Month: September 2025

Serena’s Review: “It Happened on a Sunday”

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Book: “It Happened on a Sunday” by Tracy Wolff

Publishing Info: Entangled: Amara, September 2025

Where Did I Get this Book: ARC from the publisher!

Where Can You Get this Book: WorldCat.org | Amazon | IndieBound

Book Description: They call her the Black Widow. A pop star. A tabloid tragedy. A girl who set the world on fire—and got burned in return.

But Sloane Walker doesn’t care what they say. Not anymore. The headlines, the hashtags, the rumors that never die? Let them come. She’s survived worse—like the ex who tried to kill her and the fans who blamed her for surviving. These days, she’s armor and eyeliner, singing songs that hurt and pretending they don’t.

She’s halfway through a sold-out tour and dangerously close to unraveling when a meet-and-greet throws her into the path of Mateo Sylvester—a rising star quarterback with a devastating smile and a grandmother who’s Sloane’s biggest fan. He’s got stadiums at his feet and the press eating from his hand. She’s got a flask full of sweet tea, a voice full of ghosts, and no patience for golden boys with good intentions.

She tells herself it’s just a photo op. Just another handshake. Just another charming fan with perfect cheekbones and no idea what it means to bleed for your art.But Mateo sees more than the stage persona. He sees the cracks in her smile. The songs she’s too scared to write. The girl underneath the glitter, still fighting to stay.They weren’t supposed to fall. Not in the spotlight. Not when the world is watching. And definitely not when the people closest to them would do anything to keep them apart.

This isn’t a fairy tale. It’s a slow-motion car crash. And if they’re not careful, it might just cost them everything.

Review: As I’ve ventured further into romantasy and fantasy romance fiction, I’ve also started dipping my toes back into other subgenres of romance. I’ve most regularly enjoyed historical romance novels (Sherry Thomas, one of my favorite authors, has written several!), though I’ve been known to read a few contemporary romances sprinkled throughout. I’ll be honest, these are the hardest sell for me, most of the time. But I’ve also read a few recently that I’ve enjoyed (after loving “Shield of Sparrows,” I’ve gone back and read a few of Devney Perry’s contemporary books and really enjoyed them, though I haven’t reviewed those here on the blog.) All of this to say, I was happy to jump on board when I was given the opportunity to review an early copy of this title!

So, this one both worked really well for me in some areas, but also was a struggle in others. First off, there’s no escaping the obvious and intentional parallels to Taylor Swift and and Travis Kelce (the book leans into this, in fact, with several references to Swift’s songs). I don’t particularly enjoy Taylor Swift, but that’s more due to the fact that her style of music isn’t my preferred style, and less to do with anything to do with her particular songs. Further, I’m by no means caught up on all of the celebrity gossip and drama to be found there. That said, there’s no avoiding the basic points, so it was easy to see the lines being drawn within the book.

However, I think the author did a very good job of distancing this story enough from these real life individuals. While there are similarities to be found, the core of the story revolves around an almost “thriller-like” plot line involving the mysterious deaths of Sloane’s previous boyfriends and the present danger of an increasingly threatening stalker. And, of course, this gives the book plenty of opportunities to place our romantic hero in a protective role as the couple tries to cope with these increasingly dire circumstances. All of this gives the book a lot of action, as well as fully centers the story around unique characters who aren’t simply carbon cut-outs of their real-life counterparts.

I will say, there were quite a few moments that push the limits of credibility with the way many things played out, particularly with the stalker plot-line. However, this is a romance novel first and foremost, so I didn’t go in with expectations of a hard-nosed thriller/mystery. That being the case, it was easy enough to sit back and enjoy this plot line for what it was. And by far, this mystery and built up sense of danger was my favorite part of the book.

Unfortunately, while I liked the the thriller aspects of the story, I struggled more with the romance itself. For one thing, there was exactly zero build up or progression of feelings. Instead, by date number two, love is being expressed and devotion committed. While I expect romance novels to move a bit more quickly than my slow-burning heart desires, this one was fast even by comparative standards. There was no tension, no push and pull, just instant gratification. It was all too much and too fast for me to ever feel fully invested in their relationship.

