Well, I thought I wasn’t going to compile a list of my anticipated September 2026 book releases for several reasons. One, it takes hours to curate this type of list, especially if a month has a lot of releases to sift through. Two, my blog views tanked a lot, which really detracts from my motivation to spend hours on a post (loathe as I am to admit it). And three, I’ve just been busy and I’m behind on my reading and reviewing. But Chris pointed out that these lists are nice to look back at for yourself, and I completely agree. So, the compilation of this list was driven purely by self-serving motivation. 😛
Anyway, September is a busy month for book releases. I found 21 books that looked really interesting to me, some of which I preordered already. (And some I already have in hand because I created this list halfway through September!) This time I have a good mix of fantasy, nonfiction, and some magical realism. It looks like a good month!
- Anticipated September 2026 Book Releases
- The Gods Will Sing Our Song by Autumn Krause**
- Receipts from the Bookshop by Katie Clapham
- The Dark Lord’s Guide to Honeymooning by Tiffany Hunt**
- A Snake Among Swans by Hannah Kaner**
- Level Up For Love by Lenora Woods*
- In the Shadow of the Solstice by Meg Clothier
- Foraged Basketry by Delia Fian
- The Butterfly Season by Lea Korsgaard
- Exit Party by Emily St. John Mandel
- Bodies of Magic by Freya Marske**
- The Faerie Handmaid by Louisa Morgan*
- Never Say Die by Ke Huy Quan
- Daughter of the Dark by R.J. Valldeperas
- Witch Daughter by Tanaz Bhathena
- The Wretched Divine by Adalyn Grace
- Brought to You By by Amy Westervelt
- The World Beneath Our Feet by Frank Ashwood
- The Thief and the Traitor Bride by V.L. Bovalino
- Beyond the Graves Waits Mist and Sea by Kathleen Kaufman
- Building 903 by Lois Lowry**
- The Jungle of Carabanana by Kate McKinnon
* = I have an ARC of this book.
** = I preordered this book.
Anticipated September 2026 Book Releases
The Gods Will Sing Our Song by Autumn Krause**
Series: None
Genre: Historical Fiction, Romance, Magic Realism
Age Category: Young Adult
Publisher: Delacourte Press
Publish Date: September 1, 2026
Print Length: 432
Purchase: Bookshop.org
Synopsis
In this sweeping World War II historical romance threaded with magic and myth, two star-crossed Japanese American teenagers find a love more powerful than the gods—inspired by the author’s true family history of internment and resilience.
“A beautifully rendered story, full of heart and feeling.”—Stephanie Garber, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Once Upon a Broken Heart
A CALIBA GOLDEN POPPY AWARD FINALIST
A divine favor can change everything.
1942. War rumbles across the world, gods stir in the wind, and two star-crossed souls are set on a path that will change them forever.
Seventeen-year-old Ren Hamada is defined by his troubled past, while Violet Aratani only worries about keeping her straight-A grades. They have little in common beyond the old magic that thrums in their family relics—until the US government forces them out of their homes simply because they’re Japanese American. In a barbed-wire world where everything seems upside down, the magnetic pull between them is the only thing that makes sense.
But there’s more than just desert dust swirling in the air. A god walks among them, his mortal form tethered to the camp, and only Violet and Ren can free him—an act that would earn them an immeasurable reward. Yet with tensions rising and their lives on the line, is even a divine favor enough to save them?
Receipts from the Bookshop by Katie Clapham
Series: None
Genre: Memoir
Age Category: Adult
Publisher: William Morrow
Publish Date: September 8, 2026
Print Length: 304
Purchase: Bookshop.org
Synopsis
Based on the popular Substack that Julia Quinn calls “delightful” and India Knight describes as “absolute heaven,” a quirky and gossipy insider glimpse at a year in the life of a family-owned bookstore in a seaside English town—as told by the store’s owner.
