What I Read in September 2026: 5 Books From Gothic Fantasy to Cozy Witches
September ended up being a surprisingly varied reading month.
I read five books, and somehow my stack included gothic fantasy, cozy witches, small-town romance, emotional mother-daughter fiction, and another dark Rachel Gillig fantasy.
My September reads were:
- Two Twisted Crowns by Rachel Gillig
- The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandanna
- Honey Bee Mine by Sarah T. Dubb
- The Knave and the Moon by Rachel Gillig
- Things I Wish I Told My Mother by Susan Patterson, Susan DiLallo, and James Patterson
Some were dark and atmospheric. Others were warm and cozy. One involved bees. Another involved witches. And two of them confirmed that apparently September was my month for Rachel Gillig.
My September 2026 book pick of the month is : The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandanna
My September 2026 Books at a Glance
| Book | Author | Genre / Vibe | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|
| Two Twisted Crowns | Rachel Gillig | Gothic fantasy romance | Dark magic + emotional fantasy |
| The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches | Sangu Mandanna | Cozy fantasy romance | Found family + witches |
| Honey Bee Mine | Sarah T. Dubb | Contemporary romance | Small-town summer romance |
| The Knave and the Moon | Rachel Gillig | Gothic romantasy | Dark fantasy + tournaments |
| Things I Wish I Told My Mother | Susan Patterson, Susan DiLallo & James Patterson | Contemporary fiction | Mother-daughter relationships |
1. Two Twisted Crowns by Rachel Gillig
After reading One Dark Window, I obviously had to finish the Shepherd King duology.
Two Twisted Crowns picks up where the first book leaves off and expands the story considerably.
The eerie atmosphere, Providence Cards, dark magic, and mist-covered kingdom are all still here, but the sequel gives several characters much more room to develop.
Elm and Ione become particularly important, while the Nightmare finally gets the backstory I had been waiting for.
One of the things I liked about this sequel is that it doesn’t simply repeat One Dark Window. The story gets broader, we see more perspectives, and the history behind the magic becomes much clearer.
And best of all?
It actually finishes the story.
No waiting another year for Book 3.
Best for: Readers who love gothic fantasy, strange magic systems, slow-burn romance, morally complicated characters, and completed duologies.
Read my full review:
Two Twisted Crowns: Summary, Spice Level, Characters & Review
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2. The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandanna
This was probably the coziest book on my September reading list.
Mika Moon has spent most of her life staying away from other witches.
Then she is invited to Nowhere House to help teach three young witches how to control their magic.
What follows is basically everything I want from cozy fantasy:
Witches.
A magical house.
A grumpy librarian.
Found family.
Romance.
And characters who slowly realize that sometimes the scariest thing isn’t magic—it’s actually allowing yourself to need other people.
The book has magic, but the relationships are really the heart of it.
If you like fantasy where the stakes are more emotional than world-ending, this is a great choice.
Best for: Cozy fantasy readers, witchy-book lovers, found-family fans, and anyone who liked Legends & Lattes or The House in the Cerulean Sea.
Read my full review:
The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches: Review, Summary, Spice Level & Tropes
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3. Honey Bee Mine by Sarah T. Dubb
This was my contemporary-romance break from all the dark magic.
Honey Bee Mine follows beekeeper Penny Becker and Zander Bouras, a former small-town bad boy who returns to Sullivan’s Glen with his son.
Penny is trying to save her struggling family farm, and the town’s Honey Festival may be her best chance.
Naturally, she ends up working with Zander.
The beekeeping setting gives this one a little personality beyond the typical small-town romance, and I liked that the characters actually have adult responsibilities alongside the relationship.
There’s a farm to save.
A child to raise.
Old assumptions to reconsider.
And apparently a lot of things to learn about bees.
It’s cozy, romantic, and considerably spicier than the cute title might make you expect.
Best for: Small-town romance readers, single-dad romance fans, summer reading, found family, and anyone who wants cozy romance with some spice.
Read my full review:
Honey Bee Mine by Sarah T. Dubb: Review, Tropes & Spice Level
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4. The Knave and the Moon by Rachel Gillig
Yes, Rachel Gillig appears twice this month.
