I have no idea how I managed to get so much reading done in September. It was a crazy month! Looking back at what I did read, though, I obviously was looking for quick reads to help me escape into fantasy for a few hours, so I apologize in advance for the overwhelming amount of shifter romances on the list for this month.

Some other things I've read this month include a Thea Sisters novel with my daughter, and Rapunzel, Rikki Tikki Tavi, and The Emperor's New Clothes with my students. I also tried a handful of books from my TBR but ultimately decided not to finish them. I'm about 75 percent finished with The Desert of Glass by Michael C. Grumley, which I've been reading since the beginning of the month. It's got a lot of physics talk in it, much like its predecessor, so it's not a quick read for me, although it is a fascinating subject. Anyway, let's dive into what I did finish!

Sinful Justice
Author: Emilia Finn

If you don't know my love of Emilia Finn by now, where have you been?! I can't really compare this to her other series of series, but it's still good. Her character development is on point, and I love the strength of the main female character. That said, the premise of this one isn't really my cup of tea, so I'm not sure if I'll be continuing the series, even though I do want to know the identity of the vigilante.

Anyway, Minka Mayet is the newly-hired chief medical examiner of Copeland City, which is pretty well steeped in corruption. As soon as she arrives on the job, Minka finds herself in the middle of a sickening murder investigation, in which she must work with the incomparable Archer Malone, who she had what was supposed to be a one night stand with on her first night in town. The two must work together to solve the case before the city's vigilante steps in to "fix" the problem for them.

Rose (Happily Never After 4)
Author: HP Mallory

Yep, I'm still making my way through this really long series. Book four is all about Snow White's lesser-known sister, Rose Red. She's been under the thumb of her evil uncle her entire life, and when he announces her engagement to a truly evil person, Rose knows she has to escape, but not before she frees her long-time protector, Huntsman Draven, who's been locked in the dungeon for treason. She's helped in that endeavor by Draven's brothers, Titus and Sabre, and learns that she is one of the Chosen. Her power is pretty cool - she secretes poison from her palms. So the overarching storyline continues. Up next, Briar, better known as Sleeping Beauty.

Shifting Fate series
Author: Tessa Hale

I read this as a boxset, and I don't really know why I finished it. It wasn't my favorite shifter series, and I don't think I would recommend it, but here we go.

After her sister is killed in a car accident she survived, Rowan's adoptive family packs up and moves to a new town. Her father has to commute to to the city for work and stays in an apartment there while her mother completely checks out, leaving Rowan basically on her own. Then Rowan learns she's a wolf shifter and meets her fated mates, and everything changes, but not all for the good. You see, Rowan's birth mother gave her up for adoption to keep her hidden from her birth father, and now he knows where she is.

Lilacs and Leather & Lavender and Lightning (Pack Saint Clair books 1 & 2)
Author: Thora Woods

This might be the oddest version of a 'shifter romance' I've ever read namely in that the characters never shift. At all. There is no explanation as to why, and maybe this is a subgenre I've stumbled into by mistake, but for all the wolf and pack traits, this one omission is weird to me. That said, I really enjoyed the character dynamics and do plan on reading the next book once it is released. Here's the premise: Lydia Anderson has been in hiding. From her abusive ex and her entire family except for one brother. As an omega, she's coveted by alphas, but Lydia has perfected the art of going undetected, until she crosses paths with the member of Pack Saint Clair. They promise protection and freedom from her past, but the pack has problems of its own that further complicate Lydia's troubles.

Author: Aleera Anaya Ceres

I read this three-book series as a boxset, so basically as if it was only one book. Forget what you thought you knew about mermaids because this series is not going to meet those standards. The mermaids in this world don't have tails a la The Little Mermaid. What they do have is a society divided down the middle based on gender. Men are warriors, while women are meant to provide heirs...until now.

Calliope Solandis is the daughter of one of Atlantis's mightiest generals, but that doesn't explain why the Oracle of the Gods chose her to attend Triton Academy, an all-male school dedicated to training the realm's mightiest warriors, the Sons of Triton. Calliope is determined to prove she's meant to be there, earning friends and enemies along the way, especially when she's chosen to compete in the Olympic games alongside the men. On top of that, someone is murdering students at the academy and trying to pin the deaths on her.

Author: Rebekah R. Ganiere

Out of all the fairytale retellings I've read, this is the first Little Red Riding Hood retelling I've stumbled across, and I'm kicking myself for leaving it unread on my TBR for so long. If you assumed this was about wolf shifters, you'd be correct. It's the first book in the Fairelle series, which is ultimately about reunifying a broken kingdom. Let me start by saying that this book had what may be the best prologue I've read, at least recently. It sucked me right in.

Redlynn is a member of the Sisterhood, a group of women dedicated to protecting their village from the werewolves that live in the surrounding forest. When Red's one remaining loved one is killed by a wolf and yet another girl stolen, Red defies the Sisterhood's leader and enters the woods seeking the were king's death. Unbeknownst to her, the wolves are not the enemies of the Sisterhood, and Red herself is destined to reunite woman and wolf, fulfilling the first in a series of prophecies that will heal their world.