September 2025 Book Releases

The Elements

Author: John Boyne

Genre: Fiction

Release Date: September 9

More info: Bestselling Author

Plot

This book from the September 2025 book releases is an epic saga that I cannot wait to read. The story weaves together four narratives, each related to the same crime. There is the accomplice, the enabler, the perpetrator, and the victim. Each story is related to the next and as the stories unfold, the elements of the crime are revealed. We will see a soccer star, a surgeon, a father, and a mother.

The Academy

Author: Elin Hilderbrand, Shelby Cunningham

Release Date: September 16, 2025

Genre: Fiction

More info: Written by bestselling Author Elin Hilderbrand and her daughter

Spice Rating:💋

Age Range:17+

Plot

Tiffin Academy has just jumped 17 spots to be named the number two boarding school in the country. It is a surprise because the school may be well known for its great food (they have an award-winning chef) and how much fun they have, rather than its academics.

This year starts differently from any other year for these students with a new student coming to the school. She is taking the place of a beloved student who died the year before. Now, there are new young teachers, a new reputation, and a new app called ZipZap is sharing everyone’s secrets- anonymously. Everyone has something to hide.

Trigger Warnings

Suicide

Why Jackie likes it

This story started off slow. At nearly 450 pages, I was more than 25% of the way through before the story picked up. There are a lot of characters and some unanswered questions. I am hoping/ assuming that there will be a second book in this series.

Find this book in: Books Set in High School

The Many Mothers of Dolores Moore

Author: Anika Fajardo

Genre: Fiction

Release Date: September 16, 2025

Plot

I cannot wait to read this book from the September 2025 book releases. Dolores Moore is not having a great year. She has lost the last living member of her family, was laid off from her job as a cartographer, and broke up with her boyfriend. She is also living with the chorus of her deceased relatives in her head. They want her to fulfill the promise she made to return to Colombia, her birthplace.

Happiness and Love

Author: Zoe Dubno

Genre: Fiction

Release Date: September 2, 2025

More info:

Plot

The narrator is back in Manhattan after the funeral of her best friend, Rebecca. She bumps into Eugene, part of her former friend group and accepts an invitation to a dinner party. The party is delayed by hours as they wait for a newly famous actress to arrive and when she finally comes, it sets in motion a disastrous evening.

The Wilderness

Author: Angela Flournoy

Genre: Fiction

Release Date: September 16, 2025

More info: National Book Award Finalist Author

Plot

This book from the September 2025 book releases, follows 5 friends from the early 2000s to the present. Desiree, Danielle, January, Monique, and Nakia are in their early 20s when the book begins and follows them as they navigate their way into adulthood.

The Lost Story of Eva Fuentes

Author: Chanel Cleeton

Release Date: September 30, 2025

Genre: Historical Fiction

More info: Bestselling author

Spice Rating:💋💋

Age Range:16+

Plot

This is the story of a mysterious book that brings together three women and their stories. Eva Fuentes is a teacher who is sent to study at Harvard to promote a relationship between Cuba and the United States. She wrote a book that will affect everyone who reads it.

In Havana in 1966, Pilar Castillo goes to work every day in the library and waits to see the fate of her husband who has been arrested by Castro’s men. When her fleeing neighbor gives her a book, Pillar must risk everything to protect the book that was entrusted to her.

In London 2024, Margo Reynolds is searching for a rare antique book. There is only ever one copy known to exist. When a beloved friend and bookstore owner is murdered, Margo knows it has something to do with the book

Trigger Warnings

Communist regime, murder

Why Jackie loves it

I love these three brave women who know how to fight for themselves, for love, and for friendship. The three stories were woven together beautifully. I loved the multiple timelines as well. I never felt confused by the characters, the plot, or the timeline.

Find this book in: The Ultimate List of Books About Books

Circle of Days

Author: Ken Follett

Genre: Historical Fiction

Release Date: September 23, 2025

More info: Bestselling author

Plot

Ken Follett has taken on one of the world’s greatest mysteries with his newest work of historical fiction: the building of Stonehenge. The story follows a flint miner and a priestess who believes in the impossible.

The Austen Affair

Author: Madeline Bell

Year: 2025

Genre: Historical Fantasy

More info: Debut Novel

Spice Rating:💋💋💋

Age Range: 18+

Plot

Tess is set to star in an adaptation of Northanger Abbey, the role of a lifetime. It is also her chance to prove to herself she can be a serious actress and honor her mother, who was a huge Jane Austen fan. Her co-star is a serious British actor, Hugh, who thinks Tess is a joke.

