the ULTIMATE guide to autumn books 🍄🍂☕ (50+ fall recommendations)

This is the classic small town vampire story and it just builds the dread so gradually you don't even notice you're in trouble until everything hits the fan and then you're terrified at the end.

I personally hated this book, but again, I am trying to be an unbiased third party here and just give you all the options.

There is mixed media format, so it keeps it fun, fast, and contemporary, but it is YA, and if that's something that bothers you, you're not going to like this book.

Now, this is a book I believe everyone should read, especially in today's political climate. It is a fast, brilliant, and brutally honest breakdown of power, politics, and revolution, but it's masked as innocent with farm animals as the main characters.

This is one of the hardest books I have ever read in my entire life emotionally. It is definitely a 6,000 star read. Whether you think you're emotionally ready for it or not, it will gut you like a fish.

It is toxic sappic vampire romance. If you don't like any of those words, you're not going to like this book.

With so much banter, tension, and dark humor, it shouldn't work. Let me just preface this by saying, I know it shouldn't work, and yet it does.

There is nothing but antics and just ridiculous ridiculousness all in this book. but I really did enjoy it.

This is a book that I read over three years ago and it's still in my top five favorite books of all time and I read about 60 books a year. She is one of the most quietly complex characters I have ever read about and it's like watching someone slowly develop and blossom as a person.

It's about a single mom who becomes a hit woman accidentally and somehow pulls it off. It's campy, it's clever, and it's a lot of fun.

It is a gothic classic for a reason, but at its core, it's really about self-identity, grief, and what happens when you indulge in your every delusion.

It is raw, brutal, and deeply human. It's one of those books that you'll finish it and you'll genuinely wonder how we tolerate each other.

But it was actually a pretty good time. However, if you do need more answers and a little bit more structure in the plot, you will not like this book. But surprisingly, I am one of those people and I did enjoy it.

Then we have If We Were Villains, the OG theater kids. It's basically The Secret History, but with way more monologues.

Now, this is a case study on the human condition and what happens when you feed your most anim animalistic impulses, but through the eyes of children. And for me, for some reason, just seeing kids be this way made it even more scary for me.

This is like a psychological pressure cooker where it immediately makes you feel terrified of number one fans and cabins for the rest of your life. This book is more like intensely claustrophobic.

This is subtly devastating, which is why I personally didn't like it, but again, hindsight is 2020 and I do understand why some people might.

Now, she's pretty hit or miss for me, but I like her books because they're always fast-paced and they're helpful when you're trying to get out of a reading slump. , with this one, it's nice because it had this very scenic atmosphere, but the narrator is extremely unreliable, and if you don't like that, you're not going to like this book.

Now, I've notoriously discussed at length how much I despise this book, but as I've read more, I'm starting to understand its charm in hindsight.

This book literally feels like you stepped into a dream. There are haunting halls that fill up with the ocean. There is a bit of a mystery element and a character you just can't help but love and root for.

This is a book that is pretty problem-solving heavy and scientifically heavy. So, if those are things that are cons for you, you're not going to like this book. But I will say objectively, I have given this book to some people who don't even like science and they loved it.

It is gritty, raw, and full of action, but underneath all of the violence, it's really a story about grief, redemption, and the lengths parents will go for love. It's brutally violent and emotionally heavy.

It is extremely brutal, extremely violent, but also extremely heartfelt and political and has an agenda on its own. , you will not like this series if you aren't willing to put in the work because this world is so unique and so complex.

This is so psychologically eerie and you need to be careful and tread lightly if you're not ready for some heavy topics because it has literally every heavy topic you can think of.

It's basically a mixture of Clue and Inception. So, it's a murder mystery in a time loop. I will say it does get a little confusing here or there.

This is one of my favorites, even though it's one of the darkest books. , it is beautifully written.

I read this with my book club last year, and it was so good. It's definitely a book that is made to be read in one sitting.

This is a series that I read when I first started getting back into reading and I really did enjoy it. There's politics, there's betrayal, and enemies to lovers energy that just did it for me.

It's extremely romantic. It is tragic and really beautifully written.

It is going to wreck you in the most tender, multigenerational way. When I initially read it, it was a six-star read for me.

Second is The Maid, which is a smart mystery with a lovable neurode divergent main character set in a hotel. If you need higher stakes, just skip this one.

Now, this book feels like a forgotten memory that you're not too sure if you had. It is extremely haunting. It is magical and deeply unsettling, but it is pretty abstract.

It has old money, crumbling mansions, a lot of hidden secrets and murder accusations. However, if you like your murders a little more contemporary and you don't like so much drama, just skip this one.

It's extremely brutal. It's extremely brilliant and unapologetically political. Think military fantasy meets historical allegory with a relentless protagonist.

The Silent Patient is a psychological thriller, and even though that is the case, it still reads pretty fast, at least in my opinion, because of all the questions that it leaves you with after every chapter.

I feel like even though I really personally enjoy and I like the slower, cozier thrillers, even for me at times I was like, get to the point.

, I really liked this one. It is lyrical, queer, and full of yearning.

This is a dark fairy tale retelling with an anxious toad witch. It's very cute, but if you need something with a little bit more kick and a little bit more action, you probably won't like this book.

Then, this one is one of my favorites. It is Vera Wong's Unsolicited Advice for Murderers. She's literally everything to me.

It's not really about the characters, it's about the atmosphere that's almost like a character and it is so cool, so uncanny. If you're looking for Tim Burton, this is it.