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I don’t know if you all have tried the new apple crisp macchiato from Starbucks, but it’s my new obsession and really made me excited to talk about my favorite books coming up in the next three months. AND the next time I write a post like this, I should be drinking my beloved chestnut praline latte while listening to RED (Taylor’s Version) and that, my friends, is going to be a whole mood. Anyway, before I start wishing time away, let’s talk about the books I’m so excited are coming in the next three months.

September Releases

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A Lot Like Adiós by Alexis Daria

Goodreads Synopsis:

Hi Mich. It’s Gabe.

After burning out in her corporate marketing career, Michelle Amato has built a thriving freelance business as a graphic designer. So what if her love life is nonexistent? She’s perfectly fine being the black sheep of her marriage-obsessed Puerto Rican-Italian family. Besides, the only guy who ever made her want happily-ever-after disappeared thirteen years ago.

It’s been a long time.

Gabriel Aguilar left the Bronx at eighteen to escape his parents’ demanding expectations, but it also meant saying goodbye to Michelle, his best friend and longtime crush. Now, he’s the successful co-owner of LA’s hottest celebrity gym, with an investor who insists on opening a New York City location. It’s the last place Gabe wants to go, but when Michelle is unexpectedly brought on board to spearhead the new marketing campaign, everything Gabe’s been running from catches up with him.

I’ve missed you.

Michelle is torn between holding Gabe at arm’s length or picking up right where they left off—in her bed. As they work on the campaign, old feelings resurface, and their reunion takes a sexy turn. Facing mounting pressure from their families—who think they’re dating—and growing uncertainty about their futures, can they resolve their past mistakes, or is it only a matter of time before Gabe says adiós again?

Why I’m Excited: First of all, I love Daria’s writing. I think she’s so talented and her writing style just really works for me. Secondly, I really need to read about a burned out character figuring her way out of burn out because I am right there with her and don’t know how to escape. (I should probably re-read Burnout actually…) Also, despite the fact that I historically didn’t like second chance romances, I think I’ve really pulled a 180 and now I’m quite into them.

Release Day: September 14, 2021

With You Forever by Chloe Liese

Goodreads Synopsis:

Axel

Rooney Sullivan is sunshine incarnate. Warm, bright, always smiling, she’s everything I’m not and the last person I have any business desiring. Desperate to hide a hopeless attraction, I’ve done everything possible to keep my distance…until a charades game gone wrong brought that to a grinding halt. 

Since then, steering clear of Rooney has been impossible. In a matter of months, she’s kissed me speechless, commandeered my art career, and infiltrated not only my dreams but my home. The woman who was once avoidable has become the last thing I needed: temptingly within reach.

Rooney

Axel Bergman is a gorgeous grump who doesn’t have the time of day for me. Thankfully, I’ve kept my crush under wraps…well, until I kissed him. Charades got away from me, okay? It was an accident! I haven’t seen him since, which is for the best. My life is a mess, and the last thing I need is to embarrass myself further with the man who avoids me like that’s his job rather than painting modern masterpieces.

It seems the universe, however, has a different plan. When Axel and I unexpectedly find our paths—and problems—converging, a marriage of convenience proves the perfect solution. At least, until I’m facing my most serious problem yet: a once-loveless marriage of convenience that’s inconveniently become a love match, after all.

Why I’m Excited: Um, did you see the part where this is a modern marriage of convenience?! I can’t wait. Plus the grumpy sunshine trope is basically always a delight. And I have loved all the other books in this series, so basically, I cannot wait!

Release Date: September 14, 2021

The Duchess Hunt by Lorraine Heath

Goodreads Synopsis:

Hugh Brinsley-Norton, the Duke of Kingsland, is in need of a duchess. However, restoring the dukedom—left in ruins by his father—to its former glory demands all his time, with little room for sentiment. He places an advert encouraging the single ladies of the ton to write why they should be the one chosen, and leaves it to his efficient secretary to select his future wife.

If there exists a more unpleasant task in the world than deciding who is to marry the man you love, Penelope Pettypeace certainly can’t imagine what it might be. Still, she is determined to find the perfect bride for her clueless, yet ruthlessly charming employer.

But when an anonymous note threatens to reveal truths best hidden, Kingsland has no choice but to confront the danger with Penelope at his side. Beguiled by the strong-willed, courageous beauty, he realizes he’s willing to risk everything, including his heart, to keep her safe within his arms. Could it be the duchess he’s hunting for has been in front of him all along?

