A darkly compelling novel that delves into the toxic allure of female perfection through the intertwined stories of Nina Kaur, a sophomore desperate to join The House—the university’s most elite and enigmatic sorority—as a means to secure her future, and Dr. Sloane Hartley, a struggling adjunct professor who envies the alumnae’s seemingly flawless lives while navigating postpartum identity and professional setbacks. As both women are drawn into the sorority’s seductive yet sinister world, they discover that the price of belonging is steep, and the rituals of sisterhood demand more than they bargained for. With biting wit and unflinching insight, Blake crafts a razor-sharp exploration of ambition, sacrifice, and the lengths women go to for power and acceptance.

A paranoid, genre-bending horror debut that follows a trans woman—haunted by literal demons and the traumas of conversion therapy, dead-end jobs, and toxic relationships—as she flees a new, relentless evil in New York City for an all-trans girl commune in rural Indiana. Named after the 19th-century intersex memoirist Herculine Barbin, the secluded camp offers fleeting solace, but its eerie secrets—whispered conversations, cryptic texts, and unsettling rituals—quickly unravel into something far more sinister. As the narrator struggles to decode the commune’s dark undercurrents, she realizes her demons have followed her, and this time, they refuse to let go. Byron delivers a chilling, surreal exploration of survival, community, and the horrors that lurk within both the self and the places we seek sanctuary.

A high-stakes sci-fi thriller that follows Julia Z, the once-notorious "orphan hacker," as she’s pulled from her quiet, self-imposed obscurity into a dangerous virtual reality mystery. When a desperate lawyer, Piers, enlists her help to rescue his wife—Elli, a groundbreaking "oneirofex" or dream artist—Julia must use her unparalleled AI expertise to navigate a labyrinth of shared dreams and digital deception. Elli’s ability to weave collective dreams has ensnared her with a ruthless crime lord, who demands the return of his stolen dreams in exchange for her freedom. As Julia races to decode the blurred boundaries between reality and illusion, she confronts not only the dark underworld of technology and memory but also the hidden corners of her own mind. Liu crafts a gripping tale of identity, art, and the perilous power of connecting human consciousness.

Two electrifying crime thrillers set in a vivid, wormhole-spanning future. In Red Star Hustle, Aran—a charming, high-end escort framed for murder—finds himself entangled with a clone of a deadly monarch and a bounty hunter hiding her own lethal secrets, all while dodging interstellar empires and his own demons in a breakneck chase across the galaxy. Miller’s story blends queer chaos, addiction, and rebellion into a pulse-pounding adventure where every wormhole jump could be his last.

In Apprehension, Kowal weaves a tense tale of mistaken identity and maternal fury as Bonnyjean, a retired special forces operative, races to rescue her kidnapped grandson on a hostile alien world, armed only with outdated skills and a mother’s determination. Together, these stories explore love, survival, and the cost of fighting back in a universe where danger lurks behind every stargate.

A haunting Southern Gothic fantasy that follows Phee St. Margaret, a young Black woman chafing under her mother’s stifling expectations in post-Reconstruction New Charleston. When her estranged Aunt Cleo dies, Phee seizes the chance to prove her worth by taking on the sacred role of pomp—planning the funeral—only to uncover eerie visions and buried family secrets in her aunt’s unsettling home. As the line between the living and the dead blurs, Phee must confront the ghosts of the past and her own longing for autonomy. Royce crafts a lyrical, atmospheric tale of grief, defiance, and the hidden forces that shape legacy and identity.

A chilling, claustrophobic blend of hospital gothic and body horror, where desperation meets the uncanny. Margaret, ravaged by a rare autoimmune disease, seizes a last chance at relief by enrolling in a radical medical trial at the isolated Graceview Memorial—only to realize the experimental treatment isn’t the only thing eroding her body and mind. As her immune system is systematically destroyed and rebuilt, she uncovers a creeping, malevolent presence thriving within the hospital’s sterile walls. Trapped and gaslit by her own failing perceptions, Margaret must fight to distinguish delusion from reality before the darkness consuming Graceview consumes her too. Starling delivers a visceral, psychological nightmare that questions the cost of survival and the true nature of the monsters we invite in.

A lush, heart-wrenching romantasy that reimagines the timeless tragedy of the knight and the witch, bound by a curse to love and ruin each other across centuries. Simran, a witch of the wilds, and Vina, a knight sworn to the Queen’s court, find their fates intertwined once more—but this time, they dare to defy the story written for them. As a shadowy assassin hunts those trapped in legendary tales, the two women must forge a new narrative, one powerful enough to break the cycle of doom. Suri weaves a sapphic love story steeped in medieval folklore, where desire and destiny collide, and the only escape lies in rewriting the very fabric of fate.

A haunting, culinary-infused tale from the award-winning Singing Hills Cycle, where Cleric Chih and their sharp-tongued hoopoe, Almost Brilliant, arrive in the river town of Baolin to uncover the truth behind a legendary famine. Amid whispers of royal feasts and desserts born of desperation, they unearth the grim secrets of hunger’s toll—and the lengths the powerful will go to bury their guilt. Trapped in the clutches of a sinister magistrate, Chih must piece together the town’s dark history before the ravenous shadows consume them both. Vo blends folklore, mystery, and quiet horror into a story about memory, power, and the stories we choose to swallow—or spit out.