Sep 23

Sep 23 Books Publishing This Week

The morning in late September greets you with air that feels crisp but kind, the sort that makes you draw in a deep breath just to savor the freshness. The sky is a pale, washed-out blue, clear enough that the sunlight filters through the trees in bright, angled beams. Leaves overhead are beginning to change—some still green, others already brushed with gold, russet, and amber. They rustle lightly in the breeze, a whisper that reminds you autumn is arriving.

You find your place on a park bench, worn smooth from years of use, nestled under a canopy of trees. The ground is scattered with leaves, some newly fallen, crunching softly beneath your shoes as you settle in. You set a small tote at your side, pulling from it a book you’ve been saving for just such a morning, and a shiny apple picked fresh from an orchard visit earlier in the week. The apple’s skin gleams red and crisp in the sunlight, cool in your hand.

You take a bite first—the snap of the peel, the burst of juice, tart and sweet all at once. It feels like the very essence of the season, autumn distilled into a single taste. You chew slowly, watching the way the light dances on the pond nearby, the ripples sending flashes across the water. Then, you turn to your book, brushing the cover with your thumb before cracking it open to the first page.

The words meet you gently, unfolding at a pace that feels right for the season. There’s no rush here. The story stretches before you like the path curving through the park, full of turns and small discoveries. You read, sinking into the rhythm of the sentences, while the world around you continues its own slow pace. The chatter of sparrows fills the branches, a jogger’s footsteps tap lightly on the path, and in the distance, a child’s laughter rings out as leaves are tossed into the air.

You pause to take another bite of apple, its juices catching the corner of your mouth. You wipe it away with the back of your hand, smiling, before returning to the page. The balance between the crisp bite of fruit and the smooth flow of words feels almost ceremonial, a ritual made for this time of year.

The sunlight warms your shoulders, but the breeze keeps you cool, lifting the edges of the book in your hands. A single leaf tumbles down, landing near your foot, its edges curling as though it has secrets it wants to share. You glance at it for a moment before looking back at the story, struck by how perfectly the two—real life and fiction—intertwine.

As you read on, the world in the book becomes more vivid. Characters take on voices in your mind, settings unfurl in color and detail, and before long, the park around you feels like just another chapter of the story. You lose track of time, the apple now only a core on the bench beside you, your fingers lightly smudged with juice.

Eventually, you look up and realize the light has shifted. The sun sits lower, shadows stretch longer, and the air carries a sharper edge now, as if reminding you the day won’t last forever. You slip a bookmark between the pages, close the book gently, and rest it in your lap.

The bench, the apple, the book, and the wild chorus of late September sounds—all of it folds into memory, a snapshot of a morning when the world felt calm, generous, and utterly yours.

Buy Books on Bookshop.org to Support Local Bookstores

Buy Books on Amazon

Books Publishing September 21 - 27, 2025

Slashed Beauties by A. Rushby

A gothic feminist body horror in two timelines revolving around three Anatomical Venuses—ultrarealistic wax figures of women—that come to life at night to murder men who have wronged them.

Seoul, present day. Antiques dealer Alys’s task is nearly complete. She has at last secured Elizabeth, the final anatomical Venus in a dangerously intertwined trio. Crafted in eighteenth-century London and modeled after real-life sex workers to entice male medical students to study female anatomy, these eerie wax figures, known as slashed beauties, carry unsavory lore. Legend has it that the figures are bewitched, and come to life at night to murder men who have wronged them. Now Alys embarks for England, where she knows what she must do: sever her cursed connection to the Venuses once and for all.

London, 1763. Abandoned and penniless in Covent Garden, wide-eyed Eleanor and another young woman, Emily, are taken under the wing of beautiful and beguiling Elizabeth, one of the city’s most highly desired courtesans. But as Eleanor is seduced deeper into a web of money, materialism, and men, it seems that Elizabeth may not be the savior she appears to be.

As past and present begin to intersect, it becomes clear that the women’s stories are linked in deeper, darker ways than it initially seems. And that the only method for Alys to end the witchcraft that binds her legacy is to gather all three models in one place and destroy them.

