Are you looking for some good books to read for fall? There’s no better evening than cozying up in bed with a book you’re excited to read. What constitutes autumn vibes in books, you might ask? Well, it can include a good mystery or thriller, a dark academia aesthetic, a book set in school, or a cozy fantasy. This list includes at least one book recommendation for each, all perfect for the fall season!
- I Am Not Jessica Chen by Ann Liang
-
It feels like school has just started, but there is already so much to do. Are you feeling the academic pressure? The striving need to be perfect and get good grades, either because you have plans to go to grad school, the fear of disappointing your parents, or for any other reasons? Meet Jenna Chen, the protagonist of Ann Liang’s I Am Not Jessica Chen. Jenna makes a wish to become her perfect cousin, Jessica Chen, after being rejected from her dream university. While Jenna failed to get accepted, Jessica did get accepted into Harvard. Jenna’s wish comes true, and she discovers how being the perfect student is not all its cracked up to be.
There is the theme of basing your self worth on academic success, which I found very relatable. Being the perfect student that she was, Jessica always had to live up to the expectations of the people around her. A single mistake would have people look at her in shock or disappointed in her. Alongside the magical realism, there is also a romantic subplot, which is my favourite type of romances. The jealousy, envy, and insecurity Jenna felt towards Jessica was also something I empathized with. I find I Am Not Jessica Chen fitting especially for the fall because it’s also in time for back to school season.
- House of Hearts by Skyla Arndt
-
If you enjoy a good mystery with a romantic subplot, then you might enjoy House of Hearts by Skyla Arndt. This is also perfect for fans of Netflix’s Wednesday, as they both share the same gothic aesthetics. House of Hearts is about Violet Harper, who attends the elite boarding school her best friend, Emoree, dies at to try and figure out what happened to her. An aspect both Wednesday and House of Hearts share is that they both have a secret society at their respective schools in which the female protagonist gets involved in.
A fun little easter egg if you’re familiar with Alice in Wonderland, is that House of Hearts is filled with references to it. If you enjoyed Once Upon a Broken Heart by Stephanie Garber, you would probably enjoy House of Hearts because Violet’s love interest, Calvin Lockwell, has the cursed love of Jacks. This book was definitely a page turner, and it kept me up late at night because of the need to know how Emoree died, and whether or not Calvin’s brother actually had anything to do with it like the book summary suggests.
- Vicious by V.E. Schwab
-
Vicious is a story about villains. V.E. Schwab breaks the common trope of people becoming superheroes when they get their powers. Instead, it’s the opposite. Victor Vale and Eli Cardale each induces their own near death experience to test out a hypothesis for Eli’s thesis on how ExtraOrdinaries got their powers. The hypothesis proves true when they both gain powers after their experiments.
The story might be confusing to some people due to its non-linear timeline, but I personally didn’t find it confusing. There’s always a reason for why we’re jumping into the past. It’s always to give context to what goes on in the present. In the present chapters, Victor has escaped jail to enact his revenge on Eli. In the chapters set in the past, we follow Victor and Eli in Lockland university as they conduct their experiment, and we get to learn how Victor ended up in jail.
Vicious is part of a three book series, and though I haven’t yet read the sequel, I would’ve been happy if the story ended with just this book. One of my favourite things about this book is that it had the perfect ending. I won’t say much about it because of spoilers, but it was such a good full circle moment and I just know this book would stick in my mind for a long time because of it. If you enjoy superhero comics and dark academia, this is the book for you!
- Divine Rivals by Rebecca Ross
-
To be honest, this is like the only cozy fantasy book I’ve read, but I think it’s one of the best ones out there. It’s popular for a reason! Divine Rivals by Rebecca Ross deserves all the hype that it gets. Iris Winnow writes letters to her brother, but her rival, Roman Kitt receives the letters instead and they start writing back and forth. There’s a bit of a secret identity thing going on here as Iris doesn’t know that Roman is the one responding to her letters. This is a historical fiction with fantastical elements, and they’re in the middle of a war. Iris and Roman are writers at a newspaper company.
Writing this made me realize that I’m due for a reread. I read this three years ago and I’ve forgotten a lot of the details. But one thing I do remember loving the most is Iris and Roman’s slow burn romance. They are rivals, so it’s really satisfying to see their relationship slowly transform into respect for each other. There are also enchanted buildings in this story, which I found cool.
- Five Survive by Holly Jackson
-
I feel like most thriller/mystery books can fit the fall season, so I’m going to recommend a recent one I’ve reread and is a favourite of mine. Holly Jackson’s Five Survive is a very fast paced thriller. All events take place in the span of eight hours. Red and her friends go on a road trip in a RV, but they get stuck in a forest with all their tires popped. They are trapped in the RV with no way to call for help as they are being threatened by the shooter who’s out there in the forest. The shooter is looking for a specific secret. Everyone in the RV has their own secrets and no one wants to give them up.
The two times I read this book I finished it pretty quickly. It took me two days at most. That’s how good this was. But also you can’t help but wonder what happens next and wanting to find out how it ends. There were some elements of the plot twists where I was able to guess, but if you’re familiar with Jackson’s books, there’s always that one revelation that just blows your mind. The romance in this is very minimal, but as someone who’s favourite romances are ones where it’s the subplot, every crumb I get of the romance between Red and Arthur was a treat.