Links go to StoryGraph.

Grabby Hands of Want

The Tricky Business of Faerie Bargains by Reena McCarty

The Many by Sylvain Neuvel

The Name Game by Beth O’Leary

Mars One by Charlotte Robinson

Tempted By

The Radiant Dark by Alexandra Oliva

The Language of Liars by S.L. Huang

What We Are Seeking by Cameron Reed

Japanese Gothic by Kylie Lee Baker

The Gravewood by Kelly Andrew

Yesteryear by Caro Claire Burke

The Escape Game by Marissa Meyer + Tamara Moss

The Ending Writes Itself by Evelyn Clarke

Cherry Baby by Rainbow Rowell

Survival Show by Juno Dawson

Next in the Series

Everyone in This Bank is a Thief by Benjamin Stevenson

Piper at the Gates of Dusk by Patrick Ness

Judging by the Cover

Thistlemarch by Moorea Corrigan

Honeysuckle by Bar Fridman-Tell

The Subtle Art of Folding Space by John Chu

Also Caught My Attention

Morsel by Carter Keane

Dark is When the Devil Comes by Daisy Pearce

The Take by Kelly Yang

Lochbound by Rebecca Templeton

People Pleaser by Bryony Gordon

Unapologetic Love Story by Elle McNicoll

Year of the Mer by L.D. Lewis

The Fish and Chip Shop Detectives by Jenny Kane

Vile Lady Villains by Danai Christopoulou

The post On My Radar: April 2026 appeared first on Curiosity Killed the Bookworm.

Tuesday has been and gone… I still want to share my TBR for the next few months. I have so little time to read and blog right now, but this is still a helpful reminder when I go and reach for my next book. There’s probably overlap with my most anticpated list, but I have a brain like a sieve right now, so let’s just go back over them.

All things considered, I’ve made good progress on my Winter TBR. I’ve read 7.5 of them. The print edition of Through Gates of Garnet and Gold kept getting delayed, so it’s only just landed in my needy mitts. I just haven’t got around to getting a copy of Agnes Aubert yet, and the other outstanding read is in progress. Yay me!

Here are ten books I hope to read in the next three months…

Wolf Worm by T. Kingfisher

You know me, I’ll read anything T. Kingfisher writes.

The year is 1899 and Sonia Wilson is a scientific illustrator without work, prospects or hope. When the reclusive Dr. Halder offers her a position illustrating his vast collection of insects, Sonia jumps at the chance to move to his North Carolina manor house and put her talents to use.

But soon enough she finds that there are darker things at work in the Carolina woods.

What happened to her predecessor, Halder’s wife?

Why are animals acting so strangely?

And what is behind the peculiar local whispers about ‘blood thieves’?

With the aid of the housekeeper and a local healer, Sonia discovers that Halder’s entomological studies have taken him down a dark road full of parasitic maggots that burrow into human flesh – and that his monstrous experiments may grow to encompass his newest illustrator . . .

The Night We Met by Abby Jimenez

Abby’s books hit the right balance for me romance wise, so this was an auto buy for me.

In everyone’s life, there’s a split-second decision that can change everything . . .

For Larissa, it came when choosing which guy to ride home with after a concert. That night, she had no idea she’d met the perfect man. She and Chris are great together, co-parenting a slightly unhinged rescue Yorkie, sharing their favourite books, and judging bread (pumpernickel for the win!). For the first time amid all her side hustles to scrape by, things finally feel easy.

But Chris isn’t the one who drove Larissa home all those months ago – Chris is her boyfriend’s best friend. All Chris wants is for Larissa to be happy. Standing by on the sidelines is slowly killing him, but making a move would destroy someone else. And he’s just not that guy.

The Tapestry of Fate by Shannon Chakraborty

More Amina al-Sirafi please! I feel like I’ve been waiting forever for this.

Amina al-Sirafi thinks she’s struck gold. Tasked with hunting down magical artifacts for the council of immortal peris, she can savour the occasional adventure on the high seas with her cherished criminal companions while still returning home to raise her beloved daughter.

But when Raksh, the spirit of discord with whom she is reluctantly wed, provokes the council’s wrath, Amina is charged with a seemingly impossible quest: steal a spindle capable of rewriting fate from a mysterious sorceress on an island no one can escape.

