September 2025 reading round up

So, at the beginning of the month I published my August 2025 reading round up and I completely missed out two of the books I read in August - I'd been slacking on updating my Goodreads, clearly! Anyway, I've included them here along with everything I read in August 2025 with quickfire book reviews and ratings for you to enjoy...

family of liars by e. lockhart

One of my forgotten August reads! I read we were liars way back in lockdown, and I adored it; I went on to watch the TV adaptation this summer, which I also enjoyed a lot, so I thought it was definitely worth continuing with the book series. The sequel is actually a flashback to the liars' mums' childhood on the island, and the events that shaped them into the three very different women they are in the timeline of the first book. While I didn't love it as much as the first, this was still a great read and I'd recommend this series for sure. 4 stars!

we fell apart by e. lockhart

Another forgotten August read - this time an ARC and the third book set in the we were liars universe. This one is set during the same summer as the Sinclair fire, and honestly the whole book felt like a fever dream - with an 18 year old girl searching for her estranged father at his coastal commune, trying to unravel the mystery of her family history. It's an intense but interesting read with some wacky characters, plenty of drama and a captivating plot. Also 4 stars from me.

Mile High by Liz Tomforde

That brings us to September, and I finally went over to Liverpool to spend all my birthday book vouchers. One of the books I picked up was Mile High by Liz Tomforde, having heard great things about the Windy City series. And this did NOT disappoint - it's long for a romance novel, but it was worth every single page and I loved it. Hockey romances just hit different and this one has a really nice amount of spice balanced with yearning, family dynamics, hockey and fun. 5 stars from me and I cannot wait to continue the series...

Accomplice to the Villain by Hannah Nicole Maehrer

I love this series, and I was fully expecting book 3 to be the conclusion to the narrative - but it's definitely been left open for a fourth (and hopefully final...) instalment. The characters just charm me so much, and I love the universe it's set in, but I don't think there's really anywhere else to go with it and I do wish it had been wrapped up in this one. While trying to solve the riddles to save the kingdom and avoid falling further in love with each other, our protagonists deal with drama after drama - and now everyone around them seems to be falling in love, too. Honestly I do love it, but I hope book 4 wraps everything up as I fear anything else would just lead to boredom and an unsatisfying ending... 4.5 stars for this one!

Not Quite Dead Yet by Holly Jackson

Big fan of Holly Jackson's YA thrillers, so I was eager to see what her first adult thriller would be like. This follows Jet, a young adult who ends up getting attacked on Halloween - she survives, barely, only to be told she will certainly die in the next week. This gives her the perfect chance to solve her own murder, which she attempts with the help of her best friend Billy. The whole time I was thinking "this girl has a brain aneurysm, should she be doing that?" as she runs around Vermont confronting people and looking for evidence. That aside, though, this is a really enjoyable read that definitely still leans more towards YA. I gave it 4 stars.

The Pumpkin Spice Cafe by Laurie Gilmore

These books are everywhere and as we're now officially in autumn it only felt right to pick up the first in the series - especially given as I'd bought a few of the other books already. This is your typical cutesy small town romance: they meet, fall in love, something goes wrong and threatens to cut their happiness short, then everything works out and they run off into the sunset. It's a tried and tested formula, and it works. What got me with this one, though, is that everyone says it's spicy - and I don't know if I just read *really* spicy books but genuinely I did not see anywhere near the level of spice I was expecting based on comments and reviews I've seen. Overall though, a nice and cosy autumnal read which I rated 3 stars.

The Cows by Dawn O'Porter

I have a mini book club with two of my best friends, and this was our most recent pick - I expected great things from this and sadly, the book did not deliver. Funny but almost accidentally (there are lines you think are jokes but then there's no punch line and you're left feeling baffled) this is a story of three women navigating modern life. One's a mum, one is a desperate to have children, and one is happily child-free by choice. Their lives overlap and intertwine in various ways as they battle the pressures of womanhood; it felt like this could have been such an interesting book with so much to say, but honestly it fell so flat and overall it was a disappointing read. Clunky writing, characters who aren't fully fleshed out, just meh. 2.5 stars from me.

