Review: Out of Body: Stories by Chris Vanjonack

Out of Body: Stories by Chris Vanjonack
Publication Date: September 22nd, 2026
William Morrow
320 pages. Hardcover.

About Out of Body: Stories:

"A wildly inventive collection of interconnected speculative stories—spanning the multiverse, demonic attachment, and life after death—from an electrifying new voice in fiction.

An aimless ghost haunts his ex-girlfriend for evidence that she’s actually upset about his death.

A group of teens discovers a machine that purports to predict the best day of its users’ lives.

A young woman is horrified to discover that an aggressive stranger she met on a night of bar-hopping now manifests in every photo that is taken of her.

A drunken posse descends into the woods in search of clowns that have been terrorizing their small town.

Chris Vanjonack’s fiction is haunted not only by specters of death, but by the elusive questions of life, and above all, the wonder and horror of the infinite. Uncanny, surreal, and infectiously clever, the stories in this linked collection contain horrors great and small, fueled as much by the fantastic as by longing, dread, and all-too-human frailties.

Morbidly funny and brilliantly observed, Out of Body is an atmospheric, dead original feast for the senses."

This was a very peculiar collection of stories that I think will be quite hit or miss for most people. This collection is speculative fiction with a mix of horror and absurdity with a touch of humor. These are all stories that play with a variety of ideas from big to small, and just about all of them are extremely open-ended, with some being almost excessively vague. I am still unsure how I feel about this collection overall, but I think it was a really unique reading experience overall. I would start a story feeling very unsure that I'd find myself engaged, but after a couple pages I'd find myself feeling more and more curious about where the story would go--and it really varied where these stories went. I wasn't hooked on the first two stories and was unsure if I wanted to keep reading, but after those two they picked up a lot more and I ended up reading the entire collection.

A few stories that stood out to me were:

"Open Spaces": This was definitely a bit of an odd one about a couple that basically gets together during COVID and travels around to National Parks and locations known to be haunted in order to... well, engage in a variety of sexual acts. This shared interested is explored quite extensively by this couple, and it was interesting to see how the author played with different people's reactions to the restrictions of that time period and how levels of excitement over things evolve over time. This wasn't my favorite, but I found it pretty thought-provoking, even though it still feels weird to read about the pandemic in fiction.

"What We Look Like Together": This was one of my favorite stories because of how truly unsettling it was. I am really unsure how much I should share about it, but it's essentially about a woman whose photos are continuously haunted by a random stranger she once ran into... and that's all I'll say. This one was eerie and disturbing with bits of humor and almost a mundanity at times to it that somehow mixed together in a way that worked really well. It's definitely going to stick with me... especially when I'm looking at pictures of myself.

"Phases": This story focused on a character who is currently experiencing the afterlife in which he is a ghost wandering around the world. I enjoyed exploring this version of ghost life and the interactions with other ghosts, including some he's slightly closer to and those he's not. I thought this one was a little longer than it needed to be, but it had some interesting explorations of grief, the idea of moving on, and more ideas that I found intriguing.

"There's Clowns in the Woods": This was my other favorite story in the collection because it was just odd and so deeply unsettling and, frankly, quite terrifying in its own ways. I don't even know what to say about this one, but basically just recall that random time in 2016 when people claimed to see clown sightings in the woods and imagine a story written around that... but it's not at all what you're expecting. This is one of those stories that's just so weird but is still floating around in my head at odd hours and was very much worth the read.

Overall, I would recommend this collection to those who enjoy speculative fiction and thought-provoking ideas and don't mind stories that leave you without any answers. 

Buy the book: Amazon | Bookshop.org

Can't-Wait Wednesday: Off the Reservation by Stephen Graham Jones & What Feeds Below by Tatiana Schlote-Bonne

     

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

Off the Reservation (The Only Good Indians #2) by Stephen Graham Jones

Publication: October 13th, 2026

S&S/Saga Press

Hardcover. 416 pages.

Pre-order: Bookshop.org | Amazon

From Goodreads:

"A ragtag group of activists sets out to repatriate the bones of a Blackfeet boy taken to the infamous Carlisle Indian Industrial School in author Stephen Graham Jones’s return to the Blackfeet reservation of his award-winning New York Times bestsellers The Only Good Indians and The Buffalo Hunter Hunter.  

