September just disappeared on me, zooming in on a summery breeze and leaving on a very cool note. I didn’t read as much and I honestly didn’t get a lot done in any area (except chores, which is good). But I did love everything that I read and I’m so glad I got a lot of these books out of the way so that I can read all the spooky season vibes that I’ve got lined up for October. This month, I’m going to try something different with my list. I’m going to give a sentence or two about each of the books I read so that it’s more than just a list of words. And now for the 8 books that I read in the month of September.
The first book I read was Skyward by Brandon Sanderson and oh man I was not prepared for Spin and her Skyward flight. Spin, or Spensa, is a young girl attempting to enter Flight School on the surface. In this world, the last members of humanity live underground while their pilots defend their world against the invaders from the mysterious sky. Spensa is joining and going through Flight School with the added pressure of her father’s cowardice and failure, which is only made worse when she finds out that the leaders of Flight School are against her joining–they believe she will follow in her father’s footsteps. But nothing will stop Spensa from looking–and flying–skyward.
Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo is a crazy, startling read that kept me on the edge of my seat. A group of misfits who are being referred to as the Crows come together to run a heist into the most dangerous palace in the world. If you want more from the GrishaVerse after a book hangover from the Shadow and Bone trilogy, this is most definitely a good book to read.
I read my first spooky season book in September too, and it was amazing. Small Favors by Erin A. Craig tells us the story of Ellerie Downing in the quiet town of Amity Falls as she helps her father run their apiary (honey farm/bee caretakers). Throughout the year, we learn more about the strange things that happen in this town. I will leave a quick content warning for violence here since there are quite a few moments or descriptions of violence. There are a lot of psychological horror elements throughout the novel, giving the reader the impression that reality is blending into visions and making you question what is real. I loved House of Salt and Sorrows for this same element and Erin A. Craig does it perfectly once again. I highly recommend this novel.
The Caged Queen by Kristen Ciccarelli is the second novel in the Iskari series. In this novel, we follow Roa back to her homeland and learn more about the faith and its ties to exchanges and deals. There isn’t much that can be said without spoiling The Last Namsara, but I will say that it has another strong yet flawed heroine who will do what is necessary to save the people she loves–no matter the cost.
The perfect companion to Fable, Namesake by Adrienne Young continued to follow Fable in her journey towards herself, her parents, and the secrets that have been kept from her. Full of more imagery of ships, sailing, and diving into the deep and intriguing depths of the ocean, Namesake provides a surprising and heart-warming conclusion to the Fable duology. I can’t wait to read more about this world in Young’s latest book, The Last Legacy.
The next book I read was Snipe by Mary Morano. I read this as part of her ARC team and my review is up on Goodreads so you can check it out if you’re interested in a hockey romance with surprise pregnancy, found family, or love at first sight tropes.
Finally, I read Aurora Rising and Aurora Burning by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff, the first two books in the Aurora Cycle. OH MY GOSH. I wasn’t planning on reading the second book right away, but the first book was SO GOOD. I will warn you that it is told from the points of view of all seven characters which is a lot to keep track of. Kaufman and Kristoff execute this so well, however, that there was only one place that it struck me wrong before I read on and had to take it back and agree that they did make the right decision. I loved all the sci-fi vibes, and the method of space travel and the rest of the science they use feels so realistic (much like Star Trek). I cannot wait for Aurora’s End to come out on November 9th, 2021, so that I can binge read it as well!
That does it for what I read in September. As for what I wrote, I’ll give a quick update here, but you’ll need to check out the writing update posts I have for more details.
“The Chemistry of Yolks” is completely planned out and ready to be turned into a draft. My novel has a new working title and I’ve completed taking notes from the novel writing textbooks. I’m part way into the next step of plotting out the novel scene by scene using the beat sheet (beat 7 of 15). Hopefully I’ll be done that step before too long so that I can participate in NaNoWriMo again this year.
That’s everything! Welcome to Spooky season everyone!
Lit&Leta 
Leave a Reply