September book wrap-up
September is gone, and Halloween month is here but before I get into spooky book recs, I am going, to sum up, all the books I read in September. I started reading off-campus, thinking I would try to finish it off by the release, but after finishing it, I fell into this hole where I thought I was going into a reading slump, so trying to crawl back up the slump, I actually went into a reading spree.
1. THE OFF-CAMPUS and BRIAR U SERIES BY ELLE KENNEDY
The first book series I finished in the first week of September is the Off-Campus/ Briar U series by Elle Kennedy. The Legacy, the ultimate ending to the Off-Campus series, was released on 21st September.
Off-Campus has 5 books (including The Legacy), while its sister series Briar U has 4. It'd be one of those series of standalone where if you do not like a single book, you don't have to give up on the series because you will find another one with a trope you absolutely love. If you want the whole review on the Off-Campus / Briar U series, I did that, and you can check it out here - Off-Campus & Briar U | Review
2. CORRUPT AND HIDEAWAY FROM DEVIL'S NIGHT SERIES BY PENELOPE DOUGLAS
CORRUPT -⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
HIDEAWAY - ⭐⭐⭐
TRIGGER WARNING - This is a Dark Romance where I can find no particular triggers but read at your own risk.
At first, I was like "Bully Romance" as a joke, but bro, I don't think it's a joke anymore.
Penelope Douglass is the Queen of Bully Romances with Bully, Punk 57 and now Corrupt. I learned about this book about a year ago, but I put it off seeing how dark it looked from the description. To sum it up, Erica or better known as Rica Fane, is obsessed with her boyfriend's scary older brother Michael Crist. She doesn't think he notices her, but he does, and all he's been planning for 3 years is to completely destroy her. Throughout half of the book, the guy and his 3 friends are trying to kill the girl because they think she got them caught and sent to jail. I loved it so much I cannot even begin to explain it. The summary makes it more dramatic than it needs to be, but when you actually start reading it, the book is entirely fantastic.
I did not have the guts to read the third book in the Devil's night series, which is about Damon Torrence, but I did read the second one, Hideaway. It's not necessary to read Corrupt before Hideaway, but I definitely recommend reading it in the order. The plot summary for the second book does have a lot of spoilers for Corrupt, so I am just going to try my best to give an overview without spoiling anything. Kai Mori met a Banks at a church years ago, and she told him a forgotten mystery. Now the secret is important, and Kai and his friends would torment Banks to lengths to keep what matters safe, and Kai won't hesitate to have fun while doing it.
3. THE LOVE HYPOTHESIS BY ALI HAZELWOOD
RATINGS - ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
TROPES - Fake Dating, Grumpy x Sunshine, I hate everyone but you
If that Dark romance threw you off, don't worry; here's a light-hearted sweet book that got released on 14th September. I literally read this book as soon as it got released because I couldn't wait. It was so cliche but so adorable with its tope being in my God Tier.
So basically, Olive Smith is a 3rd year PhD student who wants to be a scientist. Her best friend, Anh, wants to be with her ex-boyfriend and respect their friendship. Anh won't do that unless Olive moves on, so she lies and tells Anh she's on a date. That "date-night" she goes to work in her lab instead, but Anh catches her, so she just kisses the first guy she sees, and it's Professor Adam Carlsen, one of the professors everyone hates because he's so strict and grumpy. So it just moves forward from that point, and it's super cliche but super sweet and adorable; some scenes melted my heart, and you can see Adam has had a soft spot for Olive since the very start.
4. ANGRY GOD FROM ALL SAINTS HIGH BY LJ SHEN
RATINGS - ⭐⭐⭐⭐
TROPES - Dark Highschool Bully Romance
TRIGGER WARNING - This is a Dark Romance with mentions of Child Molestation and other topics people might find triggering. Read at your own risk.
Angry God is the third book in the All Saints High series, the next generation book of Sinners of Saints. Vaughn Spencer is the son of Baron 'Vicious' Spencer and Emilia Spencer. He's an artist like his mother and finds Lenora Astalis in Art school as she's the daughter of the Headmaster. Lenora and Vaughn meet again with her wholly changed and keeping a secret of Vaughn, which almost gets her killed. The book moves on from there, and we see some sensitive content relating to Vaughn.
I feel like we should give LJ Shen props for making her male characters, who are basically the worst, making so sympathise. In the end, there is this scene that makes my love for Vicious Spencer grow so much since I have also read his book. At the end of 'Vicious', he ends up doing something to his dad, and at the end of Angry God, he ends up doing the same thing but for his son. It draws such a beautiful contrast between the father-son relationship that Vicious had with his father and the relationship he has with his son.
5. THE WALL OF WINNIPEG AND ME BY MARIANA ZAPATA
TROPES - Grumpy x Sunshine, Fake Dating, Slowburn
In September, I got into reading Mariana Zapata books, and oh my god, it's not a lie when somebody said that she's the queen of slow-burn. Her books are literally one of the best pieces of slow-burn I read, and The Wall of Winnipeg and Me is the first Mariana Zapata book I read.
