Release Week: 10 November 2026

Posted on 2026-11-10 at 12:00 by Samuel Montgomery-Blinn

PICKS:

• The Fist of Memory by Wole Talabi, read by Precious Mustapha and Michael Obiora for Recorded Books — “A strange alien spacecraft suddenly appears in the sky in this electrifying, action-packed first contact novel set in near-future Nigeria from award-winning author Wole Talabi.”

• The Better Animal: A Novel by Ken Ballen and Wu Ming, read by Andrew Gibson for Dreamscape — “A gripping and ultimately hopeful tale of a future America on the cusp of electing the most unusual president in its history and an allegorical take on the state of our current political climate and technological advances.”

• We Were Never Meant to Survive This by Jesse Sherwood, read by Vikas Adam for Blackstone — “Jaime, a web developer, is disillusioned by humanity’s immersion in the digital world and his own hand in its creation. When a colleague returns from a survival school hidden in the Catskill Mountains, Jaime decides what the hell, why not? Making fire with sticks, butchering animals, crafting a bow—these are just a few things Jaime learns. All the while, the school’s enigmatic founder, A, whispers of Day Zero, her prophecy that the world will end and be born anew. As the other students become more fervent, the day arrives and civilization outside of the school collapses, just as A had foreseen. In the aftermath, as A’s grip tightens and she forces her followers into obedience, Jaime begins to understand that she will do anything to sculpt her vision into reality, even as blood begins to spill.”

• The Black Hole Whisky Gang: An Alternate History of Modern Detroit by Christian Klaver, read by JD Jackson for Blackstone — “Ten years after humans lost their war against superior alien forces, Earth belongs to the Nightwalkers, masters of a vast interstellar empire. To pacify humanity, the Nightwalkers have introduced the Angels, beings with an irresistible allure who are capable of physical and emotional communion unlike anything humans have experienced. For the Angels, it’s enslavement. For Earthers, it’s addictive. One such addict is Hansa, an ex-soldier whose involvement with the Angel Wren, and her subsequent escape into the no-man’s-land of the postapocalyptic Midwest, nearly destroyed him. Now Hansa lives as a broken soul in the Nightwalkers’ employ, unable to forgive himself for his past failures. But when, months later, Hansa receives a message from Wren begging for his help—at the same time an extremely odd band of Nightwalker gunslingers desperately seek his aid—he begins a dangerous odyssey from the deserted streets of Detroit to the most sacred heights of the Nightwalkers’ presence on Earth, and uncovers secrets that will change him and all his companions forever.”

• Prudence Marsh Is Not a Nobody Anymore by Emily Krempholtz, read by Emma Ladji for Penguin — “A musician leaves her quaint town in search of a bigger life, only to get tangled up with a mischievous bandit and a royal heist in this delightful and poignant new cozy fantasy romance.”

• This Wretched Alchemy by Tina Mars, read by Jennifer Ikeda and Soneela Nankani for Macmillan — “In a fractured realm ruled by warring noble Houses and the tyrannical Prime, the most coveted power lies in god-shards - divine fragments that grant extraordinary abilities to those who possess them. Revel’s brother was murdered in pursuit of one.”

• Bones of Jade, Flesh Like Ice: A Novel by Gracie Marsden, read by Katharine Chin for Penguin — “A young woman makes a bargain with a shapeshifting demon who promises her power, if she will give up love—a painful price that sets her on a dark journey in this historical fantasy inspired by Taiwanese myth.”

• Everything Happens So Much: A Novel by Andrew H. Murray, read by Isy Suttie for Little, Brown and Co — “Esme Good is an unremarkable young woman working a dead-end job in an unremarkable city. Her only escape is The Elsewheres: tiny potions that allow you to disappear for fifteen minutes into alternate versions of yourself. Sadly, these only confirm her suspicion that she is, in a cosmic sense, living her worst life. Then, after a workplace incident that could have happened to anyone, Esme unintentionally becomes the most important person in this—or perhaps any—universe. We don’t have time to get into exactly why this is, but to remedy it, Esme must find an uncharted land and fulfill a prophecy that has been on hold since the dawn of time.”

• The Trial of Magdalena Overmorrow by Caitríona Moran, read by Imani Jade Powers and Will Watt for Penguin — “Magdalena Overmorrow has been called a scholar, a healer, a harlot. She carves out some measure of freedom for the women of Astoleyn, risking capture and death by caring for them and performing forbidden abortions. When she’s betrayed by a close confidante, she faces banishment to the realm’s desolate northernmost city as an accused witch. There, she must await her trial and possible doom under the watchful aegis of the Lord Proctor of Cair Gramora, a man so pious and humorless it is rumored that he has never once laughed in his life.”

• The Drakon King by Terry J. Benton-Walker, read by Curtis Michael Holland and the author for Macmillan — “Queer, Black, and sexy as hell, romantasy at its best: A forbidden love story between princes in the court of a cruel king and an edge-of-your-seat tale of missing dragons, ruthless betrayals, and stolen hearts.”

• An Embodiment of Souls: A Novel by Julia Laurel, read by Mia Hutchinson Shaw for Union Square — “As the daughter of a foreign ambassador, Rissa hoped living abroad would protect her from home’s puritanical customs where women are forbidden to walk at night or use magic except to support a necromancer’s dual identity. Alek, the youngest prince of the Memric Isle, hasn’t yet taken his Second body. Fearing he’ll be accused of sin and his body claimed as a Second himself, Alek lives piously while studying abroad, even though he’s distracted by magic—and his handsome roommate, Gable. When Alek meets Rissa by chance, his quiet life is thrown into chaos.”

• Loba by Valentina Cano Repetto, read by Brenda Arteaga-Walsh for Simon Maverick — ” Isabel Cañas’s The Hacienda meets V. Castro’s The Haunting of Alejandra in this split-timeline gothic horror novel set in a remote lighthouse on the edge of Uruguay, following one woman’s escape from an abusive marriage…and into a haunting.”

• The Thorns We Wear Inside by Amy Avery, read by Nikki Thomas and Kelsey Navarro Foster for Simon Maverick — “For fans of Hannah Whitten’s For the Wolf and T. Kingfisher’s Nettle & Bone comes a dark, romantic fantasy about a witch, a monster, and the two parasitic demons who’ll stop at nothing to keep them apart.”

• Andy Weir Presents: Exoplanet by Benjamin Percy, read by Anthony Mackie, Ariana DeBose, John Leguizamo, and a full cast for Audible — “One crew. One planet. Three timelines. No one survives alone.”

• Death Premium by Eric Ugland, read by Neil Hellegers for Audible — “The System has rules for everything. Mike Veseth is about to exploit the one loophole they didn’t patch: him.”

SERIES WATCH:

• Woodfeast: Necrology, Book 2 by Meg Ripley, read by Jenn Lee for Dreamscape — “Revolutionary politics and dark fantasy for a blisteringly timely look at the rights, communities, and power of women.”

• The Eagle in the Mountain: Raven and Eagle, Book 2 by Caskey Russell, read by Jason Grasl for Tantor — “Book 2 in a fantasy trilogy based on Tlingit culture.”

• Infinite Wisdom: Artificial Wisdom, Book 2 by Thomas R. Weaver, read by Steven Pacey for Random House — ” After an AI leader was elected to save the planet from environmental destruction, humanity faces an even deadlier threat.”

• The Last Star in the Void: The Echo Archives, Book 3 by Melissa Caruso, read by Moira Quirk for Orbit — “The brilliant conclusion to the trilogy; a whip-smart adventure fantasy where a detective has to solve the greatest mystery of all—her own murder.”

TIE-IN WATCH:

• Critical Role: The Mighty Nein—Children of Empire by Nibedita Sen, read by Robbie Daymond — “Return to Wildemount with this first-of-its-kind official sequel to the hit Mighty Nein campaign from Critical Role, exploring the fates of “Empire Kids” Caleb Widogast and Beauregard Lionett.”

• Assassin’s Creed: Heresy by Christie Golden, read by Kevin Kemp — “Reliving the memories of his ancestor who fought beside Joan of Arc, high-ranking Templar Simon Hathaway slowly uncovers secrets of the past that could dangerously impact his present … and that of the entire Templar order.”

• Halo: The Fall of Reach by Eric Nylund, read by a full cast — “An all-new production to celebrate the landmark 25th anniversary of the Halo franchise, performed by a full cast led by iconic series voices Steve Downes, Jen Taylor, and Tim Dadabo, and featuring an immersive sound design with music and sound effects to create a cinematic audio experience.”

• Star Wars Legends: Rogue Squadron: Isard’s Revenge by Michael A. Stackpole, read by Marc Thompson — “When Rogue Squadron faces their greatest test yet, their only chance of success lies in working with the sinister Ysanne Isard.”

• Star Wars Legends: Wraith Squadron: Starfighters of Adumar by Aaron Allston, read by Marc Thompson — “The X-wing fighter pilots of Wraith Squadron have earned their reputation as the Rebel Alliance’s ultimate strike force by overwhelming enemies with their rapid-fire assaults. But now they are about to embark on a diplomatic mission that will prove to be even more hazardous than all-out combat.”

INDIE WATCH:

• Shadow Slave: Child of Shadows by Guiltythree, read by Garrett Michael Brown for Aethon — “Witness the rise of the Shadow Slave in this gritty, dark fantasy adventure where a nameless street rat must rise to challenge the gods themselves.”

