked away from his family as a boy to become a Lumines apprentice, Ari is one of the syndicates' brightest rising stars. Once, they might have loved each other. But as the two alchemists face off across opposite sides of an ever-escalating conflict, ambition becomes power, loyalty becomes lies, and no transformation may be perfect enough for them both to survive the coming war.

I have no idea if I’ll like this or not; some reviewers I follow have given it 10/10, and others 2/5. But I’ve always loved Lu’s prose, so I’m hopeful!

You can read an excerpt here (where it says Read Excerpt under the book cover)!

A History of the World in 100 Tales by Sharon Jacksties
Genres: Adult, Fantasy
Published on: 14th October 2025
Goodreads

However diverse our origins, our histories can always be explored through the tales we tell. Stories are our worldwide language, making sense of our experiences and conveying them to others. They are the messengers between our inner and outer worlds – the bridge between individuals and societies.

Within these pages you will see how these traditional story forms have developed over time, evolving with and, in turn, shaping cultural change. Journeying across five continents, you will also travel through time with our earliest creation myths, folk tales, legends and urban myths as your steadfast companions. Some have been polished by countless voices for thousands of years, and all have passed from ear to ear and page to page in a testament to the richness of many cultures, and a single, shared humanity.

I don’t know what this will look like in practice, but I’m fascinated by the idea of world history via mythology!

Folk Tales for Health and Wellbeing by Adam Bushnell
Genres: Adult, Fantasy
Published on: 14th October 2025
Goodreads

'A charming selection of wonder-filled, bite-sized legends from all over the world, retold in Bushnell's inimitable style ... The kind of book the world needs right now.' - Eleanor Conlon and Martin Vaux, podcasters and authors of The Three Ravens Folk Tales

Folk Tales for Health and Wellbeing invites you on a journey of self-discovery and healing, through the timeless wisdom of stories and lessons passed down over many generations. This collection of folk tales from around the world will serve as a gentle guide, leading you to a more mindful, peaceful and present way of life.

With over 30 years of training in mindfulness and meditation under various faith advisors, author and storyteller Adam Bushnell has carefully selected and retold these tales to inspire personal growth and wellbeing.

Initially I thought this was going to be a collection of stories about magical healing, which doesn’t seem to be the case. So I’m a bit confused about what this book wants to be, but I’m game to try it out!

Dead & Breakfast by Rosiee Thor, Kat Hillis
Genres: Adult, Fantasy, Queer Protagonists
Representation: M/M
Published on: 14th October 2025
Goodreads

The new vampires in town are sinking their teeth into solving a murder…

Married odd couple Arthur and Sal are totally normal. They wear sunscreen, not because the sun can kill them, but because even the undead need a skincare regimen. They eat garlic whenever they want, though it gives Sal indigestion. They can talk to creatures of the night, but only the raccoons that rifle through their garbage. Really, they don’t bite… except into delicious baked goods.

Ready to settle down and stay out of trouble, the two have opened a bed & breakfast in the idyllic, if not-so-paranormal-friendly, town of Trident Falls, Oregon. But trouble finds them when the mayor is discovered dead in their begonias with two puncture wounds in his neck. With the help of a werewolf barista, the elven town coroner, and a very human city manager, Arthur and Sal will need to prove they aren’t literally out for blood by catching a killer…

Again, mixed reviews from the reviewers whose taste I trust, but it looks so cute I wanted to include it.

You can read an excerpt here!

The Keeper of Magical Things by Julie Leong
Genres: Adult, Fantasy, Queer Protagonists
Representation: F/F
Published on: 14th October 2025
Goodreads

An almost-mage discovers friendship—and maybe something more—in the unlikeliest of places in this delightfully charming novel from the USA Today bestselling author of The Teller of Small Fortunes.

Certainty Bulrush wants to be useful—to the Guild of Mages that took her in as a novice, to the little brother who depends on her, and to anyone else she can help. Unfortunately, her tepid magic hasn’t proven much use to anyone. When Certainty has the chance to earn her magehood via a seemingly straightforward assignment, she takes it. Nevermind that she’ll have to work with Mage Aurelia, the brilliant, unfairly attractive overachiever who’s managed to alienate everyone around her.

