I am currently home sick, which is why this post is a little late.
January was a good month for me personally, although I could have done without the cold that caught me right at the end. I turned 40 (it still feels weird to say this), I’m keeping up with all my resolutions (so far), times can be stressful but overall, life is good. And I read some amazing books. 🙂
(Yes, I am totally ignoring world news because that would make this introduction a lot less positive and I want to focus on the good.)
Quickie News
- Hugo Award nominating will open in early February. Get your best of 2025 lists ready.
- The Locus Recommende Reading List 2025 is out! In case you need inspiration for those Hugo nominations or just want to find out which books you missed last year. There’s a lot of them.
- The Sword & Laser Podcast book club pick for this month is Someplace to be Flying by Charles de Lint.
TV & Movie Adaptation News
Here’s what’s coming out soon-ish that I am excited for. I know Wuthering Heights is not SFF, but my God, do I love that book and I enjoyed everything I’ve seen of this movie so far in trailers and clips and what have you.
- A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms (ongoing at HBO Max)
- Wuthering Heights (February 13th)
The Cosmere goes Apple TV
The biggest adaptaion news is, without a doubt, the huge deal struck between Brandon Sanderson and Apple. The TLDR is that the original Mistborn Trilogy will be adapted into three theatrical movies, followed by a TV series taking on The Stormlight Archive.
While this news in and of itself may be exciting enough, what makes it even more interesting is the level of control that Brandon Sanderson managed to keep. Not only is he going to write the screenplay for the first Mistborn movie himself, but he gets more control than even George R.R. Martin or J.K. Rowling did on the adaptations of their book series. He will write, produce, and consult, and most importantly, he will have approval.
This is huge news and it makes me happy for many, many reasons. First and foremost, I’ve been hoping to see the Cosmere on screen for a while now, but as most fans, I want to see it done right. I don’t want to have to be afraid that lower viewer numbers will mean early cancellation, I don’t want the screenwriters to veer off course too much (looking at you, Shadow and Bone!), and I don’t want the sets and costumes to look cheap (*cough* Rings of Power *cough*).
So Apple TV seems like a great fit. Not only do all their shows that I’ve watched feel like high quality TV, their effects, casting, and track record when it comes to continuing series is pretty great. With Sanderson himself having approval of his adaptations, I feel like I can lean back, wait for things to move, and look forward to seeing Vin, Kelsier, Kaladin, Shallan, and all the others on the screen.
Books From the Future (or: Feed Your Wishlist)
These make me so excited!!!
- Bodies of Magic by Freya Marske has a very cool cover and an even cooler sounding synopsis. Unfortunately, we’ll only get it in September 2026.
- A Parade of Horribles, the eighth Dungeon Crawler Carl book, delights once again with excellent cover art. I have my audiobook pre-ordered and it will be in my ears in May 2026.
- The Feywild Job by C. L. Polk almost slipped my notice, but this fantasy romance promises to be as fun as the author’s previous trilogy. Coming in June 2026.
Exciting February Publications
January was pretty quiet, but Februar is stepping up its game. The shortest month it may be, but it’s not holding back on intresting new publications.
PETRA LORD – QUEEN OF FACES (February 3rd)
This sounds a bit like everything and the kitchen sink, but in a way that really grabbed my attention. A ragtag band of criminals, body-hopping, a rebellion. I haven’t heard of this author before but I’m definitely looking forward to giving this book a try.
A desperate girl at a cutthroat magical academy faces a choice between life and become an assassin for the enchanted elite or watch her decaying body draw its last breath. For fans of Leigh Bardugo, Brandon Sanderson, Lev Grossman, and R.F. Kuang.
Anabelle Gage is trapped in a male body, and it’s rotting from the inside out. In Caimor, where the magical elite buy and swap designer bodies like clothes, Ana can’t afford to escape her tattered form. When she fails the entrance exam to the prestigious Paragon Academy, her last hope of earning a new body implodes. As the clock ticks down to her last breath, she’s forced to use her illusion magic to steal a healthy chassis—before her own kills her.
But Ana is caught by none other than the headmaster of Paragon Academy, who poses a brutal face execution for her crime or become a mercenary at his command. Revolt brews in Caimor’s smog-choked underworld, and the wealthy and powerful will stop at nothing to take down the rebels and the infamous dark witch at their helm, the Black Wraith.
