Can summer be over already? I swear it was June only a moment ago. But here we are at the start of another school year. My daughter is safely landed in Valencia, Spain for a semester abroad, and I’m having some serious anxiety about it. She’s already had some unexpected glitches. She missed her connecting flight in Casablanca and had to stay there for 24 hours until the next flight to Valencia left. There’s nothing worse than getting a phone call at 3:00 a.m. from your sobbing daughter who is half way around the world telling you that she doesn’t know what to do! I felt so helpless because I couldn’t really do much to help, except to reassure her that everything would be fine. Man, this parenting thing is supposed to get easier, not harder!
My son leaves for his junior year in college in a few weeks, so I still have some time with him. Luckily he goes to college only about an hour away, so we get to see him often during the year.
And moving on to my September reading plans, I’m a little terrified right now! September has always been a heavy book release month, but this year seems especially bad (or good, depending on how you look at it!). I’m breaking this down into two sections this month, to organize myself better. The first section is books I have for review, and the second one is books I got at Comic Con that I REALLY want to read. Obviously, this list is more of a “menu” because I won’t be able to read even half of these (but I always try). Warning: this post is going to be long! Here we go:
September Books for Review:
Darkdawn by Jay Kristoff. I’ve heard nothing but good things for Kristoff’s epic fantasy series finale, so I’m excited to start this soon.
Our War by Craig DiLouie. Another book that already has rave reviews, I’m excited to read DiLouie’s latest.
The Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix E. Harrow. This wasn’t on my radar until I started hearing lots of buzz. Now I’m right there on the buzz train, and hoping this lives up to the hype!
A Song for a New Day by Sarah Pinsker. I believe this is Pinsker’s first novel, and I’m looking forward to to it!
A Cosmology of Monsters by Shaun Hamill. This is a Lovecraft influenced story that’s been getting great reviews, can’t wait!
The Nobody People by Bob Proehl. This has an X-Men vibe, even though that cover screams “literary!!!” Ha ha.
The Girl the Sea Gave Back by Adrienne Young. I’ve read some mixed reviews of this book. Some reviewers are saying it’s better than Sky in the Deep, and some are saying it’s not as good. Not sure who to believe until I read it for myself!
The Harp of Kings by Juliet Marillier. I’m very excited to read this, especially after hearing some amazing things about it.
The Imaginary Corpse by Tyler Hayes. I’ve been excited about this for months. A story about imaginary friends, including a dinosaur—I’m there!
The Bone Ships by R.J. Barker. This is the start to a new series by Barker, who I have not had the pleasure of reading yet, so I’m hoping it’s good. I’ve heard it is!
Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir. Well well well. My review will be up next week, just before pub date, and I can honestly say I’ve never read anything quite like this before! You’ll have to wait for my full report, though. Check back next Monday!
Stormrise by Jillian Boehme. Crazy excited to read this YA about a DRAGON WITH BOTH FUR AND SCALES!
Serpent & Dove by Shelby Mahurin. One of my blogging friends LOVED this book (and sorry, I can’t remember who right now!) So this has moved up to “must read” status this month for sure!
Violet by Scott Thomas. I am SO ready for another Scott Thomas book. I absolutely loved Kill Creek, and I’m curious to see what he’s done as a follow up.
The Resurrectionist of Caligo by Wendy Trimboli & Alicia Zaloga. There are some mixed reviews for this, but I’m still intrigued!
Kingdom of Souls by Rena Barron. Another YA that sounds really good, I remember downloading this from Edelweiss months ago. Glad it’s finally time to read it!
Comic Con ARCs I’d Love to Read
The Nightjar by Deborah Hewitt. I really hope I can make time for this, since it’s high on my “must read” list.
Chilling Effect by Valerie Valdes. This wasn’t on my radar until I got a copy at Comic Con, and now I really want to read it!
There Will Come a Darkness by Katy Rose Pool. I think I featured this as a Future Fiction pick earlier in the year, which makes me glad I have a copy.
The Bone Houses by Emily Lloyd-Jones. YA horror—sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t. But this has excellent reviews already, so I’m definitely giving it a try.
The Lady Rogue by Jenn Bennett. Historical YA fantasy with a gorgeous cover? I cannot resist…
The Future of Another Timeline by Annalee Newitz. Time travel stories are sometimes hit or miss for me (and big hits or big misses, for some reason!), so I’m a bit hesitant to dive into this. But I’m definitely going to try it.
Cold Storage by David Koepp. I had no idea this book existed until I met the author at Comic Con, and now I’m dying to jump in.
After the Flood by Kassandra Montag. I’m super hyped for this book. It’s a post apocalyptic story with a literary feel, and I’m sort of getting Station Eleven vibes from it.