Posted in Release Week

Release Week: 3 November 2026

Posted on 2026-11-03 at 12:00 by Samuel Montgomery-Blinn

FICTION WATCH:

• Monsters of Ohio by John Scalzi, read by Wil Wheaton for Audible -- "Welcome to Richland, Ohio. Things aren't great. The town’s biggest employer is closing shop, and Richland's on the brink. It's where Mike Boyd, with his own set of problems, finds himself returning to after decades away. He's not planning to stay. But Richland has other plans for Mike, his old friend Dave, and a newcomer Andi. They're caught in a swirl of local troubles, private equity, executive theft… and something extremely weird involving Jeremy Keller’s prize cow. Welcome to Richland. Leave your expectations behind. Bring a tarp."

• Dams: A Novel by Irene Solà (2017), translated by Mara Faye Lethem, read by Frankie Corzo -- "This is Ada, back in her village after studying abroad in London, once again driving around with Vicenç Jr. and coming home giddy late in the summer night. These are Ada’s fingers in the morning, charging across the computer keys, capturing and inventing stories, like the story of Vicenç Sr., the farmer who lost two fingers in a combine and loves to dance, and the story of Josefa Puig who was attacked by a cow, the story of the cow obsessed with seeing the stone that gleams in the darkness inside every creature, the story of Ada’s earrings after Vicenç Jr. angrily tossed them into the Sau Reservoir where they were swallowed by an enormous catfish, the story of the old catfish with gold in its belly who was eventually hauled out of the lake by some eager then regretful boys, and the story of the dams that could not hold in the end and the water that rushed through the veins, that mercilessly and ecstatically flooded the heart."

• How to Be a Normal Person by TJ Klune, read by Michael Lesley for Macmillan -- "A sweet and funny queer rom-com about a misfit video rental store owner who pretends to be normal in order to win the heart of the newest barista in town."

• Defy the Dusk by Danielle L. Jensen, read by Jay Myers for Books On Tape -- "When darkness means certain death and survival depends on reaching the dawn, the woman whose magic broke the world will carve another path: defy the dusk."

• Saved by the Spell by Tanya Huff, read by Kasi Hollowell for Penguin -- "At the High School for Magical Arts, the teachers are dismayed at the rise of a Hero…because it means a Villain isn’t far behind."

• The Wolves of War by John Gwynne, read by Aoife McMahon and Colin Mace for Orbit -- "The Clans once lived freely, honouring their gods and traditions. Then the northern invaders unleashed a tide of blood and fire. Now the Clans are a conquered people. Ivan cares not for wars or kings. His only concern is the safety of his family, especially his daughter Halia, whom he would protect with his life. Halia has been trapped in her own body since birth, yet at night she has dreams of running with wolves and speaking with fae creatures of the forest. Many believe her cursed, but Halia's awakening powers may be the only way she and her family can survive the coming storm."

• Cello's Gate by Maurice Africh, read by Gary Furlong for Simon Maverick -- "One crew of sky pirates. Seven mythological stones. A race to find them all."

• The Art of Living Forever by A. T. Rainach, read by Elle Sonali and Xander Marceaux for Orbit -- "Grace is desperate to escape the future planned for her—a forced engagement to a vile English lord an ocean away—when a mysterious stranger who looks at her like he's known her for lifetimes catches her eye. Aris is bound by a past he cannot escape. Haunted by a woman with eyes the same gray-blue as a raging sea, he is determined to have her back. No matter the cost. But in the shadows of Napoleonic Europe, Grace finds herself caught between a love she is only beginning to understand and a darkness that has been waiting for her, setting off a millennia-old conflict between two powerful gods."

• Reapers by Anthony Ryan, read by Steven Brand for Blackstone -- "Implantation was supposed to be the savior of humanity. Enhancing brain function and skills for millions, it transformed the world … until the Glitch. Five years ago, implants suddenly malfunctioned. Many who had them dropped dead; those who lived became zombielike drifters or murderous psychopaths. It was up to the unimplanted to rebuild a damaged society … or just survive another day. Dalton falls into the survivor category. A convict turned Contracted Collection Agent, he is on a mission to earn his freedom in “the Sector,” an entire city abandoned to the Glitched. Once part of a team—now alone and edging ever closer to madness—he thinks only of his quota: the number of implants he has to collect, by any means, in order to get out."

NON-FICTION WATCH:

• How to Be Less Useful: The Joy of Inefficiency by Priyanka Mattoo, read by the author -- "A delightful book about reclaiming pleasure in mid-life—a potent mix of self-help and memoir, from one of today’s wittiest, wisest voices."

• Is It Too Late to Make a Run for It? by Judi Dench with Brendan O'Hea, read by the authors -- "Dench and O'Hea chat about her life on the stage, on the screen, and, above all, behind the scenes."

• Ocean of Bones: The Hunt for the Pirate Slave Ship Guerrero by David Kushner, read by Cary Hite -- "In the tradition of Shadow Divers and The Wager, the incredible story of the Guerrero, a pirate ship in the transatlantic slave trade that was shipwrecked in the Florida Keys, and the scuba divers who tracked it down nearly two hundred years later."

• Castles: A Fortified History of the World by Dan Jones, read by the author -- "A grand and sweeping history of the world, told through over three thousand years of iconic fortifications."

BACKLIST WATCH:

• The Collected Stories of Philip K. Dick Volume 4 (1987), read by Edoardo Ballerini and Alyssa Bresnahan

SERIES WATCH:

• A Glimmer of Death: Merry Gentry, Book 10 by Laurell K. Hamilton, read by Stella Hunter

• They Cry: Black Company Series, Book 13 by Glen Cook, read by Jonathan Davis, Aria Holland, and Dahlia Summers

• Memory's Flame: The Wandering Inn, Book 20 by pirateaba, read by Erin Bennett

Posted in Release Week

Release Week: 27 October 2026

Posted on 2026-10-27 at 12:00 by Samuel Montgomery-Blinn

FICTION WATCH:

• Code and Codex by Yoon Ha Lee, read by Greta Jung -- "Three-time Hugo Award finalist Yoon Ha Lee returns to science fiction with a swashbuckling space opera about fighting against an evil empire trying to erase history."

• Public Access Afterworld: A Novel by Jane Schoenbrun, read by the author -- "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. The profound, binge-all-night, headrush of a novel by the celebrated filmmaker of I Saw the TV Glow."

• Dead Batteries: A Novel by Kate Maupin, read by Ellen Adair -- " A single mom and her neurodivergent son battle for survival and stability in a post-apocalyptic world, one that is arguably no less harsh to them then the pre-pandemic one, in this gripping, one-of-a-kind debut."

• To Dream in Darkness: A Novel by Ann Liang, read by Natalie Naudus -- "China in the age of brilliance, where gods freely wander the three realms. Amongst them is the cruel and beautiful Death God, who has never failed to collect a soul on time. Until now. For when he seeks out Rujia, the noble god of healing—and the only god he is fated to kill with his own hands—she makes him an offer he can’t refuse: she will help lift the excruciating, century-old curse placed upon him if he gives her a one-month reprieve."

• Savage Lake by Nick Medina, read by Johnny Rey Diaz -- "A mother and son travel to a dilapidated cabin in the woods that haunts more than just her memories in this new unnerving horror from the author of The Whistler and Sisters of the Lost Nation."

• The Thirteenth God: Revolution by Django Wexler, read by Travis Baldree -- "Final Fantasy meets Mad Max in a military progression fantasy for fans of Dungeon Crawler Carl and Gurren Lagann."

• Mortal Things by Marie Lu, read by Eunice Wong -- "Rose despises Raven, the god of Death. His mysterious commands. His mercurial moods. His closed heart. But most of all, she loathes that she was forced to become his Harbinger, a human mercenary tasked to fulfill their god's every want and whim. Still, she would do it again, because being a Harbinger is the only thing keeping her best friend alive."

NON-FICTION WATCH:

• Abandoning a Cat: A Personal Story by Haruki Murakami, translated by Philip Gabriel, read by Kotaro Watanabe -- " A moving reflection on the author's father—plus a cat!—this is a beautiful short work of family history from one of our most beloved, iconic writers."

• In My Own Time: A Memoir by Christopher Lloyd, read by the author

• We Thought They'd Never Leave: Musings on Food and Family by Tony Shalhoub with Josie Adams, read by Shalhoub

• Tyrant Lizard Queen: The Love, Life, and Terror of Earth's Greatest Carnivore by Riley Black, read by Wren Mack -- "From the author of the beloved The Last Days of the Dinosaurs, an imaginative celebration of T. rex from hatching to adulthood."

BACKLIST WATCH:

• The Practice, the Horizon, and the Chain by Sofia Samatar (2024), read by Aesha Zephyr -- "A mystical, revolutionary space adventure for the exhausted dreamer in this brilliant science fiction novella tackling the carceral state and violence embedded in the ivory tower while embodying the legacy of Ursula K. Le Guin."

• Into This River I Drown by TJ Klune (2019), read by Kirt Graves -- "A cathartic Lambda Literary Award-winning novel about a man drowning in grief who falls in love with an angel of death."

• Confessions of a Crap Artist by Philip K. Dick, read by John Skelley -- "Jack Isidore doesn't see the world like most people. According to his brother-in-law Charlie, he’s a crap artist, obsessed with his own bizarre theories and ideas, which he fanatically records in his many notebooks. He is so grossly unequipped for real life that his sister and brother-in-law feel compelled to rescue him from it. But while Fay and Charlie Hume put on a happy face for the world, they prove to be just as sealed off from reality, in thrall to obsessions that are slightly more acceptable than Jack's but a great deal uglier."

