September was a big reading month for me! I read 6 books! I think it had to do with all the time I spent at airports – flying from Nashville to the Northeast for two different wedding weekends. I can’t complain though. I had two highly anticipated new releases, two books in a witchy series, a nonfiction memoir for book club, and a little mafia romance to spice things up.
Check out my spoiler-free book reviews below – I try to give thoughts and feelings without going into spoiler-level detail along with a self-written book blurb! Happy Reading!
First Ritual Book Review
Another Supernatural Battle Series from Kelly St. Clare, and this time our focus is witches! It felt fitting to read this as we move into the spooky Fall season!
Author: Kelly St. Clare
Series: Supernatural Battle: Coven Caves #1
Genre: Enemies-to-lovers, paranormal romance
Pages: 410
Release Date: January 14, 2023
“And what did my grandmother say?”
“Fuck off.”
“We must always trust in the wisdom of our ancestors. Better give them the same answer from me.”
Bronte (Tempest) to Delta
Tempest Corentine is the only witch left in her family as her mother, grandmother, and twin sister are murdered. Losing their tethered bonds almost broke her, but then she feels the spark of a new bond and knows she might still have family out there. The only problem is the magus is probably in The Buried Knolls, the caves of the coven which her family fled from years before and might have been part of her family’s murder.
Tempest will do anything to find her new link, so she’ll be knocking on the coven’s door tomorrow. But first, she makes out at the hot guy in the bar. Unsurprisingly, it’s not the last we see of him – Wild, a high-ranking member of the coven.
As Tempest gets more involved with the coven, her priorities add up. Not only is she looking for her family member, but the coven plays a game each week called, Caves, where they magically fight for territory on teams to choose a new coven leader – and Tempest wants to win. And to top it off, she and Wild end up in an unknown mating ritual that they must figure out with the help of his magically gifted and smart friends.
First Ritual Thoughts
As I alluded to above, there’s a lot of different storylines going on in this book, which I really enjoyed! In her previous supernatural battle books, there’s the game and the mating ritual which is already a known ritual in their supernatural community. Tempest and Wild have no idea what’s happening in this series which makes it fun to find things out along with them.
Also, Caves is obviously a focal point, and I liked the game and how Tempest starts to play and strategize, but it’s also kind of for a stupid reason. I think I literally rolled my eyes. The side characters are great, giving a sense of camaraderie and family!
Chaos Pact Book Review
I immediately picked up the second book in the Coven Caves series (book 3 doesn’t come out until early 2024). Don’t read ahead if you haven’t read book 1 and don’t want spoilers!
Author: Kelly St. Clare
Series: Supernatural Battle: Coven Caves #2
Genre: Enemies-to-lovers, paranormal romance
Pages: 486
Release Date: June 1, 2023
Tempest has learned a lot since coming to the Buried Knolls – like why her family left in the first place and why the supernatural battles even started. It all plays into the demon king’s plan to create chaos and take over the realm. Tempest has a secret that the coven can never know about, because not even Wild and the Quad took it well.
She knows she needs to leave to protect the coven, but it’s hard to leave her new home and found family. But Wild and the Quad come around quickly, and Tempest doesn’t stay gone long. The new plan is to end Caves as quickly as possible, figure out what the mating ritual actually entails, and fight some demons as they try to infiltrate Buried Knolls through the magical gates.
Chaos Pact Thoughts
I enjoyed this book more than the first one which is different than a lot of reviews on Goodreads. I like that this book isn’t following quite the same formula as the other series in this world – there’s a lot of conflict outside of the game with the new knowledge of demons and their desires. But the game doesn’t disappoint, Tempest has some badass and hilarious moments, showing what a powerful witch she is. I loved that.
Wild can be frustrating, but we learn more about his younger life in this book, and he has his redemption arc once he gets it together and accepts the situation. And we finally meet Wild’s parents… yes, they suck just as much described previously in the series.
Overall, I enjoyed a lot of the side characters’ stories and those relationships/friendships with Tempest. There was a lot of depth and growth in everyone’s backstories in this book. I’m looking forward to the final book in the trilogy! And I think we might even see some character returns from other books… but that’s just a guess.
The Cursed Book Review
This was a highly anticipated book for me this month! I started it the day it was released, and I was not disappointed! Hello 5-stars! After the cliffhanger in book 1, I needed to know what would happen with Willow and Gray… if we’re still calling him that.
Author: Harper L. Woods
Series: Coven of Bones #2
Genre: Enemies-to-lovers, paranormal romance
Pages: 324
Release Date: September 7, 2023
I knew we had the potential to destroy one another–to burn until there was nothing left except ash.
