This was horrible. I feel like two stars is really a stretch. Audrey's character made this book somewhat redeemable, but nothing could truly overcome the Jasmine's character and her insufferable attitude. She's spoiled, narcissistic, and petulant; everyone's life had to revolve around her struggles and her view on everything. The author really pushed racial issues (or the perception of issues) throughout the book, and not in a good way. Her entitlement attitude was a complete turn off, and blew this book up for me. I'm normally pretty non-judgmental about other reviews, but the fact that this book has so many 5-star reviews makes me question the status of this reading community.

This book was a complete surprise. It was hard to get into at first but then I was sucked in by Audrey and Jasmine's story.

A young girl goes on a business trip with her father and both of them are dealing with grief. I thought this book did a great job of showing the details of grief and how it can affect families. You can't help but love Audrey and her spunk. Then you have Jasmine's story of infertility. As a person who has gone through infertility herself, this was a very gut wrenching look at what that is like for a woman.

There were a few things that I didn't like. I didn't like how Jasmine's mom was portrayed or all the stereotypes thrown into the book. I feel like some of that was unnecessary to the story and made it less endearing. I didn't really like Jasmine's husband either and wish that he had some more depth. I also wish the ending had been a bit more flushed out. I felt like it ended abruptly. I really wanted to know Granny's reaction.

I would definitely recommend this book to anyone looking for a great read.

A mystery, part set in 1987 and part in 2017. This story had all the mysterious vibes and 80's nostalgia and that cover!!!! Thank you netgalley for the arc

"And Then It Was September" by Wendy Day is a captivating dual narrative novel that weaves together the stories of 16-year-old Audrey, set in 1987, and Jasmine, who is in her 30s, set in 2017.

Jasmine notices a young, beautiful girl's photo up on the Wall of Fame in a diner wearing a one-of-a-kind necklace that had belonged to her great-grandmother and passed on to her Granny, who lost it at a civil rights rally many years ago. Determined to find the necklace and return it to her Granny, her only clue is the girl's name - Audrey. Jasmine soon learns that Audrey had been on a quest to become famous in the 80s and taped her headshot in as many diners and bars as she could. This leads Jasmine on an incredible adventure that shares a beautiful story about Audrey's life and background.

Both characters were well-developed, and I really enjoyed Audrey's uniqueness. I struggled a bit with Jasmine's antiquated character, though. However, I do understand where the character was coming from with setting up the new house and then trying to start a family, and this was why she was putting her career on hold, but it came across as a lot of whining when it was reinforced with her husband, her family, her circle of friends, and within her own thoughts. It was a lot, but I did enjoy her persistence.

Wendy Day's writing style kept me engaged, as did the vivid descriptions and settings and highly emotional relationships, especially between Audrey and her dad - that was some road trip he took her on. I could really feel their pain and the love they had for one another.

The plot was well-paced, with unexpected twists and turns that kept me eagerly turning the pages until I neared the final chapters, and everything just wrapped up very suddenly. While I thoroughly enjoyed the book and would recommend it to others, I felt that the ending could have been more satisfying and needed the same pace as the rest of the book.

Overall, "And Then It Was September" is a beautiful novel that I'm glad to have read.

And that cover is absolutely GORGEOUS!

Thank you, #NetGalley, #WendyDay, and #OpenSkyPublishing, for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

TRIGGER WARNINGS: Car accident, child death, depression, miscarriage, mental health, teen pregnancy.

This was such an interesting story!

It's a dual timeline - Audrey's story is set in 1987, and it's fabulous! Love the 80s references and it brought back some great memories. Audrey is an awesome character, she's got chutzpa! She's on a road trip with her dad, a traveling salesman, and decides to put up autographed 8x10s of herself on all the "famous" walls of people. It's a fun story, but has a lot of serious points with her relationships with her parents.

The second story is Jasime's story - it's set in 2017. She sees a photo of Audrey's and realizes the necklace is similar to the family heirloom her Granny lost years ago. She's determined to get the necklace back and follows the trail of Audrey's photos to find her.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author and publisher for a temporary, digital ARC in return for my review.

This was a pleasant and quick read. There are two main characters - one is a 16 year old girl, wise beyond her years, who is unhappy about having to travel around the south in the summer of 1987 with her father while he does his rounds as a salesman (it is not explained why this was necessary), the other character is a woman in 2017 who lives a privileged life with her lawyer husband, her only job is to get pregnant. When she sees a photograph at a bakery of the 16 year old girl, she sees the necklace that her grandmother lost over 40 years ago, and begins an odyssey to get it back.

Thanks to NetGalley for an advance copy of this novel.

I received this book for free from Netgally for my honest review. This cover was gorgeous so it made me want to read it. However, the old fashioned belief system really made it a hard read for me. Jasmine was so focused on having a baby and living the life that her family expected of her. I get it was the 80’s, but it was a hard thing to get through. The story was interesting enough. This was a book written from two different women’s views, one traveling with her dad and leaving pictures everywhere in hopes people will recognize her when she gets famous, and another girl from about 30 years later looking for the other girl who is wearing a necklace she recognizes. I feel like this book needed some extra editing to make it less choppy and maybe a better ending. I know plenty of women who wijld really enjoy this book.

This was a good book. I liked following the characters through the two dual timelines and seeing how they’re connected. I do think it was aimed more towards teenagers but it was still good
Thank you to NetGalley, the publishers, and especially the author for this ARC in exchange for my honest review of the book!!

