Today’s post covers the second half of the books I read in September 2025. I shared what I read in the first half of the month here. I shared my five star reads here. I did read two more 5 Star books after I wrote that post, so those books will be included here! The Amazon links to the books I’ve read are affiliate links and if you use them and make a purchase, I may receive a small commission. If you’ve read any of these books or are interested in them, I’d love to hear about it in the comments!
Title: The Happy Life of Isadora Bentley
Author: Courtney Walsh
Genre: Rom Com
Publisher: Thomas Nelson, 6/13/23
Source: Author
Why I Read It: Sent to me for my review
My Rating: 4 Stars
I really enjoyed reading The Happy Life of Isadora Bentley! This is about Isadora, who finds a magazine list of 31 ways to be happy and decides to see if she can prove that the items on the list won’t actually work. And to my mind, the ideas were pretty simple. But what Isadora didn’t plan on were the people she met along the way.
“Isadora Bentley follows the rules. Isadora Bentley likes things just so. Isadora Bentley believes that happiness is something that flat-out doesn’t exist in her life—and never will. As a university researcher, Isadora keeps to herself as much as possible. She avoids the students she’s supposed to befriend and mentor. She stays away from her neighbors and lives her own quiet, organized life in her own quiet, organized apartment. And she will never get involved in a romantic relationship again—especially with another academic. It will be just Isadora and her research. Forever. But on her thirtieth birthday, Isadora does something completely out of character. The young woman who never does anything “on a whim” makes an impulse purchase of a magazine featuring a silly article detailing “Thirty-One Ways to Be Happy”—which includes everything from smiling at strangers to exercising for endorphins to giving in to your chocolate cravings. Isadora decides to create her own secret research project—proving the writer of the ridiculous piece wrong. As Isadora gets deeper into her research—and meets a handsome professor along the way—she’s stunned to discover that maybe, just maybe, she’s proving herself wrong. Perhaps there’s actually something to this happiness concept, and possibly there’s something to be said for loosening up and letting life take you somewhere . . . happy.”
Some of Isadora’s childhood experiences hit close to home for me and I understood the way she was scared to get close with people. I enjoyed how she slowly let people in. It was hard for her to trust Cal, the potential love interest in the book. This is a rom com, but also much more. I do believe that therapy would have been a good plan for Isadora!
Title: Kaplan’s Plot
Author: Jason Diamond
Genre: Historical Fiction
Publisher: Flatiron, 9/9/23
Source: Publisher
Why I Read It: Sent to me for my review
My Rating: 4 Stars
This 1920s historical fiction takes place in Chicago, as in the present, Elijah learns about his grandfather Yitz, Yitz’s brother Sol, and the rift that divided the family. Elijah discovers that his family owns a cemetery plot where his great uncle is buried.
“Elijah Mendes was hoping for a more triumphant return to Chicago. His mother, Eve, is dying of cancer, his business flamed out, and he has nowhere else to go. So he returns to Chicago feeling listless and shattered, worried about how he’s going to help his mother despite their chilly relationship. He finds some inspiration when he discovers that their family owns a Jewish cemetery and that a man he’s never heard of, his great-uncle Solomon Kaplan, is buried in a plot there. With a new sense of purpose―and an excuse to talk more deeply with his mother―Elijah begins pursuing a family mystery of extraordinary proportions. Elijah discovers his grandfather Yitz, Eve’s father, was a powerful gangster in the 1920s. She was ashamed and never spoke about him to Elijah. As secrets unravel, the past and present become intertwined, and Yitz’s story forces Elijah and Eve to bond in ways they never have before and begin to accept each other, not as who they wish they were but as they both are.”
While the middle of this one dragged a bit for me, the end picked up and I was entertained and interested!
Title: The Honeycrisp Orchard Inn
Author: Valerie Bowman
Genre: Rom Com
Publisher: Avon, 9/9/23
Source: Publisher
Why I Read It: Sent to me for my review
My Rating: 3.5 Stars, rounded up to 4 Stars
The cover of this book made me anticipate a sweet, fall themed romance and in some ways, that’s what I got. In others, this was a bit cringey and the main character was a bit too obsessed with both dementia and Only Fans as running jokes – maybe Only Fans is funny, but dementia definitely isn’t.
