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Books

Thu Oct 2 2025

Clare Mulroy | Books Reporter

Happy Thursday, booklovers!

You know that feeling when you can't stop thinking about a good book? That was me recently with "Heart the Lover," by Lily King. It tugged at my heartstrings, full of campus nostalgia and coming-of-age discoveries and characters that feel real and complicated. It follows a love triangle between our narrator and two star students in her class, then flashes forward to the ramifications of that trio decades later.

I read a lot of books for this job, so trust me when I say this one is good. Walking-down-the-street-reading-and-risking-it-all good. Crying-on-the-subway good.

No matter your favorite genre or reading mood, I want to help you find a book that resonates with you in the same way. We've got a list of 15 new releases from September that we recommend, and here are a few:

🍂If you want a cozy romance à la "Gilmore Girls": "If It Makes You Happy" by Julie Olivia is full of '90s nostalgia and small-town sparks, following a recently divorced woman taking over her mom's bed and breakfast and her hot, pastry-baking neighbor.

🌲If you love twisty mysteries: "The Vanishing Place" by Zoë Rankin follows a woman returning to the site of her troubled childhood after she learns about a murder where the sole witness looks exactly like her.

🩰If you love literary fiction, dance and family drama: "Little Movements" by Lauren Morrow is a lyrical novel about a Black choreographer discovering what it means to make art in a predominantly white town. At the same time, her marriage is crumbling and she discovers she's pregnant.

🎭If you need a good laugh: "Does This Make Me Funny?" by Zosia Mamet is perfect for fans of "Girls," but anyone will get a kick out of Mamet's witty essays and vulnerable stories.

New books from September we think you should read.

Covers courtesy of Penguin Random House, Simon & Schuster, HarperCollins, Grove Atlantic

What are you in the mood to read? Let me know at cmulroy@usatoday.com or by reaching out on Instagram and we might just curate a list for you. Thanks for reading USA TODAY Books this week!