When an accident on set sends the two of them back to the Regency era, they will have to depend on each other to make it back to the present. Can they put their animosity aside and even find love in the process?

Why Kirsten loves it

I am a sucker for a time-travel romance, and it was so fun to see Jane Austen pop up as a character in this one! Unlike many other time travel stories, the research the actors did made them fit easily into their temporary era, and it allowed the love story to flow charmingly. #gifted by St. Martin’s Press.

Find this book in: Jane Austen Inspired Books / Time Travel Romance Books

The Girl in the Green Dress

Author: Mariah Fredericks

Genre: Historical Fiction

Release Date: September 23, 2025

Plot

This is a story based on the unsolved deaths of Joseph Elwell and New Yorker writer Morris Markey. Zelda Fitzgerald is bored and spends her time socializing in the Jazz Age in New York. When Zelda encounters Joseph Elwell at the Midnight Frolic, she has no idea he will be found dead hours later and that she was one of the last people to see him alive.

Princess of Blood

Author: Sarah Hawley

Release Date: September 30, 2025

Genre: Fantasy

More info: The Shards of Magic Book #2

Spice Rating:💋💋💋

Age Range: 18+

Plot

This book picks up where the first book left off. Kenna is not only Fae, but has become the princess of Blood House, a house that was extinct a long time ago. Kenna has her sentient blade, her two best friends, and her wits in order to find her way in the Fae world.

The corrupt king is dead after centuries on the throne, the kingdom of Mistei is in upheaval, and they determine who the next ruler will be. But, fae are conniving, and there is no stopping them from trying to use every trick in their arsenal to win the throne.#gifted

Why Jackie loves it

I loved the first book in the series and was so excited to read this follow-up. This is exactly what I expected from the second book, including the fact that it left me needing to know what happens next. I am not sure if this series will be longer than three books, but I cannot wait to read the rest. If you are a fan of ACOTAR, you will love this series. It is darker and fast-paced.

Wild Reverence

Author: Rebecca Ross

Year: 2025

Genre: Fantasy

More info: Bestselling Author, Set in the world of Divine Rivals

Spice Rating:💋💋

Age Range: 16+

Plot

Matilda is a young goddess with the magic to be a Herald between the human, Underling, and Skyward realms. When Vincent, a mortal, dreams of her, she is drawn to him first as a child, and later as a young woman.

Now, more than a decade after Vincett wrote to Matilda on the darkest night of his life, she comes into his bedroom window with a letter for him and unexpectedly ends up offering her aid in a battle for his kingdom. This may be the chance for Matilda to change the violent ways of the gods and learn about her inner strength.

Why Kirsten loves it

Rebecca Ross is a fantasy writer like no other, and despite not having yet read the Divine Rivals, the prequel, Wild Reverence, absolutely captivated my imagination. I couldn’t put this mystical tale down. The worldbuilding was incredible, but not overwhelming. Vincent and Matilda’s love story was a slow-burning friendship to lovers tale that changed the course of the gods. I ate it up and am now dying to read Divine Rivals! #gifted by Saturday Books

Find this book in: Best Fantasy Books of 2025

The Killer Question

Author: Janice Hallett

Year: 2025

Genre: Mystery

More info: New York Times Bestselling author

Age Range: 14+

Plot

This murder mystery is told through phone messages, emails, and quiz categories in multiple timelines. Sue and Mal Eastwood run a pub in an isolated rural area. The weekly trivia keeps it afloat. When a body turns up in the nearby river and a new team arrives to win the trivia every week, Sue and Mal wonder if there is a connection.

We find out that Sue and Mal were police officers who had to flee their last town after being caught up in a police operation. We gradually find out more about their time on the force.

Five years later, their nephew.

Why Jackie loves it

I love Janice Hallett’s Books and this is another one that is perfect for my list of Epistolary Novels. This latest book is one of my favorites because I love the idea of a quiz night. I listened to this book and I love the full cast audio narration. It is fantastic. #Gifted from S & S Audio.

Find this book in: Janice Hallett Books in Order with Summaries

Other People’s Houses

Author: Clare Mackintosh

Year: 2025

Genre: Detective Mystery

More info: DC Morgan Book 3

Spice Rating:💋

Age Range: 15+

Plot

Everyone wants to live on The Hill, a prestigious and luxurious place to live in Cheshire. But someone is breaking into the homes. DS Leo Brady is on the case, but what is connecting all these break-ins. In Wales, DC Ffion Morgan discovers the body of a real estate agent in the lake. Why would someone want her dead? The cases come together and Ffion and Leo realize that secrets are worth a lot….