One summer not long ago, bookseller Katie Clapham began chronicling life at the small independent bookstore she runs with her mother in the English seaside town of Lytham St Annes. Her cozy bookshop diaries detail the romance and frustration of running your own bookstore – from the loyal customers to the feisty passers-by, and the deliveries filled with tempting new stock to the never-ending aftermath of cardboard boxes. Katie faithfully records the change of seasons from sad January to exhausting December, punctuated with visits from inquisitive dogs, adorable children, and people just looking for a good place to get an omelette around here.
Tender, funny, and thoughtful, Receipts from the Bookshop is a love letter to everything we hold dear: small towns, family, book chat, hot cups of tea, and just the right snack at 11 AM….
- A valentine for book lovers everywhere.
- Cozy armchair travel for anyone who loves England.
- Reminds readers why bookstores are our happy place.
- The perfect story of a small family business built on love and commitment.
- A warm, funny look at community in a small seaside town.
The Dark Lord’s Guide to Honeymooning by Tiffany Hunt**
Series: Guides to Villainy and Love, #2
Genre: Fantasy, Romance
Age Category: Adult
Publisher: Scarlett Press
Publish Date: September 8, 2026
Print Length: 688
Purchase: Bookshop.org
Synopsis
Kazimir and Arabella embark on a honeymoon where the only thing more dangerous than their enemies are their growing feelings for each other in this deliciously wicked and riotously funny second book in the Guides to Villainy and Love romantasy series that’s Assistant to the Villain meets Dreadful.
Step Four: Take her on a honeymoon.
Step Five: Learn to co-villain effectively.
Step Six: Try not to get possessed by ancient evil.
Now bound by marriage and the formidable power of the Heirloom, Dark Lord Kazimir Blackrose and his Dark Lady Arabella are the realm’s most feared and chaotic power couple. And after years of scheming, Kazimir is poised to conquer Solandris. But when the Alchemist calls in a debt, Kaz is forced to postpone his reign of terror or face consequences even he can’t escape.
Arabella declares it the perfect opportunity for the honeymoon she was never promised. But their villainous getaway soon devolves into mayhem involving mass kidnappings, uncomfortable truths about Kazimir’s demonic past, and a talented pastry chef with heroic blood who won’t stop baking scones.
As if that weren’t enough, Kazimir’s mind is also filling with whispers not his own, while Arabella secretly tries to recover her stolen memories. But the greatest threat may be those three dangerous little words that could shatter their carefully constructed walls…and unleash an evil that destroys them all.
This sexy and side-splittingly funny fantasy romance is perfect for readers who love: villains who stay deliciously wicked (but are catastrophically in love); a powerful heroine carving out her place in the world; touch them and die; plotting world domination; sizzling spice and wickedly amusing banter; dark humor; found family of villains; and a honeymoon phase with assassination attempts.
A Snake Among Swans by Hannah Kaner**
Series: The Wing and the Ways, #1
Genre: Fantasy, LGBTQ+
Age Category: Adult
Publisher: Harper Voyager
Publish Date: September 8, 2026
Print Length: 464
Purchase: Bookshop.org
Synopsis
The #1 internationally bestselling author of Godkiller begins a bold new fantasy trilogy—a dark, atmospheric tale of warring kingdoms, wild magic, female rage, and the choice between love and power in a world ruled by conquest.
“Death is come to take you home, death of blood and thorn and bone…”
Tilde has always heard the whispers of the kithwood, the voices of her ancestors speaking through the mysterious forest of her homeland. But now both the kithwood and her kingdom are in danger, for Tilde is the only surviving heir of a conquered land. To stop the bloodshed, she must marry the aging Swan King, Liran, and bear him a son.
But the king’s court is dangerous. Liran’s older sons will do whatever it takes to remove Tilde. And her presence stirs conflict in the heart of Liran’s daughter, the princess Elise, who has only ever known loyalty to her family.
Yet none of them know that Tilde is a snake in their midst, with allies on her side and dark, forbidden power of her own. She wants her kingdom back, and she will sacrifice everything to claim it.
For the queen to rise, the swans must fall.
