October – and Halloween – is already here. While we have no idea where the time went, we’ve got another post for you with our favourite reads from September and the ones we’re dying to read in October.

So let’s start with our favorites:

Laura:
I had a hard time choosing a favourite book, since I’ve read some amazing books this month, but I have to let a light shine on My Boyfriend’s Back by Elliot Cooper. I love Elliot’s writing, and this one – on top of being his longest one – is the best I’ve read by him. We’ll be doing a release day review on October 10th here on the blog, so stay tuned if you want to know more about it.

After losing both of his parents, Academy of Magecraft student Steven Durant doesn’t want to see anyone else lose a loved one before their time. Traditional resurrection methods, however, only create mindless, flesh-hungry zombies; they’re no cure for death. He’s certain his unique brand of necromancy—using alchemy and blood magic—is the only answer.

When his boyfriend, Dax Everhart, has a fatal accident, Steven sees no choice but to use his experimental Lazarus Elixir. Dax comes back wrong, but the more humans he consumes, the more human he becomes.

With the help of his best friends, his ghostly aunt, and her living doll homunculus, Steven fights to regain normalcy and repair his shattered relationship with Dax. But with Dax openly embracing his monstrous nature, Steven shoulders the guilt of assisting in a murder spree that could lead the mundane and magical police right to their door.

Links: Goodreads / Nine Star Press

Annie:
Somehow september wasn’t a great month in terms of reading and I’ve only read 6 books in the past month and there were a couple of really good ones, so it was hard to decide on one. But in the end Definitely, Maybe, Yours by Lissa Reed “won”.
How could it not when I absolutely fell in love with Craig and Alex AND she also made me crave baked goods. Badly! So bad that I went and bought me some cake at some point.
I also should warn you in book 2 it’s not just baked goods but also indian food! Don’t read these books when on a diet. 😉

Seattle-based baker Craig Oliver leads a life that is happily routine: baking cupcakes for an enormous family reunion, managing Sucre Coeur for its frequently absent owner, and closing out his day with a pint at the local pub. He has a kind heart, a knack for pastry, and a weakness for damaged people.

Habitual playboy Alex Scheff is looking to drown his sorrows, but instead discovers that he may have a weakness for Englishmen who carry cookies in their pockets. Can a seemingly incompatible pair find the recipe for love in a relationship they claim is casual?

Links: Goodreads / Interlude Press

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Now for our eagerly awaited titles.

Laura:
This will come as a surprise to probably no one, but the book I’m dying to read this month is Pansies by Alexis Hall. I adore his writing, and the Spires series counts with some of my favourite books in it. I can’t wait to see what this one will bring us, and you’ll probably have to deal with me talking about it all over the blog.

Alfie Bell is . . . fine. He’s got a six-figure salary, a penthouse in Canary Wharf, the car he swore he’d buy when he was eighteen, and a bunch of fancy London friends.

It’s rough, though, going back to South Shields now that they all know he’s a fully paid-up pansy. It’s the last place he’s expecting to pull. But Fen’s gorgeous, with his pink-tipped hair and hipster glasses, full of the sort of courage Alfie’s never had. It should be a one-night thing, but Alfie’s never met anyone like Fen before.

Except he has. At school, when Alfie was everything he was supposed to be, and Fen was the stubborn little gay boy who wouldn’t keep his head down. And now it’s a proper mess: Fen might have slept with Alfie, but he’ll probably never forgive him, and Fen’s got all this other stuff going on anyway, with his mam and her flower shop and the life he left down south.

Alfie just wants to make it right. But how can he, when all they’ve got in common is the nowhere town they both ran away from.

Links: Goodreads / Riptide Publishing

Annie:
Different to deciding which book I liked most in September, choosing the book I’m most looking forward to was really easy. It’s Winter Heart, the fourth and final book in the Seasons of Love series by B.G. Thomas.
I binge read the first three books last year, right after the third one had come out, and was eagerly anticipating the release of the last one!
Also can I just point you to the amazing cover art? The covers for this series are among some of my absolute favourites!

For over ten years, Wyatt Dolan defined himself as the lover of Howard Wallace. Howard made sure Wyatt’s self-worth depended on that role. So when Howard dumps him, he is lost at sea in a storm without a rudder. If it wasn’t for his supportive friends, he doesn’t know what he’d do. Finally, after a series of disasters, he escapes to Camp Sanctuary—a sacred place to him—where he can be alone, try to put his past behind him, and find a new direction for his life.

Kevin Owens is a lonely man. He is very intelligent—several apps he created have gone on to make him a comfortable living—but he is also quite shy and is uncomfortable making conversation. The death of his dear friend and former lover after a long illness leaves him grieving, confused, and adrift. Then a dream guides him to Camp Sanctuary, only to find that the one cabin with a wood-burning stove has already been reserved. And worse, by a man he’s had a secret crush on for years—Wyatt Dolan.

When a snowstorm knocks out power at the Camp, Wyatt and Kevin must share the same cabin to stay warm, and very soon, magickal things begin to happen.

Links: Goodreads / Dreamspinner Press

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That’s all from us! But please don’t be shy and tell us which was your favourite September book and what you can’t wait to read in October 🙂

Genre: Contemporary monthly review Publisher: Dreamspinner Press Publisher: Interlude Press Publisher: Nine Star Press Publisher: Riptide Publishing Alexis Hall B. G. Thomas Definitely Maybe Yours Elliot Cooper Lissa Reed My Boyfriend's Back Pansies Winter Heart