Why Jackie loves it

I love how the two mysteries come together. I also love how the characters of Brady and Morgan develop with each book in the series.

The Secret of Secrets

Author: Dan Brown

Genre: Mystery

Release Date: September 9

More info: Robert Langdon Book 6

Plot

Robert Langdon is back. He is traveling to Prague to attend a lecture by Katherine Solomon, a noetic scientist and his girlfriend. She is publishing a book with amazing discoveries that go against conventional thinking. When she goes missing along with her manuscript, Langdon begins his quest to find her.

A Killer Wedding

Author: Joan O’Leary

Genre: Mystery

Release Date: September 23, 2025

More info:

Plot

Catherine is headed to an Irish Castle to cover the IT wedding of the season for Bespoke magazine. The all-expense-paid trip will make her career. But when Gloria Beaufort, the founder of a billion-dollar beauty empire, is found dead, the family insists that Catherine keep it quiet so the wedding can go on as planned. Catherine is sure that someone in the family is responsible because they each have something to hide

Seven Reasons to Murder Your Dinner Guests

Author: K.J. Whittle

Genre: Mystery

Release Date: September 9, 2025

More info:

Plot

Seven dinner guests, all strangers, meet for a hosted dinner party. At the end of the nigh,t they are each given a piece of paper with a number on it. This is the age at which they will die. Two weeks later, one of them is dead, exactly when the card predicted. Initially, they think it was a coincidence, but as more guests begin to die, they wonder if there is someone behind the deaths.

If It Makes You Happy

Author: Julie Olivia

Year: 2025

Genre: Romance

Spice Rating:💋💋💋💋

Age Range: 18+

Plot

Gilmore Girls lovers rejoice! This book is everything you wanted in a small-town fall romance!

Travel back to 1997, in a small town in Vermont, to a charming B&B where Michelle (aka Luke) is running the inn after the death of her mom – and she’s failing miserably. So, who can she ask for help? What about goofy, single-dad Cliff (aka Lorelai), the beloved local baker.

Why Kirsten loves it

If Stars Hollow is your favorite fictional town and Autumn is your favorite season, this must be added to your TBR. Cliff and Michelle’s reverse-grumpy sunshine romance lit me up, and the many festivals and town activities had me craving a Gilmore Girls rewatch. There is some steam, but those scenes are easily skipped if needed. I loved Michelle’s dog Rocket, Cliff’s amazing daughters, and all the other side characters. It was a perfect romance. #Gifted by Berkley Romance

Find this book in: Cozy Fall Books / Best Romance Books of 2025

Every Step She Takes

Author: Alison Cochrun

Genre: Romance

Release Date: September 2, 2025

More info: Sapphic Romance

Plot

When Sadie’s sister gets an injury she can no longer go on her 200-mile trek along Portugal’s Camino de Santiago. Luckily, Sadie needs an escape from her life. On the plane ride over, turbulence makes her confess her deepest thoughts to Mal, the person next to her on the plane, thinking she is about to die. When the plane lands safely and Mal is also headed on the same tour, for queer women, Sadie might have to come to terms with her gay panic.

Crazy Spooky Love

Author: Josie Silver

Year: 2025

Genre: Fantasy Romance

More info: Melody Bittersweet Duology #1

Spice Rating:💋

Age Range: 14+

Plot

Melody Bittersweet comes from a long line of ghost-sensitive women, but unlike other members of her family, she wants to help them crossover. Her first case for the Girls’ Ghostbusting Agency, her new business venture, is an old house inhabited by the ghosts of the Scarborough brothers.

To make them leave the house, she will have to help them solve a murder. Unfortunately, her ex-boyfriend (and current rival) arrives at the house with a camera crew, and a handsome local reporter covering the case wants nothing more than to discredit Melody. A love triangle and ghosts? Count me in.

Why Kirsten loves it

This story is a reprint of a book written under Josie Silver’s pen name, Kitty French. The writing is clearly from her early days as an author, but you can see the Josie we know and love within the pages. It was a cute paranormal story that would be perfect to read around Halloween! The book embraces the scooby doo vibes with a vintage band, colorful assistants, and funny antics. Gifted by Ballantine.

