I think it’s pretty obvious from the fact that the vast majority of the posts I’ve put on this blog since restarting it earlier this year are about reading that this is, aside from family life obviously, one of the biggest priorities in my life right now! While I haven’t set any big goals, I do have a HUGE to-read list currently that I’m slowly working my way through. Honestly, I don’t see how it will ever end considering that I add new books to it daily!
I’m very pleased that I’ve managed to get back into the habit of reading, so much so that I’ve read 6 books in August! My goal a few years back would have been around 4-5 books per month, so I think I’ve done really well there.
So to keep myself somewhat organised, I’ve decided to plan some TBR lists, somewhat themed! I’ve got a running background list of Sarah J Maas books to plough my way through. I read the entirety of ACOTAR in one fell swoop earlier this year then dove straight into Throne of Glass. I didn’t enjoy this book as much as the ACOTAR series, but I think this was a lucky move as it meant I didn’t feel the need to complete this entire series straight away and had some freedom to look at other books. But nevertheless, I plan to complete the Throne of Glass series too and move on to Crescent City afterwards – it’s hard avoiding spoilers about them on TikTok now that I’m inundated with ACOTAR videos and memes!
Alongside this background TBR pile, I’ve decided to create a reading list specifically for autumn. I thought it would be really fun to read books that have an autumn vibe – both the cosy and spooky sides of that! So I’ve dug through my lists of books I already own and books I just want to read to come up with what seems to me to be the ultimate autumn reading list. I don’t think I’m going to manage to get through all of these before autumn is over, but I’m going to start once I’ve finished my current read, so that should be the first week of September. We’re away for 2 weeks in October with 2 long flights (Disney again!), so I’m hoping that should give me some good reading time if I can manage it with two under 5s on a plane! It also works nicely because we’re doing Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party again (fingers crossed for a quieter experience this time, we’ve heard it will be better!) so this reading list should help get the spooky vibes going!
So without further adieu, here is my autumn reading list. I’ll give my version of a little summary of the book and why it sounds good to me. Let me know if you’ve read any of these or if you have any others to recommend!
The Spell Shop by Sarah Beth Durst
Kiela is a librarian in a great library where spellbooks from the world are gathered. But when the library is destroyed, she escapes to a remote island that was her childhood home, taking as many of the books with her as she can. With nothing else to do or any way to make money, she grows berries in her cottage garden to make jam. But she can’t resist the draw of magic and opens a spellshop on the island. There’s also an interesting and irritating new neighbour who helps her fix up her new home…
This book is described as being “a Hallmark rom-com full of mythical creatures and fueled by cinnamon rolls and magic”. It has gone viral on TikTok for cottagecore vibes, so it seems like the perfect cosy autumn book.
The Cinnamon Bun Book Store by Laurie Gilmore
If you’re into trending books, you know this one had to make the list! I read last year’s The Pumpkin Spice Cafe because of the fall hype around it, so I can’t not read this one too set in the same town of Dream Harbour by the same author!
It’s another steamy small town romance, but this time set around a book store with secret hidden messages. The protagonists this time are the bookstore owner and a fisherman.
I can’t say that The Pumpkin Spice Cafe was an absolute fave, but it was a nice quick read that was certainly very seasonal – these books have literally been designed for people like me! So I’m looking forward to another similar one.
One Dark Window by Rachel Gillig
Flipping the cosy theme on its head now for the other side of autumn for me – the dark, creepy and macabre!
I’ve seen this described as a gothic, romantic fantasy, so that sounds right up my ACOTAR themed street right now! We have a girl with a monster’s soul and an isolated gothic town that traps the people inside with dark magic and a mist. Those “infected” by magic are seen to be evil and must be dealt with.
It sounds like the world building and magic system in this are excellent, and it’s packed with little riddles and poems. It should be a good dark read I think!
Mercy by Wendy Saunders
Heading in another direction that’s more classic Halloween this time with Salem witches, although set in the modern day and away from Salem with their descendants. The blurb for this describes a series of supernatural murders, a 17th century witchfinder being flung through time, and a modern day witch who has to work together with him.
This is a book I got for free on one of those “Stuff Your Kindle” days, so I’ve saved it up for the right time of year for it to have the most impact. I think the lead up to Halloween when I want something especially witchy and occult. This should fit the bill nicely!
Witchnapped in Westerham by Dionne Lister
Another flip on the Halloween/witchy genre to kind of cutesy looking, but a detective investigation theme too – who knew there were so many sides to Halloween novels?!
