Sep 30

Sep 30 Books Publishing This Week

The morning in early October greets you with a kind of quiet beauty that feels different from summer or September. The air is crisp now, with a chill that makes you pull a sweater tighter around your shoulders as you step outside. The sky is pale, streaked with soft gray clouds, and the trees are beginning to burst into color—leaves blazing with red, gold, and burnt orange. You pause to take it all in, the faint smell of woodsmoke in the distance mingling with the freshness of dew-covered grass.

You choose your spot deliberately, maybe a bench under a maple tree or a chair by your favorite window where you can still see the colors shift and flutter. A mug of coffee or tea warms your hands, the steam curling into the cool air, and beside you rests the book you’ve been waiting to start. It’s been sitting on your table, tempting you every time you walked past, but you knew you wanted to save it for a morning like this—when the world feels slower, quieter, and the season has settled into something new.

You pick it up now, brushing your fingers across the cover. The spine resists slightly as you open it, and there’s a thrill in that—a reminder that these pages haven’t been touched yet, that this story is yours to discover for the very first time. You breathe in, and the scent of paper mingles with the crispness of October air.

The first page greets you, steady and inviting. You read slowly at first, letting yourself sink into the cadence of the sentences, the careful unfolding of the opening scene. Around you, the world goes on—leaves tumble in the breeze, squirrels dart across branches, someone rakes in the distance—but none of it distracts you. It all blends together, like background music to the story beginning in your lap.

You sip your drink and turn another page. The heat of the mug spreads through you, matching the way the book is already beginning to warm your imagination. The characters are new, unfamiliar, but you’re eager to know them, to see how their paths will tangle, what secrets they’ll reveal. Each word feels perfectly paired with this season: thoughtful, textured, a little bittersweet.

Every so often, you look up from the page to watch a leaf detach from its branch and spiral lazily to the ground. You smile at the small miracle of it—the reminder that change can be slow and beautiful. The moment feels like an echo of what’s happening in the book: something starting, something taking shape, something worth holding onto.

You read on until the morning stretches further into the day, your mug now empty, your bookmark slid carefully into place. You close the book and hold it for a moment, savoring the weight of it in your hands, the satisfaction of having begun something that will carry you deeper into October. The air is still crisp, the leaves still falling, and the world is still full of color. But now you also have this—this new story, unfolding page by page, as autumn settles gently around you.

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Books Publishing September 28 - October 4

The Lost Story of Eva Fuentes by Chanel Cleeton

Author Interview with Chanel Cleeton

A mysterious book with a legacy spanning from the beginning of the twentieth century to the present day unites three women in this unforgettable novel from New York Times bestselling author Chanel Cleeton.

London, 2024: When American expat Margo Reynolds is hired to source a book that’s more than one hundred and twenty years old, she thinks her greatest challenge is going to be that there’s only one copy in existence. However, it quickly becomes clear that her client isn’t the only person determined to procure the book at any cost. Thrust into a deadly quest, Margo teams up with an unlikely ally—the man she loved and lost—and is forced to confront the ghosts of her own past as the lingering feelings that simmer between them ignite.

Havana, 1966: Pilar Castillo’s days are spent working as a librarian in Havana, her nights spent hoping for her husband’s freedom after his unjust imprisonment. But Pilar has a secret that could jeopardize her life. She’s fighting Fidel’s regime in her own way, and when she comes into possession of a book that was published more than sixty years earlier, she must decide how much she’s willing to risk to protect the literary works entrusted to her care.

Boston, 1900: For Cuban teacher Eva Fuentes, traveling from Havana to Harvard to participate in the largest cultural exchange between Cuba and the United States is not only a chance to represent her country at a critical time in its bid for independence, but also an opportunity to work on the book she’s writing. When a moonlit encounter with an enigmatic stranger alters the course of Eva’s summer at Harvard, and as secrets, lies, and forbidden love rise to the surface, Eva’s life—and legacy—is irrevocably changed.

Princess of Blood by Sarah Hawley

Once a servant, now a princess, a young woman thrust into power challenges everything about the underground Fae realm in the spellbinding sequel to Sarah Hawley’s USA Today bestseller Servant of Earth.