Further, some of the writing was a bit off-putting to me at times. While most of the book is written in a very casual style, there would be random moments where the author would throw in obscure, lesser-used terms. These moments always stood out to me, almost as if a second editor had went through and used a thesaurus sporadically to “smarten up” the text. It just read as off. Similarly, some of the spicey scenes also included phrases and descriptions that felt oddly clinical or even eerie at times, leaving me feeling as if perhaps there was some deeper mystery being built up between the two. But nope, in the end, it seems like it was just odd writing choices.

Overall, this was an ok read. I enjoyed the stalker plot line and the tension that was built up as this threat intensified. However, the love story itself didn’t quite land for me. That said, I do think this book will work well for a lot of contemporary romance fans, particularly those who have enjoyed following Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce’s love story!

Rating 7: I enjoyed the stalker plot line quite a bit, but the romance took off too quickly and never quite struck the right chord (chord…get it??) with me.

Reader’s Advisory:

“It Happened on a Sunday” can be found on these Goodreads lists: Musicians Romances and September 2025 Sports Romance Release.

Serena’s Review: “A Land So Wide”

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Book: “A Land So Wide” by Erin A. Craig

Publishing Info: Pantheon, September 2025

Where Did I Get this Book: Edelweiss+

Where Can You Get this Book: WorldCat.org | Amazon | IndieBound

Book Description: Like everyone else in the settlement of Mistaken, Greer Mackenzie is trapped. Founded by an ambitious Scottish lumber merchant, the tiny town on the edge of the American continent is blessed with rich natural resources that have made its people prosperous—but at a cost. The same woods that have lined the townsfolks’ pockets harbor dangerous beasts: wolves, bears, and the Bright-Eyeds—monsters beyond description who have rained utter destruction down on nearby settlements. But Mistaken’s founders made a deal with the mysterious Benevolence: the Warding Stones that surround the town will keep the Bright-Eyeds out—and the town’s citizens in. Anyone who spends a night within Mistaken’s borders belongs to it forever.

Greer, a mapmaker and eccentric dreamer, has always ached to explore the world outside, even though she knows she and her longtime love, Ellis Beaufort, will never see it. Until, on the day she and Ellis are meant to finally begin their lives together, Greer watches in horror as her beloved disappears beyond the Warding Stones, pursued by a monstrous creature. Swiftly realizing that the stories she was raised on might be more myth than fact, Greer figures out a way to escape Mistaken for the very first time. Determined to rescue Ellis, she begins a trek through the cold and pitiless wilderness. But Greer is being hunted, not only by the ruthless Bright-Eyeds but by the secret truths behind Mistaken’s founding, as well as her own origins.

Playfully drawing from Scottish folklore, Erin A. Craig’s adult debut is both a deeply atmospheric and profoundly romantic exploration of freedom versus security: a stunning celebration of one woman’s relentless bravery on a quest to reclaim her lost love—and claim her own future.

Review: I haven’t read many books by this author, but the one I did read I absolutely loved (“The Thirteenth Child”). While that book was particularly up my alley with its original fairytale feeling, the writing throughout was incredibly strong and I loved the romantic subplot. This all being the case, I was super excited to check out the latest book by Craig coming out this fall, especially since it was her adult debut!

Unfortunately, this one wasn’t for me. Which is pretty surprising, because looking at the book description, this one definitely should be for me! However, there were some important factors not included in the book description that really played with my expectations vs. reality. Let’s start with some positives though! Overall, I still found the quality of the writing itself very good. The prologue was fire and perfectly set up this creepy woods and the claustrophobia of the village and its people now trapped within it, essentially. As the story expanded, I enjoyed a lot of what we learned about this world itself and the beings who inhabited it. Some of these twists were definitely not of the sort that I expected (the types of magical beings, especially), but I was happy enough to go along with it, as I thought the interpretation here was interesting.

However, I really struggled with both the romance and the main character. Like I said, the prologue was excellent, and after that strong start, I went in to the main plot of the story with high expectations. The prologue was mature, dark, and epic, setting up what I thought would be an excellent adult fantasy novel. However, the very next chapter when we meet the main character and are introduced to the current time and cast of characters, I immediately had concerns.

