3 New Novels Bringing Heat, Chills, and High Stakes This September: Part One

This September, fiction is pushing boundaries. It’s surprising us, challenging our expectations, and refusing to play it safe. Whether you’re craving something sharp and satirical, romantic and messy, or dark and chilling, this trio of new releases has something to offer. From boardroom scandals to wedding-day tension to the dead refusing to stay buried, these titles stand out for all the right reasons.

In Deadly Company

By L. S. Stratton
Genre: Psychological Thriller, Corporate Fiction
Release Date: September 2025

Nicole Underwood knows how to survive a high-pressure job. As the executive assistant to the CEO of a Fortune 500 company, her days are ruled by someone else’s chaos. Planning his birthday blowout should’ve been routine. Instead, it ends in murder. Nicole lives, but not without suspicion hanging over her head.

A year later, she’s consulting on a movie based on the incident, hoping to reclaim her story. Instead, she’s hit with a warped script, an unsettling set, and flashbacks she can’t explain. The truth she’s trying to share might not be what people want to hear. It may also be something she’s not ready to face herself.

Stratton mixes corporate satire with psychological suspense to deliver a chilling look at ambition, image, and survival. It’s a story that asks whether we can ever really escape the roles people cast us in

Sweet Heat

By Bolu Babalola
Genre: Romantic Comedy
Release Date: September 2025

Kiki Banjo is a podcast host with a big following and even bigger opinions about love. But when her best friend’s wedding brings her face to face with her ex, Malakai, the man who broke her heart and became everyone’s favorite filmmaker, she’s thrown into emotional freefall.

Neither of them wants to be the drama of the weekend. Both of them are failing miserably at pretending they’ve moved on. As the wedding plans unfold, old chemistry resurfaces—and it’s not the kind that can be ignored.

Babalola brings humor, vulnerability, and pop culture savvy to a sharp, deeply felt love story. It’s romantic, modern, and more emotionally honest than most books even try to be.

Make Me a Monster

By Kalynn Bayron
Genre: Horror, Supernatural Romance
Release Date: September 2025

Meka grew up surrounded by death. Her parents run the local funeral home, and she’s just become their newest assistant. Everything feels under control until a personal loss breaks her. After that, strange things begin to happen.

Birds circle her house. Strangers watch her from across the street. The dead don’t seem to be staying where they’re supposed to. As her world unravels, Meka realizes that grief isn’t the only thing haunting her. There are secrets buried deeper than any grave she’s prepared to face.

Bayron crafts a horror story that doesn’t rely on jump scares. Instead, she leans into emotional dread and quiet unease, offering a story that is both terrifying and beautifully human.

Each of these novels brings something bold to the table. They’re rich with emotion, sharp in voice, and deeply grounded in the realities of grief, love, ambition, and survival. If you’re looking for stories that stay with you long after the last page, these September releases are a smart place to start.