My Suspiciously Specific Recommendations for February will themed around a topic that’s close to my heart this time of year: grief. Not only does February mark some significant dates and anniversaries in relation to my personal grief, but it also feels like the perfect time of year for the subject matter: gloomy, cold and dark, but with days that are ever so slowly lengthening again towards summer. In this mini-series, I’ll share some grief-themed books, clustered by suspicio

Genre: literary fiction Published: Henry Holt and Co, February 2026 My Rating: 2/5 stars Framed as a story within a story, Sarah Bruni has crafted a tale of motherhood and power disparity, that unfortunately didn’t click with me. We follow A., an unnamed translator, living alone in an unforgiving, late-capitalist metropolis. She is still recovering from a medical trauma that took her reproductive organs, and spends her days nannying for another woman’s boy and her nights out

April Releases Wife Shaped Bodies by Laura Cranehill Genre: Horror Expected release date:  April 14th 2026 Synopsis: Sorrowland meets Manhunt in this literary horror debut in which an isolated newlywed—covered in mushroom growths like all the other wives in her community—strikes a precarious balance between following her husband’s strict rules and pursuing an intense connection with a woman who makes her question everything. Forbidden from leaving her house from girlhood unti

Genre: Horror Published: Erewhon Books, January 2026 My Rating: 2/5 stars On a semi-objective level, Allison Mick’s eco-horror debut deserves about 3/5 stars, so that’s the rating I settled on for now. However, on a personal level, I had more of a 2-star experience with it. This is not a bad book, but it’s a type of horror that’s not for me. Unfortunately, I would’ve known to avoid this beforehand, had the marketing been a little different. More on this later in the review.