Month in Review: September 2026

 

Happy October to those who celebrate! I've certainly grown into a huge October fan over the years because I am a big fan of the spooky season, of course, and I know many of my fellow readers/bloggers are as well. But this post is about September, so let's backtrack a little and first note that September truly, truly flew by for me, and I'm not sure I like that, haha. Did it fly by for anyone else?

In personal news, September really had a lot going on! I've still been preparing for an upcoming performance in a local student showcase which has been quite up and down for me, haha, but it's been a fun process nonetheless. Work has been pretty busy, but not too bad just yet (October/November should be busier), and I've started another community college course for some reason--I guess I just can't stay away! This time it's a character rigging course in Maya, which I'm not sure is going to be my favorite, but it's great knowledge to have nonetheless. Not too much else going on to share, so let's move on to the books (and really, the reason we're all here). 

In reading news, I've been really getting back on track still with my reading! September derailed slightly, but I still read some fantastic books and I am so ready for October reads (and I already have some TBR ideas going, so maybe I'll share a highly, highly tentative TBR post for October, but we'll see how it goes, haha). I didn't get quite as many reviews up as I meant to, but I also realized a lot of my ARCs are for October books, so as long as I can stay on top of those, October should have considerably more reviews! For September, What Feeds Below and The Sixth Nik were probably my top two reads of the month.

How was your September and what books have you been reading? Any reading-related goals?  Let me know how your month was below and what you've been reading!

   

# books read: 12

What Feeds Below by Tatiana Schlote-Bonne

Source: NetGalley | Format: eARC
Thoughts: I really loved this body horror-heavy tale and cannot recommend it enough for anyone who enjoys exploring dark places full of horrifying creatures--safely within a book, of course!

Out of Body: Stories by Chris Vanjonack

Source: NetGalley/Publisher | Format: eARC
Thoughts: These stories were hit or miss, but many more hits than misses and overall I quite enjoyed this collection! My review is also up for this one already. 

The Sixth Nik by Daniel Kraus

Source: Publisher | Format: Hardcover
Thoughts: I really enjoyed this one! It was delightfully unique and I really enjoyed the different ideas Kraus explored throughout. My review is already up, and the link can be found below!

If We Cannot Go at the Speed of Light by Kim Cho-yeop

Source: Library | Format: Audiobook
Thoughts: This was a really intriguing collection of stories that has surprisingly not stuck in my head as much as I'd have expected it to, but I'd still very much recommend it to any sci-fi fans who prefer a slightly more literary style. 

Whalefall by Daniel Kraus

Source: Library | Format: Ebook
Thoughts: I truly thought I was going to love this, but I am so disappointed to say that I really did not. I really wanted more whale time and whale focus, but instead I got a lot of family trauma that just wasn't really working for me. 

The Franchise by Thomas Elrod

Source: Library | Format: Hardcover
Thoughts: This is one of those where I really liked the concept and ideas explored, but the story itself and the characters were a bit lacking and didn't really grab me. 

The Professor and the Madman: A Tale of Murder, Insanity and the Making of the Oxford English Dictionary by Simon Winchester

Source: Library | Format: Audiobook
Thoughts: I've read a few Simon Winchester books in the past, but I somehow managed to never pick this one up until recently, and I'm glad I did because it was just as interesting as everyone always seems to say! 

The Chinese Lady by Bo Wang

Source: NetGalley | Format: eARC
Thoughts: My review is already up for this one as well! I was a little mixed on my feelings on this one, but overall I enjoyed the story and appreciated the author's attempts at doing something different with the narrative style. 

Ember and the Ice Dragons by Heather Fawcett

Source: Library | Format: Ebook
Thoughts: This was my first middle grade read from Heather Fawcett and I really enjoyed it! It was a really cute concept and I of course loved the Antarctica setting. I would love to read a sequel for this one!

The Islands of Elsewhere by Heather Fawcett

Source: Library | Format: Audiobook
Thoughts: And after my first middle grade form Heather Fawcett, I moved on to another because it popped up on Libby and I thought, why not! This was also really fun, and although I think the pacing and plotting was a little off, I'd still recommend it. 

Accidental Demons by Clare Edge

Source: Library | Format: Ebook
Thoughts: This was such a cute and clever middle grade story about a girl who belongs to a family line of witches that can easily summon demons, something that becomes considerably more of an issue when she is diagnosed with diabetes and finds that checking her blood essentially acts as a blood summoning... and she's accidentally summoning a lot of demons. I thought this was one of the most clever ways to incorporate an exploration of chronic illness in a way that really drives the plot and also tells some incredible lessons. Highly recommended for young readers!

