As an avid reader and writer, I like to think that I have the single best opinions about reading materials. This isn’t true. However, I’ve been told I have good taste in books. With that, I wish to bestow upon you some recommendations for my favorite books that make me feel that fall type of way.
I have a reading inclination toward romance, so most of these books will be cheesy fall romances. But, as stated previously, I have great taste, and not all of these will fall into that category. Peruse these recommendations, get ideas, and read away!
- The Ex Hex by Erin Sterling
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This contemporary fall read by Rachel Hawkins, penned under the pseudonym Erin Sterling, is a witchy little romance that starts with heartbreak. Vivienne Jones is a witch who commits a cardinal sin, mixing vodka and witchcraft. She unknowingly unleashes all sorts of silly dangers onto the small town of Graves Glen, and the only person who can help her take care of her little mishap is Rhys Penhallow, the annoyingly gorgeous and outstandingly unlikable descendent of the town’s resident witches. The two must move past their chemistry to put the town back together. But who doesn’t love a little fun?
This book is spicy, romantic, witchy, cozy, and silly all wrapped up in one little literary package. The read is easy and short and has absolutely satisfied my spooky itch far before the air turned to chill.
- The Secret History by Donna Tartt
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This book is the kind of book that I’ll recommend before I even finish it (see right here right now). I’m not even half finished with this book, and I drool just thinking about it. The cozy New England fall and winter vibes ooze off the page with every masterfully crafted sentence Donna Tartt pens. A master of prose, Tartt brings these eccentric and utterly outlandish characters to life. This cast could never exist, but Tartt makes you second guess yourself with her description and vocabulary.
The Secret History is one of the most convoluted, unhinged, and disturbed narratives I’ve ever had the pleasure of understanding. The reader follows an outcast from the rich social group of Greek learners at his college. These students are the absolute epitome of rich, gallivanting to houses in the mountains, taking trips at the drop of a hat, and practicing ancient Greek rituals in hopes of being able to better understand the minds of the time. But when the main character becomes privy to these practices, everything goes awry. Lying, crime, and questionable alliances run rampant in the friend group.
This book is something that I can’t even begin to fathom explaining without giving too much away. The twists of this book are mesmerizing, and the 559-page read feels like it’ll never end, but you just can’t put it down. I can’t convey how amazing this book is, so I’ll present the first sentence of the entire book: “The snow in the mountains was melting and Bunny had been dead for several weeks before we came to understand the gravity of our situation.”
- Spoiler Alert by Olivia Dade
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This book doesn’t inherently scream fall, but it’s so cozy and cute that I find myself longing for a big warm sweater and a cup of hot cider while I read the pages. This is the best example of cheesy-romance-that-caters-exactly-to-me as I could bring up. April Whittier is a mousy geologist with a secret: not only is she an avid fan of the in-universe TV show Gods of the Gates, but she’s also an avid fanfiction writer. When she takes her chances entering a fan contest of cosplay from the TV show, she’s met with insufferable trolls commenting on her body type, weight, and every single thing she’s insecure about. That is, until Marcus Caster-Rupp, lead actor in Gods of the Gates, steps in. A romance begins to brew between the two as April gains her confidence and footing at her new job and within the fandom, all while Marcus keeps secrets of his own.
Spoiler Alert is the cozy and easy read that I long for on nights when I spend a little too much time working on assignments and need to just let my brain go to a little corner of fictional reality.
- We’ll Always Have Summer by Jenny Han
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Don’t yell at me. I know this book takes place during summer, but this is for the fall me that longs for summer again. This is the third and final installment in The Summer I Turned Pretty trilogy. The first two books are also highly recommended, but something about this book just makes me think about the months after summer when all I want to do is go back.
There’s a slight spoiler alert in effect here, as I’ll go into the plot of this book. Be warned! Two years after Conrad and Belly finally call it quits, Belly ends up with Jeremiah. They’re happy — until they aren’t. She thought Jere was her true love and that they would spend their lives together, far away from Conrad and from her repressed feelings. Jeremiah makes an irreparable mistake and tries to fix things with Belly as she reels from the recent developments in their relationship. Everything boils over in this explosive conclusion to the YA genre as Belly realizes that she left too many questions unanswered. Her decision in the end is solidified by Susannah, who gives her insight from far beyond the grave.
This book had me in tears by the time I finished it. The finality of the series was hammered home in such a fluent and easy read.
- Smoke Gets in Your Eyes & Other Lessons from the Crematory by Caitlin Doughty
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My only non-fiction entry on this list is, by far, my favorite. Caitlin Doughty is most famous for her YouTube series Ask a Mortician. Doughty’s first foray into literature is a haunting memoir of her life as a mortician. Her writing style is sardonic and beautiful and makes the reader question their own mortality in a way that isn’t gut-wrenchingly terrifying. Doughty has encountered bodies of every kind and faces one of the biggest fears on the planet head-on with a cheery and positive outlook. I couldn’t put this book down the first several times I read it. I have a fear of death, but Doughty makes the subject so approachable that I truly forgot why I feared it in the first place.
As someone so engrossed in what I read to have a Goodreads account, I present these books with utmost certainty that they will be enjoyed. Reading for me is an all-encompassing way to live in non-existent worlds, face my fears, and return to reality without batting an eye.