Lily is a photographer working in Sydney, but then a woman turns up on her doorstep who announces that she is a witch and Lily is too. Her brother has been “witchnapped” and she needs her help to find him along with the Paranormal Investigation Bureau. So they head off to Westerham in England to track down the brother as well as Lily’s magic powers.
This sounds very fun and totally unlike anything else I’ve read before. I’ll be very interested to see what it’s like!
The Crimson Moth by Kristen Ciccarelli
The title for this book on Amazon describes it as a “Witch x Witch Hunter, enemies to lovers, YA romantasy that is a 2024 TikTok favourite”. I mean, it’s sold it to me in a few words there!
Witches were once rulers in this world but are now outcasts, and we follow Rune, who was once a witch but is now hunted. To throw people off the scent, she befriends and courts Gideon, a witch hunter. He isn’t all that keen on her from the sounds of it, but pretends to court her right back to insert himself into her social circles for intel. I’m sure I can figure out where this is going!
Yet another twist on the witch/witch hunter story, and this one sounds like it’s already become a TikTok fave, so I’m sure I’ll enjoy it!
NB: This book seems to be known as the Heartless Hunter in some places, The Crimson Moth in others.
The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandanna
Mika is an orphaned witch, one of very few left, who has been taught to keep low and not mix with other witches so they’re not caught. In a different attempt to throw people off the scent, she posts online pretending to be a witch, however this catches the attention of someone who invites her to travel to Nowhere House to teach young witches. There are threats, found families and another little romance apparently.
This sounds like another really cute twist on the classic modern day witch tale. I think this might be coming top of my list of next to read!
A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness
So this is one of the list that I’m sure most have heard of and probably read a long time ago! It’s sat on my shelves for yea
We apparently have a vampire, a witch and a mysterious manuscript, and Oxford’s Bodleian library as the setting. It sounds like an excellent atmospheric read, again perfect for the season of the macabre. I’m excited to finally get round to reading this as I’ve heard so many good things about it lately! rs as I strayed away from fantasy for a while so it never seemed all that appealing until now! There’s also the TV series based on it and several more books in the series, so if I like it, there’s more to delve into!
Payback’s A Witch by Lana Harper
Another kind of cutesy Halloween vibey book, with a pun in the name and very appealing cover, plus the main character is called Emmy! It’s described as the perfect fall read by reviewers and with similarities to Sabrina, so it’s got to be good!
Emmy, a witch, left her small town of Thistle Grove to the big city lights of Chicago, but her powers are waning there so she needs to return to her hometown. She runs into old friends and romances, which seems to set off the usual old small town gossip and dramas. This sounds like a fun hometown romance with a witchy twist!
Slewfoot: A Tale of Bewitchery by Brom
Back to a classic witch trials tale in the dark days of puritan vs pagan, Abitha arrives at a Puritan colony betrothed to a stranger. After his sudden death, as a young widow, she befriends Slewfoot, a demon in the woods, when the village turns against her.
This sounds so dark, creepy and atmospheric. Apparently it also has pages of rich illustrations to accompany the story which sound amazing!
The Black Witch by Laurie Forest
Witches again #sorrynotsorry!
So this book apparently has a lot of controversy around it, but I’ll hold that thought until I read it. For now, I’ve heard there are witches, elves, werewolves, selkies, dragons and more a magic boarding school. The main character, Elloren, is a descendant of the Black Witch and is carted off to a magic university by her aunt. This aunt wants her to marry a mage, but Elloren refuses. It sounds like there’s a lot of political power struggle between the difference races and a struggle for independence from Elloren.
I’m intrigued to read this book and find out what the fuss is about, plus it sounds like a brilliant plot in its own right too!
The Lost Apothecary by Sarah Penner
This doesn’t have the cosy fall vibes, and it doesn’t necessarily have the spooky monsters or scary witches of the other books so far in this list, but it feels like it fits the time of year in its gothic and creepy atmosphere.
In a dark London alley is a hidden apothecary shop. A woman dispenses poisons for other women to harm the men who wronged them, so long as the poison is never used to harm another woman and that she keeps track of every murderer and victim in the apothecary’s register. In present day, a woman called Caroline finds an old poison vial which leads her to discover secrets about the unsolved apothecary murders.
This sounds right up my street, very dark and macabre with a mystery, set across several timelines too. I can’t wait to read it!