Level Up For Love by Lenora Woods*
Series: None
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Age Category: Adult
Publisher: Dell
Publish Date: September 8, 2026
Print Length: 368
Purchase: Bookshop.org
Synopsis
Sparks fly as two former college rivals are forced together for a new D&D campaign—clashing both in and out of the game—in this fusion of contemporary second-chance romance and fantasy from the author of Roll for Romance.
In college, Reagan Riley and Wesley Locke were constantly at each other’s throats, competing to be the best in their video game design program—until Wesley ghosts her after their unexpected hookup, severing their ties for good.
Six years later, Reagan has set aside her game design dreams, opting instead to stay close to her family in Connecticut and channel her creative energy into D&D. When her longstanding group falls apart, she and her sister join their local game store’s new advanced campaign—only to find the demanding Dungeon Master at the helm is none other than Wesley. In the game, he is Vadrien, a merciless, power-hungry vampire lord, and Reagan is Sindra, the sword-wielding lady knight who will stop at nothing to cut him down.
When a game design opportunity opens up in the real world, Reagan and Wesley find themselves doubly pitted against each other. But as their buried spark reignites and Reagan starts to question why Wesley left all those years ago, can they find a way to play nice—and are they playing for more than just to win?
In the Shadow of the Solstice by Meg Clothier
Series: None
Genre: Historical Fantasy, Arthurian
Age Category: Adult
Publisher: Wildfire
Publish Date: September 10, 2026
Print Length: 320
Purchase: Blackwell’s
Synopsis
A devastating feminist reimagining of Arthurian legend set in the dark and dangerous years after the Romans left Britain.
Nin is joining the gilded world of her sister’s husband – a powerful man known only as the Bear. It’s midwinter and there’s victory to feast. And where better than at the Hall high above the mists of the Lake?
Why is the Lake so unsettled?
The bonds of love and ambition once united the Family. But as night falls and the shadows lengthen, dark secrets and unruly passions threaten to rip it apart.
What is the strange crying only Nin can hear?
Torn between loyalty and desire – between rage and fear – Nin must fight to the death to uncover a terrible truth.
Who will live to see the sun rise?
Foraged Basketry by Delia Fian
Series: None
Genre: Arts & Hobbies
Age Category: Adult
Publisher: Herbert Press
Publish Date: September 15, 2026
Print Length: 224
Purchase: Bookshop.org
Synopsis
Discover how to turn common weeds into beautiful and useful objects with this fresh, sustainable approach to basket making.
Delia Fian, renowned craftsperson and rewilder, invites you to gather what grows wildly around you and create items you can wear, carry and use. From bark satchels and vine pack baskets to classic wicker and coiled creations, this book offers clear, step-by-step instruction across 11 weaving projects suitable for all skill levels.
The only basketry guide devoted entirely to weaving with invasive plants, it reveals how these overlooked materials are abundant, accessible and beneficial to harvest, ultimately helping restore local ecosystems. With practical guidance on identifying, collecting and preparing plants, Delia empowers both beginners and seasoned weavers to start creating immediately.
Foraged Basketry is a call to action. Through personal stories and voices from the weaving community, Delia explores sustainable craft, connection to place and the beauty in what has been cast aside.
The Butterfly Season by Lea Korsgaard
Series: None
Genre: Nature, Memoir
Age Category: Adult
Publisher: Knopf
Publish Date: September 15, 2026
Print Length: 320
Purchase: Bookshop.org
Synopsis
Lea Korsgaard’s number-one international bestseller tells the story of the year she spent tracking every species of butterfly in her native Denmark. Suffused with beauty and wonder, The Butterfly Season is a love letter to the natural world and an unforgettable reflection on the precious and fleeting nature of life itself.
“The Butterfly Season is an inspiring love letter to the magic of the natural world, in all its beauty and complexity and joy—an unforgettable reminder that wonder awakens the heart.” —Amy Tan, New York Times bestselling author of The Backyard Bird Chronicles
Combining nature writing, philosophy, myth, science, and sixty-four beautiful hand-drawn illusrtations, The Butterfly Season is a luminous account of one woman’s quest to see all sixty-four species of butterflies native to Denmark in a single year. Part field diary, part mythological tapestry, part existential reflection, Lea Korsgaard’s journey unfolds across seasons and geographies, through meadows, marshes, and ancient coastal lands, as she discovers the mysteries and miracles of the natural world.
