At long last, the year that was January is over. There's something about that first month of the year that feels like it stretches on and on, and in 2025 that was more the case than usual. But lo! Now we leave it behind, and look ahead to all the fantasy and science fiction books coming out in February.
Whether you want dark fantasy, steamy (or silly) romantasies, hard sci-fi or fae-laden mythic tales, there are a lot of books hitting the market this month. That includes the end of a trilogy from a master of the thriller genre who's made the leap to epic fantasy, a new book from one of sci-fi's most insightful and timely writers, and even a tie-in novel for the League of Legends show Arcane.
Get out your Goodreads or Storygraph, or a piece of pen and paper if that's more your style, and let's find you your next favorite book.
GRAVE EMPIRE by Richard Swan (The Great Silence #1) — February 4
Last year, Richard Swan capped off his excellent Empire of the Wolf trilogy with The Trials of Empire, bringing the dark fantasy story of Justice Konrad Vonvault to a close. But time marches on, and now Swan is kicking off a new series set centuries later in the same world: The Great Silence.
Grave Empire is the first book of this series. By this point in history, the Sovan Empire has moved into a period of black powder, exploration and expansionism that recalls the Napoleonic Wars. It features a totally new cast of characters, including an ambassador for a race of merpeople, a reluctant military officer sent to a fort deep in the forests at the empire's border, and a monk who claims the spirits of the dead have gone eerily quiet. If you've read Swan before, you know this is one to be excited about; and if you haven't, it's a good place to dive into his works if you're itching for some broodingly atmospheric dark fantasy.
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THE BONES BENEATH MY SKIN by TJ Klune — February 4
TJ Klune is a prolific author whose works often include LGBTQ+ and cozy, comforting stories. His latest novel is The Bones Beneath My Skin. This one is being framed as a "supernatural road-trip thriller," which sounds pretty rad. It follows Nate, a newly unemployed journalist who's estranged from his family, as he heads to their old family cabin in search of peace and newfound direction. Except when he gets there, he finds two squatters have already taken up residence: a man named Alex and a mysterious, special girl who says her name is Artemis Darth Vader. You don't have a name like that without some kind of wild backstory.
Nate will have to decide whether to distance himself from these strangers, or get his found family trope on and join them in their quest to keep the "forces that want to control" Artemis from laying hands on her. I think we can guess which path he chooses!
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ONE MESSAGE REMAINS by Premee Mohamed — February 11
Speaking of wildly prolific speculative fiction authors, Premee Mohamed also has a book out in February. One Message Remains is a collection of three novellas which take place in the dark fantasy world which Mohamed introduced in the novella "The General's Turn." If you enjoyed that one, or Mohamed's other works, you'll want this on your radar. Here's the description for each story:
- In "One Message Remains," Major Lyell Tzajos leads his team on a charity mission through the post-armistice world of East Seudast, exhuming the bones and souls of dead foes for repatriation. But the buried fighters may have one more fight left in them—and they have chosen their weapons well.
- In "The Weight of What is Hollow," Taya is the latest apprentice of a long-honored tradition: building the bone-gallows for prisoners of war. But her very first commission will pit her skills against both her family and her oppressor.
- Finally, in "Forsaking All Others," ex-soldier Rostyn must travel the little-known ways by night to avoid his pursuers, for desertion is punishable by death. As he flees to the hoped-for sanctuary of his grandmother's village, he is joined by a fellow deserter—and, it seems, the truth of a myth older than the land itself.
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BUT NOT TOO BOLD by Hache Pueyo — February 11
Our next book is another novella, and it sounds pretty spooky. Hache Pueyo's But Not Too Bold is being marketed as a sapphic monster romance that has the vibes of The Shape of Water mixed with Mexican Gothic. And honestly, that's a pretty solid way to sell it; I know I'm intrigued.
But Not Too Bold is the story of a young woman named Dália who has to learn to navigate a perilous duty for Lady of the Capricious House, aka a giant humanoid spider named Anatema. Anatema has a taste for laudanum and human brides; she ate the previous keeper and has chomped many others besides. Dália has the keys to drawers which contain Anatema's memories and has to try to figure out what got her elderly mentor devoured — before Anatema succumbs to temptation and devours Dália as well.
