Can't-Wait Wednesday: The Dorians by Nick Cutter, Under a Carnivore Sky by Brianna Jett, & The Library After Dark by Ande Pliego

Can't-Wait is a weekly meme hosted by Wishful Endings that spotlights exciting upcoming releases that we can't wait to be released! 

The Dorians by Nick Cutter

Publication: May 19th, 2026

Gallery Books

Hardcover. 400 pages.

Pre-order: Bookshop.org | Amazon

From Goodreads:

"On a remote island in the Canadian wilderness, five elderly volunteers from different walks of life are given a tantalizing offer: to stall their biological clocks or even reverse them, restoring their lost youth. The chance to put death on pause—forever, perhaps. The remarkable secret lies in the high-tech harnessing of an ancient and extraordinary biological agent…one with no conscience, yet possessed with a single-minded purpose that has helped it persist for eons: the will to survive. The dark heart of unbridled human ambition finds its apex in an unholy experiment that now tests the limits of both creator and subject, eclipsing all bounds of morality and sanity…."

This sounds like it could get pretty weird, and knowing Nick Cutter... it will be. 

Under a Carnivore Sky by Brianna Jett

Publication: May 12th, 2026

Page Street YA

Hardcover. 304 pages.

Pre-order: Bookshop.org | Amazon

From Goodreads:

"I’m the only one left hunting the monster, the only one left with a chance of saving us all.

Raised in a town surrounded by a labyrinthian, man-eating swamp, Lili craves nothing more than to track down the monster lurking in its depths and kill it.

The monster’s curse claims the flesh and bone of every adult in town, stealing them away, piece by piece. For generations, people have tried to kill it or escape the town altogether, but every path out of town leads them right back in.

Caleb, a bookish boy with dreams of freedom, is hungry to escape. He thinks that with Lili’s help and knowledge of the swamp, he can make a map to freedom. And Lili hopes that with a better sense of its territory, she might finally find and kill the monster.

Together, they chart the swamp’s shifting terrain. Sharing in the danger and the beauty of the landscape sparks a friendship between them―and then something more. However, what they discover disrupts everything Lili thought she knew about the town, her father, the monster―even herself. The truth at the root of the curse could devour them all. And Lili must decide if risking her life to be the town’s savior is worth sacrificing her own chance of escape."

I know I don't really read YA anymore, but I'm a little bit of a sucker for a premise like this, so.. I'd definitely check it out!

The Library After Dark by Ande Pliego

Publication: May 5th, 2026

Bantam

Hardcover. 368 pages.

Pre-order: Bookshop.org | Amazon

From Goodreads:

"'Irresistible—bright and sharp and rife with danger, like a shard of mirror.'—A. J. Finn, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Woman in the Window

Not all fairytales were meant for children.

Aria Stokes is finally feeling settled—she lives in a tiny New York apartment, works as a bookseller at a local shop, and has even taken a leap of faith in love by indulging her attraction to bookstore regular Jasper. And he seems to already know her so well.

As a Valentine’s Day surprise, Jasper gets the two of them tickets to an exclusive, after-dark tour of the Daedalus Library—the grandiose establishment famed for its immersive genre-based reading rooms and, more notoriously, its rumored hauntings. While Aria normally loves all things ghastly, this place holds more dark secrets than she’d prefer Jasper to know. Like that the last time she was here, she left a body behind.

But when the automatic-door entry malfunctions and Aria, Jasper, and the five other people in their tour group become trapped in the library, they are forced to venture through the storied rooms and hidden passageways of the Daedalus in search of escape . . . and Aria quite literally has nowhere to hide from the shadows of her past. Then the group learns there’s a murderer in their midst.

Now, as she tries to break out of the library’s intricate reading rooms, Aria has to decide who she can trust—and what secrets are best kept buried—if she wants to make it out alive."

I just got an ARC of this, so I'm excited to check it out--this sounds like a fun little mystery in the perfect setting! I'm always up for a locked room premise. 

Can't-Wait Wednesday: Accumulation by Aimee Pokwatka, Homebound by Portia Elan, That Which Feeds Us by Keala Kendall

Can't-Wait is a weekly meme hosted by Wishful Endings that spotlights exciting upcoming releases that we can't wait to be released!

Accumulation by Aimee Pokwatka

Publication: May 5th, 2026

G.P. Putnam's Sons

Hardcover. 336 pages.

Pre-order: Bookshop.org | Amazon

From Goodreads:

"A twisty, searing, conversation-starting novel about a filmmaker-turned-housewife who moves into her dream house and is forced to consider whether it's the house or herself that is haunted.

