Hey Bookish People!
New month, new reads, and my TBR pile grows even taller. I know I will never complete it, but having it as a back-burner life quest is always amusing. Something I know many of you are equally experiencing as well! One good thing about the travels I have this month will be the chance to read while I’m hanging out in the airports.
Fun thing I saw the other day on Netflix which is a from page to screen happening. Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman’s book has become a show now. The book is about a group of friends living in a retirement home, who get together and attempt to solve murder cases for fun. Because why not pass retirement away than chatting in a “who dunnit?” style over lunch with friends! I thought the book was alright, nothing that made me want to go off and find the second book. The mystery was good. Writing was alright. Characters were okay. But if you wanted to give it a chance, Netflix has it. I don’t know how close it will be to the book. I would love to know from anyone who has experience both though!
Short and sweet this month! I’ve been busy with a bunch of ARCs and I’m excited to start pushing those reviews out so you guys can be ready for any that strike your fancy. I hope everyone’s September goes well!
If anyone wants, my Fable bookclub Pages & Paces will be starting up Jasad Heir by Sara Hashem for September’s book choice. We’d love to have you read along!
Chat with you guy next month!
Reading Theme: Autumn Adventures
The best time of year is around the corner and I wanted a bit of adventure to kick off that lovely sweater weather we should be having by the end of September. This month’s theme is going to have us looking for quest driven, epic journeys, and road trip novels. (It also helps I’ve been thinking about my own little quests that I have around the house). I’m looking forward to jumping in and going on whimsical escapades and daring capers.
Happy Reading Everyone!
My Reading List for September 2025:
Ritualist By Dakota Krout
The decision to start a new life is never an easy one, but for Joe the transition was far from figurative. Becoming a permanent addition to a game world, it doesn’t take long to learn that people with his abilities are actively hunted. In fact, if the wrong people gained knowledge of what he was capable of, assassins would appear in droves.
In his pursuit of power, Joe fights alongside his team, completes quests, and delves into the mysteries of his class, which he quickly discovers can only be practiced in secret. Ultimately, his goal is to complete every mission, master every ability, and learn all of the world’s secrets. All he has to do is survive long enough to make that happen.
Catharsis By Travis Bagwell
On paper, Jason has a great life. He attends a prestigious private school on scholarship and his parents are reasonably well off. Yet life hasn’t been easy for Jason. He has spent most of high school being tormented by both the students and faculty and his parents are never home.
Frustrated and alone, his one escape has always been video games. In-game, he can feel the type of power and freedom he lacks in his day-to-day life. Fortunately, a new virtual reality game (the first of its kind) has just been released, which promises the opportunity for an even greater escape.
Once he begins playing, Jason quickly finds himself on the path to becoming the game’s villain. In the process, he also starts to suspect that there is something unusual going on within the game.
Uprooted By Naomi Novik
Agnieszka loves her valley home, her quiet village, the forests and the bright shining river. But the corrupted Wood stands on the border, full of malevolent power, and its shadow lies over her life.
Her people rely on the cold, driven wizard known only as the Dragon to keep its powers at bay. But he demands a terrible price for his help: one young woman handed over to serve him for ten years, a fate almost as terrible as falling to the Wood.
The next choosing is fast approaching, and Agnieszka is afraid. She knows—everyone knows—that the Dragon will take Kasia: beautiful, graceful, brave Kasia, all the things Agnieszka isn’t, and her dearest friend in the world. And there is no way to save her. But Agnieszka fears the wrong things. For when the Dragon comes, it is not Kasia he will choose.
Shield of Sparrows By Devney Perry
The gods sent monsters to the five kingdoms to remind mortals they must kneel.
I’ve spent my life kneeling―to their will and to my father’s. As a princess, my only duty is to wear the crown and obey the king. I was never meant to rule. Never meant to fight. And I was never supposed to be the daughter who sealed an ancient treaty with her own blood.
But that changed the fateful day I stepped into my father’s throne room. The day a legendary monster hunter sailed to our shores. The day a prince ruined my life. Now I’m crossing treacherous lands beside a warrior who despises me as much as I despise him―bound to a future I didn’t choose and a husband I barely know.
Everyone wants me to be something I’m not―a queen, a spy, a sacrifice. But what if I refused the role chosen for me? What if I made my own rules? What if there’s power in being underestimated? And what if―for the first time―I reached for it?
The Shadow of the Gods By John Gwynne
After the gods warred and drove themselves to extinction, the cataclysm of their fall shattered the land of Vigrið.
Now a new world is rising, where power-hungry jarls feud and monsters stalk the woods and mountains. A world where the bones of the dead gods still hold great power for those brave – or desperate – enough to seek them out.
Now, as whispers of war echo across the mountains and fjords, fate follows in the footsteps of three people: a huntress on a dangerous quest, a noblewoman who has rejected privilege in pursuit of battle fame, and a thrall who seeks vengeance among the famed mercenaries known as the Bloodsworn. All three will shape the fate of the world as it once more falls under the shadow of the gods.
