Must-Have Monday #276

Posted 23rd February 2026 by Sia in Must-Have Mondays / 2 Comments

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.

ELEVEN books this week!

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

The Cloak and Its Wizard by R.Z. Nicolet
Genres: Adult, Fantasy
Published on: 23rd February 2026
Goodreads

I don’t choose my wizards lightly. It’s a lifetime commitment. Their lifetime, that is. I’ll outlast them all. Unless the world ends. Which is looking increasingly likely…

After a century of boredom in the library of the secret Order of the Open Eye, the Cloak of Sunset and Starlight finally chooses a wizard. Unfortunately for the cloak, Veronica Noble isn’t thrilled. A brilliant doctor, Veronica has been dragged into the Order against her will, and doesn’t want to be saddled with a glittering, starlight-covered cloak that sneaks through vents, sets off car alarms, and refuses to leave her shoulders.

When Veronica accidentally reveals her powers to all of Minneapolis, superheroes take notice. The Order threatens to reclaim the cloak. And sea serpents from other dimensions keep crashing into reality.

Now the cloak must do everything in its power to keep its wizard safe—even if that wizard isn’t sure she wants it.

The Cloak and Its Wizard is a whimsical fantasy adventure about a mischievous, sentient cloak and the reluctant wizard it refuses to let go. Perfect for fans of I’m Afraid You’ve Got Dragons, Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries, and The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches, this novel blends lighthearted humor with high stakes and emotional depth.

This sounds like so much fun, and by the time you’re reading this post, I’m reading this because I preordered and it’s definitely on my ereader by now!!!

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

The Iron Garden Sutra (The Cosmic Wheel #1) by A.D. Sui
Genres: Adult, Sci Fi
Representation: Brown MC
Published on: 24th February 2026
Goodreads

Klara and the Sun meets S. A. Barnes’s Dead Silence with a touch of Becky Chambers’ A Psalm for the Wild-Built in Nebula Award-winning author A.D. Sui’s darkly philosophical murder mystery, as a death monk and a team of researchers trapped onboard a spaceship of the dead encounter something beyond human understanding…

Vessel Iris has devoted himself to the Starlit Order, performing funeral rites for the dead across the galaxy, guiding souls back into the Infinite Light. Despite the comfort he wants to believe he brings to the dead, his relationships with his fellow Vessels are distant at best, leaving him reliant on his AI implant for companionship.

The spaceship Counsel of Nicaea has been lost for more than a thousand years. A relic of Earth’s dying past, humanity took the ship to the stars on a multi-generation journey to find another habitable planet yet never reached its destination. Its sudden appearance has attracted a team of academics eager to investigate its archeological history. And Iris has been assigned to bring peace to the crew’s long departed souls.

Carpeted in moss and intertwined with vines, Nicaea is more forest than ship. Skeletons are all that remain of the crew, and Iris’ religious rituals are met with bemusement by the scientists—and outright hostility by the engineer Yan Fukui. Determined to be more than just the curator of the dead, Iris tries to make himself useful to the team, desperate to form friendships.

But Nicaea’s plant life isn’t the only sentience to have survived in the past millennia. Something onboard is stalking the explorers one by one. And Iris with his AI enhancement may be their only hope for survival. . .

DEATH MONKS IN SPACE! GIMME!!!

You can read an excerpt here!

The Red Winter by Cameron Sullivan
Genres: Adult, Fantasy, Historical Fantasy, Queer Protagonists
Representation: Bisexual MC, M/M
Published on: 24th February 2026
Goodreads

A devastating love story. A bewitching twist on history. A blood-drenched hunt for purpose, power, and redemption.

In 1785, Professor Sebastian Grave receives the news he fears most: the terrible Beast of Gévaudan has returned, and the French countryside runs red in its wake.
Sebastian knows the Beast. A monster-slayer with centuries of experience, he joined the hunt for the creature twenty years ago and watched it slaughter its way through a long and bloody winter. Even with the help of his indwelling demon, Sarmodel – who takes payment in living hearts – it nearly cost him his life to bring the monster down.

Now, two decades later, Sebastian has been recalled to the hunt by Antoine Avenel d’Ocerne, an estranged lover who shares a dark history with the Beast and a terrible secret with Sebastian. Drawn by both the chance to finish the Beast for good and the promise of a reconciliation with Antoine, Sebastian cannot refuse.

But Gévaudan is not as he remembers it, and Sebastian’s unfinished business is everywhere he looks. Years of misery have driven the people to desperation, and France teeters on the edge of revolution. Sebastian’s arcane activities – not to mention his demonic counterpart – have also attracted the inquisitorial eye of the French clergy. And the Beast is poised to close his jaws around them all and plunge the continent into war.

Debut author Cameron Sullivan tears the heart out of history with this darkly entertaining retelling of the hunt for the Beast of Gévaudan. Lifting the veil on the hidden world behind our own, it reimagines the story of Europe, from Imperial Rome to Saint Jehanne d’Arc, the madness of Gilles de Rais and the first flickers of the French Revolution.