Five years have passed since the massacre on the Blackfeet reservation in Stephen Graham Jones’s breakout bestseller The Only Good Indians. Nathan Yellow Tail, one of the survivors of the revenge murders, finds himself in the hospital after a terrible accident that should’ve killed him and that nearly killed his best friend, Sebby, who is hanging on to life in a room a few doors down.  

Nate’s life is out of balance, so when he is given the chance to reset his life, and maybe save Sebby in the process, Nate steps up, again. This time it’s into a camper van that is almost as run down as his broken body, filled with three older Blackfeet, to find the bones of the lone Blackfeet boy who died at the Carlisle Indian Industrial School—where many Indigenous children were abused—and repatriate this boy home. The problem is, when they get the bones, something terrible has escaped with them.  

By turns terrifying and deeply moving, Off the Reservation is a haunting American Indian novel of survival, reckoning, and redemption, shining light on the dark corners of this country’s history while also showing the desperate choices people make when they’re put up against a wall."

Given the fact that The Only Good Indians is one of my favorite books and Stephen Graham Jones is a favorite author, to say that I am excited for Off the Reservation is a bit of an understatement! 

What Feeds Below by Tatiana Schlote-Bonne

Publication: October 6th, 2026

Bindery Books

Paperback. 266 pages.

Pre-order: Bookshop.org | Amazon

From Goodreads:

"The darkness isn’t empty. It’s hungry.   At the edge of the City of the Void, a massive chasm extends miles into the earth, its treacherous terrain overrun with vicious monsters and carnivorous plants. For orphaned best friends Petra and Jade, guiding treasure-seeking tourists down into the Void is the only way to earn enough to pull themselves up out of the slums for good.   

Petra prefers to play it safe and take jobs only in the Void’s upper levels, where the dangers are better understood, while Jade wants to risk a descent to the deepest and most mysterious Sixth Layer. Because the deeper they go, the better the payout, and the sooner their dreams can become reality. Their friendship is Petra’s whole world, and Jade’s approval means everything—so Petra agrees to do it Jade’s way.   

When their job goes wrong and Jade is lost in the Void, Petra must plunge deeper than she’s ever dared to save her friend. But she doesn’t know the truth of the Void . . . or what really waits for her in its depths.

STARRED KIRKUS REVIEW: 'Lush and innovative worldbuilding, gruesome body horror . . . A nail-biting tale set in a beautifully rendered world of darkness and danger'"

I'm reading an ARC of this right now and I'm really liking it--the world-building is so cool and super creepy and I'm having a great time. Can't wait to see how it ends and for it to be released into the wild!

Review: The Chinese Lady by Bo Wang

The Chinese Lady by Bo Wang
Publication Date: September 8th, 2026
HarperVia
384 pages. Hardcover.

About The Chinese Lady:

"As rich in detail and emotion as Amy Tan's The Joy Luck Club and Lisa See's Lady Tan’s Circle of Women, but with an exciting structure that reinvents the genre, Bo Wang’s gorgeous and immersive debut historical novel immortalizes the life of the first Chinese woman to be brought to the United States in the 1800s.

Little Sparrow, Julia, Afong Moy, Madame Moy, The Chinese Lady, were her many names . . . but her true name has been lost to time.

In 1834 Afong Moy was brought to New York by two merchants as a live exhibit. Rising to fame as the first Chinese female in the United States, she became an oddity among curios as Americans marveled at the opportunity to observe her astonishing little feet, broken and bound to resemble lotuses.

As the story moves from 1820s Canton to P.T. Barnum’s American Museum, to Gold Rush San Francisco, three women introduce us to her many names. Her mother calls her Little Sparrow and sells her to a captain who sails her to New York. The captain’s wife names her Julia and “graciously” treats her as her own. And when she is shunted off to P.T Barnum, her fellow human exhibitions call her China. Eventually arriving in San Francisco's Chinatown, she will at long last claim her name and her own story.

Combining archival research and brilliantly imaginative storytelling, Bo Wang masterfully fills in history’s gaps to weave a powerful narrative of survival in the face of hardship, tragedy, and betrayal. Told through the eyes of those around her; mirroring her life as an object on display, until we finally see the world through her own eyes."

The Chinese Lady is a historical fiction novel that tells of the story of Afong Moy, reported to be the first Chinese women to immigrate to the United States. This book tells her story from her childhood in China through her journey to America, where she is essentially treated and repeatedly exhibited as a sort of "exotic" curiosity to Americans throughout many stages of her life. As a result, we as readers are able to follow along her journey through the eyes of many people around her, which allows for a very unique look at observing Moy's experiences of being consistently objectified and displayed for Western audiences.