The Cursed starts with the Covenant being gone, archdemons now on Earth at the school, and a feeling of massive betrayal by Gray. Gray is Lucifer, and he used Willow to get what he wanted – his body back on Earth, the Covenant destroyed, and his friends by his side. But he also loves her and made Willow his wife. He did save her in a way.
Even though the betrayal runs deep, Willow is still pulled towards Gray. But that doesn’t matter, and she won’t let him get away with everything that easily. Willow has access to all her power now, but the Coven still hates and blames her for what’s occurred. She wants to destroy all his plans and him to protect the Coven. But are they worth protecting in the end?
The Cursed Thoughts
Ahhhh! I absolutely loved this book. There was so much happening between Willow, Gray, the demons, and the Coven. So many answers and loose ends tied up. But also new information like prophesies and new enemies that created even more questions and future plot.
For the record, I was always on Gray’s side, sorry. And if it makes you feel any better about reading the second book and questioning HEA (I know the series isn’t over yet), I feel like he did have a good redemption arc – he put up with a lot from Willow and felt really bad about everything. Even when he was being evil, I swooned, because TBH he was kind of right.
In terms of Willow, I totally understand where she was coming from with hating Gray. Rightfully so, he did stab her and murder a bunch of witches and release demons from Hell. Willow spends a ton of time in this book plotting against Gray and trying to send him back to Hell. But we also see her exploring her new magic and righting wrongs in beautiful ways with it. Her power is extraordinary, and it’s nice to see her flex her immense power and authority on the Coven.
Willow’s friends were awesome – literally ride or die. And I loved their little love side stories they had going on with Gray’s minions friends. I would 100% read their stories.
And the book ends with a cliffhanger, obviously. But it sets the scene for more story and plot to come, and it’s going in a wild direction!
The Many Lives of Mama Love Book Review
Mama Love, as I like to call this book, was my September book club read for work! It’s a memoir, so I won’t be giving a star rating, but I highly recommend this book! I’ve brought it up in conversation with friends and family multiple times, because it was just that interesting.
Author: Lara Love Hardin
Genre: Memoir, non-fiction
Pages: 319
Release Date: August 1, 2023
“There’s more alcohol at a Little League game than at a Super Bowl party.”
Lara
Lara Love was a blonde, soccer mom who seemingly had it all in her million-dollar California cul-de-sac home. Unfortunately, she secretly has a Vicodin turned heroin addiction. With her business ruined and her husband also addicted, she’s resorted to stealing money and credit cards from cars around her neighborhood and schools to fund her addiction and life.
It all catches up to her when she and her husband are arrested in their picture-perfect home, tragically, all in front of her youngest son. 32 felonies later, Lara is sent to jail where she learns everything about the system for the first time. She learns how rooms and beds are assigned between the inmates – there’s a hierarchy, how drugs and notes are carried in and out, how to trade goods as currency, and the stories of the other women in her block. And through this, she’s able to make it to the top but also gains the trust of the other women, becoming “Mama Love.”
After getting out, she must get her life back on track to get her son back, all while dealing with a system that’s rigged against her. Random drug tests and meetings with multiple agencies, making it nearly impossible to hold down a normal job.
But Lara is able to reinvent herself as a ghostwriter. And she’s really good at it. Before she knows it, she’s meeting and working with the likes of Oprah and The Dalai Lama. She still deals with her past and the shame that comes with it, but as she writes and meets new people with new stories, she’s also healing and forgiving herself.
“I thought what I craved was approval and praise, but it’s simpler than that. I craved acceptance. For all the different versions of me I have been, and all the many lives I have lived.”
Lara
The Many Lives of Mama Love Thoughts
This book was so, so good. Lara Love has had such a life. She makes the turnaround from rock bottom to a happy life almost seem worth it…
Honestly, the first 60% of this book was a tragic train wreck I couldn’t stop reading. I wanted to shake her so many times and say stop it, stop ruining your life!! She had many opportunities to start on the right track and stay clean, but she kept getting pulled back into it, specifically by her husband. I just wanted her to leave him. Ugh.
But then, the last 40% things start to take a turn for the better. She’s doing well at work and life. And it almost seemed to go by too fast. I wanted more information and more detail. Although, it’s her life, and she already shared so much, so maybe she wanted to keep some things vague at the end. Highly recommend.
