Bookwild

This week, I talk with Petra Lord about her debut genre bending fantasy-sci-fi-dark-academia book Queen of Faces. She shares the eight year journey of writing the book, how she injured herself while writing it, and how fantasy worlds are so effective for social commentary.

Queen of Faces Synopsis

Anabelle Gage is trapped in a male body, and it’s rotting from the inside out. In Caimor, where the magical elite buy and swap designer bodies like clothes, Ana can’t afford to escape her tattered form. When she fails the entrance exam to the prestigious Paragon Academy, her last hope of earning a new body implodes. As the clock ticks down to her last breath, she’s forced to use her illusion magic to steal a healthy chassis—before her own kills her.

But Ana is caught by none other than the headmaster of Paragon Academy, who poses a brutal ultimatum: face execution for her crime or become a mercenary at his command. Revolt brews in Caimor's smog-choked underworld, and the wealthy and powerful will stop at nothing to take down the rebels and the infamous dark witch at their helm, the Black Wraith.

With no choice but to accept, Ana will steal, fight, and kill her way to salvation. But her survival depends on a dangerous band of an impulsive assassin, a brooding bombmaker, and an alluring exile who might just spell her ruin. As Ana is drawn into a tangled web of secrets, the line between villain and hero shatters—and Ana must decide which side is worth dying for.

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Erin Ashley @bellametaphor

This week, I talk with Amy Meyerson about her new mystery thriller The Water Lies. We dive into her inspiration for the book, how audiobooks changed her approach to pacing, and how she grappled with intuition, pregnancy and motherhood.

*This was supposed to be released on January 1, but I put it in my release calendar for February 1, so some of our conversation may seem dated!*

The Water Lies Synopsis

Heavily pregnant with her second child, Tessa Irons has enough on her mind without her toddler throwing tantrums at the local coffee shop. The boy is inconsolable, shouting “Gigi!” to a woman Tessa’s never seen before—and never will again. The next morning, the woman’s body is dredged up from the canal outside the Ironses’ posh Venice Beach home, and Tessa’s gut tells her it’s no coincidence.

Barb Geller refuses to believe that her daughter’s death was just some drunken accident. She heads to California for answers, where she crosses paths with Tessa. Together they hunt for the truth, certain they’ll find a connection between their children.

But the police don’t believe them. Tessa’s husband dismisses her worries as pregnancy jitters, and even though people are always watching along the canals, no one saw a thing. Tessa and Barb only have each other, their intuition, and the creeping sense of danger that grows with every shocking revelation.

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Erin Ashley @bellametaphor

This week, Gare and Steph and I attempt to predict which books will be some of our favorite books in 2026!

Kate’s Books

Dead Beat Alex Stern Leigh Bardugo

Hot Girl Murder Club by Ashley Winstead

The Caretaker Marcus Kliewer

Honey by Imani Thompson

Queen of Faces

Gare’s Books

The Secret Lives of Murderers Wives by Elizabeth Arnott

This Story Might Save Your Life by Tiffany Crum

Helpless by Jessica Knoll

Heather by Caitlin Mullen

Heart of Glass Jennifer Hillier

Steph’s Books

It Could Have Been Her by Lisa Jewell

Cleo Dang Would Rather Be Dead by Mai Nguyen

Forget You Saw Her by Noelle W. Ihli

Good Joy, Bad Joy by Mikki Brammer

Let’s Not Go Overboard Here by Erica Hendry

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Erin Ashley @bellametaphor

This week, I talk with L.S. Stratton about the her new YA mystery thriller Sundown Girls. Stratton discusses how the story began as an adult novel and transformed into YA once she shifted the perspective to a sixteen-year-old protagonist, allowing the narrative to flow more naturally.

She shares the real-world inspiration behind the book, including historical sundown towns, racial violence, and real kidnapping cases, and how these histories shaped both the setting and Naomi’s identity as a formerly missing girl.

We discuss her use of themes of belonging, family reunification, generational trauma, and racism—particularly how uncertainty, gaslighting, and “is this real or am I imagining it?” in the book mirror lived experiences of racism. She also dive into blending supernatural elements with psychological tension, the challenges of writing historical horror, the importance of family dynamics and emotional pacing in thrillers, and the decision to leave some questions—especially around Naomi’s kidnapped childhood—unresolved as part of her growth.

