The World’s Fair has packed up, the tents and food stalls disappeared. And the dybbuk, a restless spirit that possessed Alter, is gone. Life returns to normal for Frankie and Alter, as both boys inspire each other to start a detective agency—using skills from Frankie’s dark past and Alter’s desire to do good in their community. But when children start to go missing, Frankie is certain the supernatural is once again to blame, as they race to track down a sheyd, a demon-like entity. But in order to save his future with Alter, Frankie will have to confront his past.

From Out My Heart is a darkly sensuous novel about two women whose bodies become the threshold through which the living and the dead insist on speaking, from the award-winning author of Follow Me to Ground and Redder Days. When Phyllipa, a scholar chasing the lingering pulse of Edgar Allan Poe, travels to a remote, river‑ruled community, she finds herself drawn into the orbit of Lana: a woman whose faith, exhaustion, and old wounds make her strangely open to visitation. Their encounters unfold in a landscape of heatstorms, thickets, and swollen riverlight, where possession is not a metaphor but a physical event: a tremor in the voice, a shift in the hips, a borrowed breath. As Phyllipa records Lana’s transformations, she feels her own interior loosening – the boundaries between scholarship and desire, between inquiry and complicity, dissolving into the wet dark of the woods. Rainsford crafts a gothic of flesh and inheritance, where motherhood, harm, and spectral longing press against the skin. A novel of haunting in its truest sense: the way another life can move through a woman’s body, and the way a woman can become the echo chamber for what history refuses to release.

Will They, Won't They is a swoony enemies-to-lovers romance that takes readers behind the scenes of Bollywood, where sparks fly between Ajit Jain, an aspiring documentarian from Queens, and Zain Mansoor, a Bollywood nepo baby from Mumbai. This YA debut from award-winning author and actor Maulik Pancholy is a swoony enemies-to-lovers romance that takes readers behind the scenes of Bollywood, where two young men are caught between ambition and an inconvenient magnetic attraction. Aspiring documentarian Ajit Jain knows what he wants: to get into film school and do it without compromising his integrity. What he does not want is Zain Mansoor—notorious teen bad boy, Bollywood heir apparent, and the most insufferable person Ajit has ever met. When a wild and unexpected series of events leads to Ajit being offered a chance to direct a behind-the-scenes documentary about Zain’s debut film, he sees an opportunity. Not for a puff piece, but an exposé. The kind that gets the attention of prestigious colleges and takes down nepo babies. But forced proximity on a Bollywood set has a way of ruining even the most disciplined intentions. Behind the persona, Ajit finds someone unexpected. Zain is more than he seems. A stolen kiss during a late-night motorcycle ride through Mumbai changes everything. Now Ajit must choose between the documentary that could launch his career and the love story he never saw coming.

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind meets Station Eleven in H. Lee Justine’s new novel—a trenchant and heartbreaking exploration of what love and humanity mean when life teeters at the edge of annihilation. Elliot and Oliver’s marriage is at a breaking point. Exhausted by the animosity she feels for her husband, Elliot is nearly ready to sign the divorce papers, but Oliver isn’t ready to give up after all they’ve been through. He begs Elliott to try an experimental couple’s therapy that promises to answer if they can make their marriage work in just one session, even if it means reliving the worst parts of their lives together. While reluctant, Elliot agrees, and the session begins with what should be an easy Where did you meet? Elliot, now twenty-one, wakes up disoriented on a forest floor with no recollection of how she got there. A kind stranger named Oliver stumbles upon her, also experiencing the same unexplained memory loss. The only thing they know for sure is that something is horribly wrong. This world is filled with unimaginable loss, and their fellow survivors have a different vision for what the future of the world should be. As they begin to search for answers, memories of their past—both alone and together—begin to resurface. Forced to confront their impending fate and reconcile with the memories that haunt their present, Elliot and Oliver must come together or risk losing each other, and everything, forever. Nothing Even Happened is a mind-boggling, genre-bending journey that questions if love is enough in the face of life’s greatest trials.

From Jade Song, the master of weird girl lit, comes a provocative and surreal collection of twelve short stories, each inspired by a Chinese zodiac animal. In this stunning collection, Jade Song masterfully blends realism with the surreal, crafting tales that explore identity, belonging, and the complexities of relationships. From a tattoo artist who reveals a hidden world of dragons (Dragon) to a suburban wife who transforms her neighborhood into a woodland sanctuary (Horse); from a girl who devours those who hurt her (Pig) to two young men whose love transcends time (Rabbit), these stories are as imaginative as they are unforgettable. With their signature sharp and evocative voice, Song delves into themes of cultural expectations, queer identity, and the burden of history, offering a bold and unflinching perspective on contemporary life. Each story is a journey—sometimes darkly humorous, often melancholic, and always thought-provoking.

