Books I'm Squeeing About in September

I don't want to think about the fact that it's September already, and honestly I don't know how that happened. Or how it ended up that I didn't post anything for so long. Time is tricksy.
But finally, after one of the longest reading slumps I have ever experienced, I am back to reading, and by extension reviewing, and my bank balance is not thanking me for the sudden influx of new books...
So September, what pretty's do you have in store for me?

City of Ghosts by Victoria Schwab
September 6th 2018

Cassidy Blake's parents are The Inspectres, a (somewhat inept) ghost-hunting team. But Cass herself can REALLY see ghosts. In fact, her best friend, Jacob, just happens to be one.
When The Inspectres head to ultra-haunted Edinburgh, Scotland, for their new TV show, Cass—and Jacob—come along. In Scotland, Cass is surrounded by ghosts, not all of them friendly. Then she meets Lara, a girl who can also see the dead. But Lara tells Cassidy that as an In-betweener, their job is to send ghosts permanently beyond the Veil. Cass isn't sure about her new mission, but she does know the sinister Red Raven haunting the city doesn't belong in her world. Cassidy's powers will draw her into an epic fight that stretches through the worlds of the living and the dead, in order to save herself.

Confession time, I've managed to get hold of a copy a few days before the UK release for this book, and I am loving it. I really love Schwab's writing, so I was pretty much guaranteed to pick this one up anyway, but she had me at Edinburgh, one of my favourite cities in the world. Basically I've been making googly heart eyes at it ever since I bought it...

Time's Convert by Deborah Harkness
September 18th 2018

On the battlefields of the American Revolution, Matthew de Clermont meets Marcus MacNeil, a young surgeon from Massachusetts, during a moment of political awakening when it seems that the world is on the brink of a brighter future. When Matthew offers him a chance at immortality and a new life free from the restraints of his puritanical upbringing, Marcus seizes the opportunity to become a vampire. But his transformation is not an easy one and the ancient traditions and responsibilities of the de Clermont family clash with Marcus's deeply held beliefs in liberty, equality, and brotherhood.
Fast-forward to contemporary Paris, where Phoebe Taylor—the young employee at Sotheby's whom Marcus has fallen for—is about to embark on her own journey to immortality. Though the modernized version of the process at first seems uncomplicated, the couple discovers that the challenges facing a human who wishes to be a vampire are no less formidable than they were in the eighteenth century. The shadows that Marcus believed he'd escaped centuries ago may return to haunt them both—forever.
A passionate love story and a fascinating exploration of the power of tradition and the possibilities not just for change but for revolution, Time's Convert channels the supernatural world-building and slow-burning romance that made the All Souls Trilogy instant bestsellers to illuminate a new and vital moment in history, and a love affair that will bridge centuries.

I'm part way through book two of the All Souls Trilogy, and I love it. So again, a bit of a no brainer that of course I was going to pick this one up. Plus more of Marcus which is never a bad thing. I love books that take side characters and give them a whole book to themselves.

Vengeful by V E Schwab
September 25th 2018

Sydney once had Serena—beloved sister, betrayed enemy, powerful ally. But now she is alone, except for her thrice-dead dog, Dol, and then there's Victor, who thinks Sydney doesn't know about his most recent act of vengeance.
Victor himself is under the radar these days—being buried and re-animated can strike concern even if one has superhuman powers. But despite his own worries, his anger remains. And Eli Ever still has yet to pay for the evil he has done.

See aforementioned comment about auto buying Schwab's books. Add in that I adored Vicious, in an 'oh my god this is kinda dark but also amazing and where has this book been all my life' kind of way.