When documentary filmmaker turned stay-at-home mom Tennessee Cherish moves into the the dream house her husband bought for her, a brighter future seems to be on the horizon. Even if her husband is frustratingly absent due to his new high-paying job. Even if their two young children begin acting out in strange ways. Even if she feels lonelier than ever.

Distracted by the endless details that come with moving into a new town, a new house, and new schools, Tenn doesn’t notice when odd things begin happening at home. The faucet that runs at all hours. The creepy doll that seems to show up in every room. The human tooth they found in the floorboards.

As the kids’ outbursts and the strange events start to escalate, the family finds themselves increasingly caught in loops, repeating everyday actions with dangerous—and then devastating—effects. Tenn realizes she must find the source of what is haunting her family, before it kills them all.

Taut and twisty, scary and searing, Aimee Pokwatka’s Accumulation lays bare the high price women pay for the promises of domesticity and motherhood, and the many ways in which families can be haunted."

A woman having to figure out if she or her house is haunted... sounds like something I want to find out, haha. 

Homebound by Portia Elan

Publication: May 5th, 2026

Scribner

Hardcover. 304 pages.

Pre-order: Bookshop.org | Amazon

From Goodreads:

"Five interlocking lives. One beloved story. A dazzling adventure across centuries and continents in search of the things that hold us together.

“A joy—at once a gripping mystery that confidently spans centuries, and a hauntingly beautiful exploration of what makes us human...It kept me up all night!” —Madeline Miller, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Circe and Song of Achilles

It’s 1983 and Becks can’t wait to get the hell out of Cincinnati. She’s nineteen, blasting her Walkman, and hiding from the fact that her beloved uncle, the only person who understood her, is dead. But she has work to do: he left her a half-finished game to complete—one last collaboration to find her way out of loneliness.

Little does she know, what Becks is making will echo far into the future and shape the lives of a scientist, a sentient automaton, and a flinty sea captain in ways she cannot imagine. All are bound together by their search for connection—and by a futuristic traveler on a mysterious mission through space.

A novel about our deep interconnectedness, Homebound is a clear-eyed, hopeful adventure into humanity’s future and capacity for love."

I'm not really sure what to expect from this one, but it sounds really intriguing and I can't wait to find out more about it.

That Which Feeds Us by Keala Kendall

Publication: May 5th, 2026

Random House

Hardcover. 352 pages.

Pre-order: Bookshop.org | Amazon

From Goodreads:

"A native Hawaiian teen travels to a luxury island resort in search of her missing twin and uncovers the dark side of paradise, in this YA supernatural thriller that's Mexican Gothic meets She is a Haunting.

"This astounding book is both a finger pointed directly at the rotting heart of colonial greed and a truly heart-pounding mystery." — Andrew Joseph White, New York Times bestselling author of Compound Fracture

For the world’s wealthiest, Kōpaʻa Island Resort is more than a destination. It’s the ultimate escape. With no cell service or Wi-Fi, the Hawaiian island is a coveted wellness retreat renowned for its persimmon orchard and promises of rejuvenation.

But their dream vacation is Lehua’s nightmare. When her twin sister, Ohia, goes missing, Lehua follows her trail to Kōpaʻa to find her. Instead, Lehua is cut off from civilization—and help—after the island’s boat leaves without her, stranding her with the resort’s lavish guests and enigmatic staff.

As Lehua investigates Ohia’s disappearance, she discovers her missing sister isn’t the island’s only mystery. Kōpaʻa’s rich exterior and sweet persimmons hide its dark plantation past. And Lehua can’t ignore the dreams haunting her each night—nor the warning telling her to leave the island at once. To uncover what happened to Ohia, Lehua will have to unearth the island’s bloody history and face the horrors that lurk within its sugarcane fields—or risk being consumed by them.

Sharply observed and gorgeously written, That Which Feeds Us explores the true cost of paradise as Lehua must fight to reclaim the land, the stories, and the very souls of her people."

A Hawaiian gothic thriller... I'm totally down for that. I don't read much YA, but I can't say no to this premise!

Mini-Review: No Man's Land by Richard K. Morgan

 

No Man's Land by Richard K. Morgan
Del Rey

Publication Date: March 24th, 2026
Hardcover. 478 pages.

About No Man's Land:

"The Great War was supposed to be the war to end all wars-and maybe it would have been, had an even greater, otherworldly foe not arisen to extinguish the conflict. Overnight, as guns blazed away in France and Flanders, village after village in the quiet British countryside were swallowed by the Forest. And within the Forest lurk the Huldu ‒ an ancient fae race, monstrous in their inhumanity, who have decided that mankind's ascendency over the world can endure no longer.