A Dog in Georgia by Lauren Grodstein

Source: Library | Format: Audiobook
Thoughts: For this being a book about a woman traveling to the country of Georgia to look for a stray dog, there was a considerable lack of searching for the stray dog. This isn't something I'd typically read, but it showed up on Libby and I thought I'd give it a read--and I'm not sure it entirely worked out for me, haha.

The Dungeon Book by Gareth Hanrahan

The Sixth Nik by Daniel Kraus

The Chinese Lady by Bo Wang

Out of Body: Stories by Chris Vanjonack

What Feeds Below by Tatiana Schlote-Bonne

 Posts:

Month in Review: August 2026

Anticipated October 2026 Releases

Blog Memes:

Can't-Wait Wednesday:

9/2: Solace House by Will Maclean & Quaint Folk by Bitter Karella

9/9: Public Access Afterworld by Jane Schoenbrun & Mystery Play by Elizabeth Kostova

9/16: Off the Reservation by Stephen Graham Jones & What Feeds Below by Tatiana Schlote-Bonne

9/23: Night of a Thousand Hells by Intan Paramaditha & Passengers by Alexander Maksik

9/30: Find Me Where it Ends by Cassandra Khaw & The Names of the New World by Kawai Strong Washburn

Can't-Wait Wednesday: Find Me Where it Ends by Cassandra Khaw & The Names of the New World by Kawai Strong Washburn

     

Can't-Wait is a weekly meme hosted by Wishful Endings that spotlights exciting upcoming releases that we can't wait to be released!

Find Me Where It Ends by Cassandra Khaw

Publication: October 6th, 2026

Tor Books

Hardcover. 144 pages.

Pre-order: Bookshop.org | Amazon

From Goodreads:

"A woman wakes up to find the black hound of Death at her front door in this hauntingly beautiful tale from USA Today bestselling author Cassandra Khaw.  

Antigone is no stranger to death. 

 For the women of her family, death always comes in the form of a black dog.  

When Antigone’s own black dog arrives, she isn’t afraid. She invites it inside, where it soon becomes a daily source of companionship and comfort. It also forces her to reflect on the life she’s led―the parts of herself she’s hollowed out for the sake of others, and the bone-deep exhaustion that’s hounded her every step.  

Her Death’s arrival must be a sign, permission to finally let go. To rest. Because while mortality is inevitable, living is a choice.  

But a good death comes at a price."

I have never liked a Cassandra Khaw book that I've read, but I'm always drawn to the premises of her stories (and also these awesome covers!) and I can't help want to try this one, even though I've sworn to not read her work again. Khaw and Olivia Blake are the two authors I want to love, but that never work for me. Maybe this one will be the one, because I really like the sound of this!

The Names of the New World by Kawai Strong Washburn

Publication: October 6th, 2026

Farrar, Straus and Giroux

Hardcover. 448 pages.

Pre-order: Bookshop.org | Amazon

From Goodreads:

"The highly anticipated second novel from the award-winning author Kawai Strong Washburn: an extraordinary saga of resilience and ambition in the face of a chaotic world.  

A ferocious superstorm strikes Minneapolis, leveling large swaths of the city in a matter of minutes. In the storm’s wake, three people forge an unlikely bond that will shape their lives for the next twenty five years: Naomi, a disillusioned lawyer by day and amateur MMA fighter by night, searching for the meaning she’s lost after migrating from Hawai‘i; Amaré, an up-by-the-bootstraps investment banker with grand designs for all the money he’s about to make; and Raheem, a diesel mechanic nearly paralyzed by the storm and struggling to save his business.  

When Naomi realizes that energy companies are responsible for the climate-induced superstorm―and the many more to come, potentially dooming her island homeland―she initiates a bitter legal battle, one that culminates in her ascension to a political office in D.C. with the power to prevent future tragedies. Yet her rise puts at risk a burgeoning romance with Amaré, whose own ambitions test Naomi’s ethical limits, while Raheem’s fate as a blue-collar business owner becomes dependent on the couple’s growing power.  

Following his acclaimed debut, Sharks in the Time of Saviors, Kawai Strong Washburn again turns his remarkable gift of mythic sight to the oceans and landscapes we so often overlook in the name of progress. Spanning two decades and ranging from the American Midwest to the nation’s halls of power to islands across the Pacific, The Names of the New World is a startling, energetic, and optimistic vision of how to live in this era of overwhelming change.