With no choice but to accept, Ana will steal, fight, and kill her way to salvation. But her survival depends on a dangerous band of an impulsive assassin, a brooding bombmaker, and an alluring exile who might just spell her ruin. As Ana is drawn into a tangled web of secrets, the line between villain and hero shatters—and Ana must decide which side is worth dying for.
MOLLY O’NEILL – NIGHTSHADE AND OAK (February 3rd)
A goddess-turned-mortal and her traveling companion fall in love during a quest. It may not sound like much, but I like the idea, and I also still have Greenteeth by the same author on my TBR. So there’s something about her books that seems to call to me.
An Iron Age goddess must grapple with becoming human in this delightful historical fantasy of myth and magic from the author of the instant hit Greenteeth.
When Malt, the goddess of death, is accidentally turned human by a wayward spell, she finds she’s ill-equipped to deal with the trials of a mortal life. After all, why would a goddess need to know how to gather food or light a fire?
Unable to fend for herself, she teams up with warrior Bellis on a perilous journey to the afterlife to try to restore her powers. Frustrated by her frail human body and beset with blisters, Malt might not make the best travelling companion.
But as animosity slowly turns to attraction, these two very different women must learn to work together if they are to have any hope of surviving their quest.
JASMIN KIRKBRIDE – THE FOREST ON THE EDGE OF TIME (February 3rd)
The description may use different comparisons, but I’m getting major This is How You Lose the Time War vibes and I am here for it.
The Future of Another Timeline meets The Bone Clocks in this dazzling piece of time-travel climate fiction.
Recruited by the mysterious Project Kairos to change history and save the future from ecological disaster, Echo and Hazel are transported through time to opposite worlds. Echo works as a healer’s assistant in Ancient Athens, embroiled in dangerous politics and wild philosophy. Hazel is the last human alive, in a laboratory on a polluted island with nothing but tiny robots and an untrustworthy AI for company.
Both women suffer from amnesia but when they fall asleep, their consciousnesses transcend time and they meet in their dreams. Together, they start to uncover their past – but soon discover the past threatens humanity’s survival.
If Echo and Hazel have a chance of changing the future, they must remember to forget…
THE FOREST ON THE EDGE OF TIME is a novel about family and duty and the worlds we try to save along the way.
SHANNON J. SPANN – A STAGE SET FOR VILLAINS (February 20th)
This sounds like a mash-up of a lot of tropes I enjoy, and honestly, it could be brilliant or a total trash fire. But I’m very hopeful that I will end up loving it.
A STAGE SET FOR VILLAINS is a darkly seductive spectacle of ambition, deception, and deadly charm—perfect for fans of The Night Circus and One Dark Window.
Eighteen-year-old Riven Hesper is running out of time. Cursed by a Player—a godlike performer whose unnatural allure is as lethal as it is irresistible—she has one shot to infiltrate the Playhouse, the traveling theatre where Players reign supreme, and find a way to break the curse before it kills her.
But inside the Playhouse, survival comes at a steep price. Every season, mortals compete for a single, blood-soaked chance to kill a Player and steal their power. Riven wants nothing to do with the game…until Jude—charismatic, cruel, and captivating—makes her an offer she can’t refuse. Win the competition. Spare his life in the finale. And he’ll set her free.
Navigating the Playhouse means mastering illusions, surviving betrayals, and keeping pace with performers who shift identities as easily as costumes. But the deeper Riven digs, the more she this isn’t just a game. The Players are hiding something. And the Playhouse doesn’t want her cursed—it wants her dead.
As the final act approaches, Riven faces a devastating truth. She might not be the hero of this story. She might be the villain.
A STAGE SET FOR VILLAINS is a dazzling, high-stakes fantasy where power is stolen, roles are rewritten, and not everyone is meant to make it to the final bow.
MAKANA YAMOMOTO – THE OBAKE CODE (February 10th)
I haven’t read this author’s debut yet (see reading challenges 2026) but this sounds just as interesting and fun. I just can’t stay away from Ocean’s 11 style groups of competent criminals.
An all-new, stand-alone sci-fi caper from the author of Hammajang Luck: a bored hacker is forced by vicious gangsters to take down a crooked politician…only to find herself up against a code she might not be able to crack.
After the heist of a lifetime, Malia has it all: a loft apartment aboard the massive Kepler Station, expensive clothes, and a dev credit in her favorite video game. She’s also bored as hell. Three years after retiring her mantle as the Obake, the most infamous hacker in the quadrant—and arguably the galaxy—Malia hasn’t taken well to civilian life. So what’s the harm in rigging a few cybernetic prizefights and making a little cash on the side?