Kenna Heron is still reeling from her lover’s betrayal and the threat of an impending civil war. With only a sentient dagger and her two closest—and most powerless—friends by her side, she must navigate the treacherous politics of Mistei while coming to terms with her new identity as not just Fae, but princess of the reborn Blood House.

With the corrupt king dead at last, three candidates are vying for the crown: a princess who claims the throne as her birthright and two rebel princes, both of whom are courting Kenna’s support to break the stalemate between them. Old loyalties fray as new, volatile alliances form, and Kenna finds herself caught in a web of violence and deceit—and swept up in a forbidden romance as passionate as it is dangerous.

Kenna has the power to shape Mistei’s future… but someone’s willing to kill to make sure she never gets the chance.

Restitution by Tamar Shapiro

As children in Central Illinois, Kate and Martin were never told much about their mother’ s childhood in East Germany. And they rarely asked questions. They were too busy grappling with the heartache left behind by an absent father and the tough love of a mother forced to raise them alone in a country not her own.

Decades later, when the Berlin Wall falls, Kate and Martin are faced with a difficult decision: Should they try to reclaim the house in East Germany from which their grandparents fled in the 1950s? They travel to their grandparents’ hometown and meet the couple now living in the house. But a house is never just a house, and the family secrets they discover reopen old wounds, driving the siblings apart just as divided Germany is coming together.

Against the backdrop of German reunification, Restitution asks urgent questions that resonate today. What remains when people leave entire lives behind? What happens when personal histories are erased? And what— if anything— can heal these wounds?

The Accidental Rewrite by Milly Johnson

From the Sunday Times and internationally acclaimed author Milly Johnson comes her charming US debut--a witty, heartwarming tale that combines the humor and charm of 1980s rom-com Overboard with classic British flavor. Dive into this remarkable women's fiction novel and join heroine Polly on her hilarious, touching journey to rewrite her own story.

What if it was possible to start over again? To leave everything behind, forget all that went before, and live the life you'd always dreamed of?

Polly Potter is losing the plot of her life. At work, her jerk of a boss is making her days unbearable. At home, she's trapped in an unappreciated relationship with a man-child of a partner. She's left completely drained by always putting others first. Amid this chaos, Polly finds solace in one place: the pages of her novel, where she shapes the world of the fearless and triumphant Sabrina Anderson, a character who embodies everything Polly wishes she could be. And thus a plan is born: Polly Potter is going to stop writing the life she wants and start living it.

Just as she makes her move--quitting her job, leaving her partner, and embarking on a road trip to start over--fate turns everything upside down. A wild turn of events leaves her far from home along the Yorkshire coast, in the hospital, waking up from a concussion, believing her name is Sabrina Anderson. She doesn't know where she's come from, but she feels she could heal in that seaside town, with the fresh air, seagulls, and a few kind strangers who take her into their lives. And into the heart of their joyful, boisterous Italian family restaurant--run by Teddy, the warmhearted son of her new landlady. When the restaurant is threatened, she knows she has the skills to help--and as her memory slowly returns, she must choose between Sabrina's life or Polly's. With her identity in question, Polly wonders: what if this new life could truly be hers? What if she could rewrite her story with a happier ending?

Previously published in the UK as The Happiest Ever After.

The Autumn Springs Retirement Home Massacre by Philip Fracassi

Rose DuBois is not your average final girl.

Rose is in her late 70s, living out her golden years at the Autumn Springs Retirement Home.

When one of her friends dies alone in her apartment, Rose isn’t too concerned. Accidents happen, especially at this age!

Then another resident drops dead. And another. With bodies stacking up, Rose can’t help but wonder: are these accidents? Old age? Or something far more sinister?

Together with her best friend Miller, Rose begins to investigate. The further she digs, the more convinced she becomes: there’s a killer on the loose at Autumn Springs, and if she isn’t careful, Rose may be their next victim.