SERIES WATCH:

• Nether Vortex: The Nether, Book 2 by Kevin J. Anderson, read by Scott Brick -- "Five years later, the eldritch mysteries uncovered at Nether Station remain unsolved. Its crew is missing. Earth hasn’t heeded their final warnings. And time is running out."

• The Incendiary: The Selvaren, Book 2 by LJ Claren, read by Aiden Snow and Savannah Thomas -- "They thought she was powerless. Now she is unstoppable."

• A Court of Splintered Harmony by Sarah J. Maas, read by Elizabeth Evans -- "Romance, danger, and intrigue await you in the breathtaking sixth book in the #1 bestselling Court of Thorns and Roses (ACOTAR) series."

TIE-IN WATCH:

• Star Trek: Echoes in Eternity by David Mack, read by Robert Petkoff -- Appears to follow Spock across 3 different decades: "A child mourns the mother she’ll never know; a scion of privilege falls into disgrace and yearns to redeem his sullied name; and a young Starfleet officer who dreams of a life lived amidst the stars receives his first starship command...each of them unaware that the threads of their lives are fated to be eternally intertwined."

INDIE WATCH:

• The Gift of Loot by Jack Golightly, read by Johnathan McClain for Royal Guard -- "System Integration has been announced on Earth and Thomas just wants to keep his skin intact, maybe carve out a life that's more interesting than the one he's had so far. Is it too much to hope for both?"

• If Books Could Kill: Mission 1 by J.S. Morin, read by Mikael Naramore for Magical Scrivener -- "She's got a license to kill and a head full of dark magic. Relax, she's here to help."

• The Variance by Janie M. Kurtz, read by Teralyn Davis for DGB Press -- "For nearly a century, the world has belonged to women alone.To the women of Ka’Mel, seventeen-year-old Spaide is a relic—a dangerous reminder of what women once were. Small. Emotional. Feminine. She’s spent her life learning which parts of herself to hide, without ever asking why.But when a deadly plot forces Spaide to run for her life, she must journey aboveground on a desperate mission to find an ally among people she never knew existed."

Posted in Release Week

Release Week: 13 October 2026

Posted on 2026-10-13 at 12:00 by Samuel Montgomery-Blinn

PICKS:

* The End of Everything: A Novel by M. John Harrison, read by Russ Bain for Penguin -- "A haunting apocalyptic adventure, and a formidable exploration of what it means to be human in a shifting world."

* Off the Reservation by Stephen Graham Jones, read by a full cast for Simon and Schuster -- "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."

* Passengers: A Novel by Alexander Maksik, read by Cory Herndon for Europa Editions -- "A taut, emotionally gripping, and surprisingly funny novel about a father and daughter stranded in an airport at the end of the world."

* Peck & Peck by Bonnie Garmus, read by Seth Numrich for Simon and Schuster -- "The #1 New York Times bestselling author of global sensation Lessons in Chemistry returns with an irresistible, delightful, and tender literary novel set in the publishing world of 1980s New York City about a young man whose life turns upside down when he is hired by the most prestigious, secretive, and dysfunctional poetry journal in the world: the renowned Peck & Peck."

* As You Wake, Break the Shell: A Novel by Becky Chambers, read by Megan Gage and Norma Butikofer for Harper -- "Life on the resource-poor planet of Fortune is challenging, but for its inhabitants, it’s home. For two of them, Signy and Cora, this home might no longer be enough. Signy is a brilliant but reclusive botanist who bio-prints medicine from her small plant shop, often bending the rules to help those the system leaves behind. Her life is filled with the green of her store, the warmth of her one elderly friend, and the quiet determination to help others without putting herself in danger. Cora is a rorqual pilot, one of the few with the unique ability to navigate the massive, living ships that connect the scattered settlements of their solar system. Her bond with her rorqual, Colibri, is profound—a connection that is both her greatest gift and a threat to her career."

* As We Fall Through Time by Claire North, read by Peter Kenny for Orbit -- "When Cal meets a soldier of the French Revolution, he knows his lover is destined to die. But what's the point of being a time traveler if you can’t make a few small tweaks to the course of history? A little paradox here, an alteration there—nothing Cal can’t fix, to save the man he loves. When Fadimatu walks into a museum in 2018, she stumbles upon her own mummified corpse, setting her on the path to a betrayal that has already killed her, and a murder that has not yet come to pass. And when a sudden rupture in the fabric of history rips through the lives Cal and Fadimatu have built, breaking both past and future, they must reckon with death foretold, love forsaken, and a secret that will shatter time itself."

SERIES WATCH:

* The Thrice-Bound Fool by Christopher Buehlman, read by the author -- "The epic, rollicking next chapter in the bestselling fantasy adventure series that began with The Blacktongue Thief."

* Burning Skies: A Hell Divers Prequel, Part II by Nicholas Sansbury Smith, read by R. C. Bray

TIE-IN WATCH:

* Truth to Power: A Luke Cage Marvel Crime Novel by S. A. Cosby, read by Adam Lazarre-White for Audible -- "Luke Cage plays detective and super hero when he uncovers a conspiracy turning vulnerable Americans into unwitting pawns of a madman."

Posted in Release Week

Release Week: 6 October 2026

Posted on 2026-10-06 at 12:00 by Samuel Montgomery-Blinn

(in progress)

FEATURED PICKS:

• Other Worlds Than These: A Talisman Novel by Stephen King and Peter Straub, read by Patton Oswalt for Simon and Schuster -- "The story of Jack Sawyer, whom readers first met when he was twelve, crossing America and “the territories” to save his mother’s life, and met again in Black House, where Jack faces a child killer and the Crimson King (among other evils). In Other Worlds Than These, Jack must stop a rampaging gang of infected teenagers from America-side, and the forces of the mysterious Gullet at the edge of Mid-World, before it destroys our world and all worlds."

• Life Out of Order: The Time Traveler's Wife, Book 2 by Audrey Niffenegger, read by a full cast for Hanover Square -- "Alba DeTamble has never lived a life in order. Born with the same rare Chrono-Displacement Disorder as her father Henry, she slips unpredictably through decades, haunted by the secrets of a future she can witness but cannot change. As Alba strives to maintain a normal life with Zach, her safe, supportive anchor, she forms a tight-knit community of artists and activists who fight to take care of each other in an increasingly unstable world."

• A Wall Is Also a Road by Annalee Newitz, read by Jess Nahikian for Macmillan -- "Gardenpath is a graduate student. They also happen to be an amoeba–a slime mold, to be exact–from an ancient civilization that dwells in the space between the stars. And when they turn their many eyes to researching a remote spot on one spiral arm of the galaxy, they stumble upon a discovery that will change everything they thought they knew: a mysterious planet teeming with unexpected life, language, and culture."

• Winterset Hollow: A Novel by Jonathan Edward Durham, read by Alex Wyndham for Union Square -- "When Eamon and his two closest friends, Caroline and Mark, journey to Addington Isle, they hope to explore the island that inspired their favorite book, Winterset Hollow—a timeless tale about a tribe of animals preparing for their yearly end-of-summer festival. But when the trio break into the author’s apparently abandoned estate, they discover that much of what the world believes to be fantasy is real, and that the truth behind their beloved story is darker and more dangerous than they ever imagined. In fact, making it through the final chapter might just cost them everything."

• Partita: A Novel by Barbara Kingsolver, read by Megan Tusing for Harper -- "The story of a brief, passionate, life-changing love affair, wrapped up in what might be the greatest romance of all: our eternal human longing for art and beauty. Featuring six new recordings of classic works by Frédéric Chopin, Maurice Ravel, Edvard Grieg, Erik Satie, and Johann Sebastian Bach, recorded by Han Chen."

• The Angel at the Gates by Karen Lord, read by Ron Butler for Recorded Books -- "A man’s quest to resolve an inherited family trauma leads him to an enigmatic priory in a war-ravaged region, from which he’s not sure he will be able to flee."

TIE-IN WATCH:

• The Last Ronin: A Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Novel by Erik Burnham, read by Robb Moreira for Recorded Books -- "After decades away, a lone surviving Turtle returns to New York City with one mission: To avenge his family by killing the leader of the Foot Clan, Oroku Hiroto. But nothing about the city—battle-ravaged and ruled over by Hiroto with an iron fist—feels like home, and nothing about Ronin's mission goes to plan."

SERIES WATCH:

• The Blood Queen: Spy and Guardian, Book 2 by Sara Raasch and Beth Revis, read by Lianne Walker and Alex Wingfield -- "In this stunning sequel to The Crimson Throne, Alyth and Samson must infiltrate the fae court to prepare to face the bloodthirsty army of the High Blade who is intent on destroying both the mortal and fae worlds."

• Victorious: Villains, Book 3 by V. E. Schwab, read by Jeremy Arthur for Macmillan -- "Eli Ever. Victor Vale. Two men, first best friends, then mortal enemies, each destined to be the other’s shadow. One left standing—but the game isn't over yet."

• This Shattered Tempest: The Hurricane Wars, Book 3 by Thea Guanzon, read by Jeanne Syquia and Kaleo Griffith for Harper Voyager -- "As the winds of war sweep through Lir, Talasyn and Alaric must confront the truth of their hearts and decide whether duty or desire will lead them forward."

• Tales from the Territory: Legends and Lattes, Book 5 by Travis Baldree, read by the author for Macmillan -- "A beautiful collection of cozy fantasy tales, set in the much-loved world."