On the first day of the year, Korsgaard sat at her desk, making a list. It was a typically cold, quiet January day, and the possibility of the new year—of new discoveries and new challenges—reawakened an old dream of hers: to see every Danish butterfly species in one year. At first, the goal felt impossible—Korsgaard knew almost nothing about butterflies—but she persevered, creating a color-coded tracking system that mapped butterfly regions and flight times with meticulous care. As the project developed, what was at first a simple exercise in discovery became an intimate reckoning with transformation and rebirth, the butterfly’s fleeting existence knitting together beginnings, endings, and the life made in between.
The Butterfly Season is perfect for readers of Raising Hare by Chloe Dalton and The Backyard Bird Chronicles by Amy Tan.
Exit Party by Emily St. John Mandel
Series: None
Genre: Literary Fiction, Science Fiction
Age Category: Adult
Publisher: Knopf
Publish Date: September 15, 2026
Print Length: 320
Purchase: Bookshop.org
Synopsis
The award-winning, bestselling author of Station Eleven and Sea of Tranquility returns with a breathtaking novel of doubles, shadow worlds, and fractured timelines as a man disappears from a glittering Los Angeles party, and a woman—a gunrunner, an art collector, an operative of the State—searches for answers.
Los Angeles, 2031: The first spring after the collapse of the United States, peacekeeping troops withdraw from the city, the Jacaranda trees blossom, and the curfew is finally lifted. Ari Waker and her roommate pass the gauntlet of bomb-sniffing dogs, the shanty towns, and the Red Cross tents as they walk across Silverlake to a party. The mood is ecstatic inside the apartment, people drink and dance, a woman wears a silver dress, pleated like tinfoil. And then: A shift. A bewildered twin, an uncanny doppelganger stumbles through the crowd and out into the night, and Kareem, the party’s host, vanishes into thin air.
As Ari Waker unravels the mystery of this inexplicable night, Emily St. John Mandel unfurls a story that takes us from a future America splintered by civil war to the seaside cliffs of Greece where weapons dealers hide in an elegant resort, and from the domed city of Paris to a colony on the moon. An unforgettable literary feat, Exit Party is a novel about the price of safety, the perils of the surveillance state, a requiem for a world not unlike our own, and a breathtaking story of resilience in the face of cataclysmic change.
Bodies of Magic by Freya Marske**
Series: None
Genre: Fantasy
Age Category: Adult
Publisher: Tor Books
Publish Date: September 15, 2026
Print Length: 464
Purchase: Bookshop.org
Synopsis
Grey’s Anatomy meets A Deadly Education in this dark academia fantasy from USA Today bestselling author Freya Marske.
At the Academie of the Grand Duchy of Sieuxerr, every mage with the healer’s gift has five years to master their power and to prepare for the infamous Grand Exam—a five-day trial whose results will determine their entire future.
The list of exam rules includes:
• You will perform five practical cases.
• Your exam group is chosen at random.
• You pass together, or fail together.
It does not include:
• On the first day, your exam group will find a classmate’s dead body in the exam hall.
And as they will soon discover, this particular group all have something to hide… and all have a connection with the dead girl, a brilliant scholar who would have been first in their class.
Five scholars. Five secrets. Five days in which to solve a murder, pass the most important exam of their lives, and uncover a secret larger than all of their own combined. One with the potential to change the world.
Are you ready?
Let’s begin.
The Faerie Handmaid by Louisa Morgan*
Series: None
Genre: Historical Fantasy, Arthurian
Age Category: Adult
Publisher: Redhook
Publish Date: September 15, 2026
Print Length: 432
Purchase: Bookshop.org
Synopsis
When the new king of Camelud is cursed, a magicless handmaid must embrace her own power and save the kingdom in this spellbinding coming-of-age tale from Louisa Morgan.