Gone was that adult voice. Instead, while I was told that Greer was in her late 20s, she immediately read as a teenager. Her thoughts, actions, and dialogue all read as incredibly immature, and I really struggled to take her seriously as an adult woman. I get that part of her arc is that she is rather naive to start with, but this felt like more than naivety and really just like she was a teenager instead. Perhaps if I had been primed for a YA fantasy story, this might have bothered me less. But I can’t even say that for sure, as much of what Greer was saying and thinking would have been fairly immature and annoying even in a teen book. I know this is Craig’s debut with an adult book, but I’m struggling to see what changes were made to this text to age it up from her typical YA books.

The pacing was also fairly slow. On one hand, I don’t mind slower books, but, like I said, there was a mismatch between the book description and reality. In that, the book summary emphasizes Ellis’s disappearance into the forest and Greer’s subsequent quest to find him. It makes it sounds like these events happen early, with the main focus of the text centering around Greer’s time looking for him. Instead, this event doesn’t even take place until nearly halfway through the book! Again, this isn’t necessarily a bad thing on its own, but some readers may find themselves frustrated, having picked up a book marketed as one woman’s quest only to find that that story is only the last half of this entire book.

Lastly, there was a love triangle introduced out of nowhere. And man, did I hate it. Obviously, it’s well-document that I don’t enjoy love triangles. But this one felt egregious, in that I felt like the entire romantic rug was pulled out from under me. Again, the story is set up to be Greer’s quest to find and save the man she loves! And much of the first half of the book is devoted to the foundations of this relationship. And then, randomly, this second love interest is introduced, completely undercutting the romance and love story of the first relationship, the one that is meant to serve as the core of the book plot that was advertised to me in the first place. Beyond that, there were some weird dynamics in this second relationship that I didn’t particularly enjoy. In the end, by the time I got to the end, I was less invested in the love story than I had been at the start. And that’s never what you want.

So, yeah. Unfortunately, this one was a pretty big whiff for me. I know that Craig is a talented author, so I’m not quite sure what happened here. Part of me wants to blame this on her shift to adult fantasy, that perhaps she took the wrong lessons to heart when trying to make this jump. Adding a love triangle and minor amounts of spice isn’t what’s important to adult fantasy. Instead, your characters have to…you know…read like adults. Fans of this author may still want to check this one out, especially if you enjoy love triangles. But I don’t think this one quite hit the target it was aiming for.

Rating 6: An unfortunate love triangle and a main character who read as much younger than her years really tanked this one for me.

Reader’s Advisory:

“A Land So Wide” can be found on this Goodreads list: Can’t Wait Sci-Fi/Fantasy of 2025.

Kate’s Review: “In Deadly Company”

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Book: “In Deadly Company” by L.S. Stratton

Publishing Info: Union Square & Co, September 2025

Where Did I Get This Book: I received an ARC from the publicist

Where You Can Get This Book: WorldCat.org | Amazon | Indiebound

Book Description: A year after the blowout birthday celebration she organized accidentally ended in the death of her nightmare, one-percenter boss, Xander Chambers, Nicole Underwood thought she was setting the public record straight by agreeing to consult on a feature film based on her story. But on the set in LA, she watches in frustration as her experiences are persistently sidelined by inappropriate casting and frequent, bizarre script changes.
 
Nicole is haunted by the events of that fateful house party and visions of her now deceased boss. Xander had been unfit to lead the company his mother—famed entrepreneur Bridget Chambers—had founded and built to Fortune 500 status until her untimely death in a car accident several months prior. After being Bridget’s favorite assistant, Nicole had honored her mentor by staying on to keep Xander organized and on task despite his relentless partying. When he wanted her to plan his wild bash, Nicole saw a chance to probe the people closest to the Chambers family and learn if Bridget’s crash was truly a simple tragedy. But Nicole, who just wanted to be the best assistant possible, could not have foreseen the terrible consequences of her actions.

