The March 2026 issue of Booklist has a review by me inside. As usual, this post includes my draft review and bonus content.
Wife Shaped Bodies
By Laura Cranehill
Apr. 2026. 288p. Saga, paper, $18.99 (9781668098103).
First published March 1, 2026 (Booklist).
Sporror and body horror collaborate in beautiful unease inside a walled-in community of survivors populated by women whose bodies are covered in elaborate mushroom structures and the men who control them. Opening on Nicole’s wedding morning, as she is being shaved of the mushrooms which have grown across her skin for her entire life, readers watch Nicole leave her house for the first time in her life and make the walk to her husband’s home, a man who has held the rights to marry her since before her birth. With only Nicole’s perspective, readers enter Cranehill’s mesmerizingly immersive, atmospheric and unsettling world, as details are unveiled slowly, at first, and then with increasing urgency as Nicole meets fellow wife Teaghan, with whom she develops an all consuming connection, one that may allow them to expose for all what the men have been withholding. The resulting tale will weave its way into readers’ bodies, leaving an unforgettable mark. For those who enjoyed both the cultish, post-apocalyptic world of The Unworthy by Bazterrica and VanderMeer's Southern Reach series.
Before I go into anything else about this book I need to be clear-- the unease is enhanced because readers only see this strange, near future, apocalyptic world through the eyes of Nicole and only Nicole. She is unreliable in the literal sense as she has only lived her life locked in her parent's home. Now she is venturing out to be wed and live as a wife in the community as the book opens. This is before we learn about the weird, allowed in community the live in.
The women as all covered in elaborate mushrooms, which they shave once married. The men run this world and are trying to protect the community after the destruction of civilization. The descriptions o the beautiful and carries mushrooms as they grow on the women's bodies is not just beautiful, it is mesmerizing.
Details are let out in small doses as Nicole befriends and falls in love with another wife (Teaghan)-- but it is not so much romantic as more all consuming-- physically, yes but also Nicole has never had a friend, and this woman is her conduit to the "truth."
Clearly, something is going on with the women in this community. They are being absued physically and psychologically. The men are running things and using them in many ways which we learn over the course of the book. As the details are doled out, they pile up on each other, many of these details are shocking at first, but Cranehill does a great job making every detail build a fuller picture of the world as a hole. Nothing here is for chic value only.
It all adds up in the end, giving readers a picture of this strange landscape. We don't have all the answers of what is going on outside their walled community but we do get closure on the world the story is set in. And it is satisfying in every way-- intellectually, emotionally, and most importantly-- revenge worthy!
I cannot stress enough how well Cranehill does weaving the fungus and mushrooms into the entire novel. Readers feel them, smell them, see them. There were times I was batting something away from my eyes or scratching a part of my body because of what was written on the page. WELL DONE!
Great world building, interesting story, immersive in every sense of the word, and Nicole was a naive protagonist uncovering the truth that I wanted to follow.
Readalikes: As I mentioned about it reminded me of if the cultish post apocalyptic world of The Unworthy by Bazterrica if it joined forces with VanderMeer's Southern Reach series. Also reminded me of Pink Slime by Fernanda Trías and Gather the Daughters by Jennie Melamed
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