Forced to leave her daughter, Amina finds her mission almost immediately thrown into peril. But deadly storms, an erratic poison mistress, and old enemies are the least of her worries. For the peris’ story is unravelling, hinting at a far deadlier game whose rules Amina must swiftly puzzle out. A game that sets her against an adversary more cunning and powerful than she has ever faced.

A game that not everyone on her crew wants her to win.

Mars One by Charlotte Robinson

I’m hoping this fits the bill for Popsugar’s women astronauts prompt.

On the barren plains of the Kazakh Steppe, Alyssa Wright stands on the brink of the most ambitious space flight in history: a one-way mission to Mars. But when disaster strikes, she begins to uncover a conspiracy that threatens her life – and the lives of everyone on board.

In Hong Kong, a coder vanishes from his home, leaving nothing behind but a cryptic warning and his cat. Pursued by violent forces, his sister finds herself on the run, in possession of the one thing capable of saving him.

Amidst a dark vacuum of nothingness, as the Argo spaceship hurtles toward Mars, the crew realise that someone is sabotaging the mission from the inside. Every second brings them closer to catastrophe, and time is running out.

Bromantasy by Máire Roche 

The cover made me laugh, then the title, and then I saw the tag line and laughed some more. Here’s hoping it’s not just the marketing department I find amusing.

Juniper O’Reilly is good at only two things: demolishing a pint of mead and finding the perfect skincare routine. Everything else – taking care of the farm, bartering for goods, any sort of manual labour – falls to Juniper’s best friend, the absurdly capable, endlessly patient Mo Elmthorn.

But when Juniper accidentally volunteers them both for a quest to kill a fearsome monster, he knows he’s finally gotten in over his head. Juniper hates camping, he hates the dark, and there’s no way all these foraged mushrooms are going to sit well in his stomach. One thing he doesn’t hate? How good Mo’s thighs look in his questing pants – he doesn’t have time to think about that, though, with a monster to hunt and their futures on the line.

But monsters come in all shapes and sizes. When Juniper and Mo realize that the terrifying beast they’ve sworn to kill is just a scared little girl torn from her family, they’re off to find not only the true villain of the story, but maybe even a happy ending.

Bat Eater by Kylie Lee Baker

I’m making a bit more of an effort to read through the books from my Evernight subscription, otherwise I really need to cancel it!

Cora Zeng is a crime scene cleaner. But the bloody messes don’t bother her, not when she’s already witnessed the most horrific thing possible: her sister being pushed in front of a train.

But the killer was never caught, and Cora is still haunted by his last words: bat eater.

These days, nobody can reach Cora: not her aunt who wants her to prepare for the Hungry Ghost Festival, not her weird colleagues, and especially not the slack-jawed shadow lurking around her doorframe. After all, it can’t be real – can it?

After a series of unexplained killings in Chinatown, Cora believes that someone might be targeting East Asian women, and something might be targeting Cora herself.

The Red Winter by Cameron Sullivan

For some reason, the blurb doesn’t excite me but I did see several reviews that piqued my interest in this. Was it Tammy or someone else? I can’t remember, but one of you swayed me.

In 1785, Professor Sebastian Grave receives the news he fears most: the terrible Beast of Gévaudan has returned, and the French countryside runs red in its wake. Sebastian knows the Beast. A monster-slayer with centuries of experience, he joined the hunt for the creature twenty years ago and watched it slaughter its way through a long and bloody winter. Even with the help of Sarmodel, the demon he plays host to, bringing the monster down nearly cost him his life.

Now, two decades later, Sebastian has been recalled to the hunt by Antoine Avenel d’Ocerne, an estranged lover who shares a dark history with the Beast and a terrible secret with Sebastian. Drawn by both the chance to finish the Beast for good and the promise of a reconciliation with Antoine, Sebastian cannot refuse.

The Tricky Business of Faerie Bargains by Reena McCarty

I’ve heard this is similar to Emily Wilde, so fingers crossed that’s true as I’m starting to tire of the cosier end of cosy fantasy. I don’t want everything to be grim, but I need something going on.

When Poppy Hill was a child, she was stolen from her family’s Montana homestead and taken ‘Otherside’ to the land of the Fae, where she spent more than a century as a cook in the Wild King’s castle. Now back in the human world, she works for a company that brokers faerie bargains, checking for loopholes in their contracts.

