Cavenagh debuts with a sophisticated take on the vampire genre. Stutley Tillinghast is a mysterious recluse whose habits include the abduction and murder of strangers and avoidance of the modern world. After a lonely and supernaturally extended life, he’s settled back into his ancestral Rhode Island home. He poses as a priest and keeps a diary recording the deaths of his human victims, biding time until one day he will hopefully, finally cease to exist. Everything changes when a desperately ill young woman named Sarah turns up in town, claiming to be his relative, and he discovers that perhaps he is not as alone in the world as he’d thought. Sarah exhibits symptoms of the same vampirism that has kept Tillinghast alive, prompting him to chronicle his origins and possible links to her mother, the woman who transformed and abandoned him. As the narrative toggles between Tillinghast’s journal entries and the present, Sarah’s own transformation progresses and Tillinghast must make life-altering decisions. Reserved Tillinghast makes an unlikely protagonist, but Cavenagh skillfully draws readers into the tragedy of his immortal life, and it’s similarly easy to become invested in his complex bond with Sarah. Dripping in lush gothic atmosphere, this understated, slow-burning literary horror novel is sure to win fans. (June)

Reviewed on 04/17/2026 | Details & Permalink

Fanciful magic seeps into a historically grounded world in this immersive fantasy from Arden (The Warm Hands of Ghosts). The year is 1490, and Anne, duchess regnant of Brittany, is at an impasse: the duchy lost a war with France under her late father’s rule, and now the king is insisting Anne marry him, which would cede her beloved duchy to France. Instead, she secretly arranges to wed Maximilien of Austria. To keep the French envoy distracted while the marriage is finalized, she orchestrates a unicorn hunt in a local forest, a place that divination, the only kind of magic believed to be extant in the world, cannot reach. Much to her shock, Anne does find a unicorn in the forest, along with a mysterious man who apparently spent the past two centuries in the mystical Lost Lands and who teaches Anne that the world is vaster and more mysterious than she realized. What follows is a richly detailed and enthralling tale of political intrigue, folkloric creatures, legendary missing cities, and romance. It’s sure to captivate. Agent: Paul Lucas, Regal Hoffmann & Assoc. (June)

Reviewed on 04/17/2026 | Details & Permalink

Bestseller Moore’s satisfying second Long London urban fantasy (after The Great When) again adroitly blends the fantastic and the mundane. He eases readers back into a 1958 London where two alternate versions of the city exist side by side through vivid prose describing the environs. (“Ahead, through soaking haze, the banked filth that will be a football stadium is beetled with black raincoats and flat caps, both milling workforce and those sodden locals who’ve brought refuse as a contribution to the ground’s foundations.”) Moore eventually reintroduces protagonist Dennis Knuckleyard, who, in the previous volume, stumbled upon the other London but hopes that he’s left his stressful adventures behind him. Then creatures from that dimension, among them an eight-foot-tall six-armed being, erupt into the real world, their presence sparking riots. Dennis is catapulted back into magical mayhem and, by the end, his life has changed dramatically, provocatively setting up a sequel. Moore’s worldbuilding is as fascinating as ever. Series fans won’t be disappointed. (May)

Reviewed on 04/10/2026 | Details & Permalink

Schwab’s lush historical fantasy debut, set in 12th-century Ireland, weaves myths and legends into the tale of the fae Angus, who doesn’t know how to govern either his realm or his emotions, and human Rhiannon, who relinquishes family and home for a convent in pursuit of Lady Wisdom and natural magic. Readers meet Angus as the reluctant Crown Prince of Faerie entangled in an affair with a Greenboy, a man made of leaves. Upon inheriting the throne, Angus is subject to an eerie mandate that he must wed a human to preserve Faerie with a Halfling heir. He steals Rhiannon from her convent to make her his queen, but does not consummate the marriage. Meanwhile, Rhiannon witnesses human servants abused by their cruel fae masters and feels the urge to help them. Toggling between perspectives—including that of Cormac, a human boy on a quest that may save both Faerie and the human world—the somewhat overstuffed narrative attempts to wrangle many big themes, including social justice, redemption, and the weight of leadership, but characters lack definition and the plot ends up somewhat muddled. Still, the lyrical prose, impressive historical scene-setting, and nods to Irish folklore will draw readers in. (June)

Reviewed on 04/10/2026 | Details & Permalink

Noon (The Chronicles of Ludwich) offers few surprises in this mild coming-of-age fantasy recounting what led narrator Joe Sutter to a future as a science fiction writer. In an alternate 1968 England, Joe is among the very few able to perceive Greot, a mystical multicolored dust the exact nature of which is mysterious, but which is considered by some to enable access to people’s secret desires. An aimless teen, Joe makes little use of his abilities to interface with dust, but finds new direction after befriending G.K. Holbrook, an elderly author of dozens of SF novels. Holbrook is also able to perceive Greot, and mentors Joe on life and writing. Meanwhile, in a gentle mystery, Joe encounters in Holbrook’s home a ghostly girl only he can see and sets out to identify her. A preface discloses that the adult Joe has published over 20 books, leaving little suspense about whether the life lessons Holbrook imparts to him will take, and other developments are similarly telegraphed. Greot inevitably calls to mind Philip Pullman’s similar Dust, but Noon’s worldbuilding is far hazier. This is best suited for the author’s diehard fans. (May)

