When you think of the leaves changing color, witches and other creatures, and a tasty pumpkin chai, the first city that comes to mind should be Boston. For obvious reasons (cough, cough, Salem), Massachusetts has long been home to spooky energy and fall aesthetics.
Being back in Boston for classes for the past couple of weeks has made me love the city even more. I can taste the chilly autumn breeze on my morning walks; my flannels and sweaters are back in my outfit rotation; and, best of all, the countdown for Halloween has begun.
While these books aren’t Halloween-specific—nor even set in fall—they all take place in the lovely city of Boston. Most of them are some of my favorite works, and all of them fit the whimsy that comes with the fall season.
PORTRAIT OF A WITCH UNDONE
This one’s my current read, and so far I am loving it! Marshy witches in northern Mass? Magical happenings at the Gardner museum? Friendship trumping all? Sign me up!
Summary: Maeve, who was once her coven’s golden child, has been keeping a secret. While trying to contact the Lady of the Fens, an ancient soul haunting the marshes, her magic was tainted. Now, she’s unbound: her spells are powered by chaos and the more she uses her magic, the less human she becomes. She wants nothing more than to rid herself of her spells, but when her best friend Ash goes missing at the Gardner museum, leaving a trail of clues for Maeve to follow, she has to use her unbound magic anyway, no matter the cost.
The stolen paintings from the St. Patrick’s day heists are hiding the Other Marsh: a pocket world holding secrets, nightmarish creatures, and maybe even the dreaded Lady of the Fens. Alongside an exiled witch named Gabriel, Maeve has to conquer the unbound inside of her to save Ash… all while discovering the hidden origins of the Other Marsh along the way.
I’ve been eating up this book so far and can’t wait to meet its conclusion! K.S. Shay has truly written a marvelous debut.
Boston Spots:
- Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum: Primary location of the novel, where the Other Marsh
- Cambridge: where Maeve’s bookstore job is located
- Honorable mention: the Commuter Rail she takes from the city to northern Massachusetts
THE DREAMER TRILOGY
This sequel-ish series to The Raven Cycle is genuinely one of the greatest works of literature to ever grace our shelves (in my humble opinion). Maggie Stiefvator is the writer of a generation!
The Dreamer Trilogy follows a cast of characters all connected to dreaming in whatever inextricable way. Ronan and Hennessey have the ability to bring their dreams (and nightmares) to life. Jordan is a dreamed thing—a clone of Hennesey’s—and Declan has not only a dreamer brother (Ronan), but a dreamt one, too. Carmen is a hunter, trying to stop the apocalypse that will occur when the dreamers, inevitably, go from unrestrained ability to uncontrollable power.
Ronan is a protagonist of The Raven Cycle, but I do believe TDT can be read as standalone. His relationship with Adam, an attendee of Harvard, is established as both devoted and frail. Jordan and Hennessey serve as interesting parallels, begging the question of what it means, really, to be human. The overarching theme of the trilogy, however, is human greed and the way technological indulgence has led to the natural world suffering (which is sooo important in our AI economy today).
I absolutely adore the characters in TDT, as complex and sometimes-morally ambiguous as they are, with all my heart and cannot recommend it enough.
Boston spots:
- Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum: the stolen paintings, like POAWU, are a part of the magic system. It’s also where two characters have their first date
- Harvard University: Where Adam (Ronan’s boyfriend) attends college
- James P. Kelleher Rose Garden: where a big battle takes place
- MFA: no spoilers here, but I can tell you a maybe-heist is involved
- The Esplanade: where the end of the trilogy takes place (and beautiful things, of which I will not say) occur
TOMORROW, AND TOMORROW, AND TOMORROW
This book wrecked me when I read it at the end of my senior year of high school. I am a sucker for friendship, so reading about the relationship between Sam and Sadie developing throughout the many, interconnected years of their lives was absolutely devastating (in the most positive tone I can use that word).
Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow follows Sam Masur and Sadie Green as they not only become friends, but develop a successful video game empire together. They first meet in a pediatric hospital while Sadie’s older sister is going through chemotherapy and Sam is receiving multiple surgeries to treat his foot. They lose connection, but by chance see each other again in Cambridge during university.