Dressing in the Dark by Kathleen Flenniken

Dressing in the Dark: Poems by Kathleen Flenniken (Lynx House Press; September 2025) The poems in Kathleen Flenniken's new collection move in and out of memory, imagination, and present time with a sure voice alive to meaning and the layered and complex unity that is a human life. Her speaker suffers the loss of a breast; the poems plot her recovery, calling forth her lost mother and her child self. The book begins in anxiety and fear but moves toward acceptance and healing. Only a few of the poems in Dressing in the Dark directly address the subject of breast cancer, but they form the backbone for the collection and other poems function as metaphors for fear and the struggle to accept loss and go on. They ask: is any given moment the pure experience of that moment, and what does it mean that the answer is no? These beautifully structured and voiced poems, with the generosity typical of all her work, answer: it means we are blessed. Flenniken has lived for many years in Seattle. Her poems have appeared in Poetry, The Iowa Review, Image, andPlume, and many other journals, and in anthologies including Cascadia Field Guide, and Poetry Unbound: 50 Poems to Open Your World. She is the author of three previous poetry collections: Famous, Plume, and Post Romantic.

Orphans of the Living by Kathy Watson

A debut historical fiction for fans of Kristin Hannah and John Steinbeck, Orphans of the Living follows the Stovall family’s early 20th-century quest for home and redemption as they confront racism, poverty, and inequality across the American South and West.

In the shadow of the Great Depression and Jim Crow south of the 1930s, the poor white Stovall family escapes—with the help of Black sharecroppers—from a vengeful Mississippi plantation overseer intent on lynching them. Arriving in California to start a new life, Barney and Lula Stovall are haunted by the past, the children they’ve left behind, and the daughter they cannot love or protect. Their California sojourn from their hardscrabble dairy farm, to the brig at the San Francisco Presidio, to the building of the Golden Gate Bridge lead them on paths toward forgiveness—of themselves and of each other.

The Heist of Hollow London by Eddie Robson

In games of betrayal everyone loses.

Arlo and Drienne are ‘mades’—clones of company executives, deemed important enough to be saved should their health fail. Mades work around the clock to pay off the debt incurred by their creation, though most are Reaped—killed and harvested for organs when their corporate counterparts are in medical need.

But when the impossible happens and the too-big-to-fail company that owns them collapses, Arlo and Drienne find themselves purchased by a scientist who has a job for them.

The reward: Debt paid off, freedom from servitude, and enough cash to last a lifetime.

The job: Infiltrate a highly secure corporate reclamation facility in the heart of dead London and steal a data drive.

They’re going to need a team.

The Sober Shift: An Empowering Exploration of Sobriety, Parenting, and the Joys of Alcohol-Free Living by Suzanne Warye

Live fully, abundantly, and free every day without alcohol with this inspiring guide from wellness writer Suzanne Warye, the creator behind the Sober Mom Life podcast and My Kind of Sweet.

Waking up with another hangover as the thirty-nine-year-old mother of a newborn, Suzanne Warye decided enough was enough. It was time to quit alcohol for good. In the years since, Suzanne has uncovered the myth of moderation and the limitations of the hitting rock bottom narrative. Today, she is a model for hundreds of thousands of people around the world who are embracing her brand of joyful sobriety.

Too many of us are taught not to question or examine our relationship with drinking until we’re addicted, or until we experience an intervention or another life-shattering consequence. We’re encouraged to enjoy this highly addictive substance “responsibly.” The Sober Shift is about finding true abundance—as a better partner and a more present parent, and as the architect of a life you love—without buying into the lies of “wine o’clock.”

Suzanne knows that many of us fear that, without the crutch of alcohol, we might not know how to relax, decompress, or spend quality time with our loved ones. She’s been there. And she’s here to tell you that a good life awaits when we walk away from the bottle.

Written with her trademark flair and engaging sense of humor, blending memoir with takeaways and cultural insights, and featuring delicious mocktail recipes to celebrate the seasons—including Virgin Rosemary Moscow Mule, Sparkling Thyme Cider, Cranberry Orange Fizz, Tart Cherry Spritz, and The Soberita—this affirming guide will help you find freedom from alcohol.

Your life is waiting on the other side.