This one ended up not working for me, but a lot of other readers are going to adore it!

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

The Legend of the Nine-Tailed Fox by Katrina Kwan
Genres: Adult, Fantasy
Representation: Chinese-inspired setting and cast
Published on: 24th February 2026
Goodreads

From the author of The Last Dragon of the East comes a sweeping fantasy adventure with a dash of romance between a nine-tailed fox and the demon-hunter who captures her, banished to the underworld together and forced to form a reluctant alliance in order to escape the circles of Hell.

Yue may be the last of her kind. At night, she stalks the streets of the capital city of Longhao, luring in unsuspecting victims with the mask of a beautiful woman, then consuming them in her true form of the nine-tailed fox.

When she is captured by a powerful demon hunter named Sonam and banished to Hell, she manages one final act of revenge: dragging him—and two of his subordinates—down with her.

Now trapped in an abyss with unimaginable terrors, they’ll need each other’s help to navigate Hell and bypass the gods who preside over each circle, each of whom presents the group with a unique and deadly challenge. Forced to depend on one another as they claw their way out of the underworld, both demon and demon hunter discover that there might be more to the other than meets the eye.

I LOVE the sound of this! So happy we’ve been getting more kitsune/gumiho stories the last little while. But – last of her kind?! What happened to the rest of them?!

You can read an excerpt here!

The Secret World of Maggie Grey by Granger
Genres: Adult, Fantasy
Representation: Black MC
Published on: 24th February 2026
Goodreads

This is the Underground. We go by a different set of rules here—ones steeped in magic, history, and well . . . blood.

Maggie Grey always dismissed her grandmother’s tales as superstition. Bedtime stories of vampiric priests, midnight covens, and secret conjurers from her youth during the Civil Rights Era. Even Maggie’s stark white hair felt like nothing more than an inherited quirk. But when her grad school presentation retelling those stories catches the interest of her professor, she discovers the truth buried within them. He directs Maggie to Drew Collins University (DCU), a hidden HBCU beneath the streets of Atlanta where the legends come to life.

At DCU, necromancy is a major, students with claws and fangs roam the campus, and Maggie leans on a new circle of unlikely allies: Souxie, a mysterious priestess; Asha, a scarred siren; Isis, a water-bending nymph; and Quan, a snarky talking cat. Soon, Maggie learns she comes from the most feared bloodline in the Underground, the First Family: a lineage of vampires whose power has haunted the community for generations. That makes her not only dangerous but a target, especially to Namir, the sharp-eyed werewolf whose family has long despised hers. Distrust simmers between them, even as an undeniable pull grows harder to ignore.

When a murder shatters the campus, suspicion lands on Maggie. Not just because of what she is but because of the family she comes from. In a world where legacy is everything, hers might be the deadliest of all.

Dark academia is so hit and miss for me, but I’m hopeful for this one!

You can read an excerpt here!

The Faithful Dark by Cate Baumer
Genres: Adult, Fantasy, Queer Protagonists
Representation: Asexual MC, trans POV character, major bisexual character
Published on: 24th February 2026
Goodreads

In a holy city where sins and blessings can be revealed through consecrated touch, Csilla - born without a soul - is worthless to the Church that raised her. But when a series of murders corrodes the magic that keeps the city safe, the Church elders see a use for her flaw: she can assassinate their prime suspect, a heretic with divine heritage, without the stain of sin.

The heretic, however, makes a counter-offer: clear his name and catch the real killer, without becoming a target herself, and he'll use his power to get her a soul. When their investigation catches the attention of Ilan, a ruthless Church Inquisitor demoted for his failure to solve the case, he reluctantly offers his help in order to earn back his position. He’ll bring in the murderer— or failing that, Csilla and the heretic. But as the death toll rises and their hunt pits them against the Faith, Csilla will find that salvation comes at the cost of everything she believes in.

The ebook (and I think UK edition?) was out last week, and this week the US gets the hardcover!

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

My review of the indie edition!

The Department of What It (Really) Means to Be Human (Goldsmiths Press / Gold SF) by M. Darusha Wehm
Genres: Adult, Sci Fi
Published on: 24th February 2026
Goodreads

A near-future real-life society transitions to a post-capitalist, post-climate change reality.

The Department Of What It (Really) Means To Be Human is a thoughtful, optimistic sci-fi novel set in a near-future Aotearoa New Zealand where an investigator navigates a newly post-capitalist world in their search for a missing artist. When the world changed, Emerald Hutson closed the door on their old life. Now they’re a freelance investigator for the Grants and Stipends Office, augmenting basic income with cases that are both simple and easily resolved. Until they’re assigned to track down Gen Ecks, a notable installation artist who’s fallen off the map. When Em finds Gen, she’s under the influence of Moneta, a drug designed to let users experience memories as if they were real. Em’s inclined to declare their case closed and leave Gen to it. Most drug use has been decriminalized, and while Gen’s art might be suffering, there’s no reason to intervene if Gen wants to use Moneta. But the drug isn’t working as expected. Gen’s not just going down memory lane, she’s completely lost, unable to tell past from present. And she may not be the only one. To help Gen and expose Moneta’s dangers, Em cracks open old doors, beginning with an old colleague who’s been keeping an unsettlingly close eye on them. And in the process Em learns that while they may have been happy to take advantage of the world’s shift to start anew, neither they nor the world can be truly changed until they face the past head on.

