The most wonderful time of the year in publishing isn’t Christmas; it’s fall. With big-name authors dropping new titles, buzzy sequels hitting shelves, and highly anticipated debuts arriving at a breakneck pace throughout September and October—this is the industry getting ready for all those holiday shoppers—this time of year is a paradise for readers of all stripes. But, let’s not kid ourselves, the neverending stream of new releases can feel like a lot. To help cut through the noise, we’re switching things up and offering a recommendation
Fiction:Exit Party by Emily St. John Mandel (September 15)
Set in 1931 in an alternate version of the United States which has collapsed into regional factions, Mandel’s latest strings together parallel timelines, alternate realities, and disparate futures in a story that wrestles with timely dystopian themes of surveillance, chaos, resilience, totalitarianism, and loss. Protagonist Ari attends a party in Los Angeles, meant to celebrate the establishment of the new Republic Of California; the event serves as a nexus for all manner of thorny moral quandaries and what-ifs. Fans of Mandel’s work will also find intriguing connections to her previous novels.
Thriller: The French Illusion by John Grisham (September 29)
The always reliable Grisham trades his traditional courtroom drama for international espionage in a fast-paced thriller about a honeymoon gone horribly wrong and a brutal kidnapping scheme. As the families race to come up with the ransom the kidnappers demand, various international agencies join forces to try and suss out the connections between this disappearance and a string of similar crimes. Full of twists and suspense.
Romance: Grim Tidings by B.K. Borison (September 15)
The second installment in Borison’s charming Ghosted series, this follow-up to last year’s (also excellent) Good Spirits features an opposites-attract paranormal romance between a Grim Reaper and a Guardian Angel whose connection forces them both to wrestle with identity, connection, and grief. Equal parts whimsical and heartfelt, with a delightful grumpy-for-grumpy chemistry between its two leads, and featuring Borison’s trademark deft banter, this is a perfect love story for spooky season.
Historical Fiction: Agrippa by Robert Harris (September 1)
For those whose Roman Empire is, well… the Roman Empire, the latest novel from the author of Conclave offers readers an unconventional figure to obsess over. Harris’ book takes the form of a fictional memoir from Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa, the Roman general and statesman who served as the right-hand man to Caesar Augustus and is, for the most part, sidelined in our larger discussions of the period. Featuring familiar historical faces, frequently bloody political wrangling, and a thorny central friendship, the novel is an excellent mix of fact and imagination.
Fantasy: The Wretched Divine by Adalyn Grace (September 22)
The adult fantasy debut from the author of the popular YA Belladonna trilogy, The Wretched Divine features knights, demons, angels, and a centuries-spanning war between them all. Human knight Aurelie lost most of her family to a demon attack when she was a child. Now grown, she’s preparing to soulbond with an angel in the hopes of helping her people finally end this ancient conflict. But when an unforeseen tragedy forces her to form a second bond with a secretive demon, everything she thought she once knew is thrown into chaos. The complicated dynamic between the three leads is intriguing, and the book ends on a breakneck cliffhanger that will leave readers eager for a sequel.
Romantasy:The Knave And The Moon by Rachel Gillig (September 1)
The highly anticipated follow-up to Gillig’s BookTok favorite The Knight And The Moth, this sequel promises higher stakes and darker mysteries. The story picks up immediately following its predecessor’s devastating ending: Sybil Delling, a former nameless Diviner (read: prophetic seer) of the now-ruined Aisling Cathedral, is a prisoner, forced to wed the cruel king she once would have named a friend. But when a mysterious knight with no memory shows up at the tournament being held to show off King Benji’s power, Sybil may have found the answer to writing her kingdom an entirely new story. Expect plenty of lush imagery, palpable yearning, and fiction’s most adorable sentient gargoyle.
Science Fiction: Scion by James Islington (September 1)
James Islington’s The Hierarchy series is some of the best, most inventive fantasy writing on shelves today. (Consider this a heads up to give these books a try before the third installment arrives late next year.) But the author is dipping his toe into a new genre this fall with Scion, a fast-paced science fiction thriller. The high-concept cyberpunk story follows a bioengineered assassin often charged with killing “Lifers,” a.k.a the rich who can pay exorbitant amounts to medically extend their life expectancy. But when he accepts a job protecting an ultra-wealthy client, he finds himself swept up in a complicated conspiracy that may hold the key to answers about the death of a friend from several years prior. The story features considerably less world-building than the sprawling trilogies Islington is famous for, but his strong prose and dry wit remain.
Horror: Trad Wife by Sarah Langan (September 29)
Influencer fiction is all the rage right now, from thrillers that put social media fame front and center to dystopian tales about the dangers of internet notoriety and the surveillance state. Sarah Langan’s Trad Wife is a psychological horror story that follows a thirtysomething journalist who loses her job after she’s targeted by online trolls. Desperate for work, Jenny agrees to profile the megapopular Mia Wright, a trad wife influencer who beams her perfect life at Black Swan Farms out to millions of eager fans. But something much darker seems to be lurking around the edges of her carefully curated world. A tense, creepy exploration of gender, oppression, and complicity that treats both its protagonists with care.
Young Adult:Winterveil by Ava Reid (September 15)
Dystopian fiction is so back. You probably could have guessed this from the fact that there’s a new The Hunger Games movie in theaters in November, but the genre’s suddenly everywhere at bookstores too. And although author Ava Reid may be best known for her unique fairytale retellings (The Wolf And The Woodsman) and dark fantasy (Innamorata), her latest novel, Winterveil, proves that she’s just as skilled at crafting creepy dystopian worlds too.
Set in an alternate America where the Cold War never really stopped, Winterveil is a thoroughly addictive tale of four teenagers sent to a hidden military academy where they’re trained to use their unique skill sets—forgery, fraud, strategy, a photographic memory, a penchant for violence— in the service of a secretive CIA mission that’s more morally complicated than any of them anticipated.
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