I think since this story is about Afong Moy, I expected the majority of it to follow her perspective, but instead we follow the perspectives of a couple different characters whose lives interweave with Moy's at various points of her life. Based on where the synopsis says this story its told "with an exciting structure that reinvents the genre," I think this is likely the structure that is meant, as we largely follow Afong's story via these other people. I do appreciate this approach in some capacity, as I think it does allow for some interesting contemplation around how others may have perceived her at the time, and we are able to then compare that to what we know of her childhood and experience up to that point. And what I actually dop really like about this structure is how it allows us to also view Moy slightly removed in a sense that heavily displays her lack of agency of how she is treated in the United States, which mirrors her lack of agency in telling her own story throughout this book, which I found very effectively done.

As much as I appreciate this structure, I did still end up often findings myself wanting a bit more from Moy herself rather than just seeing her actions through the eyes of others. Perhaps if there had been a bit more of her POV interspersed, even just brief vignettes of chapters here and there, it might've helped with that feeling of not really getting to know Moy as much as I'd prefer, but I understand the author's choices around this all the same and I do think that the way the story was structured did still lead to an intriguing story experience.

Despite some of my complaints about the structure, however, I actually found that there were a lot of strengths to it. I think by seeing how those around Moy viewed her and treated her, we as readers were able to learn and experience so much about how she was viewed from a societal standpoint in the United States. We follow Moy's experiences as a child in China with her mother, Pearl; with Margaret, a white woman from America who I would say falls into more of the "white savior" idea; Joyce, a Black woman who is a part of the P.T. Barnum circus where Moy (referred to as "China" by those at the circus) ends up; and lastly, we get to follow Moy herself for the final conclusion. Being able to see how not only Moy was treated by so many different types of people, but also seeing how the characters whose perspectives we followed were also treated added so much depth to this story in a way that I found really fascinating and compelling. This book really delves into everything from racism, sexism and the patriarchy, classism, colonialism, idea around "Othering" that span from race to deformities and more, and so many more themes are deftly explored through these many disparate experiences, and I do applaud the author for managing to do so in a coherent way throughout this story.

Overall, if you are at all interested in historical fiction, then I would encourage you to check out The Chinese Lady. I don't think it's going to be for everyone based upon the structure, as I know many people will prefer to follow purely from Moy's perspective, but I still think it's very much worth the read, even if only to spark your curiosity enough to look up more about Afong Moy and early Chinese immigration and experiences int he United States--or even more about the history of P.T. Barnum's circus. Bo Wang has undertaken a difficult task and created a very intriguing story that definitely leaves me curious to hopefully read more from them in the future. 

*I received a copy of The Chinese Lady courtesy of the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This has no effect on my rating or enjoyment.*

Buy the book: Amazon | Bookshop.org

Review: The Sixth Nik by Daniel Kraus

The Sixth Nik by Daniel Kraus
S&S/Saga Press
Publication Date: June 23rd, 2026
Hardcover. 464 pages.

About The Sixth Nik:

"Perfectly aligned for readers of Iain M. Banks’s The Culture series and Ursula K. Le Guin’s “The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas”, The Sixth Nik is a galaxy spanning adventure from the New York Times bestselling and Pulitzer Prize–winning author of Angel Down and Whalefall.

Deep into space, far past the triworld outposts, beyond range of the lethal trollbot internet, soars The Sickness: a ship woven from biomatter and capable of reacting to every need of its human crew. Sisilla, a nine-year-old cultist with a brain enhanced by arcane tech known as “niks,” has boarded to investigate the enigma of Fém—a plague-riddled planet that has abruptly gone rogue.

The mysterious crew includes a faceless assassin, a beautiful engineer jigsawed by plastic surgery, a peyote-addicted medic, and—most lethal of all—a rugged, NonModded captain with a score to settle with Sisilla. Other dangers abound. A hacked robot begins to believe Sisilla is its daughter. The Sickness itself is mutating, possibly even pregnant. And the secret of Fém is more horrific than anyone could have imagined. To survive, Sisilla will need to forsake her predetermined fate and embrace the unknown."

The Sixth Nik is a book that feels extremely hard to summarize in any cohesive and coherent manner, but I'll do my best to give a general gist of what to expect and what I thought about this bizarre and incredibly thought-provoking and compelling story.

