13 September Reads That Will Fit Your Every Mood

Summer's coming to an end, and a Fall breeze is blowing in a full list of September books we can't wait to get our hands on. Sometimes you need to be in the mood for certain stories, so we've divided up our September must reads based on what they're about. Whether you're looking for a dark thriller with a twisted love story, a light and sexy romance, or a moving memoir that will inspire you, this roundup has them all!

01
For a Heartbreaking Love Story: After You

For a Heartbreaking Love Story: After You

After losing the man she loved, Louisa Clark struggles to find her footing again. In Jojo Moyes's sequel to Me Before You, After You, one woman navigates life and relationships as she tries to learn to fall in love again.

Out Sept. 29

02
For Inspiration: This Is Your Life, Harriet Chance!

For Inspiration: This Is Your Life, Harriet Chance!

After her husband of 55 years passes away, 78-year-old Harriet Chance impulsively embarks upon an Alaskan cruise that he had planned before his death. In Jonathan Evison's This Is Your Life, Harriet Chance!, a woman takes a journey to figure out her future but instead is confronted with her past. The novel, which is "part dysfunctional love story, part poignant exploration of the mother-daughter relationship," is ultimately a warmhearted tale of "acceptance, reexamination, and forgiveness."

Out Sept. 8

03
For a Stunning Look at What Marriage Is Like: Fates and Furies

For a Stunning Look at What Marriage Is Like: Fates and Furies

Fates and Furies is an electric examination of a complicated and layered marriage over the course of 24 years. Vanity Fair says that "Lauren Groff rips at the seams of an outwardly perfect marriage" in the process of portraying it from two perspectives.

Out Sept. 15

04
For an Adult Dystopian Love Story: The Heart Goes Last

For an Adult Dystopian Love Story: The Heart Goes Last

Bestselling author Margaret Atwood tackles some seriously heavy topics in her chilling novel The Heart Goes Last. When a couple is down on their luck, they jump at an opportunity to participate in a social experiment offering stable jobs and a home of their own — when all they have to do in return is give up their freedom every second month by staying in a prison cell. Everything seems fine at first, but as the couple becomes obsessed with the two people who occupy their house when they are in prison, the pressure of what they have committed to begins to be too much.

Out Sept. 29

05
For a Sexy Read: Dark Wild Night

For a Sexy Read: Dark Wild Night

Sometimes it's hard to see what's right in front of us, and in Christina Lauren's sexy novel Dark Wild Night, two friends try to ignore their feelings for each other, but it's WAY easier said than done. For a steamy, will-they-won't-they kind of romance, crack this open — and be prepared for blushing and cold showers to ensue.

Out Sept. 15

06
For a Humorous, Insightful Read: Why Not Me?

For a Humorous, Insightful Read: Why Not Me?

Mindy Kaling never fails to find ways to blend humor and wisdom in a way we can't resist, and her latest collection of essays, Why Not Me?, is no different. The actress and author shares her journey to finding contentment in life, career, love, and coming-of-age.

Out Sept. 15

07
For a Stunningly Realistic Fantasy Novel: Gold Fame Citrus

For a Stunningly Realistic Fantasy Novel: Gold Fame Citrus

A couple's fragile love sustains them as they deal with an apocalyptic drought that has changed American society profoundly. Claire Vaye Watkins's Gold Fame Citrus is a glaring speculation into a future that doesn't seem quite so unthinkable, told in a moving and original way.

Out Sept. 29

08
For a Moving Memoir: Girl in the Woods

For a Moving Memoir: Girl in the Woods

On her second day of college, Aspen Matis was raped by a fellow student. After struggling through the rest of the semester and feeling completely alone, she fled to the Mexican border, where she began a 2,650-mile walk through the desert, all the way to the mountains of Canada. Her memoir, Girl in the Woods, chronicles her five-month journey that was both dangerous and transformative as she was forced to face and overcome many obstacles from her past.

Out Sept. 8

09
For a Magical Love Story: The Sparrow Sisters

For a Magical Love Story: The Sparrow Sisters

Ellen Herrick's debut novel, The Sparrow Sisters, is a haunting fairy-tale-like novel with three sisters, a small town, and magical love.

Out Sept. 1

10
For a Dark Thriller: Savage Lane

For a Dark Thriller: Savage Lane

Jason Starr's Savage Lane is a dark domestic thriller that follows one divorced woman living next to a married neighbor who begins showing an obsessive and undesired interest in her. Set in the suburbs, the novel is a riveting look at the deterioration of marriage and obsessive love.

Out Sept. 21

11
For an Action-Packed Love Story: Undercover

For an Action-Packed Love Story: Undercover

Danielle Steel is back again with another thrilling novel, this time about a fragile woman's relationship with an undercover DEA agent. Set in Paris, Undercover follows Ariana Gregory as she tries to escape her past with the help of a man determined to keep her safe from the dark forces pursuing her.

Out Sept. 1

12
For Francophiles: The Paris Key

For Francophiles: The Paris Key

In Juliet Blackwell's The Paris Key, an American woman in Paris begins to uncover details of her family's past as she tries to find freedom from where she came from to determine what her future will be.

Out Sept. 1

13
If You're Feeling Free-Spirited: Cold Feet

If You're Feeling Free-Spirited: Cold Feet

When Emma is about to walk down the aisle, she begins to have doubts about whether she's making the right decision. In Amy FitzHenry's Cold Feet, a woman ditches her wedding, hops in a car with her best friend, and embarks on a road trip to San Francisco that will lead her to her long-lost father and a path of family issues she'll be forced to confront.

Out Sept. 1