The Best New Books of September
For the new month, we’re switching things up a bit. With this first roundup of new releases for September, I’ve compiled a souped-up list that looks into the future a bit. These are the books I and other Book Riot writers think are the best of the month. I’ve divided them up by genre and included a snippet about the book by each writer.
But while the featured list below looks at the month as a whole, there are still, of course, the books out today. On my list are the cozy, Japan-set We’ll Prescribe You a Cat by Syou Ishida, translated by E. Madison Shimoda, queer suburban horror We Came to Welcome You by Vincent Tirado, and queer YA thriller Compound Fracture by Andrew Joseph White.
Below, the best new releases of September include everything from romantasy to horror to memoir. Follow one of Dracula’s first victims as she searches for happiness; get lost in the magic halls of dark academia; and watch as a Black Texas Ranger investigates a missing persons case.
I have to say: September is full of bangers.
Romantasy
Lucy Undying by Kiersten White
Lately, we’ve gotten plenty of great, feminist retellings of iconic women in literature and mythology, but Kiersten White’s (Hide, Mister Magic) Lucy Undying breathes fresh life into the tale of Lucy Westenra, Dracula’s first English victim. Since she was first bitten, she’s been trying to escape Dracula, but it’s in the 21st century that she finally meets a woman similarly trying to escape. Iris is charming, but her family—with their ill-begotten health empire—won’t let her out of their clutches. And Dracula, meanwhile, is back on his BS. Still, Lucy’s and Iris’ connection feels real and intense, and it might be a real chance at happiness.
And side, note, but the cover is amazing. I just got a copy and I noticed the wolves in Lucy’s hair. Ugh.
Contemporary
Blue Sisters by Coco Mellors
This is already doing numbers in the UK. It follows the Blue sisters, who are all so different—and who are all also messes in their own way. There’s Avery, the attorney who now lives in London with her wife after battling a heroin addiction; Bonnie, the former boxer, who works as an LA bouncer; and Lucky, who parties hard as a model in Paris. There was a fourth sister, Nicky, who was the one thing holding them all together—but it’s been a year since she passed away suddenly. Now, they’re coming back together for the first time in a while to stop the sale of the New York City apartment they were raised in, even as the grief, addiction, and disappointment they’re dealing with still loom large over them.
Mystery and Thriller
Guide Me Home (Highway 59 #3) by Attica Locke
“For fans of procedurals, social thrillers, family drama, and completed trilogies!
Texas Ranger Darren Mathews would like to live a peaceful, retired life on his farm, hopefully with his girlfriend. But life has a funny way of coming for your plans: the past he can’t shake is looming over his head in the form of a potential indictment and the mother he hates drops a case in his lap. She cleans a sorority house and the only Black girl has disappeared. The other sorority girls swear she just moved out, but her belongings are out by the trash. Mathews doesn’t want to get roped into this, he’s not even technically allowed to investigate it, and he certainly doesn’t want anything to do with his mom. Yet here he is, once again, poking into a case—which is the equivalent of poking a beehive that starts to upend the peace he was aiming for.
You can start here and not be lost, but this is one of the best crime trilogies, so if you want all the goodness (and twists), start with Bluebird, Bluebird and have Heaven, My Home on standby!” — Jamie Canavés
Romance
Adam & Evie’s Matchmaking Tour by Nora Nguyen
“Once again, if a character has to do something wild to fulfill the stipulations of a will, I will be reading the book. To inherit her auntie’s San Francisco house (you know how much Bay Area real estate is worth?), Evie must go on a matchmaking tour of Việt Nam. There she meets Adam, who only agreed to the tour because his sister runs it. This book follows two stubborn people falling in love, which is just the best.” — Isabelle Popp
Horror
Such Lovely Skin by Tatiana Schlote-Bonne
“This title? This cover? I’m obsessed. Viv has had a difficult summer after causing an accident that killed her little sister. But now Viv finally returns to Twitch, hoping she can make enough money off of streaming to offer her parents penance for what she has done. Then something strange happens. While playing a horror game, an NPC asks Viv for a secret, and she finally tells the truth about what happened to her sister. Little does Viv know that by doing so she has welcomed a demonic mimic into her life.” — Emily Martin
Science Fiction and Fantasy
An Academy for Liars by Alexis Henderson
“Raise your hand if you love reading dark academia novels! Lennon is invited to take the entrance exam for Drayton College, which is strange, because she’s never heard of it. That’s because it’s a secret hidden school in Savannah, where students like Lennon are taught to control their gifts. The students at Drayton all have the gift of persuasion, which can be devastating if not controlled properly. As Lennon’s school year progresses, she discovers the school has a dark past, and deciding what to do with its secrets might be the hardest test of all.” — Liberty Hardy
Graphic Novel/Manga
A Smart and Courageous Child by Miki Yamamoto
“This harrowing manga has been out for a little while in Japan, and this is its English debut that you don’t want to miss. Sara and Kouta have high hopes for their unborn child, like all parents. When Sara learns of the failed assassination of Malala Yousafzai, she begins to spiral. If such a bright, young woman could be so threatened, what hope does her child have? As Sara’s worries mount, it threatens her relationship with Kouta and everyone. How can they find their way back?” — Chris M. Arnone
Nonfiction
We Will Be Jaguars: A Memoir of My People by Nemonte Nenquimo and Mitch Anderson
“Originally from a remote village in the Amazon rainforest, as a teenager, Nemonte Nenquimo decides to go to the city to study with a missionary group. But after her ancestors appear in her dream, warning her of the devastation to come, Nemonte Nenquimo returns to her people. There she helps organize against big oil and protect the place that she calls home.” — Kendra Winchester
Young Adult
Immortal Dark by Tigest Girma
I am geeked about this YA Black-led, dark academia vampire romantasy with Ethiopian influences (yes, girl). It’s been compared to Leigh Bardugo’s Ninth House, which is a particular brand of dark fantasy I vibe with. In it, lost heiress Kidan Adane infiltrates Uxlay University, where students dedicate themselves to studying to preserve peace between humans and vampires. But Kidan is there because her family was killed and her sister kidnapped, with all signs pointing to Susenyos Sagad, the vampire bound to her family, being the culprit. But Susenyos—and giving into her own darkness—is alluring, and after a murder happens that echoes her sister’s disappearance, Kidan finds herself dangerously deeper into the vampire underworld.
Children’s
Leo’s First Vote! by Christina Soontornvat & Isabel Roxas
“This is one of my favorite picture books about voting. A child’s dad has just become a U.S. citizen and can vote for the first time. In the child’s class, they will also be holding a mock presidential election. Both the child and the dad prepare for their first election by listening to debates, reading, and hearing others speak about the candidates. When a cousin claims that votes don’t really matter, the child worries that he might have a point. But when it comes time to vote in the classroom mock election, it turns out that every vote really does count. Back matter includes more details about who can vote, when and where you vote, how presidents get elected, and why voting matters.” — Margaret Kingsbury
Other Book Riot New Releases Resources:
- All the Books, our weekly new book releases podcast, where Liberty and a cast of co-hosts talk about eight books out that week that we’ve read and loved.
- The New Books Newsletter, where we send you an email of the books out this week that are getting buzz.
- Finally, if you want the real inside scoop on new releases, you have to check out Book Riot’s New Release Index! That’s where I find 90% of new releases, and you can filter by trending books, Rioters’ picks, and even LGBTQ new releases!