Series Overview: Gold SF is dedicated to discovering and publishing new intersectional feminist science fiction that looks to the future and tries to imagine new ways of being in the world.

The Gold SFF collection keeps bringing out such interesting-sounding books, and this one very much has my attention!

Daughter of the Cursed Kingdom (Witch Hall #2) by Jasmine Skye
Genres: Fantasy, Queer Protagonists, YA
Representation: F/F
Published on: 24th February 2026
Goodreads

Two girls, bound by magic, must work together to stop an oncoming war, while grappling with unresolved feelings and terrible secrets in Daughter of the Cursed Kingdom, the thrilling conclusion to Jasmine Skye's queernormative romantasy duology.

“If I ask you to walk into danger with me, Rosamund Holt, will you do it?”
Born a bone witch, with the power to raise the dead, Shaw has spent her life preparing to take her place as Death's Heir, so she can lead her people to victory in an unavoidable, prophesied war. But then she met Rosy, sweet, stubborn Rosy, the most powerful bone familiar she's ever known, and the only person Shaw has never been able to predict. Rosy, who doesn’t believe in the prophesied war that has consumed Shaw’s entire life.

“I won't be their weapon, but I will be yours.”

Shaw has won Rosy's loyalty, but Rosy has made it very clear she's not willing to share her heart, a fact that Shaw is determined to respect... no matter how much it hurts. But now, as tensions with Vinland rise and secrets about the Witch King’s motivations are revealed, Shaw needs Rosy and her entourage more than ever. Will Shaw become the conquering warlord she was prophesized to be, or will she be strong enough to find a new path forward?

THAT RAVEN HAS AN EYE ON ITS FOREHEAD, I HAVE MANY QUESTIONS.

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

Amari and the Metalwork Menace (Supernatural Investigations Book 4) by B.B. Alston
Genres: Fantasy, MG
Representation: Black MC
Published on: 24th February 2026
Goodreads

The gripping fourth book in the #1 New York Times bestselling Supernatural Investigations series that began with Amari and the Night Brothers!

Perfect for fans of Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky, Percy Jackson and the Olympians, and Nevermoor.

In the wake of the extreme losses to the Bureau during the war with Dylan Van Helsing and the magicians, Amari has stepped back from being a Junior Agent to spend the school year as a normal kid. But as she prepares to graduate eighth grade, she's faced with a Return to the Bureau and join the elite new Junior Special Agent Program, or retire for good—which would mean safety, but also losing her memories of the supernatural world.

But soon she finds that she may not have a choice. A deadly new curse is threatening both the supernatural and mortal worlds as, beneath their skin, people are slowly becoming machines—and losing their very humanity. And it's somehow related to the First Magician.

Hundreds of cases have been cropping up, with no cure in sight. And when the curse hits someone close to Amari, it's up to her to get to the bottom of this deadly mystery—even if it means trusting an old enemy.

I continue to only hear amazing things about this series!

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

Deathcap: A Tor Original by Lara Elena Donnelly
Genres: Adult, Horror, Queer Protagonists, Sci Fi
Representation: Queer MCs
Published on: 25th February 2026
Goodreads

Two space marines trapped in a doomed spaceship confront the desires that will destroy them both.

NEW LARA ELENA DONNELLY!!! Yesssssssssss!!! This will be free to read on reactormag.com on release day! (Because it’s a short story and not a novel, to be clear!)

Saltswept (The Earthsalt Duology, #1) by Katalina Watt
Genres: Adult, Fantasy, Queer Protagonists
Representation: Southeast Asian-inspired setting and cast, queer MC/s
Published on: 26th February 2026
Goodreads

'Deep, sumptuous, and astonishingly beautiful' Hannah Kaner

A ragtag crew. A perilous quest. First, they need a boat. Next, they need to learn how to sail it.

A pirate faces the gallows drop. A farmer is given a terrible ultimatum to save her daughter. An acolyte ascends to priestesshood . . . only to find that a blessing really can be a curse. These unlikely bedfellows band together with an inscrutable pickpocket and a talking ottercat in pursuit of the most hopeless of to sail into the Maelstrom - a raging whirlpool from which no one has ever escaped - and the mysterious treasure hidden within it.

The quest will test their fragile allegiance to its limits, but there is more at stake here than getting the magic of the world is in peril, and the barrier between life and death has never been so thin. And in the Bastion, the seat of power in Paranish, the queen has an unquenchable thirst that threatens the world and everyone in it.

Can there be honour amongst thieves? Without it, they might never see another sunrise.

Lush and lyrical, Saltswept is a vibrant debut - the first book in an epic fantasy duology based on Southeast Asian mythology. Perfect for fans of The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi, The Bone Ships, and Godkiller.