Can you feel it? Sense its presence? It’s coming. That’s right. Fall is almost here. Kids are back in school. Labor Day will mark the end of summer. And along with new books and new seasons of our favorite TV shows, that means, it’s almost time for PUMPKIN SPICE EVERYTHING!!
But, we’ll take new September releases for now while we wait…
So For Real by Rebekah Weatherspoon (Sept. 1st; Contemporary Romance) – Even the best laid plans can go completely off the rails…
After pulling off the perfect wedding, Kayla Davis, now Kayla Bradbury, need only sit back and enjoy her wonderful life with her amazing husband, internet billionaire and NBA franchise owner, Michael Bradbury. The two are so head over heels for each other that finding creative ways to extend their honeymoon a whole year seems likes the only logical next step in their fool-proof plan for happiness.
Too bad life has other ideas for the newlyweds. With personnel hiccups in her small business, a husband balancing dual CEO responsibilities, and news that there will be not one, but two unexpected additions to the Bradbury crew, Kayla needs to totally reconfigure her life if she has any hope of keeping things afloat.
Blossoms of Love (California Passions) by J.M. Jeffries (Sept. 1st; Contemporary Romance/Harlequin Kimani) – Her love may be the ultimate prize…
Greer Courtland and her family have been designing floats for Pasadena’s Rose Parade all her life—but have rarely had a client as determined as Daniel Torres. The talk show host intends to win the prize for best float in a much-publicized charity wager. As they spend time together, he makes it clear that he intends to win Greer, too. But the former Rose Parade queen isn’t dazzled by wealth and fame—even when delivered in a sexy and sensual package.
From the moment he invites her on his show, Daniel is enthralled by Greer. Beautiful, effervescent and talented, she keeps him grounded in a way no one ever has before. But as their relationship becomes tabloid fodder, Greer backs away. And unless he’s willing to be vulnerable and expose his heart, Daniel risks letting wonderful possibilities of forever float away…
Short Stories from Hogwarts of Power, Politics and Pesky Poltergeists (Pottermore Presents #1) by J.K. Rowling (Sept. 6th; Fantasy/YA; Pottermore) – No Muggle Prime Minister has ever set foot in the Ministry of Magic, for reasons most succinctly summed up by ex-Minister Dugald McPhail (term of office 1858-1865): “their puir wee braines couldnae cope wi’ it.”’ – J.K. Rowling
Pottermore Presents is a collection of J.K. Rowling’s writing: short reads originally featured on pottermore.com with some exclusive new additions. These eBooks, with writing curated by Pottermore, will take you beyond the Harry Potter stories as J.K. Rowling reveals her inspiration, intricate details of characters’ lives and surprises from the wizarding world.
These stories of power, politics and pesky poltergeists give you a glimpse into the darker side of the wizarding world, revealing the ruthless roots of Professor Umbridge, the lowdown on the Ministers for Magic and the history of the wizarding prison Azkaban. You will also delve deeper into Horace Slughorn’s early years as Potions master at Hogwarts – and his acquaintance with one Tom Marvolo Riddle.
Short Stories from Hogwarts of Heroism, Hardship and Dangerous Hobbies (Pottermore Presents #2) by J.K. Rowling (Sept. 6th; Fantasy/YA; Pottermore) – ‘Minerva was the Roman goddess of warriors and wisdom. William McGonagall is celebrated as the worst poet in British history. There was something irresistible to me about his name, and the idea that such a brilliant woman might be a distant relative of the buffoonish McGonagall.’ – J.K. Rowling
Pottermore Presents is a collection of J.K. Rowling’s writing: short reads originally featured on pottermore.com with some exclusive new additions. These eBooks, with writing curated by Pottermore, will take you beyond the Harry Potter stories as J.K. Rowling reveals her inspiration, intricate details of characters’ lives and surprises from the wizarding world.
These stories of heroism, hardship and dangerous hobbies profile two of the Harry Potter stories’ most courageous and iconic characters: Minerva McGonagall and Remus Lupin. J.K. Rowling also gives us a peek behind the closed curtains of Sybill Trelawney’s life, and you’ll encounter the reckless, magical-beast-loving Silvanus Kettleburn along the way.
Hogwarts: An Incomplete and Unreliable Guide (Pottermore Presents #3) by J.K. Rowling (Sept. 6th; Fantast/YA; Pottermore) – ‘The Ministry of Magic felt strongly, however, that to construct an additional wizarding station in the middle of London would stretch even the Muggles’ notorious determination not to notice magic when it was exploding in front of their faces.’ – J.K. Rowling
Pottermore Presents is a collection of J.K. Rowling’s writing: short reads originally featured on pottermore.com. These eBooks, with writing curated by Pottermore, will take you beyond the Harry Potter stories as J.K. Rowling reveals her inspiration, intricate details of characters’ lives and surprises from the wizarding world.
Hogwarts An Incomplete and Unreliable Guide takes you on a journey to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. You’ll venture into the Hogwarts grounds, become better acquainted with its more permanent residents, learn more about lessons and discover secrets of the castle . . . all at the turn of a page.
Labyrinth Lost (Brooklyn Brujas #1) by Zoraida Córdova (Sept. 6th; Paranormal/YA/Urban Fantasy; Sourcebooks Fire) – Nothing says Happy Birthday like summoning the spirits of your dead relatives.
