As August draws to a close, I look forward to September and the long-awaited start of fall. On top of being the beginning of my favorite season, September promises a lot of great reads, many of which evoke the cozy, chilly, or spooky vibes I crave year-round. While these books may not be available on Prose and Paperbacks right away, I hope some of my list may pique your interest!
1. The Marriage Portrait - Maggie O'Farrell (Sep. 6)
Synopsis:
Florence, the 1550s. Lucrezia, third
daughter of the grand duke, is comfortable with
her obscure place in the palazzo: free to wonder at its treasures,
observe its clandestine workings, and to
devote herself to her own artistic pursuits. But when her older sister
dies on the eve of her wedding to the
ruler of Ferrara, Moderna and Regio, Lucrezia is thrust unwittingly into
the limelight: the duke is quick to
request her hand in marriage, and her father just as quick to accept on
her behalf.
Having barely left
girlhood behind, Lucrezia must now make her way in a troubled court
whose customs are opaque and where her
arrival is not universally welcomed. Perhaps most mystifying of all is
her new husband himself, Alfonso. Is he
the playful sophisticate he appeared to be before their wedding, the
aesthete happiest in the company of artists
and musicians, or the ruthless politician before whom even his
formidable sisters seem to tremble?
As
Lucrezia sits in constricting finery for a painting intended to preserve
her image for centuries to come, one
thing becomes worryingly clear. In the court’s eyes, she has one duty:
to provide the heir who will shore up the
future of the Ferranese dynasty. Until then, for all of her rank and
nobility, the new duchess’s future hangs
entirely in the balance.
Why I'm Excited: I've really been feeling historical fiction lately and the politics of this story seem super interesting. Maggie O'Farrell is also the author of Hamnet, which is on my list, and the high reviews on this one has promised that it's likely to be another success.
2. We Spread - Iain Reid (Sep. 27)
Synopsis:
Penny, an artist,
has lived in the same apartment for
decades, surrounded by the artifacts and keepsakes of her long life. She is
resigned to the mundane rituals of old
age, until things start to slip. Before her longtime partner passed away
years earlier, provisions were made,
unbeknownst to her, for a room in a unique long-term care residence, where
Penny finds herself after one too many
“incidents.”
Initially, surrounded by peers, conversing, eating,
sleeping, looking out at the beautiful woods
that surround the house, all is well. She even begins to paint again. But as
the days start to blur together,
Penny—with a growing sense of unrest and distrust—starts to lose her grip on
the passage of time and on her place in
the world. Is she succumbing to the subtly destructive effects of aging, or
is she an unknowing participant in
something more unsettling?
Why I'm Excited: Iain Reid has written one of my all-time favorite novels, I'm Thinking of Ending Things, as well as Foe, another fantastic read, so I'm ready to pick up anything he puts out, at this point.
3. Spells for Forgetting - Adrienne Young (Sep. 27)
Synopsis:
Emery Blackwood's
life was forever changed on the eve of
her high school graduation, when the love of her life, August Salt, was
accused of murdering her best friend,
Lily. Now, she is doing what her teenage self swore she never would:
living a quiet existence among the
community that fractured her world in two. She'd once longed to run away
with August, eager to escape the misty,
remote shores of Saiorse Island and chase new dreams; now, she maintains
her late mother's tea shop and cares
for her ailing father. But just as the island, rooted in folklore and
tradition, begins to show signs of strange
happenings, August returns for the first time in fourteen years and
unearths the past that no one wants to
remember.
August Salt knows he is not welcome on
Saiorse, not after the night that changed
everything. As a fire raged on at the Salt family orchard, Lily Morgan
was found dead in the dark woods, shaking
the bedrock of their tight-knit community and branding August a
murderer. When he returns to bury his mother's
ashes, he must confront the people who turned their backs on him and
face the one wound from the past that has
never healed—Emery. But the town has more than one reason to want August
gone, and the emergence of deep
betrayals and hidden promises that span generations threatens to reveal
the truth behind Lily's death once and
for all.
Why I'm Excited: This book has great reviews so far, but what really captures my attention is the atmosphere conveyed about the setting. I feel like it gives off vibes similar to The Wicked Deep, for some reason, and that was a wonderful fall read.
4. The Vicious Circle - Katherine St. John (Sep. 27)
Synopsis:
On a river deep in
the Mexican jungle stands the colossal
villa Xanadu, a wellness center that's home to The Mandala, an ardent
spiritual group devoted to self-help guru
Paul Bentzen and his enigmatic wife Kali. But when, mysteriously, Paul
suddenly dies, his entire
estate--including Xanadu--is left to his estranged niece Sveta, a former
model living in New York
City.