• The Sixth Faction by Veronica Roth, read by Emma Love, Charlie Thurston, and Max Meyers for Harper -- "The worldwide sensation as you've never seen it before. Step into a bold new Divergent series."

• The Fires of December: A Cosmere Novel by Brandon Sanderson, read by Michael Kramer for Macmillan -- "Hoid has an epic tale to share: In a forgotten land sustained by colorful rivers of demon blood, a young woman named December learns a devastating plague is on its way. But who will believe her? Against impossible odds, she sets sail up the River Violet to warn the king's court, determination—and wisdom beyond her years—burning in her eyes. With a chatty priestess and a fledgling fashion designer at her side, she must navigate incredulous royal officials, twisted court intrigue, and a roguish count who might hold the key to her quest—and her heart."

• Legacies of Betrayal: A Novel of the Malazan World by Steven Erikson, read by Emma Gregory for Brilliance -- "Endless training, grueling marches, and the frenzy of battle against more enemies than can be counted, such is the life of a marine in the Malazan Empire. Year by year, month by month, week by week, day by day, moment by moment. Skills honed to deadly precision, the secret language of the soldier in a world drowning in perpetual discontent, the eternal conflict against the fates."

• Out of the Ashes: After the Fall, Book 1 by Lorian Ellis and Michael J. Sullivan, read by Tim Gerard Reynolds for Audible -- "What does one do after the world ends? While set in the interconnected world of Elan (The Riyria Revelations), this novel is designed as an independent story. You don't need to listen to any of the other thirty books in the saga, you'll just want to."

Posted in Release Week

Release Week: 29 September 2026

Posted on 2026-09-29 at 12:00 by Samuel Montgomery-Blinn

PICKS:

• Mazywood by Tananarive Due, read by Joniece Abbott-Pratt for Simon and Schuster -- "All the Sinners Bleed meets Erasure in this literary thriller from the award-winning author of The Reformatory following the grandson of a famous Black actress who returns to his grandmother’s cabin retreat in the California mountains only to encounter the legacy of her rage born in Old Hollywood."

• Ply: A Novel by Hernan Diaz, read by Imani Jade Powers -- "Centuries from now, at the dawn of a historical epoch filled with both uncertainty and promise, an orphan is adrift in a city on the brink of a great transformation. The state has been dismantled, and humans are reinventing social bonds and learning new ways to coexist with nature. Following a childhood defined by loss, survival, and found family, the orphan grows up to become a “pincher,” someone who steals electricity from the grid to sell it on the black market. It’s a high-risk life, one that brings her into a rich art and music scene where she powers underground concerts. It also leads her to a colossal scientific invention that could change the very fabric of reality."

• Trad Wife: A Novel by Sarah Langan, read by Stephanie Németh-Parker for Simon and Schuster -- "A journalist descends into horror as she uncovers the sinister truth behind a trad wife influencer."

• Nightjars: A Novel by Michael Wehunt, read by Matt Godfrey and Zura Johnson for Macmillan -- "Memento meets Dracula in this heart-thudding, unpredictable, and beautifully crafted novel of a man exposed for crimes he doesn’t remember committing, and the monsters that dwell at the heart of us all."

• Building 903 by Lois Lowry, read by Elise Arsenault -- "In the tradition of her bestselling, award-winning phenomenon, The Giver, Lois Lowry delivers a story about censorship, comfort, complicity, and the radical power of books to open portals and unlock our humanity through our most powerful tool: the imagination."

• The Floating World by Ben Eastham, read by Greg Jones for Random House -- "A cautionary tale of a young, newly widowed art critic who goes to work for a mysterious billionaire determined to build a geodesic-domed paradise to shelter the rich."

• May We Feed the King by Rebecca Perry, read by Sarah Barron and Ian Dunnett Jr. for Echo Point -- Longlisted for the 2026 Booker Prize, Winner of the 2026 Waterstones Debut Fiction Prize: "A curator is absorbed in the medieval world of a reluctant monarch in this searing debut about what becomes lost over time and what devotion can reanimate."

• Mestra: A Short Story by Madeline Miller, read by Georgina Campbell for Ecco -- "Mestra, daughter of the King of Thessaly, is granted a unique gift by Poseidon: The ability to transform herself into any being she can imagine. Her father, on the other hand, is cursed. As punishment for disrespecting the goddess Demeter, he is in possession of an unnatural, insatiable hunger. Devoted Mestra suggests using her new gift to help her father. But if his hunger is bottomless, how much will he take from her? Soon she must decide: Will she keep helping her father survive or finally break free?"

• The Ship of Death: A Novel by Kyle Winkler, read by Wil Wheaton, Lauren Fortgang, Dan Bittner, and Nan McNamara for Avon -- "A supernatural chokehold of a book told entirely through found documents: the cursed story of an unwitting couple ensnared by a mysterious tabletop role-playing game, who are commanded, as the game’s intentions become clearer, to do the unthinkable."

• Wither: A Modern Gothic by Dan Warner, read by Mike Chamberlain for Bloomsbury -- "A propulsive, darkly funny literary sci-fi debut about technology, privacy, and humanity in transition."

• The Only Way Out Is Up by Django Wexler, by Heath Miller for Orbit -- "A small-time scrapper and his pet robot will fight their way out of the junk-heap in a tournament that will either make them richer than gods or rip them apart."

BACKLIST WATCH:

• Crash: A Novel by J.G. Ballard (1973), read by Raphael Corkhill for Audible -- "When J. G. Ballard, our narrator, smashes his car into another and watches a man die in front of him, he finds himself drawn with increasing intensity to the mangled impacts of car crashes. Robert Vaughan, a former TV scientist turned nightmare angel of the expressway, has gathered around him a collection of alienated crash victims and experiments with a series of autoerotic atrocities, each more sinister than the last. But Vaughan craves the ultimate crash—a head-on collision of blood, semen, engine coolant, and iconic celebrity."

• Video Night by Adam Cesare (2013), read by Matt Godfrey for Union Square, with an introduction by Stephen Graham Jones -- "It's 1988 and two best friends—one departing for college, one destined for bad boy townie life—decide to have a final video night before their friendship changes forever. Billy and Tom’s plan is perfect. They've got pizza and beer, and Tom even managed to convince his girlfriend, Darcy, to bring a friend, Billy's neighbor and crush, Rachel. But what they don't know is that there's an invasion underway. Across the street, Rachel's sister, Rhonda, was one of the first to turn. A slithering, chitinous evil has overtaken her body and mind, and she'll do anything to spread the alien infection. Blood, sex, rock and roll, invaders from outer space, and tender perspectives on teen male friendship: Video Night is one cult classic that has it all!"

TIE-IN WATCH:

• Baldur's Gate 3: Astarion by T. Kingfisher, read by Neil Newbon for Random House -- "Narrated by Neil Newbon—the multi-award-winning actor who brought Astarion to life in Baldur’s Gate 3—this captivating audiobook offers listeners a rare chance to experience the story through the very same voice that defined the game."

SERIES WATCH:

• Empire: Heir Duology, Book 2 by Sabaa Tahir, read by Rachel Petladwala -- "A falling empire. An ancient evil. A lost homeland. A lie that could destroy the world."

• Threshing Day: A Wing and Claw Collection by Rebecca Yarros, read by a full cast

• Galinda: A Charmed Childhood by Gregory Maguire, read by Edoardo Ballerini for William Morrow -- "The eagerly awaited origin story of Galinda, the pink-clad, effervescent, and popular favorite character in this sister volume to Elphie."

• Lady of Uncanny Charms: Whimbrel House, Book 5 by Charlie N. Holmberg, read by Graham Halstead and Billie Fulford-Brown for Brilliance -- "Cora and Owein must uncover magical and secret conspiracies in the palace as the future they dreamed of is at stake."

• The Truth: The Bound and The Broken, Book 4.5 by Ryan Cahill, read by Derek Perkins for Podium

• A Divided Duty: October Daye, Book 20 by Seanan McGuire, read by Mary Robinette Kowal

MORE FICTION:

• The French Illusion by John Grisham, read by Michael Beck -- "After Paul and Chelsea Tanner’s fairytale wedding, their future is full of promise. But their honeymoon to Paris takes a dark, shocking turn when they are kidnapped while on a day trip to the French countryside. Who would target them, and why? It turns out this is not the first crime of its kind. The search for clues soon stretches across borders, with the FBI, CIA, and French Intelligence trying to work together to put the pieces of the puzzle together. Struggling to find answers, a young lawyer is recruited to be the bait in an elaborate CIA operation."

• The True Confessions of First Lady Freeman by Deesha Philyaw, read by Janina Edwards -- "The wife of a popular and powerful megachurch pastor upends her charmed "rags-to-Rolex" life when her secret past comes roaring into the spotlight—in this "funny and juicy and sexy and delicious peek behind the pulpit" (Samantha Irby) from the acclaimed and beloved author of The Secret Lives of Church Ladies." nest."

NON-FICTION WATCH:

* The American Way of Killing: The Invention of an Epidemic by Malcolm Gladwell, read by the author -- "Malcolm Gladwell's most urgent book yet: a provocative investigation of America's epidemic of gun violence."

* The Steps: A Memoir by Sylvester Stallone, read by the author for Harper -- "A gritty, inspiring, heart-wrenching memoir by the Academy Award-winning legend and icon Sylvester Stallone, about his unlikely path to stardom and the creation of the greatest underdog story ever told."