Review: Thank you to Sparkpoint Studio for sending me an ARC of this novel!

If a book comes at me and promises to have a “White Lotus” vibe to it I am probably going to be interested regardless, as that show is such a (not so) guilty pleasure for me. There’s something tantalizing for me about nasty wealthy people being shown as nasty with fun bits of dark humor AND the perspectives of the less wealthy having to deal with their bullshit. So it’s probably not shocking that when I was offered “In Deadly Company” by L. S. Stratton, which centers on an assistant of a notoriously awful billionaire reeling from a weekend that ends in multiple deaths, I was like ‘oh yes please’.

The plot is straightforward and very twisty, with two different perspective times and multiple perspective characters (though some are more prominent than others). Our main character is Nicole (or Nikki), the former assistant to famous billionaire Xander Chambers. She had been the assistant to his mother Bridget, but when Bridget died in a car accident she was kept on my Xander, who was far more crass and far less outwardly magnanimous. We have a first person POV in the present day, where she’s acting as a consultant on a film about a deadly weekend during Xander’s birthday celebration that happened a year prior. We also have third person POVs back to the weekend of the birthday bash, with Nicole and a couple other characters serving as the perspectives. I liked the way that Stratton used these two timelines, as it gives us a way to look at some very personal fallout for Nicole in the present day while also giving us hints beyond her scope during the birthday weekend. Nicole is a VERY enjoyably protagonist, as not only is she one of the few likable people in the book, she is also funny and sardonic and very easy to root for, whether that’s because of the crappy behavior of her employer and his terrible friends that she has to run damage control for, or the saccharine and very inauthentic movie production that she has been roped into in hopes of setting the record straight (while having to deal with colorism, misogynoir, and the general misrepresentation in the pursuit of a narrative that Hollywood is known for).

As a mystery, it had a lot of pretty well set up twists and turns. I could call a few of them here and there, but there were a couple that generally blew me away. Stratton has a dubious (in a good way) list of suspects, all of whom are believable to be killers or at least malevolent BECAUSE they are all such shifty and careless people, and if that doesn’t sum up the billionaire class I don’t know what does. Nicole’s interactions with them elicit both dark satire as well as ugly realities. I will say that I didn’t buy into the romance between Nicole and Jeremiah as much, but that’s not because of either of the characters. Like I said above I really liked Nicole, and Jeremiah was a solid ‘outsider’ perspective to give us more clues that Nicole wouldn’t necessarily be privy to when he did have his perspective points. But I thought that the romance between them could have had a bit more exploration and depth as opposed to the re-introduced whirlwind with so many other things happening in such a short period of time. But again, that’s a minor quibble in a story I generally enjoyed!

Ultimately I enjoyed “In Deadly Company” as it points out the greed and sociopathy of billionaires (both in the corporate and entertainment world) all wrapped up in a fast paced whodunnit. Definitely an enjoyable thriller!

Rating 8: A fun murder mystery with under-appreciated workers and conniving elites, “In Deadly Company” was a fast read that had me surprised consistently.

Reader’s Advisory:

“In Deadly Company” isn’t on any Goodreads lists as of now, but it would fit in on “Damn These Rich People!”.

Serena’s Review: “The Second Death of Locke”

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Book: “The Second Death of Locke” by V. L. Bovalino

Publishing Info: Orbit, September 2025

Where Did I Get this Book: Netgalley!

Where Can You Get this Book: WorldCat.org | Amazon | IndieBound

Book Description: Grey Flynn has dedicated her life to her mage, Kier.

She will be his blade on the battlefield, his healer and protector. The deep well of raw power inside her is Kier’s to use. Grey would do anything for Kier – be anything for him – if he would only ask.

When a quest to protect the child of an enemy kingdom pulls them into the dangerous heart of their nation’s war, Grey and Kier will need to decide what they are willing to sacrifice to protect their secret.

For Grey is no ordinary magical well, but heir to the lost island of Locke – the root of all power. If she dies, all magic dies with her.

