Titles that caught my eye and piqued my interest that are publishing January 2026!

January Releases

Dark romance titles that don't suck (according to me)

Dark Romance

Best of 2025 

My Favorites

FINALIST FOR THE WORLD FANTASY AWARDS "A lush, beautifully written novel about trying to be a person in our strange world . . . Pick this one up for its exquisite characterization, decaying settings and a dash of Southern gothic horror." --Kiersten White, The New York Times Book Review A "haunting, brilliant" Appalachian folktale evoking the Southern gothic suspense of Sharp Objects and the eco spine-tinglers of Jeff Vandermeer (Paul Tremblay, author of A Head Full of Ghosts) Five siblings in West Virginia unearth long-buried secrets when the supernatural bargain entwining their fate with their ancestral land is suddenly rupturedSince time immemorial, the Haddesley family has tended the cranberry bog. In exchange, the bog sustains them. The staunch seasons of their lives are governed by a strict covenant that is renewed each generation with the ritual sacrifice of their patriarch, and in return, the bog produces a "bog-wife." Brought to life from vegetation, this woman is meant to carry on the family line. But when the bog fails--or refuses--to honor the bargain, the Haddesleys, a group of discordant siblings still grieving the mother who mysteriously disappeared years earlier, face an unknown future. Middle child Wenna, summoned back to the dilapidated family manor just as her marriage is collapsing, believes the Haddesleys must abandon their patrimony. Her siblings are not so easily persuaded. Eldest daughter Eda, de facto head of the household, seeks to salvage the compact by desecrating it. Younger son Percy retreats into the wilderness in a dangerous bid to summon his own bog-wife. And as youngest daughter Nora takes desperate measures to keep her warring siblings together, fledgling patriarch Charlie uncovers a disturbing secret that casts doubt over everything the family has ever believed about itself. At once a gothic eco-horror, a psychological drama, and a family saga, The Bog Wife is a propulsive read for fans of Shirley Jackson, Karen Russell, and Matt Bell that speaks to what is knowable and unknowable within a family history and how to know when it is time to move forward.

The Bog Wife: A Novel

From #1 New York Times bestselling author Emily McIntire comes a dark and delicious fractured fairy tale reimagining of Peter Pan.He wants revenge, but he wants her more…James has always had one agenda: destroy his enemy, Peter Michaels. When Peter’s twenty-year-old daughter Wendy shows up in James’s bar, he sees his way in. Seduce the girl and use her for his revenge. It’s the perfect plan, until things in James’s organization begin to crumble. Suddenly, he has to find the traitor in his midst, and his plan for revenge gets murkier as James starts to see Wendy as more than just a pawn in his game.Wendy has been cloistered away most of her life by her wealthy cold father, but a spontaneous night out with friends turns into an intense and addictive love affair with the dark and brooding James. As much as she knows James is dangerous, Wendy can’t seem to shake her desire for him. But as their relationship grows more heated and she learns more about the world he moves in, she finds herself unsure if she’s falling for the man known as James or the monster known as Hook.*Hooked is a dark contemporary romance and the first complete standalone in the Never After Series: A collection of fractured fairy tales where the villains get the happy ever after. It is not a literal retelling and not fantasy. Hooked features mature themes and content that may not be suitable for all audiences. Reader discretion is advised. For all content warnings, check the author's website.*

Hooked (Never After Series)

A woman trapped on a mountain attempts to survive more than one kind of monster, in a dread-inducing horror novel from the national bestselling author Christina Henry. Mattie can't remember a time before she and William lived alone on a mountain together. She must never make him upset. But when Mattie discovers the mutilated body of a fox in the woods, she realizes that they’re not alone after all. There’s something in the woods that wasn’t there before, something that makes strange cries in the night, something with sharp teeth and claws. When three strangers appear on the mountaintop looking for the creature in the woods, Mattie knows their presence will anger William. Terrible things happen when William is angry.

Near the Bone

An ancient Aztec vampire roams the modern world in search of vengeance and love in this seductive dark fantasy from the author of The Haunting of Alejandra.. “Hauntingly rendered and decadently written, Immortal Pleasures is a surprising and fantastical portrait of one of history’s most fascinating (and perhaps most misunderstood) figures.”—Eric LaRocca, author of Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke. Hundreds of years ago, she was known as La Malinche: a Nahua woman who translated for the conquistador Cortés. In the centuries since, her name has gone down in infamy as a traitor. But no one ever found out what happened to La Malinche after Cortés destroyed her people.. In the ashes of the empire, she was reborn as Malinalli, an immortal vampire. And she has become an avenger of conquered peoples, traveling the world to reclaim their stolen artifacts and return them to their homelands.. But she has also been in search of something more, for this ancient vampire still has deeply human longings for pleasure and for love.. When she arrives in Dublin in search of a pair of Aztec skulls—artifacts intimately connected to her own dark history—she finds something else: two men who satisfy her cravings in very different ways.. For the first time she meets a mortal man—a horror novelist—who is not repelled by her strange condition but attracted by it. But there is also another man, an immortal like herself, who shares the darkness in her heart.. Now Malinalli is on the most perilous adventure of all: a journey into her own desires.

