Books of the Month September 2023

 In her novel, The Homecoming of Samuel Lake, Jenny Wingfield wrote that “September showed up right on schedule, and lasted a whole month.” While September has unfortunately come and gone, our readers made the most of this month by reading as many amazing books as they could. To do the same, check out the books of the month for September 2023. 

 

Best Romance

Coming Home to You

By Claire Raye

Coming Home to You, the first book in the Rockport Beach series is a small-town second-chance romance by Claire Raye. The two love interests are Beck O’Loughlin, a hardened Boston detective, and Kelsey Walters, the woman who was his first love. Beck never got over Kelsey, so when he returns to his hometown after ten years and discovers that she is being stalked and tormented by an ex-boyfriend, he is determined to protect her. 

 

Best Mystery & Thriller

Collecting Can Be Murder

By Jennifer S. Alderson

Collecting Can Be Murder is the first book in the Carmen De Luca Art Sleuth series by Jennifer S. Alderson. Carmen De Luca is a fifty-year-old art sleuth who left the field after a tragedy occurred. However, when her former partner calls to beg for help, Carmen gladly agrees as it sounds a lot more exciting than days of water aerobics and bingo. Unfortunately, their first assignment, which involves the recovery of a rare medieval prayer book in France goes horribly wrong and lands Carmen in the crosshairs of both the local police and a murderer.

 

Best Children’s Book

The Magical Children of Light

By Lillian Weisberger

The Magical Children of Light by Lillian Weisberger is a captivating tale about friendship, courage, and imagination. The beautifully illustrated story follows Gali as she ventures behind a forbidden wall on her ninth birthday. On the other side, she discovers a world that mirrors her own and is filled with children playing in the streets along with a bustling market and friendly faces. Gali is initially very apprehensive but then meets a young boy named Tarek who helps to dispel her fears. 

 

Best Young Adult

The Blizzard’s Secrets

By DJanée

The Blizzard’s Secrets is a fast-paced and intrigue-laden novel by DJanée. The protagonist, Daia, is a young woman who is getting ready to take on the coveted mantle of Commander of the Forces for the peaceful community of Taliver. However, just before her ceremony, Daia begins to discover dark secrets in Taliver’s past. To complicate matters even further she is given a strange request by the Ruler, which could jeopardize everything that she has worked so hard to accomplish. 

 

Best Fantasy

Jaeth’s Eye

By KS Villoso

Jaeth’s Eye is the first novel in the Legacy of the Lost Mage series by K.S. Villoso. It is the story of three people whose fates are intertwined in an unexpected way. Sume Kaggawa signs away her life and freedom to prevent her bloodline from being doomed to failure forever. Kefier is a mercenary who after a botched job that leaves his friend dead finds himself being chased down by former associates. When Kefier crosses paths with Sume and the merchant mage Ylir they also encounter the first fire-breathing dragon that the continent has seen in decades. Unfortunately, the dragon might actually be a demon that is hell-bent on corrupting those in his path, including Kefier, Sume, and Ylir.

 

Best Historical Fiction

My Father’s Secret… And Other Unbelievable (True) Stories

By Dr. Samson Stern

My Father’s Secret by Dr. Samson Stern tells the unbelievably true story of his father, Adam Stern. It is a story that Daman only revealed to his son decades after the six-month gap in his life during which he had vanished from Warsaw. It is a tale he never talked about until a chance meeting with another Holocaust survivor changed everything. What he told Samson is a tale of a miraculous escape across Poland as well as unspeakable acts of survival. My Father’s Secret is a compilation of larger-than-life stories that are both heartbreaking and inspiring spanning multiple continents, decades, and lives.

 

Best Horror

Dread Darkness

By Ian Thompson

Dread Darkness is part of the Short Horror Tales by Ian Thompson and stars a young advertising executive named Gemma. She is a hard-working, clever, and compassionate woman who lives to go hiking in her free time. However, her perfect break in serene isolation turns into a nightmare when she is brutally assaulted and left for dead, dumped deep underground. With no idea if there is really a reachable exit, Gemma has to navigate a terrifying labyrinth in pitch blackness while facing pitfalls and the risk of becoming lost forever. In addition to being wounded and in the dark, Gemma discovers that she is also not as alone as she thought she was.

 

Best Literary Fiction

Bespoke Betrayals and Sartorial Secrets

By Marc Kage

Jabir is an ordinary man trying to navigate his way through life in Bespoke Betrayals and Sartorial Secrets by Marc Kage. Jabir is a photographer who struggles to make ends meet while working with his wife Michelle in a studio. On the outside, they are a happy and content couple, but things change when Michelle meets someone from her past who gives her an offer she can’t refuse. Jabir is also given the opportunity to work for his friend's Menswear company, but things are not quite what they seem. 

 

Best Science Fiction

Tricunius 2533

By Alexander Semenyuk

Tricunius 2533 by Alexander Semenyuk is set in the 2500s when humanity is on the brink of extinction. Despite their incredible technological advances, humans are no longer able to reproduce and the natural ecosystem is dying as the sun grows dim. When something resembling a small black hole is detected at the end of the solar system a space station, Tricunius, is sent to investigate. Unfortunately, after just half a year all communication is lost after alarming last messages. Noah, a brilliant astronaut and investigator, along with an android and crew of six men and six women, is sent to find out what happened to Tricunius. 

 

Best Paranormal

Vampire’s Mate

By Valerie Twombly

Vampire’s Mate is the first book in the Guardians series by Valerie Twombly and stars a Vampire Guardian named Marcus Dagotto and a woman named Cassandra Jensen. Marcus is sown to safeguard humanity but focuses on surviving each day after the death of his mate and a curse that will soon catapult him into bloodlust. However, the gods interfere and destine him a new mate. Meanwhile, Cassandra has sworn off men forever after the love of her life ditched her at the altar. When their paths cross Marcus tries to resist the woman fated to be his while Cassandra believes him to be a figment of her wild imagination until he steps into her life for real. For Marcus, Cassandra may be the sliver of light that will save his soul, but for her, a single kiss will change her life forever.

 

Best Non-Fiction

WHY?

By William Search

WHY is an award-winning philosophical book by William Search where he shares his personal journey of over 20 years looking for the meaning of existence. It is a search that led him to a transformative realization blending faith in God and science. In the process of resolving his existential crisis, he also found answers to questions like why faith in God and faith in science are not mutually exclusive and why there are so many inconsistencies between the bible, other religious texts, and scientific theories. WHY? Explains the simple, elegant theory the author used to answer these types of questions and how it is backed through religious, scientific, analytical, and philosophical reviews.