Release Week: 28 October 2025
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Release Week: 28 October 2025
Posted on 2025-10-28 at 12:00 by Samuel Montgomery-Blinn
After a multiple years streak, I haven't done this in at least a month or two now, hopefully it's still helpful even if just occasional...
MOST ANTICIPATED:
- The Rose Field: The Book of Dust, Volume 3 by Philip Pullman, read by Michael Sheen for Listening Library -- "The breathtaking conclusion to Philip Pullman’s landmark new trilogy The Book of Dust. Return to the world of His Dark Materials and discover what fate has in store for Lyra."
PICKS:
The Devil Is a Southpaw: A Novel By: Brandon Hobson, read by Shane Ghostkeeper for Harper -- "Milton Muleborn has envied Matthew Echota, a talented Cherokee artist, ever since they were locked up together in a dangerous juvenile detention center in the late 1980s. Until Matthew escaped, that is. A novel within a novel, we read here Milton’s dark, sometimes comic, and possibly unreliable account of the story of their childhood even as, years later, he remains jealous of Matthew’s extraordinary abilities and unlikely success. Milton reveals secrets about their friendship, their families, and their nightmarish, surreal, experience of imprisonment. In revisiting the past, he explores the echoing traumas of incarceration and pride."
The Everlasting by Alix Harrow, read by Moira Quirk and Sid Sagar for Macmillan -- "A moving and genre-defying quest about the lady-knight whose legend built a nation, and the cowardly historian sent back through time to make sure she plays her part–even if it breaks his heart."
Darker Days: A Novel by Thomas Olde Heuvelt, read by Teri Schnaubelt for Harper -- "In Lock Haven, a quiet little town in Washington State, Bird Street is a special place. The residents of this pretty cul-de-sac on the edge of the woods are all successful, healthy, and happy. Their children are prodigies; well-mannered and…unnaturally smart. But come November, the “Darker Days” descend, bringing accidents, bad luck, conflict, and illness. Luana and Ralph Lewis-da Silva prepare for this, and so do their children Kaila and Django. It is in November when a stranger appears to collect on a longstanding debt. A price must be paid for the good fortune they enjoy the rest of the year. A sacrifice must be made."
What Remains After a Fire: Stories By: Kanza Javed, read by Usman Ally and Zehra Fazal for Audible -- "A haunting, powerful collection of stories spanning modern-day Pakistan and the diaspora in the United States, from a sparkling new literary talent."
Witches of Dubious Origin by Jenn McKinlay, read by Saskia Maarleveld for Penguin -- "When a librarian discovers she’s descended from a long line of powerful witches, she’ll need all of her bookish knowledge to harness her family’s magic, in this enchanting cozy fantasy."
The White Octopus Hotel by Alexandra Bell, read by Mei Mei MacLeod for Random House -- "Journey to a magical hotel in the Swiss Alps, where two lost souls living in different centuries meet and discover if a second chance awaits them behind its doors."
The Book of Autumn by Molly O'Sullivan, read by Piper Goodeve for Recorded Books -- "A spellbinding debut about ambition, privilege, second-chance romance, and ancient magic set at an enchanted school tucked among the red mesas of rural New Mexico, where a formidable pair of magicians are summoned to pursue an alleged killer."
An Unlikely Coven by AM Kvita, read by Krysta Gonzales for Orbit -- "The outcast daughter of a powerful family of witches returns home to New York City and is immediately embroiled in a supernatural power struggle in this wickedly funny fantasy debut."
Eros: Queer Myths for Lovers by Zoe Terakes, read by the author for Hachette -- "A stunning collection of short stories, grounded in truth and coloured with dazzling imagination and alluring, unpredictable mystery. Revealing how queerness, nature and myth have been intertwined for eternity, these are stories of gods and goddesses. Of Zeus, of Eurydice, of Hermaphroditus, of Icarus before he flew into the sun. Stories of queer life, lust, revenge, wrath, passion and sex. Of yearning, love, loss. Some transformations span across a life, and others, an evening. Perspectives will shift. Houses will burn. Lovers will learn their fate."
BACKLIST WATCH:
This Broken World: Vortex of Worlds Series, Book 1 by Charles E. Gannon (2021), read by Paul Woodson for Tantor -- "Since boyhood, Druadaen expected he'd ascend to the command of an elite legion and become the leader his father predicted he would be. However, fate had something different in store. Assigned instead to a small group of outriders tasked with watching nearby kingdoms, Druadaen discovers that the world beyond his homeland is riddled with impossibilities. How do humanoid raiders, known as the Bent, suffer staggering losses and yet return as a vast horde every decade? How do multi-ton dragons fly? How have fossils formed in a world which sacrists insist has existed for only ten millennia? Determined to solve these mysteries, Druadaen journeys into the dank warrens of the Bent."