In The Sixth Nik, we follow Sisilla, a nine-year old child of the Niffakoq, which is essentially a cult where the female children are typically sent off to embark upon a "Chore" before they reach the end of their life (aka sacrifice themselves) around age 12. Sisilla is at the age where she is sent off to complete her Chore, which in this case involves embarking upon a ship called The Sickness with a crew of unique and carefully picked individuals that must now all work together on this journey. The Sickness itself is possibly the weirdest spaceship I've ever envisioned: it is essentially made of live tissues and organic matter, essentially as if it is alive and growing, and most importantly, it can constantly mold and adapt to whatever its crew members seem to need for their journey's success. And if that's not weird enough, the crew are on their way to try to figure out what has happened to a group of people on the far-off planet of Fem--people who were initially relocated to the planet in order to experiment with eradicating a horrible plague that they contracted while on Earth. It sounds like a lot, and it is a little bit, but it's terribly fascinating and I was pretty hooked on this story. 

The Sixth Nik had a slightly slower start for me before I really became fully invested in the story. I think this will vary depending on what you like in books, but I found it struggled to initially get off the ground and move away from language that felt like I, as the reader, was being held at a distance from the story. But once I felt a bit more grounded in the world, understood Sisilla and her world (or attempted to), and better understood where the plot was going, I was pretty hooked from then on. The pacing I'd say is fairly steady from that point. It's generally a slower pace, but there are some more intense moments and occasional jumps that created a feeling of meaningful movement in the plot that kept things moving.

I really liked meeting the eclectic cast of characters selected to be a part of the crew of The Sickness. Sisilla, for one, is a fascinating character to follow given her background, and it was especially interesting to see her learn more about other people and learn how to socially orient herself in different situations. I also loved Jayne and would've loved if she had even more page time than she does because her words and discussions were always so intriguing and thought-provoking. I also have quite a soft spot for Feng, who I think brought some much needed levity to the story at times, as did Murder 05 in their own unique way. And of course there's Captain Arzan, who was possibly more of an enigma than Murder 05 and whose story I very much enjoyed unraveling along with Sisilla.

I'm not sure if I've mentioned yet how much body horror there is in this book and how truly disturbing some of the imagery developed in this book was. There were some things that were just plain gross, but it all fit really well into what felt like an overwhelming theme around bodies, autonomy, what makes someone human, what makes some "worthy," etc., and it just all felt very purposeful and masterfully woven together. There were definitely some scenes that made my skin crawl a bit, and I truly hated almost every description of the ship that appeared--I am so serious when I say I hate the sound of that ship so much because it disturbs me to no end. Kraus also does some super f*cking weird things with that ship that I couldn't even begin to describe, but I also can't help but be impressed by the sheer creativity. There are also plenty of other moments and ideas that will also leave you wondering if Daniel Kraus is okay (and somehow the plague of Wolosis doesn't even reach the top five of disturbing things).

The main drawback I'll note is that there are a lot of moments that feels very much like info-dumping and are full of technical talk or terms (sometimes made up and unique to the world, sometimes not) that made it extremely difficult to maintain my attention. There are times when I'm pretty sure this was intentional and meant to reflect some things about our characters, but other times I could've perhaps used a bit less. But there's a part of me that also thinks all of it is necessary to the story because it really helped convey just how detailed and in-depth Kraus has gone into crafting this world and story, and I always really like and appreciate that level of detail. It's also still endlessly fascinating no matter how its presented, and I felt like so many aspects of how things worked, such as The Sickness, for example, were still so interesting to learn about, even if it wasn't always in the most entertaining way

Overall, The Sixth Nik is a weird, disturbing, thought-provoking, and endlessly intriguing science fiction/body horror story that is absolutely worth the read if you don't mind some pretty intense (meaning: gross, emotionally affecting) imagery. I absolutely recommend it if it sounds like something you might like!

*I received a copy of The Sixth Nik courtesy of the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This has no effect on my rating or enjoyment.*

Buy the book: Amazon | Bookshop.org

Can't-Wait Wednesday: Public Access Afterworld by Jane Schoenbrun & Mystery Play by Elizabeth Kostova

    

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

Public Access Afterworld by Jane Schoenbrun

Publication: October 27th, 2026

Hogarth

Hardcover. 608 pages.