“Ellie Lawson’s city life was treating her just fine until a sour turn of events knocks her out in one fell swoop. Dumped by her boyfriend and fired from her event planning job, she is left with no choice but to return to her parents’ idyllic inn, nestled within a picturesque Honeycrisp orchard on Long Island. Anticipating a quiet hiatus in the attic apartment, she is instead met with Aiden, the stubborn, attractive son of the orchard owner who is currently occupying her planned refuge. Forced together by circumstance, they find themselves not only roommates but also coworkers, when they’re put in charge by their parents of the orchard’s vital Harvest Festival, a lifeline for both the struggling orchard and the inn. Amidst the enchanting disorder of small-town life, Ellie and Aiden grapple with their conflicting values, burgeoning feelings, and an electrifying tension. As Ellie discovers the unexpected charm of the life she left behind and Aiden learns there’s much more to Ellie than he’d first assumed, one fact remains: the future of the orchard and the inn depends on their unlikely collaboration.”
This is about Ellie, whose boyfriend dumps her and gets her fired. She returns home to her family orchard and inn to plan a fall festival and save the business. She reunites with her childhood friend Aidan. Their relationship seemed very much built on physical attraction, with their connection as children somewhat implied. One thing I loved in this book was Pumpkin the Pug, who wore orange pajamas.
Title: The Authenticity Project
Author: Clare Pooley
Genre: Contemporary
Publisher: Penguin Audio, 12/29/20
Source: Swap – Print, Library – Audio
Why I Read It: Backlist / Book Club
My Rating: 4 Stars
My friend wanted to start a book club and my pick is up first – The Authenticity Project by Clare Pooley. I listened to this one and enjoyed this story about Monica, who finds a notebook in which Julian had written what he feels is his authentic story. Monica adds her story next and the notebook moves from her to Hazard, Riley, Alice, and Lizzie, all who interact in real life and also learn about each other from the notebook.
“Julian Jessop, an eccentric, lonely artist and septuagenarian believes that most people aren’t really honest with one another. But what if they were? And so he writes—in a plain, green journal—the truth about his own life and leaves it in his local café. It’s run by the incredibly tidy and efficient Monica, who furtively adds her own entry and leaves the book in the wine bar across the street. Before long, the others who find the green notebook add the truths about their own deepest selves—and soon find each other In Real Life at Monica’s Café. The Authenticity Project‘s cast of characters—including Hazard, the charming addict who makes a vow to get sober; Alice, the fabulous mommy Instagrammer whose real life is a lot less perfect than it looks online; and their other new friends—is by turns quirky and funny, heartbreakingly sad and painfully true-to-life. It’s a story about being brave and putting your real self forward—and finding out that it’s not as scary as it seems. In fact, it looks a lot like happiness.”
I love stories of found family and this group of characters, as well as a few more side characters, were a lot of fun.
Title: Boy From The North Country
Author: Sam Sussman
Genre: Literary
Publisher: Penguin Press, 9/16/25
Source: Publisher
Why I Read It: Sent to me for my review
My Rating: 3 Stars
This semi autobiographical novel is about Evan, and addresses the question of whether Bob Dylan is Evan’s father. Evan’s mom has cancer and there is a lot of description of what she goes through and Evan’s desire to help, as she tells him about her relationship with Dylan and about trauma she experienced in her life.
“When Evan, twenty-six, is suddenly called home from his life abroad to the secluded farmhouse where he was raised by his mother, June, there is so much he does not yet know. He doesn’t know his mother is dying. He still doesn’t know the identity of his biological father or the elusive story of his mother’s creatively intense, emotionally turbulent romance with Bob Dylan, whom Evan reveres as an artist and whom strangers have long insisted he resembles. He doesn’t know the secrets of his mother’s life before he was born or what drove her to leave New York City for a completely different existence. In this deeply moving debut novel, Sam Sussman writes one of the most tender and intimate mother-son relationships of our era. Caring for his mother as her illness worsens, and as she begins to tell him truths he has waited so long to hear, Evan comes to understand the startling gift this extraordinary woman has bequeathed him. Inspired by the author’s own uncertain celebrity paternity, Boy from the North Country is an emotionally searing meditation on the most essential human themes: loss, healing, memory, and the redemptive power of love.”
There are a lot of Jewish references and a lot of Harry Potter references. I found the point of view changes a little jarring and there was some repetitiveness. This book is about the mother son relationship, but it written in a literary way, which is not my preference.
Title: If You’re Seeing This, It’s Meant For You
Author: Leigh Stein
Genre: Mystery
Publisher: Ballantine, 8/26/25
Source: Publisher
Why I Read It: Sent to me for my review
My Rating: 3 Stars
This is about a hype house for influencers. Dayna comes in to help the creators with their content. One of the creators is Olivia, who is there because she is a fan of Becca, who also lived in the house but is currently missing.