Other Events:
As if ALL THAT wasn’t enough, I’m very excited to help Apex Books celebrate their Back Catalog Blog Tour all month. One of my favorite publishers, Apex is shining a light on their extensive and high quality backlist, and I’ll be helping spread the word by reviewing a backlist title that I’ve been meaning to read for a while, Greener Pastures by Michael Wehunt. I’m also interviewing one of my favorite horror authors, Damien Angelica Walters! Check back on September 10th for my review of Greener Pastures, and September 17th for the interview with Damien.
I hope your daughter enjoys Valencia. It’s a lovely city. You must have felt awful receiving that call but I’m sure you were brilliant at reassuring your daughter plus just ‘being there’.
I would probably read the Kristoff first. Very keen to see how it all plays out.
Lynn
I’m glad she’s in a lovely city, and hopefully she’ll get rested up from jet lag soon and be able to enjoy herself:-)
Oh wow, your poor daughter. I probably would have cried too. I hope she has an incredible time in Spain though. What an amazing opportunity!
I’m curious to hear your thoughts on The Girl the Sea Gave Back. I just finished it yesterday and have mixed feelings.
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Hmmm I have heard several bloggers say that about The Girl the Sea Gave Back. Still, I do want to read it anyway…
Ooo there are some epic books on this list! I’m literally adding a bunch to my TBR right now! Great post 🙂
Mim Inkling recently posted…September Haul
Thanks Mim! I want everyone to have huge TBRs just like me, so I’m not alone;-)
September is a huge month for releases. It’s going to put me so far behind.
Plus there’s King’s new book, that I have on hold from the library but I’m not sure how long I’ll have to wait and am debating just preordering.
I’m excited for After the Flood too!
OMG King’s new book! I completely forgot about that.
Oh that phone call would have sent my anxiety through the roof! That being said, Valencia is a beautiful small city and I’m sure your daughter will love it. This post makes me greedy- give me all the books! Good luck on plowing through these. Feel free to send me some if you need help, lol!
I’m glad to know you’ve been to Valencia and can vouch for it:-)
The Girl the Sea Gave Back is still very good. Looking forward to your thoughts on it!
Can’t wait:-)
Ooooooo Darkdawn! i’m so excited for that one, even though I can’t buy it right away probably… BUT STILL YAY!
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I just know it’s going to be fantastic:-)
Wow that’s a heck of a line up. I’ve started The Resurrectionist of Caligo and so far am finding it entertaining. However, it’s not so gripping that I don’t expect to finish The Bone Ships first – I met RJ Barker at Worldcon and he has me completely convinced this is My Jam and a Book I Must Read Now (and it may lose out to The Thousand Doors of January too, because wheeee that ARC landed and I’m all aboard the hype train). But I will get it finished in September 🙂
I’m very excited about The Bone Ships, how cool you got to meet him!
The Orbit blogger meet-up was intense and hilarious – first a bunch of us (suddenly and marvellously aided by Annalee Newitz) explaining hopepunk to a baffled British grimdark writer, then RJ Barker just being SO ENTHUSIASTIC and tripping over himself because he wanted to talk about things he loved but spoilers but he loved them but but but . Worldcon – it’s full of fun 😉
I was not aware that Darkdawn’s publication date was so near, so thank you for mentioning it and allowing me to record a “high alert” 😀 for it: I have this burning desire to know how the story wraps up. My only certainty being that there will be a lot of blood…
Maddalena@spaceandsorcery recently posted…Review: THE BONE SHIPS (The Tide Child #1), by R.J. Barker
It sort of snuck up! Those beginning of the month releases always do:-)
*sigh* Yes… I’ve had those types of phone calls, too… the worst thing about them getting older is that they still go on getting into scrapes – but often as adults you can no longer ride to the rescue. Glad it was eventually sorted without too much of a problem and I hope your daughter loves her time in Spain – the people there are really friendly and kind in my experience.
As for your September book haul – I think you need to lie down in a darkened room before you tuck into this little lot, Tammy – that said, what a mouthwatering selection… Have a lovely month’s reading!
Ha ha, yes this list makes me tired just looking at it!
Looks like some great reads that you will be getting too! Enjoy!
Thanks Stormi!
Wow, you’ve had a lot going on. But even with the stress it sounds like some of it might be exciting, too. I certainly hope so, anyway. As to which book you should read first, that’s a tough one. But I’d probably choose The Ten Thousand Doors of January or The Harp of Kings. Lots of other great choices. I’m curious to see what you think of The Nightjar, if you get to it. I really enjoyed it, but I also found certain character traits frustrating and distracting.
I’m definitely going to read The Nightjar, but might not get to it this month. I’ll let you know!