Basically, Vanessa takes care of Adrien Graves, a superstar football player who got injured, and he is so grumpy and rude to her throughout the span she works with him. Now, she's had enough of his attitude and decides to quit. But after she quits, Adrian shows up at her door with a marriage proposal for his Visa sakes and offers to remove his student debts. They start fake dating and get fake married.
The slow burn in this book is so damn good; you see how much Adrien actually cared for her from the start and just didn't know how to express it through these little moments where he supports her and helps her. There's a jealousy scene as well which is done so fantastically. I am simply in love with this book. Definitely read it if you love a slow burn romance.
6. FROM LUKOV WITH LOVE BY MARIANA ZAPATA
RATINGS - ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
TROPES - Slowburn, Enemies to Lovers, It's always been you
While we are on Mariana Zapata, I read another one of her slow-burn books in September. From Lukov with Love is a slow-burn romance with the enemies to lovers trope. So Jasmine Santos is the main female character, whose main aim has always been to win championships and Olympic gold in figure skating, but then she's dropped by her partner, and for some reason, she can't find another partner. Drop Ivan Lukov to the mix, He is an Olympic gold medalist, world championship winner figure skater and her best friend's brother, and they have known and hated each other since they were kids, or so Jasmine thinks. When she is on the brink of her career, Ivan offers her to be his partner for a year. Due to some things, she accepts that offer.
There is this scene where Jasmine gets hurt, and she thinks that Ivan will be mad for ruining his chances in some competitions, but instead, he takes care of her and tells her not to worry. It's one of the sweetest ever scenes, and there are so many of these lovely little scenes in every Mariana Zapata book I have read till now. Mariana Zapata made her way to my "going to read every book of this author no matter what list" this September, and I cannot wait to get my hands on the rest of her books.
7. THE BEST THING BY MARIANA ZAPATA
RATINGS - ⭐⭐⭐⭐
TROPES - Surprise Pregnancy, Second Chances
Another Mariana Zapata book is on the list, and the last one is The Best Thing. The Best Thing revolves around Lenny, who runs her grandfather's training centre while taking care of her daughter. Her baby daddy Jonah Collins is a rugby player who had left Lenny without any explanation after he suffered an injury. A year later, Lenny is done with him, but Jonah Collins is back. So many misunderstandings have been between them since Lenny found she's pregnant and Jonah suffered an injury. They both fell in love trying to clear up a year worth of not communicating.
To be completely honest, the only reason this book got a 4 star instead of 5 like the other two Mariana Zapata books is that I hate both of the Surprise Pregnancy and Second Chance tropes. People should know how good this book is by only seeing that I gave it a 4 star and yet it has both the tropes I hate. Lenny and Jonah's daughter is so cute in this book, and I cannot for any reason hate on her. The way Jonah is hesitant to spend time with her and see both of them slowly getting closer is just something words will fall short of describing.
8. YOU DESERVE EACH OTHER BY SARAH HOGLE
RATINGS - ⭐⭐
TROPES - Falling out of love to fall in love again
You Deserve Each Other by Sarah Hogle was a book I picked up because it was all over social media with people praising it so much, and I did not like it at all. Naomi and Nicholas are the perfect couples, or so it seems. Naomi wants out of this engagement because she's had enough, but when she discovers that Nicholas wants out too, they both go into a battle of pranks and sabotages. These pranks ultimately lead to both of them falling back in love.
Now, I think that the plot that the author had in mind was good, but the characters made this book so irritating for me. Nicholas's mother was supposed to be annoying, but oh, it went to another level where I could not even bear Naomi and Nicholas. I don't even know why this blew up so much. This book is definitely not worth the hype it gets.
9. IT HAPPENED ONE SUMMER BY TESSA BAILEY
RATINGS - ⭐⭐⭐. 5
TROPES - Grumpy x Sunshine
It Happened One Summer by Tessa Bailey is another book that went famous on social media, and I did pick it up from there. The plot of the story revolves around Piper Bellinger, who is basically an influencer and socialite. When her reputation takes a toll, and her step-father has had enough, he sends her to her real father's small fishing town of Westport. She just happens to meet Captain Brendan, a grumpy fisherman, at every corner. The chemistry explodes between them, and things progress from thereon.
Seeing the hype it had and how many books of Tessa Bailey I have loved, I had some high expectations of this book that it did not reach. Hence the 3.5 stars. I particularly cannot pinpoint a particular area where I did not like this book, but just overall, it did not meet my standards. There were some scenes that I found so cringe-worthy, but then again, I am excited for its second instalment, Hook Line and Sinker, about Piper's sister Hannah and Brendan's best friend, Fox. I really have high expectations from that one, so I hope I don't get disappointed.
10. LORD OF THE LONDON TOWN BY TILLIE COLE
RATINGS - ⭐⭐⭐⭐
TRIGGER WARNINGS - Death and Violence
TROPES - Opposites Attract, "It's always been you" Trope
Lord of the London Town by Tillie Cole was one of the most unexpected reads I had because I did not see this much on social media platforms or blogs. It just showed up on my Goodreads page, and I was like, let's give it a try and honestly, I loved it so much.
