September is here, which means I can finally start pretending it’s fall even if the weather has absolutely no intention of cooperating. 😂🍂

For me, this is when reading gets REALLY good. Give me darker fantasy, twisty mysteries, atmospheric horror, historical fiction I can completely disappear into, and a giant iced coffee that will remain iced regardless of the season.

And this week’s new releases understood the assignment.

🆕 NEW RELEASES

🕰️ HISTORICAL FICTION

The Survivor’s Guild
Two women from very different worlds survive the Titanic and unexpectedly find themselves caring for an unclaimed baby. But surviving the shipwreck is only the beginning...they still have 1912 New York society to contend with.

🚀 SCI-FI

Scion
John Wick meets Blade Runner in a fast-paced cyberpunk thriller from James Islington, author of The Will of the Many. Honestly, that pitch alone sold me. 👀

🐺 FANTASY + ROMANTASY

Blacktail
A wolf sets out on an epic journey of revenge in a dark fantasy from the author of The Library at Mount Char. Yes, the WOLF is the main character. 🐺

Reign
Found family, forbidden love, and a heroine who refuses to kneel in a feminist romantasy about choosing freedom over fear. Oh, and apparently setting fire to the throne. 🔥

Fire Power
Fourth Wing meets Formula One with childhood friends turned racing rivals competing in the ultimate DRAGON RACE. 🐉🏁 Enemies-to-lovers + sports romantasy is a combination I didn't know we needed.

Our Strange Duet
A Phantom of the Opera reimagining centered on Christine Daaé as she navigates fame, love, ambition, and the dark secrets of the opera house. Perfect timing for gothic reading season. 🖤

The Gods Will Sing Our Song
WWII historical romance meets magic and myth as two Japanese American teenagers fall in love against the backdrop of internment. It's inspired by the author's own family history of resilience.

🔎 THRILLER + MYSTERY

The Truth About Ruby Cooper
“If my sister hadn’t been beautiful, none of it would have happened.” 👀 An incident involving sixteen-year-old Ruby destroys her family's idyllic life, and the consequences follow two sisters across decades.

Cards on the Table
Two witchy sisters are accused of making their elderly client's substantial trust disappear after her sudden death. Witchy mystery season has officially arrived. 🔮

The Oxford Guide to Scandal and Lies
Post-WWII Oxford + mystery + romance + academia + undercover operatives working for the Crown. Dark academia readers, I feel like this one has your name all over it. 👀

Mother Daughter Sister Stranger
Eleven years after surviving the plane crash that killed their parents, one sister suddenly disappears on the exact anniversary of the tragedy. Now her sister must uncover what happened while protecting the daughter she left behind.

🩸 HORROR

As the Snow Gathers
A remote Canadian town, a vanished settlement, a forbidden love—and creatures in the forest that drain the blood from the dead. The Fanteur have never touched the living…yet. 🌲🩸

🌳 LITERARY FICTION

The Birthing Tree
From the author of The Berry Pickers comes a story of family, legacy, buried truths, young love, and the fragile future one woman must protect. This is one of my most anticipated September releases.

💬 BOOKISH GROUP CHAT

A couple of things worth sending to your favorite bookish friend this week:

🔎 How Agatha Christie Helped Create the Modern Thriller

There’s a reason we’re still talking about Agatha Christie.

Robert Gold takes a closer look at the way Christie planted clues, hid killers in plain sight, and created mysteries that become almost MORE impressive when you reread them and realize the answers were sitting in front of you the entire time.

As someone who gets annoyed when a thriller’s big reveal feels like it came out of absolutely nowhere, I loved this discussion of Christie’s philosophy: the clues should be there. The reader just shouldn’t necessarily realize they’re clues yet. 👀

Read “Planting the Seed: How Agatha Christie’s Techniques Shaped the Modern Thriller” on CrimeReads

☀️ What Do Authors Actually Read During Summer?

Reader’s Digest asked authors to share the books they recommend for summer reading, and I am always fascinated by what writers recommend when THEY get to be the reader.

Consider this one last little summer-reading list before we officially replace everything with witches, haunted houses, murder mysteries, and pumpkin spice. 😂

See the authors’ summer reading recommendations from Reader’s Digest

🎥 WHAT I’M TALKING ABOUT ON YOUTUBE

I have a confession:

I have started 36 book series that I have not finished. THIRTY. SIX.

Some of them I absolutely want to continue. Some have been sitting untouched for so long that I barely remember what happened. And a few made me wonder why I ever thought I was going to pick up the next book. 😂

So I finally sat down and went through them. For every unfinished series, I’m deciding:

✅ CONTINUE
❌ DNF
🤔 MAYBE

And yes, there were definitely a few decisions that hurt.

If you also have a graveyard of unfinished book series silently judging you from your shelves, come hang out with me on YouTube, and then tell me which series YOU desperately need to finish.

🎥 Watch: 36 Book Series I Started...But Never Finished

🐾 LINK’S CORNER

Link would like everyone to know that fall is almost here, and frankly, she has been waiting very patiently.

Cooler weather means longer walks, more outside time, and (most importantly) pumpkin doggie ice cream. 🎃🐶 She does not understand why humans insist on making summer last this long, but there is also some VERY important dog-related entertainment news this week.

Netflix is releasing A Dog’s Perfect Christmas on November 4, and obviously Link felt this deserved newsletter coverage.

The movie follows a family trying to hold things together over the holidays with some assistance from a basset hound named Winstead. Even better? It’s based on W. Bruce Cameron’s 2020 novel of the same name, so technically this is BOTH dog news and book news.

Which means it absolutely belongs here. 😂

Read more about A Dog’s Perfect Christmas via The Pioneer Woman

Link has not yet confirmed whether she’ll be watching.

She has, however, confirmed that she would like the pumpkin ice cream now.

That’s it for this week’s shelf! 🍂

September reading is officially underway, spooky season is creeping closer, and my TBR has once again reached completely unreasonable proportions.

What book are you most excited to read this month? Hit reply and tell me...I’m always looking for an excuse to add another book to my list.

Until next week,
Brittany + Link 🐾