The Secret of Sarek by Maurice Leblanc, read by Rupert Degas for SNR Audio -- "Set in 1917 France, The Island of Thirty Coffins centres around the tragic life of Véronique d'Hergemont. After her father kidnaps her young son as revenge for her choice of husband, and subsequently drowns at sea in their escape, Véronique is left devastated for years. However, since investigating into their disappearance further, she begins receiving clues that her son might still be alive. Led to a mysterious island off the coast of Brittany, shrouded in ominous omens, Véronique comes across a particularly haunting prophecy."
Woman of Mystery by Maurice Leblanc, read by Rupert Degas for SNR Audio -- "On the evening before the Second World War, a painful memory rears its ugly head: his father, a decorated veteran who served in the Franco-Prussian War, being brutally murdered at the hands of an unidentified German woman, as Paul and his father were taking an innocent stroll through the French countryside when he was a child. At his core, Paul always knew the day when the two nations – Germany and France – would fight again, and once he heard the call for battle, he was determined to take revenge once and for all."
NEW EDITION WATCH:
The Man in the High Castle by Philip K. Dick, read by Edoardo Ballerini for Recorded Books -- "In this Hugo Award–winning alternative history classic—the basis for the Amazon Original series—the United States lost World War II and was subsequently divided between the Germans in the East and the Japanese in the West."
Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka, read by Roger May for SNR Audio -- "One of the most significant novellas of the twentieth century, a deeply haunting exploration of identity, isolation and the existential shadows that follow the human experience.
TIE-IN WATCH:
- Conan: Spawn of the Serpent God by Tim Waggoner, read by Bradford Hastings for Blackstone -- "A new chapter of the Titan comics & Heroic Signatures massive narrative event: Scourge of the Serpent Men. A thrilling story about Conan the Barbarian facing violent abominations."
MORE SCI-FI and FANTASY:
Simultaneous by Eric Heisserer, read by Marin Ireland, Ray Porter, and Stephanie Sheh for Macmillan -- "Federal agent Grant Lukather works for an unknown department of Homeland Security called Predictive Analytics. They look for patterns in tips and chatter to prevent a terrorist event before it happens. One of these calls, about a possible explosion in New Mexico, leads Grant to a case with unimaginable consequences. He meets Sarah Newcomb, a therapist who uses past-life hypnosis in her treatment but has recently stumbled upon a phenomenon that seems to defy logic. Grant follows this thread to another crime: a copycat killer case in Colorado. With the help of one of Sarah’s patients, they embark upon an investigation that spans multiple states, timelines, and consciousnesses. With limited time and only a tenuous grasp of how this phenomenon works, the unlikely trio are in a race for their lives—past, present, and future."
Spellbound by Georgia Leighton, read by Kristin Atherton for Grand Central -- "In a remote castle perched atop a windswept island, a long-awaited royal heir is born. In accordance with ancient custom, a blessing ceremony takes place to bestow the princess with magical gifts—along with a terrible curse. Except this is not the love story you may think you know. There is no enchanted sleep for the princess, and no handsome prince to come to her rescue. Just three women, who together concoct a desperate plan of misdirect that changes the course of all their lives."
The Thin Blue Ley-Line: Supernatural Crimes Unit: NYPD, Book 1 by Keith R.A. DiCandido, read by Patricia Santomasso for Blackstone -- "When Detective Domenica Kiernan solved the murder of a mayor’s aide—killed by a vampire—she never imagined she’d find herself at the vanguard of the NYPD’s latest special squad: the Supernatural Crimes Unit."
Stupid Magical Love: Stupid Love, Book 1 by Amy Boyles, read by Samantha Summers and Troy Kain for Brilliance -- "For a sassy Georgia farm girl and an uptight city boy, love is a high-stakes bet that can warm a heart—or break it—in this spicy, emotional, and enchanting romance."
INDIE WATCH:
Cry, Voidbringer by Elaine Ho, read by JiaLing Pan for Podium -- "With the godspower waning, the queen of Ashvi has had to find another way to bolster her fight against her imperialist oppressors. The solution: wrenching children of other cultures from their homes and conscripting them into service."
My Dearest Monster by Sean Fletcher, read by Jessica Threet for Aethon -- "When Kiara is unwillingly bonded to a Demon, they must work together to save humanity."