Shocked and confused, Sveta travels to Mexico to pay her
respects. At first, Xanadu seems like a
secluded paradise with its tumbling gardens, beautiful people,
transcendent vibe, and mesmerizing de-facto
leader Kali. But soon the mystical façade wears thin, revealing a group
of brainwashed members drunk on false
promises of an impossible utopia and a disturbing, dangerous belief
system--and leader--guiding them.
As the sinister forces surrounding Sveta become apparent, she realizes, too
late, she can't escape. Frantic and
terrified, she discovers her only hope for survival is to put her
confidence in the very person she trusts the
least.
Why I'm Excited: I love a good cult book, so this is right up my alley. I'm feeling Midsommer set in Mexico? I don't know, but I'm excited. Reviews promise lots of twists and turns, so sign me up.
5. House of Hunger - Alexis Henderson (Sep. 27)
Synopsis:
Marion Shaw has
been raised in the slums, where want and
deprivation is all she knows. Despite longing to leave the city and its
miseries, she has no real hope of escape
until the day she spots a peculiar listing in the newspaper, seeking a
bloodmaid.
Though she knows little
about the far north--where wealthy nobles live in luxury and drink the
blood of those in their service--Marion
applies to the position. In a matter of days, she finds herself the
newest bloodmaid at the notorious House of
Hunger. There, Marion is swept into a world of dark debauchery--and at
the center of it all
is
her
.
Countess Lisavet, who presides over this
hedonistic court, is loved and feared in
equal measure. She takes a special interest in Marion. Lisavet is
magnetic, and Marion is eager to please her
new mistress. But when her fellow bloodmaids begin to go missing in the
night, Marion is thrust into a vicious
game of cat and mouse. She'll need to learn the rules of her new
home--and fast--or its halls will soon become
her grave.
Why I'm Excited: Sue me, but I've never read a vampire book before. No, not even Twilight. I KNOW! This one sounds subversive and different. Plus it's Gothic, which is one of my favorite horror subgenres, so I'm going in with high hopes.
6. Leech - Hiron Ennes (Sep. 27)
Synopsis:
In an isolated
chateau, as far north as north goes, the baron’s doctor has died.
The doctor’s replacement has a mystery to
solve: discovering how the Institute lost track of one of its many
bodies.
For hundreds of years the
Interprovincial Medical Institute has grown by taking root in young
minds and shaping them into doctors,
replacing every human practitioner of medicine. The Institute is
here to help humanity, to cure and to cut,
to cradle and protect the species from the apocalyptic horrors their
ancestors unleashed.
In the
frozen north, the Institute's body will discover a competitor for
its rung at the top of the evolutionary
ladder. A parasite is spreading through the baron's castle, already
a dark pit of secrets, lies, violence,
and fear. The two will make war on the battlefield of the body.
Whichever wins, humanity will lose
again.
Why I'm Excited: Science fiction is far from my most read genre, so I'm always excited when a new title catches my eye. I don't know if I'm at the point where I can read pandemic-related plots again, but this one seems tangential enough that I can handle it.
7. One Dark Window - Rachel Gillig (Sep. 27)
Synopsis:
Elspeth Spindle
needs more than luck to stay safe in the
eerie, mist-locked kingdom of Blunder—she needs a monster. She calls him
the Nightmare, an ancient, mercurial
spirit trapped in her head. He protects her. He keeps her
secrets.
But nothing comes for free, especially
magic.
When Elspeth meets a mysterious highwayman on the forest
road, her life takes a drastic turn.
Thrust into a world of shadow and deception, she joins a dangerous quest
to cure Blunder from the dark magic
infecting it. And the highwayman? He just so happens to be the King’s
nephew, Captain of the most dangerous men
in Blunder…and guilty of high treason.
Together they must gather
twelve Providence Cards—the keys to the
cure. But as the stakes heighten and their undeniable attraction
intensifies, Elspeth is forced to face her
darkest secret yet: the Nightmare is slowly taking over her mind. And
she might not be able to stop him.
Why I'm Excited: More Gothic horror! More Gothic horror! Not only does this seem like a fun mix of horror and fantasy, but The Highwayman was one of my favorite poems/songs growing up, so I can't wait to see it explored as a novel.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Those are my to-buy books for September! It's shaping up to be a wonderful month for new release (especially September 27th - my credit card might be in some trouble that day). What new reads are you looking forward to this month? Let me know!