Pre-order: Bookshop.org | Amazon

From Goodreads:

"A mysterious realm on the other side of our screens. A dark force that draws victims into its static. The unlikely hero called to save them and herself from this electric hell. Public Access Afterworld is the profound, binge-all-night, headrush of a novel by the celebrated filmmaker of I Saw the TV Glow and Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma   

 Find the receiver. Make it real.  

At 5:35 p.m. on September 3, 1988, Dallas weatherman Ray “Can You Say Sunshine” Davino makes passing reference to Public Access Afterworld during a rambling monologue, right before he puts a gun to his head on live television and pulls the trigger.  

On June 12, 2009, David Sawyer and Erin Morrison, two lonely, TV-obsessed suburban teens who might be falling in love, gather in Erin's basement to watch TV's analog-to-digital transition. But in the static that follows, Erin witnesses surreal broadcasts from a pirate TV network called Public Access Afterworld, and their lives are changed forever.  

Seventeen years later, Bethany Peters toils through the night shift at megacorp GlobalVill’s bleak Austin campus. A trans content moderator, she spends her evenings reviewing an endless stream of horrific videos. But then a young streamer begins to crop up in her feed calling out to Public Access Afterworld.  

But what is Public Access Afterworld?  

Spanning decades and realities, with an unforgettable ensemble of outcasts and nerds—especially the messy but wholly relatable Bethany, who must overcome paranoia and self-doubt to transform into a hero of our times—Public Access Afterworld will have you reading through the night and rooting for its characters to survive. A mesmerizing mash-up of speculative fiction, horror, and conspiracy, it marks the arrival of a major new force in contemporary fiction by a groundbreaking filmmaker who’s been compared to David Lynch and Paul Thomas Anderson.

“Beautiful, funny, and scathing . . . I stayed up all night binge-reading.”—SenLinYu 

“Gave me a vertiginous thrill I haven’t encountered since David Mitchell.”—Torrey Peters 

“Psychedelic horror of the first order.”—Grady Hendrix 

“Heart-wrenching, hilarious, visionary, and so damned smart, this novel is a major work by a major writer.”—Paul Tremblay 

“Utterly hypnotic.”—Lev Grossman 

“Dazzling and politically acute, Schoenbrun’s debut announces a major literary voice.”—Kirkus Reviews (starred review) 

“A dazzling story . . . a great American novel.”—Publishers Weekly (starred review)"

This book has been absolutely calling out to me and I cannot wait to dive into it! It has so many aspects that are right up my alley and I really have high hopes for this one.

Mystery Play by Elizabeth Kostova

Publication: October 13th, 2026

Ballantine Books

Hardcover. 592 pages.

Pre-order: Bookshop.org | Amazon

From Goodreads:

"The last living member of a family of historians who has been hunted by dark forces associated with Dracula finds himself in peril at the hands of a new threat in this thrilling novel from the #1 bestselling author of The Historian.  

After his beloved mother passes away suddenly, Jay Turner finds himself at a crossroads. She was always secretive, and when he returns to their Boston home to clear out her possessions, he finds an unusual item: a partially burned scrap of newspaper bearing the name “Gael Brogan.” Soon after, a deliveryman leaves behind a package containing a small antique volume bound in leather—and two bloody footprints.  

The sight of the volume is chilling. As a young scholar, his mother had been given the medieval book—one of a set commissioned by Vlad Țepeș, otherwise known as Dracula, just before his death in 1477. She'd always warned Jay of the dangers associated with it, and had donated it to a museum before she died . . . yet here it is, back in his possession.  

Jay sets out to learn more about Gael Brogan, a prominent nineteenth-century actor whose last and most famous role was based on Bram Stoker’s Dracula. As Jay begins to dig deeper—with the help of a mysterious woman named Rhiannon—he uncovers the frightening story of a young actress who fell under Brogan's sway long ago. Before long, Jay and Rhiannon realize that something similarly implacable is pursuing them.  

In this epic and riveting tale, Elizabeth Kostova takes us deep into the Gilded Age of the theater and across the Atlantic in pursuit of an ancient evil and its dramatic followers.”

I've been a fan of Elizabeth Kostova's writing since I read The Historian close to two decades ago (that feels insane to type!), so I'm always curious to see what intricate new work she has coming out next.