* The Cauldron: The Making of the Modern Middle East by Simon Sebag Montefiore, read by Leighton Pugh -- " An essential guide to the making of the modern Middle East from 1900 to the present: a spellbinding history by the New York Times bestselling author of Jerusalem and The Romanovs."

* Man in the Mirror: Hope, Struggle, and Belonging in an American City by Anand Giridharadas, read by the author -- " From acclaimed journalist Anand Giridharadas, a groundbreaking feat of reporting on a tragic encounter in a New York subway car that held up a mirror to a troubled and divided nation."

* Fictional Selves: A Memoir by Kyle MacLachlan, read by the author -- " In this highly anticipated memoir, the beloved actor and star of Twin Peaks, Blue Velvet, Sex and the City, Fallout, and more shares his utterly original account of his offbeat journey in Hollywood, his battles with fear and fame, and the projects that shaped him—and created a cult icon."

* This Cursed Beautiful Land: A Russian-American Story by Evan Gershkovich, read by the author -- "The revelatory, much-anticipated memoir from the Wall Street Journal reporter who was wrongly imprisoned in Putin’s Russia for more than a year—a glimpse inside the perils and contradictions of a country in the midst of autocracy."

MORE SCI-FI and FANTASY:

* The Lost Spectacular by Zoé Duhaime, read by Sophie Amoss for Recorded Books -- "A dazzling ode to the life-changing power of books, as childhood loves-turned-rivals chase each other through the stories that shaped them, leaping through classic literature and famous paintings and private letters and family dinners, until all that’s left is to confront the grief they’ve been running from...and decide whether they might face it together, instead."

* The Sisters of Crimson House: A Novel by Melissa Anderson Sweazy, read by Ann Marie Gideon for Sourcebooks -- "A biting, layered, and haunting debut following one woman from a long line of psychics who will do anything to save her family legacy and the haunted house she grew up in from an entity threatening to destroy everything she's built."

* The Court of Venus by Bel Banta, read by Samantha Hydeson for Macmillan -- "An ensnaring romantic fantasy in which a moon-blessed magician is summoned back to the deadly, Tudor-inspired magical court she thought she had escaped; where power is determined by the stars—and the closer you are to the king, the more likely you are to die."

* Florescentia: The Luminary, Book 1 by I.V. Ophelia, read by Sebastian Brown and Stephanie Willis for Brilliance -- "In the bioluminescent, star-worshipping city of Astraea, inventor and occultist Lucia Fairfax harvests a particular currency from the shadows—luck itself—drawn from a dimension she calls the Otherside. But when her latest ritual fails and her husband dies tragically, her carefully cultivated fortune bleeds dry. Lucia’s desperate to restore her power, but her next ritual goes catastrophically wrong, summoning something far more dangerous: Altair, a cosmic entity born of an ancient constellation. He is both human and not—impossibly seductive, unnervingly sentient, and the key to restoring what she’s lost: a way to the Otherside."

* The Man of Wind and Moss by Alex Gonzalez, read by Robb Moreira for Recorded Books -- "A gruesome, mythology-inspired storm of witchcraft, demon curses, and millennial-age angst all wrapped in a folk horror tale about six college friends who go on a weekend getaway in the woods—and the supernatural deals they make to survive."

* Blood Drunk by Ben Shepherd, read by David John for Grand Central -- "Join a new kind of vampire hunter—former gangster Freddie Burns—as he fights for his place, for his family, and for the hell of it in London’s gritty magical underworld. Mostly for the hell of it, to be ho

INDIE WATCH:

• Lifeweaver: A LitRPG Adventure by Oskar Soderberg, read by Gary Tiedemann for Aethon -- "Monsters. Magic. Classes. Levels. HEALS. In a world where magic becomes real the change begins with a TV announcement. Luke Quinn is twenty-six, broke, and a disappointment to everyone, himself most of all. Once a promising med student, he’s now slinging burgers and nursing guilt over the sister he couldn’t cure. But everything changes when an impossible broadcast interrupts every screen on Earth, announcing the start of a “System Integration” and inviting humanity to touch mysterious orbs appearing in every city."

MOST MISSING:

• Hollow Folk by Andrew K. Clark (Quill and Crow) -- "The night shift at the Holloway was supposed to be quiet. When grad student Ethan Ray clocks in as night auditor at the aging Holloway mountain resort, he expects paperwork, silence, and a paycheck. Instead, reddish-brown lights bleed across the Appalachian sky. Hard winds whip through the trees without making a sound, and mysterious owl gargoyles come to life. At 3 a.m., every clock stops. Trapped inside with his co-workers, Kal and Teresa, Ethan realizes the hotel isn’t just old. It’s a boundary. Something ancient has been waiting and is now awake. To escape, they must uncover the Holloway’s secrets, even as unexpected love blossoms between Ethan and Teresa. The problem is, the visions haunting each of them carry the same warning: someone in the hotel cannot be trusted."
• Ofelia and Norma by Donna Miscolta (Regal House) -- "Ofelia and Norma are identical big-bodied sisters, who, disaffected by their twinness, go their separate ways in college to navigate alone the perils of an anti-large-body world in which one sister toys with disordered eating and the other is the victim of a frat prank, a violation that together the sisters eventually take upon themselves to avenge."

Posted in Release Week

Release Week: 15 September 2026

Posted on 2026-09-15 at 12:00 by Samuel Montgomery-Blinn

FICTION PICKS:

* The Rouse by China Miéville, read by Colin Mace, Emma Spurgin Hussey, and the author for Random House -- " From the bestselling, award-winning master of uncanny fiction comes a defining work, twenty years in the making—a deeply moving, decade- and continent-spanning epic of personal grief, global tumult, and grim conspiracy."

* Our Noble Selves: A Novel by Kate Atkinson, read by Rupert Penry-Jones and the author for Books On Tape -- "When crime correspondent turned war reporter Harry Flynn returns to Britain from Singapore in 1945, he takes a quiet job with the Festival of Britain, a government-funded endeavor aimed at celebrating the nation’s creativity, grit, and ingenuity. There, he joins a team of misfits and eccentrics as they help to ready the Festival for launch. When a Frenchwoman goes missing, Flynn becomes the central suspect in her disappearance—and possible murder. He was the last person to see her alive, yet he has no memory of the evening they spent together. As evidence against him mounts, Flynn begins to wonder if he might actually be to blame."

* Exit Party: A Novel by Emily St. John Mandel, read by a full cast for Books On Tape -- "A breathtaking novel of doubles, shadow worlds, and fractured timelines as a man disappears from a glittering Los Angeles party, and a woman—a gunrunner, an art collector, an operative of the State—searches for answers."

* Hollow Bones: A Novel by Jodi Picoult, read by Rebecca Soler, MacLeod Andrews, Julia Whelan, and the author for Books On Tape -- "On September 11, 2001, when Molly Fitzgerald was only two months old, her mother went to an appointment at the World Trade Center and never came home. Her father and the stepmother who raised her couldn’t have loved her more, but she still grew up with a healthy dread of disasters. Now an adult, she runs the Rhode Island Department for Emergency Preparedness, mapping out ways to save lives during storms, epidemics, and airplane crashes. She and her husband, Jesse—a police polygraph expert with his own history of crisis—have found a love that is a solace in a dangerous world. But then the unexpected upends their new marriage, leading them both to question everything they thought they knew."

Posted in Release Week

Release Week: 1 September 2026

Posted on 2026-09-01 at 12:00 by Samuel Montgomery-Blinn

PICKS OF THE WEEK:

• The Disappearers by Marlon James, read by a full cast for Books On Tape -- "In 1988, eight men in Kingston, Jamaica, begin rehearsals for a play. Though strangers to one another, they share an inescapable truth: All of them are gay. And they live in a world that refuses to accept them. One night the men are savagely beaten and one of them is killed. As their bodies heal, the survivors begin to face the hatred and contempt that the violence laid bare. Some try to ignore what happened. Others double down on retribution. Some disappear completely."

• All the Hidden Places: Stories by Cadwell Turnbull, read by Dion Graham, Bahni Turpin, January LaVoy, and Ron Butler for Blackstone -- "In his debut collection, acclaimed novelist Cadwell Turnbull takes readers across an omniverse of monsters, gods, and people, all trying to make peace with the parts of themselves they don’t want others to see. Until they are forced to face all their hidden places."

• Survivor by Octavia E. Butler (1978), read by Robin Miles for Grand Central -- "Returning to print after nearly 50 years, and available for the first time in unabridged audio, Survivor completes Octavia E. Butler’s thrilling Patternist series, including a short story from the Patternist saga and new historical essays from a major Butler scholar."

MORE FICTION PICKS:

• Rabbit, Fox, Tar by P. C. Verrone, read by Bahni Turpin for Audible -- "A mesmerizing, fable-like debut novel about a mysterious young Black woman whose arrival in an insular neighborhood threatens to shake its foundations."

• Blacktail: A Novel by Scott Hawkins, read by MacLeod Andrews for Random House -- "The long-awaited second novel from the author of the cult hit The Library at Mount Char, a one-of-a-kind dark fantasy in which a wolf sets out on an epic journey of revenge."

• Under Story by Chloe Benjamin, read by Maggi-Meg Reed for Penguin -- "An intimate yet epic love story—and a sweeping odyssey of scientific discovery, inviting us to consider the promise of this life, what might lie beyond it, and how far we would go for more time with the people we love."

