MOST ANTICIPATED NEW ROMANCES OF SEPTEMBER 2021
11 Books We Can’t Wait to Read in September 2021
The September lineup features new releases from a number of beloved authors, including Evie Dunmore, Riley Hart, and Helena Hunting, and there’s something for every taste. So, whether you can’t get enough of historicals, small town love, or second chance romances, something on this list is sure to sweep you off your feet, and I hope that you find YOUR next great read here.
Happy reading, book junkies! ♡
Portrait of a Scotsman | Evie Dunmore
Set against an important historical backdrop of political activism and change, Evie Dunmore’s A League of Extraordinary Women series epitomises the very spirit of the women whose passion, vision, tenacity, and courage powered the suffrage movement in Britain. The third book in the series focuses on London banking heiress and Oxford scholar Hattie Greenfield, who, after being caught in a compromising position, finds herself married to the ruthless financier Lucian Blackstone. Their attraction is palpable, but while Hattie continues to hold on to her romantic notions of love and wedded bliss, Lucian is driven by an old desire for revenge . . . until a sudden journey to Scotland changes everything. Based on the Beauty and the Beast romance trope, this is one of my most eagerly anticipated reads of the year, and Evie Dunmore’s beautiful writing is the whole reason.
Release date: 7 September
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Firefly Lane | Riley Hart
It’s a known fact that I drop everything I’m doing the moment one of Riley Hart’s books is released, and this one will be no exception. Her characters are so well-rounded and substantial that they have the power to completely consume you, making it impossible to devour her books in much more than a single sitting. Kicking off a whole new small town romance series, and featuring characters in their 40s, this is the story of Holden Barnett, who, in order to help his estranged sister and her son, heads to Harmony, a small town in Briar County, where everyone knows everyone’s business. There he meets Monroe Covington, his sister’s landlord. Their attraction is instant, a friendship not far behind, and somewhere between talking, laughing, tumbling into the back of a truck together, and watching movies in the company of goats, they begin to see what has been missing from both their lives.
Release date: 7 September
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Mom Jeans and Other Mistakes | Alexa Martin
Not a romance per se but worth expanding our horizons for, this sparkling new novel about motherhood, female friendship, sacrifice, and platonic love features two strong female characters that spring off the page. Jude and Lauren don’t have much in common—one is an internet-famous influencer whose real life is a total disaster, and the other is a single mum facing a contentious child custody battle—but maybe that’s why they’ve been best friends since the third grade. Both broke and single, they decide to move in together, and shortly after, partner up on a new mummy podcast that becomes a hit. But off the show, both women struggle with their own personal baggage. Known for her sexy romances set in the sports world, Alexa Martin’s first women’s fiction novel promises to bring the same warmth, humour, and heart of her romances.
Release date: 7 September
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A Lot Like Adiós | Alexis Daria
From the author of the hilarious You Had Me at Hola comes the story of two childhood sweethearts who get a second chance at love. Freelance graphic designer Michelle has just been hired to give a popular Los Angeles gym a much-needed New York-style makeover. Little does she know that the gym’s owner is none other than Gabriel, her childhood best friend and crush—a man she hasn’t seen in thirteen years. As they begin to work together, bringing Gabriel back to his old neighbourhood for the first time in years, old feelings resurface, and their reunion takes a sexy turn, but with mounting pressure from their marriage-obsessed families and growing uncertainty about their futures, Michelle and Gabriel must resolve their past mistakes, or part ways for good. A sexy take on the childhood friends-to-lovers trope that I cannot wait to get my hands on.
Release date: 14 September
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The Love Hypothesis | Ali Hazelwood
Fake dating is one of my favourite tropes, especially when the guy has harboured a years-long crush on the girl while she’s remained adorkably clueless, and Ali Hazelwood’s charming new debut novel is said to delight. In order to convince her best friend that she’s in a relationship, third-year PhD student Olive Smith randomly panic-kisses the first man she sees. But that man just so happens to be Dr. Adam Carlsen, a young hotshot professor whose grumpy reputation precedes him, and that is why nobody is more surprised than Olive when Adam agrees to play along with her charade. Olive and Adam agree to keep up the ruse of fake dating until they’ve both gotten what they need from their arrangement, but eventually, real feelings complicate everything.