The Caged Queen by Kristen Ciccarelli
September 27th 2018

Once there were two sisters born with a bond so strong that it forged them together forever. When they were angry, mirrors shattered, and when they were happy, flowers bloomed. It was a magic they cherished - until the day a terrible accident took Essie's life and trapped her soul in this world.
Dax - the heir to Firgaard's throne - was responsible for the accident. Roa swore to hate him forever. But eight years later he returned, begging for her help. He was determined to dethrone his cruel father, under whose oppressive reign Roa's people had suffered. Roa made him a deal: she'd give him the army he needed if he made her queen.
Together with Dax and his sister, Asha, Roa and her people waged war and deposed a tyrant. But now Asha is on the run, hiding from the price on her head. And Roa is an outlander queen, far from home and married to her enemy. Worst of all: Dax's promises go unfulfilled. Roa's people continue to suffer.
Then a chance to right every wrong arises - an opportunity for Roa to rid herself of this enemy king and rescue her beloved sister. During the Relinquishing, when the spirits of the dead are said to return, Roa can reclaim her sister for good.
All she has to do is kill the king.

This is a good month for follow ups to books I loved. Prime example is this, the follow up from debut novel "The Last Namsara" which was beautiful and heartbreaking and wonderful. If you haven't read it, go and caught up in time for this beauty.

That's it for my month, what books are you looking forward to this month?

Books I'm Squeeing About in September

It's almost a new month, almost September, and I'm quietly freaking out over how quickly this year is passing. Seriously, how is it almost September already?! Luckily there are a whole host of truly awesome books out this month which make the fact that time is passing quite so quickly much more bearable, because it means these gorgeous beauties are almost upon us! It's another money spending month, but with these books finally up for grabs I may as well be shrieking 'TAKE MY MONEY AND LEAVE ME TO READ'...

1st September
A Curious Beginning by Deanna Raybourn
London, 1887. As the city prepares to celebrate Queen Victoria’s golden jubilee, Veronica Speedwell is marking a milestone of her own. After burying her spinster aunt, the orphaned Veronica is free to resume her world travels in pursuit of scientific inquiry—and the occasional romantic dalliance. As familiar with hunting butterflies as she is fending off admirers, Veronica wields her butterfly net and a sharpened hatpin with equal aplomb, and with her last connection to England now gone, she intends to embark upon the journey of a lifetime.
But fate has other plans, as Veronica discovers when she thwarts her own abduction with the help of an enigmatic German baron with ties to her mysterious past. Promising to reveal in time what he knows of the plot against her, the baron offers her temporary sanctuary in the care of his friend Stoker—a reclusive natural historian as intriguing as he is bad-tempered. But before the baron can deliver on his tantalizing vow to reveal the secrets he has concealed for decades, he is found murdered. Suddenly Veronica and Stoker are forced to go on the run from an elusive assailant, wary partners in search of the villainous truth.

It's a new Deanna Raybourn book, another Victorian era book, and I have been impatiently making grabby hands ever since it was announced many months ago. Whilst I may not have the physical book in my hands yet, I have read it and it is GLORIOUS.
You can read my review here!
You can pre-order this book on Amazon here!

1st September
Queen of Shadows by Sarah J Maas
Everyone Celaena Sardothien loves has been taken from her. But she's at last returned to the empire—for vengeance, to rescue her once-glorious kingdom, and to confront the shadows of her past . . .
She will fight for her cousin, a warrior prepared to die just to see her again. She will fight for her friend, a young man trapped in an unspeakable prison. And she will fight for her people, enslaved to a brutal king and awaiting their lost queen's triumphant return.
Celaena’s epic journey has captured the hearts and imaginations of millions across the globe. This fourth volume will hold readers rapt as Celaena’s story builds to a passionate, agonizing crescendo that might just shatter her world.

656 pages guys! 656 pages of gloriousness! I think this is one of the most anticipated reads of the year for a lot of people, and it's certainly one in our household, because it's not just me eagerly awaiting the latest Throne of Glass novel - I recently got my husband hooked too, and he finished the third book cursing and rending his clothing that he had to wait a measly thirty days for the fourth book... I'm not sure yet if I'm going to take pity on him and let him read it first, or just buy two copies...
You can pre-order this book on Amazon here!