My Daughter's Secret by Nicole Trope

My baby girl, I’ll never forget you – your smile, your laugh, the way your hair sparkles in the sun. I cannot comprehend this pain. I cannot breathe through it.

In the middle of the night, Claire is informed that her beloved daughter, Julia, who was away at college, is dead – and life, as she knows it, is over.

Searching for answers, Claire stumbles upon a pile of letters hidden under Julia’s bed in an old, battered shoebox, and feels closer to her daughter than ever before. They tell her that Julia was happy, that she was thriving at university, that she was in love.

But as the letters go on, Claire starts to feel uneasy about something hidden between the lines. Even as she grieves, she must prepare to face a shocking discovery. Because Julia was hiding a terrible secret—and when it’s uncovered, it might make Claire question everything she thought she knew about her daughter…

The Trouble with Fairy Tales by Plum Johnson

The long-awaited second memoir from Plum Johnson, bestselling author of They Left Us Everything.

The Trouble with Fairy Tales is a wise and insightful reflection on the relationships that sprawl across a lifetime. In it, Plum explores how we often sacrifice our independence and identity in our love lives, falling for the fairytale notion of “happily ever after”, and how it can take years, and many detours, to fulfil the most important relationship—the one with ourselves.

Ripe with the humorous anecdotes, charming insights, and aching revelations so characteristic of Plum’s style, the book is our window onto her reinvention of self as she moves through the various roles that many women inhabit: from compliant child to loving mother, rebel wife, artist and successful writer.

Plum’s writing urges her readers to turn inward to reach a deeper understanding of their own tangled relationships. Funny and resonant, The Trouble with Fairy Tales is the kind striking personal narrative that will stir and inspire women of all ages.

Burning Daylight by Emily McIntire

The first book in a new series from #1 New York Times bestselling author Emily McIntire.

Some loves are powerful enough to rewrite history.

Juliette Calloway lives in a world of luxury, legacies, and lies. The daughter of Rosebrook Falls' most powerful family, her life is a crafted performance, and she's tired of being polished to perfection.

Roman Montgomery doesn't exist. Not officially, anyway He's a shadow, a hidden weapon, the secret heir to an empire soaked in danger and a generations-old feud.

When their paths cross, sparks fly.

No names.

No pasts.

Just reckless smiles and a chemistry neither of them can shake.

Roman is charming. Mysterious. Infuriatingly flirty.

And Juliette? She's simply…his.

When Roman is called back to claim his place in the Montgomery empire, the truth crashes down: Their families are sworn enemies, and Roman's very existence is a threat. Their love isn't just forbidden, it's impossible.

Now, every kiss feels like a betrayal. Every stolen moment, a risk. And in a town built on secrets and blood, their passion might just be the most dangerous thing of all.

The Earl That Got Away by Diana Quincy

In the second installment of Diana Quincy’s steamy Victorian historical romance series, an Arab-American young woman is reunited with the lost love of her youth and forced to reckon with their past and undying tension. A Persuasion retelling and second-chance romance that delivers on all of the angst and yearning of the original—plus added heat!

American Naila Darwish always regretted calling off her engagement to the man she loved because he wasn’t successful enough for her family. Eight years later, she travels to England for her sister’s wedding and gets the shock of her life when she runs into Basil again. Overjoyed, she wonders if the fates have given her a second chance at love.

But Basil Trevelyn is not the same carefree young man Naila rejected all those years ago. Having unexpectedly inherited a noble title, he is now the Earl of Hawksworth, one of England’s most sought-after bachelors. Still bitter after Naila’s heart-wrenching rejection all those years ago, Hawk is cold and distant, suspecting Naila is after his money and position.

When the two lost lovers are repeatedly thrown together, they discover that the chemistry between them burns brighter than ever and that some feelings are too strong to deny. Will they allow pride and lingering resentment to keep them from seizing their last chance at happiness?

Just Keep Going by Lynn Smith, illustrated by Lauren Gallegos

When Mouse sets out on his adventure, he discovers that brave isn't something you are—it's something you do!