"'An epic account of the fight for human dignity and an intimate, unforgettable story of love, ambition, and resilience.'―Adam Johnson, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Wayfinder ”

I love an epic sci-fi, especially when it's about big things affecting the world, so I am really excited to check this one out!

Review: What Feeds Below by Tatiana Schlote-Bonne

 

What Feeds Below by Tatiana Schlote-Bonne
Publication Date: October 6th, 2026
Bindery Books
256 pages. Hardcover.

About What Feeds Below:

"'Lush and innovative worldbuilding, gruesome body horror . . . A nail-biting tale set in a beautifully rendered world of darkness and danger' - Starred Kirkus Review

The darkness isn’t empty. It’s hungry.

At the edge of the City of the Void, a massive chasm extends miles into the earth, its treacherous terrain overrun with vicious monsters and carnivorous plants. For orphaned best friends Petra and Jade, guiding treasure-seeking tourists down into the Void is the only way to earn enough to pull themselves up out of the slums for good.

Petra prefers to play it safe and take jobs only in the Void’s upper levels, where the dangers are better understood, while Jade wants to risk a descent to the deepest and most mysterious Sixth Layer. Because the deeper they go, the better the payout, and the sooner their dreams can become reality. Their friendship is Petra’s whole world, and Jade’s approval means everything—so Petra agrees to do it Jade’s way.

When their job goes wrong and Jade is lost in the Void, Petra must plunge deeper than she’s ever dared to save her friend. But she doesn’t know the truth of the Void . . . or what really waits for her in its depths."

What Feeds Below is a book that sat very vividly in my mind the entire time I was reading it, and I think it will continue to linger in the back of my mind to remind me of all the disturbing and not okay things I just read about--but that I enjoyed every minute of!

In What Feeds Below, we follow Petra, a Void Diver, who regularly traverses the depths (well, several layers of the depths up until the events of this book) to take tourists on excursions to see the deep, dark insides of the Void in order to attempt to save up enough money to open her own clinic one day and help people.

Our story begins when Petra and her diving partner/best friend/almost sister Jade take a client on a trip into the Void, only this time they're going a little deeper than they have before. Unfortunately, things don't go according to plan (who could've guessed?) and Petra and Jade end up separated, which ultimately forces Petra to go deeper into the Void than she ever has before to try to save her. And... well, you'll see what chaos happens after that.

I generally liked Petra as a protagonist, though I can't say she really stood out to me all that much initially. I was slightly more interested in following along with her journey through the plot rather than in her as a character, but as the story progressed, I found myself connecting with her more at various points. By the end, I actually found myself feeling a little emotional during one of the bigger climactic moments, as it felt eerily relatable (thematically, of course).

The Void is a character in itself and I was almost immediately obsessed with finding out more about it. It sounds pretty terrifying, to be completely honest, so I don't think I would be one of the those tourists paying money to delve down into its depths, but I would certainly live vicariously through the experiences of others who are, uh, braver, than I am. A journey into endless terrors is something I think I can probably live with out, all things considered.

I liked the idea of each layer being more deadly or mysterious than the last, but honestly I think they all seem quite deadly across the board. I think the fact that the deeper layers are simple less explored is a big park of what makes them so much frightening, and understandably so. I think what I enjoyed the most--and what made me slightly concerned for our dear author--was how there was truly no shortage of horrifying imaginative ideas about what lurks in the Void. There are some unique, grotesque, terrifying creatures and elements in each layer, and just when you think, "okay, that one was pretty intense," you turn the corner and there's something even more chaotic and crazy that you couldn't have predicted.

And with that comes what I think is one of Schlote-Bonne's great strengths: her descriptive imagery and ability to make you truly imagine the horrors our characters are experiencing. I could vividly imagine (unfortunately) the gross, frightening things that happened to people and other creatures throughout this journey, much as I might have preferred not to. It was incredibly immersive and I was really impressed with the author's ability to make me feel so thoroughly immersed in this world. And despite the fact that I've been calling things horrifying and grotesque, there's a strange beauty to the Void that I think Petra is a bit captivated by at times and that I definitely understand. An alien world of any kind is fascinating and brings with it many things to appreciate and be curious about.

There are a number of themes explored in this book, but I particularly appreciated the exploration of understand who you're doing things for, whether you're being true to yourself or living your life for someone else, and what that means for your own life and future.  This idea of doing things for other people and not yourself really resonated with me. We can give so much of ourselves and our lives and time to people without ever realizing it might not be what we've wanted for ourselves.