The problem is, Elizabeth is not ready to burn. Far from it. Centuries on, she is determined to rise again, and she will obliterate anything standing in her path. Including Alys herself.

From Language to Language by Souleymane Bachir Diagne

In this engaging humanist text, a renowned Senegalese philosopher explores the power of translation to bridge cultural divides.

Informed by his own multicultural background—African, French, and American—Souleymane Bachir Diagne interrogates the practice of translation in this thoughtful text. Although translation often produces a relationship of profound inequality between dominant and dominated languages, it can also be a source of dialogue and exchange, including in situations of asymmetry, particularly regarding colonialism, where the interpreter becomes a true cultural mediator.

To praise translation, “the language of languages,” is to celebrate its plurality and equality, because to translate is to give hospitality in one language to what has been thought in another. It is to create reciprocity, a shared sense of humanity, and to imagine a positive version of the Tower of Babel.

Ice Moon by Camila Victoire

Return to the untamed wilderness where survival demands sacrifice in the gripping sequel to the dark, seductive world of Blood Circus.

Ava may have survived the deadly Blood Race at Circo, but on human soil, she is a fugitive, hiding her true identity for fear of being hunted. If she can’t complete the Klujn Blood Race—the real one, in the wild—before the Ice Moon rises, she faces permanent exile.

On the run, she learns that Grouse, the ruthless autocrat, holds her adoptive mother captive. Ava’s only chance at true freedom and to save those she loves is to bring Grouse the heart of Warwick, Circo’s king—the same mad king who enslaved her and who has terrorized humanity for decades.

Aided only by the intimidating but ailing Diablo, Ava embarks on an epic journey into the frozen wilds, where danger lies around every corner—and in her own mind. For survival is only the beginning. Ava must also impress the gods, because they are everywhere, and they are watching.

Dazzling and grotesque, horrifying and hopeful, Ice Moon pulls readers deeper into a world of primal rituals, sentient plants, earth magic, and savage beauty. Ava’s fight for home, belonging, and love becomes a powerful journey of healing—one that shows us we cannot heal the earth until we first heal ourselves.

A Spell for Midwinter's Heart by Morgan Lockhart

In this holiday romance with an enchanting twist, a magic-averse witch returns home to save her small town’s beloved winter festival in time for the holidays with the help of her estranged coven and distractingly handsome childhood rival.

Rowan Midwinter has sworn off magic after a spell gone wrong back in high school, so she’s not exactly thrilled when she’s guilted into returning to her quaint mountain hometown for the holiday season. But it’s already Yule and much-needed snow still hasn't fallen, so Rowan reckons she can put up with her former coven and unwanted memories if it means saving the town’s beloved winter festival from the megacorporation threatening to buy it out.

But Rowan’s plans to save the beloved tradition and make it through the holiday magic-free go awry when Gavin McCreery, prodigal son of the festival’s landlord, insists on helping, and their unwanted chemistry keeps setting off holiday lights…literally.

As the quest to keep the festival alive grows increasingly complicated, Rowan realizes she must reconnect with what she tried to leave behind to let go of the fear of her power and let her heart lead the way.

Last One Seen by Rebecca Kanner

There are three people I suspect of killing her, and I’m one of them.

A woman fights her own mind and memory to understand how she got here: the passenger seat of a car speeding away from a murder scene. In this riveting, dual-timeline psychological thriller, perfect for fans of Riley Sager, nothing is as it seems.

Hannah arrived at Washington University in St. Louis brimming with hope. She was determined to take her mood stabilizer, stay out of trouble, and make a name for herself while completing her creative writing MFA. When she meets Justine, an enigmatic, wealthy, charismatic, and successful student in her program, she’s enchanted. And as Justine takes a special interest in her, Hannah falls completely under her spell.

When Hannah’s life starts spiraling out of control, she isn’t sure who to blame–Justine, for her intense and controlling influence, their jealous classmate Amelia, or herself. As her prescription fails her, she strays further and further from the straight and narrow.

Hannah can’t help but reflect on her time in grad school, especially when she knows Justine is lying dead somewhere back down the road Justine’s ex Eli is driving them away on. She knows Justine is gone. She knows someone killed Justine. And she knows it might’ve been her.