But when a bargain that Poppy is negotiating goes disastrously wrong, she must return to the world she grew up in to try to rectify her mistake, facing danger, intrigue and a pesky ex-boyfriend along the way.

Not With a Bang by Temi Oh

This has me in mind of nineties disaster films which I love. Oh no the family’s all split up and the end of the world is happening. Plus, I’ve enjoyed Temi’s other books.

The Minton family is in crisis. After losing his job, Marcus begins stockpiling cans, running evacuation drills and digging a doomsday bunker in the back garden. At the same time, his daughters are unravelling in their own ways – Chantale is being haunted by dreams of disaster, and Briar’s obsession with a missing classmate draws her deeper into the seductive world of a UFO cult. Meanwhile, no one is aware of the devastating diagnosis their mother has been desperately trying to keep hidden.

Then, on the morning of the eldest daughter’s wedding, an extinction-level event tears the world apart, and the Mintons must fight their way through a devastated city – back to safety, survival, and each other.

The Name Game by Beth O’Leary

I’m still chasing the high of The Flatshare with Beth’s books. This one sounds fun and I like island settings.

The Isle of Ormer: population 500, soon to be 501.

Charlie Jones has landed on the island to embark on her brand new life. As the manager at Ormer’s only farm shop, this job will be her perfect next chapter. Good riddance to the mainland, this is it – fresh air, and a clean slate.

Except there is one small issue . . .

Charlie Jones has also just arrived on the Isle of Ormer, to embark on his brand new life. His job at the farm shop feels like fate, and could not have come at a better moment. On Ormer, Charlie has promised himself he’ll escape old friends, bad habits and heartbreak.

This second chance is the best thing that could have happened to Charlie . . . and Charlie.

That is, until they are introduced . . .

The post Top Ten: Spring TBR appeared first on Curiosity Killed the Bookworm.

If you’d like to know more about any of these books, links go to StoryGraph.

Grabby Hands of Want

Wolf Worm by T. Kingfisher

The Night We Met by Abby Jimenez

Tempted By

Hell’s Heart by Alexis Hall

Seasons of Glass and Iron by Amal El-Mohtar

When I Was Death by Alexis Henderson

The Fox and the Devil by Kiersten White

Innamorata by Ava Reid

Love is a Toad by Lucy Lapwing

Judging by the Cover

Hesket: A Norfolk Haunting by Sara Bayat

Also Caught My Attention

A Far-Flung Life by M.L. Stedman

Celestial Lights by Cecile Pin

The Comfort of Distant Stars by I.O. Echeruo

The Beheading Game by Rebecca Lehmann

We Interrupt This Program by Randee Dawn

How to Write a Love Story by Catherine Walsh

How to Get Away With Murder by Rebecca Philipson

The post On My Radar: March 2026 appeared first on Curiosity Killed the Bookworm.

The Twisted Ones by T. Kingfisher

This was creepy in a similar way to The Hollow Places. I love when I get to the author’s note in a T.Kingfisher book, I always learn something that adds a different perspective. This is based on a found manuscript short story, The White People, which appears as a found manuscript in this book too.

• ATY 31. A book from that same author’s backlist
• TCKtB 24. Beware of the woods

Wooing the Witch Queen by Stephanie Burgis

This was fun! The romance wasn’t rushed and there was a reason to care about the characters other than will-they-won’t-they. It’s sort of enemies to lovers but not in a problematic way. In fact, it’s more a story about propaganda shaping your opinions on people you don’t know.

• ATY 2. A book with a primarily red, green or blue cover
• PS 14. A book set in Michigan or written by an author from Michigan
• TCKtB 23. Back in my day we called it paranormal romance
• 52BC 35. Character with a secret identity

Everyone on this Train is a Suspect by Benjamin Stevenson

I wasn’t that fussed about Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone, but the premise of the second book in the series was enough of a draw to give him a second chance. And I enjoyed this one so much more. Maybe I’m just a sucker for mysteries set on trains.