3rd September

The Next Together by Lauren James
How many times can you lose the person you love? 
Katherine and Matthew are destined to be born again and again, century after century. Each time, their presence changes history for the better, and each time, they fall hopelessly in love, only to be tragically separated. 
Spanning the Crimean War, the Siege of Carlisle and the near-future of 2019 and 2039 they find themselves sacrificing their lives to save the world. But why do they keep coming back? What else must they achieve before they can be left to live and love in peace? 
Maybe the next together will be different...A powerful and epic debut novel for teenagers about time-travel, fate and the timelessness of first love. The Next Together is told through a mixture of regular prose, diary entries, letters, "original" historical documents, news reports and internet articles.

Another hugely anticipated book for me, I have been desperate to read this book ever since that gorgeous cover and blurb started gracing the interwebs. I got stupidly excited when I received an ARC, and then gnashed my teeth when my mother nabbed it to read before me (she enjoyed it by the way...) and then I finally got my little mitts on it and loved it.
You can read my review here
You can pre-order this book on Amazon here!

10th September
Fans of the Impossible Life by Kate Scelsa
This is the story of a girl, her gay best friend, and the boy in love with both of them.
Ten months after her recurring depression landed her in the hospital, Mira is starting over as a new student at Saint Francis Prep. She promised her parents she would at least try to act like a normal, functioning human this time around, not a girl who sometimes can’t get out of bed for days on end, who only feels awake when she’s with Sebby. 
Jeremy is the painfully shy art nerd at Saint Francis who’s been in self-imposed isolation after an incident that ruined his last year of school. When he sees Sebby for the first time across the school lawn it’s as if he’s been expecting this blond, lanky boy with a mischievous glint in his eye. 
Sebby, Mira’s gay best friend, is a boy who seems to carry sunlight around with him like a backlit halo. Even as life in his foster home starts to take its toll, Sebby and Mira together craft a world of magic rituals and secret road trips, designed to fix the broken parts of their lives. 
As Jeremy finds himself drawn into Sebby and Mira’s world, he begins to understand the secrets that they hide in order to protect themselves, to keep each other safe from those who don’t understand their quest to live for the impossible.

Ok that blurb had me excited, and then I found out that Mira also suffers from Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and I had to read this book immediately. Because we're always talking about more diverse books and we are getting them, which is awesome, but I have never seen a character in YA fiction who has what I have. Now admittedly the Chronic Fatigue is only half of it, but I was so ridiculously excited to finally see a YA character who mirrored me even a tiny bit that I actually ran around the flat shrieking. (And then had to have a nap, but you know, it's the principal of the thing...) 
You can pre-order this book on Amazon here!

10th September
The Secret Fire by C J Daugherty and Carina Rozenfeld
French teen Sacha Winters can't die. He can throw himself off a roof, be stabbed, even shot, and he will always survive. Until the day when history and ancient enmities dictate that he must die. Worse still, his death will trigger something awful. Something deadly. And that day is closing in.
Taylor Montclair is a normal English girl, hanging out with her friends and studying for exams, until she starts shorting out the lights with her brain. She’s also the only person on earth who can save Sacha.
There’s only one problem: the two of them have never met. They live hundreds of miles apart and powerful forces will stop at nothing to keep them apart.
They have eight weeks to find each other.
Will they survive long enough to save the world?

There has been so much buzz around this book that it's fallen onto my radar just through that and stayed there buzzing excitedly and making me want to read it now. I have to admit that I haven't yet read of Daugherty's books yet, but I'm really excited to get stuck into this one and see what everyone else has been talking about.
You can pre-order this book on Amazon here!
(Available on Kindle from September 3rd)

15th September
Lock & Mori by Heather W Petty
In modern-day London, two brilliant high school students, one Sherlock Holmes and a Miss James "Mori" Moriarty, meet. A murder will bring them together. The truth very well might drive them apart.
Before they were mortal enemies, they were much more.
FACT: Someone has been murdered in London's Regent's Park. The police have no leads.
FACT: Miss James "Mori"Moriarty and Sherlock "Lock" Holmes should be hitting the books on a school night. Instead, they are out crashing a crime scene.
FACT: Lock has challenged Mori to solve the case before he does. Challenge accepted.
FACT: Despite agreeing to Lock's one rule--they must share every clue with each other--Mori is keeping secrets.
OBSERVATION: Sometimes you can't trust the people closest to you with matters of the heart. And after this case, Mori may never trust Lock again.