Mouse's day is full of big moments and bigger feelings. But with each step forward—jumping to shake off fear, accepting a friend's comforting hug, or simply pausing to breathe—he builds his courage toolkit. Because taking a brave journey doesn’t mean you have to be fearless. It means you know how to just keep going.

in her first book for children, former news anchor Lynn Smith, now a media consultant and host of the parenting podcast Strollercoaster, was inspired by her experience coaching Fortune 500 executives. She realized the fears that hold back CEOs aren't that different from what stops a child from raising their hand in class. That's why she wrote Just Keep Going—because resilience shouldn't be a C-suite secret.

All The Way Around the Sun by XiXi Tian

XiXi Tian's latest book is an evocative, achingly romantic road-trip story about grief, diasporic identities, and the deep-buried secrets that haunt us.

In “All the Way Around the Sun,” high schooler Stella Chen searches for closure following her older brother’s untimely death. Silently grieving and wondering how to navigate an uncertain future, fate reunites her with a childhood friend, Alan Zhao. As Stella and Alan embark on a California road-trip to tour college campuses, they dig up painful memories and heal old wounds as they grow closer to one another.

Forgotten by Raja Shehadeh and Penny Johnson

A profound meditation on memory and the preservation of Palestinian heritage, from the award-winning author of We Could Have Been Friends, My Father and I.

Forgotten uncovers the hidden or neglected memorials and places in historic Palestine—now Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories—and what they might tell us about the land and the people who live on the small slip of earth between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River.

From ancient city ruins to the Nabi ‘Ukkasha mosque and tomb, acclaimed writers and researchers Raja Shehadeh and Penny Johnson ask: what has been memorialized, and what lies unseen, abandoned, or erased—and why? Whether standing on a high cliff overlooking Lebanon or at the lowest land-based elevation on earth at the Dead Sea, they explore lost connections in a fragmented land.

In elegiac, elegant prose, Shehadeh and Johnson grapple not only with questions of Israeli resistance to acknowledging the Nakba—the 1948 catastrophe for Palestinians—but also with the complicated history of Palestinian commemoration today.

Hello Wife by Lisa K. Friedman

Author Interview with Lisa K. Friedman

Single, unfulfilled, and well into middle age, Charlotte Lansing desperately seeks love and acceptance. When she announces her engagement to an unemployed morphine addict, her family is thrown into turmoil. Her mother tries to prevent disaster, her father tries to bridge the divide, and her sister clings to the hope that their bond will protect Charlotte. But Charlotte, believing she's finally found happiness, resists their efforts. Ultimately, they can only watch as she disappears into her husband's addiction...

In this bittersweet, heart-piercing tale about one woman’s fierce determination to capture what she’s always wanted, despite the consequences, Lisa Friedman explores sisterly bonds, the strength of families, and the devastating impact of opioid abuse in modern America. Poignant, and at times darkly humorous, Friedman reveals the moments of grace and care that can emerge in all of our darkest days.

The Mad Wife by Meagan Church

From bestselling author Meagan Church comes a haunting exploration of identity, motherhood, and the suffocating grip of societal expectations that will leave you questioning the lives we build—and the lies we live.

They called it hysteria. She called it survival.

Lulu Mayfield has spent the last five years molding herself into the perfect 1950s housewife. Despite the tragic memories that haunt her and the weight of exhausting expectations, she keeps her husband happy, her household running, and her gelatin salads the talk of the neighborhood. But after she gives birth to her second child, Lulu’s carefully crafted life begins to unravel.

When a new neighbor, Bitsy, moves in, Lulu suspects that something darker lurks behind the woman’s constant smile. As her fixation on Bitsy deepens, Lulu is drawn into a web of unsettling truths that threaten to expose the cracks in her own life. The more she uncovers about Bitsy, the more she questions everything she thought she knew—and soon, others begin questioning her sanity. But is Lulu truly losing her mind? Or is she on the verge of discovering a reality too terrifying to accept?

In the vein of The Bell Jar and The Hours, The Mad Wife weaves domestic drama with psychological suspense, so poignant and immersive, you won’t want to put it down.

Local Honey by Shawn P McCarthy

Jim Yarrow, a wounded World War II vet, sees his luck change when he finds work as a police officer. He now thrives in his beloved hometown on the Merrimack River. Content with his job, his long-term friendships, and his wife and kids, he never expected the girl he loved in high school to reappear in his life.

