Best New Book Releases By Genre: September 2026
Discover which books you should add to your reading list that are being published in September. I have to be honest there are also a few holiday books already coming, but I kept them out of this list! I’ll post a separate list of the best new Christmas books to read this year. There’s plenty of other great books that make up the September new releases!
I sorted my list by genre so you can easily find a new book you’ll love. There are options in romance, mysteries/thrillers, and fantasy, plus general fiction.
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September Romance New Releases
Grim Tidings by B.K. Borison
Just in time for Halloween comes a new ghost-y romance from one of my favorite authors! Darcy is a Grim Reaper who is tired of always being the bad guy, so when she’s assigned to collect Gabriel, she decides to save him instead. Gabriel is a grumpy Guardian Angel who has no intention of trusting a Reaper, especially one who keeps showing up and messing with his carefully protected little corner of the world.
When they’re forced into an unlikely partnership, all that tension starts turning into something a lot more complicated. This is a fun romance, (just with an angel and grim reaper!) about two people trying to figure out if they can change their fate and whether they’re willing to risk everything for each other. | Buy From Amazon
I’m obsessed with the premise of this young adult romance! Small town Nebraska girl gets an unexpected inheritance and moves with her family to a brownstone in NYC. Lynn Painter is a master of YA romance, with all the emotions that we remember from that time in our lives!
After Julia moves to New York City, she’s enrolled in an elite private school and has to figure out how to fit in with a bunch of wealthy kids. Things get even more complicated when she meets Damion, the handsome, rebellious guy assigned to tutor her. And he secretly happens to be the great-nephew of the man who left her family the fortune. Damion is convinced his family was cheated and plans to use Julia to uncover the truth, but the more time they spend together, the harder it becomes to keep up the act! | Buy From Amazon
I’ve been waiting YEARS for this book! I recommend Jen’s Well Met series to absolutely everyone and I’m thrilled to head back to the Renaissance Fair scene and pick up with Caitlin, now all grown up. You won’t need to read to the other books to enjoy this one, just dive in!
Caitlin thought she’d left the magic of the Willow Creek Renaissance Faire (and her first love) far behind, but after losing her job and moving back home, she finds herself helping out at the Faire again. The last person she expects to see is Alex Wright, the Shakespeare-loving, sword-fighting guy who broke her heart years ago. Alex knows he messed things up the first time around and is determined to make things right.
Caitlin isn’t ready to give him another chance, but spending the summer together has them quickly realizing that their old chemistry is still very much there. As Caitlin tries to figure out what she actually wants from her life and Alex tries to prove that he’s changed, this second-chance romance we get to go along for the ride and return to the Ren Faire too! | Buy From Amazon
Mystery/Thriller New Releases
The French Illusion by John Grisham
It’s hard to believe John Grisham is still putting out new stories, since I was reading him back in high school, but here we are! Step away from his typical courtroom setting and get involved in a kidnapping instead!
Paul and Chelsea Tanner are newlyweds on what should be the perfect honeymoon in Paris, but their romantic getaway takes a terrifying turn when they’re kidnapped during a day trip into the French countryside. As their families scramble for answers, investigators discover that this may be connected to other kidnappings with much bigger political implications. Now the FBI, CIA, and French intelligence are pulled into an international investigation. Meanwhile, a young lawyer is recruited to play a dangerous role as bait in an elaborate operation to catch the people behind it all. | Buy From Amazon
It’s Not What You Think by Clare MacKintosh
Nadeeka is convinced her boyfriend Jamie is cheating on her, especially after he starts coming home late and she hears what sounds like another woman in the background when he calls. Determined to catch him, she rushes home to confront him, but instead finds her house surrounded by police and Jamie dead inside.
What follows is a twisty psychological thriller where nothing is quite as it seems, and Nadeeka has to question everything she thought she knew about Jamie, their relationship, and the people around them. With secrets, suspicion, and plenty of twists, this is definitely one of those books where the less you know going in, the better! | Buy From Amazon
Other New Releases
Exit Party by Emily St John Mandel
Author of the beloved Station Eleven, Emily St John Mandel is back with another slightly science fiction novel that features fractured timelines! It sounds a little bit out there, but she has a way of creating compelling stories outside of the normal world as we know it.
The story follows Ari, who is newly released from prison in Los Angeles five years in the future where strict curfews and political unrest have changed everyday life. She goes to a party with her friend Gloria, but the night takes a bizarre turn when a mysterious woman who looks exactly like Ari shows up and the
party’s host disappears. As Ari tries to figure out what happened, she gets pulled into a much bigger mystery involving surveillance, alternate realities, and different versions of her own life. | Buy From Amazon
Hollow Bones by Jodi Picoult
Molly was only two months old when her mother disappeared on 9/11, and growing up with that loss leaves her with a constant fear of disaster. As an adult, she turns that fear into a career, working in emergency preparedness and planning for everything that could possibly go wrong. She and her husband, Jesse, a police polygraph expert, have built a happy life together, but when something unexpected shakes their marriage, Molly is forced to question how well she really knows the people she loves.
The novel is told in dual timelines from Molly and her mother’s perspectives, and dives into the complicated state of mother/daughter relationships, events out of our control, and how to face unexpected trials. | Buy From Amazon
Tempest by Victoria Aveyard
The first fantasy book on my list for September new releases is a pirate fantasy! I feel like we need a whole lot more romantasy and fantasy books in this category, there’s so much potential. You might recognize Aveyard’s name from the Red Queen series, which I still remember FLYING through.
Cat Rose has reinvented herself as the Widow Rose, a tough and independent woman running a pirate tavern in the Lyrian Sea after escaping the miserable life she once had as a noblewoman. But when the powerful Meridian Empire threatens to destroy the pirate republic, Cat is given an impossible choice: capture the one pirate who might be able to stop them or be hanged herself. The problem? That pirate is Valerian Kane, the legendary captain who happens to be the man Cat has loved for years.
The narrative is told across two timelines and encompasses a sweeping adult fantasy filled with pirates, magic, politics, and a very complicated romance. | Buy From Amazon
The Witches of Cambridge by Alice Hoffman
I saved the best witchy fall option for last! This is a magical historical fiction novel set in the 1950’s, about two women who become involved with a secret society of witches at Cambridge.
Ava Abbot has always felt like an outsider, so heading to Radcliffe College feels like the fresh start she’s needed. While there, she meets Lauren Bell, her wild and confident opposite, and the two quickly become friends after discovering they’ve both been invited into the secret Lilith Society, a centuries-old group of witches. Ava and Lauren learn to explore their powers and understand the women who came before them.
Except their story takes a turn when members of their society start disappearing. Now they have to help uncover what’s happening and solve the mystery before they end up in danger themselves! | Buy From Amazon
Let me know in the comments which one you’re most looking forward to reading!