New Books for February: Sci-Fi, Fantasy, and Horror

The new year is no longer quite so new, and the book releases are starting to pick up the pace. This month you’ll find a fresh sci-fi adventure from Edward Ashton—who’ll soon see his earlier novel Mickey7 come to theaters as Mickey 17—as well as another tale, Victorian Psycho, that’s also headed for the big screen. Plus: ragtag space missions, fantasies inspired by history and mythology, fairies, monsters, dystopias, and way beyond.

February 4

The Bones Beneath My Skin by TJ Klune 

This standalone supernatural thriller follows “an extraordinary young girl and her two unlikely protectors on the run from cultists and the government.” (February 4)

The Curious Kitten at the Chibineko Kitchen by Yuta Takahashi, translated by Cat Anderson 

A young woman embarks on a magical journey from a seaside cafe where ordering a special meal allows visitors to reunite with loved ones who have passed on. (February 4)

Enemy of My Dreams by Jenny Williamson 

“In the last days of the Roman Empire, a desperate princess and a brutal Gothic warlord forge a dangerous alliance.” (February 4)

Galaxy Raiders: Abyss by Ian Douglas 

A new military sci-fi series begins with this tale “pitting amortal humans against a mystifying alien intelligence in a galaxy-spanning conflict.” (February 4)

Grave Empire by Richard Swan 

This first entry in a new series “begins the epic tale of an empire on the verge of industrial revolution, where sorcery and arcane practices are outlawed—and where an ancient prophecy threatens the coming end of days.” (February 4)

Kingdom of Claw by Demi Winters 

“Return to the Kingdom of Íseldur, where enemies become lovers and dark secrets hide around each corner, in the sequel to the Viking-inspired romantic fantasy The Road of Bones.” (February 4)

Listen to Your Sister by Neena Viel 

A twentysomething is rapidly growing weary of caring for her reckless teenage brother, especially since their other brother has offered zero help. When the trio has to go on the run and ends up at a spooky cabin in the woods, she worries that her recurring nightmare may soon infiltrate reality. (February 4)

Victorian Psycho by Virginia Feito 

“The riveting tale of a bloodthirsty governess who learns the true meaning of vengeance.” Fun fact: A24 has already picked this one up for a feature adaptation. (February 4)

Bride by Ali Hazelwood 

“A dangerous alliance between a Vampyre bride and an Alpha Werewolf becomes a love deep enough to sink your teeth into in this new paranormal romance.” (February 6)

Mother of Serpents by John R. Gordon 

After moving with his husband and young son from Brooklyn to a small town in Maine where he’s the only Black person, a man must figure out if the uncanny experiences he soon begins having spring from his troubled mind—or are in fact actually real. (February 7)

February 11

Beauty in the Blood by Charlotte Carter 

“A curse rolls out over centuries, murky and unknowable as swamp waters, shaping and destroying lives.” (February 11)

Boys in the Valley by Philip Fracassi 

This coming-of-age horror tale set at a rural Pennsylvania orphanage is described as “The Exorcist meets Lord of the Flies.” (February 11)

But Not Too Bold by Hache Pueyo 

“The Shape of Water meets Mexican Gothic in this sapphic monster romance novella wrapped in gothic fantasy trappings.” (February 11)

Combat Monsters edited by Henry Herz 

“This collection takes real events from World War II and injects them with fantastical creatures that mirror the ‘unreality’ of war itself. Each story—and two poems—feature mythical, mystical, and otherwise unexplainable beings that change the course of history.” (February 11)

The Crimson Road by A.G. Slatter 

This dark gothic fantasy set in the same universe as the author’s All the Murmuring Bones, The Path of Thorns, and The Briar Book of the Dead is described as “a tale of vampires, assassins, ancient witches, and broken promises.” (February 11)

The Dollhouse Academy by Margarita Montimore

At an elite boarding school where celebrities are created using strange medical techniques and other sinister methods, the most famous resident begins to break down while a pair of friends turned rivals grapple with the highs and lows of sudden success. (February 11)

Emily Wilde’s Compendium of Lost Tales by Heather Fawcett 

“The third installment in the heartwarming and enchanting Emily Wilde series, about a curmudgeonly scholar of folklore and the fae prince she loves.” (February 11)

The Moonlight Healers by Elizabeth Becker 

“A powerful debut with a magical twist about one woman’s discovery of her family’s secret healing abilities and the mysterious consequences she must contend with when she uses them on someone she loves.” (February 11)

The Poorly Made and Other Things: A Story Collection by Sam Rebelein 

This short story set in the same county as the author’s Edenville explores tales that “play with the uncanny to explore themes of loneliness and grief.” (February 11) 

Sanctum of the Soul by Kel Kade 

The “genre-bending” Shroud of Prophecy series ends with this “epic conclusion.” (February 11)

The Wolf Tree by Laura McCluskey 

After a mysterious death on a Scottish island with a history of mysterious deaths, two detectives from Glasgow arrive to investigate—and are soon met with hostility and dark secrets galore. (February 11)

February 18

Ambessa: Chosen of the Wolf by C.L. Clark 

This book set in the League of Legends universe is described as “a thrilling epic fantasy novel where Ambessa Medarda truly learns what it means to be a Chosen of the Wolf.” (February 18)

A Curse for the Homesick by Laura Robson 

On an island where certain women temporarily have the power to turn people to stone, a woman and man fall in love despite the fact that her mother killed his parents years before—and despite the fact that he’s determined to stay there, while she dreams every day of leaving. (February 18)