Release date: 14 September
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When Sparks Fly | Helena Hunting
A heartwarming new friends-to-lovers romance is on the horizon from Helena Hunting, and I am already desperate for it. Avery Spark has a perfect life. She has a great job, a loving family, and a best friend she loves hanging out with. But when a car accident leaves her in need of someone to take care of her, her roommate and best friend Declan McCormick steps up. The more time they spend in compromising positions, the more their long-hidden mutual attraction becomes impossible to ignore, and before long their friendship finally becomes something more. But their fragile relationship is tested all too soon.
Release date: 21 September
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Faded Sunset | Rachel Blaufeld
Said to be Rachel Blaufeld’s angstiest tale to date, it tells the story of Margaret Long, a wife and mother whose life looks bright and shiny on the outside, but behind closed doors, her broken heart and body are desperate to break free. Her chance meeting with Mick Grantham and their mutual attraction lead to him being drawn into her world. But it’s a dangerous situation for everyone involved, and someone is likely to get hurt. A story of love won through adversity, I have a feeling this book is going to break my heart before (hopefully) rebuilding it.
Release date: 21 September
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Romancing the Gravestone | Gena Showalter & Jill Monroe
Gena Showalter and Jill Monroe take us to the small town of Aurelian Hills, Georgia, with a cozy romantic mystery, and the beginning of a brand new series. The heroine, Jane Ladling, owns a cemetery, and she’s got a slight problem. There’s an extra body in Plot #39. Enter gruff and gorgeous Special Agent Conrad Ryan, who kind of suspects her of murder. So, in order to prove her innocence, Jane decides to solve the crime herself, all the while trying not to fall for the first man to make her heart flutter. Perfect for those looking for some mystery, a little romance, and a whole lot of fun.
Release date: 27 September
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Sailor Proof | Annabeth Albert
Whether it comes down to me having a thing for men in uniform, or this book being written by one of my favourite authors of LGBTQ+ romances out there, I didn’t even need to know what this book was all about to know I needed it in my life. Naval Chief Derrick Fox is ready to be on land after a long deployment, even though he knows that there won’t be anyone waiting for him at shore. Wishing to exact a little revenge on his ex by showing off a rebound fling, he decides to find someone to wait for him with a big, showy welcome, and his best friend suggests his adorkable little brother, Arthur. But the man waiting for him on the docks has long grown out of his awkward stage and their first kiss, however staged, feels a little too real for them both. And then a video of said kiss goes viral, and their fake relationship starts to feel anything but fake.
Release date: 28 September
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A Small Hotel | Suanne Laqueur
An epic tale of historical fiction spanning several years, Suanne Laqueur’s new novel begins in the summer of 1941. Europe is at war, but the Thousand Islands in Upstate New York are at the height of the tourist season. Kennet Fiskare, son of a hotel proprietor, is having the summer of a lifetime, having fallen deeply in love with a Swedish-Brazilian guest named Astrid Virtanen. But the affair is cut short and the young lovers separated when America enters World War II. A journey through events that shape an American family’s weakest moments and finest hours, this promises to be much more than just a love story—it’s also a tale of family love, family tragedy, horrors of war, camaraderie, human endurance, and second chances.
Release date: 28 September
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Dark Rise | C. S. Pacat
After losing my ever-loving mind over her Captive Prince trilogy some years ago, it became clear to me that C.S. Pacat is one of those authors who excels in the epic mode. Any new Fantasy series from this author will always be on my ‘must have’ list, and this one has me already all weak in the knees. Described as an action-packed battle between Good and Evil, and set in 1821 England, it follows a 16-year-old boy who, while on the run from the men who orphaned him, finds himself dragged into a supernatural war for the fate of the world, as heroes and villains of a long-forgotten war are reborn and begin to draw new battle lines. But by providing multiple perspectives, and offering insight on characters from both the Light and Dark sides, the author continues to build on the premise of nothing in this slow-burning, enemies-to-lovers tale being as it appears. I can’t wait to embark on this epic journey, but even more to bask in Pacat’s exquisite prose again.
Release date: 28 September
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