I love Sherlock, both the original stories and the BBC modern adaptation. And then earlier this year I discovered 'Every Breath' by Ellie Marney which rocked my little socks and featured teens James Mycroft and Rachel Watts and was utterly brilliant. So naturally I now want to read anything else that looks like it might live up to the high bar set by Ellie, and I am incredibly curious about this one, because GENDERBENT MORIARTY and modern day London and genius teens. Just give it to me now.
You can pre-order this book on Amazon here!


15th September
The Weight of Feathers by Anna-Marie McLemore
For twenty years, the Palomas and the Corbeaus have been rivals and enemies, locked in an escalating feud for over a generation. Both families make their living as traveling performers in competing shows—the Palomas swimming in mermaid exhibitions, the Corbeaus, former tightrope walkers, performing in the tallest trees they can find. 
Lace Paloma may be new to her family’s show, but she knows as well as anyone that the Corbeaus are pure magia negra, black magic from the devil himself. Simply touching one could mean death, and she's been taught from birth to keep away. But when disaster strikes the small town where both families are performing, it’s a Corbeau boy, Cluck, who saves Lace’s life. And his touch immerses her in the world of the Corbeaus, where falling for him could turn his own family against him, and one misstep can be just as dangerous on the ground as it is in the trees. 

Another one that has been loitering around on my radar since the start of the year, this just appeals to me in so many ways. Night Circus feel to it - check. Forbidden love - check. Warring Houses - check. Yest to all basically.
Plus the prose is absolutely divine and the story quietly wraps around  you until you're thoroughly invested in these characters and their strange and magical lives.
Keep an eye out for my review in the next couple of weeks!
You can pre-order this book on Amazon here!

22nd September
Walk on Earth a Stranger by Rae Carson
The first book in a new trilogy from acclaimed New York Times bestselling author Rae Carson. A young woman with the magical ability to sense the presence of gold must flee her home, taking her on a sweeping and dangerous journey across Gold Rush–era America.
Lee Westfall has a secret. She can sense the presence of gold in the world around her. Veins deep beneath the earth, pebbles in the river, nuggets dug up from the forest floor. The buzz of gold means warmth and life and home—until everything is ripped away by a man who wants to control her. Left with nothing, Lee disguises herself as a boy and takes to the trail across the country. Gold was discovered in California, and where else could such a magical girl find herself, find safety? Rae Carson, author of the acclaimed Girl of Fire and Thorns trilogy, dazzles with this new fantasy that subverts both our own history and familiar fantasy tropes.

I adore Rae's books, so she's an auto-buy author for me anyway, but this blurb just has me all kinds of excited. It just sounds so deliciously unique and brilliant. I am literally beside myself with excitement and cannot wait for the end of the month for this one.
You can pre-order this book on Amazon here!


29th September
Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo
Ketterdam: a bustling hub of international trade where anything can be had for the right price—and no one knows that better than criminal prodigy Kaz Brekker. Kaz is offered a chance at a deadly heist that could make him rich beyond his wildest dreams. But he can't pull it off alone...
A convict with a thirst for revenge.
A sharpshooter who can't walk away from a wager.
A runaway with a privileged past.
A spy known as the Wraith.
A Heartrender using her magic to survive the slums. 
A thief with a gift for unlikely escapes. 
Six dangerous outcasts. One impossible heist. Kaz's crew is the only thing that might stand between the world and destruction—if they don't kill each other first.

Confession time, I have not yet read any of Leigh's books. I KNOW, I AM A BAD PERSON. Seriously, I'm working to rectify this asap. They've always been on the to read pile, I just hadn't managed to get there before, but when I read that blurb and found out it was loosely connected with her original trilogy that sealed the deal for me, because GUYS, THAT BLURB. It makes me all gleeful and happy because HEISTS. Have I told you guys how much I love Heists? Because my undying love for Heist Society should be enough of a clue, but just in case it wasn't, wait for the splosions of excitement when I get my little grabby hands on this one...
You can pre-order this book on Amazon here!