The two must transport minorly magical artifacts somewhere safe: Shpelling, the dullest, least magical village around. There, they must fix up an old warehouse, separate the gossipy teapots from the kind-of-flaming swords, corral an unruly little catdragon who has tagged along, and above all: avoid complications. The Guild’s uneasy relationship with citizens is at a tipping point, and the last thing needed is a magical incident.

Still, as mage and novice come to know Shpelling’s residents—and each other—they realize the Guild’s hoarded magic might do more good being shared. Friendships blossom while Certainty and Aurelia work to make Shpelling the haven it could be. But magic is fickle—add attraction and it might spell trouble.

Really disliked Leong’s debut, but I’ve heard good things about this one (particularly from a friend here)!

You can read an excerpt here!

Bloodtide (Ex Romana, #2) by Sophie Burnham
Genres: Adult, Queer Protagonists, Speculative Fiction
Representation: Bi/pan MC, sapphic MCs, nonbinary MC
Published on: 14th October 2025
Goodreads

The fate of the empire hangs in the balance in the second installment of the genre-bending Ex Romana trilogy

Perfect for readers of Saara El-Arifi and C. L. Clark and stories with strong, queer voices, this is a speculative imagining of a world on the brink of revolution. Here, Rome never fell, but the apocalypse is coming—if it hasn't arrived already

In the wake of startling revelation and personal betrayal, Tair sets out to unite the city of Luxana behind the Iveroa Stone as Selah, up in the Imperial Archives, tries to make sense of her family's complicity in the Imperium's shadowed beginnings. Meanwhile, Darius faces exile in the far-flung reaches of Roma Sargassa's badlands, while Arran and Theo undertake a mission for the Revenants to revive the old world's communications grid.

But long-laid plans and careful maneuvering are nothing compared to the forces of nature, and Sargassa's future might just be determined by the coming storm.

I didn’t finish the first book in this series, but I’m very tempted to dive into book two anyway – I think a lot of what bored me in the first book won’t be an issue here, from the sound of it…

You can read an excerpt here (where it says Preview Now beneath the book cover)!

Happy People Don't Live Here by Amber Sparks
Genres: Adult, Fantasy, Speculative Fiction
Published on: 14th October 2025
Goodreads

In Amber Sparks’ highly anticipated debut novel, a reclusive mother and her saturnine daughter move into a haunted building brimming with eccentrics—and secrets.

Just past the edge of summer, Alice and Fern arrive at the Pine Lake Apartments—a former sanitorium occupied by an ensemble of peculiar neighbors and a smattering of ghosts. Among the living: a professional mermaid, a handyperson moonlighting as a medium, and an awkward professor of medieval studies. For the determinedly private Alice, Pine Lake seems the perfect place to hide herself and her daughter—until the day Fern finds a dead body in the dumpster. Intent on solving this mystery, and dodging warnings from her increasingly paranoid mother, Fern’s investigation digs up long-buried secrets that implicate each of her neighbors . . . and conjures a new party from beyond the grave.

A darkly funny gothic tale, Happy People Don’t Live Here is an unforgettable novel from a “master of the fantastic” (Roxane Gay) that takes a sharp look at love, family, and the sometimes-dangerous myths we make for ourselves.

If you call a book ‘a little Only Murders in the Building, a little Pushing Daisies‘, I will in fact snatch it up and you cannot stop me.

You can read an excerpt here (where it says Preview Now to the right of the cover)!

The Wayfinder by Adam Johnson
Genres: Adult, Fantasy, Historical Fantasy, Speculative Fiction
Representation: Polynesian cast and setting
Published on: 14th October 2025
Goodreads

A historical epic about a girl from a remote Tongan island who becomes her people's queen.

The Wayfinder is an epic, sweeping novel set in the Polynesian islands of the South Pacific during the height of the Tu’i Tonga Empire. At its heart is Kōrero, a young girl chosen to save her people from the brink of starvation. Her quest takes her from her remote island home on a daring seafaring journey across a vast ocean empire built on power, consumption, and bloodshed.

