If ever an industry had its hackles raised by the proliferation of AI, it’s the creative industry. In the world of books and publishing, we’ve seen lawsuits lodged by authors against tech companies training their Large Language Models using pirated works, backlash against AI book cover design, and you only have to look at the comments under Libby’s Instagram post about the library app’s position on the availability of titles created with AI tools for a temperature check on how patrons and librarians feel about the tech. But, like libraries, publishing hasn’t entirely rejected the ubiquitous if controversial tool.

Penguin Random House, Macmillan, and other major publishers are hiring AI engineers for operations and efficiency, walking the tightrope of using AI to support business and the bottom line without ruffling the feathers of authors who are vocal about its negative impact. None of the job listings surfaced by Forbes , posted by the major publishing houses, said anything about using AI for editing or writing, but it’s not hard to see how authors might balk at the idea of publishers using AI to, for instance, help forecast the success of and price tag placed on their work. It’s a tricky business and the only certainty is that this is just the beginning of the story about AI’s emerging role in publishing. - SZW

Nine books enter, one book leaves as It Book of the Month. It’s a highly scientific vibes-based process of elimination, and the February contenders are a fascinating group.

The ideal It Book rings four bells:

• 🔔 Art - Is it good?
• 🔔  Acclaim - Will it contend for awards and best-of lists?
• 🔔 Sales - Where’s the money?
• 🔔 Zeitgeist - What’s the buzz?

This month’s candidates include a fantasy adventure in which books are actually doors into new worlds, a thrilling novel about loneliness and the dark side of fandom, and a Harvard professor’s primer on the works of one of America’s most important writers.

🎧 Listen as we play a knockout round with the It Books of February.

If you like your history reimaginings dripping with unease, this is one you won’t want to miss.

You’ve heard the story: the one about the summer Mary Shelley spent with Lord Byron and Percy Shelley, and began to write the masterpiece we know as Frankenstein. In The Glowing Hours, Leila Siddiqui delivers a mind-bending, revisionist gothic horror reimagining of that storied Geneva summer, as told by her Indian housemaid, Mehrunissa “Mehr” Begum.

Fans of Silvia Moreno-Garcia, Isabel Cañas, and Kathe Koja will devour this atmospheric fever dream, one Alexis Henderson calls "haunting, surreal, and utterly engrossing."

The Glowing Hours is available now wherever books are sold. 

Libro.fm shared the top ten titles folks are listening to this month, a mix of classic booklover books, steamy sports romance, and thrilling page-turners. Here are some highlights:

🎧 At the top of the list is The Correspondent, an intimate epistolary novel about a septuagenarian revisiting her life’s most pivotal moments through letters. Readers do love a book on the beauty of the written word.

🎧 At number two is a book I knew nothing about and suddenly saw on all the bestseller lists. Theo of Golden is a word-of-mouth hit about a man on a mission to purchase the 92 pencil portraits at his local coffee shop and return them to their rightful owners. We love a dude with a purpose.

🎧 The hockey love affair continues , with not one, but three titles from Rachel Reid’s Game Changers series making the list (and as you’ll read below, we may have NYC mayor Zohran Mamdani to thank for that)

🎧 Speaking of listens getting bumps from adaptations , the premiere of the Netflix film based on Emily Henry’s People We Meet on Vacation is back in heavy rotation.

🎧 I added Alice Feeney’s latest psychological thriller, My Husband’s Wife, to my queue after picking my jaw up off the floor at the ending of the Netflix adaptation of His & Hers. I see I’m not alone! -VD

It’s hard to overstate what a phenomenon the Heated Rivalry adaptation has been—and continues to be, even after the end of the first season! With great popularity comes great discourse. Here’s just a sampling of the conversations happening online about Heated Rivalry.

🏒 Rachel Reid thought her "sexually explicit queer romance novels about hockey players" were " unadaptable."

🏒 After the premiere of Heated Rivalry, sales of the print book increased by 8,000%. Spotify listens for the audiobook went up 1,500%.

🏒 NYC mayor Zohran Mamdani advised New Yorkers to stay home during the winter storm and read Heated Rivalry, available through unlimited ebooks and audiobook checkouts in NYC libraries. After his speech, downloads surged by 529%.

🏒 Canadian bookstore chain Indigo has announced that Unrivaled, the upcoming book in the Heated Rivalry/Game Changers series, is their biggest romance preorder of all time.

🏒 And finally, Autostraddle dives into why Heated Rivalry has launched so much heated discourse , including who the show is for and whether the queer representation is "authentic." -DE

Sometimes, the best remedy for a long week is a little bit of nonsense. Discover the joy in the details with the  Ban.do Sweetheart Sale , and take 30% off select whimsical decor, books, and accessories. Whether you’re eyeing a pickle-scented candle or a rug that looks like buttered toast, now is the time to treat yourself. Shop the sale today!

Book Riot All Access members get a pile of benefits, including unlimited reading on bookriot.com, recommendations for the Read Harder Challenge, and access to our New Release Index to curate your TBR. Here are a few recent highlights:

• 📚 8 of the Best New Books Out in February 2026
• 🪐 Short but Sweet: 12 Exciting New Sci-Fi and Fantasy Books of February 2026
• ❓ What’s Going On at Archie Comics?
• 📖 Reading Challenges Aren’t Homework: They’re Games
• 🔬 Must-Read Microhistories of The Common, The Ordinary, and The Extraordinary
• 🍬 Where the Popsugar Reading Challenge and the Read Harder Challenge Meet

🔓  Unlock access for just $6/month.

Don’t miss out on the opportunity to win a 12-credit bundle to Libro.fm. That is a full year of audiobooks (one per month!) waiting to hit your earbuds. To enter for a chance to win, subscribe to the Audio Insider newsletter from Penguin Random House Audio. The team at Penguin Random House Audio recommends the following titles to get your credits started:

💀Secret of Secrets by Dan Brown
🌴People We Meet on Vacation by Emily Henry
🔮 A Witch’s Guide to Magical Innkeeping by Sangu Mandanna
🌲God of the Woods by Liz Moore
🩺Everything is Tuberculosis by John Green

💤 Like blackout curtains for your face, this fully adjustable sleep mask features a specialized ’glimpse’ panel to let in just a hint of light when you need it.**

🗯️ What’s going on at Archie Comics? The Archie gang is going through changes.

📖 There’s no excuse not to read diversely in 2026. Here are a whopping 67 books by women of color to read in 2026.

🏆 Did your fave make the list? Check out the finalists for the 2026 Libby Book Awards.

‼️ This is not a drill: Tomi Adeyemi has a new book out this September.

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