The Knave and the Moon is the second and final book in the Stonewater Kingdom duology after The Knight and the Moth.
This sequel immediately throws you back into the aftermath of the first book.
Sybil is trapped.
The kingdom is unstable.
A series of tournaments has been announced.
And a mysterious knave with no memory begins climbing the rankings.
The story keeps the gothic atmosphere I really enjoy in Gillig’s books, but it also leans harder into religion, political power, memory, and what happens when people begin questioning the stories they’ve always been told.
There’s still romance, but the fantasy plot stays important.
Best for: Gothic romantasy readers, Rachel Gillig fans, tournament stories, dark magic, strange mythology, and slow-burn romance.
Read my full review:
The Knave and the Moon: Review, Summary, Spice Level & Tropes
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5. Things I Wish I Told My Mother
This was easily the most different book on my September list.
Things I Wish I Told My Mother centers on Laurie and her mother, Dr. Liz, whose personalities and approaches to life couldn’t be more different.
Their relationship is loving but complicated.
A planned mother-daughter trip becomes an opportunity to examine years of misunderstandings, things left unsaid, family history, and the different ways people express love.
The book initially feels much lighter than where it eventually goes.
And without getting into spoiler territory here, the later revelation changes how you look at much of what came before it.
What stayed with me most is the basic idea behind the title.
Almost everyone has things they wish they had said while there was still time to say them.
Best for: Readers who enjoy emotional fiction, mother-daughter relationships, family secrets, travel, and books with a significant late-story revelation.
Read my full review:
Things I Wish I Told My Mother: Review, Summary & Ending Explained
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What Kind of Reading Month Was September?
Apparently:
Gothic fantasy + cozy witches + emotionally complicated families + bees.
Which is honestly a pretty good combination.
Two Rachel Gillig books made September much darker and more atmospheric than August, while The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches gave me something completely different: magic that feels warm and comforting rather than dangerous.
Then Honey Bee Mine brought everything back to the real world for a small-town romance before Things I Wish I Told My Mother ended up being the emotional outlier of the month.
I actually like months like this better than reading five books from exactly the same genre.
Each one feels more distinct.
If You Only Pick One…
Rather than declaring one universal “best,” I’d choose based on what you’re in the mood for:
| You’re in the mood for… | Try… |
|---|---|
| Dark gothic fantasy | Two Twisted Crowns |
| Cozy magic | The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches |
| Small-town romance | Honey Bee Mine |
| Gothic romantasy | The Knave and the Moon |
| Emotional family fiction | Things I Wish I Told My Mother |
September Reading Themes
Looking back, there was actually a recurring theme running through several of these books:
belonging.
Mika is figuring out whether she can finally belong to a family.
Penny and Zander are reconsidering what “home” means.
Elspeth, Elm, and the characters of Two Twisted Crowns are dealing with identities shaped by magic and family history.
The Knave and the Moon spends a lot of time questioning the systems and beliefs that define people.
And Things I Wish I Told My Mother is ultimately about understanding the people closest to us before—or sometimes after—we lose the chance to ask them questions.
Very different books.
Surprisingly similar emotional territory.
What I Read in August vs. September
August leaned more toward literary fiction, nonfiction, psychological fiction, and fantasy.
September felt much more romance and fantasy heavy.
That makes the monthly wrap-ups useful because looking at the books together shows patterns I wouldn’t necessarily notice while reading them one at a time.
It also gives me an increasingly long list of books I now want to read because apparently every finished book creates three more possibilities.
Final Thoughts
Five books feels like a pretty good September.
I finished two fantasy duologies, discovered a cozy witch book that absolutely belongs on a fall reading list, spent some time in a fictional town full of bees, and ended the month with a book that was completely different from everything else I’d read.
My September stack:
Two Twisted Crowns
The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches
Honey Bee Mine
The Knave and the Moon
Things I Wish I Told My Mother
Now onto October.
Considering Halloween is coming, I have a feeling the TBR could get considerably darker.