As an acolyte on the Isle of Apples, Braithe never dreamed she’d become a handmaid to Morgana, the most powerful priestess in all Camulod. When the two learn the king is cursed by powerful magic, they journey to the White City deep in fae country to investigate.
The magical city is nothing like Braithe imagined. The fae are cold and callous and quick to bewitch. Moreover, Morgana’s magic is unreliable, and it falls to Braithe to uncover who is behind the curse. But she will have to believe herself capable of more than she ever imagined.
Never Say Die by Ke Huy Quan
Series: None
Genre: Memoir
Age Category: Adult
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Publish Date: September 15, 2026
Print Length: 256
Purchase: Bookshop.org
Synopsis
In this stunning and compulsively readable memoir, the Oscar-winning star of Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, The Goonies, and Everything Everywhere All at Once, Ke Huy Quan, tells the story of his journey from Vietnamese refugee to 80s child star to the most inspiring comeback in Hollywood history.
“A monumental work of self-discovery and the power and grace of communal survival. Quan’s voice is crystalline and luminous, and his Odyssean journey to the screen is, in itself, a triumph of storytelling.” -Ocean Vuong
Ke Huy Quan’s Hollywood adventure began when he was twelve years old, a mere five years after his family escaped Communist Northern Vietnam and settled down to a relatively peaceful life in L.A.’s Chinatown. After attending an open call audition on a whim, he was unexpectedly swept up in the wild world of filmmaking: learning to swim from Harrison Ford on the set of Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, receiving trucks full of toys from Steven Spielberg and George Lucas for his birthday, meeting Princess Leia and Luke Skywalker, and making lifelong friends on the set of The Goonies.
A star of two of the most beloved movies of the ’80s, there appeared to be no limit to Ke’s rise. But just a few years later, the roles had dried up and it seemed like Hollywood no longer had a place for him. He eventually left acting to work odd jobs behind the scenes for directors like Wong Kar Wai. His confidence was badly shaken, but his love of performing never abated. It wasn’t until decades later, when he was 49 years old, that he stepped back in front of the camera to star in a strange little indie film called Everything Everywhere All at Once, which surprised everyone with its incredible box-office and awards season success. To call Ke’s Oscar-winning performance a triumphant return would be an understatement.
In this moving, inspirational memoir, Ke paints a vivid self-portrait, telling both heart-wrenching and funny stories of his early rise, slow fall from the spotlight, the resilience that kept him going through his darkest times, and his eventual resurrection on one of the biggest stages in Hollywood. Never Say Die is the story of Ke’s extraordinary life, a love letter to the movies and people that shaped him, and a powerful testament to never giving up on your dreams.
Daughter of the Dark by R.J. Valldeperas
Series: Daughters of Auquis, #1
Genre: Fantasy, Romance
Age Category: Adult
Publisher: Bramble
Publish Date: September 15, 2026
Print Length: 336
Purchase: Bookshop.org
Synopsis
From the flesh of a fallen god, a demon slayer rises.
Supay lives under a curse of eternal death. For the greed of their god, the people are damned to live as human… and then again as muki.
For Solana, survival means staying sharp and staying alone. Armed with only a blood-forged dagger, she’s carved out a life as Supay’s fiercest slayer, freeing souls even as she’s trapped by duty.
But when a twist of fate offers her the title of Royal Demon Hunter, Solana finally finds a path to the freedom she’s always craved… but it draws her closer to the darkness threatening Supay—darkness that calls to her soul alone.
Torn between turning her back on a fight she never asked for and the pull of loyalties old and new—including an irresistible connection to a man who should be her enemy—Solana must decide…
Choose fate and freedom?
Or death, destruction… and revolution.
Witch Daughter by Tanaz Bhathena
Series: None
Genre: Historical Fantasy, Legends & Mythology
Age Category: Adult
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Publish Date: September 22, 2026
Print Length: 320
Purchase: Bookshop.org
Synopsis
In her adult debut, award-winning author Tanaz Bhathena expertly weaves a tale of love and loss in ancient Persia with her take on the timeless tragedy of Tahmineh, a temptress, a witch, a victim, or, perhaps, a woman trying her hardest to protect her loved ones.