Follow L.S. Stratton here

Sundown Girls Synopsis

When sixteen-year-old Naomi Stoakes and her family head to a secluded cabin in the Shenandoah Valley for summer vacation they don’t know the small, mountainous town of Sparksburg, Virginia has a dark and twisted past. But when they arrive, Naomi can’t shake the feeling that something about Sparksburg just isn’t right. When she learns Sparksburg had once been a Sundown Town—a town where Blacks weren’t allowed after sunset lest they be murdered—well Naomi’s unease starts to make sense.

As Naomi digs more into Sparksburg’s violent origins, she finds herself haunted by the ghost of a girl, appearing nightly outside her window. Then she learns of two girls who’ve recently gone missing and suspects the past may still be present in Sparksburg and beneath the quaint façade of this tourist town is a palpable danger.

When Naomi decides to track the disappearance of the two girls herself and confronts the ghost of another, she become suspicious of a local man who has kindled fear in Naomi more than once. When she learns he has a connection to one of the missing girls, Naomi is certain he’s responsible for the disappearances.

When no one believes her, Naomi takes matters into her own hands. But to save the missing girls, she’ll have to finally face her own past trauma as a “missing girl”, and risk losing everything she loves.

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Erin Ashley @bellametaphor

This week, I talk with historian Heather Ann Thompson about her new non-fiction Fear and Fury, which traces how the 1984 Bernie Goetz subway shooting became a flashpoint for the Reagan-era rollback of public investment, the rise of punitive policing, and the normalization of white vigilantism.

Moving between the lived experiences of the four Black teenagers who were shot and the political, media, and economic forces that quickly transformed Goetz into a folk hero, Thompson shows how fear was deliberately manufactured and redirected away from structural inequality and toward racialized scapegoats.

We compare 1980s New York to the present moment—drawing lines to media sensationalism, carceral logic, and modern cases of state and vigilante violence—while insisting that this history is neither accidental nor inevitable. By centering the long-term human cost borne by the victims and their families, the conversation ultimately argues that understanding how white rage was cultivated is essential to imagining a more just future.

Fear and Fury: The Reagan Eighties, the Bernie Goetz Shootings, and the Rebirth of White Rage Synopsis

On December 22, 1984, white New Yorker Bernhard Goetz shot four Black teenagers at point-blank in a New York City subway car. Goetz slipped into the subway tunnels undetected, fleeing the city to evade capture. From the moment Goetz turned himself in, the narrative surrounding the shooting became a matter of extraordinary debate, igniting public outcry and capturing the attention of the nation.

While Goetz's guilt was never in question, media outlets sensationalized the event, redirecting public ire toward the victims themselves. In the end, it would take two grand juries and a civil suit to achieve justice on behalf of the four Black teenagers. For some, Goetz would go on to become a national hero, inciting a disturbing new chapter in American history. This brutal act revealed a white rage and resentment much deeper, larger, and more insidious than the actions of Bernie Goetz himself. Intensified by politicians and tabloid media, it would lead a stunning number of white Americans to celebrate vigilantism as a fully legitimate means for addressing racial fear, fracturing American race relations.

Follow Heather here

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Erin Ashley @bellametaphor

This week, Erin Ashley is back, and we talk about our Last, Current and Next reads, as well as books we are intrigued by on our TBRs.

Kill Show — Daniel Swearen-Becker

When the Reckoning Comes — LaTanya McQueen

The Future Saints — Ashley Winstead

Blade — Wendy Walker

Reader Bot — Naomi S. Baron

On Sunday She Picked Flowers — Yah-Yah Scholfield

Girl Gone Wild — Courtney Kocak

Truly— Lionel Richie

Tiny Experiments — Anne-Laure Le Cunff

Little One — Olivia Muenter

Heart the Lover — Lily King

Deep Cuts — Holly Brickley

An American Marriage — Tayari Jones

Kin — Tayari Jones

Say Everything — Ione Skye

Keeper of Lost Children — Sadeqa Johnson

The Ballad of Teena Marie — Teena Marie

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Erin Ashley @bellametaphor

This week, I talk with Matt Casamassina about his genre-bending sci-fi-horror-thriller Degenerate. He shares his unique approach to audiobook production, how reading Stephen King as a kid influenced his writing, and how one of his co-workers inspired the story.