Find this book in: Ghost Books / Cozy Fantasy Romance Books

Soul Searching

Author: Lyla Sage

Genre: Paranormal Romance

Release Date: September 30, 2025

More info: Sweetwater Peak #1

Plot

This is the first book in a new series and it looks delightful. Collins Cartwright hates that she has to move home to Sweetwater Peak, Wyoming. But she is out of options now that she lost her job and her parents need her help saving their shop from a developer. Brady Cooper does not want anyone to know why he moved to Sweetwater. Now that Collins is renting the room above his store, he wonders if he made the right choice, considering she talks to herself all the time. He doesn’t realize that the ghosts in his apartment are being ornery. However, maybe its the ghosts that are trying to push these two together.

Ghost Business

Author: Jen DeLuca

Genre: Fantasy Romance

Release Date: September 9, 2025

More info: Boneyard Key #2

Plot

Sophie has always lived in Boneyard Key and loves its supernatural history. She guides the town’s only ghost tour. When Tristan comes to town with his ghost tour (a multicity conglomerate), he knows it’s the perfect place to make a profit and maintain the funding provided by his father. Sophie and Tristan make a deal where only the most successful ghost tour will stay because there is not room for the both of them, or is there?

The Heartbreak Hotel

Author: Ellen O’Clover

Year: 2025

Genre: Romance

Spice Rating:💋💋💋

Age Range: 18+

Plot

When Louisa catches her superstar boyfriend cheating on her, she has one thought -she can’t lose her house. Unable to afford rent, she decides to ask her landlord, Henry Rhodes, if she can rent out the rooms in the house as a bed and breakfast. He agrees, and she is shocked when she learns that he is not only young and handsome, but single and heartbroken as well.

Louisa opens the door to the Comeback Inn, a hotel for the brokenhearted, and Henry, while sceptical of her marketing, ends up helping her run it while she’s waiting to get certified as a therapist. As the two get to know each other, they cannot deny their chemistry. And as Louisa helps her guests to get over their heartbreak, she is also able to help herself and Henry heal.

Trigger Warnings

Grief

Why Kirsten loves it

I listened to this story on a crisp fall day while I was clearing out my garage, and it was the perfect distraction to an otherwise terrible task. The story was more emotional than I was expecting, but the character growth felt so realistic that I just know Louisa and Henry are going to last.

Find this book in: Hotel Novels

Sisters in the Wind

Author: Angeline Boulley

Year: 2025

Genre: YA Fiction

More info: GMA YA Book Club Pick September 2025, Bestselling Author of Firekeeper’s Daughter and Warrior Girl Unearthed

Spice Rating:💋

Age Range: 15+

Plot

Lucy Smith’s father died 5 years ago. Lucy has been on the run ever since rather than become a ward of the state. Her father had hoped that his new wife would love and care for Lucy when he was gone, but it quickly became clear that the new Mrs. Smith had no intentions of caring for Lucy.

Now, after a horrible “accident”, Lucy meets Mr. Jameson, who tells her that her father hid her Ojibwe heritage. She has a family she never knew about, including siblings and a grandmother. Lucy must now come to terms with who she really is and why her father hid it from her. This YA book is a mystery about a young woman claiming her heritage.

Trigger Warnings

Foster care, abuse, neglect, and drug use

Why Jackie loves it

Angeline Boulley is a master storyteller who weaves historical context into her novels. The characters in this book overlap with the characters from her other books. This story is heartbreaking and compelling from the first page. Lucy has a dark past, but her story is one of many children that is overlooked.

Find this book in: Good Morning America Book Club List

By Invitation Only

Author: Alexandra Brown Chang

Year: 2025

Genre: YA Romance

Spice Rating:💋

Age Range: 12+

Plot

La Danse des Debutantes is the most exclusive ball in the world, where the debs are hand-selected to participate, and the whole of society is watching. Chapin is a shoo-in for the Debutante of the Year until one of the other debs creates a PR disaster. To save the ball, Piper, the winner of the international science fair prize, is offered a college scholarship if she attends and competes to be named Debutante of the Year.

Now, Piper and Chapin are competing for the crown – and worse, they are living together! As the competition heats up, an unlikely friendship forms for the duo, but will the competition -or a boy – pull them apart?