Review: I’ve always had an inkling that I’m probably not the typical romantasy reader. Not only do I not often enjoy the most popular titles in the genre, but, especially as I’ve gotten older, my preference for romantic tropes has shifted greatly. Mostly, I have a limited tolerance for the exhaustingly popular “enemies-to-lovers” trope. It can work (see “The Jasad Heir”), but it takes incredible restraint and dedicated character-building to properly pull it off, in my opinion. Something that you rarely see. Usually, the characters are called “enemies” because they have a minor disagreement or have been put on opposing sides of an incredibly simplistic conflict only to immediately fall head over heels for the first person they’ve talked to from the opposition. Instead, I’m coming to understand that I strongly prefer “second chance” or “friends to lovers” love stories. Alas, we see so few of these in the fantasy/romantasy genres. But, all of this long preamble aside, I present you with pretty much the perfect version of the “friends to lovers” trope all wrapped up in an excellent fantasy novel to boot!

Before I start raving about the romance, let’s talk a bit about other aspects of the book. While this is a character-driven story, the world-building and magic system we get were incredibly interesting. I’ve read other fantasy books that include a magic system somewhat similar to this, where it essentially takes two people to channel and direct magic. But this one was fairly unique in the dynamics this created between Well and Mage. What’s more interesting, the rather straight-forward dynamics that are set up in the beginning are challenged throughout the book. By the end, we see much of this flipped, particularly with Grey and her abilities as a Well.

I also really enjoyed piecing together the history of this world. The author just throws the reader into the middle of the action and the political strife. Only slowly does information come out about what exactly happened in the past and how things ended up where they did. Not only do these revelations explore the political past between nations, but we slowly learn more about Grey’s own previous life.

The plot was also fairly action-packed, especially, again, considering how much of this is a character-focused story. I closed the book feeling like I had really spent a lot of time with Grey, understood her fully and had read an excellent book about her coming into her own. But when I stopped to actually go over it all, I discovered numerous actions scenes peppered throughout, many throwing massive swerve balls into the plot and changing the entire direction of the story. The action ranges from one-on-one conflict all the way up to massive scenes of warfare.

But man, the characters and the love story, this is where it truly shines! This book should be held up as an example to all authors looking to write stories with mutual pining at the heart. And it’s not like you have to wait long to get to the good stuff (and by “good stuff” I don’t mean the spicy scenes; I mean, good ole longing and affection). Almost from the very start, it’s completely obvious that Kier and Grey are head-over-heels for one another and each are too oblivious to say anything about it. But instead of being annoying, this just leads to the reader getting to linger in all of the sweetness that is constantly touched on between them. Every little scene, we see constant affection from Kier towards Grey. And Grey, silly that she is, writes it all off. Now, this could have been tiresome, but instead I felt like I was in on the joke most of the time and was able to shake my head at her all while enjoying what we got in the meantime. Further, the author knew when to give up the ghost and allow the romance to actually move forward.

But what made this romance so successful was the fact that the progression didn’t end the moment confessions happened between them. Instead, through their romance, the story spends a lot of time exploring themes of sacrifice and what that means for those we love. This was particularly interesting as self-sacrifice in the name of love is something we see all the time in romance plot lines, but it’s rarely discussed in any meaningful way. Here, the story takes the time to dive into the nuances of sacrifice, specifically the way it can add an unhealthy dynamic to relationship development.

So, probably not a surprise by this point, but I absolutely loved this book. Grey was a fantastic, complex main character. Kier was pretty much the perfect romantic hero for a friends-to-lovers romance. And the fantasy aspects surprised and impressed at every turn. If you enjoy romantasy but are looking for something unique from the million-and-one generic enemies-to-lovers books coming out right now, definitely give this one a go! I’d also say that this is a great pick for general fantasy fans who enjoy romantic subplots, as I think there’s a strong enough fantasy adventure at its heart beyond the love story.

Rating 10: A perfect rebuttal to the idea that “enemies to lovers” is the peak romance trope. This, this is what I’ve been looking for in romantasy fiction!

Reader’s Advisory:

“The Second Death of Locke” can be found on this Goodreads list: Year of the Lady Knight 2025

Kate’s Review: “LOONEY!”

