I am participating in Battleathon in September and attempting to read all of the books for my friends’ book clubs.
“I defy the stars.”
In a world where no entities exist but the Stars, cruel and merciless gods that watch over the world, Elara has been cursed by fate. A prophecy that promises she will fall for a Star, and it will kill them both.
But when one descends to wreak havoc on Elara’s Kingdom, she is forced to flee into the arms of her enemy in the neighbouring country.
As she learns more about her own magic, and the depth of the Stars’ deceit, she also finds herself learning more about the country she is forced to take refuge in, and the enemy prince forced to train her into a weapon.
Something dark brews within her, a power made of night and shadows that begs to be broken free.
Heavenly Bodies is the September book for Tori’s book club and I have been hearing some buzz about this one. It is over 600 pages, so that intimidates me, but I hope that it reads quickly. It is a fantasy romance and that is definitely what I have been craving lately!
The Last Magician meets The Lady’s Guide to Petticoats and Piracy in this atmospheric historical fantasy following a young woman who discovers she has magical powers and is thrust into a battle between witches and wizards.
In 1911 New York City, seventeen-year-old Frances Hallowell spends her days as a seamstress, mourning the mysterious death of her brother months prior. Everything changes when she’s attacked and a man ends up dead at her feet—her scissors in his neck, and she can’t explain how they got there.
Before she can be condemned as a murderess, two cape-wearing nurses arrive to inform her she is deathly ill and ordered to report to Haxahaven Sanitarium. But Frances finds Haxahaven isn’t a sanitarium at all: it’s a school for witches. Within Haxahaven’s glittering walls, Frances finds the sisterhood she craves, but the headmistress warns Frances that magic is dangerous. Frances has no interest in the small, safe magic of her school, and is instead enchanted by Finn, a boy with magic himself who appears in her dreams and tells her he can teach her all she’s been craving to learn, lessons that may bring her closer to discovering what truly happened to her brother.
Frances’s newfound power attracts the attention of the leader of an ancient order who yearns for magical control of Manhattan. And who will stop at nothing to have Frances by his side. Frances must ultimately choose what matters more, justice for her murdered brother and her growing feelings for Finn, or the safety of her city and fellow witches. What price would she pay for power, and what if the truth is more terrible than she ever imagined?
The Witch Haven has been on my radar for ages and I am excited to have an excuse to pick it up since it is the September book for The Black Hat Coven Book Club. I have heard it leans towards dark academia with a hint of romance and that is definitely something that appeals to me!
She was commanded to kill him with a single strike to the heart. She didn’t expect her own to betray her. Sylina has sacrificed everything for her goddess–her soul, her freedom, her eyes. Life in service to the Arachessen, a cult of the Goddess of Fate, has turned Sylina from orphaned street-rat to disciplined killer, determined to overthrow Glaea’s tyrannical king. But when a brutal vampire conqueror arrives on their shores, Sylina faces an even deadlier adversary. She’s tasked with a crucial mission: infiltrate his army, earn his trust… and kill him. Atrius is a terrifying warrior carving an unstoppable path through Glaea. Yet when Sylina becomes his seer, she glimpses a dark and shocking past–and a side of him that reminds her far too much of parts of herself she’d rather forget. Sylina’s orders are clear. The conqueror cannot live. But as the blood spilled by Glaea’s tyrant king runs thicker, her connection with Atrius only grows stronger. A connection forbidden by her vows. A connection that could cost her everything. Slaying the Vampire Conqueror is a standalone fantasy romance set in the Crowns of Nyaxia world, full of heart-wrenching forbidden romance, dark curses, and epic battles – perfect for fans of The Bridge Kingdom and the From Blood and Ash series. It i s an installment of the heart-pounding fantasy romance series, Mortal Enemies to Monster Lovers . If you like forbidden romance, dark curses, bad*ss heroines, and morally-gray heroes, you’ll devour this sexy, addictive series.
You will see in my August wrap up that I ended up DNFing the August book for the Spelled by Books book club, but I have a feeling I will love the September choice since it is Slaying the Vampire Conqueror. Though this is a standalone, it is set in the same world as The Serpent and the Wings of Night, which is a book I loved. Give me all of the vampire books this time of year!
Think you know what it’s like being a baller’s girl?
You don’t.
My fairy tale is upside down.
A happily never after.
I kissed the prince and he turned into a fraud.
I was a fool, and his love – fool’s gold.
Now there’s a new player in the game, August West.
One of the NBA’s brightest stars.
Fine. Forbidden.
He wants me. I want him.
But my past, my fraudulent prince, just won’t let me go.
*Contains domestic/sexual abuse not involving the hero. Read reviews for further guidance.
I am buddy reading Long Shot in September and I am so ready for it. Kennedy Ryan is quickly becoming one of my favourite romances authors and I am hoping this is the book that makes me a fan of sports romances. It is important to know there are content warnings but I trust Kennedy Ryan to handle the themes with care.
