October 2025

New month, new books for our TBRs!

September brings a touch of #spooky on the air, but October begins spooky season for real. Don't worry, I have some properly spooky book reviews lined up for this month. But October also launches the Fall publishing season, and there are a lot of books to celebrate this month. Here are some of the less-than-spooky books I'll be adding to my TBR.

	The Butterfly's Sting Abbie Harlow From the Publisher: Never again. That’s what seventeen-year-old Bo Clark has promised her two younger siblings ever since they were put in separate foster homes―a situation that nearly turned deadly for her little brother, and that they have vowed never to repeat. Bo will do anything to keep that promise. Even if it means enduring the abuse of Uncle Jack, their new guardian. When Jack discovers that Bo has a talent for boxing, he signs her up for an underground fight club tournament, which could bring in enough money for her to move out with her siblings as soon as she turns eighteen. But the ring is a brutal place, and when Bo’s cutman is arrested, Jack is forced to bring a new one onto the team. Liam turns out to be a schoolmate of Bo’s, and even as the two of them grow closer, she worries that he will go to the authorities if he ever finds out Jack is hurting her. As Bo makes her way closer to the big prize, Jack starts to set his sights beyond the tournament, and in an explosive finale, the violence moves outside the ring, putting everything Bo loves at risk.
A Riddle of Thorns Sarena Nanua & Sasha Nanua From the Publisher: Sana Gupta has waited years to return to her ancestral home in Paris, with its labyrinthine halls and overgrown gardens. Sent away as a child when her mother disappeared, Sana has long puzzled over whether her mother’s departure was just another of her famously unsolvable riddles. Now eighteen and ready to claim her inheritance, Sana arrives at the dark and dilapidated estate to find three strangers awaiting her: Fox, an eccentric prodigy who models himself after Sherlock Holmes; Isabelle, a seemingly innocent girl who shares an icy history with Sana; and Minho, a handsome young genius always wearing half a smirk. Per her mother’s will, they’ve each received a cryptic invitation to compete in a contest of riddles for the deed to Razorthorn Manor—and the rumored treasure hidden within: a flower created by the gods themselves, able to grant any wish. Feeling betrayed by her mother, Sana sets out to uncover the truth of where her mother really went, what links the competitors together, and what secrets the crumbling and disquieting house conceals. But her task won’t be easy—for her competitors will do anything to win this twisted game . . .
	I've Got My Love to Keep Me Warm Mariama J. Lockington From the Publisher: High school senior Lyric has always found Christmas to be the hardest season. While other kids got presents and family time by the fire, she was in and out of foster care. An up-and-coming make-up influencer and aspiring cosmetology student who loves a bold lip, Lyric definitely isn’t looking for romance—not when opening up to someone feels a lot like asking to get hurt. Christmas is Juniper’s favorite time of year. At least, it was, until her moms’ separation. They’re back together now, and Juniper hopes they’ll stay that way. Because if they’re happy, that means Juniper can leave for her gap-year trip after graduation (the one she has yet to tell her parents about, and can’t really afford without their help). When a chance meeting brings these two opposite personalities together, they should clash . . . only they don’t. Instead Lyric strikes a deal with Juniper: pose as her fake girlfriend in a series of holiday-themed social media posts and they can split the money from her beauty sponsorships. But soon the lines between what’s real and what’s not start to blur. Could it be that sparks are flying both in front of the camera and behind it?
The Wicked Lies of Habren Faire Anna Fiteni From the Publisher: Ceridwen Parry has run away with the fairies. But this is not her story. For Sabrina Parry, the world is tough, cruel and practical. With her father in prison, her aims in life are: 1) Hold onto her job, 2) Hold her tongue, and 3) Hold on long enough to see her sister Ceridwen maried to a man rich enough to look after her. Ceridwen is lovely, romantic, timid – everything that Sabrina isn’t. But then Ceridwen vanishes into the eerie woods leaving only an iron ring behind. Sabrina is drawn into a beautiful but decaying world of fairies and monsters of old. And when an annoyingly handsome fairy prince offers her a dangerous deal, Sabrina is forced to put her own freedom at risk to save her sister.
	The Trespassers Jennifer Lynn Alvarez From the Publisher: You think you can bury the past… but some truths refuse to stay hidden. Finley, Mya, River, and Eli were inseparable as kids, running wild on Alaska’s vast wide-open spaces. Then tragedy struck, and Finley moved to the lower 48. But now it’s Senior year, and Finley’s back in Anchorage. When Mya throws a house party on a snowy Valentine’s Day night, it’s supposed to be a chance for the friends to heal old wounds. But an encounter with a mysterious stranger quickly turns the evening into a nightmare. As the group scrambles to cover up what they’ve done, the fault lines they’ve grown so good at ignoring begin to crack as the police investigate and the media hounds them. Are they the most vicious teens in America, or deeply misunderstood? Everyone wants to know—even the teens themselves.

October launches the fall publishing season, and so there are so, so, so many books landing on the shelves this month, like the fight-club-style coming-of-age story Abbie Harlow brings to life in The Butterfly's Sting. Autumn wouldn't be complete without some historical mystery, perhaps with a fantastical twist, like A Riddle of Thorns by sisters Sarena & Sasha Nanua. Spooky season might be in full force, but winter is right around the corner: it's not too early to be adding wintery sapphic romances like Mariama J. Lockington's I've Got My Love to Keep Me Warm to the TBR. Fae romance is really having its moment, and with such a beautiful cover, I can't resist adding Anna Fiteni's The Wicked Lies of Habren Faire to my wishlist. And a Jennifer Lynn Alvarez thriller is never miss, so The Trespassers is truly a must-read!