• The Extraordinary Florence Stoker by Karen Brooks, read by Naomi Frederick for Harper -- "A compellingly realised story of an enigmatic figure, the beautiful 19th century muse and brilliant social powerhouse Florence Stoker, whose life, in spite of her many gifts, was overshadowed by one of the most abiding and terrifying of contemporary culture's monsters, the vampire Dracula - her husband's creation."

• The Birthing Tree by Amanda Peters, read by Julia Ulayok Davis for Books On Tape -- "From the bestselling author of The Berry Pickers, an unforgettable novel about a woman who must confront her family’s buried truths and memories of passionate young love when her grandmother’s death leaves her as the only guide to her community’s future."

• Paper Ghosts: A Novel by Sarah Addison Allen, read by Marin Ireland for Macmillan -- "Part ghost story, part love story and steeped in magical realism, Paper Ghosts will transport you to a place where old secrets echo through the years and love finds a way of bringing us home."

• The Most Dangerous Games by MrBeast and James Patterson, read by Nolan North for Harper -- "The Games begin in Antarctica, where one wrong step on the ice kills you, and they never let up: Shark water off a remote Chilean island, desert heat that cooks you where you stand, storm-battered peaks, and caves so black you cannot find your own hand. No rescue. No second chances. A billion dollars to whoever is still standing. Then the terrain stops being the thing that can kill you, and the other players start. Alliances turn into ambushes. Trust becomes the sharpest weapon. And somewhere above it all, a hidden voice is watching every move, testing, deciding who deserves to survive."

• Still Lost: Tales from the Year 2080 by Sam A Miller, read by the author with a full cast for Penguin -- "From the beloved creator of the wildly popular Sam O’Nella Academy YouTube channel, an irreverent and timely science fiction collection that offers a wry look at the not-so-distant future."

• I Hope This Email Finds You in Hell by Mackenzie Reed, read by Jaime Lamchick for Penguin -- "When staying late at the office leads to witnessing an exorcism, Brie Benson's mundane life takes a hellish turn…literally."

NON-FICTION WATCH:

• Crossing the Wine-Dark Sea: Journeys Through Ancient Literature by Emily Wilson, read by the author for HighBridge -- "From the most celebrated translator of our time comes a visionary exploration of how translation reshapes and enriches our understanding of the ancient world."

• Profits, Prophets, Coaches, and Kings: (When) Do Leaders Matter? by Jared Diamond, read by Christopher Ragland for Harper -- "From the author of?the Pulitzer Prize-winning, multimillion-copy bestselling classic Guns, Germs and Steel,? a landmark study of leadership across politics, religion, business, and sports—seeking to decode how and why leaders matter."

BACKLIST WATCH:

• The Best Short Stories of J. G. Ballard (1978), read by Raphael Corkhill for Audible -- "The best science fiction stories by the author of High-Rise that reveal the variety of his projections of twentieth-century technology in post-atomic worlds."

• Super-Cannes: A Novel by J.G. Ballard (2000), read by Julian Elfer for Audible -- "Eden-Olympia is more than just a multinational business park, it is a virtual city-state in itself, with the latest in services and facilities for the most elite high-tech industries. Isolated and secure, overlooking the luxurious French Riviera, the residents lack nothing. Yet one day Dr. Greenwood from Eden-Olympia's clinic goes on a suicidal shooting spree. Dr. Jane Sinclair is hired as his replacement, and she and her husband, Paul, are given Dr. Greenwood's house as a residence. Unable to work while recovering from an accident, Paul spends his days taking a close look at the house where Dr. Greenwood shot himself and three hostages. He discovers clues in the house lead him to question Eden-Olympia's official account of the killings. Drawn into investigating the activities of the park's leading citizens, while Jane is lured deeper into Eden-Olympia's inner workings, Paul uncovers the dangerous psychological vents that maintain Eden-Olympia's smoothly running surface. An experiment is underway at Eden-Olympia, an experiment in power and brutality. Soon Paul finds himself in race to save himself and his wife before they are crushed by forces that may be beyond anyone's control."

Posted in Release Week

Release Week: 25 August 2026

Posted on 2026-08-25 at 12:00 by Samuel Montgomery-Blinn

FICTION PICKS:

• Fruits of Our Labor by Ian Patterson, read by Robin Miles for Shiraki Press -- "In a near-future America where women have just gained access to asexual reproduction, Samara yearns for freedom from her dying relationship, and a child of her own—fully her own."
• Ghost Cities: A Novel by Siang Lu, read by Keith Brockett for Simon and Schuster -- "A dazzlingly inventive novel, spanning ancient and modern China, that interweaves stories of romance and showbiz."
• Everybody's Perfect by Jo Walton, read by Stewart Crank and Gabrielle Baker -- "Piranesi meets Swordspoint in an elegant relay race through fantasy Venice."
• MAYA: Seed Takes Root by Anand Gandhi and Zain Memon, read by Hugo Weaving for Simon and Schuster -- Yes, that Hugo Weaving! "A science fiction epic about a world where the internet grows from trees. Its rulers control billions without armies; they shape desire itself. One boy never logged in."
• The Whitechapel Full Moon Society: A Novel by Elizabeth DeLozier, read by Saskia Maarleveld for Penguin -- "When Caroline Foster arrives at the Whitechapel Full Moon Society in search of her missing brother, she finds a dilapidated façade belying an interior as opulent as any exclusive gentlemen’s club. In exchange for room and board, Caroline is hired as the Full Moon’s maid, where she is given three orders: don’t ask personal questions, stay out of the iron-barred room on the second floor, and remain in her bedroom from sunup to sundown on the full moon."
• Demons and Diplomacy by Megan Frampton, read by Zara Hampton-Brown for Penguin -- "A tantalizing pact between an ordinary woman and the silver-tongued son of the Devil is all that stands between Britain—and all hell breaking loose."
• Isis of Egypt: Goddess of Thrones: A Novel by Malayna Evans, read by Raquel Beattie for HighBridge -- "Ancient Egypt's most formidable goddess will stop at nothing to save her true love from the wrath of a vengeful god in this romantic retelling."
• Love Me Like a Rock Song: A Novel by Shelly Jay Shore, read by Major Curda and Jaime Lamchick for Random House -- "When Delilah Cohen’s much more famous fiancée leaves her at the altar right before Delilah is supposed to start recording her first solo album, she’s left with a notebook of unusable love songs and a honeymoon road trip that’s now a last-chance search for new inspiration. She doesn’t expect to fall for the mysterious passenger she picks up two hours in, but what’s more inspiring than a rebound with a built-in expiration date? But there’s more to Emmett than meets the eye. Emmett is a golem, a human-ish being of Jewish folklore, created from clay to serve a now-deceased master, who gave them one final, fatal task."
• The Devil Knows Her Name by C.N. Vair, read by Katrina Lenk for Penguin -- "A hundred years ago, a witch sold her soul to save her life—but now she must stop the devil from collecting his due in this gripping and nuanced debut horror novel."
• Portrait of a Witch Undone by K. S. Shay, read by Lily Ganser for Recorded Books -- "Thirteen stolen works of art. One haunted marsh. And a Boston witch willing to risk everything for the friend she’s already failed."
• The Demon Overlord's Retirement Plan by M. H. Foster, read by Neil Hellegers for Grand Central -- "The Demon Overlord retires to farm turnips in peace, only to find life in a small village far more chaotic than he ever could have anticipated in this laugh-out-loud debut cozy fantasy with teeth."

NON-FICTION WATCH:

• The Rise and Fall of the Artificial State by Jill Lepore, read by the author for Recorded Books -- "Building on an essay in The New Yorker in 2024, Lepore's clarion call traces our increasing dependence on and strangulation by data. Political campaigns, awash in an avalanche of fake bots, have been reduced to attention-mining algorithms, while multinational media corporations dictate public discourse, and the era of the liberal nation-state seems to be coming to a rapid end, replaced by billionaire technocrats reliant on autocracy and the tools of AI."

BACKLIST WATCH:

• The Temple and the Stone by Katherine Kurtz and Deborah Turner Harris (1998), read by Lianne Walker for Tantor -- "A powerful order of warrior monks forged in the fires of the Crusades during the twelfth century, the legendary Knights Templar did not vanish entirely following their failed campaigns in the Holy Land. Having attained great power and arcane skill, they withdrew from the public eye but remained hidden in the shadows, prepared to do battle against the enemies of Christianity and the adherents of the old malevolent gods. Now, these noble defenders of the faith recognize Scotland as the next battleground, foretold in dreams and visions, as legendary Scottish heroes William "Braveheart" Wallace and Robert the Bruce take up arms against the forces of the English King Edward I in the terrible Anglo-Scottish War."

NEW EDITION WATCH:

• Time's Arrow: A Novel by Martin Amis (1991), read by Justin Avoth for Macmillan -- "Dr Tod. T. Friendly is living his life in reverse. He wakes on his hospital deathbed and staggers back to a quiet home in suburban America. Growing younger as the years pass, he dumps his lovers before seducing them and mangles his patients before sending them home. The arrow of time has turned backward, and Friendly’s reincarnated consciousness, remembering nothing of its past life, struggles to understand a world where violence heals and pain causes love."
• Dragonflight: Volume 1 in the Dragonriders of Pern by Anne McCaffrey, read by Sophie Aldred for Random House -- "On a beautiful world called Pern, Lessa is an outcast survivor—her parents murdered, her birthright stolen—a fierce young woman who has never stopped dreaming of revenge. That is, until an ambitious young dragonrider, F’lar, offers her something even greater: the chance to lead Pern at his side by Impressing a golden dragon with whom she will share a telepathic bond more intimate than any human connection. Although there is also her intense relationship with F’lar himself. But Lessa’s fierceness and courage will be put to the test when an ancient scourge returns to the land: a deadly silver spore that falls from the sky, destroying all it touches."
• Metropolis by Thea von Harbou, read by Caleb Summers for Spotify -- "A poor labor class lives underground. The wealthy elite live in a gleaming city above them. This is Metropolis, the sci-fi classic that emerged after its writer collaborated on the screenplay for the 1927 film by the same name."

