September!! The best month of the year!

I say that because it’s my birthday month. I also love Autumn, and September brings Mabon and the countdown to Samhain. An exciting time of year, and also a gorgeous time of the year. The light between the beginning of September and the end of October is always top tier, the perfect time of year for morning walks and your camera at the ready.

How could you ever be bored?

Look around you!

Regard the sky, the ground, the air, the electricity in your body…

Too much for one lifetime!

— The goddess

I certainly was not bored in September, I did a fair amount of rereading as I was super busy, rereading is handy when I need to dip in and out of books. However, I also read some absolute bangers, two of which are most likely going to be awarded a spot on my top 10 for the year.

So lets talk numbers, I read 16 books in September, bringing the total for the year to 170. This puts me on track to reach more than 200 by the end of the year. I’d like to reach 220 but I wouldn’t be upset if I didn’t manage it. I’m really pleased with my reading so far this year, and the numbers are just fun little goals I like to hit throughout the year. My initial goal is always 52, and once I hit that everything else is a bonus!

I have now completed the TwentyOffMyShelf 2025 challenge. This was such a fun little challenge and helped me get 20 books off my very long TBR. I think I’ll do a separate post for this challenge that will list everything I read, so keep an eye out for that.

I also completed all the prompts for this quarters Romanceopoly 2025 Challenge. Time to say goodbye to Sunset Bay and hello to Amber Heights. I have some books lined up for Amber Heights that I’m really excited about!  And, I completed the Goodreads Summer Challenge. I’ve mentioned a few times how helpful I’ve found these challenges this year, they have made me consider books that might have passed me by. The final prompt for this challenge was ‘Debut Darlings’ and I came across A Resistance of Witches by Morgan Ryan which I absolutely loved, I’m not sure if I’d have found it without this challenge!

I also read book number nine in my own Non-fiction reading 2025 challenge. After last month I needed something that wouldn’t be too emotionally taxing, and I think I picked perfectly.

Romancing Mister Bridgerton (Bridgerton #4) – 4⭐, To Sir Phillip, With Love (Bridgerton #5) – 4⭐, When He Was Wicked (Bridgerton #6) – 4⭐, It’s in His Kiss (Bridgerton #7) – 5⭐ & On the Way to the Wedding (Bridgerton #8) – 5⭐ by Julia Quinn

I actually read these scattered throughout the month, I always enjoy a Bridgerton reread, they are so cosy, I didn’t read Violet in Bloom (Bridgerton #8.6) though because it makes me really freaking sad. I’m also still too chicken shit to read Queen Charlotte. One day I’ll be brave enough!

A Resistance of Witches by Morgan Ryan – 5⭐

This was absolutely wonderful!

There was just so much I loved about this book. The writing was top notch, the magic system was solid, it had a really solid plot and I fell in love with all the main characters.

The story begins with the introduction of Lydia Polk, from the Royal Academy of Witches. Lydia is recruited by her mentor to try and stop the war against Hitler. Her mentor might want to have witches help end the war but a lot of witches in the academy don’t think this is a problem the witches need to deal with. They’ve been murdered by these people for thousands of years, why should they help them?

Queue Lydia heading off on her own to find an artifact that could help Hitler win the war.

On her adventures she meets Rebecca Gagne, a French resistance fighter and Henry Boudreaux, a Haitian American art historian.

I adored all three main characters, Lydia and her strong moral compass, Rebecca and her incredible bravery and Henry and his quiet strength

I’ve a very big fan of multiple POV’s so it was a delightful surprise to learn that this had multiple POV’s. I would have liked some more of Rebecca and Henry. Now, this had a very solid ending and there is in no way any kind of cliffhanger BUT I felt like it was also set up in a way that could mean a sequel, and if that happens I could see us getting a lot more Rebecca and Henry POV’s which would be delightful. I could also be wrong though and all that excitement could be for naught. 😀

A scene I particularly liked and I’ve been thinking about since I read, was Henry’s meeting Papa Legba on the road. This was such a clever scene and it confirmed for me what I thought about Henry already. I think he is much more powerful (and more important) than we were led to believe. This has also added to my suspicion that we will get more books?

I also loved the strength that generations of witches hold AND I also adored the sections being divided up by Tarot cards! Oh boy was I worried about the Tower and oh boy was I correct! The anxiety!!

Again, I loved this book, it always blows my mind when I read such strong debuts! LIKE HOW??

So everyone manifest a second book! 

A Lot Like Adios (Primas of Power #2) by Alexis Daria – 3.75⭐

A Lot Like Adios (Primas of Power #2) by Alexis Daria was a Sunset Bay prompt — Latinx Summer Fiesta – read a book by an Latinx author that captures the vibrant energy of summer in the Romanceopoly 2025 reading challenge

Wild Card (Rose Hill #4) by Elsie Silver – 4.25⭐

This was so good! I’m not gonna lie, I was a little concerned. Boyfriends dad isn’t a favourite trope of mine and while I don’t mind an age gap, I don’t enjoy them when the FMC is under 23 and MMC is north of 35! I also don’t like age gaps if it’s a young FMC and the MMC is in a position of power over her.

This was none of these things!

In fact, the age gap was such that I was like ‘THAT’S IT!!’ 😀

The pining was mighty in this Rose Hill installment, and I actually totally understood where Bash was coming from. He is in a very delicate place with his estranged son, and a relationship with that sons ex-girlfriend wasn’t going to make things go any smoother, and shock of all shocks it didn’t!

I did feel like the whole Tripp (Bash’s son) storyline wasn’t explored very well, but it got me thinking that Elsie Silver might have a Tripp book planned in some future series. I really hope that’s the case because I want to know about who was really to blame for making that boy think his dad abandoned him!