From the author of the “exquisite” (The New York Times) Backhanded Compliments, a steamy sports romance about a disgraced tennis star, the ex-pro who becomes her coach, and the soulmate they share. Perfect for fans of Challengers and Carrie Soto Is Back. Octavia Ricci has spent her entire life proving she doesn’t need anyone—especially not her father, the controlling coach who built her career and broke her spirit. But after a public meltdown at the Australian Open, the icy Grand Slam champion isn’t sure if she ever wants to play again. She agrees to take it one tournament at a time, now under a new coach, determined to find her footing and love of the game again. Ariel de Cordova was once the next big thing in tennis until a devastating injury ended his career. Now, with his confidence shot, he’s not sure he can handle another player’s comeback story—especially not a player as volatile as Octavia. But as they practice, they both tentatively open up about their experiences and begin to heal their deepest wounds. The only stable, grounding presence in Octavia’s life is her soulmate and partner, Leo Mantovani. But he has two soulmarks on his wrist, and when Leo shakes hands with Octavia’s new coach for the first time, Ariel turns out to be Leo’s other soulmate. Knowing the optics of a player and coach relationship aren’t ideal, they decide to keep their relationship secret and surface-level. While Octavia, Ariel, and Leo fight to keep their relationship private, the tennis world is watching their every move. But when the spotlight turns harsh and old wounds resurface, they’ll have to decide if love is worth risking their careers, their reputations, and their hearts.

A BBC must-read book of 2026—”Sharp, dark and humorous, it’s a real nail-biter.” Go gay. Go sad. Go dark. A washed-up author will stop at nothing to claw her way back to relevancy—even if it means appropriating a young gay man’s tragic story. Mallory Maddox is buried under seven years of writer’s block. With her status as a literary sensation fizzling, she’ll do anything she can to resurrect her career. Inspiration needs to strike—and fast. Enter Leo. He’s a struggling addict sleeping under bridges and trading sex for survival. He’s vulnerable. He’s enigmatic. He’s exactly what Mallory has been looking for. Mallory needs Leo if she wants another bestseller. The world needs Leo’s story right now, and Mallory believes she deserves to tell it. Really, it’s her story—she’s the one who wrote it, after all. But as secrets threaten to unravel more than just her career, Mallory must decide how far she will go to pen the perfect story. A razor-sharp satirical thriller, Fruit Fly will appeal to fans of R. F. Kuang’s Yellowface and Yomi Adegoke’s The List.

From the author of the acclaimed novel The Fertile Earth comes a powerful tale of desire, friendship, and rivalry between three inseparable friends over the course of an unforgettable summer. In 1990s Hyderabad, three teenagers—Arjun, Ruhee and Ganesh—forge an unexpected bond. Over the course of a single sun-drenched summer, they discover love, friendship, and solace from their troubled families. They also discover the Red House, an abandoned house in their neighborhood, which becomes the site of their intimate friendship. But one night at the Red House, an unexpected act of violence shatters their lives forever. A decade later, Ruhee returns to Hyderabad, and Arjun, who has never forgotten his first love, is given a chance to tell the truth, both to himself and to those around him. But the tangled threads of fate, class and desire remain, as does a lacerating secret. By turns tender and unsettling, Ruthvika Rao’s All Our Evenings is a deeply affecting novel about youthful passion, redemption, and the people we can never let go.

This Midsummer, the hunter becomes the hunted. Every Midsummer, the spectacularly wealthy and charismatic investor Alexander Dormer brings a naive young girl to his private island. She never makes it home. This year, Alissa is his chosen companion—but Alissa is no ordinary guest. Twelve years ago, Alissa's sister vanished, and Alissa's finally traced her disappearance to Dormer. The plan? Secure evidence that her sister’s former paramour is a cold-blooded serial killer. But Dormer’s sinister island hides secrets more twisted than Alissa could ever imagine, and as the sun sets on Midsummer’s eve, dark forces will stop at nothing to keep them buried—and Alissa along with them.

FROM THE CRITICALLY ACCLAIMED AUTHOR OF WHAT A TIME TO BE ALIVE'A novel of rare emotional intensity ... An exceptional achievement' Elaine FeeneyKarro is on the cusp of her fortieth birthday and wants for nothing. She is mother to a beautiful son, wife to a rising star in British politics, heir to an esteemed Swedish publishing house, and moneyed enough to wile away her days at home in affluent Highgate, with literature (and the occasional dose of opium) for company.But then Karro is introduced to visiting American artist Won-sik, and falls for him entirely, embarking on an affair which will derail her sedate existence. The societal repercussions will be immediate and severe. As she confronts her own desires and abandons her son in a desperate pursuit of happiness, her world and her sense of self begin to unravel.Intelligent, sensual and searingly honest, Karro moves slickly between London, a Swedish archipelago, New York City, and the Côte d’Azur, and asks what it means to fall from grace in the twenty-first century. It paints a psychologically astute portrait of a woman trying – and failing – to find herself in motherhood, and forces us to weigh up our obligations to family, to society, and most importantly, to ourselves.‘A measured and gorgeous writer, in command of the senses in a way that makes the reader feel alive' The New York Times Book Review'With echoes of Raven Leilani, Natalia Ginzburg and even Virginia Woolf ... I was blown away. Karro is easily Mustard’s masterpiece’ Molly Aitken