While video games are the thing of the book and are obviously that which Sam and Sadie create, the focus of the story is always their friendship—that, and the love they have for both each other and Marx, their cherished producer.
Boston spots:
- Harvard: where Sam attends college
- MIT: where Sadie attends college
- Harvard Square red line station: where they rekindle their friendship after so many years of lost connection
PAST PRESENT FUTURE
This is a bit embarrassing, but this book recommendation is actually one I haven’t read yet (unlike all the others). However! You can trust that my recommendation is coming from a place of partial knowledge, as I have read and adored the first book.
Today Tonight Tomorrow, the original novel, follows Rowan and Neil during the last night before graduation. For the past couple of years, they’ve been “rivals” academically, and so both are up for the valedictorian spot. Each year, their school hosts a scavenger hunt around the city (Seattle, not Boston…yet), and Rowan and Neil are paired. Together, they overcome their “rivalry” and realize maybe it was never much of a rivalry at all. In fact, maybe there was always something romantic about it.
I loved this book, which is saying an awful lot since I’m not a typical romance reader. I’ll admit I did pick it up largely because Rowan wants to be a writer (twin) and attends Emerson College (twin x2). Now that I’m actually on campus, I’ll admit I’m a bit scared to read the sequel since there’re explicit mentions of campus locations. I think that might be an after-graduation thing for me.
That being said, Past Present Future covers Rowan and Neil adapting to college life (her at Emerson, him at NYU) and maintaining their relationship throughout uncertainty.
Boston spots:
- Emerson College: where Rowan attends. And an honorable mention to the Lion’s Den, where she frequently writes (could not be me)
- Boston Common and Public Gardens: where Rowan takes on many outings since it’s basically our quad, and also where she and Neil go figure skating
- Dunkin’: a midnight endeavor for Boston cream pie (it’s Beantown for a reason, right?)
- Brookline: where Rowan visits a professor
MAGNUS CHASE AND THE GODS OF ASGARDS
This series is often overlooked in favor of the Percy Jackson world, which, while fair, is quite unfortunate. Magnus and Alex are one of the greatest couples of all time, in my opinion, and the adventures that they, alongside Samirah, Hearthstone, and Blitz, go on are kind of legendary.
MCAGOA follows Magnus, a homeless teen on the streets of Boston. After snooping around his weird uncle’s mansion on Commonwealth, he learns he’s the son of a Norse god. Said uncle then tells him to find the Sword of Summer, hidden somewhere inside the Boston Harbor. He is then, promptly, killed by a fire giant. Samirah, a Valkyrie, brings him to the afterlife-adjacent, Valhalla, where he serves as an Einherji (read: child soldier). A confusing prophecy determines Magnus must stop the end of the world with the help of new friends, among other important things.
Boston is the center of the universe for Norse mythology, apparently, but some specifically important spots are:
- Longfellow Bridge: where Magnus dies
- Make Way For Ducklings sculpture (Boston Commons): The gateway to Yggdrasil; each duck represents a different strand of the 9 worlds
- Thinking Cup (Newbury St): Where Magnus and Samirah link up
- Commonwealth Ave: where the Chase apartment is location
- Charles River/Esplanade: where Mimir (severed-head advisor) offers advice to the group
HEATED RIVALRY
This was meant to be a joke, but unfortunately I really enjoyed the sh*t out of these books. Obviously, there’s a show you can watch now for Shane and Ilya content—and let’s be honest, you probably have already—but the books are still a fun thing to look at, especially when there’s a new one coming out soon alongside season 2.
Heated Rivalry follows Shane and Ilya, two huge NHL stars throughout their professional careers. They first meet at the junior Olympics, and later develop a situationship in private whenever their teams play against each other. It’s sensual, it’s sporty, and it’s one hell of a love story.
Their relationship progresses further during The Long Game, which I refuse to speak on as it is extremely personal to me, and it will progress even more in Unrivaled, which is out next summer.
Boston spots:
- TD Garden: where the Bears (Bruins) play; Ilya’s home base
- Beacon St: Ilya’s apartment, allegedly (that, fun fact, doesn’t exist)
There are definitely more books set in beautiful Boston, but for now I leave you with this list. I hope your fall is the perfect mix of ghost stories and cozy vibes, and that you maybe, just maybe, checked out a new book from the library!