Can't-Wait Wednesday: Berenice by Bruce Chilton

Can't-Wait Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted at Wishful Endings, to spotlight and talk about the books we're excited about that we have yet to read.

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Berenice: Queen in Roman Judea by Bruce Chilton
Expected publication: February 17, 2026 by Yale University Press

The life story of the Judean queen Berenice, descendant of Herod the Great, who became a player on the stage of Roman conquest and politics

Berenice (born ca. 28) was the most notorious Jewish woman in the Roman Empire of her time. Multiple marriages, rumors of incestuous relations with her brother (Agrippa II of the Herodian dynasty), and her scandalous liaison with Titus, the Roman general and emperor-to-be, guaranteed Berenice’s celebrity.

This reputation does not, however, paint a complete portrait of Berenice, nor does it capture her significance. Her political acumen was as effective as it would become legendary. The great-granddaughter of Herod the Great and the daughter of King Agrippa I, she promoted the family’s unusual version of Judaism as well as its outsized ambitions. Berenice was a pivotal figure in Agrippa II’s advance in imperial preferment; played a crucial role during the Jewish-Roman war; and, as consort to Titus, supported his father, Vespasian, in his accession to the role of emperor.

Bruce Chilton traces Berenice’s quest for power and her influence in Rome and beyond through the lens of the tensions, conflicts, political intrigues, and cultural interactions that shaped the empire during the second half of the first century

I don't know much about Berenice, the daughter of king Herod so this book would be perfect to learn more about her!!

What book are you awaiting today?

Review: She Made Herself a Monster by Anna Kovatcheva

Title: She Made Herself a Monster
Author: Anna Kovatcheva
Publication: February 10, 2026 by Mariner Books
Genre: Historical Fiction, Folkhorror
Find it on: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Google Play | Kobo | Waterstones
Rating: 5/5★

You cannot fight a poor harvest, but you can banish the demon that threatens your land.

In 19th century Bulgaria, Yana is an unconventional helper. A self-proclaimed vampire hunter, she travels the desolate landscape, and in each struggling village that she visits, she stages a grisly tableau in a public square. She tells the stricken villagers stories of monsters that stalk the nights. Then she eliminates the threat, and sows seeds of hope in its wake.

The village Koprivci thinks itself cursed—plagued by illness and dark fortune, its children seldom survive infancy. There, Yana meets Anka—an isolated, lonely girl desperate to escape the threat of sexual violence in her home. Together, they hatch a plan to spirit Anka away. By deception, theatrics, and animal sacrifice, they manifest a village vampire—and work harmoniously until their strange public service clashes with urgent personal need. 🩸

🕯️Gothic

⛪ 19th century Bulgaria

🌙 Inspired by Slavic folklore

🗡️ Vampire slayer (or con artist?)

🔥 Feminist

🔮 Witchy

She Made Herself a Monster is Anna Kovatcheva's debut novel and I was utterly obsessed with it. Set in ninetheenth-century Bulgaria it blends haunting folklore, a dark atmosphere and unflinching female rage.

We meet Yana who goes from town to town proclaiming herself as a vampire slayer when in reality she’s a con artist ridding villages of imaginary monsters. When Yana arrives in Koprivici, she finds a village afflicted by illness, hardship, and children who rarely survive infancy.

There she meets Anka. As Anka comes of age, the village Captain, who raised her, is forcing her toward a marriage with him that she does not want. Together Yana and Anka device a plan together to conjure a monster so fearsome, even if it's only imagined in the villager's minds, that it might cover Anka’s escape.

Not only had this book some amazing and complex female characters from all walks of life, Anna Kovatcheva's writing was also beautifully haunting. The unstoppable feminine rage sweeping through the story made everything about it all the more visceral and powerful to read.

The audiobook was narrated by Helen Laser and she couldn't have done a better job in my opinion. It was the first time I listened to this narrator and it just made me eager to listen to even more of her work as a narrator.

She Made Herself a Monster is an undeniably powerful debut where Anna Kovatcheva emerges as a promising new voice in folkhorror. And I can't wait to see what she'll do next!

About the author:

Anna Kovatcheva was born in Bulgaria and holds an MFA in fiction from New York University. Her chapbook, The White Swallow, was selected by Aimee Bender as the winner of the Gold Line Press Chapbook Competition and published in 2015. Her short fiction has been anthologized in Best American Nonrequired Reading and has appeared in The Kenyon Review and The Iowa Review. She Made Herself a Monster is her debut novel. She lives in Brooklyn, New York.

Website

 

Cover Reveal: Burn Her They Said by Cherish Wright

Welcome to the cover reveal of Burn Her They Said by Cherish Wright.
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Burn Her They Said by Cherish Wright
(The Anomalies of Ampara Deicra, #1)
Publication date: June 26th 2026
Genres: Adult, Fantasy, Romance

What would you endure for those you love?

Imperial Grand Witch Tasch was born with emotional influencing magic stronger and stranger than any other witch—an Anomaly the Emperor requires to manage his temper and that of those he interacts with under threat of harm to those she cares the most. He assigns five sorcerers–all Anomalies–each the strongest in their magical form. After years of enduring the hardship of serving the Emperor, they form an alliance intending to free every citizen.

One sorcerer changes everything.

Until a sorcerer named Varic is found to have magic surpassing Tasch’s Lead Guard, to which the Emperor sends him to serve in the Imperial Army, diverting from his claim to have assigned only the strongest sorcerers in the Continent to Tasch’s detail no longer being accurate.

Varic is made to strengthen his magic until even he cannot contain it, resulting in the worst magical catastrophe in history. Wielding power the Emperor covets, he sends Tasch to rehabilitate him with the false belief her magic alone can make him want to live. Tasch soon discovers Varic is another survivor of the same corrupt system and they forge a strong bond, free from the Emperor’s prying eyes for once in her life. In the months Varic requires for healing, they fall in love—a love so forbidden, the consequences are too dire to mention.

Oppression forms unbreakable bonds.

Increased attacks on the Imperial Palace require drastic measures, prompting the Emperor to assign Varic over Tasch’s detail. The problem being now that bordering lands are escalating their efforts to reclaim necessary resources the Emperor hoards, Varic’s presence makes it impossible for he and Tasch to hide their feelings for one another, as well as the signs her magic is fading drastically. And with no heir apparent due to the Emperor’s belief he will discover the answer to immortality, they need to be more careful than ever.

In an Empire where Dragons are revered like Gods, one power-hungry tyrant rules it all, while Tasch and her Guards .

Dragonfall meets A Discovery of Witches in this dark fantasy forbidden romance between Imperial Grand Witch Tasch whose magic is fading, and Varic, the sorcerer she saved years earlier who will stop at nothing to return the favor. Family, power, and Empire collide in the first of this series as everything Tasch has ever known begins to change. Will they find a way to save her without major consequence to the citizens, or will her magic fade entirely?

Author Bio:

Writer of Dark Romantic Gothic Fantasy with character driven stories with MC’s in their 30’s

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