• ATY 47. A book with “this”, “that”, “these”, or “those” in the title
• 52BC 25. Includes a red herring

The House at Sea’s End by Elly Griffiths

I really like the setting and archaeological aspects of this series, and the main character is starting to get a bit less annoying by book three. Overall an undemanding read, however the reveal felt like it came out of nowhere. I wasn’t even sure who the person was, and the motive was far fetched without having anything to back it up during the rest of the book.

• ATY 41. A mystery or true crime book
• PS 6. A book with an overweight main character whose story isn’t about losing weight

The Enchanted Greenhouse by Sarah Beth Durst

The sentient plants were cute, and I loved that the halophyte wanted to go sail the seas. This really dragged on in the second half, and I didn’t care for the romance.

• PS 1. A book where gardening or a garden is central to the plot
• TCKtB 11. Cosy fantasy

Around the Year in 52 Books – 11/52

Popsugar – 8/50

This Challenge Killed the Bookworm – 5/25

52 Book Club – 7/52

The post Record of Reading #3 – Cosy Fantasy, Mysteries, and Another T. Kingfisher appeared first on Curiosity Killed the Bookworm.

Links go to StoryGraph.

Grabby Hands of Want

Agnes Aubert’s Mystical Cat Shelter by Heather Fawcett

Nightshade and Oak by Molly O’Neill

The Red Winter by Cameron Sullivan

Witch Trial by Harriet Tyce

Next in the Series

First Sign of Danger by Kelley Armstrong (Haven’s Rock)

Tempted By

The Apple and the Pearl by Rym Kechacha

How to Kill a Crime Writer by Sarah Lotz

The Forest on the Edge of Time by Jasmin Kirkbride

Weavingshaw by Heba Al-Wasity

Gone For Good by Sarah Crossan

The Starseekers by Nicole Glover

She Made Herself a Monster by Anna Kovatcheva

Adrift by Will Dean

Judging by the Cover

Saltswept by Katalina Watt

Boy, with Accidental Dinosaur by Ian McDonald

Books and Bewitchment by Isla Jewell

Also Caught My Attention

This Wretched Beauty by Elle Grenier

One & Only by Maureen Goo

The Iron Garden Sutra by A.D. Sui

When Trees Testify by Beronda L. Montgomery

The Body by Bethany C. Morrow

Red Star Rebels by Amie Kaufman

Blood Relay by Devon Mihesuah

The Misheard World by Aliya Whiteley

The post On My Radar: February 2026 appeared first on Curiosity Killed the Bookworm.

A Drop of Corruption by Robert Jackson Bennett

I liked the first book in this series so much, I jumped straight into the next one. I loved learning more about where the grafts and augmentations come from, although it has left me with questions about that Leviathan carcass left lying around in Talagray. The augurs were an interesting addition and reminded me a bit of Minority Report. Knowing more about the world this time around, made it a bit easier to solve the mystery yourself if that’s the kind of thing you enjoy.

It’s a bit of a stretch for a book about debt, but debt is a motivating factor for the main character so I’m counting it. The plot is focused on Leviathan blood and there was also sweat and tears.

• PS 28. A book about debt
• ATY 6. A book related to blood, sweat, or tears
• 52BC 8. A three-syllable word in the title

Secrets of the First School by T.L. Huchu

Overall, I’ve thoroughly enjoyed listening to this series on audio, however it was starting to drag on a little. This is the final book, and it was the right time to end it. Back from the dead, Ropa goes from place to place looking for her little sister, leading her back to Henry Dundas (also back from the dead). Somehow it falls on the shoulders of young Ropa to free Scottish magic from the grips of that death cult. The pacing was a bit off; there’s a lot of characters and stuff going on, interrupted by asides about the politics of Scottish magic (which we all know by now if we’ve been paying attention). But I’m glad to have an ending for Ropa, her sister, and River the fox.

• ATY 9. A book with a number, ordinal, or iterative numeral in the title
• 52BC 14. Includes a character list

Around the Year in 52 Books – 7/52

Popsugar – 5/50

This Challenge Killed the Bookworm – 2/25

52 Book Club – 5/52

The post Record of Reading #2 – Scottish Magic and More Leviathan appeared first on Curiosity Killed the Bookworm.

Looking through my wishlist, many of my most anticipated books of 2026 are coming later in the year. Which is weird, because I usually have way more that ten to add to this annual TTT topic. I guess I’ll need to find some more books to keep me going till the second half of the year. Hardly a difficult task!

