I continued exploring the fantasy genre this month and absolutely loved Katabasis by R.F. Kuang and Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil by V.E. Schwab. I used to think of fantasy as just dragons, fae, and castles, which never quite appealed to me. But I was delighted to discover the worlds of urban fantasy and magical realism. I’m excited to keep reading in this space. What should I pick up next?

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My Top Picks

Katabasis

R.F. Kuang

In R.F. Kuang’s dark academia novel Katabasis, analytical magick scholars Alice Law and Peter Murdoch descend into Hell from Cambridge to retrieve the soul of their academic advisor after his sudden death. As they make their way through the eight courts of Hell, the onetime friends and now sort-of enemies fight about how to map Hell, debate arcane theories of logic and philosophy, fight terrifying monsters and enemies, and secretly pine for each other. I ended up liking the book much more than I expected. I found Katabasis to be a creative and vividly imagined take on the descent narrative, with a love story lingering underneath its interrogation of ambition and morality. If that piques your interest, I highly recommend it. Come back later this month to read my full review. Get your copy from Bookshop.

Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil

V.E. Schwab

I didn’t know when I picked up this novel that it was a toxic lesbian vampire female rage story, but I’m here for it! The goth vibe of the title is fitting for the lush prose that deeply engages every sense. While these women don’t do much other than seek victims to feed their insatiable hunger for blood, hide from the light, and interact with the other vampires they encounter over the five centuries the story spans, Schwab’s writing is deliciously seductive and draws you in as these creatures of the night plot on men and go from being prey to predators. Some of the scenes turned my stomach, but that is also a testament to the strength of her writing. Beneath the gore and decadence is a story about survival and the slow, often brutal process of women reclaiming power in a world that has long cast them as prey. Get your copy from Bookshop.

Fatherland

Victoria Shorr

In Fatherland, Victoria Shorr examines the fallout when a respected midcentury doctor abandons his wife and children to marry his pregnant young lover. The novel opens inside the wife’s breathless unraveling, written in a loose, almost stream-of-consciousness style that captures the shock of sudden betrayal. It then shifts to the perspective of the middle child, Josie, tracing how a father-shaped absence shadows her into adulthood. Fatherland is a character-driven, intergenerational family story that explores the emotional consequences of one selfish decision. I finished it and sat quietly for a minute, reminded why I love literary fiction. Thank you to the publisher for a complimentary digital galley in exchange for an honest review. Fatherland will be published later in March – come back to read my full review. Pre-order your copy from Bookshop.

More from this Month

Open Throat

Henry Hoke

I genuinely don’t know what to make of this book. A queer and hungry mountain lion stalks the Hollywood hills observing the human condition and seeking water, food, and companionship. It’s a slim, poetic novel exploring issues like identity, family, the housing and climate crises, wealth and inequality, and belonging. I’m not a big fan of animals as narrators but it’s a quick read and worth reading at least for its audacity. Get your copy from Bookshop.

when i sing, mountains dance

Irene Solà

when i sing, mountains dance builds its story from a single, shocking event: a father struck dead by lightning in the opening chapter, which is narrated by clouds. From there, each chapter – voiced by humans, animals, and even natural elements – offers a new perspective on the family and landscape he leaves behind, with a bold approach that asks for patience from the reader as you try to orient yourself to the narrator of each chapter and discover the threads that connect the stories. Some chapters are luminous, while others read a bit like words strung together because they sound good next to each other. It was a bit of a disjointed way to experience a story because it didn’t go deep enough on anything for it to stick in my mind as I read, but when I got to the lovely and moving ending I realized that I had picked up exactly enough. when i sing, mountains dance is a story of community, family, and shared history. Read it with care and patience and you will be rewarded. Get your copy from Bookshop.

Out of Office

Brooke E. Rye

In this retirement memoir, the author offers a look at her efforts to design her retirement leisure time to find meaning and purpose, and to spend her days in a way that aligns with her values. A former software project manager, she initially approaches retirement like a project. We see in detail what her goals were each month, what she did toward them, and how well they contributed to her pursuit of meaning and purpose. This book would likely be helpful for someone nearing retirement and wondering what to do with all their time. I would have liked to see less day-to-day detail and more interrogation of the transition from career woman to retiree, and how identity shifts as a result. But as with any memoir, this is the author’s story to tell as she sees it. I’m many years from retirement, but the book did make me reflect deeply on what I might want out of my own retirement and what I can do now to shape that future. Thank you to the author for the complimentary digital galley in exchange for an honest review.

Coming Later This Year

The Pillagers’ Guide to Arctic Pianos

Kendra Langford Shaw

This quirky novel follows the Spahr family, who first headed to the Arctic Territory, piano in tow, with dozens of other homesteaders seeking to build a cultured community in this desolate and frozen landscape. None of the pianos survived the journey, but years later their descendants are living precariously on the edge of the land, farming octopuses and hunting for submerged pianos in the freezing fjord to recover and sell them to museums and collectors. The writing is vivid but it’s all whimsical setting and vibes without much substance. Characters appear, disappear, and die without us ever really getting to know them. Time passes, the water rises, generations raised to live on kelp ale and dried octopus arms endure. It’s an intergenerational saga of sorts, examining how these generations carry on the traditions of their ancestors. The author did try to pull the thread back to their great-great-great-great-grandfather who first settled in the territory, but in the end there just wasn’t enough depth for me. Thank you to NetGalley and Pantheon for the ARC in exchange for an honest review. The Pillagers’ Guide to Arctic Pianos will be published in May 2026. Pre-order your copy from Bookshop.