With the grandeur of Wolf Hall, Shogun, and War and Peace, The Wayfinder immerses readers in a world untouched by Western influence, evoking the lost art of oral storytelling. Far from a conventional swashbuckling adventure, it conjures a world of outrigger canoes and celestial navigation, weaving a narrative that is as much about survival and self-discovery as it is about the sweeping history of the Tongan people.

In this monumental literary work, Adam Johnson explores themes of indigeneity, ecological balance, and the resilience of humanity in the face of scarcity, marking the novel as a profound meditation on both individual and cultural legacy.

From the sound of it, this probably isn’t ‘proper’ Fantasy – more like speculative Literary Fiction – but it sounds so enchanting that I don’t care, I want to read it anyway!

You can read an excerpt here (where it says Read Excerpt beneath the book cover)!

He's So Possessed with Me by Corey Liu
Genres: Horror, Queer Protagonists, YA
Representation: Gay Chinese-American MC
Published on: 14th October 2025
Goodreads

Jennifer’s Body meets Heartstopper in this terrifying, tender, and bitingly hilarious supernatural horror about a boy who must save his best friend from a demon that wants to steal his heart—literally.
 
Ren says he’s in love, but Colin knows better.
 
Sure, he can't remember much about how it all began. But he remembers dancing at a club he and Ren were too young to dance in. He remembers the boys who harassed them on their way home. He remembers a ghost emerging from the trees, and a white hand reaching for Ren through a thick fog. What Colin can’t remember is what happened next. Only two things are clear to Ren is different now, and the new guy vying for his heart is not who he claims to be.
 
With the help of two unlikely allies and a cranky old medium, Colin must learn to conquer his self-doubt and save his best friend from a love that could cost him his life.
 
Equal parts campy and bewitching, Corey Liu’s debut YA novel explores predation, isolation, and what happens when a childhood dream of fairytale romance turns into a deadly nightmare.

Reading this at the moment and utterly delighted with it!

You can read an excerpt here!

The Leaving Room by Amber McBride
Genres: Fantasy, Queer Protagonists, YA
Representation: Black sapphic MC
Published on: 14th October 2025
Goodreads

Gospel is the Keeper of the Leaving Room—a place all young people must phase through when they die. The young are never ready to leave; they need a moment to remember and a Keeper to help their wispy souls along.

Gospel assumes that there are countless other Leaving Rooms because many children pass, but she suspects they are not like her Leaving Room which is small (like a walk in closet)with shelves full of tiny jars that hold the memories of those who have gone.

When a random door opens and a Keeper named Melody arrives, their souls become entangled. Gospel seriousness melts and Melody’s fear of connection fades, but still—are Keepers allowed to fall in love? Now they must find a way out of the Leaving Room and be unafraid of their love. They must claw their way back to their bodies because there is so much more life to explore—together.

I don’t read novels-in-verse very often, but this sounds so wonderful, and I had such an amazing time with The Sign of the Dragon earlier this year, that I’m happy to give it a go!

You can read an excerpt here!

Witchlore by Emma Hinds
Genres: Fantasy, Queer Protagonists, YA
Representation: Nonbinary bi/pansexual MC
Published on: 14th October 2025
Goodreads

Holly Black meets Lex Croucher in this contemporary fantasy about a love story to raise the dead.

At Demdike College of Witchcraft, Orlando is an outcast. Not just for being the only shapeshifter in a college of witches. Not just for being a really bad shapeshifter, with no control over their magic or when their body switches between male and female forms. But because their girlfriend Elizabeth died - and it was Lando's fault.

Then charming new boy Bastian arrives with a proposition: he knows a spell that can raise Elizabeth from the dead. It's dangerous but Lando will try anything. But as Lando's attraction to Bastian grows, questions start to arise. Who is Bastian? What does he really want? And who will survive the resurrection spell?

For fans of V.E. Schwab and Rainbow Rowell, Emma Hinds' Witchlore is a spellbinding contemporary fantasy where the passion is as real as the magic.

Currently reading this one too (if it’s not obvious, I read dozens of book simultaneously) and really enjoying the prose and how believable the characters are. So many authors cannot write realistic teenagers, but Hinds isn’t one of them!

You can read an excerpt here (where it says Read Excerpt under the book cover)!