SERIES WATCH:

• Brona: The First Druids of Shannara, Book 2 by Terry Brooks and Delilah S. Dawson, read by Will Damron for Random House -- "Return to the world of Shannara with the sequel to Galaphile, and discover how the seeds of the greatest evil that the Four Lands has ever known inadvertently grew out of Galaphileʼs dream for peace."
• Daggerbound: Swordheart, Book 2 by T. Kingfisher, read by Jesse Vilinsky for Macmillan -- I'm about halfway through a re-read of the 2018 first book and looking forward to this long-awaited follow up, set in the same literary universe as Kingfisher's Clocktaur and Palain books.
• Blood Rising: Blood Saga, Book 2 by Markus Redmond, read by Akin Omotoso and Waceke Wambaa for Recorded Books -- "A vengeful vampire tribe formed of formerly enslaved Africans wages war across the Southern colonies in the ultimate battle of blood and betrayal."
• Dreamers of the Full Moon Coffee Shop: A Novel by Mai Mochizuki, translated by Jordan Taylor, read by Susan Momoko Hingley for Random House -- "From the bestselling author of the Japanese sensation The Full Moon Coffee Shop, this charming and heartfelt standalone novel brings more lost souls to the enchanted café—where they might find some help from the cats who run it."
• Upon the Forge of Battle: Age of Wrath, Book 3 by Anthony Ryan, read by Steven Brand for Orbit -- "The epic conclusion to a gripping fantasy trilogy of bloody retribution, deadly intrigue, and soaring heroism."
• Fate Forged: The Dream of the Druid, Book 3 by Robert Ryan, read by Antony Ferguson for Simon Maverick -- "A dark epic fantasy adventure of druids, ancient gods, and forbidden magic, following a band of companions who must summon a dead Great Druid and uncover the knowledge needed to stop an all-consuming evil from destroying their land."

MORE FICTION:

• Life of M: A Novel by Rachel Cusk, read by the author for Macmillan -- "From the critically acclaimed author of the Outline trilogy, an irresistible novel of fame, power, beauty, and truth—and a blazing renovation of the form."
• They Say a Girl Died Here: A Novel by Sarah Pinborough, read by Saskia Maarleveld for Macmillan -- "A thrilling, genre-bending mystery about two murdered girls, a town with dark secrets, and a race to break a deadly cycle."

MORE SCI-FI and FANTASY:

• Ayasi: The Wandering Death by Tanvi Singh, read by Shivangi Varshney for Harper India -- "A young girl, chosen to be sacrificed to the demon queen Ayasi, has escaped. And the immortal's wrath threatens to consume the mountain kingdom struggling to appease her. A few years later, as sickness spreads across the land, Michewah, who trades in rare medicinal herbs, finds herself in the wrong place at the worst time. A bloody incident in the weekly market forces her to follow the instigator: an old man who transforms into a woman with an unnerving bearing and hollow, white eyes."
• The Mayor of Noobtown: A Novel by Ryan Rimmel, read by Johnathan McClain for Harper Voyager -- "LitRPG fans: there’s a new player in town. In the first book in Ryan Rimmel’s fantastical Noobtown series, a young man dies only to find himself the hero in a strange new world."
• The Dark in Her Veins by M.K. Lobb, read by Hayden Bishop for Sourcebooks -- "A noir romantic fantasy set in a world in which sin is a fatal disease, and the rich hire the poor to carry out their basest instincts—until the forbidden romance between a sinner and a mysterious figure threatens to destroy everything."
• Veil of Kings by Michelle Kirby, read by Candace Fitzgerald and Conner Blackwater for Simon Maverick -- "Gisela Valor should be relieved, but mercy has never come without a cost. The Life Stones that sustain the villages of Mystralos have been seized, and the plants she depends on to heal her people are withering. With her own Mystic mark concealed, Gisela learns that silence is no longer safety—it’s surrender. When she joins forces with Thorne Alderose, her childhood adversary and unexpected ally, they set out to uncover the truth behind the King’s decree and awaken a power that is no ordinary magic."
• The Unheld: A Novel by Luke Larkin, read by Lauren Fortgang, Samuel Roukin, and Shane Ghostkeeper for Audible -- "Startling monsters and occult oddities abound in this chilling horror Western as a girl journeys across the haunted Montana Territory to rescue her father from an otherworldly creature."
• Runebreaker: Dragon Heirs, Book 1 by Mila Finch, read by a full cast for Audible -- "Aelie can break runes with her bare hands—magic the fae built their entire world on. They hate her for it. Fear her for it. And when she's caught, they sentence her to die."

INDIE WATCH:

• The Wake of Ages by B.T. Narro, read by Simon Vance for Tantor -- "Adam has waited years to join The Order of the Sixheart, the secretive keepers of an ancient artifact that brings rapid harvests and enduring health. But there's something more about the Sixheart that has fascinated Adam ever since he was twelve years old, when he snuck into the forbidden enclosure to glimpse the ancient relic for himself. The Sixheart is tied not only to sorcery, but to the world itself. Through those hidden connections, Adam believes he can achieve a universal aura, something no eighteen-year-old has ever attained."
• Starborn: The Lost Colony of Earth by Jasper T. Scott, read by Jonathan Davis for Podium -- "When Aldric Vale, a lone freelancer for the Interstellar Concord, follows a mysterious signal to an obscure star system, he expects to find a dead outpost—not a thriving world of eight billion people. The inhabitants call it Earth. By rights, the planet should have rejoined the Concord centuries ago. Instead, its existence was buried by a cabal of immortal elites who use Earth as their private paradise, while its people remain oblivious. After a deadly encounter cripples his ship, Aldric is stranded. Trapped on a world that isn't supposed to exist, he must infiltrate the cabal to escape—and expose the truth."
• The Carousel of Forgotten Places by S. Hati, read by Natalie Naudus for Podium -- " First rule: Don't mess with the timeline. Second rule: Don't mess around with the time-god."

Posted in Release Week

Release Week: 18 August 2026

Posted on 2026-08-18 at 12:00 by Samuel Montgomery-Blinn

FICTION PICKS:

• The Calamities by Chuck Wendig, read by Dani Martineck, Nicole Cash, MacLeod Andrews, and Xe Sands for Random House -- "The heir to one of the world’s most influential families reckons with the demonic secret of their power in this contemporary dark fantasy that melds occult magic with shocking family drama."

• They Can't Burn Us All by Cathryn Kemp, read by Melkorka Oskarsdottir for Transworld -- "A dark, feminist retelling of the most famous witch trial in 17th-century Iceland."

• The Blue Moon Café & 24-Hour Occult Emporium: A Novel by Lexie Sharabianlou, read by Awni Abdi-Bahri for Random House -- "A magical witness protection program, a town in need of saving, and a sorceress-in-training . . . oh, and the human woman she’s not supposed to fall for. The Blue Moon Café has a little bit of everything (except, you know, decent coffee)."

• The Salt King: A Novel by Natasha Pulley, read by Luke R. Francis for Bloomsbury -- "An apocalyptic novel about belief, religion, and the power of myth that blends gripping, end-of-the-world storytelling of with biting wit and epic queer romance."

• The Two of Us at the End of the World by C. A. Fletcher, read by the author for Orbit -- "Four unforgettable characters try not only to survive, but to preserve the very thing that makes life worth saving in the first place in this deeply moving story of resilience and hope."

• The Breakup: A Novel by Kurt Andersen, read by a full cast for Random House -- "When Natalie and Asher are brought back into proximity while touring far-flung colleges with their seventeen-year-old, they find themselves on a road trip through a strange, uncertain new American landscape, transformed by both the terrorist uprising and technology, all while dealing with the flux—and resilience—within their own family. They face the questions the nation has reckoned with for a generation: what differences are irreconcilable, and when is something broken worth saving?"

• The Halls of the Dead: A Novel by S. M. Hallow, read by Charlie Albers, Ella Lynch, and James Meunier for Harper Voyager -- "A queer, gothic horror romance set in a necromancy-tinged London."

BACKLIST WATCH:

• Sabella by Tanith Lee (1980), read by Julia Eve for Tantor -- "This classic sci-fi tale from a master storyteller explores the life of a vampire on a Mars-like colony as she struggles to hide her true nature."

• The Broken Bubble by Philip K. Dick (1988), read by David Aaron Baker for Recorded Books -- "Four people's lives intertwine and collide in this early novel from one of the SF greats."

• Hero of Dreams: Dreamlands, Book 1 by Brian Lumley, read by Joshua Saxon for Crossroad Press -- "Each night David Hero finds himself transported to a marvelous world where brave men and women battle terrible creatures possessed of cruel, dark powers. Despite his fears, the Dreamworlds tempt David, drawing him farther and farther from the waking world. Here he finds noble warriors; beautiful, loving women; and challenges almost greater than he can imagine."

