Welcome to Future Fiction, my reimagining of the Waiting on Wednesday meme! There are so many amazing new books coming out, that I can no longer pick just one. My goal with Future Fiction is to share at least three new books each week, a combination of recent cover reveals and books that I’ve recently added to my TBR pile. I’m still going to be linking up with Wishful Endings/Can’t Wait Wednesday, and I also want to give a shout out to Jill at Breaking the Spine for starting the original Waiting on Wednesday meme. I hope you’ll find some new books to add to your TBR piles, and as always, I look forward to hearing what YOU’RE looking forward to:-D
I didn’t spot any new covers reveals last week, but here are three books I’ve been meaning to share.
In the midst of the woods stands a house called Lichen Hall.
This place is shrouded in folklore—old stories of ghosts, of witches, of a child who was not quite a child.
Now the woods are creeping closer, and something has been unleashed.
Pearl Gorham arrives in 1965, one of a string of young women sent to Lichen Hall to give birth. And she soon suspects the proprietors are hiding something.
Then she meets the mysterious mother and young boy who live in the grounds—and together they begin to unpick the secrets of this place.
As the truth comes to the surface and the darkness moves in, Pearl must rethink everything she knew—and risk what she holds most dear.
The Ghost Woods by C.J. Cooke. Releases in April from Berkley (U.S. edition). I need more C.J. Cooke in my life! I am behind with last year’s The Book of Witching, but I’m also adding this to my TBR. I love the weird glowy mushrooms on the cover:-)
Trapped on a remote island by a howling storm, nine people sit down to dinner.
One of them is about to die.
A group of international players has gathered in a tiny village off the coast of Iceland for a diplomatic dinner. There’s Kristján, the mayor reeling from a personal tragedy. Graeme, the ambassador with an agenda to push. Jane, his wife, along for the ride on another one of her husband’s many business trips. And several others, from Iceland and from abroad, each with their own reason for being there, their own loyalties and grievances. By the end of the night, one of them will be dead. And it will be up to the ambassador’s wife, Jane, to figure out how—and why.
What Jane soon comes to realize is that small communities can be the most dangerous of them all… and no one in their group is safe. With secrets around every corner and violent weather trapping the finite list of suspects together on the island, this locked-room mystery by internationally bestselling author Eliza Reid brings Agatha Christie and Nordic noir together in a brand-new twist.
Death on the Island by Eliza Reid. Releases in May 2025 from Poisoned Pen Press. This looks like a tried-and-true Agatha Christie trope, but I think it sounds good, especially with the “Nordic noir” description.
A soaring, propulsive, and unforgettably poignant novel about two zookeepers at the last zoo in the world, in the vein of Téa Obreht and Charlotte McConaghy
Camille has always preferred animals to people. The wild has nearly disappeared, but as a zookeeper at the last zoo in the world, on Alcatraz Island, she spends her days caring for playful chimpanzees, gentle tree frogs, and a restless jaguar. Outside, resistance groups and brutal cartels fight to shape the world’s future, but Camille is safe within her routines. That is, until a new zookeeper, Sailor, arrives from Paris.
From their first meeting, Camille is drawn to Sailor, who seems to see something in Camille that no one has before. They bond over their shared passions and dream up ways to improve their lives. When Sailor whispers the story of an idyllic, secret sanctuary where wild animals roam free, Camille begins to imagine a new kind of life with Sailor by her side.
Sailor knows all too well the dangers beyond Alcatraz, but she increasingly chafes at the zoo’s rigid rules. She hatches a reckless plan to smuggle one of the most prized animals off the island to freedom, and invites Camille to join her. The consequences if they fail would be catastrophic, and Sailor’s contacts at the sanctuary go dark just as the threats from the cartels grow more extreme. Camille must decide if she’s ready to risk everything for the promise of a better world.
Propulsive and fiercely hopeful, with a heart-stopping final twist, The Island of Last Things is an elegy for a disappearing world and a gorgeous vision for the future.
The Island of Last Things by Emma Sloley. Releases in August 2025 from Flatiron. I keep coming back to this book, having passed it up on other Future Fiction posts. But there’s something about the idea of the last zoo in the world that is calling to me!
I didn’t realise The Ghost Wood was a 2025 release for you, do you get The Last Witch this year too or not then? I love the cover though, particularly the way it seems to glow as youve said. The other two sound interesting. The zoo one sounds different to what I generally pick up so I’ll probably read a few reviews before trying it but I’m putting it on my watch list. The middle one sounds very intriguing too. I hope you enjoy all of these.
These sound all pretty great! The one the most appealing to me is the second one, but all three of them sound intriguing! Thanks for sharing them!!
Where have I been. I haven’t seen any of these before. You are killing my TBR!
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The Ghost Woods looks pretty creepy and it’s just been added to my tbr. I like your new header by the way – it looks great!
Ooo I saw THE ISLAND OF LAST THINGS on NG last week and was immediately intrigued. Thanks for reminding me to maybe request it.
The Island of Lost Things sounds weird but really intriguing… and I’m especially drawn to a story set on Alcatraz! The Ghost Woods sounds great too — I do love a good story about fairy worlds threatening humans!
Death on the Island and The Island of Last Things are both appealing to me! Thanks for sharing.
I love the sound of Death on the Island – I’m a sucker for locked room mysteries anyway. And this one looks really appealing:)).