I’m looking forward to seeing which titles make everyone else’s lists this week too.

The Tapestry of Fate by Shannon Chakraborty

One of the books I’m most looking forward to this year. It feels so long since I last set sail with Amina Al-Sirafi.

All Hail Chaos by Sarah Rees Brennan

Long Live Evil was so much tropetastic fun, I can’t wait to see where this book takes the story.

Wolf Worm by T. Kingfisher

I am forever in anticipation of whatever she writes next. This is a historical horror with a scientific illustrator main character and I hope lots of insects being both interesting and creepy.

Platform Decay by Martha Wells

The new Murderbot book, need I say more?

The Night We Met by Abby Jimenez

I still have a bunch of her backlist to read, but I’ve enjoyed both books I’ve read so far, and will definitely be adding her newest to my TBR.

Nightshade & Oak by Molly O’Neill

I think I may have mentioned once or twice how much I loved Greenteeth, so of course I’m reading her second, standalone novel.

Agnes Aubert’s Mystical Cat Shelter by Heather Fawcett

I hope this fills the Emily Wilde shaped hole in 2026.

Startup Hell by Caitlin Rozakis

While the The Grimoire Grammar School Parent Teacher Association didn’t hit quite the right spot for me, I did love Dreadful. I’m hoping this fun fantasy set in the world of tech startups is more my thing.

Not With a Bang by Temi Oh

The blurb is giving me Deep Impact vibes, and I do love an extinction level event story.

Love Galaxy by Sierra Branham

And to round up the list to ten, this is less anticipated and more a fun looking read that I’ll likely pick up. I don’t even like Love Island but this sci-fi version sounds much more entertaining than the TV show.

The post Top Ten Most Anticipated: January – June 2026 appeared first on Curiosity Killed the Bookworm.

Cold as Hell by Kelley Armstrong

The third book in the Haven’s Rock series, a spin-off from Rockton. A compelling mystery, and I love this little, weird town in the Yukon despite the book’s faults. I don’t need to be reminded of every character’s backstory every time they appear for the first time, and sometimes I think everyone is just a bit too reasonable. Well, except the killers.

Added bonus, someone mentioned the victim did Pilates so I can tick off that prompt early on and forget about it.

• ATY #42 A book set in an isolated location
• PS #20 A book with a character who does Pilates or Lagree

Snake-Eater by T. Kingfisher

The cosiest of horrors. Probably more fantasy than horror but it’s T. Kingfisher so I had a blast. I learned a thing or two about roadrunners. Like how fierce they are. I liked all the small gods of the American desert, and Copper is the bestest of dogs.

The blurb mentions a debt but even with my very bendy challenge rules, I couldn’t see anything that would make it fit Popsugar’s debt prompt. Fortunately for my need to tick things off lists, it did have scorpions and a rooster, so both my zodiac signs covered. Thank the small god of reading challenges.

• ATY 30. The most recently published book by an author
• PS 49. A book with a mention of your zodiac sign
• TCKtB 7. A book by T. Kingfisher
• 52BC 17. Author’s bio mentions their dog

Problematic Summer Romance by Ali Hazelwood

I sometimes wish Ali Hazelwood would write more closed-door romance. I like her characters and get drawn into the story and then the sex happens, with all the so-big-it-hurts stuff and often a random kink thrown in for good measure. And I’m just thinking, not this again, and skip forward until it stops.

For ATY, the characters are on vacation, I read it during my holiday, and romance is often considered beach read material. It did not make me want to jump on a plane to Italy, but I’m going to treat that prompt as related to Italy and be done with it.

• ATY 29. A vacation book
• PS 35. A book that makes you want to travel to Italy

Automatic Noodle by Annalee Newitz

The premise was cute: a bunch of robots decide to open a hand-stretched noodle restaurant. I particularly liked the robot who was a mood octopus. It covers review bombing, over-reliance on single platforms for business, and dark kitchens. It also covers a whole lot more, too much for a novella, and its metaphors get a bit muddled. The bad guys are people who are angry about robots taking jobs from people and they’re painted as bigots, with the robots being the victimised, minority community. But these are valid concerns when you’re not equating AI with disadvantaged humans, and it felt a bit of a bad choice to side with AI in the current climate.