“After her boyfriend dumps her in a Reddit post, unemployed thirty-nine-year-old Dayna accepts an unusual opportunity from a man she stopped speaking to twenty years ago: If Dayna can help Craig transform his crumbling mansion into a successful hype house of influencers, he can restore his birthright to its former glory, and she can bring her career back from the dead. But missing from the mansion is Becca, an enigmatic tarot card reader who built a rabid fandom with her cryptic, soul-touching videos . . . and then vanished. With nineteen-year-old Olivia, the newest member of the hype house (and one of Becca’s biggest fans), Dayna begins to build a social media campaign around Becca’s disappearance that will catapult the creators to new heights of success. Too bad Craig forbids Dayna from pursuing the mystery at its heart. As Olivia searches for traces of Becca in a labyrinthine house that seems intent on hiding its secrets, and Dayna becomes entangled with both Craig and Jake, the resident heartthrob and the last person to see Becca, the two women make a shocking discovery that will upend everything.”
I think this was supposed to be a commentary on influencers but I can’t be sure. It was a strange story in which one can’t tell what is art and what is mental illness. And what’s with the rabbit?
Title: The Body In The Library
Author: Agatha Christie
Genre: Mystery
Publisher: Harper Audio, 2/22/22 (originally 1942)
Source: Publisher – Print, Audio – Library
Why I Read It: Backlist
My Rating: 3.5 Stars, Rounded up to 4 Stars
I listened to The Body in the Library by Agatha Christie this month since I had a bit of a library theme going on in my reads. I had the print version on my shelf but I chose to listen to the audio. It is a short book and it is the second in the Miss Marple books.
“It’s seven in the morning. The Bantrys wake to find the body of a young woman in their library. She is wearing an evening dress and heavy makeup, which is now smeared across her cheeks. But who is she? How did she get there? And what is the connection with another dead girl, whose charred remains are later discovered in an abandoned quarry? The respectable Bantrys invite Miss Marple into their home to investigate. Amid rumors of scandal, she baits a clever trap to catch a ruthless killer.”
I thought this had too many characters to keep track of what was happening, although I was able to go back and understand! I might be better off reading Christie’s books in print!
Title: Reasons to Hate Me
Author: Susan Metallo
Genre: YA Contemporary
Publisher: Candlewick, 9/2/25
Source: PR for Publisher
Why I Read It: Sent to me for my review
My Rating: 4 Stars
When bullies target autistic teen Jess, she starts a blog in which she writes about the reasons they might hate her besides for stealing her best friend’s boyfriend, which she didn’t actually do.
“There are countless good reasons to hate seventeen-year-old Jess Lanza, Stone Bridge High’s premier autistic theater nerd and Champion of Questionable Life Choices. Unfortunately, the cyberbullies that hounded her all summer are stuck on last year’s life-ruining mistake, the one that earned Jess the title ‘Boyfriend Stealing Slutbag.’ To relieve the bullies of their stale content, Jess vows to dazzle them with online posts about her own ridiculous fails and embarrassing character traits. But somehow, all of Jess’s posts circle back to her friendship with Chloe—the friendship her alleged sluttiness pulverized—and the gaping hole she left in Jess’s life. As Jess chases Chloe’s forgiveness, she must confront some of her darkest weaknesses—and darker still, the truth of what happened with Chloe’s boyfriend, a story neither of them wants to hear.”
This book does a great job of presenting assault and consent, therapy, and autism. I learned a new word for those who are not autistic – allistic. I loved that Jess was into creative writing and theater and I really appreciated her good friend Cam. I also really liked the message that all feelings are valid.
Title: Forget Me Not
Author: Stacy Willingham
Genre: Thriller
Publisher: Minotaur, 8/26/25
Source: Book of the Month – August
Why I Read It: Love her books
My Rating: 5 Stars
Forget Me Not was my August Book of the Month choice. I have loved all of Stacy Willingham’s thrillers, this one included. This is about Claire, whose older sister went missing in the early 2000s. Claire returns to the vineyard where her sister worked and finds a diary which details other missing girls connected to the vineyard – and it’s creepy owner.