Gwen has to be one of my favourite Elsie Silver FMC so far, and I’ve loved pretty much all of them. She was incredibly sweet, self aware and totally up front. Her relationship with Clyde was so poignant given her family history. Clyde was just awesome all round. His relationship with both Gwen and Bash and his very obvious meddling, he was great fun and sweet in his own conspiracy theory living off the grid kind of way!

Bash was a little frustrating at times, but it was mostly because he was great at self flagellation. The scene where he comes home and is suffering from burnout just about broke my heart. This scene really solidified Gwen and Bash as a couple for me.

All in all this turned out way better than I imagined, I’m sad our time in Rose Hill is over but can’t wait to read whatever she puts out next! 

Finding the One (River Rain #7) by Kristen Ashley – 4.75⭐

This was the perfect birthday read!!

I love this series, yes it’s totally over the top and the wealth these people have is ostentatious but in this context I enjoy it. I’ve likened this series to The Bold and the Beautiful and I think that still stands. I know there is no such thing as an ethical billionaire in real life but in the KA world I think there is. I also have a lot of thoughts about the British peerage, but again, I see KA’s world as a fantasy world and I can overlook it.

After ‘Taking the Leap’ I wasn’t sure that Blake could be redeemed but she is good at redemption arcs and Blake was no exception. I ended up adoring her and sympathising with her as the story went on. I was livid with Rix for rehashing something that everyone had moved on from. Why on earth would he tell Dair about the person Blake used to be? All the work she had done to improve herself and her relationships with those around her and Rix is sitting down with her boyfriend explaining in detail what she used to be like? With friends like that…

I did find the third act conflict to be a little forced, Blake had been kind of up front with her past behaviour and then Dair has a conversation with two men and hears similar stories but this is enough to spook him? I get that once bitten and all but it just didn’t fit where I felt they were in their relationship at that point. Had this all happened before Helena I think I would have accepted it but the fact that all this happened after really made me question Dair.

Again with a KA MCC being an asshole and not groveling as much as he should.

This was the only part of the book that really annoyed me though, everything else was enjoyable and we had the perfect amount of cameos as well, most were mentioned but we didn’t have to endure being introduced to the entire cast of characters from the previous books.

Looking forward to the next book in this series. I can’t wait to find out who it’s going to be!! 

Taking the Leap (River Rain #3) -5⭐ , Fighting the Pull (River Rain #5) – 4⭐, Sharing the Miracle (River Rain #5.5) – 4⭐ by Kristen Ashley

After reading Finding the One, I just couldn’t help myself. I was craving Alex and Rix and then I was craving Elsa and Hale. I might also have to read the rest of them in October, I don’t love Tom and Mika’s book, Tom annoys me, but I’m even feeling the need to visit with him!

Reel (Hollywood Renaissance #1) by Kennedy Ryan – 5⭐

Reel (Hollywood Renaissance #1) by Kennedy Ryan was a Sunset Bay prompt — Sunset Bay Marina – read a book that’s been sitting on your TBR for a while in the Romanceopoly 2025 reading challenge

The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi (Amina al-Sirafi #1) by S.A. Chakraborty – 5⭐

The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi (Amina al-Sirafi #1) by S.A. Chakraborty was my last Sunset Bay prompt — The Lighthouse – read a book with a pirate as a main character in the Romanceopoly 2025 reading challenge

I Leave It Up to You by Jinwoo Chong – 4⭐

I really enjoyed this, I was a little scared going in that the reason for Jack Jr’s estrangement from his family was because he was gay, I could not have been more wrong and I was so glad of it.

Instead this was a story of a man who wakes up from a two year coma to discover not only has his whole life changed, but so has the whole world, and as result of his whole life being turned upside down he works on his relationship with his family and in doing so his priorities start to change and he discovers a renewed love for being a chef in his families business!

It was a poignant story but it also had a lot of humor!

I’ve read a few books lately that have contained some pandemic themes and when I read reviews I often see people complain about it, and I do get it, it was a very traumatic time (trauma I don’t think the world has yet recovered from) but I also don’t think it should be excluded from works of fiction. The pandemic changed us all and I find it kind of cathartic when books explore how it changed us. Even if those changes are small.

In the case of this book, Jack Jr wakes up thinking he is contagious somehow, the world around him has changed in ways he doesn’t understand and his dad is suffering from long COVID and is silently struggling himself. Jinwoo Chong did a great job exploring all these things while also keeping the overall story somewhat light and ensuring Jack Jr had lots of character development. Something Jack Jr needed because cutting off his family still doesn’t make sense to me, I don’t think it made sense to him either to be honest. I think he saw his whole life laid out for him and panicked. That panic could have cost him his entire family had it not been for the coma, a family that was pretty awesome. James was a bit of a pill but even that relationship was on the way to being mended by the end of the book.

I also enjoyed the budding love story between Jack Jr and Cuddy, it didn’t take over the overall story and was almost secondary to everything going on. It also didn’t ‘fix’ Jack Jr and needed to be benched while Jack Jr worked out how to live in his new life. It was refreshing that this new relationship wasn’t used as a way to heal trauma. Jack Jr needed to all that work himself.

Being honest, and thinking about it as I write this review. I did find Jack Jr to also be a bit of a pill. He was very self centered, and obviously by the way he cut his family off, this wasn’t all because of the coma. He was also an atrocious communicator. Truly terrible! However, he did improve, and as I mentioned, there was character growth and he ended up being somewhat likable. His father and his nephew Juno, really stole the show though. They were by far my favourites!

I’ll definitely read more from this author though, this was engaging and overall lots for fun! 

The Third Gilmore Girl by Kelly Bishop – 5⭐

The Third Gilmore Girl by Kelly Bishop was number nine in my non-fiction 2025 challenge.