Month in Review: August 2026

I have no idea where August went. It was a very up and down month, but I, like many of you, am looking forward to the fall season, so hopefully we all get to enjoy these upcoming months. :) 

In personal news, August has been pretty busy and it absolutely flew by! This past weekend was especially a blur because from Friday evening through Tuesday afternoon our AC decided to call it quits (during a heatwave, when everyone else's AC has gone out, of course!) and my life was pretty much taken over by trying to figure out how to keep our house cool, haha--it got to be 95 degrees(!) in my house on Saturday but Sunday we were able to get our hands on a portable AC. Although Sunday still got quite warm as the last day in the heatwave, everything became much more manageable after that. It's not an experience I recommend! Outside of that delightful end to the month, I think August mainly consisted of work, continuing to work on crafting a performance routine for aerial (it's been quite a challenge with lots of ups and downs), and some reading (though never as much as I'd like!). I also went to a really fun charity circus show that some of my friends performed in, which was a blast, and I got to go see one of my favorite bands, Driveways, for the first time, which was also an incredible night. All in all, I think August was pretty okay, all things considered.

In reading news, I read some really great books in August! I really enjoyed The Dungeon Book and The Infinite State in particular, and I was really excited to finally finish up The Cure for Living. Although I had mild disappointment that I didn't like Blacktail more, I don't think I really disliked any of the books I read in August, so I always take that as a win.

How was your August and what books have you been reading? Any reading-related goals?  Let me know how your month was below and what you've been reading!

   

# books read: 10

Blacktail by Scott Hawkins

Source: NetGalley | Format: eARC
Thoughts: I was a bit bummed to not enjoy this quite as much as I'd hoped to, but I still very much appreciate the story Hawkins told and his creative mind. My review for this is already up, so feel free to take a look if you're curious about my thoughts in more detail. I also want to make a quick note here that there is quite a bit of animal violence (as one might expect, given the premise), so just keep that in mind you're sensitive to that like I am before diving in.

The Dungeon Book by Gareth Hanrahan

Source: Publisher | Format: Physical ARC
Thoughts: I loved this! Hanrahan continues to impress me with his imaginative stories and world-building and I really enjoyed getting to know Bait and Cornelius in this one. Highly recommend for all fantasy lovers! 

The Infinite State (The Decurion Saga #1) by Richard Swan

Source: Publisher | Format: Physical ARC
Thoughts: This was a fantastic start to a new sci-fi series from Richard Swan, and I'm so curious to see where he takes this story and how he'll continue to expand the world.

Reliquary by Hannah Whitten

Source: Publisher | Format: Physical ARC
Thoughts: This was a pretty fun horror that incorporated some monstrous deities, isolated islands, claustrophobic places (like submarines!), and families that seem to be hiding things...

Automatic Noodle by Annalee Newitz

Source: Library | Format: Ebook
Thoughts: This is a short sci-fi that I'd had my eye on for a while, and I've seen it described as cozy sci-fi, which I'd generally agree with. I didn't connect with it quite as much as I'd hoped, but I still enjoyed the story Newitz told and the world-building elements included.

Cicero's Tongue: The Life of Rome's Greatest Orator and the End of the Republic by Catharine Edwards

Source: NetGalley | Format: eARC
Thoughts: A new book about Cicero? Sure, why not! I think this was a very accessible and well-researched look at Cicero. I really appreciated how much detail and time Edwards gave to contextual history/background as well that helped ground and situate the reader to better understand everything. This one will be out 9/15!

The Cure for Living - Part One & Part Two by Nicola Lietzau

Source: Author | Format: Hardcover
Thoughts: I was so excited to finally read a sequel to Dreams of the Dying, which I read so many years ago, and this did not disappoint!

Creativity, Inc.: Overcoming the Unseen Forces that Stand in the Way of True Inspiration by Ed Catmull

Source: Library | Format: Audiobook
Thoughts: This was so familiar that I'm not entirely sure I haven't already read this one at some point, but regardless I really appreciated this book and thought Catmull provided some really great reflection and thoughtful ideas to consider. (I will say that my first thought at seeing "Catmull" was "ah yes... the bane of my existence when trying to subdivide my poorly made beginner meshes on Maya..."

The Safekeep by Yael van der Wouden

Source: Library | Format: Audiobook
Thoughts: This has a really strong start and I thought it would go somewhere very interesting... but unfortunately, it didn't quite live up to that and ended up just feeling more like a romance that didn't captivate me at all. Well-written, but not a standout for me and I lost interest.