Why Kirsten loves it

This is perfect for teens looking for a Gossip Girl-like book without the sexual content. These 16-year-olds don’t seem too adult or too naive; they are perfectly balanced. The antics and glamor will have any fashion lover lapping up the details, and the romance is enough to keep teens interested while still being appropriate. Gifted by Simon & Schuster Kids

Find this book in: Books Set in Paris / YA Romance Books

Never Ever After

Author: Sue Lynn Tan

Genre: YA Fantasy

Release Date: September 30, 2025

More info: Cinderella Retelling

Plot

After the death of her uncle, Yining had to become a thief to survive. She acquired an enchanted ring that could be the key to her future. When it is stolen by her step-aunt, Yining must travel to the heart of the imperial kingdom to get the ring back. When she arrives, she finds herself trapped in a web of power, secrecy, and greed. To escape she will have to unravel the mystery of her past.

Christmas People

Author: Iva-Marie Palmer

Year: 2025

Genre: Christmas Romance

Spice Rating:💋

Age Range: 18+

Plot

Aspiring screenwriter Jill Jacobs is not a fan of Christmas, as her first love broke up with her on Christmas Eve years ago. Adding insult to injury, she is not looking forward to heading home for the holidays and having to tell her family she’s not doing so well in LA.

On her first night home, after imbibing way too much, Jill wakes up in a transformed hometown filled with the holiday spirit. She thinks she must be hungover until she realizes she is stuck in a Hallmark-like Christmas movie town version of her life.

She cannot get home until she completes the plot of the seemingly scripted town. This means she has to be the heroine in a love story and maybe find new inspiration to reignite her screenwriter dreams.

Why Kirsten loves it

I was cracking up as our heroine tried to figure out what was going on in a decidedly un-Hallmark-like way. Her grittiness against the idyllic backdrop made for a unique spin on a tale that could have seemed overdone. It was clever and cute! #gifted by St. Martin’s Press

Christmas at the Ranch

Author: Julia McKay

Release Date: September 23, 2025

Genre: Christmas Romance

More info: Second-Chance Romance

Spice Rating:💋💋💋

Age Range: 18+

Plot

Emory is a journalist whose father has been arrested for financial crimes. Her mother seems to be in denial, and she needs to get away from the headlines. She gets into her car and starts driving until she finds herself at Tate Wilder’s family ranch, the place she spent her happiest Christmas as a teen.

She fell in love with Tate back then, but it all went wrong. This is a story told in two timelines. The present and the past as Emory reads her diary entries. What went wrong with their relationship in the past. Do they still have feelings for each other now or is it too late for them.

Why Jackie loves it

Ranches and romances are the newest thing, so throw in a touch of Christmas, and I was so excited to read this book. The fact that the ranch was a few hours north of Toronto was an added bonus for me. I love this second-chance romance that is more horses than ho-downs. Aside from one steamy romance scene at the end of the book, the rest is clean, as told by an 18-year-old to her diary.

Find this book in: Second Chance Romance Books / Christmas Romance Books

A Spell for Midwinter’s Heart

Author: Morgan Lockhart

Release Date: September 23, 2025

Genre: Christmas magical romance

More info:

Spice Rating:💋

Age Range:

Plot

In this holiday romance, Rowan Midwinter returns home to help save her town’s winter festival. Not only would the holidays not be the same without it, but the town depends on the festival to sustain itself.

Rowan is not excited to see her estranged coven. She has not used her magic in years- since something went terribly wrong, and she is not willing to risk hurting anyone in the town. Her magic is going awry and seems to get worse whenever Gavin McCreery is around.

If Rowan wants to save the town, she will have to figure out what is wrong with her magic and bring the festival into the 21st century.

Why Jackie loves it

This is an adorable romance that is the perfect blend of magic, romance, and Christmas. I read it in one sitting and loved every minute.

Find this book in: New Christmas Books 2025

You Make it Feel Like Christmas

Author: Sophie Sullivan

Year: 2025

Genre: Holiday Romance

Spice Rating:💋💋💋💋

Age Range: 18+

Plot

Maisie Smart is a photographer who had a one-night stand with Nick King, a professional hockey player. When he bolted the morning after, she was embarrassed and has spent the last 6 months trying to forget it ever happened. Nick is a mess who cannot stop thinking about that night. When the two of them wind up at Tickle Tree Farms for the holidays, the second meeting might be harder to walk away from.

Why Kirsten loves it

This was so cute – and there are cameos from Sullivan’s other books in this one! I loved the Christmas activities and the way the romantic leads were supportive of one another – plus no third-act break-up – a true Christmas miracle!