Wendy Day's And Then It Was September is a poignant and deeply moving exploration of love, loss, and the subtle transitions that mark the passage of time. Set against the backdrop of the changing seasons, Day's writing has a lyrical quality that draws readers into the internal worlds of her characters, making their emotional journeys feel both intimate and universal.
The novel shines in its portrayal of complex relationships, particularly how grief and healing can weave in and out of daily life, often in ways we least expect. Day's characters are fully realized—flawed yet likable, and the way she interweaves their stories offers a rich and satisfying narrative experience.
Overall, And Then It Was September is a heartfelt reflection on the seasons of life, capturing the bittersweet beauty of change. Highly recommended for readers who enjoy stories that linger with them long after the final page.
Thank you Net galley and the publisher for the opportunity to read the book.

I received a free electronic version of this book through netgalley. I'm going to be honest I went in completely blind with this book, I didn't read the description so I had no idea what to expect or what the book was about. I was pleasantly surprised. I applied to read this book purely on how beautiful the cover was. I'm glad I went in without knowing anything about the story because it really was a beautiful read. If you're not into women's literature this book isn't for you, it's not a fast paced thriller or an epic fantasy, it is a heartwarming tale about grief. The book is dual character and dual timeline which was very interesting, I've never seen that before. The chapters are also really short which makes it easy to fly through this book. I will admit it started a little slow but the more I read and learnt about Audrey and the impact she had on others without even realising it I was hooked. Audrey is a teenager that goes through so many difficult things especially for a girl of her age but has more grace and spreads more positivity than people twice her age. The other character is jasmine who suffers her own heartbreak and I feel was a little lost, and in her own way Audrey gave Jasmine a new sense of purpose too. I think if you want a heartwarming story of 2 women from 2 different times this book is definitely for you.

I'm not sure how I feel about this book. It has dual timelines and I enjoyed Audrey's timeline much more than Jasmine's. However, the story just seemed kind of choppy to me. I feel like we were just dropped into the middle of the book and we really didn't know who the main characters were. Also, I think the story ended abruptly. I would've liked to know more about Audrey's life after the road trip with her Father.
Over all this book was just okay for me. Thank you to NetGalley and the Publisher for a copy of this book for review.

This is really two stories, one about Audrey, a teen in the 80s and another about a woman Jasmine, in 2017. Jasmine discovers a picture of Audrey wearing a one-of-a-kind necklace that originally belonged to her great great grandmother and sets off to find the necklace.. Both stories are interesting, though at times some of the characters are a bit one dimensional. Overall an enjoyable little feel good story with a touch of mystery. 3.5 stars rounded up.

This is a dual timeline book, featuring a 16 year old travelling with her dad in 1987 and a Black woman following her journey 30 years later. I think fans of Charlene Carr would enjoy this, with it's themes of family, legacy and (very lightly) race. The outline of this book is fantastic (I won't explain the plot here because of spoilers) but I never found the characters entirely believable. Maybe it was because both parts were written in first person present tense. Maybe the writing was just a little bit clunky. Some the reveals were just dumped there, in what felt like arbitrary spots. This read like a second draft, and just a little bit of rearranging and editing could have elevated the writing.

I like that And Then It Was September was told with a dual timeline. The chapters alternate between 16-year-old Audrey in 1986 and 34-year-old Jasmine in 2017. This book was disappointing to me. The plot moved slowly through most of the book without much happening. It did improve near the end. I empathized with Audrey's situation but did not care for Jasmine's character, who seemed a bit prejudiced. Thanks to the author Wendy Day, Open Sky Publishing, and NetGalley. I received a complimentary copy of this ebook. The opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.

I loved this story! Its about a young married woman named Jasmine and her journey to find a special necklace her grandmother lost years before. Her journey to find the necklace brings her to Audrey,a young girl that holds the key to the story. Its a great story about family, love and the events that bring it all together.

3.5 stars

The cover of this book is beautiful and is what drew me in to begin with. I LOVED the concept of this book and the dual timelines but there were times when the execution just fell flat for me. I fully appreciated Jasmine's need to go down the necklace rabbit hole and Audrey's emotions about her sister felt so real and valid but there were other parts of the book where the characters just didn't feel like real people. Jasmine's mom, especially but honestly even Tyson was just perfect with zero flaws? Again, I was a huge fan of the story itself, I just wish it had been fleshed out a bit more. There were a few times where I'd finish a chapter from Aubrey's pov and have so many questions and be in suspense and then they'd immediately be answered in Jasmie's pov or visa versa. It almost felt like the author was scared the reader would forget certain details and rushed to get them out. Overall, a quick read that kept me interested!

Thank you to NetGalley, Wendy Day, and Open Sky Publishing for allowing me to read the arc in exchange for my honest review.

I was a teen in the 80s and could relate to this book in some ways. That being said I had difficulty reading the teenager’s narrative at my current age. Disliked too many characters and the antiquated belief system bothered me. Women don’t need to cater to men.
I believe I may not be the correct target audience for this book. It is well-written.
Thank you to the publisher for the opportunity to read this advanced copy. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

I really enjoyed the duel time-lines in this book, it was everything that I was hoping for from the description. There was a great mystery element to this book and worked in it's favor. The characters in each time-period felt like they were supposed to be there and had that element that I was hoping for. I enjoyed what Wendy Day wrote and had me going back to re-read this again. I thought the cover worked with the story and was invested in knowing more from the cover.