September New Release Faves

September is delivering some of the most waited for books of the year. Take a look at what I'm looking forward to dropping this month.

Beastly Bones (Jackaby #2) by William Rutter. Why I've still not managed to pick up the first book in this series is completely beyond me and I better get a move on before I've got even more catching up to do. Set in 1892 private detective Jackaby returns to investigate the supernatural, this time as an unidentified beast starts attacking innocent people.

Menagerie by Rachel Vincent. Metzger's Menagerie travelling carnival is full of wondrous and grotesque creatures on exhibition for the world to marvel over. When Delilah Marlow visits she discovers a creature within herself and is captured to perform night after night in towns across the country.

After You (Me Before You #2) by Jojo Moyes. Lou returns in this sequel to the wonderful novel Me Before You and I for one cannot wait to read this follow up novel but is there life after Will Traynor for Lou?

The Girl in the Spider's Web (Millennium #4) by David Lagercrantz, Stieg Larsson. Is it just me or is September the month of hotly anticipated sequels. I've actually already bought a copy of the fourth book in the series and cannot wait to follow along with Lisbeth and Mikael Blomkvist.

Lair of Dreams (The Diviners #2) by Libba Bray. I'm going to sneakily place this in my September pile as it wasn't released until the end of August and I totally forgot to talk about it, which is insane considering how much I've been looking forward to reading this sequel! Evie O'Neill and her divining friends return to fight the paranormal and this time Evie has become a media darling. But, not everyone is accepting of the Diviners abilities putting Evie and her friends in danger once again.

The Humans by Matt Haig

You know those movies you watch because they leave you feeling all warm and fuzzy and picking you up from a down mood, well Matt Haig's The Human's is a definitely a feel-good book in much the same way. It's delightfully quirky, witty and laugh-out-loud chuckly throughout so if you're feeling a bit blue this could be just the book to lighten your mood.

Professor Andrew Martin of the University of Cambridge has just solved one of the most complex and important mathematical problems in the history of the universe. But when the following day, he is found wandering the motorway in the nude it's apparent that he's not quite right. That's because he's not. Extra terrestrial non-Earthen aliens have discovered his mathematical breakthrough and plan to put a stop to it being published. When a lifeform takes the place of Professor Andrew he does so as an outsider to Earth who views Humans with the utmost disgust and loathing.

It's truly hilarious. Matt Haig has managed to sum up all that is quirky, horrible and downright silly about the human race quite aptly from the point of view of an alien invader. "Magazines are very popular despite no human ever feeling better for having read them. Indeed their chief purpose is to generate an inferiority in the reader that consequently leads to them needing to buy something, which they do, and then feel even worse..."

But he also manages to sum up all that is great and beautiful and wonderful about us too. "Sentimentality is another human flaw. A distortion. Another twisted by-product of love, serving no rational purpose. And yet, there was a force behind it as authentic as any other." 

To love and to laugh and create and be moved is to be human in the best possible way and The Humans is surely a book to be read when you're feeling a wee bit down about the world as it will make you feel immediately better.

The Fortune Hunter by Daisy Goodwin

It's not usual that a romance novel catches my eye but The Fortune Hunter being a historically set novel as well really piqued my interest and I'm really glad I took a chance on it. Set in 1875, the Empress of Austria Sisi visits England on a hunting trip. Exceptionally beautiful, witty and smart, Sisi has everything a woman of her position could ever ask for, except happiness. When Captain Bay Middleton is piloted to the Empress during the hunting season, Sisi sees in him the passion and charm lacking in her own marriage, and despite Bay's engagment to his devoted fiance Charlotte, the attraction is more than mutual.

Despite this definitely being a love story and a love triangle at that between Sisi, the dashing Bay and his sweet and young bride to be Charlotte, I really felt invested in the story due to my love for the characters. I have to say I really liked both Charlotte and Bay straight from the beginning as Charlotte's love for the new art of photography set her apart from other young women of her age. She actually reminded me a little bit of Elizabeth Bennett, except not quite as headstrong, for her refusal to care what others think of her quirks. Charlotte's fortune, gifted to her when her mother passed away, has set her up for a life of comfort, which also means she doesn't have to marry for money.
When she meets the dashing young Captain, Charlotte is warned against his cadish nature, which soon emerges when the Empress becomes quite taken with him.

Throughtout the novel the standout element to me was the characters of Sisi, Bay and Charlotte. I loved seeing Charlotte develop into a woman who was prepared to fight for what she wanted and the historical element of a woman's role in marriage - especially if she holds the riches - was really fascinating to read about. Fans of historical fiction or just straight up romance novels are probably going to enjoy this a lot. There was a lot of 'will they won't they' going on between Charlotte and Bay but by the end of the novel Charlotte's transformation into knowing what she wanted left me even more satisfied than any romantic ending.