The Four Realms—Life, Death, Light, and Darkness—all converge on the city of dusk. For each realm there is a god, and for each god there is an heir.
But the gods have withdrawn their favor from the once vibrant and thriving city. And without it, all the realms are dying.
Unwilling to stand by and watch the destruction, the four heirs—Risha, a necromancer struggling to keep the peace; Angelica, an elementalist with her eyes set on the throne; Taesia, a shadow-wielding rogue with rebellion in her heart; and Nik, a soldier who struggles to see the light— will sacrifice everything to save the city.
But their defiance will cost them dearly.
Set in a gorgeous world of bone and shadow magic, of vengeful gods and defiant chosen ones, The City of Dusk is the first in a dark epic fantasy trilogy that follows the four heirs of four noble houses—each gifted with a divine power—as they form a tenuous alliance to keep their kingdom from descending into a realm-shattering war.
I am buddy reading The City of Dusk with my friend Cait. We are attempting to read all of your Fairyloot books and settled on this one for September since the preorder for the Fairyloot edition of the sequel becomes available in October. Something I learned this year is that I love books that feature djinn, so I have high hopes for this.
A grim and gothic new tale from author Alix E. Harrow about a small town haunted by secrets that can’t stay buried and the sinister house that sits at the crossroads of it all.
Eden, Kentucky, is just another dying, bad-luck town, known only for the legend of E. Starling, the reclusive nineteenth-century author and illustrator who wrote The Underland–and disappeared. Before she vanished, Starling House appeared. But everyone agrees that it’s best to let the uncanny house―and its last lonely heir, Arthur Starling―go to rot.
Opal knows better than to mess with haunted houses or brooding men, but an unexpected job offer might be a chance to get her brother out of Eden. Too quickly, though, Starling House starts to feel dangerously like something she’s never had: a home.
As sinister forces converge on Starling House, Opal and Arthur are going to have to make a dire to dig up the buried secrets of the past and confront their own fears, or let Eden be taken over by literal nightmares.
If Opal wants a home, she’ll have to fight for it.
I have an ALC from Netgalley of Starling House and it will be my first book from Alix E. Harrow. It has so many of my buzzwords- Gothic, small town, and an uncanny house. I really hope I love this!
After the Forest is a dark and enchanting fantasy debut from Kell Woods that explores the repercussions of a childhood filled with magic and a young woman contending with the truth of “happily ever after.”
Ginger. Honey. Cinnamon. Flour.
Twenty years after the witch in the gingerbread house, Greta and Hans are struggling to get by. Their mother and stepmother are long dead, Hans is deeply in debt from gambling, and the countryside lies in ruin, its people starving in the aftermath of a brutal war.
Greta has a secret, the witch’s grimoire, secreted away and whispering in Greta’s ear for the past two decades, and the recipe inside that makes the best gingerbread you’ve ever tasted. As long as she can bake, Greta can keep her small family afloat.
But in a village full of superstition, Greta and her mysteriously addictive gingerbread, not to mention the rumors about her childhood misadventures, is a source of gossip and suspicion.
And now, dark magic is returning to the woods and Greta’s magic—magic she is still trying to understand—may be the only thing that can save her. If it doesn’t kill her first.
I also have an ALC of After the Forest and I am so intrigued by the fact that it is dark fairytale that asks the question, “What happened to Hansel and Gretel twenty years after they escaped the witch in the gingerbread house?”
All Reyna and Kianthe want is to open a bookshop that serves tea. Worn wooden floors, plants on every table, firelight drifting between the rafters… all complemented by love and good company. Thing is, Reyna works as one of the Queen’s private guards, and Kianthe is the most powerful mage in existence. Leaving their lives isn’t so easy.
But after an assassin takes Reyna hostage, she decides she’s thoroughly done risking her life for a self-centered queen. Meanwhile, Kianthe has been waiting for a chance to flee responsibility–all the better that her girlfriend is on board. Together, they settle in Tawney, a town that boasts more dragons than people, and open the shop of their dreams.
What follows is a cozy tale of mishaps, mysteries, and a murderous queen throwing the realm’s biggest temper tantrum. In a story brimming with hurt/comfort and quiet fireside conversations, these two women will discover just what they mean to each other… and the world.
You know I needed to sneak one cozy fantasy onto my TBR! I have been wanting to read Can’t Spell Treason Without Tea for awhile now and there is no better time to pick it up than during the fall. If I could sneak in the sequel that would be amazing as well.
In a manor by the sea, one sister is still cursed.
Despite dreams of adventures far beyond the Salann shores, seventeen-year-old Verity Thaumas has remained at her family’s estate, Highmoor, with her older sister Camille, while their sisters have scattered across Arcannia.
When their sister Mercy sends word that the Duchess of Bloem—wife of a celebrated botanist—is interested in having Verity paint a portrait of her son, Alexander, Verity jumps at the chance, but Camille won’t allow it. Forced to reveal the secret she’s kept for years, Camille tells Verity the truth one day: Verity is still seeing ghosts, she just doesn’t know it.