So there you have my debt inducing month of bookish awesomeness! Are there any books I've missed that you think I need to get onto right this second? Or are there any books I've made you intrigued to nab a copy by my witterings and capslockings? Let me know in the comments below!

Books I'm Squeeing About in September

How is it nearly September already? SEPTEMBER?! It doesn’t seem like it can possibly be this late in the year already, but somehow it is. But luckily there are some really awesome books on the horizon to ease the transition from summer to autumn. Get your purses out, cos this month is going to be a good one…

EDIT: Amazon originally listed 'Unspoken' by Sarah Rees Brennan as being released on 30th August, however they have now changed it to 13th September! So apologies for the screwy info, but still go out and buy this book as soon as it's released! It's going to be awesome!

4^th– Carnival of Souls by Melissa Marr

In a city of daimons, rigid class lines separate the powerful from the power-hungry. And at the heart of The City is the Carnival of Souls, where both murder and pleasure are offered up for sale. Once in a generation, the carnival hosts a deadly competition that allows every daimon a chance to join the ruling elite. Without the competition, Aya and Kaleb would both face bleak futures--if for different reasons. For each of them, fighting to the death is the only way to try to live.
All Mallory knows of The City is that her father--and every other witch there--fled it for a life in exile in the human world. Instead of a typical teenage life full of friends and maybe even a little romance, Mallory scans quiet streets for threats, hides herself away, and trains to be lethal. She knows it's only a matter of time until a daimon finds her and her father, so she readies herself for the inevitable. While Mallory possesses little knowledge of The City, every inhabitant of The City knows of her. There are plans for Mallory, and soon she, too, will be drawn into the decadence and danger that is the Carnival of Souls.

Oh hell yes. I didn’t even need to look at the blurb for this one before it was on my wish list. All I needed to know was that it’s a new book from Melissa Marr, and it’s called ‘Carnival of Souls’ – doesn’t that just give you shivers? I cannot wait for this book. And you know what makes it even sweeter? The fact that James Marsters is reading the audiobook of it. Yes that’s right guys, SPIKE IS READING THE AUDIOBOOK. So not only am I squeeing about the book, I will also be buying it in audiobook format just to have his dulcet tones speak to me.

6^th– Treachery of Beautiful Things by Ruth F Long

A darkly compelling mix of romance, fairy tale, and suspense from a new voice in teen fiction
The trees swallowed her brother whole, and Jenny was there to see it. Now seventeen, she revisits the woods where Tom was taken, resolving to say good-bye at last. Instead, she's lured into the trees, where she finds strange and dangerous creatures who seem to consider her the threat. Among them is Jack, mercurial and magnetic, with secrets of his own. Determined to find her brother, with or without Jack's help, Jenny struggles to navigate a faerie world where stunning beauty masks some of the most treacherous evils, and she's faced with a choice between salvation or sacrifice--and not just her own.

This is one of those books that comes together in a beautifulness of extra bits that makes me want to pick it up despite knowing very little about it. I was struck first off by the cover (yes I know, I’m terribly shallow) and then the title, which just has something about it and prompted me to look at the blurb and there’s something that just tugs at me and makes me want to pick this one up. I’m very much in a fairy tale mood at the moment, and I’m hoping this is going to hit the right spots.

13^th– Dodger by Terry Pratchett

A storm. Rain-lashed city streets. A flash of lightning. A scruffy lad sees a girl leap desperately from a horse-drawn carriage, in a vain attempt to escape her captors. Can the lad stand by and let her be caught again? Of course not, because he's ...Dodger.

We’ve got a new Pratchett almost within reach – need I say more?

18^th– The Diviners by Libba Bray

Evie O'Neill has been exiled from her boring old hometown and shipped off to the bustling streets of New York City--and she is pos-i-toot-ly thrilled. New York is the city of speakeasies, shopping, and movie palaces! Soon enough, Evie is running with glamorous Ziegfield girls and rakish pickpockets. The only catch is Evie has to live with her Uncle Will, curator of The Museum of American Folklore, Superstition, and the Occult--also known as "The Museum of the Creepy Crawlies."
When a rash of occult-based murders comes to light, Evie and her uncle are right in the thick of the investigation. And through it all, Evie has a secret: a mysterious power that could help catch the killer--if he doesn't catch her first.

