Not too many more of these this year before we get into the holiday publishing lull...maybe we all can catch up on our TBRs!

But, since my job is to make sure that you have interesting books by marginalized authors on your list, here are a few more to add:

What the Forest Devours by Elaine Vilar Madruga 3.75/5 stars

Put this on your TBR if you're interested in reading a story of a claustrophobic forest with Caribbean gothic influences.

Stellar Smoke by Tanais 3.5/5 stars

Put this on your TBR if you enjoy stories of learning about family history that are a bit trippy.

Needlemouth by K-Ming Chang 3.5/5 stars

Put this on your TBR if you enjoy weird girl horror. This one has a group of cousins.

And one I haven't gotten my hands on:

The Turning of Sally Mae by Nuzo Onoh

Why this interests me: it's described as a historical African-Wild West horror story of supernatural vengeance. I'm in!

Better late than never, right? I was neglecting my responsibilities up in the mountains last week, but I still want to give these books these flowers:

Monstera by Delilah S. Dawson 5/5 stars

Put this on your TBR if you enjoy sapphic stories with an underlying horror tone.

Bonobo by You-Jeung Jeung 5/5 stars

Put this on your TBR if you enjoy the exploration of humanity through an unusual premise (a human's soul joining a bonobo's body).

Another Name for Red by Amber Blaeser-Wardzala 4.5/5 stars

Put this on your TBR if you enjoy Angeline Boulley's books. This is a coming of age mystery that highlights the MMIW movement.

As You Wake, Break the Shell by Becky Chambers 4.25/5 stars

Put this on your TBR if you enjoy sapphic science fiction. This is quieter than I expected, but enjoyable.

Music Against the Night by Yiyun Li 4/5 stars

Put this on your TBR if you enjoy character-forward historical fiction where the characters aren't necessarily likeable.

Foreign by Sonora Jha 4/5 stars

Put this on your TBR if you enjoy learning about living experiences in other countries through fiction.

How to Lose at Longing by AK Herman 3.5/5 stars

Put this on your TBR if you enjoy the exploration of human longing. This is a short story collection.

To Bewitch a Hunter by Luciano Lamberti 3.5/5 stars

Put this on your TBR if you enjoy reading translated fiction and a trippy story.

The Water House by Nneoma Ike-Njoku 3.5/5 stars

Put this on your TBR if you enjoy haunted house stories where the house is merely a specter of the imagination for the first half.

October is the grand finale of the publishing year, and October 6th is no exception, with a ton of bangers coming out. Here are ones I hope you don't miss:

The Woman Who Fed the Dogs by Kristien Hemmerechts 4.5/5 stars

Put this on your TBR if you want to read more translated fiction. This one will make you confront the ways we harm others through inaction and seek to excuse ourselves.

Strange Lights by Mira Gonzalez 4.5/5 stars

Put this on your TBR if you enjoy found family stories with a side of paranormal.

Find Me Where it Ends by Cassandra Khaw 4/5 stars

Put this on your TBR if you appreciate hard reads on important topics of life and death.

Every Story is a Love Story by Imbolo Mbue 4/5 stars

Put this on your TBR if you enjoy stunningly beautiful prose exploring grief, regret, family, and forgiveness.

Cocoon by Zhang Yueran 4/5 stars

Put this on your TBR if you want to read more translated fiction. This is a coming of age story from China.

The Finalist by Faith Gladwin 4/5 stars

Put this on your TBR if you like haunted house stories and/or stories about competitive dancers (this is both).

Bad Words by Rioghnach Robinson 4/5 stars

Put this on your TBR if you enjoy books about the publishing industry.

The Names of the New World by Kawai Strong Washburn 3.25/5 stars

Put this on your TBR if you appreciate literary clifi and books that explore the impacts of broken systems.

All that Dies in April by Mariano Travacio 3.25/5 stars

Put this on your TBR if you want to read more translated fiction. This is clifi from Argentina.

What Feeds Below by Tatiana Schlote-Bonne 3.25/5 stars

Put this on your TBR if you want an adventure story exploring privilege.

And a few I haven't got my hands on yet (come on Libby holds!):

Friends and Family by Natalie Baszile

Why this interests me: a story of friendship amid difficult discussions of privilege.

Fitcher's Bird by A.G. Slatter

Why this interests me: a horror story centering sisters.

The Lost Guardian by Natalia Hernandez

Why this interests me: urban romantasy inspired by Inca history.

The Seoul Letter Shop by Baek Seungyeon

Why this interests me: a story of loss and connection and the way that words can bring us together.

This week's new releases deserve celebrating, but this feels like the week to take a deep breath before a TON of exciting new releases in October.

Trad Wife by Sarah Langan 5/5 stars

Put this on your TBR if you liked the idea of Yesteryear, but it fell flat. This is also a horror take at the exposing of trad wife influencers.

Something Followed Us Home 4.5/5 stars

Put this on your TBR if you enjoy horror anthologies by marginalized authors (this is Latine horror).