Why I’m Excited: Scoundrel of My Heart remains one of my favorite books of the year and that book sets this one up SO WELL that I immediately requested the ARC. A few strings pulled later, I was blessed with a copy and read it so soon afterward. So I can already tell you this book is delightful and I can’t wait until we can all scream about it from the rooftops.

Release Date: September 28, 2021

September Honorable Mentions:

Witch Please by Ann Aguirre out on September 7th

The Charm Offensive by Alison Cochrun out on September 7th

The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood out on September 14th

The Ex Hex by Erin Sterling out on September 28th

October Releases

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The Vanished Days by Susanna Kearsley

Goodreads Synopsis:

In the autumn of 1707, old enemies from the Highlands to the Borders are finding common ground as they join to protest the new Union with England. At the same time, the French are preparing to launch an invasion to bring the young exiled Jacobite king back to Scotland to reclaim his throne, and in Edinburgh the streets are filled with discontent and danger.

Queen Anne’s commissioners, seeking to calm the situation, have begun paying out money sent up from London to settle the losses and wages owed to those Scots who took part in the disastrous Darien expedition eight years earlier—an ill-fated venture that left Scotland all but bankrupt.

When the young widow of a Darien sailor comes forward to collect her husband’s wages, her claim is challenged. One of the men assigned to investigate has only days to decide if she’s honest, or if his own feelings are blinding him to the truth.

Why I’m Excited: Hi, hello, my second favorite book of all time may or may not be The Winter Sea. So… I’m obviously so excited for this. I can’t wait to scream and cry and then reread The Winter Sea and finally finish my re-read of The Firebird.

Release Day: October 5, 2021

A Twist of Fate by Kelley Armstrong

Goodreads Synopsis:

Four years ago, Rosalind Courtenay stumbled from the nineteenth century to the twenty-first, where she has been trapped ever since, leaving her husband and infant son behind. Now she’s found her way back.

The problem, of course, is how to explain her absence to her husband. Does he think she abandoned him? Has he remarried? Is he happy in a new life? Rosalind decides to don a disguise in hopes of answering her questions before showing up on his doorstep. Instead, a twist of fate has her mistaken for her young son’s new governess.

Rosalind has every intention of revealing herself as soon as August returns home from business. Until then, she’ll get to know her son, a quiet child who has inexplicably been abandoned by an endless stream of governesses. That’s when the hauntings begin. Rosalind has finally come home and something—or someone—doesn’t just want her gone. They want her dead.

Why I’m Excited: A) Because I absolutely loved A Stitch in Time last year and B) because I apparently love a good time slip. I am so, so excited for this one!

Release Date: October 5, 2021

The Brightest Star in Paris by Diana Biller

Goodreads Synopsis:

Amelie St. James, prima ballerina of the Paris Opera Ballet and the people’s saint, has spent seven years pretending. In the devastating aftermath of the Siege of Paris, she made a decision to protect her sister: she became the bland, sweet, pious “St. Amie” the ballet needed to restore its scandalous reputation. But when her first love reappears, and the ghosts of her past come back to haunt her, all her hard-fought safety is threatened.

Dr. Benedict Moore has never forgotten the girl who helped him embrace life again after he almost lost his. Now, he’s back in Paris after twelve years for a conference. His goals are to recruit promising new scientists, and, maybe, to see Amelie again. When he discovers she’s in trouble, he’s desperate to help her—after all, he owes her.

When she finally agrees to let him help, they disguise their time together with a fake courtship. But reigniting old feelings is dangerous, especially when their lives are an ocean apart. Will they be able to make it out with their hearts intact?

Why I’m Excited: Beyond the fact that I absolutely adored The Widow of Rose House, I am also so excited for this fake courtship and Parisian setting. And to be back with Diana Biller’s writing, which I love.

Release Date: October 12, 2021

Well Matched by Jen DeLuca

Goodreads Synopsis:

Single mother April Parker has lived in Willow Creek for twelve years with a wall around her heart. On the verge of being an empty nester, she’s decided to move on from her quaint little town, and asks her friend Mitch for his help with some home improvement projects to get her house ready to sell.

Mitch Malone is known for being the life of every party, but mostly for the attire he wears to the local Renaissance Faire–a kilt (and not much else) that shows off his muscled form to perfection. While he agrees to help April, he needs a favor too: she’ll pretend to be his girlfriend at an upcoming family dinner, so that he can avoid the lectures about settling down and having a more “serious” career than high school coach and gym teacher. April reluctantly agrees, but when dinner turns into a weekend trip, it becomes hard to tell what’s real and what’s been just for show. But when the weekend ends, so must their fake relationship.