Reviewed on 04/10/2026 | Details & Permalink

Alexander’s ambitious solo debut (after None of This Is an Invitation, written with Katie Jean Shinkle) gleefully plays with gothic conventions. The metafictional tale moves between black and red text, with footnotes, also in red, written by a mysterious author. Partly taking place in Styria, the setting of Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu’s classic vampire tale, Carmilla, the black text follows Agnes as she is visited by the vampiric Mary, whose arrival heralds the spread of a strange illness. This contagion also extends into the footnotes, written from the United States during the Covid pandemic and offering a reflection on illness, grief, and queer life. The annotator also drops in plentiful references to gothic classics like “Bluebeard” and Jane Eyre alongside modern writers like Thomas Pynchon and David Foster Wallace, creating a rich sense of intertextuality. In the main narrative, characters initially appear clearly defined, but their identities quickly become untethered, especially as the footnotes frequently redirect readers to other parts of the novel (“to learn more of this poisoning, turn to page 193”), revisiting scenes under shifting circumstances as the narrative cleverly loops back on itself. Alexander embraces this formal instability, assembling a gothic bricolage that proves as ingenious as it is demanding. (June)

Reviewed on 04/10/2026 | Details & Permalink

Offering a uniquely horrific take on mermaids, the transfixing adult debut from YA novelist English (The Lightyears Between Us) stars Euphemia “Eppie” Wester, who’s not just the only unmusical member of a family of musicians, but has been labeled a “freak” by Lucy Craig, the first girl she ever tried to kiss. When Eppie sees a girl struggling in the surf, she races into the waves to help—only to be kidnapped and held captive by mermaids with tails as long as Eppie’s entire body, dorsal fins ridging their backs, and sharp fangs set into faces that could otherwise pass for human. Eppie’s new “sisters” take her to the leviathan mermaid they call Mother who transforms Eppie into one of them. Angry and resistant to the painful change, which leaves her stronger and faster but disconnected from the world she knows, Eppie is further convinced of the mermaids’—and now her own—monstrosity when she discovers a newfound appetite for human blood. Facing threats from humans and mermaids alike, Eppie must reclaim her agency and learn to navigate her new world. The romance that blooms between Eppie and a fellow mermaid feels a bit rushed, but English’s mermaid lore fascinates, and her colorful underwater world comes alive on the page. This twisty, fast-paced tale should win her a whole new set of fans. (June)

Reviewed on 04/10/2026 | Details & Permalink

A gentle elegiac tone pervades this stunning posthumous historical fantasy from multi–Hugo and Nebula award winner McIntyre (Dreamsnake), who died in 2019. In ancient Crete, Iakinthu, a former bull dancer, is at the apex of her second profession as chief diplomat-trader of her seafaring nation. To fulfill Minoan tradition, she must take her adopted son, Rhenthizu, to meet his birth mother in a faraway land no Minoan has ever visited, after which he will choose which woman to live with. Their epic journey plays out as a feminist odyssey through six distinctive and mostly matriarchal cultures, superbly constructed around permutations of myth and legend. McIntyre’s scene-setting is lush and immersive, and her finely drawn, women-led cast leaps off the page as they confront obstacles with wit and wisdom. This sensitive and captivating voyage of discovery is a fitting capstone to a remarkable career. (May)

Reviewed on 04/10/2026 | Details & Permalink

A cozy mystery surrounds a troubled sentient house in this uplifting fantasy from Johnson (Unbroken Chain). Evie Sharpe is an earthwalker witch unhappily working for the dastardly Environmental Crisis Response Agency, which is delaying her adoption of 11-year-old Ruby, a farseer witch capable of predicting the future. When Evie receives a letter from the mayor of the quaint village of Iskendra seeking a caretaker for the sentient Thornwood house, she jumps at the chance to get out of her ECRA contract. The previous caretaker, Amelia Howell, died, and the despondent house now frequently runs into the forest on its huge chicken legs, not letting anyone enter. Evie manages to gain Thornwood’s trust but inside she’s surprised to find a pile of blue and silver wood shavings that can only come from a valuable and endangered Star Oak tree, a source of immense magic. Now Evie must work out a few different mysteries, including what happened to the house in the six months since Amelia’s death, what someone wants with the Star Oak, and just how angry local firewitch Ignatius Smythe is that Evie was chosen as Amelia’s successor over him. Johnson weaves a sumptuous tale around the themes of chosen family and new beginnings. With shades of Howl’s Moving Castle and Baba Yaga folktales, this playful fantasy charms. (June)

Reviewed on 04/10/2026 | Details & Permalink

Charlton’s fascinating near-future debut puts a well-researched and deeply introspective spin on a familiar alien abduction scenario. After six-year-olds Alex Whitman and Ana Pincer disappear into the desert near Palm Springs and return two days later relatively unharmed, the media runs with the story that they were abducted by aliens. The experience bonds the children, as does their shared “imaginary friend,” an alien called Allen whom they never tell the press about. More than 15 years later, Alex is working in law and has convinced himself there is a rational, terrestrial explanation for his early experiences, while Ana works as an “Experiencer Advocate” on behalf of fellow abductees. Then comes the Signal, a mysterious tone that pulses on and off every 875.35 minutes, emanating from a point near Pluto and sparking global panic. The leading explanation is aliens, and when Alex sees Ana presenting as an expert on TV, he makes the impulsive decision to join her at a retreat in Joshua Tree, though they have not spoken since falling out as teens. Charlton intersperses Alex’s almost stream-of-consciousness struggle to understand what happened to him with flashbacks to his and Ana’s friendship, enigmatic vignettes about Allen, and impressive historical research on UFO sightings. This satisfying deep dive into the worlds of ufology and child stardom is sure to hook fans of first contact stories. (June)

Reviewed on 04/10/2026 | Details & Permalink