Enter Duncan Silver. Scarred by the war, fueled by a rage deeper than the trenches in which he once fought, Duncan is determined to show the Huldu that the world is not theirs for the taking. Armed with a cut-down trench gun filled with iron shot and a deadly iron knife, Duncan will stop at nothing to return the children the Huldu have stolen from the arms of their families. No matter how many Huldu he may have to slaughter along the way.

But when he is hired by a mother to return her four-year-old daughter, Miriam ‒ taken by the Huldu six months past and replaced with a Changeling ‒ all hell breaks loose. Miriam is a pawn in a much bigger game for dominance than Duncan ever expected, and several long-buried secrets from his past are about to be violently resurrected."

In No Man's Land, we follow Duncan Silver as he gets pulled into a case that quickly becomes more complicated--and more dangerous--than it initially seems (isn't that always the case?), which forces him to navigate both the human and Fae parts of this gritty setting. I had a fun time with No Man's Land, though I did have a few mixed feelings here and there. It reminded me a lot of that gritty, urban fantasy style story, and while I don't think it's going to be for everyone, I think it will absolutely find its audience and do well there. 

What I liked: Duncan Silver really is an interesting protagonist. He's not always likable, but he's not exactly horribly unlikable either, which made him easy enough to follow and become invested in throughout this story. He's very much a morally grey figure, and I appreciated how Morgan crafted these qualities in him. The worldbuilding was also a strong point in this one, and I find it to be immersive, bleak, gritty, and satisfying detailed, all of which left me feeling content. I think Morgan does a good job of crafting this tale in a way that keeps the reader engaged and curious about what's to come, as it's never entirely clear, and I also liked how not everything felt fully explained or neatly define, which added to the atmosphere. 

What I didn't like: The pacing was a bit uneven. At times, things moved very quickly and I found it easy to keep flipping the pages, but other sections felt considerably slower and dragged a bit in certain areas. That inconsistency made it a little harder to stay fully engaged throughout, but didn't take away too much from the story overall for me. I also wanted to note that I've seen a lot of reviews that are unhappy with the amount of sex and the ways women are described in this one, and I think if that's something that might bother you, then definitely take that into consideration. I found that although some were a bit excessive and I was not a fan of how Morgan described various sexual acts and the like, I did think they fit Duncan's character well and the overall vibe of the story, so it didn't necessarily feel out of place... but definitely not for everyone.  There were many moments in this book that really worked for me and others that I struggled with a bit more, but overall I enjoyed the world and following Duncan through everything he was dealing with.

*I received a copy of No Man's Land courtesy of the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This has no effect on my rating or enjoyment.*

Buy the book: Bookshop.org | Amazon

Can't-Wait Wednesday: The Franchise by Thomas Elrod, Treat Them as Buffalo by Blair Palmer Yoxall, & One Leg On Earth by 'Pemi Aguda

    

 Can't-Wait is a weekly meme hosted by Wishful Endings that spotlights exciting upcoming releases that we can't wait to be released

The Franchise by Thomas Elrod
Publication: May 12th, 2026
Tor Books
Hardcover. 368 pages.
Pre-order: Bookshop.org | Amazon

From Goodreads:
"Game of Thrones meets The Truman Show in this epic tale of a Hollywood-owned fantasy world where nothing is quite as it seems to the people who live and die at the studio’s whim.

A land filled with magic and dragons and wizards and warriors.

Thousands of people live and work within its borders, fearful of their enemies and loyal to their king.

The classic fantasy world of The Malicarn has been brought to life on the big screen in a series of phenomenally successful blockbuster movies, almost entirely populated by characters in total belief that their sham fantasy lives are real.

A fan-favorite actor finds himself doubting the studio's work, but this franchise has an almost unstoppable momentum, and bringing freedom to a population that already believes itself to be free won’t be as easy as he thinks.

All the world’s a stage.
Meet the players."

Treat Them as Buffalo by Blair Palmer Yoxall

Publication: May 5th, 2026

Algonquin Books

Paperback. 288 pages.

Pre-order: Bookshop.org | Amazon

From Goodreads:

"An electric debut that delivers a classic Western from an Indigenous perspective—as teenage boys being to disappear from one great plains Métis community, a young man attempts to uncover the evil force lurking out of sight

In 1880, Nikosis “Niko” Erikson spends his days playing buffalo hunter, even though it’s been many years since a member of his tribe has actually seen one of the once-ubiquitous animals. But when his beloved Cousin goes missing, things start to fall apart. With law enforcement failing—indeed refusing—to investigate the disappearance, the community members take matters into their own hands, rallying around the leadership of a sawn-off shotgun-slinging rancher named Kate McCannon.