The Radiance by Ayad Akhtar 4/5 stars

Put this on your TBR if you enjoy prose some people would call purple and stories that are a bit meta.

The True Confessions of First Lady Freeman by Deesha Philyaw 3.5/5 stars

Put this on your TBR if you enjoy contemporary fiction that exposes the hypocrisy of the evangelical church culture.

And a couple I didn't get a chance to read yet:

American Hagwon by Min Jin Lee

I got declined for an ARC for this (rude...kidding!), so I'm glad my preorder is on it's way. I want to read this because it's an immigrant story of finding satisfaction by a rockstar author.

The Unhaunting by Micaiah Johnson

I want to read this because it's a haunted house story by one of my favorite science fiction authors. I'm excited what she will do in a different genre. Thankfully this preorder is on its way as well!

Here are some new releases coming out Tuesday that I have been blessed to read early and want to make sure you are aware of. While one of these I've seen a lot of buzz about (rightly!), the other 3 are likely not on your radar...but they should be!

Mazywood by Tananarive Due 4.25/5 stars

Put this on your TBR if you enjoy interconnected storylines that you will be reluctant to leave behind when the story switches. Something is haunting the woods, and the answer is in the past.

And now for some lesser-known new releases that are also worth all the hype:

Little Kin by Katya de Becerra 4.25/5 stars

Put this on your TBR if you enjoy a gothic story set in a remote island with their own culture that becomes stranger the more you learn about it.

Roots and Wrath by EJ Wenstrom 4/5 stars

Put this on your TBR if you want a witchy tale of the power of working together and overcoming the past with characters who are full-grown adults.

Buzzard by Inez Ray 3.5/5 stars

Put this on your TBR if you enjoy dystopian works or works exploring reproductive justice (this one is both).

Here are some new releases coming out Tuesday that I have had the chance to read and want to make sure are on your radar.

Sleep Well, Mommy by Mi-ae Seo 4/5 stars

Put this on your TBR if you enjoy a creepy psychological thriller translated from Korean. We're exploring what makes a serial killer, up close and personal.

Fallow by Sarah Anderson 4.25/5 stars

Put this on your TBR if you enjoy absurd workplace situations and discussions of reproductive justice.

Winterveil by Ava Reid 3.5/5 stars

Put this on your TBR if you enjoyed The Naturals and Ender's Game (before you recognized the author of the latter was queerphobic). Bright teens are selected to serve their country in an alternate timeline where the Cold War didn’t end. Even better, it’s queer (take that, Orson Scott Card).

Formosa Exchange by Chong-Kai Huang (9/18 release in UK) 4/5 stars

Put this on your TBR if you enjoy speculative fiction that explores other cultures. In this one, the populations of Taiwan and Cuba swap places.

And I want to include a non-fiction book that felt like it was written for me:

Damned if She Does by Sarah Stankorb 4.5/5 stars

Put this on your TBR if you have deconstructed from evangelicalism or love those who have. This is the first book that most clearly lined out why I left the church.

What new releases in the last 2 months do I want to make sure you don't miss? These are all AT LEAST 4 stars for me and I can't wait to discuss them with others!

Sunrise by Tea Obreht (8/11 release) 5/5 stars

Put this on your TBR if you like your plot to serve the themes and characters.

The Salt King by Natasha Pulley (8/18 release) 5/5 stars

Put this on your TBR if you appreciate a slow burn story that explores belief. This is currently my top read for the year.

The Birthing Tree by Amanda Peters (9/1 release) 5/5 stars

Put this on your TBR if you enjoyed The Berry Pickers or the exploration of reclaiming traditions from colonization.

She's a Doll by Barbara Truelove (9/8 release) 5/5 stars

Put this on your TBR if you enjoy your female rage with laugh and heart.

The Lord of the Wood by EM Anderson (7/28 release) 4.5/5 stars

Put this on your TBR if you enjoy a later-in-life queer awakening in a fantasy setting.

Reputation by Amanda Coreishy (8/30 release) 4.5/5 stars

Put this on your TBR if you enjoy supporting indie authors who explore religion and patriarchy.

Beginning Middle End by Valeria Luiselli (7/28 release) 4.25/5 stars

Put this on your TBR if you enjoy stories centering mother-adult daughter relationships.

These Walls Remember by Del Sandeen (8/18 release) 4.25/5 stars

Put this on your TBR if you would enjoy a haunted house story that explores grief.

Meet Me in the Garden by Nina LaCour (8/4 release) 4/5 stars

Put this on your TBR if you want a story set in the Great Migration centering familial and queer love.

Plant Lady by Minyoung Kang (8/4 release) 4/5 stars

Put this on your TBR if you think men would make for good fertilizer.

Etna by Paul Yoon (8/4 release) 4/5 stars

Put this on your TBR if you want to see the absurdity of war through an animal's eyes.

Jacaranda by Gael Faye (8/25 release) 4/5 stars

Put this on your TBR if you want a story exploring how we tell family stories.