As summer begins, Faire returns to Willow Creek, and April volunteers for the first time. When Mitch’s family shows up unexpectedly, April pretends to be Mitch’s girlfriend again…something that doesn’t feel so fake anymore. Despite their obvious connection, April insists they’ve just been putting on an act. But when there’s the chance for something real, she has to decide whether to change her plans–and open her heart–for the kilt-wearing hunk who might just be the love of her life.

Why I’m Excited: April and Mitch are the side characters I’ve been waiting for since Well Met. I’m just hoping I love this one more than I did Well Played!

Release Date: October 19, 2021

All the Feels by Olivia Dade

Goodreads Synopsis: Alexander Woodroe has it all. Charm. Sex appeal. Wealth. Fame. A starring role as Cupid on TV’s biggest show, God of the Gates. But the showrunners have wrecked his character, he’s dogged by old demons, and his post-show future remains uncertain. When all that reckless emotion explodes into a bar fight, the tabloids and public agree: his star is falling.

Enter Lauren Clegg, the former ER therapist hired to keep him in line. Compared to her previous work, watching over handsome but impulsive Alex shouldn’t be especially difficult. But the more time they spend together, the harder it gets to keep her professional remove and her heart intact, especially when she discovers the reasons behind his recklessness…not to mention his Cupid fanfiction habit.

When another scandal lands Alex in major hot water and costs Lauren her job, she’ll have to choose between protecting him and offering him what he really wants—her. But he’s determined to keep his improbably short, impossibly stubborn, and extremely endearing minder in his life any way he can. And on a road trip up the California coast together, he intends to show her exactly what a falling star will do to catch the woman he loves: anything at all. 

Why I’m Excited: I mean, besides the fact that I love Olivia Dade? I’m really into this description of “But he’s determined to keep his improbably short, impossibly stubborn, and extremely endearing minder in his life any way he can.” I love a man who is willing to do “anything at all” to keep his woman. I mean, as long as it’s not creepy, like kidnapping or something. Anyway… that took a turn. Let’s move on!

Release Date: October 26, 2021

Archangel’s Light by Nalini Singh

Goodreads Synopsis:

Illium and Aodhan. Aodhan and Illium. For centuries they’ve been inseparable: the best of friends, closer than brothers, companions of the heart. But that was before—before darkness befell Aodhan and shattered him, body, mind, and soul. Now, at long last, Aodhan is healing, but his new-found strength and independence may come at a devastating cost—his relationship with Illium.

As they serve side by side in China, a territory yet marked by the evil of its former archangel, the secret it holds nightmarish beyond imagining, things come to an explosive decision point. Illium and Aodhan must either walk away from the relationship that has defined them—or step forward into a future that promises a bond infinitely precious in the life of an immortal…but that demands a terrifying vulnerability from two badly bruised hearts.

Why I’m Excited: Honestly, y’all, if you put me at gunpoint and told me I had to choose between Red (Taylor’s Version) and Archangel’s Light, I don’t know that even the ten minute version of “All Too Well” would have me choose that over this book and you KNOW that’s saying something. I have been waiting for Aodhan and Illium to fall in love for BOOKS. Ages!!! I cannot believe this is real and it’s finally here!!! I just reread the whole series in December, but I’m honestly so tempted to do it again.

Release Date: October 26, 2021

October Honorable Mentions

A Thorn in the Saddle by Rebekah Weatherspoon out on October 26th

November Releases

Miss Moriarty, I Presume? by Sherry Thomas

Goodreads Synopsis: A most unexpected client shows up at Charlotte Holmes’s doorstep: Moriarty himself. Moriarty fears that tragedy has befallen his daughter and wants Charlotte to find out the truth.

Charlotte and Mrs. Watson travel to a remote community of occult practitioners where Moriarty’s daughter was last seen, a place full of lies and liars. Meanwhile, Charlotte’s sister Livia tries to make sense of a mysterious message from her beau Mr. Marbleton. And Charlotte’s longtime friend and ally Lord Ingram at last turns his seductive prowess on Charlotte–or is it the other way around?

But the more secrets Charlotte unravels about Miss Moriarty’s disappearance, the more she wonders why Moriarty has entrusted this delicate matter to her of all people. Is it merely to test Charlotte’s skills as an investigator, or has the man of shadows trapped her in a nest of vipers? 

Why I’m Excited: Um, the synopsis makes it sound like the romance is going to pay off for real for real in this one and I’m super keen for that to happen. I need to finish up Murder on Cold Street before this drops so I’ll be ready, but I am really excited!

Release Date: November 2, 2021

I’m almost positive I’ve left books off this list that I’m very excited to get to so please let me know what’s on your list so I don’t miss anything! And if we have any overlap, let me know!

xx