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SANCTUM OF THE SOUL by Kel Kade (The Shroud of Prophecy #3) — February 11
Sanctum of the Soul is the third and final book in Kel Kade's The Shroud of Prophecy series, which began with Fate of the Fallen. If you're one of those readers who waits for a series to be finished before checking it out, this one is now primed for your reading pleasure.
The Shroud of Prophecy is a sword and sorcery fantasy which began as a fairly typical Chosen One story but took a wild turn when that Chosen One met an unfortunate end partway through. In the final book, a new reluctant hero, along with a failed magus and their allies, must overcome insurmountable odds to stop a war between gods which threatens to crush the mortals caught between them.
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AMBESSA: CHOSEN OF THE WOLF by C.L. Clark — February 18
The next book on our list is one for the Arcane fans. Ambessa: Chosen of the Wolf is a new tie-in novel which explores the backstory of Ambessa Merdada, the most compelling villain from the television show. Ambessa made a huge mark on the series, but many elements of her past, her rise to power, and her relationship with her children were left as mysteries. This book answers those questions and more.
The best part is that it's written by C.L. Clark, the author of The Unbroken and The Faithless. If you've read those books, you know Clark has a penchant for writing women who must navigate the warrior life as well as thorny political situations. They're a perfect match for a book about Ambessa. This is one of the books on this list I've actually already read, so I can safely say that if you loved Arcane, it's one you'll want to check out. (Read my spoiler-free review here.)
As a bonus, the audio version of this book is even narrated by Ellen Thomas, the voice actor who plays Ambessa in the series.
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CURSEBOUND by Saara El-Arifi (Faebound #2) — February 18
If you'd like to spend some time among the fae and the elves this February, Cursebound by Saara El-Arifi is the book for you. This is the sequel to Faebound, which introduced readers to the elven sisters Yeeran and Lettle. After being banished from their homeland, they found themselves captives of the fae court, beings who hadn't been seen in so long they had faded into myth. Their trials were many, but the danger was only just getting started.
In Cursebound, Yeeran returns home to find that her former lover is preparing her people for war against the fae. Meanwhile, Lettle was bound by a curse to the fae court and has no way to leave. She seeks to break that curse, but the magic powers of divination which once guided her are no longer heeding her call. Only by finding some way through these perils can Yeeran and Lettle hope to stop the war which threatens to lead both elves and fae to ruin.
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I GOT ABDUCTED BY ALIENS AND NOW I'M TRAPPED IN A ROM-COM by Kimberly Lemming (Cosmic Chaos #1) — February 18
Yup, you read that title right. Kimberly Lemming is the author of the Mead Mishaps romantasy series, which included such books as That Time I Got Drunk and Saved a Demon and That Time I Got Drunk and Yeeted a Love Potion at a Werewolf. Lemming telegraphs right up front that you're in for a good, probably ridiculous time, so you know just what you're getting when you crack open one of her books.
This month she's kicking off a brand new series with I Got Abducted by Aliens and Now I'm Trapped in a Rom-Com. It's the story of Dorothy Valentine, a young woman pursuing her PhD in wildlife biology who is unfortunately attacked by a lion. Except instead of ending up lion-chow, both she and the beastie are abducted by aliens and end up on a distant planet — where of course, there's at least one very attractive alien waiting to help her. Or stab her in the back. Read and find out!
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A DRAGON OF BLACK GLASS by James Rollins (Moonfall #3) — February 18
James Rollins is best known as a writer of thrillers; he's been penning pulse-pounding fiction novels for decades, and is probably one of the most recognizable names in that space. But with his latest series, Moonfall, Rollins has taken his thriller sensibilities and applied them to epic fantasy.
A Dragon of Black Glass is the penultimate book in Rollins' saga. This book features a quest deep into the caverns beneath a desert made of glass where an ancient army awaits. Betrayals loom ever-present, a rising war threatens to tear nations apart, and a mysterious danger grows in a remote kingdom which hungers to end all life on Urth. With multiple viewpoints and interweaving storylines, this one's for the lovers of dense fantasy sagas. If this is the first you're hearing of it, you'll want to start with the first book, The Starless Crown.