This post may contain affiliate links for books we recommend.  Read the full disclosure here.

Book: “LOONEY!” by Stephen Kozeniewski & Gavin Dillinger

Publishing Info: French Press Publishing, April 2025

Where Did I Get This Book: I received an ebook from the publisher

Where You Can Get This Book: Amazon

Book Description: When beloved cartoon characters come crawling out of her TV, army recruiter Gabriella Harman expects a zany romp instead of the hellish nightmare that follows.

One night, haunted by her memories of Iraq, Gabriella downs a stomachful of pills and booze. When her favorite cartoon characters, the Kooky Toons, start crawling out of the TV, she assumes she is hallucinating.

But soon Gabriella finds herself locked in a battle of wits and wills with Herman Hyrax, the world-famous, wise-cracking mascot of the Kooky Korporation. Herman is more than just a stinker, though. He may be a monster, a demon, a god, or something entirely more unwholesome.

Is Gabriella’s descent into a world of cartoonish violence and psychological torment real? Or has she simply gone…

LOONEY!?

Review: Thank you to French Press Publishing for sending me a copy of this book!

When I was a kid I loved the movie “Who Framed Roger Rabbit?”. I remember watching it for the first time when I was in early grade school at a friend’s house, and thinking it was very funny (mind you I missed a GOOD majority of the jokes, especially the sexual ones), but also TERRIFYING as Judge Doom melted a toon shoe in a big ol’ barrel of Dip. And then revealed himself as a murderous toon and went fully HAM on Bob Hoskins. It was the first time I had thought about the absurd over the top violence of the old ‘Looney Tunes” cartoons and how in real life that kind of violence would be horrifying. I kept thinking about “Roger Rabbit” while reading “LOONEY!” by Stephen Kozeniewski and Gavin Dillinger, where a beloved Bugs Bunny-esque cartoon icon is revealed to actually be an otherworldly deity that craves violence and chaos, and has used cartoon fame to spread his word, and can only be stopped by a traumatized war veteran.

It’s a little different from a traumatized P.I., but it hits the same (also, this is a safe space, as an elder millennial all grown up I find myself oddly attracted to Eddie Valiant?) (source).

“LOONEY!” is written like a chaotic and tripped up love letter to “Looney Tunes” and old school Disney shorts soaked in a bit of blood and dark fantasy, and it’s so creative it generally works. Our primary antagonist is Herman Hyrax, a violent and maniacal entity that manipulated a cartoonist promising him fame and fortune, but then used his fame to try and create a cult following of fans to implement his bloodthirsty needs. Enter Gabriella, a war veteran with PTSD who finds herself face to face with Herman Hyrax and other characters from the “Kooky Toons” shows, but in real life, sowing discord while other thought to be cartoons try to stop him. As I said, it feels like “Roger Rabbit” if it was far more violent and gory. It’s such a creative idea, and I genuinely love the concept of a Bugs Bunny kind of icon actually being something malevolent and dangerous, hiding behind a charismatic persona of a cartoon character. I will say that some of it dragged on a bit, and there may have been a few too many side characters that were also deities masquerading as cartoons, but in terms of fun and over the top horror moments it hit the mark pretty well.

I also appreciated how the book kind of acknowledges that these old time cartoons, while filled with lots of warm and fuzzy nostalgia, had some pretty problematic elements to them just based on the time frame in which it was taking inspiration from. I remember having old Bugs Bunny cartoons on a VHS tape that my grandmother gave me (it was almost assuredly a bootleg of some sort) that had some WILDLY racist bits in it, which my parents were sure to shut down when they saw just what it was I was watching, and there are similar moments in the lore of Herman Hyrax and his other ‘kooky’ compatriots. And even a reference to WWII propaganda shorts much like the ones so many cartoon companies were making at the time. I felt like the book did a good honest job of capturing the vibes of the cartoons of this era, damaging bits and all (I also really enjoyed having the bits of screenplays from some of the episodes and seeing Herman become more and more unhinged with studio notes written in).

Overall, “LOONEY!” is a creative horror story that I found entertaining. If you like kind of weird and somewhat meta horror, this could be a good fit.