When Malia’s scheme is uncovered, she runs afoul of Jeongah Song—the dangerous leader of a local gang with a reputation for brutality. Malia is ready for retribution. But what she gets instead is an offer she can’t refuse: take down the local politician leading a “clean up the streets” campaign displacing residents and hindering Jeongah’s operations on the space station… or die. Without another way out, Malia takes the deal.
Luckily, she has some friends she can call on in times of need: a master thief, a street racing wheelman, and a femme fatale grifter. But as Malia digs deeper into the politician’s shady dealings, she finds herself embroiled in a conspiracy that might be too big for her to handle. One that has roots in her own rise as the Obake—a cybernetically enhanced superhacker created by a power-mad genius… a superhacker whose mods are rapidly degrading. Faced with threats on all sides, Malia may finally be in over her head…or stuck—forever—inside her own mind.
ANGELA SLATTER – A FOREST, DARKLY (February 10th)
It’s a new Angela Slatter dark fairy tale, everyone! That’s all. That’s my reason for needing this book.
A page-turning dark fantasy of witches, twisted magic, changelings and the sins that bind. Set in the award-winning author’s acclaimed universe, this immersive story is perfect for fans of Ava Reid, Hannah Whitten and Lucy Holland.
Deep in the forest lives Mehrab the witch, coping with loneliness in her own strange ways and quietly battling her demons. One evening, a young woman appears on her doorstep seeking shelter, pursued by godhounds who wish to destroy all those practising magic, and Mehrab’s solitary existence is disrupted as she teaches the girl how to control her powers. Together they forge a cure for their isolation with heartbreaking consequences…
Meanwhile, in the local village, children begin to disappear, sometimes returning forever changed – or not returning at all. Sinister offerings appear on Mehrab’s doorstep, and a dark power pursues her through the trees. As the villagers turn hostile and the godhounds close in, Mehrab finds herself at the centre of a struggle to save the soul of the forest, the life of an old love – and her own new-formed family.
A bewitching gothic tale; haunting, gripping and written with wit and heart, this is a book to both savour and devour.
MATT DINNIMAN – OPERATION BOUNCE HOUSE (February 10th)
This will be my first Matt Dinniman book that isn’t Dungeon Crawler Carl. But as it’s a standalone and sounds just as crazy and fun as Dinniman’s beloved series, I am quite excited to dive in and make the wait for the next DCC book a little more bearable.
A man must fight for his planet against impossible odds when gamers from Earth attempt to remotely annihilate it in this epic, fast-paced novel from the New York Times bestselling author of the smash-hit Dungeon Crawler Carl.
All colonist Oliver Lewis ever wanted to do is run the family ranch with his sister, maybe play a gig or two with his band, and keep his family’s aging fleet of intelligent agriculture bots ticking as long as possible. As a fan of Earth television and culture, he figures it will be a good thing when the transfer gate finally opens all the way and restores instant travel and full communication between Earth and his planet, New Sonora. But there’s a complication.
Even though the settlers were promised they’d be left in peace, Earth’s government now has other plans. The colossal Apex Corporation is hired to commence an “eviction action.” But maximizing profits will always be Apex’s number one priority. Why spend money printing and deploying their own AI soldiers when they can turn it into a game? Why not charge bored Earthers for the opportunity to design their own war machines and remotely pilot them from the comfort of their own homes?
The game is called Operation Bounce House.
Oliver and his friends soon find themselves fighting for their lives against machines piloted by gamers who’ve paid a premium for the privilege. With the help of an old book from his grandfather and a bucket of rusty parts, Oliver is determined to defend the only home he’s ever known.
HEATHER FAWCETT – AGNES AUBERT’S MYSTICAL CAT SHELTER (February 17th)
I swear I’ll read the third Emily Wilde book soon, but it doesn’t hurt to have the next cozy fantasy by this author waiting on the shelf, right?
A woman who runs a cat rescue in 1920s Montreal turns to a grouchy but charming wizard to help save the shelter in this heartwarming cozy fantasy from the New York Times bestselling author of the Emily Wilde series.
Agnes Aubert leads a meticulously organized life—and she likes it that way. As the proudly type-A manager of a much-needed cat rescue charity, she has devoted her life to finding forever homes for lost cats.