The resultant women-led coalition of freedom fighters strikes back against the Mounted Police as they investigate the boys’ disappearance and take their futures into their own hands. But violence continues to haunt Niko, and boys continue to disappear. As he leaves his boyhood behind and draws closer to finding Cousin, Niko’s investigation points to a harrowing revelation about his own heritage, which heels closer to violence that any boy would wish to know.

Written with the pace and punch of The Thousand Crimes of Ming Tsu and the inventiveness of The Only Good Indians, Treat Them as Buffalo delivers a gripping portrait of a young man coming of age before his time. Debut author Blair Palmer Yoxall bursts on the scene with the verve, cleverness, and heart of a much more seasoned writer."

One Leg On Earth by 'Pemi Aguda
Publication: May 5th, 2026
W.W. Norton & Company
Hardcover. 240 pages.
Pre-order: Bookshop.org | Amazon

From Goodreads:
"From the author of the National Book Award finalist Ghostroots, a debut novel that thrills with its eerie mix of folklore and history.

The lonely daughter of a distant mother, Yosoye arrives in Lagos ready to change her life. Weeks after she begins an internship at a fancy architectural firm, she discovers she is pregnant. Yosoye is joyful—a new life brings the hope of connection and companionship.

But an inexplicable force is haunting the pregnant women of Lagos. As construction speeds ahead on the firm’s glossy new development on land reclaimed from the ocean, stories of the uncanny deaths in the city’s open waters reach a fever pitch. Yosoye finds herself stalked by a presence she can neither ignore nor appease—without risking her unborn baby and her precarious hopes for the future.

In One Leg on Earth, ‘Pemi Aguda turns the question of who belongs in a city into an arresting exploration of what it means to be a mother in an unforgiving world, and a haunting vision of the dark side of progress."

Anticipated April 2026 Releases

  

April is right around the corner, and of course that means more new books! I'm extremely excited many of these and am currently reading/have read a few on this already (hooray for getting to ARCs on time--sometimes it really happens, haha) and it is shaping up to be a great month. Which April releases are you most excited for!? Let me know! I also have a very strong feeling that I've somehow left out a lot of great April releases from this list, so please do let me know also if I've forgotten any that you are most excited for. 
Happy reading, everyone!

The Caretaker by Marcus Kliewer || 21st -- Amazon | Bookshop.org

Japanese Gothic by Kylie Lee Baker || 14th -- Amazon | Bookshop.org

The Subtle Art of Folding Space by John Chiu || April  7th -- Amazon | Bookshop.org

The Infinite Sadness of Small Appliances by Glenn Dixon || April  7th -- Amazon | Bookshop.org

Wolvers by Taylor Brown || April  7th -- Amazon | Bookshop.org

Morsel by Carter Keane || April 14th -- Amazon | Bookshop.org

An Arcane Study of Stars by Sydney J. Shields || April 28th -- Amazon | Bookshop.org

Odessa by Gabrielle Sher || April 21st -- Amazon | Bookshop.org

If We Cannot Go at the Speed of Light by Kim Cho-yeop || April 28th -- Amazon | Bookshop.org

The Witch by Marie Ndiaye || 7th -- Amazon | Bookshop.org

Molka by Monika Kim || April 30th -- Amazon | Bookshop.org

The Photonic Effect by Mike Chen || April 21st -- Amazon | Bookshop.org

The Labyrinth of Waking Dreams by Michelle Kulwicki || April 21st -- Amazon | Bookshop.org

Honey in the Wound by Jiyoung Han || April 7th -- Amazon | Bookshop.org

The Verdant Cage by Jess Lourey || April 7th -- Amazon | Bookshop.org

Year of the Mer by L.D. Lewis || April  7th -- Amazon | Bookshop.org

The Witch and the Huntress by Luna McNamara || April 21st -- Amazon | Bookshop.org

We Call Them Witches by India-Rose Bower || April 7th -- Amazon | Bookshop.org

The Tricky Business of Faerie Bargains by Reena McCarty || 7th -- Amazon | Bookshop.org

We Burned So Bright by TJ Klune || April 28th -- Amazon | Bookshop.org

The Penguin Book of International Short Story by Rabih Alameddine || April 7th -- Amazon | Bookshop.org

The Ending Writes Itself by Evelyn Clarke || April  7th -- Amazon | Bookshop.org

Those Who Are About To Die: A Day in the Life of a Roman Gladiator by Harry Sidebottom || April 14th -- Bookshop.org

Stealing America: The Untold Story of Indigenous Slavery in American History by Linford D. Fisher || April 28th -- Amazon | Bookshop.org

Small Boat by Vincent Delecroix || April  21st -- Amazon | Bookshop.org

Hexes of the Deadwood by Agnieszka Szpila || April  7th -- Bookshop.org

Go Gentle by Maria Semple || April  14th -- Amazon | Bookshop.org

Last Night in Brooklyn by Xochitl Gonzalez || 21st -- Amazon | Bookshop.org

The Neverending Book by Naoki Matayoshi, Shinsuke Yoshitake || April 21st -- Amazon | Bookshop.org

What are your anticipated April releases?

