Welcome to the September 2025 roundup!

As we’re now free-falling toward the end of the year, this month was the same for me as the last few months have been: trying to write as much of my new WIP as possible, working on blog posts that don’t feel like a rehash of what I’ve already written in the last 8 years, posting content on social media that isn’t met with crickets (although thank you to everyone who regularly interacts with my posts, I appreciate it!), and watching the horror and nonsense of world “leaders” and events while trying to stay creative in yet another year of unprecedented events. It makes it hard to be human, let alone creative, some days. I’m sure I’m not the only one who feels this way, but all we can do is keep going, appreciate the good in our lives, and get lost in family, friends, writing, reading, and entertainment, which are also things I did this September.

As for what those things were, read on…

As mentioned above, I’m falling back in love with writing again as I work on my new WIP, which is now just shy of 15,000 words. The only time I’m not working on it is when I stop to write blog posts; however, inspiration for content I feel like I haven’t covered yet, and an internal voice of doubt every time I start drafting a new blog post, continues to plague me. I’m not sure if this is a creative funk I’ll eventually break out of, or a sign I need to take a decent blogging break, but that’ll be something I’ll keep mulling over as we head into the final months of this year.

Dexter: Resurrection

I wasn’t a huge fan of Dexter: New Blood, and although Dexter: Original Sin was a step up, it still wasn’t “Dexter” enough for me, so I wasn’t exactly counting down the days for Dexter: Resurrection to start and waited until all the episodes had dropped to check it out. I was glad I did, though. With Michael C. Hall back to his Dexter best, Harry Morgan back as his conscience, drop ins from Angel and Quinn, a running joke about a new serial killer called The Dark Passenger, and a slew of serial killers played by a host of known actors (I won’t spoil it here if you haven’t watched yet), it was a step in the right direction. While I doubt Dexter will ever get back to Trinity-level best, this latest installment is worth watching if you were ever a fan of the serial-killer-who-kills-serial-killers series.

Ballard

Never one to pass up a TV series with Maggie Q at the helm (Nikita and Stalker), Ballard is based on the series of Renée Ballard detective novels by Michael Connelly.

Ousted by her former colleagues after some professional challenges, Ballard takes over the cold case squad, working with volunteers to solve forgotten crimes. While there are episodes that resolve single cases, there is an overall case running throughout based on a serial killer that is ramped up in the final episodes, and thankfully, is resolved without leaving you on a cliffhanger. This still sets things up nicely for the already green-lit season 2, so if you’re looking for a series that completes a decent story and has a great set of characters and actors, definitely check this one out.

The Woman In The Waves by Camille Booker

Set in 1921, Missy Green is a 19-year-old fisherman’s daughter who not only believes she sees mermaids in the water, but one night, when walking the beach, she finds the body of a young woman. As a witness to what may be a murder, she’s brought into the investigation by Detective Shaw, a man whom she finds herself increasingly drawn to.

After finding the body, Missy’s need to ask questions about the mysterious death of her own mother increases. She believes her father and grandfather are keeping the real truth from her, and she strikes a deal with her grandfather for answers. What Missy then uncovers spirals her into a devastating truth, while drawing the detective into a series of events that could cost him everything.

While this book is beautifully written and I did enjoy the characters, it was a little light on the murder investigation and too much into the historical and psychological aspects for my tastes. If you’re a fan of historical fiction that delves into mental health, however, it might be just what you’re looking for.

Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir

If you’ve read this book, you’ll know that “amaze, amaze, amaze,” is the only way to describe it—and also get the reference!

I absolutely loved this story from start to finish and highly recommend getting the audiobook if you can, as the voice actor/narrator does a fantastic job.

When the sun becomes infected by an alien species and starts to die off, the only hope is school science teacher, Ryland Grace. The first person on earth to crack how the sun-sucking invader works, he’s sent on a mission to the only planet in the solar system that seems to be immune to figure out why. The book opens with him waking up on the Hail Mary spaceship with temporary amnesia. As his memory returns, we learn along with him the events that led to his present moment, and what happens when he gets to the immune planet. I won’t spoil it here, but it’s why this book is well worth the read, and why I’m also very much looking forward to the movie adaptation that’ll be released next year.

Once a Villain (Only a Monster 3) by Vanessa Len

An entertaining conclusion to the Only a Monster series, Once a Villain takes place directly after the events of book 2 (Never a Hero) with Joan, Aaron, Nick, and their friends in Eleanor’s changed timeline. Here, monsters rule over humans, and the world is falling apart.

To save it, Joan and co. need to find the right solution, and this brilliantly brings together story threads from the other books and some nice twists, all of which lead to an action-packed final chapter and an emotionally-charged ending. Highly recommended for fans of fantasy, romance, time-travel, monsters with a difference, and found family.

Sunrise on the Reaping by Suzanne Collins

The latest book in The Hunger Games series focuses on the 50th Games, won by fan favorite Haymitch Abernathy. But just because you know that he wins the games, it doesn’t make the story and the events in the arena any less exciting—or devastating.

The book follows a similar format to The Hunger Games, where it opens on the day of reaping, which happens to be Haymitch’s 16th birthday. He is reaped, leaving behind his mother, brother, and the love of his life, Lenore Dove, and is taken to the Capitol with his fellow district 12 tributes, which are doubled as it’s an anniversary year.

What it delivers is everything a fan of this series loves: great characters, training, pageantry, and the games themselves, with alliances, mutts, twists, devastating deaths, Snow being his villainous self, and the introduction of Plutarch Heavensbee and Effie Trinket. There are also nods to the other books in the series, and an all-the-feels ending. Highly recommended for fans of the series, and this is yet another book I’m looking forward to seeing the movie adaptation of.

Let’s Be Book Friends!

If you’ve got any good book recommendations, let me know in the comments, or be my friend on Goodreads and share your faves! You can also find and follow my book reviews on Amazon and BookBub.

This month, I’ve been taking photos of… Spring, and around here that means pretty blooms and magpies.

In case you missed any of my posts or want to reread them, here are the latest blogs.

And I’d like to add a shoutout to writer and photographer, Maria Antonia, who tried out the very tongue-in-cheek suggestions from my Author Photo Checklist and blogged about the results in her post, School Picture Day!. Your post and photos made my day, Maria!

And that’s it for this month. I hope you’ve enjoyed my September Roundup. Let me know what you got up to in the comments!

— K.M. Allan

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