What I Read this Month: September 2025

I had a lot of downtime this month, which meant lots of time to read. Three more books added to my 2025 total as we enter the year's last season.

The Hum and the Shiver by Alex Bledsoe

The month started off strong with an urban fantasy set in Appalachia during the early 2000s, post-9/11. The novel centers around Bronwyn Hyatt, a 20-year-old private whose rescue after her injury and abduction in Iraq is national news. Though a national hero, at home she is something else. Bronwyn fights her inner demons and PTSD as she comes to terms with who she really is.

The fantasy element of this novel is Bronwyn's people, the Tufa. We don't get to see too much of their abilities until later in the book, but the hints and cookie crumbs along the way are intriguing and well-laid. I found myself wanting to know more about them.

The writing was engaging and the characters were so fun to get to know. The conflicts between the characters felt real and deserved; you really get a sense of the history of the relationships in the town. I was really pulling for Bronwyn the whole way through.

While I enjoyed this book immensely, I was sad to learn the rest of the novels in the series focus on different characters. The town and the Tufa are the focus, and every book centers a different person. This is frustrating, since so much of Bronwyn's story feels unfinished by the end. We see machinations by feuding families but never really understand the motivations. Bronwyn heals and comes to terms with who she is, but the future she sees for herself and clearly articulates is confusing and never fully explained. So the end left a bit to be desired, and knowing the rest of the books probably don't answer the outstanding questions is annoying, but I will probably continue this series.

Surrender by Pamela Clare

I can't remember what trope put this historical romance on my TBR list, but it had a lot of them, and most were well done. I've said before that I've learned I prefer historical romance to contemporary because I find they have more depth and the writing is superior. That was definitely the case here.

In Surrender, Iain MacKinnon finds himself responsible for saving the life of Annie Campbell. They're both Scots living in America during the French-Indian War, but for very different reasons, and their families are enemies, having fought on opposite sides of the Jacobite uprising in Scotland. Annie hides her identity and why she came to America; Iain has been extorted into fighting for the British although he loathes them.

I enjoyed this one, but I wouldn't say I loved it. For one, the author seems to think breasts literally get heavier when women are turned on, and it's a phenomenon she mentioned so many times I couldn't just chalk it up to one weird turn of phrase. For another, I didn't like how the whole "maidenhead" thing. Weird concepts of virginity are par for the course in historical romance, but some authors handle it better than others, and Clare's handling left some to be desired.

After reading The Hum and the Shiver, this one just didn't impress me. I mean, in general, romance is never going to be as impressive as other genres. This was a fun read, but I don't think I'll revisit the rest of the series or continue reading this author.

The Knight and the Moth by Rachel Gillig

I had attempted to read Gillig's debut, One Dark Window, and gave up on it three separate times. But I'd heard great things about this novel, so I decided to give it a try.

Wow. I'm so glad I did. This novel was gripping from the start. Pure fantasy romance (not romantasy), this novel has beautiful world-building, interesting magic, and well-crafted characters. 

In a kingdom where the knighthood is meant to defend the faith and the king is a figurehead of submission, Diviners play the crucial role of reading portents provided by the gods. When five of the six Diviners go missing, Six seeks the help of the one knight she hates most to help her find them.

This novel is full of unexpected twists, slow-burning and realistic emotional growth, deftly planted clues, and complex characters. It's been awhile since I've read a book where I truly connected with and cared about the characters, and this one scratched that itch. I was actually devastated by the ending, and usually I don't get that emotionally invested in the books I read. I can keep a professional distance, if you will.

Anyway, yes, I absolutely adored it and can't wait for the second book, The Knave and the Moon, to release. I will probably give One Dark Window a fourth try now that I know the slow start may be worth the perseverance.

Ali