A charged, delightfully offbeat novel of four women forging their way across time, place, and language in search of desire, power, and connection.Are Leonie and Max in love? They might be, still, or they might simply be living separate but intertwined existences. And she might be pregnant. And he might be missing? He's certainly not answering her text messages, off on some questionable assignment translating poetry from a language he seems to barely know. Malta. He's gone to Malta.Anna, the poet, guards her work closely as she alternately charges and rambles around her disintegrating island home—the house her father built and filled with his paintings, the house her mother struggled and failed to survive in. Will Max bring her success enough to keep it? Can this foreign man really take her words, her art, into his tongue? Does every partnership require some form of surrender?Leonie and Rhoda are both travel writers, Rhoda a practical practitioner, a veteran of the island beat. So when Max blinks off the map while on Malta, it's not such a leap for Leonie to ask Rhoda to track him down. Once there, Rhoda might discover more than Max's indiscretions. This Mediterranean island of sun-washed villas undermines her sense of reality. What kind of caper is this? Whose story is being written? And what will she do with a new version of herself?Full of mischief, charm, and wisdom, Katy Simpson Smith’s The Maltese Version upends our notions of love, language, desire, understanding, and the many ways we make meaning.

A folk horror novel about a girl who, hated by her town for her father’s crimes, must decide whether to save it or burn it all down when a dying god in the woods warns her of an impending catastrophe.When a bone-white crow lands in Sylvie Singer’s backyard, she knows trouble is coming. And after an FBI raid reveals her father’s double life, Sylvie’s entire world comes crashing around her. With nowhere to go but the abandoned railway station in the cursed West Woods, Sylvie spends her time avoiding the carnivorous white deer that live there, counting down the days until she can graduate from high school and finally leave the town that’s openly out for her blood. Then Sylvie encounters a different sort of monster. Illican is a horned god bound to the West Woods, even more wretched than she is. Sylvie is drawn to Illican, excited that he can introduce her to magic that could save her town—save her. But Illican is dying, and the last thing Pine Ridge Hollow wants is help from Sylvie Singer… The town is a tinderbox, and Sylvie is the spark that will either save it or burn it all down.

On a Mediterranean island famous for its hedonistic partying—and secretly home to a mountain community of mythical beings—a girl saves a trespassing tourist instead of killing him, threatening the only refuge her family has ever known. Obscura is a glitter-soaked Mediterranean island, world-famous for its wild nightlife—sex, drugs, and cutting-edge electronic music. While tourists flood the southern beaches, the rural North of the island is a no-man’s land of treacherous dirt roads and 'No Trespassing' signs. Those who dare to venture here rarely make it back. Because the mountains of the North aren’t just “cursed” as the locals believe—they are secretly home to a community of magical beings, who fled thousands of years of persecution to build a utopian society where they can live undisguised and unashamed of their hidden powers. It’s a place free of human interference—until Artemis, a girl with secrets of her own, saves a dying boy and smuggles him into her homeland. This act of rebellion sets off a reckoning that uncovers the lies, hypocrisies, and brutality her community was built upon. Now Artemis must choose: protect the world that made her, or burn it down to tell the truth. Sweeping from hash-scented mountain communes to blood-soaked dance floors, from illicit romances to the island’s mythic, dangerous past, Obscura is a genre-bending epic and a love letter to outsiders everywhere.

The Descent meets The Ritual in a cult aquatic horror about a group of academics trapped in a sea cave who must reckon with eldritch horrors as they are forced to atone for their greatest sins. ATONE OR DIE. Grad student Caro has no idea what she wants to do with her life, but when an opportunity arises to act as a research assistant on an anthropological expedition for her professor and lover, Edward Beck, she doesn't hesitate. Beck assembles a team of academics and professionals to study the ancient sea-based Cult of the Leviathan, and the expedition descends into the sea caves where the cult are said to have dwelt. But when the cave entrance collapses, trapping them inside, the expedition will find they are not alone in the darkness. Surrounded by strange artefacts and scattered bones, an ancient trial has been set in motion. One by one, the members of the expedition will be tested and forced to atone for their greatest sin. . . or die.

In the thrilling sequel to The Phoenix King, deadly secrets are uncovered, new alliances are forged, and an exiled princess will rise from the ashes of the old world as the burning queen. "So what will you become, Elena? Villain, hero, or conqueror?" Ravence has fallen. Her enemies have ravaged her people. And now Elena Aadya Ravence must decide how far she will go to reap her revenge. As she is pulled into a bitter war that will decide the fate of her kingdom, a new tyrant rises to reclaim his home, and Elena finds that perhaps her hunger isn’t enough. And his knows no bounds.