The Summer I Saved You Book Review
Another highly anticipated September release for me! I really enjoyed it, but it missed 5 stars for me. This is the second book in her “The Summer” series which are standalones but reference characters in her world occasionally. After the elevated, deep story in book 1 (The Summer We Fell reviewed here), I just didn’t feel as strongly about this one. However, as always, Elizabeth O’Roark can do no wrong, so it was still a strong 4 from me.
Author: Elizabeth O’Roark
Series: The Summer #2
Genre: Workplace romance, single parent romance
Pages: 301
Release Date: September 14, 2023
“Which is exactly what makes Lucie so dangerous: because every time I see her, I want to see her again, and every time she smiles, I want to be the one that put that smile there.”
Caleb
When Lucie catches her husband cheating, it’s the last straw. She takes her twins and moves into the lake cottage she inherited from her late aunt. The same cottage she grew up going to when her mom would leave her there to run off with a new man for the week. But it’s also the same cottage where she fell in love from a distance, watching the older boy next door.
Lucie needs to find a job – though, she hasn’t worked in years and never used her degree. And even though she’s left her husband, she still has to deal with his controlling behaviors and vindictiveness.
Caleb didn’t expect to have neighbors when he bought back the lake house he grew up going to. But Lucie is there, and she has kids now, and she also looks great – nothing like the kid she used to be.
Both of their lives are messy – Caleb has a runaway, estranged wife and Lucie has her own family drama. But they slowly get to know each other again and become friends. Which is helpful, since Lucie is coincidentally working at his company in the new employee morale leader role, a necessary job because Caleb is also a bosshole CEO of a tech company.
The Summer I saved You Thoughts
I’m not the biggest fan of single parent romances, but this book worked for me! I liked that they started more as friends again first, and Caleb had a connection with her son, who isn’t typically social. Lucie was the most caring mom, and I loved reading about that. Her twins provided fun, light-hearted moments, sweet commentary, good representation, and some conflict!
The workplace romance was fun – it was very enemies-to-lovers when it came to that because he didn’t want her there to begin with. It also provided somewhere for them to flirt that wasn’t around the kids.
I will say, I didn’t always like Caleb’s character. Work, work, work, work, work. Sometimes, he was awful and a letdown, the classic running because he’s scared trope. But he did have some depth, and the estranged wife provided interesting back story.
Lastly, Lucie’s ex-husband was truly horrible for different reasons with no redemption. He put all of them down, yes even the kids, and was super controlling. It was hard to read sometimes what a number he had done on Lucie and her confidence.
Tears of Salvation Book Review
Needing to change up my reading tropes, I decided to go mafia to close out the month. Tears of Salvation is the 5th book in The Saints Series, and I hadn’t read any of the others, but the reviews were good, and I jumped right in since they’re standalones.
Author: Michelle Heard
Series: The Saints #5, Underworld Kings #3
Genre: Enemies-to-lovers, mafia romance, amnesia trope
Pages: 393
Release Date: October 6, 2021
Isabella is the Princess of Terror, but she’s known for her partying and socialite ways. Her mom, Sonia, is a cartel leader in Colombia, and has been expanding her territory. And she’s starting to encroach on Alexei’s territory, who is the head of the Bratva and a deadly assassin in his own right. Alexei hates Sonia more than anyone else – she’s involved with human trafficking and Alexei wants nothing more than to end her.
Isabella and Alexei end up having a one-night stand at a club, unknowing who the other actually is. 3 months later, they run into each other again and realize their identities and their past together. Isabella’s got a secret – she’s working against her mother and freeing the children her mom is selling. Maybe Isabella and Alexei have more in common than they think. Can they work together to take down Sonia? And what happens when Isabella gets amnesia – can Alexei use it to his advantage, or will it all fall apart?
Tears of Salvation Thoughts
This book had so much more going on than the official blurb made it out to seem. I give way more information about the story, yet I’m still not really spoiling anything or going very far into the book with my blurb. And while the book had an interesting premise and I read it quickly, I just felt like it wasn’t well written. Something was missing. Also, the entire book misspelled Colombia and that irritated me sooooo much. It’s not Columbia – that’s a brand, it can be cities, but it’s not the country.
I don’t give out 2-stars very often, but this just wasn’t it for me. It was just an okay read. There are better written mafia books out there, and I won’t be reading the rest in the series. Also, to note, I didn’t really have any issues having not read the other books in the series.
Farewell Thoughts
Let me know if you’ve read or do read any of these books – in the comments or over on Instagram! If you liked my September 2023 reading wrap-up and book reviews, I’d love for you to share this post!