The ending is perfectly fitting, and I want to say so much about it, but in order to avoid giving anything away, I will refrain from saying anything more. If anyone wants to chat about it, though, feel free to reach out!

I think this is classified as YA, and I would mainly say the part that feels YA is with the characters themselves due to their ages and their maturity levels. I do feel that you could tell they were younger, and the ways in which they acted with other characters felt like younger people who are still maturing emotionally and trying to understand the world. I personally found the dynamics between Jade and Petra and then Jade, Petra, and Flint slightly familiar and predictable, which made me slightly frustrated with their actions at times, but the story around it was still captivating enough that this didn't end up bothering me overly much.

The content itself could easily fit into adult or YA horror (specifically body horror), and I think some of the imagery will haunt anyone at any age. I don't think that's a problem for YA, either, as sometimes life truly is just horrific and there are horrors we may face at any age. Still, do be mindful going into this one that the body is very present.

Overall, What Feeds Below is a fantastic read for the spooky season, and any horror fan--especially those of the body horror fan variety--will definitely want to check this one out.

*I received a copy of What Feeds Below courtesy of the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This has no effect on my rating or enjoyment.*

Buy the book: Amazon | Bookshop.org

Anticipated October 2026 Releases

October is a busy month for publishing, and fortunately for us that means there are many exciting new releases coming! It's also one of my favorite months because I'm a big fan of all things spooky, so I'm especially excited for many of these!
I've read a few (What Feeds Below is so good!) and have many more on my ARC TBR (Quaint Folk, Public Access Afterworld, Passengers, to name a few) and I cannot wait to read them all.

What are your most anticipated October releases? Be sure to let me know, and happy reading, everyone!

   

Off the Reservation by Stephen Graham Jones || October 13th -- Amazon | Bookshop.org

Quaint Folk by Bitter Karella || October 6th -- Amazon | Bookshop.org

Solace House by Will MacLean || October 13th -- Amazon | Bookshop.org

Public Access Afterworld by Jane Schoenbrun || October 27th -- Amazon | Bookshop.org

Find Me Where it Ends by Cassandra Khaw || October 6th -- Amazon | Bookshop.org

Night of a Thousand Hells by Intan Paramaditha, trans. Stephen Epstein & Tiffany Tsao || October 6th -- Amazon | Bookshop.org

What Feeds Below by Tatiana Schlote-Bonne || October 6th -- Amazon | Bookshop.org

Passengers by Alexander Maksik || October 13th -- Amazon | Bookshop.org

The Chain House by J.H. Markert || October 6th -- Amazon | Bookshop.org

The Names of the New World by Kawai Strong Washburn || October 6th -- Amazon | Bookshop.org

The Occidental Book of the Dead by T. Geronimo Johnson || October 6th -- Amazon | Bookshop.org

As You Wake, Break the Shell by Becky Chambers || October 13th -- Amazon | Bookshop.org

Rottenheart by Kat Dunn || October 13th -- Amazon | Bookshop.org

Until the Light Go Out by Courtney Gould || October 13th -- Amazon | Bookshop.org

Bruja's Nest by Brenda Latorre || October 6th -- Amazon | Bookshop.org

A Wall is Also a Road by Annalee Newitz || October 6th -- Amazon | Bookshop.org

Dive Bar at the End of the Road by Kelley Armstrong || October 6th -- Amazon | Bookshop.org

Savage Lake by Nick Medina || October 27th -- Amazon | Bookshop.org

Mystery Play by Elizabeth Kostova || October 13th -- Amazon | Bookshop.org

Look What the Cat Dragged In by Jason Rekulak || October 13th -- Amazon | Bookshop.org

When the Night Comes Knocking by Katherine Daniel || October 20th -- Amazon | Bookshop.org

The House Built on Alligator Bones by Sophia Huneycutt || October 6th -- Amazon | Bookshop.org

As We Fall Through Time by Claire North || October 13th -- Amazon | Bookshop.org

The Sea-King and the Sorceress: Life and Death in the Viking Age by Neil Price || October 13th -- Amazon | Bookshop.org

The Memory of Borrowed Books by Meg Anderson || October 6th -- Amazon | Bookshop.org

Music Against the Night by Yiyun Li || October 13th -- Amazon | Bookshop.org

The Tarot Trials by Katee Roberts || October 20th -- Amazon | Bookshop.org

Venus, Vanishing by Rebecca Birrell || October 27th -- Amazon | Bookshop.org

Under the Iron Sky by A.T. Emerald || October 13th -- Amazon | Bookshop.org

What are your anticipated October releases?