“Twenty-two years ago, Claire Campbell’s older sister, Natalie, disappeared shortly after her eighteenth birthday. Days later, her blood was found in a car, a man was arrested, and the case was swiftly closed. In the decades since, Claire has attempted to forget her traumatic past by moving to the city and climbing the ranks as an investigative journalist… until an unexpected call from her father forces her to come back home and face it all anew. With the entire summer now looming ahead―a summer spent with nothing to do in her childhood home, with her estranged mother―Claire decides on a whim to accept a seasonal job at Galloway Farm, a muscadine vineyard in coastal South Carolina less than an hour away from where she grew up. At first glance, Galloway is an idyllic escape for Claire. A scenic retreat full of slow-paced nostalgia, as well as a place where her sister seemed truly happy in that last summer before she vanished, it feels like the perfect plan to pass the time. However, as soon as Claire starts to settle in, she stumbles across an old diary written by one of the vineyard’s owners, and what at first seems like a story of young rebellion and love turns into something much more sinister as it begins to describe details of various unsolved crimes. As the days stretch on, Claire finds herself becoming more and more secluded as she starts to obsess over the diary’s contents… as well as the lingering feeling that her own sister’s disappearance may be somehow tied to it all. Galloway was supposed to be a place to help her move forward, but instead, Claire quickly finds herself immersed in her own dark and dangerous past.”
This was a suspenseful and atmospheric read. I really enjoyed reading it!
Title: Famous Anonymous
Author: Morgan Baden
Genre: Middle Grade Contemporary
Publisher: Pixel & Ink, 9/9/25
Source: PR for Publisher
Why I Read It: Sent to me for my review
My Rating: 4 Stars
This middle grade book is about two pairs of siblings who live next door to one another. When their parents leave them at home without a babysitter, they make a video that ends up going viral. They aren’t allowed to be on social media, so they might be famous, but they’re also anonymous! Soon everyone is watching their videos and wanting more.
“Four kids from the same neighborhood, lifelong friends, throw on some costumes and make a funny video one night when their parents are out. One of them shares it with the group, another posts it on a TikTok-like social media, and suddenly the video blows up. Which makes the kids famous! Well, famous… and anonymous. Because no one can tell who they really are—and their parents must never find out. But their new fans want more content! So the four friends go on to make a series of over-the-top videos that vault them into a new world of celebrity and influence. They feel the rush of attention and the power of their own creations, but also struggle to preserve their fame and their anonymity.”
I thought this was a cute book and I liked that each character was easily differentiated. Sophie is not sure what her “thing” is, Gus is a soccer player but he also likes writing, Luke has autism, and Harper is an actor. They combine their unique voices and talents into making videos together and in doing so, they learn about the ups and downs of social media.
Title: Children of the Book
Author: Ilana Kurshan
Genre: Non Ficiton
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press, 8/26/25
Source: Publisher
Why I Read It: Sent to me for my review
My Rating: 5 Stars
I loved this book, though I admit it may be a bit niche. This is somewhat a memoir of parenting, through the lens of reading to children at their various ages and through the lens and layout of the Torah.
“In Children of the Book, Ilana Kurshan reveals how literature weaves an invisible thread through the tapestry of family life. Kurshan, a mother of five living in Jerusalem, struggles to balance her passion for books with her responsibilities as a parent. Gradually she learns how to relate to reading not as a solitary pursuit and an escape from the messiness of life, but rather as a way of forging connection and teaching independence. Introducing her children to sacred and secular literature―including the beloved classics of her childhood―she becomes both a better mother and a more compassionate reader. Chief among the books Kurshan reads with her children is the Torah, whose ancient wisdom illuminates her family’s path. Structured in five parts corresponding to the first five books of the Bible, this memoir traces the profound parallels between the biblical narrative and the daily rhythms of parenthood – from the first picture books that create the world through language for little babies, to the bittersweet moment our children begin reading on their own, leaving us behind, atop the mountain, as they enter new lands without us. A luminous meditation on how shared stories become the foundation for family bonds, Children of the Book celebrates a life richly lived through literature.”
I really enjoyed the parallels that the author draws between secular books and stories in the Torah – such as The Very Hungry Caterpillar to the days of Creation, the Going To Bed Book to Noah’s Ark, Charlotte’s Web to the 10 plagues, etc – and I enjoyed the way various books already related to the family’s life. I loved that she referred to a retelling of Little Women as a form of midrash (stories that explain the original source). The book moves from reading to kids to reading with kids to kids reading themselves and even recommending books to their mom, while forming their own stories along the way.
There you have it, the rest of my September reading! This post included 11 of the books I read in September. Nine of these books were in print and two were audio. Genres included rom com, historical fiction, literary, contemporary, mystery, thriller, and non fiction. Eight were adult reads, one was YA, and one was Middle Grade.
Have you read any of these books or do you want to? What have you been reading lately?