• Necrology by Meg Ripley (2024), read by Jenn Lee for Dreamscape -- "In a fantastical aftermath of the Salem witch trials, magical women known as the Dirty have signed a contract swearing off their innate magic in exchange for freedom from violence by non-magical Freemen. Two hundred years later, in a Catskills orphanage, headmistress Whitetail has sprouted antlers—proof of a violated contract. When her wealthy benefactor visits, proposing marriage, her appearance sparks abuse. Rushing to her teacher's defense, eight-year-old Rabbit curses the Beard dead, and Whitetail's arrested on trumped-up charges."

• The Dagon Collection: An Auction Catalogue of Items Recovered in the Federal Raid on Innsmouth, Mass. edited by Nate Pedersen (2024), read by Garry Messick -- "In 1928, Federal agents raided the lodge of the Esoteric Order of Dagon, a notorious cult that had taken over the town of Innsmouth, Massachusetts. What they discovered there shocked and dismayed them in equal measure. Strange, curious, and devilish items from all over the world had been gathered by cult members on voyages across all the known and unknown seas. Priceless art, books, weaponry, jewelry, nautical instruments, and coins were all found, along with objects both prosaic and uncanny, with uses that could only be guessed at."

TIE-IN WATCH:

• The Legend of Robin Hood: A BBC Radio Collection -- "An epic full-cast play about Robin Hood, plus an episode of In Our Time setting him in his historical context and four dramatic interpretations of his story."

SERIES WATCH:

• Pollen: Vurt, Book 2 by Jeff Noon, read by Danielle Cohen for WF Howes -- "In a strange re-mixed future Manchester a cloud of Pollen descends – a new strain, each tiny grain a murderer. Within days the streets of the city are overgrown with vicious blooms as the fiercest hay fever epidemic of all time takes hold."

• Season of the Serpent: The Nameless Republic, Book 3 by Suyi Davies Okungbowa, read by Korey Jackson for Orbit -- "The final installment of the Nameless Republic trilogy with a tale of villains, allies, and a world on the brink of destruction."

• Shadow Wars: Son of Shadows by Sherrilyn Kenyon, Hinako Hishinuma, and Madaug Hishinuma, read by Brian Nishii for Blackstone -- "The second and final installment in a spectacular middle-grade fantasy adventure duology—described as “Shōgun for kids”—where demons rub shoulders with gods and one boy must learn quickly or risk losing everything."

MORE FICTION:

• The Inevitable Undoing of Zahara Douglass by Leslye Penelope read by Leon Nixon and Tyla Collier for Redhook -- "For five years, Zahara Douglass has been haunted by her sister’s impossible disappearance. Now, in December 1999, with the world on the brink of chaos, Zahara sets out to find her sister no matter the cost in this twisty and compelling modern fantasy."

• Hollow Twilight by Kieran Starovsky, read by James Daly for Random House Canada -- "It's all fun and games until somebody dies. Delve into the unsettling world of Hollow Twilight, a Ready Player One meets Stranger Things LitRPG where there's no XP to collect and no loot to scavenge, but one wrong move could be the difference between life and death."

• The Divine Gardener's Handbook: Or What To Do If Your Girlfriend Accidentally Turns Off the Sun: A Novel by Eli Snow, read by Ellie Gossage and Jess Nahikian for Macmillan -- "A sapphic dystopian fantasy of botanical sabotage, a questionable god named Saul, and a woman falling for the person most likely to ruin her life."

• Siren Says by Jennifer Herrera, read by Sorcha Groundsell for Penguin -- "A lush, spellbinding tale about a tenacious young woman who must harness her family’s dangerous magic to put a stop to the sacrifices they’ve been making for more than a century."

• The Shadows That Listen by Louisa Carmody, read by Kaffe Keating and Issie Riley for Orbit -- "It's been five years since the world was brought to its knees by an immortal war. Daemons crawled from the depths of hell and the sky bled gold as the angels arrived. Humanity thought it was saved, but the angels did not come to protect us. Amara is a human warrior working for the Angel Intelligence Agency. She spends her days searching for those who don't make it home after curfew. But when her boyfriend Jeremy goes missing, she decides to venture into the shadows to bring him back. Even if it means death. Nathaniel is an archangel tasked with leading the destruction of humanity, for which he cares little. He doesn't have time to protect little humans running around in the dark, especially those who stab him in the stomach. But Nathaniel and Amara will soon realise they share a foe, one that lurks in the shadows and stalks them from the skies."

• We Meet Apart by Martha Conway, read by Elisabeth Lagelée and Corinne Davies for Spotify -- "When World War II halts ocean travel in 1940, two American sisters find themselves stranded in Ireland—but in different realities."

• Alchemist of the Wilds by A. T. Valentine, read by Jonathan Sleep for Tantor -- "Lianthorn Belladonna could have been so many things. An artist, a mage, a gardener. Instead, his family sealed his future, trapping him in a life of scheming, poison, and murder."

• Preaching to the Choir by Adrian Tchaikovsky, read by Emma Newman for Tantor -- "A family gathering in an English mansion devolves into horror."

• Frequency by Douglas E. Richards and Joshua T. Calvert, read by Lauren Ezzo and Joel Richards for Simon Maverick -- "A high-stakes science fiction thriller about a neuropsychiatrist investigating an epidemic of mass suicides and NASA astronauts uncovering an impossible secret beneath the ice of Jupiter’s moon Europa."

• Immortal Rose: A Novel by Alexandra Bracken, read by Nicola Barber and Christian Coulson for Avon -- "Members of the ancient Rosebourne family have a strange gift born of a fairy ancestor: the ability to infuse fragrance with magic capable of manipulating mind, body, and emotion. When a shocking murder leaves the kingdom of Albion vulnerable to a coup, royal spymaster Hugh Thornton seeks the one person who can help: Viola Lockwood, the last living Rosebourne and secret heir to a fraught legacy. Livid at the silver-eyed aristocrat who had her thrown in jail to force her compliance, Viola nevertheless comes to an agreement with him. In exchange for crafting Immortal Rose, the singular perfume capable of saving Albion, illegitimate Viola can seize the life—and fortune—that should have been hers."

• The Witch in the Dead of Night by Charlotte Buckley, read by Kristin Atherton for Magpie -- "A decadently dark romantasy in which a hidden witch is unmasked and forced to become a living weapon for a vampiric king and his brooding brother."

• Visitor: Visitor, Book 1 by Craig Falconer, read by Dan Bittner for Audible -- "After a mysterious explosion robs Scott Miller of almost everything he holds dear, one incredible discovery changes everything: A crashed spaceship. Deep in the Santa Monica Mountains, the down-on-his-luck wildlife ranger senses a path to redemption. For his sci-fi-obsessed son Matty, their discovery is a wondrous miracle. For Scott, it’s a smoking gun for the far-reaching conspiracy that destroyed his life. But the greatest surprise of all lies within the wreckage: A frightened alien, lost and alone, whose next moves may determine the very fate of humanity."

NEW EDITION WATCH:

• The King in Yellow by Robert W. Chambers, read by Nathan Osgood for SNR Audio -- "First published in 1895, The King in Yellow is one of the most influential works of supernatural fiction ever written. In this haunting collection of interconnected stories, an enigmatic play known only as The King in Yellow leaves devastation in its wake, driving those who read it towards obsession, despair and terrifying revelations."

INDIE WATCH:

• Roads Home: The Last Safe County, Book 1 by A. R. Shaw, read by Carol Anne Shaw -- "Eight years after the collapse, Mabel Gray survives inside Ridgeline Valley, a hidden settlement in Washington’s Cascade Mountains. Its forty residents are held together by strict rules, guarded borders, and the fragile belief that survival depends on keeping the outside world out. Mabel follows the rules. Mostly. Then she finds an unconscious boy beside a mountain road, watched over by a loyal dog who refuses to leave him. Somewhere beyond the valley, the boy’s injured father awakens on a hillside with a broken wrist and only one purpose left: finding his son."

NON-FICTION WATCH:

* The Nerd Reich: Silicon Valley Fascism and the War on Democracy by Gil Durán, read by the author for Simon and Schuster -- " A fearless and urgent chronicle of the tech-authoritarian movement from its early days in San Francisco politics to its current moment on the international stage, exploring the wild and dystopian ambition of the technocrats at its center, and offering a road map to resistance."

* No Prophets: The Fight to Save Democracy from Christian Nationalism by Jared Huffman, read by the author for Kalorama -- "From Congressman Jared Huffman, a behind-the-scenes look at the shocking extent of Christian nationalism's reach in our government―and the fight to defend church-state separation."

* The Jackal: The Rise and Fall of Carlos, the World's First Super-Terrorist by Joby Warrick, read by Kenneth Fuentes for Simon and Schuster -- "The spectacular rise and dramatic fall of super-assassin Carlos the Jackal—one of history's most infamous terrorist masterminds and the inspiration for numerous celebrated works of pop culture—told with new revelations from the Jackal himself, by the Pulitzer Prize–winning author of Black Flags."

* Up on Cove Mountain: Adventure, Tragedy, and a Quest for Meaning on the Appalachian Trail by Earl Swift, read by the author for Harper -- "From the New York Times bestselling author of Chesapeake Requiem comes an intricately plotted tale of two end-to-end adventures through the Appalachian Trail's twenty-two hundred miles, braided around a third strand, that of the trail's most notorious tragedy that has haunted Earl Swift for thirty years."

Posted in Release Week