I feel the same way. It seems like we were just in June and now today is Sept. 1st, which kinda blows my mind! And wow that must have been scary for your daughter- and for you too! Glad she ended up okay.
The Ten Thousand Doors of January looks great and I saw a very enthusiastic review of it last week, so I’m looking forward to that one!
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I’ve seen tons of positive reviews for Ten Thousand Doors, and I’m not going to be able to wait:-)
I hope your daughter will have a great time in Spain, despite the early glitches. I know I would have been feeling completely helpless and freaked out too, if it had been my daughter! But this is probably a great learning experience and the next time she has runs into problems a connecting/canceled/delayed flight, she will be a pro at taking it in stride (and with the state of airlines these days, it’s a good skill to have) 😀 On another note, Spain is a beautiful country, I went on an archaeological dig for college there, and while not a lot of people can speak English well, they are the nicest and hopefully your daughter got some good help during her ordeal.
And on to the books, no kidding, September is trying to kill me! I have so many books on the TBR, I already know I won’t be able to read everything I can but I’ll be trying my best!
I’m glad to hear Spain is a great country, I’m hoping she shakes off the airport experience and has a wonderful time:-)
Yeah, I guess we’ll all give it our best shot. I just looked at October and OMG. It’s the same as September, maybe worse:-/
I think you should start from “A Cosmology of Monsters”.
Debjani recently posted…Five Books with Green Covers You Must Read
I should! I’ve been eyeing that book for quite a while:-)
Your poor daughter and poor you, Tammy! How stressful! I can’t even imagine. I am glad all is ok and sorted.
I love your ambitious reading menu! I am especially intrigued by After the Flood and hope you are able to read it this month!
Thanks Jennifer, I hope we can all read everything we want this month:-)
Not the best start for your daughter but I bet she will have a thrilling adventure abroad. And it does seem like a huge month in books. I have a bunch releasing that are on my wish list too.
Laura Thomas recently posted…A Parliament Of Crows by Alan M. Clark ~ Spotlight and Giveaway
I know she’ll have a wonderful time. I guess it’s those bad experiences that make you appreciate the good times:-)
September is a crazy release month for sure. Lots of books here I’d like to get to. I managed to work a few into my Monsterathon but not many. I am still needing to preorder Gideon although I admit I’m awaiting your review now after your last comment.
Your poor daughter! I had no idea she was studying abroad. That had to be a horrible feeling for both of you. Hope the rest of her semester goes smoothly!
Thanks Barb, once she got to her destination, I think she forgot most of what happened at the airport. I wish we could slow time down and get through more of our September books:-)
Hahaha, yeah, this month is amazing and awful. I still have two massive books from summer left over (Jade War and Dragon Republic) and then the mountain of September/October ARCs to dive in (plus I’d love to do some backlist!). However shall we survive?
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P.S. So sorry you and your daughter went through that experience! Solo travels at that age are always stressful enough without being literally stranded on your own! Glad she’s safely in Spain!
Caitlin G. recently posted…Top Five Tuesday: Series I Need To Finish
I think I would have lost it! Hopefully that will be the worst experience she has.
I’m not sure, but I’m looking at October and it may be even worse than September. I guess “worse” is a relative term, though, seeing as having “too many books” just can’t be a bad thing!
Oh man, I hope your daughter won’t run into any more issues, especially airplane-related. My Euro trip started with one of the worse departures of all time too. On another note, I look forward to seeing your thoughts on The Bone Ships if you get around to it! So many awesome books. September is going to be crazy! 😀 Happy reading!
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It’s such a crazy month, I hope we all live through it, lol.
Oh, how interesting, my boss’s daughter is also doing a semester abroad in Spain this semester! It sounds like a great experience, hope she has a good time with it.
Looks like you have a lot of fantastic reading ahead of you, Tammy! There are so many books coming up this month, it’s a bit hard to keep up!
You’ve got a couple on your list I haven’t seen before, I need to check those books out! Sounds like a busy school year, and how hard it must be to want to help but they’re too far to actually do anything! I am done with summer weather, so tired of the heat, and ready for the fall weather to be here. You can check out my August Wrap-Up and looking forward to September post below!
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I’m glad your daughter made it to Valencia! That sounds like it was an awful time getting there 🙁 Good luck with all your reading in September!!! I want to read Darkdawn and The Girl The Sea Gave Back this month!!!
I have The Bone Ships too and I am like 12% in or so and I don’t know how I feel about it just yet. Hmm…
Glad to hear your daughter safely landed in Valencia. That must be so scary but I hope she has a great time!
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As a person who has had her fair share of travel hiccups, my heart goes out to your daughter! I hope she is enjoying Valencia and Spain, though. Studying abroad was my favorite experience in university.
You have so many amazing books on your plate this month, and I hope you are having happy reading & all 5 star reads.
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