Immortal Pleasures

“In this sly and salacious work, Nutting forces us to take a long, unflinching look at a deeply disturbed mind, and more significantly, at society’s often troubling relationship with female beauty.” (San Francisco Chronicle)In Alissa Nutting’s novel Tampa, Celeste Price, a smoldering 26-year-old middle-school teacher in Florida, unrepentantly recounts her elaborate and sociopathically determined seduction of a 14-year-old student. Celeste has chosen and lured the charmingly modest Jack Patrick into her web. Jack is enthralled and in awe of his eighth-grade teacher, and, most importantly, willing to accept Celeste’s terms for a secret relationship—car rides after dark, rendezvous at Jack’s house while his single father works the late shift, and body-slamming erotic encounters in Celeste’s empty classroom. In slaking her sexual thirst, Celeste Price is remorseless and deviously free of hesitation, a monstress of pure motivation. She deceives everyone, is close to no one, and cares little for anything but her pleasure. Tampa is a sexually explicit, virtuosically satirical, American Psycho–esque rendering of a monstrously misplaced but undeterrable desire. Laced with black humor and crackling sexualized prose, Alissa Nutting’s Tampa is a grand, seriocomic examination of the want behind student / teacher affairs and a scorching literary debut.

Tampa: A Novel

Hildur Knútsdóttir's The Night Guest is an eerie and ensnaring story set in contemporary Reykjavík that’s sure to keep you awake at night.Iðunn is in yet another doctor's office. She knows her constant fatigue is a sign that something's not right, but practitioners dismiss her symptoms and blood tests haven't revealed any cause.When she talks to friends and family about it, the refrain is the same ― have you tried eating better? exercising more? establishing a nighttime routine? She tries to follow their advice, buying everything from vitamins to sleeping pills to a step-counting watch. Nothing helps.Until one night Iðunn falls asleep with the watch on, and wakes up to find she’s walked over 40,000 steps in the night . . .What is happening when she’s asleep? Why is she waking up with increasingly disturbing injuries? And why won’t anyone believe her?

The Night Guest

A bold reimagining of Eve’s journey after Eden, set in ancient Mesopotamia and beyond, for readers who crave feminist myth retellings and spiritual exploration. Exiled to a desolate and harsh New Earth, in this Paradise Lost retelling, Eve faces relentless toil, pain, and the resentment of Adam, who blames her for shattering their Paradise. But even in this barren world, Eve’s curiosity only grows. When Eve and Adam discover a thriving civilization in the fertile valleys of Mesopotamia, Adam is able to find peace, while Eve fights an irresistible pull further. She yearns to understand why she was created, to understand the god that made and abandoned her. Can Eve find contentment with the vestiges of Eden that remain? Or will she dare to taste the fruit forbidden to her, once more? In the end, Eve seeks to know the limits to her own power, to sate her hunger, once and for all. Navigating loves, betrayals, and the duties of motherhood from Nippur to the coastal city of Canaan and across the Aegean Sea to Cyprus, Eve will go as far as it takes. But how many Edens will she forsake, along the way, to discover who creates them? Will Eve cross the threshold from dust to divinity, at last? Or will she return to the river valley, empty-handed, a fractured family left in her wake? For who before Eve has known the minds of the gods?

Eve: A Novel

From Danielle Girard, the USA TODAY bestselling author who “effortlessly ratchets up the tension” (J.T. Ellison, New York Times bestselling author), comes a pulse-pounding thriller about a young woman whose surrogate disappears just days before the baby’s due date, leading to a frantic search that uncovers dark truths and the power of a mother’s love. Lexi thought she knew everything about Mara Vannatta. Best friends since middle school, they drifted apart after a tragedy derailed their senior year. But when Mara shows up on Lexi’s doorstep sixteen years later fleeing an abusive husband, Lexi takes her in without question. Lexi’s own marriage has been strained by her desire to have a baby, and when Mara offers to become her surrogate, their friendship feels stronger than ever. But four days before the due date, Mara disappears. Lexi is shocked but certain there must be something wrong—Mara would never willingly leave with her unborn child. Or would she? As she embarks on a perilous cross-country hunt for the truth, Lexi is forced to reconsider a friendship she thought she knew—and what really happened that terrible night their senior year. How many secrets lie in their shared past, waiting to be uncovered? And just how far will Lexi go to bring her child safely home?