Can't-Wait Wednesday: Molka by Monika Kim, Wolvers by Taylor Brown, & We Call Them Witches by India-Rose Bower

     

 Can't-Wait is a weekly meme hosted by Wishful Endings that spotlights exciting upcoming releases that we can't wait to be released

Molka by Monika Kim
Publication: April 28th, 2026
Erewhon Books
Hardcover. 304 pages.
Pre-order: Bookshop.org | Amazon

From Goodreads:
"molka (n): the Korean term for spy cameras secretly and illegally installed, often to capture voyeuristic images and videos

Dahye can't believe her luck when she finds herself in a whirlwind romance with handsome, charismatic Hyukjoon, the heir to a multi-million dollar fortune.

But then a shocking revelation threatens: the couple has been caught on a spycam amid Korea's growing molka epidemic, and the video is all over the internet. When Hyukjoon flees the country to avoid the intense public scrutiny, Dahye is left to grapple with the ramifications on her own; and the demons from her childhood, long dormant, begin to surface.

Amid the chaos, she catches the attention of Junyoung, a nerdy, introverted IT tech at work. Junyoung harbours a dark secret: he has been spying on the women at work with his own hidden cameras. As Dahye's life begins to unravel, she unknowingly becomes the sole target of Junyoung's perverse obsession.

When the facts surrounding the invasion of her privacy come to light, Dahye is faced with the humiliating truth. Her pain and hurt turn to rage as she faces her past. Her desire for vengeance is insatiable, and she will not rest until the men who have wronged her have paid in blood..."

Wolvers by Taylor Brown

Publication: April 7th, 2026

St. Martin's Press

Hardcover. 320 pages.

Pre-order: Bookshop.org | Amazon

From Goodreads:

"From the Southern Book Prize winning author of Rednecks: a thrilling novel of pursuit, survival, and redemption between two species in the American Southwest

Broke, dispossessed, and angry at the government after losing his family’s New Mexico ranch, Trace Temple is looking for revenge. He’s living out of his truck when a shadowy militia movement hires him to take down the legendary she-wolf of the Dark Canyon pack, One-Eleven. But One-Eleven is no ordinary wolf. Cunning, fiercely protective of her young, and seasoned in the ways of men, she leads her pack deep into the forbidding desert peaks and canyons, always one step ahead of pursuit.

After a harrowing brush with death in the backcountry, Trace has a change of heart—only to be replaced by a professional hunter and assassin named Murdoch, who ruthlessly pursues his animal quarry while stalking Trace himself.

To survive, Trace must join forces with a pair of unlikely a survivalist animal protector who deploys feral senses and deep wilderness skills to protect the wolves, and Imogen Cruz, a local rancher, childhood friend, and unrequited love of Trace’s early years. Together, they must fight to protect not only themselves and the Dark Canyon pack, but ultimately, the Gila Wilderness itself—the world’s first designated wilderness area.

In Wolvers, award-winning author Taylor Brown presents a suspenseful, thrillingly-written tale set at the burning edge of today’s Southwest, where once-extinct wolves have returned, the land is tinder-dry and fragile, and desperate men seek to reclaim what they believe is theirs to rule."

We Call Them Witches by India-Rose Bower
Publication: April 7th, 2026
Poisoned Pen Press
Paperback. 320 pages.
Pre-order: Bookshop.org | Amazon

From Goodreads:
"'Most people have been devoured by the eldritch creatures, but Sara and her family have been fighting for survival, armed with their knowledge of folklore and pagan rituals - the only weapon that seems to work against these monsters.

And then a young woman, Parsley, comes out of nowhere into Sara's life. Found in their garden, they have no idea where she is from.

Sara and Parsley begin to fall in love, but disaster strikes when Sara’s brother Noah is taken by the creatures.

They set out to find him, across a landscape of merciless terror, haunted by death.

But can Parsley truly be trusted in a world where humanity is as scarse as humans themselves?"
Note: I adore the UK cover, so I've featureed the UK cover here, but the information on this post is for the US release date, and the US cover can be found here (it's also lovely!).