Alex is a bruja, the most powerful witch in a generation…and she hates magic. At her Deathday celebration, Alex performs a spell to rid herself of her power. But it backfires. Her whole family vanishes into thin air, leaving her alone with Nova, a brujo boy she can’t trust. A boy whose intentions are as dark as the strange marks on his skin.
The only way to get her family back is to travel with Nova to Los Lagos, a land in-between, as dark as Limbo and as strange as Wonderland… (REVIEW)
Everfair by Nisi Shawl (Sept. 6th; SFF/Steampunk/Historical Fiction; Tor Books) – An alternate history / historical fantasy / steampunk novel set in the Belgian Congo, from noted short story writer Nisi Shawl.
Everfair is a wonderful Neo-Victorian alternate history novel that explores the question of what might have come of Belgium’s disastrous colonization of the Congo if the native populations had learned about steam technology a bit earlier. Fabian Socialists from Great Britian join forces with African-American missionaries to purchase land from the Belgian Congo’s “owner,” King Leopold II. This land, named Everfair, is set aside as a safe haven, an imaginary Utopia for native populations of the Congo as well as escaped slaves returning from America and other places where African natives were being mistreated.
Shawl’s speculative masterpiece manages to turn one of the worst human rights disasters on record into a marvelous and exciting exploration of the possibilities inherent in a turn of history. Everfair is told from a multiplicity of voices: Africans, Europeans, East Asians, and African Americans in complex relationships with one another, in a compelling range of voices that have historically been silenced. Everfair is not only a beautiful book but an educational and inspiring one that will give the reader new insight into an often ignored period of history.
Sin for Me (The Devil’s Music #1) by Lisa Marie Perry (Sept. 6th; Contemporary Romance; Loveswept) – For Dante Bishop, music died the night he found his father’s body next to a syringe of lithium. Ditching Atlanta, Dante jumped on his Harley and left the family business to his sister. She became the heart and soul of Devil’s Music—until the board, including Dante’s ex, masterminded a takeover. Years later, Dante’s doing something he never thought he’d do: returning to Georgia to put his songwriting skills to good use. Reuniting with Chelsea Coin only sweetens the deal.
As the perfectionist COO of Devil’s Music, Chelsea doesn’t dwell on the past. If she did, she’d never forgive herself for betraying the Bishops in a corporate power grab. Now Chelsea needs help to save the company, and Dante’s a nonnegotiable part of the arrangement. Still brooding and hot as hell, Dante wastes no time stirring up unfinished business—and carnal memories Chelsea would rather keep buried. She’s come too far to risk everything on a man. But for desire this intense, she might just enjoy the sexiest mistake of her life.
The Year of the Crocodile (Cyclone #2.5) by Courtney Milan (Sept. 12th; Contemporary Romance) – Tina Chen and Blake Reynolds have been together for almost a year. In that time, they’ve grown closer on just about every front. The one exception? Blake’s father has never let anything stop him. Tina’s parents have never let anyone push them around. And they’ve never met.
That’s about to change. But don’t worry—fireworks are traditional at Chinese New Years.
The Reader (Sea of Ink and Gold #1) by Traci Chee (Sept. 13th; YA/Fantasy; Putnam) – Sefia knows what it means to survive. After her father is brutally murdered, she flees into the wilderness with her aunt Nin, who teaches her to hunt, track, and steal. But when Nin is kidnapped, leaving Sefia completely alone, none of her survival skills can help her discover where Nin’s been taken, or if she’s even alive. The only clue to both her aunt’s disappearance and her father’s murder is the odd rectangular object her father left behind, an object she comes to realize is a book—a marvelous item unheard of in her otherwise illiterate society. With the help of this book, and the aid of a mysterious stranger with dark secrets of his own, Sefia sets out to rescue her aunt and find out what really happened the day her father was killed—and punish the people responsible.
Black Panther: A Nation Under Our Feet (Book 1) by Ta-Nehisi Coates (Sept. 13th; Superhero/Comic Book/Fantasy; Marvel Comics) – A new era begins for the Black Panther! MacArthur Genius and National Book Award winner Ta-Nehisi Coates (Between the World and Me) takes the helm, confronting T’Challa with a dramatic upheaval in Wakanda that will make leading the African nation tougher than ever before. When a superhuman terrorist group that calls itself The People sparks a violent uprising, the land famed for its incredible technology and proud warrior traditions will be thrown into turmoil. If Wakanda is to survive, it must adapt–but can its monarch, one in a long line of Black Panthers, survive the necessary change? Heavy lies the head that wears the cowl!
The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead (Sept. 13th; Historical Fiction; Doubleday) – Cora is a slave on a cotton plantation in Georgia. Life is hellish for all slaves, but Cora is an outcast even among her fellow Africans, and she is coming into womanhood; even greater pain awaits. Caesar, a recent arrival from Virginia, tells her of the Underground Railroad and they plot their escape. Like Gulliver, Cora encounters different worlds on each leg of her journey.
Whitehead brilliantly recreates the unique terrors of black life in pre-Civil War America. The Underground Railroad is at once a kinetic adventure tale of one woman’s ferocious will to escape the horrors of bondage and a shattering, powerful meditation on the history we all share.