Stunned, Verity flees Highmoor that night and—with nowhere else to turn—makes her way to Bloem. At first, she is captivated by the lush, luxurious landscape and is quickly drawn to charming, witty, and impossibly handsome Alexander Laurent. And soon, to her surprise, a romance . . . blossoms.
But it’s not long before Verity is plagued with nightmares, and the darker side of Bloem begins to show through its sickly-sweet façade. . . .
House of Roots and Ruin is the sequel to House of Salt and Sorrows, which is a book that took me by complete surpirse. I have heard from friends that they liked the sequel even more, which really excites me.
It’s difficult to find a husband in Regency England when you’re a young lady with only half a soul.
Ever since she was cursed by a faerie, Theodora Ettings has had no sense of fear or embarrassment – a condition which makes her prone to accidental scandal. Dora hopes to be a quiet, sensible wallflower during the London Season – but when the strange, handsome and utterly uncouth Lord Sorcier discovers her condition, she is instead drawn into dangerous and peculiar faerie affairs.
If Dora’s reputation can survive both her curse and her sudden connection with the least-liked man in all of high society, then she may yet reclaim her normal place in the world. . . but the longer Dora spends with Elias Wilder, the more she begins to suspect that one may indeed fall in love, even with only half a soul.
Bridgerton meets Howl’s Moving Castle in this enchanting historical fantasy, where the only thing more meddlesome than faeries is a marriage-minded mother.
I am in the middle of Half a Soul and I am loving it! I had to put it down to read The Mask of Mirrors for book club, but I cannot wait to get back to this because I was adoring everything about it.
Princess. Prisoner. Runaway. Queen.
Elowen Atarah, Princess of Imirath, came into the world like a firestorm made flesh. A princess with a link to five dragons should have been a blessing to her kingdom, but her blessing became her curse. The little girl in shackles became a knife wielding woman with a thirst for retaliation.
Now, Queen of Aestilian, a secret kingdom she forged through strength and survival, Elowen needs a way to feed her rising population. She never thought she would have the force to take on Imirath, but when the snarky Commander Cayden Veles of Vareveth, her father’s enemy kingdom, offers her a deal she’s been dreaming of for years, how can she not take it? Even if he ignites her temper like no other, nothing unites two begrudging allies more than a common enemy.
The pair of them, along with three accomplices, will navigate their partnership, politics, and attempt to pull off the greatest heist their world has ever known. Five people, all united through revenge, will have to transcend the odds stacked against them and infiltrate “The Impenetrable Castle” if they want to reap their rewards before someone reaps their souls. Putting aside their differences to accomplish a common goal because everyone knows…vengeance is a promise signed in blood.
Fear the Flames is another book I am carrying over from August and is another book I am really enjoying! The only reason I haven’t finished it is because it is a longer book and I have it downloaded from KU. I haven’t been reading on my kindle lately but I am hoping to get back into it.
What is on your September TBR?
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These are some great picks! I’m hoping to finally read The House of Salt and Sorrows this autumn, and while I don’t know if I’ll get to the sequel as well I’m still really excited to read it (eventually). Happy reading!
Ahhh I’m excited for you to read it. In my mind it’s the perfect autumn book!
So many titles that are so captivating by the mere looks.
Right? Some intriguing books on my tbr for sure!
Slaying the Vampire Conqueror was so cute!
Yay!! I’m excited for it!!
Oh, so many great picks this month! I hope you enjoy them all~ Can’t Spell Treason is a book I also need to buy/read.
I cannot wait did Can’t Spell Treason Without Tea!!
I’m excited for Starling House to be released. I didn’t know Alix E.Harrow had another full novel coming out until fairly recently and this one sounds so good. All of her books have been very different so it will be interesting to see how she tackles the “gothic, creepy house” trope that I’ve been loving these last couple of years. After The Forest also looks and sounds very interesting. We see an abundance of fairytale retellings, but not many seem to tackle what happens after the initial story, and Hansel and Gretl isn’t one I tend to see explored. I might have to keep an eye out for it as it is certainly one I’d be interested in reading.
I’m curious to see how she takes on that trope too! A friend told me she thinks I’m going to love it!
Right? It does sounds like After the Forest is doing something unique. I’ll definitely share my thoughts here when I get to it!
I really love your TBR for September, it’s the perfect mix of cozy fantasy and action! I hope you’ll enjoy them all 🙂
Thank you! That’s the vibe I was going for.
I’m halfway through the Throne of Glass series. Wow, it is amazing. I have some ARCs to read.
So happy it’s living up to the hype!
Starling House sounds interesting. I look forward to hearing what you think of it.
I just started it! Will definitely share my thoughts soon.
All these books look so good! I’ve read Half a Soul and really enjoyed it, glad you’re loving it!
I finished it! Loved!!
Yay so glad!!
Good luck with your TBR! I have been meaning to read The Witch Haven, it seems like the perfect Fall read 😊
It’s really does! I’m really looking forward to finally reading it!