Cheska Harlow-Wright was born on the right side of things with luxury and privilege, while Arthur Adley is the leader of the most feared crime family in London. Their story has been divided mainly into 3 parts. First, they met each other when they were kids, and since then, Cheska has been sot of entrapped by Arthur, and so is he. Then they meet again for a while and have a forbidden affair because Cheska is arranged to be engaged to someone else. Certain events happen, and he leaves her for years, but then she gets stuck in this terrible place, and she has no idea who to go to, so she goes to him, and he always helps her, and from there on, their story progresses.
The second book does not have a release date, and the book kinds of ends on a cliff-hanger, so I must warn people to read it if they are ready for it.
11. KISS MY CUPCAKE BY HELENA HUNTING
RATINGS - ⭐⭐⭐
TROPES - Rivals to Lovers
I have heard so much Helena Hunting praise that I was expecting more from this. From its synopsis, I was kind of expecting rivals to lovers being forced to work together, but it wasn't, and I was disappointed. You expect some sort of exploding tension when reading Rivals to Lover, and this one seriously lacked it. The sweetness and silliness of the characters was probably the only reason this even got a 3 star.
Blaire Calloway has decided to start her own perfectly aesthetic cupcake shop, but Ronan Knight has begun his own noise sports bar right next door, disturbing her place. Now the two are stuck in a competition to one-up each other, but when a business starts that threatens to close them both, they have to work alongside each other to make their business run.
12. WHEN SPARKS FLY BY HELENA HUNTING
RATINGS - ⭐⭐⭐.5
TROPES - Friends to Lovers
Even though Helena Hunting did disappoint me with Kiss My Cupcake, but that did not deter me from reading When Sparks Fly, which was released on 21st September. The book is about Avery Spark, who lives along with her best friend Declan, who gets into an accident, and Declan feels guilty for it. After the accident, Declan takes it upon himself to take care of her the best he can, and the tension starts rising from there.
Helena Hunting did a great job at adding tension in this book, and I cannot believe how good it turned out. It was a fun one time read, but I would prefer not to re-read it, and after reading two books by Helena hunting, I am a bit sceptic if I would read another one of her books or not.
13. TWISTED SERIES BY ANA HUANG
TROPES - Grumpy x Sunshine, Brother's Best Friend
TWISTED GAMES - ⭐⭐⭐⭐
TROPES - Grumpy x Sunshine, Bodyguard romance, Forbidden Romance
TRIGGER WARNINGS - Death and Violence
Twisted series by Ana Huang was another one of my social media book founds, and I do not regret it. The third book in this series is yet to be out, and it's a companionship novel, so all of these books can be read as a standalone. Twisted Love is the first book in the series and is about Ava Chen and Alex Volkov. Ava's brother is leaving her in the care of Alex, a dangerous man considered the devil. The chemistry these two have is just so explosive, and I loved reading their book.
Something I loved even more was the buildup for Rhys and Bridget, whose story we got to know in Twisted Games. Rhys is an ex-navy seal working as a bodyguard for Bridget, who is a princess. Problems arise when her brother abdicates the throne to marry a commoner, and Bridget has to take the throne. The rules cannot marry a commoner, which makes Bridget's and Rhys's romance forbidden as well. This book was one of my first times reading a bodyguard romance, and I am so in awe of it. I might just read a lot of Bodyguard romances.
14. ADDICTED/CALLOWAY SERIES BY KB RITCHIE
LO & LILY - ⭐⭐⭐⭐
ROSE & CONNOR -⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (if there was a way to give infinite stars I would )
RYKE & DAISY - ⭐⭐⭐
Last but not least, I read the Addicted/ Calloway series. Instead of rating every book on here, I have just rated the couples instead. I will be doing another separate review of the entire series because it has 10 books about 3 different couples.
To give the basic synopsis and details of the books, the Addicted series is entirely about Lily and Lo. They are best friends who have been fake dating each other for years so they can enable each other's addiction, and it's their journey how their family and friends help them overcome these. While the Calloway series is about the other two Calloway sisters, Daisy and Rose. Talking about Rose and Connor, they have been academic rivals since they were kids, but both of them come together to help Lily and Lo and from there on start developing their own relationship with flirty banter and so much tension. Daisy is a very unhealthy teen because her mom forced her into modelling at a very young age, and Ryke hates it and is so over-protective of her, and that's how it starts.
This book series is so good, especially the relationship they develop with each other. The found family trope here makes me as a reader feel like I am a part of their group, and finishing this book was like coming back from an alternate reality. I definitely recommend reading it once you are free because the only thing I have to say about this is wow.
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Overall I have read 33 books in September, which literally entails I have read 2 books in a day at some point, and it's just a little mind-blowing. This month has been literally the best reading spree I've been on in a while, especially with the finishing 2 hefty sister series of Off-Campus/ Briar U and Addicted/ Calloway.
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