It’s that deliciously cozy time of year again, and I’ve got the perfect books to curl up by the fire with while you drain that pumpkin spice latte I know you’re clutching.
I’ve got quite a mix for you all, so bear with me and get your Goodreads ready as I list the best books to read in the fall.
THE Books To Read In The Fall While Sipping On A PSL
Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
A perfect combination of suspense, mystery, and strange family dynamics, Mexican Gothic has got it all.
After receiving a frantic letter from her newlywed cousin, Noemi heads to High Place, an isolated mansion in the Mexican countryside.
A glittering debutante fresh from the cream of Mexico City society, she’s certainly chic and quick-witted, but she isn’t scared easily. Certainly not of the English family’s traditions or her cousin’s new menacing husband, not of his father, the ancient patriarch who seems to be fascinated with her, and not even of the house itself, which Noemi feels is almost alive.
Incensed to successfully rescue her cousin and leave High Place, Noemi is determined to uncover the secrets its walls undoubtedly hold, but soon she might find it impossible to leave.
Any fans of The Yellow Wallpaper will be sure to zoom right through this compelling read in which a house may be more than it seems.
Longbourn by Jo Baker
“Pride and Prejudice was only half the story.”
Grab your blankets and dive into Longbourn, a novel that centers on the estate of the Bennet family from Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, this time retold through the perspective of the servants. Trust me when I say that there is just as much romance, heartbreak, and drama downstairs at Longbourn as there is upstairs.
When a new footman arrives, the carefully organized world of the servants’ hall threatens to be upended.
Baker looks past the Regency nobility to the gritty reality and dreams of the working class, creating her own vivid take on this familiar landscape. You can practically smell the autumn leaves falling as you get through Baker’s descriptive prose.
Carmilla by J Sheridan Le Fanu
A horror classic, Carmilla is the first vampire story… predating Dracula by 26 years , oh, and did I mention it’s gay?
In an isolated castle deep in the forest, Laura leads a lonely life with only her father for company. That is until a horse-drawn carriage crashes into view, bringing with it intrigue and the beautiful Carmilla.
The pair quickly fall into a most intimate friendship, but Carmilla becomes increasingly strange, wandering the castle at night unaccompanied while Laura finds herself plagued with nightmares and waking weaker every day.
A little over a hundred pages, you’ll fly by this novel as Carmilla draws you in with sexual tension and romance.
Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte
Another gothic classic, Wuthering Heights, centers on Catherine and Heathcliff as they navigate life, social pressures, and a (some might say toxic??) romance in the Yorkshire moors.
This windswept atmosphere is perfect for that rainy day as the novel unflinchingly stares down life and death, the thin border between them, and what happens when two lovers just happen to be separated by it.
It’s an absolute scandal of a novel, declared at its publication in 1847, and its entire aesthetic is synonymous with fall.
Small Favors by Erin Craig
A contemporary horror/ mystery/ romance/ fantasy concoction, Small Favors feels like the autumnal harvest, and what happens when the crop starts to go bad…
Ellerie lives in the small town of Amity Falls in a mountain range bordered by an impenetrable forest from which the early townsfolk were said to have fought off demons. No one really comes or goes, but when a supply party goes missing, rumors that the monsters that were once in the forest are back.
As fall becomes winter, stranger things start occurring:
a group of devilish creatures appear who promise to fulfill the residents’ deepest desires, however impossible, for just a small favor. But their intentions are more sinister than they seem, and Ellerie finds herself in a race against time to save Amity Falls before the town destroys itself from the inside out .
The Secret History by Donna Tartt
The ultimate, well-known dark academia book, I had to recommend The Secret History because it’s the definition of a fall read.
Centered on a small group of classics students at a private college in New England who just happened to have murdered one of their best friends… Not a whodunnit but a whydunnit, Donna Tartt weaves a compelling narrative that’ll leave you guessing every character’s humanity and how easily corruption seems to spread.
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