September 2026 Wrap Up

October is tomorrow. Let’s wrap this month up. Here’s my September 2026 wrap up. Spoiler Alert: I didn’t read anything from my tbr.

Horseman: A Tale of Sleepy Hollow

Synopsis:

Everyone in Sleepy Hollow knows about the Horseman, but no one really believes in him. Not even Ben Van Brunt’s grandfather, Brom Bones, who was there when it was said the Horseman chased the upstart Crane out of town. Brom says that’s just legend, the village gossips talking.

More than thirty years after those storied events, the village is a quiet place. Fourteen-year-old Ben loves to play “Sleepy Hollow boys,” reenacting the events Brom once lived through. But then Ben and a friend stumble across the headless body of a child in the woods near the village, and the discovery makes Ben question everything the adults in Sleepy Hollow have ever said. Could the Horseman be real after all? Or does something even more sinister stalk the woods?

My Rating: 2.5/5

My Full Review: Horseman Review

Dracula’s Child

Synopsis:

It has been some years since Jonathan and Mina Harker survived their ordeal in Transylvania and, vanquishing Count Dracula, returned to England to try and live ordinary lives.

But shadows linger long in this world of blood feud and superstition – and, the older their son Quincey gets, the deeper the shadows that lengthen at the heart of the Harkers’ marriage. Jonathan has turned back to drink; Mina finds herself isolated inside the confines of her own family; Quincey himself struggles to live up to a family of such high renown.

And when a gathering of old friends leads to unexpected tragedy, the very particular wounds in the heart of the Harkers’ marriage are about to be exposed…

There is darkness both within the marriage and without – for new evil is arising on the Continent. A naturalist is bringing a new species of bat back to London; two English gentlemen, on their separate tours of the Continent, find a strange quixotic love for each other, and stumble into a calamity far worse than either has imagined; and the vestiges of something forgotten long ago is finally beginning to stir…

My Rating: 3/5

My Full Review: Dracula’s Child Review

I Survived the Chicago Fire

Synopsis:

Could an entire city really burn to the ground?Oscar Starling never wanted to come to Chicago. But then Oscar finds himself not just in the heart of the big city, but in the middle of a terrible fire! No one knows exactly how it began, but one thing is clear: Chicago is like a giant powder keg about to explode.An army of firemen is trying to help, but this fire is a ferocious beast that wants to devour everything in its path, including Oscar! Will Oscar survive one of the most famous and devastating fires in history?

My Rating: 5/5

My Full Review: I’ve enjoyed all of the books in this series including this one. It was on the shorter side but still impactful.

Building a Non-Anxious Life

Synopsis:

“Why are the people I love most melting down around me?”

No one needs to be told that our lives are filled with more anxiety than ever before. We know it. Our bodies can feel it. The questions we really need to answer “Why?” and “Is there anything we can do about it?”

Dr. John Delony decided to get to the root of the issue by mapping out a plan to understand where our anxiety is coming from and the actions we can take to change it (because he’s been there too). Over the past twenty years, he’s learned through research, personal experience, and walking alongside countless others that there are six daily choices people have to make to create a non-anxious life:

• Choosing Reality
• Choosing Connection
• Choosing Freedom
• Choosing Health and Healing
• Choosing Mindfulness
• Choosing Belief

In this no-nonsense, straightforward approach to mental health, John will break down exactly what each choice means and how to start making it on a daily basis.

Now, here’s the truth: Those choices aren’t easy, and anxiety isn’t going to magically disappear. But if you commit to building a non-anxious life, you’ll be able to better respond to whatever life throws at you. You’ll grow from hard challenges. You’ll learn to find peace during chaos.

My Rating: 4/5

My Full Review: I enjoyed this. I found his take on anxiety very helpful. Plus, the bit of wit mixed in helped the experience in my opinion.

Frankenstein

Synopsis:

Mary Shelley’s timeless gothic novel presents the epic battle between man and monster at its greatest literary pitch. In trying to create life, the young student Victor Frankenstein unleashes forces beyond his control, setting into motion a long and tragic chain of events that brings Victor to the very brink of madness. How he tries to destroy his creation, as it destroys everything Victor loves, is a powerful story of love, friendship, scientific hubris, and horror.

My Rating: 4/5

My Full Review: Third times the charm, I guess. This was my third reread of Frankenstein and this was the first time I actually enjoyed it. I finally understand the love that people have for this classic.

DNF

Villette

Synopsis:

With neither friends nor family, Lucy Snowe sets sail from England to find employment in a girls’ boarding school in the small town of Villette. There she struggles to retain her self-possession in the face of unruly pupils, an initially suspicious headmaster, and her own complex feelings, first for the school’s English doctor and then for the dictatorial professor, Paul Emmanuel.

Why I DNFED It: I just couldn’t connect with Villette and I’m so disappointed about it. It probably didn’t help that sentences were in French with no context. It would be fine if I spoke French but I don’t.

So that’s my September 2026 wrap up. What did you read this month? Are you looking forward to October.