Pinky Swear: A Novel

An outcast princess turned spy embarks on a mission to infiltrate a rival kingdom, but the secrets she uncovers force her to decide whether to follow orders or defy them.“An addictive new romantic fantasy that combines beautiful world-building, a thrilling combination of heist and trials, and a toe-curling forbidden romance.”—Demi Winters, author of The Ashen SeriesAsk no questions. Obey your orders. Respect your masters. But most of all, love no one.Spy. Thief. Princess. Songbird. Banished from the Palace of Sorrows as a child, Princess Aella was taken in by the Aviary, a secret intelligence network embedded throughout the Empyrieos that trains orphans as professional spies. Now twenty-three years old, she has finally earned her place as a Songbird on the most elite team of assassins, led by none other than her former flame, Raven. Everything about him calls to her—he’s brave, loyal, and lethal—but their relationship is also the greatest threat to her standing as a Songbird.Before Aella can untangle her feelings, their team is sent on a dangerous mission to the eastern kingdom. Her role is crucial yet troublesome: Aella must assume her former title of Princess of the Sorrows to compete in a series of bridal trials. But when the trials turn deadly and the mission is threatened, Aella must decide whether to follow orders or defy them.Songbird of the Sorrows is the first novel in the sweeping, romantic Myths of the Empyrieos series, following Aella through an epic journey of self-discovery, true love, redemption, and ultimately a great war that promises to upend the lives of everyone in the realm.

Songbird of the Sorrows (Myths of the Empyrieos Book 1)

Once upon a time, I fell in love with two men. Gaeton, with his brash charm and casual cruelty. Beast, his lust equal to his penchant for violence. Their feelings for me were matched only by their hatred for each other. Being with them was sinful and perfect in different ways.In the end, I couldn’t choose, and I lost them both. Now, my sisters have tasked me with securing our power base, no matter the cost. I will do anything for my family—even if it means agreeing to the terms set by Gaeton and Beast. The three of us. Together. But only for as long as it takes me to choose one of them once and for all. When playing games of power, happily ever after isn’t a priority. Not even for me. Especially not for me. Author's Note: For all tropes, tags, and CWs, please check the author’s website.

The Beast (Wicked Villains Book 4)

From the award-winning author of Hula, a dazzling saga about the generations of women tasked with protecting the history and place that made them.A young woman lies comatose in a hospital, watched by her estranged grandmother. Mystery surrounds the woman’s fall—did she jump off the cliff, or was she swept away by a wave? Her grandmother suspects it is linked to the pōhaku, an ancient stone that their family was tasked with protecting.In this novel spanning generations across Hawai`i and California, it soon becomes clear that the pōhaku’s story must sur­vive if there is to be any hope of the fam­ily’s reconciliation with their home, with nature, and with each other.Reminiscent of Yaa Gyasi’s Homegoing, Min Jin Lee’s Pachinko, and Tommy Orange’s There, There, The Pōhaku is an immersive and bold novel about the his­tory, perseverance, and resilience of the Hawaiian people.

The Pohaku: A Novel

The author of the “master class in suspense” (Shari Lapena,New York Timesbestselling author)The Chamber returns with a high-tension thriller about a family’s descent into darkness that is perfect for fans of Dennis Lehane and Lisa Jewell.Peggy and Drew, both aspiring writers, move to an isolated canal boat with their fourteen-year-old son. Peggy is the glue that holds their family together, even as their son is bullied relentlessly for his physique and his family’s lack of money. But when Drew becomes frustrated by his wife’s sudden writing success, he moves their boat further and further from civilization. With their increasing isolation, personal challenges become harder to ignore, even as they desperately try to break toxic generational patterns. But when Drew’s gaslighting becomes too much for Peggy to take, it sets off a catastrophic series of events. With Will Dean’s signature “well-drawn characters and excellent prose” (Sarah Pearse, New York Times bestselling author), Adrift is gripping exploration of the ties that bind when everything spirals out of control.

Adrift: A Novel

Boneyard Picnic

Hi ghouls, I’m Natalie Meagan, artist and reviewer of weird books/media. Welcome to my boneyard picnic, where we can sit and enjoy stories that appeal to both our morbid nature and our heartstrings. 

Weirdo Book Club

During this phase, we're reviewing manuscripts and deciding which book we want to publish. At the end of this phase, we offer an author a book deal.

Consideration

As the manuscript goes through several phases of editorial work, the cover and interior design takes place, while format decisions about paper stocks and printing treatments are made.

Editorial & Design

While the books are on press, the pre-order links go live and the marketing campaign ramps up with waves of review copy mailings to media and influencers.

Pre-order

The finished copies have released on the book's publication date. Go give it some love!

Published

bookshop

amazon

My name is Natalie Meagan and I love to read. I also occasionally review books on my YouTube channel, Weirdo Book Club. My favorite genres are horror, morbid nonfiction and just weird books in general. I especially love when a book can seamlessly marry two conflicting things like dark and light, creepy and cozy, weird and warm, sadistic and sweet. Thanks for stopping by, we are going to have a lot of fun.

Welcome to my Boneyard Picnic. I'm Natalie Meagan aka Weirdo Book Club, a queer artist & mood reader from Tennessee. I have a special interest in darker stories of all genres and I love to yap about books. Thanks for stopping by!