I will be pairing this with a book by Charlie Jane Anders for the multiweek prompts.

• PS 43. Two books written by real-life partners or spouses (1)
• 52BC 30. Author related to another author
• ATY 48. A book with something edible in the title

The Tainted Cup by Robert Jackson Bennett

A murder mystery is such a great way to explore this fascinating, secondary world fantasy setting. The flora and fauna of the world is just as crucial as the political machinations of those in power. It’s a science driven world, with alterations to give people powers, like out protagonist Din’s perfect recall, and teams to help contain contagions such as altered plants and fungi. Even the security systems of the rich are plant-based. All the while the Empire works to keep the leviathans out.

Absolutely loved it and started the second book straight away!

• TCKtB 22. It’s a mystery
• ATY 10. An award winning book
• 52BC 36. Award-winning book from last year

The post Record of Reading #1 – Robots, Murders, Problematic Romance, and a Roadrunner appeared first on Curiosity Killed the Bookworm.

I didn’t read nearly as much in 2025 as I normally would, ending the year with only eight books rated 5 stars, but I’ve topped up the list with a couple of high 4 starrers. These aren’t all books published in 2025, but the best of what I read last year. I feel like I’m doing a bit better at reading off my TBR at least.

Greenteeth by Molly O’Neill

One of the few books I managed to review last year. I loved Jenny Greenteeth and this ode to British folklore.

Eat the Ones You Love by Sarah Maria Griffin

Give me more sentient plant stories please! I loved the atmosphere of the shopping centre in the process of shutting down and the way the narrative oozes in and out of perspectives.

We Are All Ghosts in the Forest by Lorraine Wilson

The internet is dead and the ghosts that haunt the world are remnants of the web. Such a beautiful and unique book, with echoes of the pandemic between the pages.

Everything is Tuberculosis by John Green

John is a fantastic communicator, and I much prefer his non-fiction to his fiction. A short but fascinating history of TB intertwined with Henry’s story, which shows the reality of drug resistant TB in a poverty stricken country.

An Immense World by Ed Yong

Fascinating exploration of how animals experience the world. It spent around the right amount of time on each sense without getting too bogged down.

Watership Down: The Graphic Novel by Richard Adams

Adapted by James Sturm + Joe Sutphin

This was a nostalgic read for me and beautifully illustrated. Looks just like the Hampshire countryside. Highly recommended for anyone who grew up with this story. Why yes, I did cry again.

Just For the Summer by Abby Jimenez

My first book by this author and certainly not my last. I was lured in by the promise of let’s break a curse fake-dating, only to be pleasantly surprised by a meaningful story of a woman finding a place to belong after a neglected childhood.

The Woman Who Died a Lot by Jasper Fforde

I was a bit slow catching up with Thursday Next, and I’d forgotten how much I love these stories. Can’t wait for the finale this year!

Wearing the Lion by John Wiswell

Wiswell’s Heracles is a big, cinnamon roll of a man. It starts off with him thanking his Auntie Hera for his snake friends, when we all know that Hera was really trying to kill the newborn son of Zeus. I loved this angry, sweary, version of Hera, and the monsters were adorable too.

Emily Wilde’s Compendium of Lost Tales by Heather Fawcett

The third installment of Emily Wilde was everything I needed it to be. Wendell being lovely, Emily being Emily, the Fae being delightfully creepy and Shadow being the best dog.

The post Best Books of 2025 appeared first on Curiosity Killed the Bookworm.

Let me know in the comments which books you’re looking forward to and feel free to leave links to your reviews if you’ve read any already.

Grabby Hands of Want

How to Lose a Goblin in Ten Days by Jessie Sylva

Through Gates of Garnet and Gold by Seanan McGuire

Nine Goblins by T. Kingfisher*

Tempted By

The Swan’s Daughter by Roshani Chokshi

So I Met This Guy… by Alexandra Potter

The Devil in Silver by Victor LaValle*

Arborescence by Thett Davis

Also Caught My Attention

City of Others by Jared Poon

Starling Nights by Merit Niemeitz

We Call Them Witches by India-Rose Bower

Meet the Newmans by Jennifer Niven

*  These are both older titles that are being published in the UK for the first time.

The post On My Radar: January 2026 appeared first on Curiosity Killed the Bookworm.