A Dragon of Black Glass by James Rollins 

The penultimate book in the author’s Moonfall series is “a tale of relentless adventure and the struggle for survival in a harsh world that hangs by a thread.” (February 18)

The Garden by Nick Newman 

“A darkly beautiful, eerie, hypnotic novel about two elderly sisters living alone at the edge of the world.” (February 18)

Hungerstone by Kat Dunn 

“A compulsive feminist reworking of Carmilla, the queer novella that inspired Dracula.” (February 18)

I Got Abducted by Aliens and Now I’m Trapped in a Rom-Com by Kimberly Lemming 

“A hilarious and sexy romance about a woman who gets dropped on a strange planet only to fall for not one, but two, aliens.” (February 18)

Picks and Shovels by Cory Doctorow 

The author “returns to the world of Red Team Blues to bring us the origin story of Martin Hench and the most powerful new tool for crime ever invented: the personal computer.” (February 18)

Rebel Witch by Kristen Ciccarelli 

The Crimson Moth duology concludes in this epic fantasy tale of witches and forbidden romance. (February 18)

Upon a Starlit Tide by Kell Woods 

“A dark and enchanting historical fantasy combining elements of The Little Mermaid and Cinderella into a wholly original tale of love, power, and betrayal.” (February 18)

The Witch of Whispervale by R.A. Salvatore 

From the author and Drizzt Do’Urden creator, this next installment in the DemonWars fantasy series continues the story of “the traitorous invasion by the Xoconai of the eastern realms of Corona. However, the heroes of the last war against their demon god may be forgotten, but they are not powerless.” (February 18)

Wooing the Witch Queen by Stephanie Burgis 

“In a gaslamp-lit world where hags and ogres lurk in thick pine forests, three magical queens form an uneasy alliance to protect their lands from invasion… and love turns their world upside down.” (February 18)

February 25

The Blanket Cats by Kiyoshi Shigematsu, translated by Jesse Kirkwood

 “Seven struggling customers are given the unique opportunity to take home a ‘blanket cat’… but only for three days, the time it’ll take to change their lives.” (February 25)

A Circle of Uncommon Witches by Paige Crutcher 

“A witch generationally cursed to never find true love sets out to break the spell cast on her family, and must team up with the last person who wants to help her—the witch who set the curse in the first place.” (February 25)

Dance of Shadows by Gourav Mohanty 

“As the royal houses of Sons of Darkness intrigued, maneuvered, and finally met in open battle with devastating consequences, far more sinister deeds were unfolding just over the Eastern horizon. Dance of Shadows is that story.” (February 25)

The Dark Mirror by Samantha Shannon

The fifth book in the Bone Season series follows Paige Mahoney’s quest to recover her memories while stopping a sinister plot that threatens all of Europe. (February 25)

Destiny’s Way by Jack Campbell 

“Lieutenant Selene Genji is hurled into the past to try and save a world that doesn’t want her in this action-packed adventure.” (February 25)

Fagin the Thief by Allison Epstein 

“A thrilling reimagining of the world of Charles Dickens, as seen through the eyes of the infamous Jacob Fagin, London’s most gifted pickpocket, liar, and rogue.” (February 25)

Fortress Sol by Stephen Baxter

Decades after his mother cut off his hand to spare him from a life of working in Mercury’s mines, a man instead toils on a structure that protects the solar system from aliens—and becomes caught in the tension when a mysterious ship arrives from a forgotten colony planet. (February 25)

The Fourth Consort by Edward Ashton 

This standalone novel from the author of Mickey7 is “part first contact story, part dark comedy, and part bizarre love triangle that asks an important question: how far would you go to survive? And more importantly, how many drinks would you need to go there?” (February 25)

Future’s Edge by Gareth L. Powell 

“When archaeologist Ursula Morrow accidentally infects herself with an alien parasite, she fears she may have jeopardized her career. However, her concerns become irrelevant when Earth is destroyed, billions die, and suddenly no one needs archaeologists anymore… Two years later, she’s plucked from a refugee camp on a backwater world and tasked with retrieving the artifact that infected her, as it just might hold the key to humanity’s survival.” (February 25)

Gate to Kagoshima by Poppy Kuroki 

“A young Scottish woman is magically transported to the last Samurai era, where she encounters ghosts from the past, her own Japanese ancestry, and a love that transcends time.” (February 25)

George R.R. Martin Presents Wild Cards: House Rules: A Novel in Stories presented by George R.R. Martin 

 “An original anthology centered around one very unusual house in Cornwall which serves as a nexus to the multiverse—set in the Wild Cards universe.” Contributors include Stephen Leigh, Mary Anne Mohanraj, Caroline Spector, Kevin Andrew Murphy, Peter Newman, and Peadar Ó Guilín. (February 25)

Greenteeth by Molly O’Neill 

This cozy fantasy novel contains a story of “fae, folklore, and found family, narrated by a charismatic lake-dwelling monster.” (February 25)

Heart of the Shadow King by Sylvia Mercedes 

“The viral TikTok fantasy romance, now in a special print edition with exclusive bonus material … Oncoming darkness threatens to engulf a noble king and his powerful queen in this breathtaking, epic conclusion to the Bride of the Shadow King series.” (February 25)

The Strange Case of Jane O. by Karen Thompson Walker 

“A young mother is struck by sudden and puzzling psychological symptoms that illuminate the mysterious dimensions of the human mind—and of love.” (February 25)

Swordheart by T. Kingfisher 

“The delightful charm of The Princess Bride meets the delicious bodyguard romance of From Blood and Ash in this cozy fantasy romance.” (February 25)

Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what’s next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.