The Cinnamon Bun Book Store by Laurie Gilmore

Continuing the Dream Harbor series with book two, it was of course much of the same - a cutesy romance with very little spice, a third act 'conflict', and a happy resolution. This one is of course focused around a bookshop which is a lovely element, and there is a bit of a mystery going on too which was fun. I did enjoy getting to know the town and the whole cast of characters a bit more, and I will definitely continue with the rest of the series because I can read one of these books in around 3 hours. But is it as good as people make out on TikTok? Definitely not. I gave this one 3 stars.

What the Wife Knew by Lia Middleton

I've been slacking with ARCs lately, and this was actually the only one I read in September (oops)! A courtroom thriller focusing on a murder trial, we follow a KC who is defending his client while also navigating a rocky time in his own relationship - is it all connected?! Honestly I guessed what we going to happen pretty early on which is unlike me; nevertheless it was an interesting and enjoyable read, especially if you like courtroom/law-based stuff. But yeah, nothing groundbreaking and 3 stars from me.

The Wrong Sister by Claire Douglas

This was the October pick for the other book club I'm in, and I really enjoyed it - it's a thriller about two sisters who swap lives, and something devastating happens during the process which was really aimed at the other sister. What follows is a twisty narrative as the family reels from the shock and tries to figure out what happened, why and who did it... some excellent plot twists and a really well fleshed out story. 4 stars!

So that's everything I read in September 2025, some newer releases and a wide mix of genres. Let me know if you've read any of these, I'd love to hear your thoughts...

Giving notice of marriage in Wirral - our 2025 experience

When it comes to giving notice of marriage in Wirral, we had a lot of questions before we went and couldn't seem to find any clear answers. I know different councils do actually differ on what happens when you give notice, and who knows if every experience within the same council is actually the same, but I thought it might be helpful for future Wirral brides if I detailed exactly what happened when we went to give notice of marriage at Wallasey Town Hall.

Booking an appointment to give notice in Wirral

I arranged our appointment via email; I sent an email to rbdm@wirral.gov.uk with our names, numbers, date of marriage and our wedding venue. I also put the month/year of our wedding in the email subject line, because I wanted to ensure our email was treated as a priority within the timescale they're currently working to.

In their reply, which came within 5 days, I was asked to give the below information for each of us as well as to provide some dates and times from the slots provided (the days were Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays with a variety of times available).

I responded with all of the information as well as some times and dates we could do. Two days later I got an email to say our appointment was booked; they did say they'd tried to call (only me, despite having both numbers) but I missed the call as I was in a meeting. But the email had our appointment date and time, as well as information about the cost of giving notice in Wirral and what we would need to bring. The date worked well for us so I emailed them back to let them know we'd be attending.

Documentation needed to give notice in Wirral

For the two of us, both being British and not having been married before, we only needed our passports and proof of address; as we share an energy account, the bill has both of our names on with our address, so I asked if it was okay to bring one proof of address document for the two of us. Because I don't know about anyone else, but we don't have many physical bills coming through these days! They said it was fine, so this is what we took with us on the day - along with our passports, as previously mentioned.

The cost of giving notice of marriage in Wirral

For us, in August 2025, the cost of giving notice in Wirral was £42 per person - so we paid £84. This is non-refundable and is not taken from the cost of your registrar/ceremony etc. This is card only, paid on the day that you give notice of your marriage after you've answered all your questions.

On the day: giving notice at Wallasey Town Hall

As Birkenhead Town Hall (our original ceremony venue, boooo) is now closed, all notice appointments will take place at Wallasey Town Hall. Remember, you need to give notice in the borough in which you live, not the one where you're getting married! So we jumped in a taxi and whizzed off to our appointment at the town hall, which felt super exciting.

We walked straight in and were directed to follow signs that read 'REGISTRARS of Births, Deaths and Marriages' - it was all pretty clear, and the main reception were helpful. We of course took some selfies to commemorate the moment; Wallasey Town Hall is really pretty inside so this was nice and will be perfect for the inevitable wedding scrapbook...

Once we found where we needed to be, we let them know we were here and then we were shown to two seats outside an office where we sat and waited to be called in. Then the door opened and in we went! We handed over our passports as well as our proof of address, and she asked where we were getting married as well as the time and date.

I was then asked to leave the room while my partner stayed, and they asked her both of our dates of birth as well as our address and how long she has lived there, followed by each of our occupations. Then we swapped over, and she asked me the same. And that was it - we'd passed with flying colours, and my partner was invited back in so we could have our documents back and ask any questions we had.