The Lost Hours by Lynn Tavernier

When an embattled detective investigates the suspicious death of a wealthy young socialite, she unearths long-buried family secrets in this tense thriller for fans of Lisa Gardner.

Detective Andrea Stuart thought her weeklong escape to the quiet shores of Jamestown would be a time to rest, to reconnect, to forget. But a blocked call in the early hours of the morning pulls her back into a world she’s been trying to leave behind—and into a case no one wants her to solve.

Hope Philbrick—young, beautiful, and heir to one of Rhode Island’s most powerful families—has fallen to her death from a seaside cliff after her lavish pre-wedding celebration. Everyone says it was an accident. Her fiancé is grieving. The family wants silence. And Andrea has been told, in no uncertain terms, to keep her head down and follow orders.

But something about the scene doesn't sit right. Not the missing witnesses. Not the body’s position. Not the lies—because Andrea can smell them. The deeper she digs, the more the glittering façade of privilege cracks, revealing a dark web of pressure, secrets, and betrayal that threatens to destroy more than just reputations.

To uncover the truth, Andrea must risk her career—and confront a haunting past she’s never truly escaped.

Gripping, atmospheric, and richly written, The Lost Hours is a spellbinding mystery about power, trauma, and the cost of doing the right thing.

Parents Have Feelings, Too by Hilary Jacobs Hendel and Juli Fraga

This practical guide teaches parents how to understand and process their emotions–and how to teach this valuable, life-changing skill of emotional intelligence to the next generation.

Parents are stressed. It’s not uncommon for modern-day pressures and expectations to compromise a parent’s emotional well-being, causing them to lose control of their emotions and lash out.

But when parents let their anger and frustration lead to outbursts, the fallout can have lasting effects on their children, leaving them anxious, insecure, and hurt by the words and actions of their overwhelmed caregivers.

Parents desperately need real, actionable, long-lasting advice that helps them process their emotions in a healthy and productive way. In Parents Have Feelings, Too, psychotherapists Hilary Jacobs Hendel and Juli Fraga provide the tools parents need to understand and effectively work with their own potent feelings, breaking the chain of intergenerational trauma, and passing along emotional intelligence to their children to create a generation of people with emotional regulation skills.

Parents Have Feelings, Too includes the following:
Practical strategies to help parents process their feelings
Stories and examples
Tools that build confidence and emotional know-how in their children
New approaches that break the intergenerational transfer of trauma so parents can raise emotionally healthier people who can thrive amidst the many challenges of being human in society today
Expert insights and insight-building exercises that support parents on their emotional journey

Parents have feelings. And when they can identify what they are, where they are coming from, and how to work with them, parents are empowered to help their children understand and navigate their own emotions.

Merry by Susan Breen

A mother’s valiant efforts to bring her family the joy of Christmas go haywire when she finds herself haunted by the angry ghost of Charles Dickens.

This sparkling, cozy novel is perfect for readers of Emma Straub’s This Time Tomorrow and anyone who looks forward to watching It’s a Wonderful Life each December!

Merry Bingham used to love Christmas—until she started worrying all the time about family, money, and death. The only thing that continues to bring her joy is reading from her heirloom edition of A Christmas Carol, autographed by Charles Dickens himself and passed down through five generations of her family. Now, as she waits for the results of the medical tests that will tell her whether this Christmas season will be her last, Merry prepares to give her book to the next generation. Except none of her three children wants it.

Merry refuses to surrender Christmas or Dickens without a fight, so she sells the book and uses the money to take her family to London. She will fill them with Christmas joy even if she has to cram it down their throats.

But the harder Merry pushes, the worse everything gets. Her children erupt into vicious arguments, her gentle husband stops talking to her, her deluxe rental apartment is not what was promised. Oh, and she keeps seeing the ghost of Charles Dickens around town—and he is not happy with her.

Fans of family stories, classic literature, Christmas novels, and holiday season magic will adore Merry.

A Welcome Home by Alexandra Kaehler

Interior designer Alexandra Kaehler shares her secrets for creating beautiful, livable, and sophisticated family homes.

