Five books I’d love to read in February
Rose Red by Sarah Biggerstaff
Rose Red refigures the Snow White narrative as a feminist, coming-of-age fantasy about courage, self-discovery, and fighting for what matters most.
The second daughter of the king, Rose is used to being in the background, despite being a gifted witch. But when her elder sister, Lily, suddenly disappears, Rose is forced to step up and confront dark truths about her family, discovering how little she really knows about those closest to her.
This book caught my attention when i saw Sarah speaking on a panel at Conflux last year and was super grateful when Sarah sent me a copy. Rose Red is out now and you can find out where to get a copy on Sarah’s website here.
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Iluka by Cassie Stroud
After their grandfather’s death, siblings Helen, Sylvie and Brendan–
and Helen’s daughter, film student Tegan–are gathered together at
Iluka, a fibro beach house in a small town on the south coast.
Iluka is the house they grew up in when their troubled mother ran away to the bright lights of the city, leaving their grandparents to raise them.
As they slowly clear the house for sale and relive various memories, they find a bundle of letters addressed to each of them from their missing mother, Marguerite, that were sent long after they’d been told she died.
Their world shifts on its axis, and the siblings begin to question everything they have been told. Why did their grandmother hide these letters? Was their beloved grandfather complicit? And could the mother they thought they had lost still be alive?
Viewed through the unsparing eye of Tegan’s camera, we watch a family first implode then reform around a new reality that brings with it profound change.
Cassie is one of the first #DebutCrew cabs off the rank in 2026 and I’m hearing lots of good things about Iluka. It’s out now from Harper Collins – you can read an excerpt on the Harper Collins website here and keep up with the latest from Cassie on her website.
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A Grave Mistake by Steffanie Holmes
Arabella Lestrange is the most notorious dancer in Paris’ underground vampire cabaret – until she falls for human Gideon Blake and he ruins her afterlife. Fleeing Paris, she relishes the certainty that Gideon’s cheeky, devil-may-care personality will eventually land him six feet under.
But 150 years later, Arabella bumps into Gideon and discovers he’s now a vampire too. This time, she’s determined to make him pay. And she likes her revenge as she likes her coffee: long, dark and dripping with blood.
If only her meddling book-club friends would stop scheming to get them together. Arabella is happy being alone, and she doesn’t need anyone. Especially not the annoyingly charming billionaire who broke her heart …
When you can hold a grudge for eternity, is giving love a second chance a grave mistake?
Steffanie Holmes’ Fangs for Nothing was a surprise 5 star read for me last year – I picked it up without knowing very much about it at all and was immediately charmed. A Grave Mistake is the next book in ‘The Nevermore Murder Club and Smutty Book Coven’ series, and the best news is the Steffanie has a whole other series set in (I think) the same world if you happen to love her books too, you can find out more on her website. This one is out now from Atria Australia, and the current edition has gorgeous sprayed edges!
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Sisters of Serendib by Ayesha Inoon
In 1990, a boat of asylum seekers leaves war-torn Sri Lanka, bound for Australia. When a mother dies on the journey, her three young daughters are separated and scattered across the country.
Years later, the eldest, Janu, still remembers the home she left and the sisters she’s lost. Having freed herself from the grip of a painful childhood, she builds a life for herself in a coastal town, running a small shop called Serendib, where the air hums with memory and people come to find what they didn’t know they were searching for.
In Melbourne, Samar, the middle sister, dances to speak the words she cannot say, pouring her longing and restlessness into movement, while in Sydney, Maryam, the youngest, finds magic in language, always searching for a place to belong.
As Janu discovers clues to her sisters’ identities and begins the quest to bring them together, they all face the question: can something broken for so long ever be made whole again?
I had my eye on this historical fiction novel the moment it was announced and am so happy to have been sent an early copy by the team at HQ Fiction (thank you!). Sisters of Serendib is out at the end of May – in the meantime you might like to check out Ayesha’s debut novel Untethered and keep up with the latest on her website here.
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Salt and Skin by Eliza Henry Jones
Luda, a photographer, and her two teenagers arrive in the Scottish Northern Isles to make a new life. Everywhere the past shimmers to the surface; the shifting landscapes and wild weather dominates; the line between reality and the uncanny seems thin here. The teenagers forge connections, making friends of neighbours, discovering both longing and dangerous compulsions. But their mother – fallible, obsessive, distracted – comes up hard against suspicion. The persecution and violence that drove the island’s historic witch trials still simmers today, in isolated homes and church buildings, and where folklore and fact intertwine.
I’ve loved Eliza’s writing since I read her YA novel P is for Pearl back in 2018 (you can check out my review here if you like) and I can’t believe that I’ve let this one sit on my shelf for so long (it came out in 2022). This month I’ve had the nudge I need to pick it up, as it’s the February read for the Lost In Plot Book Club over on Instagram. Salt and Skin is published by Ultimo Press and you can find Eliza on her website here.
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There you have a little pile of bookish possibility I’m planning to read from over the next few weeks. I’d love to know whether any of these are on your radar too, or if you’ve already read and loved any of them – let me know in the comments!
xo Bron
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