Rating 7: Very creative and like a demonic iteration of “Who Framed Roger Rabbit?”, “LOONEY!” has some wild horror bits and a nostalgia for old time cartoons (while acknowledging the baggage that came with them).

Reader’s Advisory:

“LOONEY!” isn’t on any Goodreads lists yet, but it did make me want to re-watch “Roger Rabbit”.

Highlights: September 2025

School has at last started, though that has also highlighted once again all of the activities and scheduled events that also entails! But at least the weather has been beautiful recently, making State Fair trips a much more pleasant experience than they have been other years! Of course, we still must always make time for new books and here are a few we’re looking forward to this month!

Serena’s Picks

Book: “A Land So Wide” by Erin A. Craig

Publication Date: Sept. 2, 2025

Why I’m Interested: I loved “The Thirteenth Child” when I read it last year! I know that Craig has also written a number of other young adult fantasy novels, though I haven’t gotten around to them yet. That said, I’ve found myself clicking more with adult fantasy recently, so I was thrilled to see she was coming out with her debut adult title this fall! The story follows a young woman who must venture far into a dangerous woods to save the man she loves. One sentence, but pretty much everything I like, right there!

Book: “The Summer War” by Naomi Novik

Publication Date: September 16, 2025

Why I’m Interested: While I’m impatiently waiting for Novik’s next full-length novel, I have been enjoying the other books we’ve gotten from her in the meantime. I really liked the collection of short stories she put out last year, which included a shortened version of “Spinning Silver.” It was really interesting noting the differences between the shorten version and the novel itself. But seeing those big differences, I was curious to see how Novik would handle writing a novella, a book with a length somewhere between short story and novel. There’s room to do more, but still not tons of space, meaning every page and scene must be utilized to its fullest! However, this author has never let me down, so I fully expect to love this one!

Book: “Wild Reverence” by Rebecca Ross

Publication Date: September 2, 2025

Why I’m Interested: Here’s another “must read” author, so it’s really no surprise to find her latest book on this list. That said, while I enjoyed the “Divine Rivals” duology, it wasn’t my favorite of Ross’s books. Yes, she broke out onto the scene with those, but I think a lot of readers are sleeping on her earlier adult fantasy novels, which I loved even more! So this book sounds like a perfect fit for me! Set in the world of “Divine Rivals” (good) but an adult, stand-alone fantasy novel (great!).

Kate’s Pick

Book: “Fiend” by Alma Katsu

Publication Date: September 16

Why I’m Interested: I feel like it’s been awhile since we’ve had an Alma Katsu novel so I am VERY excited to see that she has a new one coming out! And not only that, it sounds like it’s going to be a story that pulls from the real life inspirations of the dreadful Sackler family and a family curse that until now has been working to their advantage. It sounds a bit like Mike Flanagan’s “Fall of the House of Usher”, which has me amped because I loved that mini series. I’m also interested to see what she does with a more modern setting!

Book: “Play Nice” by Rachel Harrison

Publication Date: September 9, 2025

Why I’m Interested: This sounds a bit like influencer gilded secrecy mixed with “The Amityville Horror”, and both of those things REALLY call to me. I have loved all of Rachel Harrison’s books as they do some really cool horror things while also bringing us complicated female protagonists, and now that she’s finally tackling a haunted house (I guess we got a haunted hotel from her before) AND the traumas of a childhood that spends some time there I am just chomping at the bit. This will probably be saved for Horrorpalooza, as it sounds like it will fit in perfectly.

Book: “Road Trip with a Vampire” by Jenna Levine

Publication Date: September 23, 2025

Why I’m Interested: YAY!! Another supernatural romance novel from Jenna Levine!! And not only that, it’s following the witch that she teased in her previous book! I so thoroughly enjoyed the two previous books in the series, and I love the fact that this time we are going to be following a witch named Zelda on a road trip with a new vampire love interest. I enjoy the humor that Levine brings to these rom coms involving blood suckers, and the fact that we now have a witch thrown into the mix makes it all the more tantalizing.

What books are you looking forward to this month? Let us know in the comments!