Alexandra Kaehler is renowned for her deft hand with color, pattern, fabrics, and finishes; her clever decorating solutions; and the undeniably pretty spaces she creates for her clients. To Kaehler, function is as important as form, and designing homes that are authentic to the day-to-day lives of the families that live in them is an indispensable part of her work. Spanning eight projects, six of which have never before been published, this lavish volume sees Kaehler walk readers through her creative process with indispensable detail, engaging narratives, and stunning photography.

The Healing Hippo of Hinode Park by Michiko Aoyama

Nestled at the bottom of a five-story apartment block in the community of Advance Hill is the children's playground in Sunrise Park, where you will find a very special, age-old hippo ride named Kabahiko. According to urban legend, if you touch the exact part of the hippo where you find yourself have an ailment or wound, you will see swift signs of recovery. They call it "Healing Hippo."

In The Healing Hippo of Hinode Park, the apartment residents each find their way to Kabahiko, confessing their troubles and drawing upon the hippo's rumored abilities. From a struggling student who pets the hippo's head to reverse his poor academic performance, to the lonely new mother who hopes that touching the hippo's mouth will allow her to better express herself, this heartwarming, eclectic cast of characters will all come to Kabahiko for healing in their lives -- though they may not always find it in the ways they expect.

With Aoyama's classic charm and emotional power, The Healing Hippo of Hinode Park is a deeply moving celebration of kindness, community, and understanding.

Observer by Robert Lanza and Nancy Kress

Observer, by Robert Lanza and Nancy Kress is a slick, modern, hard science fiction standalone medical thriller, combining classic Robin Cook with the hard edge of Black Mirror and Altered Carbon.

After neurosurgeon Caro Soames-Watkins’s career has gone down in flames, she receives a strange job offer from Nobel Prize-winning scientist Sam Watkins, a great uncle she barely knows, and desperation overcomes any suspicions.

Watkins’s mysterious medical facility conducts research into the nature of consciousness, reality, and life after death. Two obstacles stand in his way: an intel leak and his failing body may not last long enough for the tech to be ready.

As danger mounts, Caro finds more than she bargained for: murder, love, and a deep disturbing look into the nature of reality.

Watch Us Crack by Gabrielle Lepore

Sadie Morelli and Cason Tano were friends in middle school, back before Cason’s mom died and Sadie transferred to a new school. When they meet again as high school juniors at the local ice rink where Sadie waitresses and Cason’s hockey team plays, what was once friendship blooms into something more. Given the intensity of the rivalry between their schools, their budding romance is a secret for them alone.

But then someone turns up dead at the local train station. Sadie and Cason were both at the station the night of the murder, and both have a reason to want to hurt the victim. With accusations flying and secrets being held close to the chest, Sadie and Cason must decide the lengths they’re willing to go to to clear their own names—and to protect each other.

A Killer Wedding by Joan O'Leary

Wildly witty and wickedly fun, A Killer Wedding is a juicy debut whodunit about toxic family dynamics hidden beneath the surface of billionaire-level wealth that reads like The Devil Wears Prada protagonist played a game of Clue at a White Lotus Hotel.

Exquisite Things by Abdi Nazemian

Author Interview with Abdi Nazemian

From Stonewall Award–winning author Abdi Nazemian (Only This Beautiful Moment) comes the epic queer love story of a lifetime. Perfect for fans of The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue and The Picture of Dorian Gray.

Shahriar believes he was born in the wrong time. All he’s ever wanted is to love and be loved, but 1895 London doesn’t offer him the freedom to be his true self, and Oscar Wilde’s trial for gross indecency has only reaffirmed that. But one night—and one writer—will grant Shahriar what he’s always wished for: the opportunity to live in a time and place where he can love freely. Rechristened as Shams and then as Bram, he finds what feels like eternal happiness. But can anything truly be eternal?

Oliver doesn’t feel that 1920s Boston gives him a lot of options to be his full self. He knows he could only ever love another boy, but that would break his beloved mother’s heart. Oliver finds freedom and acceptance in the secret queer community at Harvard that his cousin introduces him to. When he meets a mysterious boy with eyes as warm as a flame, his life is irrevocably changed, forever.