Degenerate by Matt Casamassina

Mason Kowalski, a twenty-four year-old copywriter for a San Mateo startup, is on the verge of a nervous breakdown when he inexplicably suffers widespread vision loss in one eye. The doctors say it’s macular degeneration triggered by overwhelming stress, but he wonders if it’s something more, especially when the shadows in his peripheral vision begin to take shape and whisper wonderful and horrible things to him. Is it madness or destiny? The answer could destroy everything and everyone he holds dear.

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Erin Ashley @bellametaphor

This week, MacKenzie Green is back, and we talk about 2026 releases we are excited about!

Books MacKenzie Talked About

2026 Releases

Half His Age – Jennette McCurdy
Fear and Fury – Heather Ann Thompson
There’s Only One Sin in Hollywood – Rasheed Newson
Vigil – George Saunders
American Fantasy – Emma Straub
Lady Tremaine – Gretchen McNeil

Other Books

Frankenstein – Mary Shelley
Blood in the Water – Heather Ann Thompson
The Gods of New York – Jonathan Mahler
Challenger – Adam Higginbotham
Midnight in Chernobyl – Adam Higginbotham
Frostbite – Nicola Twilley
Lolita – Vladimir Nabokov
My Government Means to Kill Me – Rasheed Newson
Lincoln in the Bardo – George Saunders
Girl Dinner – Olivie Blake

Books Kate Talked About

2026 Releases

Yesteryear – Caro Claire Burke
Sublimation – Isabel J. Kim
Screen People – Megan Garber
Language as Liberation – Toni Morrison
Japanese Gothic – Kylie Lee Baker

Other Books 

Separation of Church and Hate –  John Fugelsang
The Bluest Eye – Toni Morrison
Beloved – Toni Morrison
Project Hail Mary – Andy Weir
The Martian – Andy Weir
Scream With Me – Eleanor Johnson

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Erin Ashley @bellametaphor

This week, Yasmin Angoe is back for the fifth year in a row to talk about here new mystery-thriller Behind These Four Walls! We dive into her inspiration for the story, how she created the wealthy, villainous Corrigan family, and Isla's private investigator adjacent job.

Behind These Four Walls Synopsis

Isla Thorne had a rough start in life. Orphaned young, she spent her formative years in a group home where she met her best friend, Eden Galloway. At sixteen, they decide to run away to LA…but Eden never makes it.

It’s been ten years since Eden vanished. And Isla’s determined to find her.

She begins at the last place Eden visited: the Corrigan mansion in Virginia. Eden claimed to have unfinished business there. Posing as an aspiring journalist, Isla insinuates herself into the wealthy family’s home and begins searching for the truth.

The more she digs, the more Isla discovers Eden isn’t who she thought she was. Was she even a victim, or did Eden plan this all along? Desperate for answers and to keep her identity hidden, Isla finds an ally in one of the Corrigan sons. But as she wades deeper into this power-hungry family’s secrets and lies, she finds herself in the crosshairs of a bloodline that’s more lethal than loyal.

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Erin Ashley @bellametaphor

This week, Gare, Steph and I share our 2026 bookish goals, and January and February releases we are excited about! Steph also shares a few backlist she will be reading in January and February.

Kate’s Books

Kin by Tayari Jones

Spies and Other Gods James Wolff

Queen of Faces by Petra Lord

On Sundays She Picked Flowers by Yah-Yah Scholfield 

Unread: A Memoir of Learning (And Loving) to Read on TikTok  by Oliver James

Gare’s Books

A Box Full of Darkness by Simone St. James

Dead in the Water by John Marrs

Here Lie All the Boys Who Broke My Heart by Emma Simmerman

The Exes by Leodora Darlington

Last Seen by Christopher Castellani

Steph’s Books

Dark Sisters by Kristi DeMeester

The Act of Disappearing by Nathan Gower

It’s Not Her by Mary Kubica

Best Offer Wins by Marisa Kashimo

The Correspondent by Virginia Evans

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Erin Ashley @bellametaphor