Rumors of witchcraft follow Princess Tahmineh like a storm cloud, making it impossible for her to secure herself a marriage or any kind of future. With her father, the king’s, health in question, it becomes shockingly clear how desperate her situation will soon become in his absence. If she doesn’t act now, she will quickly find herself destitute and desperate.
Tahmineh seeks out a prophecy, from which she learns she will fall in love with a warrior of great renown named Rostam and bear him a son. However, she is warned this match is a dangerous one for her. Heedless of the warnings, Tahmineh boldly orchestrates a meeting with Rostam and the two develop a close friendship and ultimately fall in love and marry. At the peak of her joy, Tahmineh gives birth to Sohrab, Rostam’s son.
All too soon, Tahmineh learns the tragic second part of the prophecy. Father and son will meet as enemies in battle and one will die at the hand of the other. What follows is a mother’s desperate attempt to undo the threads of fate and try to protect her son at all costs.
The Wretched Divine by Adalyn Grace
Series: The Wretched Divine #1
Genre: Fantasy, Paranormal, Romance
Age Category: Adult
Publisher: FEIWEL
Publish Date: September 22, 2026
Print Length: 512
Purchase: Bookshop.org
Synopsis
The heart-pounding adult debut from #1 New York Times-bestselling author Adalyn Grace, about an ancient war between angels and demons, and the human knight determined to end it at any cost.
DELUXE EDITION—featuring metallic red edges, a fully illustrated case, designed endpapers, and interior spot art.
Aurelie Chantelune was born to serve. Raised as a knight in a kingdom ravaged by demons, she’s spent her life honing her blade, driven by the memory of the monsters who tore her family apart and by the knowledge that she’s one of the few who can stop them.
If Aurelie can claim her first kill, she’ll inherit a legacy passed down through the Chantelune bloodline: a soulbond with Yuriel, an angel whose power is vital to her kingdom’s survival. But when those she loves begin turning into the very monsters she’s sworn to destroy, Aurelie is forced to seek help from the last place she ever imagined. Desperate, she forges a second and far more dangerous bond with Severin, a demon she can hardly trust, but who claims to know how to end the war for good.
With their lives and fates entwined, Aurelie, Yuriel, and Severin must team up to hunt down a cure capable of turning demons back into humans. But the more they learn about one another and the deeper their relationships grow, the more Aurelie begins to question the war and her place in it. With both of her bonded on opposing sides, she’ll have to make a choice: continue to stand with the angels, or risk everything by trusting a demon.
Brought to You By by Amy Westervelt
Series: None
Genre: Politics, Business
Age Category: Adult
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Publish Date: September 22, 2026
Print Length: 336
Purchase: Bookshop.org
Synopsis
A gripping account of the corporate propaganda that has invaded our media, our democracy, and now the very nature of truth itself-from investigative reporter and Drilled podcast host Amy Westervelt.
Whether it’s the tobacco industry lying about the health dangers of cigarettes, Big Pharma burying studies that make its products less marketable, or Big Oil misleading the public on the dangers of the climate crisis, we all know corporations use doubt and science denial to avoid responsibility. So why do we continue to let them get away with it?
In Brought to You By, Amy Westervelt exposes the plot hidden within the familiar story of science denial. Over the last century, Big Industry has built a vast apparatus of think tanks, lobbyists, sponsored university labs, and obliging news networks to con the public and fool decision-makers, poisoning the informational ecosystem and warping the nature of truth along the way.
With her signature wit and incisiveness, Westervelt shows how the masterminds of corporate misinformation-people like Herb Schmertz, the public relations pioneer who made Mobil “the thinking man’s oil company,” Richard Edelman, the PR guy who helped the dairy industry vilify oat milk, and David Petraeus, the disgraced spy chief using counter- insurgency tactics to discredit climate science, have ushered in an era of unprecedented corporate control.
