With a new season comes new scents, wardrobes, flavors and books to read. It is the time of the year to channel your inner Rory Gilmore, reading novels that feel like pumpkin spice lattes and love. To help out, here are seven books that tap into the happiness that only comes from leaves changing colors and jack-o’-lanterns being carved.
“If He Had Been With Me” by Laura Nowlin
This romance follows the inner monologue of Autumn, who has been best friends with Finny since birth. Through a first-person viewpoint, the reader can see Autumn’s true thoughts and emotions about her life and best friend. This book is not one with a happy ending, nor does it please the reader once the last page is turned. Though the novel walks through multiple seasons and most of Autumn’s life, the book gives the reader all things fall feels and dreary weather.
“Bad Mother” by Mia Sheridan
A psychological thriller that will keep the reader on their toes from beginning to end, this novel tracks detective Siena Walker as she tries to uncover a taunting serial killer in her old hometown, which she had not returned to for 11 years. With the many plot twists and turnarounds, this book is mesmerizing and hard to put down. It is perfect for the Halloween season of scary stories and haunted houses.
“Rock Paper Scissors” by Alice Feeney
Here is another psychological thriller for anyone who is craving the mind games that these novels bring. Alice Feeney writes this about an unhappy married couple who decides to take a weekend trip to a repurposed chapel in the Scottish countryside. When weird events occur, both the couple and reader realize that this trip is not at all what they had planned. Feeney is known for her vivid thrillers, and this book is no different.
“Daisy Jones & The Six” by Taylor Jenkins Reid
If one loves Fleetwood Mac and the lifestyle of bands that seem to have it all, this is the perfect read. This novel is written in an interview style in which each member of the band, The Six, has the opportunity to tell their side of the years they all spent together traveling the world and making charted music. This is the definition of a cozy literary fiction, where the reader may cry, laugh and scream all on a singular page. Reid writes this so well it feels like a true story, like the band members are real people.
“The Ex Hex” by Erin Sterling
Here is a fun and magic-filled romance following Vivienne Jones, a spunky witch in the mythical town of Graves Glen, Georgia. When Vivi gets her heart broken, she decides to curse the boy that had just shattered her heart. All is well until that old boyfriend returns to their hometown nine years later, and she is forced to help him save the precious town. This book is silly, cheesy and most importantly filled with a sweet romance between two unlikely matches.
“The Kiss Curse” by Erin Sterling
Now if one loves “The Ex Hex,” here is the equally charming sequel that follows the favorite cousin, Gwyn Jones, and her business competitor, Wells Penhallow. This enemies-to-lovers trope roped into a magical novel with witches and magical toy shops makes for a perfect October read. These two books are short, entertaining and will have the reader giggling and kicking their feet over an autumn romance.
“The Virgin Suicides” by Jeffrey Eugenides
This book is best described as a coming-of-age thriller, with a story told from the boys across the street about the five Lisbon sisters, all of whom commit suicide in a year-long time. The Lisbons are a Catholic family living in Grosse Pointe, Michigan who never come out of the house other than to attend school and church. When the last sister is found dead, the boys, who had grown to be obsessed over them and worshiped the ground they walked on, begin to recount the events leading up to the tragic year for this neighborhood family. This novel showcases the hardships of growing up and trying to fit into the confines of a small town and strict family.
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