Broken Dolls by Ally Malinenko

Source: Library | Format: Ebook
Thoughts: This was a really good middle grade horror that I think tackled grief, anxiety, OCD, and more in some incredibly thoughtful and effective ways. I definitely recommend this one!

The Infinite State by Richard Swan

A Plagued Sea by Kim Bo-Young

Reliquary by Hannah Whitten

The Cure for Living -Part One & Part Two by Nicolas Lietzau

Scion by James Islington

Blacktail by Scott Hawkins

 Posts:

Month in Review: July 2026

Anticipated September 2026 Releases

Blog Memes:

Can't-Wait Wednesday:

8/5: Blacktail by Scott Hawkins, Beyond the Graves Waits Mist and Sea by Kathleen Kaufman, & Fallow by Sarah Anderson

8/12: The Ship of Death by Kyle Winkler, The Paradox Club by Charlie Lovett, & The Cutting Garden by Darcy Van Poelgeest

8/19: The Nudge by Joseph Fink, Scion by James Islington, & Our Cut of Salt by Deena Helm

8/26: Rooted by Leopoldo Gout, The Pirate Queen by Ariel Lawhon, & American Hagwon by Min Jin Lee

Can't-Wait Wednesday: Solace House by Will Maclean & Quaint Folk by Bitter Karella

    

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

Solace House by Will Maclean

Publication: October 13th, 2026

Grove Press

Hardcover. 512 pages.

Pre-order: Bookshop.org | Amazon

From Goodreads:

"You are about to enter a place of strange genius, possible madness, and timeless love . . .  

“The Secret History meets The Haunting of Hill House . . . rich, thoughtful, terrifying.”—Nicholas Binge, author of Dissolution  

An addictive and brilliant puzzle box of a novel following a group of university students who discover an astonishing secret while clearing out a neglected Victorian mansion  

For Alex Lane’s wealthy university friends, the summer break stretches out before them, full of promise and fabulous plans. But for Alex, broke as usual, going home is not an option. So when the university offers him an unusual summer job clearing out a dilapidated Victorian mansion, Solace House, he jumps at the chance.  

Alex joins an unlikely crew of students, from stoner Clive to uptight, short-tempered Helen, and the extremely peculiar Adam. Alex is particularly drawn to mercurial, red-headed Ella, and as the students begin sorting through piles of old newspapers and magazines, dusty antiques, and esoteric junk, Alex and Ella become enthralled by the elaborate and eerie journals of the house’s former owner, Edwin Flayne. In these diaries, Flayne details his obsession with his missing mother and his belief in a mysterious realm lying parallel to ours, along with coded instructions on how it might be reached.  

As the students gradually uncover the house’s secrets, the rift between those who want to delve further and those who believe they’ve already gone too far grows ever wider."

I love this cover and I love this premise! I love a parallel realm, a mysterious house, and especially comps with The Secret History and The Haunting of Hill House, both of which are favorites of mine (I never except comps to be that accurate, but I'm still caught up in them!). I got approved for this one on NetGalley and I can't wait to read it!

Quaint Folk by Bitter Karella

Publication: October 6th, 2026

Run For It

Paperback. 352 pages.

Pre-order: Bookshop.org | Amazon

From Goodreads:

"The Wicker Man meets The Twisted Ones in Bitter Karella’s Quaint Folk—a queer folk horror novel that peels back the idyllic veneer of a seemingly perfect island town to reveal the rot beneath.   

From the outside, it looks like Jessica has the perfect life. She's a stay-at-home mom, married to a man with a respectable job, raising a son they adore. Her family is as wholesome as all-American pie. But deep down, Jessica knows there's something wrong with her; she knows she can't escape her past.   

When her husband’s job has them move abroad, Jessica thinks this is her chance for a fresh start. On the remote island of Hasenhurst, the modern world can’t get in. The people there grow their own herbs, make their own jam, and mind their own business. They believe in folk tales and the power of dreams. They tell visitors, we’re a quaint, quiet people. The right sort of family would do well here.  

Jessica is determined to be the right kind of person for a family—and a life—like this. But as she tries to befriend the townsfolk and learn their ways, she soon realizes that beneath the town’s cozy idyll, something sickly-sweet and rotten lays buried..."

I've just received an ARC of this and I am so excited to have a chance to check it out. I was a really big fan of Bitter Karella's Moonflow last year and I've been really excited to read more from them!