Guys we are so being spoilt this month – a new Libba Bray book?! Oh yes please. Again, nothing more than that was needed to get this firmly onto my list, but then I saw the blurb and oh my yes please some more. Another twenties book? And by such a fantastic author? I am so there.

19^th– The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater

“There are only two reasons a non-seer would see a spirit on St. Mark’s Eve,” Neeve said. “Either you’re his true love . . . or you killed him.”
It is freezing in the churchyard, even before the dead arrive.
Every year, Blue Sargent stands next to her clairvoyant mother as the soon-to-be dead walk past. Blue herself never sees them—not until this year, when a boy emerges from the dark and speaks directly to her.
His name is Gansey, and Blue soon discovers that he is a rich student at Aglionby, the local private school. Blue has a policy of staying away from Aglionby boys. Known as Raven Boys, they can only mean trouble.
But Blue is drawn to Gansey, in a way she can’t entirely explain. He has it all—family money, good looks, devoted friends—but he’s looking for much more than that. He is on a quest that has encompassed three other Raven Boys: Adam, the scholarship student who resents all the privilege around him; Ronan, the fierce soul who ranges from anger to despair; and Noah, the taciturn watcher of the four, who notices many things but says very little.
For as long as she can remember, Blue has been warned that she will cause her true love to die. She never thought this would be a problem. But now, as her life becomes caught up in the strange and sinister world of the Raven Boys, she’s not so sure anymore.

Maggie Stiefvater had me with The Scorpio Races, and as a result this new offering from her has me supremely excited. I’m wondering what we’re going to get from such an eclectic author who can take romance from making out every couple of pages in ‘Shiver’ to the slow burn that I fell in love with in ‘The Scorpio Races’. Whatever the result, I cannot wait to get my hands on this book.

20^th– Crown of Embers by Rae Carson

In the sequel to the acclaimed The Girl of Fire and Thorns, a seventeen-year-old princess turned war queen faces sorcery, adventure, untold power, and romance as she fulfills her epic destiny.
Elisa is the hero of her country. She led her people to victory against a terrifying enemy, and now she is their queen. But she is only seventeen years old. Her rivals may have simply retreated, choosing stealth over battle. And no one within her court trusts her-except Hector, the commander of the royal guard, and her companions. As the country begins to crumble beneath her and her enemies emerge from the shadows, Elisa will take another journey. With a one-eyed warrior, a loyal friend, an enemy defector, and the man she is falling in love with, Elisa crosses the ocean in search of the perilous, uncharted, and mythical source of the Godstone's power. That is not all she finds. A breathtaking, romantic, and dangerous second volume in the Fire and Thorns trilogy.

I fell, completely unexpectedly and very thoroughly in love with ‘Fire and Thorns’ last year, and as a result this has been hotly anticipated since June 2011. Everything I’ve heard from early reviews marks this as even better than the first book, and I can’t wait to see where Carson takes us next in this fantastic debut fantasy series.

27^th– The Casual Vacancy by J. K. Rowling

When Barry Fairweather dies in his early forties, the town of Pagford is left in shock.
Pagford is, seemingly, an English idyll, with a cobbled market square and an ancient abbey, but what lies behind the pretty façade is a town at war.
Rich at war with poor, teenagers at war with their parents, wives at war with their husbands, teachers at war with their pupils…Pagford is not what it first seems.
And the empty seat left by Barry on the parish council soon becomes the catalyst for the biggest war the town has yet seen. Who will triumph in an election fraught with passion, duplicity and unexpected revelations?

I’m sure I’m not the only person who is waiting nervously and excitedly for the end of the month, because September 27^th marks the release of the first adult novel from J. K. Rowling, and her first full novel since the Harry Potter series. Despite the lack of Horcruxes, wands and butterbeer, I still can’t wait to see what she’s written next with her first foray into adult fiction.