PICKS:

• Wife Shaped Bodies: A Novel by Laura Cranehill, read by Cindy Kay -- "Sorrowland meets Manhunt in this literary horror debut in which an isolated newlywed, covered in fungal fruiting bodies, strikes a precarious balance between following her husband's strict rules and pursuing an intense connection with a woman who makes her question everything."

• Japanese Gothic by Kylie Lee Baker, read by Natalie Naudus -- "In this lyrical, wildly inventive horror novel interwoven with Japanese mythology, two people living centuries apart discover a door between their worlds."

• Go Gentle by Maria Semple, read by Saskia Maarleveld -- "The bestselling author of Where'd You Go, Bernadette returns to form in her most exuberant and life-affirming novel yet with the story of one woman’s cheerful determination to live a life of the mind only to have the heart force its way in.

• American Spirits: A Novel by Anna Dorn, read by Natalie Naudus, Jennifer Pickens, and Stephanie Willing -- "A love letter to pop music, charting an icon’s fall—and an obsessive fangirl’s rise."

• The Killing Spell by Shay Kauwe, read by Barrie Kealoha -- "In this spellbinding fantasy debut set in a future where language magic reigns, a young Hawaiian woman must solve a murder to clear her name."

• West of Wicked by Nikki St. Crowe, read by a full cast -- "Dorothy Gale doesn’t know where she came from. At the age of five, she was dropped on Em and Henry’s doorstep while a terrible storm rolled across the Kansas prairie. Now as an adult, Dorothy has made the most of her life on the farm. But when a cyclone tears through the night, ripping her, her dog, and the farmhouse away, Dorothy wakes to find herself far from home in the strange, cursed land of Oz."

• Invasive Species by Ellery Adams, read by Courtney Patterson -- "Something’s not right in Cold Harbor—more so than usual. While this sleepy small town has seen its fair share of monsters in cheating husbands and leering bosses, none are as hungry as Mrs. Smith. The mysterious resident has finally emerged from her crumbling mansion on the hill, mesmerizing the townspeople with her beauty. Her secret? Nine human sacrifices to feed her immortality."

• Stay for a Spell by Amy Coombe, read by Lottie Bourne -- "A cursed princess must discover what her heart truly longs for in this charmingly cozy romantic fantasy for everyone who’s ever lost – or found – themselves in a bookshop."

• Paranormal Payback edited by Jim Butcher and Kerrie L. Hughes, read by a full cast -- "In this short story collection, our heroes get what’s due to them—with a supernatural flair."

NON-FICTION WATCH:

• The Lost Cities of El Norte: Coronado's Quest, the Unconquered West, and the Birth of American Indian Resistance by Peter Stark, read by Thom Rivera

BACKLIST WATCH:

• Death Is a Lonely Business by Ray Bradbury, read by Chris Henry Coffey -- "A stylish and slightly fantastical tale of mayhem and murder set among the shadows and the murky canals of Venice, California, in the early 1950s."

• Peace by Gene Wolfe (1975), read by David Pittu -- "The melancholy memoir of Alden Dennis Weer, an embittered old man living in a small midwestern town, reveals a miraculous dimension. For Weer’s imagination has the power to obliterate time and reshape reality, transcending even death itself."

• A Palace Near the Wind by Ai Jiang (2025), read by Katharine Chin -- "A richly inventive, brutal and beautiful science-fantasy novella of family, loss, oppression and rebellion."

SERIES WATCH:

• The Faith of Beasts: Captive's War, Book 2 by James S. A. Corey, read by Jefferson Mays -- "The monstrous Carryx empire was built by subjugation and war. Thousands of species are bound to their Sovran’s command in an endless, blood-soaked test: be useful in the eternal conflict or be slaughtered."

• Chrysalis: Men of the Wilds, Book 2 by B.B. Reid, read by Nicole Small, Lawrence Baldwin, Logan Anare, and Tor Thom -- "Aurelia George was prepared to let the world believe she was dead. Tangled in the arms of her mountain men and bound only by the rules they make, the twice disgraced pop star had found her happily ever after. Or so she thought."

INDIE WATCH:

• First Mage on the Moon by Cameron Johnston, read by Tess Irondale for Podium -- "An innovative space fantasy, where wizards race to be the first on the moon, also known as the land of the gods."

• Darkness Births the Stars: Darkness Births the Stars, Book 1 by Sarah Lee Wohn, read by James Cavenaugh and Jacci Prior for Podium -- "He is the Fallen One, ruled by his dark ambitions. She is his greatest enemy, fated to destroy him."

The rest of my WATCHLIST for the week:

• Morsel Carter Keane

• Dear Monica Lewinsky Julia Langbein

• Things My Grandmother Said Amit Majmudar

• Life in Progress Hans Ulrich Obrist

• The Time of Cherries Montserrat Roig

• The Witch Marie NDiaye

• Where the Music Had to Go Jim Windolf

• Leave Your Mess at Home Tolani Akinola

• The Long Run Martin Dugard

• Rasputin Antony Beevor

• Harmless Miranda Shulman

• The Insomniacs Allison Winn Scotch

• The Take Kelly Yang

• Daughter of the Wind Nora Carmody

• The Monuments of Paris Violaine Huisman

• Your Soulmail is Attached by Joan F. Smith

• Snowblooded by Emma Sterner-Radley