But after she is forced to move the cat shelter, Agnes learns that her new landlord is using her charity as a front—for an internationally renowned and thoroughly disreputable magic shop. Owned by the disorganized—not to mention self-absorbed, irritating, but also decidedly handsome—Havelock Renard, magician and failed Dark Lord, the shop draws magical clientele from around the world, partly due to the quality of Havelock’s illicit goods as well as their curiosity about his shadowy past and rumors of his incredible powers. Agnes’s charity offers the perfect cover for illegal magics.
Agnes couldn’t care less about the shop—magical intrigue or not, there are cats to be rescued. But when an enemy from Havelock’s past surfaces, the magic shop—and more importantly, the cat shelter—are suddenly in jeopardy. To save the shelter, will Agnes have to set aside her social conscience and protect the man who once tried to bring about the apocalypse—and is now trying to steal her heart?
NNEDI OKORAFOR – THE DAUGHTER WHO REMAINS (February 17th)
I am currently reading the ARC of this and I can highly recommend this entire novella trilogy. BUT! You kind of need to have read Who Fears Death if you want to read these without spoilers. And The Book of Phoenix also doesn’t hurt as backgrond info.
Set in the universe Africanfuturist luminary Nnedi Okorafor first introduced in the World Fantasy Award-winning Who Fears Death, The Daughter Who Remains is the breathtaking conclusion to the She Who Knows trilogy.
Featuring Najeeba, now older and wiser than readers have ever known her, this is a tale of family,courage, and healing.
SAARA EL-ARIFI – CLEOPATRA (February 24th)
I’m not sure how SFF this will be, but the author has written SFF before and the book sounds cool. Plus, it’s been ages since I’ve read anything to do with Cleopatra or Egyptian mythology or history. So it just feels like the right time.
Queen, Legend, Cleopatra tells her own story in this evocative and sensuous historical epic Cleopatra, from the bestselling and award-winning author of Faebound and The Final Strife .
YOU KNOW MY NAME.
BUT YOU DO NOT KNOW ME.
Your historians call me seductress, but I was always in love’s thrall.
Your playwrights speak of my witchcraft, but I was gifted my talents by the gods.
Your poets sing of my blood-lust, but I was protecting my children.
They cannot credit that a mere woman could be powerful, strategic, divinely blessed to rule.
Death will silence me no longer.
This is not the story of how I died. But how I lived.
CAMERON SULLIVAN – THE RED WINTER (February 24th)
One of my most highly anticipated books, for no other reason than that a handful of people I trust said it was great. Mostly Alix E. Harrow. But that’s all the recommendation I need.
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.
A. D. SUI – THE IRON GARDEN SUTRA (February 24th)
This sounds like the kind of sci-fi novel that will tick all of my boxes.
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 and 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 construct 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.
But the ship’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 construct may be their only hope for survival. . .
News from the blog
I’ll be honest and say that I wasn’t very focused on reading during January. I didn’t get to read nearly as many books as I would have liked, but I did other things insead, like running more, spending quality time with the family, I went to see Daniel Sloss with my sister (my cheeks still hurt from laughing), and, you know, just life stuff. But what few books I did read were all pretty great, with one of them even a new favorite.
What I read last month:
- Travis Baldree – Brigands & Breadknives (7/10)
- Margaret Owen – Painted Devils (7/10)
- Fonda Lee – Jade Legacy (9.5/10)
- Nnedi Okorafor – She Who Knows (7/10)
- Nnedi Okorafor – One Way Witch (7/10)
- K. J. Charles – The Secret Lives of Country Gentlemen (6/10)
I received an e-ARC of the third book in Nnedi Okorafor’s trilogy of novellas, so I felt compelled to pick up the previous two books and I ended up really enjoying them. I’ll post a review of the entire trilogy when I’m done with the third book, because they are the kind of books that you should read as a single story, even though it’s split into three parts.
Then I did some catching up on series, first by continuing the Little Thieves trilogy and then by finishing the Green Bone Saga. Jade Legacy absolutely devestated me. What a brilliant book and what a phenomenal ending to the trilogy…
Currently reading:
- Antonia Hodgson – The Raven Scholar
- Nnedi Okorafor – The Daughter Who Remains
The Raven Scholar was the book that I heard most good things about in 2025 and at about half of the way through, I can see why. It’s enormous fun, it has cool world building, and a cast of characters that I find as intriguing as they are mysterious. The fact that I’m enjoying my current Nnedi Okorafor book is kind of a given at this point.
Until next month: Stay safe, stay kind, and keep reading. ❤
SFF Book Reviews 