We were told that the notice would be sent over to the borough where we're getting married (which happens to be Liverpool) and to wait for confirmation from them before submitting our ceremony choices. She said this could take up to 5 days, but we got an email within just a couple of hours letting us know everything was confirmed - this meant we could go on, submit our choices and also pay the bill for our registrar and ceremony.

This was our personal experience of giving notice in Wirral - if you have had a different experience, please do leave me a comment below so we can share as much information as possible about this important step in the wedding planning journey.

August 2025 reading round up

I read 11 books in July, so August was going to have to be pretty good to beat it - sadly it wasn't, as I ended up really poorly and couldn't read much. But I did end up ticking off 7 books over the month, so keep reading for my quickfire reviews and ratings...

Fake Skating by Lynn Painter

I've read quite a few Lynn Painter books and was thrilled to get an ARC of her newest (releasing end of September). It didn't disappoint, and might be one of my favourites of hers! It's a fake dating romance, as the title suggests, mixed with hockey and it's YA too. A really easy, enjoyable read that also touches on some tougher topics. The characters are well-rounded and book is brilliantly written. 4 stars!

Girls Who Play Dead by Joelle Wellington

I was very into the concept of this, which I got as a NetGalley ARC (it's out in November) - it's a YA thriller following a girl who is grieving the loss of her best friend, a beauty influencer in a small town that is basically run by a make up corporation. Our main character's brother returns home to help her through the grief, and together they go on their own journeys to discover what really happened. It's a great storyline with some good representation, but it felt overly long and the writing drags a bit. I gave this 3.5 stars!

When I Picture You by Sasha Laurens

This one is a sapphic YA romance, and another one I read as a NetGalley ARC - release date is set for September. I really enjoyed this; it's a beautifully crafted childhood friends to lovers plot, with the added drama of the pressures of coming out as an A-list celebrity. Did some parts of it feel a bit far fetched? Sure, but that didn't take away from how good this is. I'd definitely recommend, and I rated it 4 stars - possibly 4.5!

Fix Them Up by Maggie Grant

When I see 'small town romance' I immediately think of them being set in the US; this one, yet another NetGalley ARC (releasing in October and perfect for a cosy autumnal read), is actually British and I adored it. Honestly gorgeous - it follows our main character Kat, in the wake of her dad's death. She returns to his home town to renovate and sell his childhood home, but ends up falling for the local builder and really, the community as a whole. It's beautifully written, emotional and lovely, with a true golden retriever MMC. My first 5 star book of August.

The Housemaid is Watching by Freida McFadden

I finally finished the Housemaid series, and this third instalment was another good one - and I think it rounds off the overall story really well. I listened to this as an audiobook, although I wish I'd read a physical copy instead but we can't have it all. Millie is now married with kids, the drama of the previous two books behind her, excited for a fresh start - but with neighbours who talk too much, hidden rooms and a fierce daughter of her own, nothing is really as it seems. I gave this one 4 stars.

Sometimes I Lie by Alice Feeney

I listened to an Alice Feeney audiobook in July and loved it, and there's quite a few of hers available for free on YouTube so I decided to pick another. This one focuses on a woman who's in a coma, but she can hear everything going on around her and she's trying to get to the bottom of what's happened to her - the POV flicks between her current day, the time leading up to the accident, and also some childhood diary entries about her and her best friend. There are many layers to this book and at times I was unsure how they would connect, but they do and the twist is great. A really interesting domestic thriller! 4 stars.

When the Cranes Fly South by Lisa Ridzén

I very rarely read translated fiction, but myself and two friends have formed a mini book club and this was the book chosen for our first read - something completely out of my comfort zone! It's a reflective literary novel following Bo, an elderly man who is slowly losing grip on life as he knows it. His wife is in a home, his beloved dog is under threat of being taken away, and he has carers visiting multiple times a day to help with basic tasks he can no longer do himself. Told through a mix of carer log book entries, Bo's present day thoughts and experiences as well as Bo's memories of his own childhood and adult life, it's a beautifully written tale that explores the vulnerability of being elderly. A very emotional book, and 4 stars from me.

So that's everything I read in August - let me know if you've read any of these and what you thought of them!