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Picks & Shovels by Cory Doctorow (Martin Hench #3) — February 18
The next book on our list as an interesting one. Picks & Shovels isn't explicitly a sci-fi novel, but author and journalist Cory Doctorow has written plenty of science fiction over the years and has a pretty good foothold in the genre, so we're still going to count it. This is the third of his Martin Hench series, which kicked off with Red Team Blues. Hench is a forensic accountant who often finds himself neck deep in investigations exposing the shadier side of Silicon Valley.
Picks & Shovels is a prequel which shows Hench's origins in the 1980s, when he's hired during the rise of the personal computer by a PC start-up corporation to deal with a group of disgruntled employees who've founded a competing company. Hench soon realizes he's on the wrong side, and instead of helping the start-up, he throws in with the optimistic former employees who simply want to make a better product. Of course, the original company doesn't like that very much, which draws Hench ever-deeper into a web of corruption and conspiracies.
Doctorow's works are always incisive and have plenty to say about our current moment in history. He does rigorous research on the melding of tech companies, finance, and government policy. I have no doubt Picks & Shovels will be another banger in his catalog.
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DANCE OF SHADOWS by Gourav Mohanty (The Raag of Rta #2) — February 25
Perhaps we can assume that since you're on this site, you're probably a fan of Game of Thrones. If so, and you're not familiar with Gourav Mohanty's The Raag of Rta series, you'll want to fix that ASAP. The first book, Sons of Darkness, introduced readers to a dark and dangerous fantasy reimagining of India's Mahabarata, and has drawn many comparisons to A Song of Ice and Fire along the way. Think political intrigue, think bloody back-stabbing, think magic drawn from Indian legend and a sweeping tale of families torn apart by ambition, and you have an idea of what's in store.
This month, Mohanty returns with the second novel in the series, Dance of Shadows. While an uncertain peace has taken hold over the land, a conclave has been called in the Tree Cities of the East, where deaf swordsman, exiled snakelings, immortal assassins and more gather to plan their next move. "After all, the season of peace is the finest time to plant the seeds of war."
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DESTINY'S WAY by Jack Campbell (The Doomed Earth #2) — February 25
Destiny's Way is the second and final book in Jack Campbell's Doomed Earth duology. The first novel, In Our Stars, told the story of Lieutenant Selene Genji, a genetically engineered soldier whose human genes had been spliced with those of an alien. But despite any genetic advantages her alien DNA may gave her, she's powerless to stop the destruction of Earth as factionalism reaches a boiling point and tears the planet apart.
But that doesn't mean all hope is lost. When Earth was destroyed, Genji was launched back 40 years in time, to a period where prejudice reigns on the eve of humanity's first contact with an alien race. Destiny's Way will see Genji and her companion Lieutenant Kayl Owen race against the clock to prevent the destruction of her planet even as those living there are convinced she's a spy for the aliens they're just beginning to understand.
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Greenteeth by Molly O'Neill — February 25
Hopping over to cozy fantasy, Greenteeth by Molly O'Neill is a standalone fantasy tale about a lake monster and a witch who become unlikely friends. Jenny Greenteeth lives underwater and has never spoken to a human before, but when the witch Temperance is thrown into her lake, Jenny decides to save her and they form a bond. These two decide to work together to unravel the mystery of an evil which has gripped Temperance's town, and which she believes is tied to its new pastor.
Greenteeth is being pitched as a good fit for fans of T. Kingfisher's works, so if you want a moving but light story with plenty of whimsy and a leading duo you can root for, this is one to add to your stack of books.
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THE DARK MIRROR by Samantha Shannon (The Bone Season #5) — February 25
The final book on our list is The Dark Mirror, the fifth novel in The Priory of the Orange Tree author Samantha Shannon's sweeping fantasy series The Bone Season. These books follow clairvoyant Paige Mahoney and are set in an alternate future version of Europe. They begin with Paige as a high-ranking member of the criminal underworld, using her powers while trying to lie low so that the governmental power of Scion doesn't execute her just for possessing them.
We've come a long way since then. In The Dark Mirror, Paige sets out beyond the grasp of Scion for the first time in her life, a journey which brings her to Venice and beyond. She'll uncover a deep-reaching conspiracy with terrifying ramifications for Europe as she simultaneously struggles to recover her lost memories.
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And that brings us to the end of our list of new fantasy and sci-fi books for February! What will you be adding to your TBR?
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