Only by exposing this well-oiled machine can we begin to repair the social contract; reclaim truth and democracy; and redraw the lines between corporate speech and individual speech, a lie and an opinion, a dollar and a word.
The World Beneath Our Feet by Frank Ashwood
Series: None
Genre: Nature, Science
Age Category: Adult
Publisher: Random House
Publish Date: September 29, 2026
Print Length: 240
Purchase: Bookshop.org
Synopsis
A vivid tour into the subterranean that encourages us to look downwards, revealing how the earth’s most biodiverse frontier sustains all life above the soil surface
The ground beneath us hums with a staggering abundance of winding roots, interconnecting fungal networks, wriggling creatures, and mind-blowing microbial life. This hidden ecosystem is the single most biodiverse habitat on the planet. Over half of all the Earth’s species exist underfoot, where decaying matter is transformed into new life; just a handful of soil can contain an entire world. Without soil, there would be no life as we know it—and yet we rarely take the time to know the countless lives happening below.
In The World Beneath Our Feet, soil ecologist Frank Ashwood dives deep into this precious ecosystem, spanning the globe from the frozen landscape of Greenland to the black soil deposits of the Amazon and the Eurasian Steppe, while also examining the jaw-dropping evolutionary adaptations that make lives very alien from our own possible. Unearthing soil layers one at a time, Ashwood reveals every sublayer to be a distinct macrocosm, teeming with organisms essential to our planet’s wellbeing. Supported by interviews with global soil biologists, as well as his own expert research, Ashwood shows us how life at a microscopic scale impacts us all.
Powerfully illuminating the dark depths of the earth, and accompanied by the author’s own up-close photography, which magnifies and reveals creatures only millimeters long, The World Beneath Our Feet opens our eyes to the hidden and wondrous world of soil—perhaps the greatest unexplored frontier on our planet.
The Thief and the Traitor Bride by V.L. Bovalino
Series: The Hand and the Heart, #2
Genre: Fantasy, Romance
Age Category: Adult
Publisher: Forever
Publish Date: September 29, 2026
Print Length: 592
Purchase: Bookshop.org
Synopsis
Set in the world of The Second Death of Locke, a devastatingly romantic epic fantasy between a spy and thief who were married and are now estranged enemies forced to work together, perfect for fans of The Knight and the Moth and The Six Deaths of the Saint.
A ruthless spy. A deadly mission. A thief who could ruin it all.
Nore Gordon is a woman of many talents: she can speak a variety of languages, disguise herself in plain sight, and has made a name for herself as a successful wine merchant. But unbeknownst to those closest to her, it is all a front for Nore’s true role as the favoured spy of the Lindle crown.
Tasked with infiltrating enemy lands in search of a powerful relic, Nore is forced to engage the services of a great thief. Unfortunately, the only person for the job is her estranged husband Caspian.
Both Nore and Caspian bear the scars of the disastrous end of their marriage, but if they are to survive their deadly new assignment, they must pose as a happily married couple to avoid detection. As danger closes in, Nore finds herself tangled in a web of lies and deceit-and though Caspian is at the centre of it all, she may not hate him as much as she once did. But Caspian has betrayed her before, and trust can be far more deadly than deception.
Beyond the Graves Waits Mist and Sea by Kathleen Kaufman
Series: None
Genre: Fantasy, Gothic, Magical Realism
Age Category: Adult
Publisher: Kensington
Publish Date: September 29, 2026
Print Length: 384
Purchase: Bookshop.org
Synopsis
A marine biologist’s search for an undiscovered species of octopus leads her to an isolated island where long-buried memories rise like specters from the deep, intent on dragging her darkest truths to the surface…
From the author of The Entirely True Story of the Fantastical Mesmerist Nora Grey, this hauntingly evocative novel is perfect for fans of Emilia Hart’s The Sirens, Sarah Penner’s The Amalfi Curse, and Adrienne Young.
Twenty nautical miles off the coast of Boston lies Bell Island, shrouded in fog, mystery, and legend. Historically a refuge for women fleeing the hysteria of the Salem Witch Trials in the 1600s and a way station on the Underground Railroad for runaway slaves in the 1800s, the island is isolated and rumored to be haunted by spirits and . . . other things.