A Fate Unwoven by Rachael A. Edwards
Genres: Fantasy, Queer Protagonists, YA
Representation: Bisexual MCs
Published on: 14th October 2025
Goodreads

A heretical storyteller partners with an ancient spirit to undo the magic that subjugates her to the crown, in this chilling debut fantasy filled with monsters, forbidden rituals, and corrupt deities.

The Emperor of Wyrecia is dying, and 17-year-old Lena has just gained the power to control fate itself, binding her to the young prince Dimas as the empire's next Fateweaver. Hunted by the empire's most ruthless soldiers, Lena escapes with a handsome smuggler toward enemy territory. But a former lover betrays Lena, and her magic becomes agony—compelling Lena to submit to a gilded cage.

Still, an ancient spirit offers hope: to sever her bond to the throne, Lena must unroot a ritual hidden beneath the palace. As Prince Dimas struggles to forge friendship with Lena and bring his empire under peaceful rule, sinister cultists unveil a twisted plan to unleash an ancient evil that could tear the realm asunder. With every step Lena takes on her quest to freedom, she uncovers a troubling imperial past that tarnishes the nation’s matron goddess. Perhaps the oral histories passed down to Lena are not foolish heresy, after all.

Written with captivating mystery, queer romance, and a dual point of view narrative, this dark fantasy features a gorgeously detailed map and roots its magic system in mythological lore. An enchanting selection for young adult readers who don’t mind a little terror with their adventure!

I will always show up for stories-about-storytellers, it really is that simple.

You can read an excerpt here!

My Keen Knife by Ana Davis
Genres: Fantasy, Queer Protagonists, YA
Representation: Portugal-inspired setting, queer MC
Published on: 14th October 2025
Goodreads

Fair is foul and foul is fair in a country ravaged by the lies of its monarchy. To claim the crown, Adelina, Seba, and Jasibin must learn to be a little wicked…even if it means betraying each other.

All hail Malves, who shall wear crowns.
On the night of her brother’s murder, Adelina Malves holds him as he dies, inheriting both his title and the prophecy that spelled out his doom. If she’s to avenge him and avoid a similar death, she must claim the crown of Jumaral by ruthlessly cutting down every family member ahead of her in the line of succession and uncover the secret that got her brother killed.

Hail! Thou shalt get kings, though thou be none.
Ghost-whispering Jasibin holds the key to Adelina’s plan to contact her dead brother—if only his strange magic wasn’t killing him slowly. To fulfill his own prophecy and protect his brother Seba, he must discover the source of his magic before he’s lost to the land of the dead.

All hail, Sebastião, that shall be king hereafter.
Seba is desperate for a way out of Jumaral and the substantial financial debt his dead mother left him. When a witch sees the riches of a king in his future, Adelina’s offer of coin in exchange for help feels like fate, pulling Seba into a fake dating plot with Adelina that hides their sinister plans.

In this stunning, innovative retelling of Shakespeare’s Macbeth set in a Portugal-inspired country, three teenagers will stop at nothing to fulfill their destinies.

I’ve heard almost nothing about this one, but what I have heard has me fascinated!

You can read an excerpt here (where it says Read a Sample beneath the book cover)!

My Lips, Her Voice by L.L. Madrid
Genres: Horror, Queer Protagonists, YA
Representation: Sapphic MC
Published on: 14th October 2025
Goodreads

Copper City’s bloody history is steeped in ghost stories and whispers of serial killers, but three girls have caught the attention of something far more sinister.

A grandmother tormented by visions tried to warn the town, but no one listened. Now, a haunted inheritance has passed to her granddaughters, Audrey and Mara. When Mara’s body is discovered in the old mine, Audrey fears her grandmother’s premonition is manifesting.

The nightmare begins as Mara’s spirit returns—lurking under Audrey’s skin, hellbent on vengeance and desperate to rekindle things with her former girlfriend, Zadie. Willing to hijack Audrey’s body to get what she wants, Mara drags them both into a deadly pursuit.

When another girl in town goes missing, Audrey, Mara, and Zadie know the killer has struck again. In a fight to solve Mara’s death and uncover the mystery of disappearances in Copper City, the girls soon find themselves at war with each other. How do you survive long enough to hunt a murderer on the loose if the person inside you might kill you first?