Spanning one hundred and thirty years of love and longing, this tale of immortal beloveds searching for their perfect place and time is a vibrant hymn to the beauty of being alive, a celebration of queer love and community, and a reminder that behind every tragic thing that ever existed, there is something exquisite.

How To Break My Heart by Kat T. Masen

A cozy and steamy enemies-to-lovers romance following a small-town café owner and her best friend’s billionaire brother as they’re forced to work together to plan a wedding.

Eva Woods is perfectly content with her quiet life in the picturesque town of Cinnamon Springs, where she owns a café infamous for its mouthwatering donuts. There’s even a cute new doctor in town that has caught the eyes of everyone, Eva included. But when her best friend, Maddy, asks Eva to join forces with her brother for the sake of her upcoming wedding, Eva’s quaint life is upended. Cold and rigid, Aston is the man who broke Eva’s heart back in high school. He’s also one of the country’s hottest billionaires.

With both Aston and Eva trying to outdo each other and stake claim as Maddy’s right hand man, the competition heats up. But as their annoyance grows, so does their attraction, and when they share a kiss, everything changes. Suddenly, Eva isn’t so sure about where she stands with Aston. And with Maddy’s wedding fast approaching, their time together is dwindling until Aston returns to his life in New York.

Will Eva survive this wedding with her heart intact? Or is she setting herself up for heartbreak…again?

Body of Water by Adam Godfrey

For fans of Stephen King's The Mist and the HBO hit show The Last of Us comes a wildly inventive, sinister thriller following an estranged father and daughter who find themselves trapped in a diner by a living body of water.

Don't let the water drag you down…

It's been six years since Glen Masters lost his wife in a tragic accident. In hopes of reconnecting with his grieving teenage daughter, Lauren, he decides to take her on a road trip through the Appalachian mountains, where he has fond memories of their past as a family. But what was supposed to be a quick diner pit stop suddenly transforms into a nightmare when armed men stumble in, ranting about a mysterious and deadly "living water" that attacked several people up the road. The story the men spin seems to be the rantings of drunken lunatics, but soon Glen, his daughter, and the other diners find themselves hostages to both the gunmen and the inexplicably terrifying entity.

Because there's truly something wrong with the water, and it has no mercy.

Panic grows as the diners play witness to a nature-defying being that seeks only to swallow everything in its path. With help nowhere in sight, the group of strangers must work together to devise an escape, and ultimately, Glen will have to face his worst fears to reconcile with the past or risk losing everything.

A chilling story from a brand-new voice in fiction, Body of Water explores the complicated nature of grief, terror, and the ghosts we must confront to survive.

The Heart of It's a Wonderful Life by Jimmy Hawkins

In this special book, Jimmy Hawkins helps us focus on the true meaning behind the classic holiday movie. It’s not just the message or its many famous lines but rather the motivation behind the creation of the film and director Frank Capra’s unrelenting vision for what it should be.

As a boy, Jimmy played George Bailey’s youngest son, Tommy. And he has spent the eight decades since living out the heart of the story and becoming arguably the world’s foremost expert on the movie. Filled with unpublished facts that the author has collected about the cast and crew, this book gives a clearer understanding of what they all brought to the scripted pages.

Through excerpts from the screenplay, never-before-seen photos, and a lifetime of friendship with both Frank Capra and the stars of the movie, Hawkins guides us to discover why this story still touches the spirit decades after its release. Because It’s a Wonderful Life is not just George Bailey’s or Frank Capra’s story—it’s the story of all of us, and of many generations to come.

The Primal of Blood and Bone by Jennifer L. Armentrout

In the shadows and flames, Primals will fall…

And from the blood and ash, new gods will rise.

What was dreamt.

Poppy was never meant to awaken, and the consequences are devastating and far-reaching, stirring ancient powers from their slumber and transforming Casteel and Kieran in ways even the Fates couldn’t have foreseen. But what that means is the least of their concerns. For now.

What was foreseen.

The Blood Crown has fallen, but what has risen is a far greater danger than they’ve ever faced. From flesh and fire, the Great Conspirator has returned to the mortal realm, and he wants only one thing. They must stop the true Primal of Death before he regains his strength, and it won’t be easy. Even weakened, his influence is undeniable. His power, unthinkable.

