Punxsutawney Phil has emerged from his cozy underground burrow and spoken: There are still six more weeks of winter ahead to endure. February may bear the unfortunate distinction of being the shortest month of the year, but it has no shortage of new releases hot off the presses. With winter still roaring in full force, this is the perfect time to catch up on the reading you swore you’d do as a New Year’s resolution.
It’s the season of polar vortexes, blizzards, subzero temperatures, and perfectly timed “Can we reschedule?” texts. When the days are bitter and the nights in alone outnumber those out, this month’s slate of immersive literary fiction can keep you company. Whether you’re in love, agonizing, pining, or happily independent, there are a fresh set of romances and anti-romances to get you through the season.
And if you, like me, find that February has a strange way of turning you into the scariest, most monstrous and ghoulish version of yourself, there’s a book for that too.
Clutch By Emily Nemens
Out Feb. 3. Twenty years after meeting as undergrads, Gregg, Reba, Hillary, Bella, and Carson reunite in Palm Springs, California. Now 40, they’re each grappling with difficult circumstances — political drama, infertility, addiction, a crumbling home life, creative ambition — and must lean on one another in ways they haven’t for years. For fans of Elena Ferrante and stories about complex female friendships, Clutch is a must-read.
The End of Romance By Lily Meyer
Out Feb. 3. Graduate student Sylvie Broder emerges from an emotionally abusive marriage with a radical new philosophy: Straight women are happiest without romance. But when she finds herself drawn into the orbit of two very different men, that conviction is put to the test. For literary fiction and romance readers alike, The End of Romance unfurls questions about what female pleasure, satisfaction, and happiness truly look like.
Superfan By Jenny Tinghui Zhang
Out Feb. 3. This coming-of-age novel follows lonely college freshman Minnie, who develops a parasocial relationship with Halo, the front man of her favorite boy band, HOURglass, as she tries to stop a dark secret from being exposed. Set in a world where the line between fan and friend blurs, the novel explores both fandom’s intoxicating sense of belonging and the darkness that festers underneath.
Little One By Olivia Muenter
Out Feb. 3. Olivia Muenter (a former Bustle editor) is back with an eerie second novel. Catharine West has spent a decade hiding the truth about her past: She grew up in a wellness-based cult led by her magnetic father, and she escaped when things turned dark. Now, a journalist is asking uncomfortable questions, forcing her to choose between protecting her peace and finally getting answers about her long-lost sister.
With The Heart Of A Ghost By Sunwoo Lim, Translated By Chi-Young Kim
Out Feb. 10. Lim Sunwoo’s debut collection blurs the line between the mundanity of daily life and the quiet whimsy of the surreal. In eight stories, the author covers the ghost of a K-pop star confined to a vacuum cleaner, a pack of aggressive evolved jellyfish, and other worldly physical transformations. Translated from Korean, this collection uses the supernatural to explore the tenderness and strangeness of the human experience.
She Made Herself A Monster By Anna Kovatcheva
Out Feb. 10. In Anna Kovatcheva’s stunning debut, readers are introduced to Yana, a faux vampire hunter who travels through Bulgarian villages promising to slay imaginary monsters. When she meets Anka, an orphan being forced into marriage, the two invent an entirely new creature to help Anka slip away. Drawing on Slavic folklore, Kovatcheva explores womanhood, free will, and the question of what truly makes a monster.
Murder Bimbo By Rebecca Novack
Out Feb. 10. When a queer sex worker is approached by federal agents to carry out a murder-for-hire plot, she adopts the moniker Murder Bimbo. But once the hit is complete, her world begins to unravel. Told through an unreliable narrator, this satirical thriller introduces Novack as a fresh voice in literary fiction.
Two Can Play By Ali Hazelwood
Out Feb. 10. A neuroscientist turned romance author known for writing about women in STEM, Ali Hazelwood introduces us to Viola Bowen, a video game designer who finally has the chance to develop her dream project. But when she’s paired with rival Jesse Andrews and sent on a mandatory bonding retreat, anything can happen.
A Hymn To Life: Shame Has To Change Sides By Gisèle Pelicot
Out Feb. 17. In September 2024, Gisèle Pelicot chose to reveal her identity to the public during the trial of her husband, Dominique Pelicot, and the 50 other men who raped and assaulted her over a period of nine years. Now, she reflects on five decades of her life, including her marriage, the trial, the global movement it sparked, and her long journey toward healing. For fans of Chanel Miller’s memoir Know My Name, the book is both an intensely intimate memoir and an act of defiance.
Kin by Tayari Jones
Out Feb. 24. Eight years after her breathtaking hit An American Marriage, Tayari Jones returns with Kin, introducing readers to Vernice and Annie. Bound by the absence of their mothers in different ways, the novel follows their diverging paths: One attends Spelman College; the other sets off on a perilous search for her long-lost parent. Jones paints a moving portrait of womanhood, sisterhood, and the American South.
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