Many would say October is the month when Fall really starts to feel like Fall. The air gets crispier, colorful leaves begin to litter the ground, and Fall specials at coffee shops, grocery stores, and more get released. But there might be something missing to wrap the cozy Fall feeling around you
like a warm blanket.
Reading books is an amazing way to immerse yourself in not just a new world, but new feelings. Fall is a popular season for authors, as it allows them to capture the cozy, comfortable feel of the fall season, like pumpkin spice and cozy cream cardigans. Or the dark and horror-like feeling as Halloween approaches, like spooky Halloween costumes and rainy, stormy weather.
Whether or not you like cozy, horror, thriller, classics, etc, you can immerse yourself in these books!
Starting strong, we have The Housemaid by Freida McFadden.
Freida McFadden has an amazing way to encapsulate the eerie feeling of Fall. In The Housemaid, a woman named Millie becomes a live-in maid for a wealthy family, the Winchesters. As time passes, Millie is trapped within the secrets and abuse between the Winchesters and begins to unravel the secrets of Ms. and Mr. Winchester.
If you like thriller books, Freida McFadden’s The Housemaid is perfect for you. It’s a fast-paced book, 336 pages, but it will keep you hooked. Personally, I read it in one sitting. Anything by Freida McFadden is perfect for the Fall atmosphere!
For classic lovers, Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë is perfect for setting Fall vibes.
It gives an old Gothic, moody feel to readers, but it has an atmosphere that screams Fall. Although not necessarily set in Autumn, the atmosphere is what gives you that feeling. If you read the Penguin Classic, it’s 359 pages.
Wuthering Heights, set in 1801, is about Heathcliff (an orphan) and Catherine (a young woman in the family Heathcliff is brought to), and their dark, passionate love story. They basically have a forbidden love, separated by betrayal, revenge, and social class differences. The course of the book ultimately leads to a tragic, but some might say bittersweet, end.
A fun but spooky book series, A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson, is a good series for fall. Full of twists and turns and a subplot of romance, it’s a series that encapsulates the fall feels while also reeling you into the mystery of Pip and Ravi.
A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder is about Pip, a high schooler who investigates a closed case of Sal Singh and Andie Bell for her school project. She recruits Ravi, Sal’s brother, and they go through the twists and turns, as well as major setbacks, throughout the story to piece together the deaths of Sal and Andie. It’s a good book series that will always leave you wondering and wanting more.
It’s a good series to keep you in the fall mood!
The Seven-Year Slip is a romance book by Ashley Poston set in New York. Again, not specifically noted to be in the Fall, but it has the most fall vibes anyone could ask for. It’s a heartwarming and touching story, not just about romance. It’s also about handling grief in the right way, letting time run its course, and accepting the change.
In The Seven Year Slip, book publicist Clementine moves into her late aunt’s apartment, only then realizing that it’s magic. The apartment slips her back 7 years into the past, where she meets Iwan, and they begin to form a magical love story.
A cozy fall book to truly encapsulate Fall is The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches.
According to a Goodreads review, the book is “Eccentric, huggable, vivid characters, heartwarming chapters, romance, magic, secrets, entertaining schemes—I’m sold!”
There are also multiple reviews citing it as a cozy fall read, which is everything you would want to slither into fall!
The book follows Mika Moon, a witch who is called to a remote house named Nowhere House to teach three younger witches magic. As she helps the girls, she begins to form a family with others in the house, and even sparks a romance with the librarian (“Goodreads”).
A perfect cozy read. It’s a found family full of admirable connections and a must-read for fall.
Fall is an amazing time of year for books, so cozy up in a warm blanket and light your pumpkin spice candle, and read away!