Has come to be.

While the future of the realms rests upon them, they won’t stand alone. The gods have awakened—each harboring their own blood-soaked secrets. But they must navigate an unbalanced realm, where every choice—past and present—has the potential to not only undo everything they’ve fought for but also destroy the very bonds that have Joined them together.

For the Harbinger and the Bringer of Death and Destruction has risen.

The Emperor's Twin by Honey Watson

A Dark Space Opera Unfolds in the Shadow of a Crumbling Multi-species Empire, Driven by a Nihilistic Quest for Power

The central palace of Crysth is overrun; the empire has surrendered to an invading army led by Wilhelmina Ming, a traitor from its own capital city. However, the invaders can no longer control their divine power source--a being they worship as god--and now both invader and the invaded are trapped inside the palace with no way to rein in the eldritch force that has taken over, and no choice but to join together against it.

Ming's last hope is Speaker, the slain emperor's twin and former imperial steward who is somehow bonded with the deity. A wannabe artist and writer, Speaker has been held hostage by the invaders for months, forced to recount the final days of the empire in the hopes that something in these details might give a clue as to the god's desires and motives.

The Emperor's Twin is a haunting exploration of power, identity, and the terrifying intersections between the human body and the divine—the grotesque and the sublime—that questions the nature of control, survival, and the price of unrelenting ambition.

Did You Have the Life You Wanted? by Andrea Simon

Author Interview with Andrea Simon

In 1968 after Anita Rappaport graduates from college and leaves her family home in Brooklyn, she moves to Greenwich Village with a friend. Against the turbulent backdrop of racially charged school strikes, the Stonewall Inn and Attica uprisings, and the nascent feminist movement, Anita grapples with gang violence, job restrictions, gender stereotypes, as well as the corrosive nature of familial secrets and regrets. Through the years, Anita marries, has children, becomes an entrepreneur, faces severe health issues, and takes on new educational and career challenges. As an older woman, she asks herself and her friends the profound title question: “Did you have the life you wanted?” with often surprising and heartbreaking responses.

Spanning the generations over a fifty-year period, Did You Have the Life You Wanted? is a relatable and provocative novel, rich in period detail and multifaceted, believable characters, always valuing the restorative and life-affirming power of female friendship.

Doing the Work of Equity Leadership for Justice and Systems Change by Decoteau J. Irby and Ann M. Ishimaru

This book reveals the complex and crucial work of sustaining justice-focused educational systems change in the face of subtle resistance and outright attacks.

Scholars and practitioners, who have worked together in various capacities across different school systems, examine systemic equity leadership in U.S. public schools over the course of nearly a decade and across a time of profound racial and historical change.

This volume weaves together real-world insights, research-based strategies, and practical tools for transforming P–12 education systems into more equitable and just learning spaces. Contributors explore the early days of district equity leadership sparked by the Obama administration's focus on civil rights in education; Black Lives Matter (beginning with the Million Hoodies Movement for Justice); the proliferation of formal equity director roles, policies, and priorities; and the recent politically driven anti-DEI backlash.

This book is important reading for school leaders, district personnel, policymakers, and everyone who cares about a public education that works for all students.

Book Features:

- Provides bird’s-eye and on-the-ground accounts of equity leadership to address broad questions and map invisible trends that have influenced how equity leadership happens.
- Explores approaches to district-wide equity leadership that emerged on the heels of Trayvon Martin’s death, in what we now understand as the era of Black Lives Matter.
- Uses a frame of mornings, middays, and evenings to account for the cyclical nature of equity leadership and the limits and possibilities of working from within school systems to affect transformative change.
- Goes beyond the experience of any one school leader or team by illuminating organizational conditions, routines, networks, and practices.
- Includes insights on establishing district equity offices and institutionalizing equitable processes; using data to influence change and create accountability; and designing formal and informal networks that support the day-to-day work.

This post contains affiliate links, which means I receive compensation if you make a purchase using this link. Thank you for supporting this blog and the books I recommend! I may have received a book for free in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

Hi.