Becky Bivens fled Riverbend, Massachusetts, in 1941, after her mother's crimes were exposed. She's lived a hardscrabble life ever since, and those struggles now help her understand her mother's troubling choices.

In 1951, Becky returns, intent on building a simple produce stand on the land where she once lived. She intends to raise bees, sell honey, and restore her shattered life, while also helping other displaced women.

Riverbend, like many small towns, is entering a period of great economic expansion, while still recovering from a war that wreaked death and havoc on soldiers and families. However, the town's growth comes with strict social rules and crippling class divisions. The war widows and homeless people who find refuge at Becky's farm become social outcasts who face unsettling choices. Becky turns a blind eye to the "services" some of them offer as they squat on her property.

Local Honey is a story of America's haves vs have-nots. It's part love triangle, part class struggle, and part dreamy window into the lost New England of the 1950s. The backdrop includes seashore towns, rural farms, the gritty slums of Boston, and brief flashbacks of battlefields. In a community that should be basking in the "winner's aftermath" of a terrible war, all should be good for everyone. But it isn't.

Cluedle: The Case of Rudolph’s Revenge (Book 4) by Hartigan Browne

A perfect gift or stocking filler for mystery fans, Cluedle: The Case of Rudolph’s Revenge is a fantastically festive, interactive puzzle adventure story for code-cracking families and skillful young super sleuths.

Set in a remote mansion called Mistlehurst Hall, the reader—under the watchful eye of world-famous Private Investigator Hartigan Browne—must tackle 80 clever Christmas puzzles, each of which holds a clue to solving the larger mystery of where Sir Rudolph Hollygrove-Winterton hid the family ruby. Who poisoned Ruth Toppler? What does the mystery key unlock? Can anyone escape the curse? Packed full of codes to crack, evidence to evaluate, clues to unravel, and maps to navigate, Cluedle: The Case of Rudolph’s Revenge is chockful of puzzling fun!

The Snake Handler's Wife by Sue Hinkin

When Lucy’s war correspondent significant other, Michael Burleson, accepts an assignment in Iraq, Lucy is left alone with their four-year-old son Henry on her isolated Malibu Ranch. Then Michael’s daughter, a sweet but unstable, recovering addict, shows up seeking to form relationships with her baby half-brother and Lucy. Despite Michael’s warnings, Lucy hires the girl to help care for Henry.

Ominous mishaps begin to plague the ranch—Lucy’s beloved horse is bitten by a non-native rattlesnake, the animal enclosures are vandalized, and a loaded gun is found next to Henry’s swing set. When the daughter announces she has married a charismatic, snake-handing preacher who is always around to offer help on the ranch, Lucy and Bea begin to sense that the young woman has fallen under the spell of this sexy, sociopathic, cult leader who will do anything to get Lucy’s ranch and her son. It will take all of Lucy’s and Bea’s formidable wits to stay one step ahead. Sometimes, the darkest mysteries are the ones closest to home.

Call of the Camino by Suzanne Redfearn

Author Interview with Suzanne Redfearn

Reina Watkins lost her father when she was eight. Seventeen years later, she still carries that grief. When her budding journalism career takes an unexpected turn, it leads her to the ancient five-hundred-mile Camino de Santiago in Spain. Now she finds herself embarking on the same pilgrimage that her father made at her age, unaware of how profoundly it will change her.

Back in 1997, Isabelle Vidal is a teenager on the run. Fleeing from her boarding school, she heads straight for the Way of Saint James. She’s heard the Camino will provide. And so it does, in the form of a handsome young American and the promise of a new life. But it could all fall apart if her troubles catch up with her. One woman is coming to grips with her past; the other is grasping for her future. But as each treads the same hallowed trail, it will tie their destinies together in a most miraculous way.

The Tree by René Gionta

The Tree is a story of hope, friendship, and determination. In a world of talking animals, something is wrong with their beloved tree. Drought has come to the wood. How will the animals save their tree and their home?

If you listen closely, you might hear the tree speak to you too.

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