It is to Bell Island that microbial biologist Harper Hafdóttir ventures in search of evidence of a new species of octopus, Thalassa, possibly lurking below the swirling water’s surface. Along with her equipment, and her luggage, Harper carries with her the burden of past trauma and vivid, recurring dreams.
Swept up in unexplained phenomena ranging from increased seismic activity and a boat-capsizing rogue wave to encounters with island creatures that defy explanation, Harper looks to the island’s venerated if mysterious mayor for answers. Lady Loreana Bell comes from a single matriarchal line that has ruled the island for 400 years—and seems to have been expecting Harper’s arrival.
It is within the walls of Bell Manor—its gothic grandeur matched only by the intensity of Harper’s deja vu—that she discovers the 1690 journal of a young woman in the grips of a religious cult. As a tsunami threatens the island, Harper finds herself on the verge of a revelation that will ultimately unlock the mystery of her haunted dreams and disclose her true purpose on Bell Island . . .
Building 903 by Lois Lowry**
Series: None
Genre: Science Fiction, Dystopian
Age Category: Young Adult
Publisher: Clarion Books
Publish Date: September 29, 2026
Print Length: 240
Purchase: Bookshop.org
Synopsis
In the tradition of her bestselling, award-winning phenomenon, The Giver, Lois Lowry delivers a story about censorship, comfort, complicity, and the radical power of books to open portals and unlock our humanity through our most powerful tool: the imagination.
Twins Tessa and Theo live in a world ruled by a tyrannical leader, where there are no dangers or rebels… or so they’ve been told. In this world, citizens live long lives, and while many hate their leader, they are comfortable and safe. So, when Tessa’s brother disappears, nobody wants to discuss it. But then Miriam, their 135-year-old neighbor bound for the retirement community, slips Tessa a key—not only to her brother’s disappearance, but to the source of all real magic . . . books. As Tessa and her parents begin their search for Theo, Tessa learns that books not only tell us stories—they open portals and unlock our humanity through our most powerful tool: the imagination. Once that truth has been revealed, Tessa won’t be able to rest until she has retrieved her twin and society itself has been transformed.
Two-time Newbery-winner Lois Lowry has crafted a narrative that feels at once prescient and eternal: in this world, the imagination is the revolution. Not only does Building 903 sit in the same resonant space as The Giver Quartet, but it is also a profound addition to Lois’s enduring body of work—and a testament to the strength and value of her voice, vision, and legacy.
The Jungle of Carabanana by Kate McKinnon
Series: The Millicent Quibb School of Etiquette for Young Ladies of Mad Science #3
Genre: Action & Adventure
Age Category: Middle Grade
Publisher: Alvina Ling Books
Publish Date: September 29, 2026
Print Length: 272
Purchase: Bookshop.org
Synopsis
From Saturday Night Live legend Kate McKinnon comes the highly anticipated third book in her #1 New York Times bestselling series about mad science, three peculiar sisters, and the mysterious Millicent Quibb!
The Porch sisters are going on a trip–this time, to the beautiful almost-French city of ParisToo. Between baguettes, berets, and one very big bug–what could go wrong?
Everything, of course. You see, there’s just one problem with ParisToo:
it’s where the evil KRA is planning to execute their most dastardly plan yet! It’s up to Gertrude, Eugenia, Dee-Dee, and their dear mentor Millicent Quibb, to stop those nefarious mad scientists from taking over the world. Though coming up with a plan is easier said than done when danger–like a tree that throws coconuts, a suspicious pile of sausage, or a glaring aunt–lurks around every corner. If Millicent Quibb and the sisters Porch are going to defeat the KRA once and for all, they’ll need to uncover long buried secrets (including some that might just change everything …) and tap into the world of mad science like they never have before.
At any and all costs, the KRA MUST! BE! STOPPED!
And that’s a wrap for my list of anticipated September 2026 book releases! Are you looking forward to any of these?