I’m already creeped out, so kudos, Madrid!

You can listen to an excerpt of the audiobook here (where it says Listen To a Sample beneath the book cover)!

Kindred Dragons (Kindred Dragons, #1) by Sarah Mensinga
Genres: Fantasy, MG
Published on: 14th October 2025
Goodreads

Anne of Green Gables meets How to Train Your Dragon in Kindred Dragons, a middle-grade graphic novel about a brave young girl and the dragon whose life depends on her

Alice has been unhappy ever since her parents sent her to Prince Edward Island to live with her strict grandmother. Alice is fanciful, prone to telling tall tales, and absolutely obsessed with dragons! Fairies deliver dragon eggs to a select few, known as Kindreds, but no egg has ever arrived for Alice.

While wandering the woods alone she finds and secretly befriends a mysterious, old dragon named Brim. Alice is excited to finally have a dragon friend of her own, but there’s something strange about him—he doesn’t have a Kindred. When Brim suddenly falls ill, Alice sets out on a desperate quest to save him.

As Alice searches for a cure, she discovers that her connection to dragons is unlike that of any Kindred—but will her new power be enough to save her friend?This heartfelt story of friendship, family, and learning to love who you are is perfect for readers who loved Snapdragon, Witch Boy, and the City of Dragons series.

I’m in love with the premise, I’m in love with the art, I suspect this is going to be a new favourite!

You can read an excerpt here (where it says Read a Sample to the right of the book cover)!

Whalesong by Miles Cameron
Genres: Adult, Sci Fi
Published on: 16th October 2025
Goodreads

Thor Stokel had always dreamed of being master of his own ship, and the Silver Star is a dream fast, sleek and powerful. But leaving the safety of his military career in the DHC behind to become an independent merchant fast becomes a nightmare of endless solo flights, paperwork, bad deals and customs disasters.

When he's imprisoned over the latest customs and paperwork mistake, Thor's luck finally starts to change. Incarceration leads to his first crewmate - and then a second. But it also leads to an increase in his paranoia: something doesn't add up about his beautiful new ship, the AI is erratic, and he's increasingly sure that his crewmates are hiding something. And now he thinks the Silver Star is being followed . . .

Exhausted, isolated, and still just trying to make ends meet, Thor Storkel is either the most paranoid man in space . . . or he's a vital part of a galaxy-spanning conspiracy, that's going to depend on his being paranoid enough to survive it . . .

. . . And Marca N'baro still needs a whale . . .

AHHHHH NEW INSTALMENT IN MY FAVE SCI FI SERIES! And the first one where Marca isn’t the pov character. THIS WILL BE INTERESTING! Although this is only the UK release, alas. (Yes I will jump through the hoops necessary to read it anyway!)

Songs of Broken Bells by Lilly Lockwood
Genres: Adult, Fantasy, Queer Protagonists
Representation: Nonbinary MC, brown MC, sapphic MC/s, bisexual MC/s, queernorm world
Published on: 17th October 2025
Goodreads

The hungry flame inside Líadan has been silent, kept hidden, for the last fifteen years. But something has called out to it, awakening it from its slumber. And it is oh so ready to burn.

Vasil, her best friend and the one sworn to end her life should her magic reappear, defies his pact and spares her life. He vows to keep her safe, no matter the cost.

Minno, a follower of the saint of truth, was never meant to find themselves caught up in the wildfire of Líadan’s life. But the fates must have had another path in mind for them.

Aila, daughter of the god of entropy, promises herself as Líadan’s only chance at surviving the torment of the hungry flame. Though, perhaps even the child of a god lacks faith sometimes.

Their fates are intertwined in the never ending motion of the Maelstrom, and it is their choice alone to decide if they walk the road the fates set before them, or choose another path.

Honestly, you had me at that cover, but DAUGHTER OF THE GOD OF ENTROPY certainly didn’t hurt!

You can read an excerpt here (where it says Read a Preview beneath the book cover)!

Will you be reading any of these? Did I miss any releases you think I should know about? Let me know!

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