Fall Reading Guide: 8 Books Perfect To Cozy Up With

Alright, fellow readers. It’s been a pretty active book year around these parts, which means I have a fresh list of recommendations for you to devour. As a mood reader, it’s hard to predict what will be pulled off the shelf next, but as we get into August, I start to reach for what I consider to be “cozy season reads.” Think witchy or supernatural books and psychological thrillers, or historical fiction with darker, grittier themes. When winter approaches, you might find me diving into fantasy, escaping to completely different worlds. Choosing your next book on vibes alone means there’s no rhyme or reason to it, but there are certainly patterns. It also means I usually have a good selection of recommendations spanning across multiple genres and reading tropes, so hopefully one or two of these spark your interest!

What are you reading this season? Head over to our Instagram and shoot us a DM if you have a recommendation!

If you’re not ready to give up summer, read → Book Lovers by Emily Henry

I’ll be honest, I didn’t love the first book I read by Emily Henry. Because of that, it took a while before I was ready to try another. I’m so glad I did, because Book Lovers was a refreshing rom-com with main characters in their 30s facing real, relatable challenges. This is a book for the eldest/only parentified daughter whose dream isn’t the white picket fence and family, but a career-driven, child-free life. The gal who seemingly has it together all the time, but secretly wishes she didn’t have to. 

Nora Stephens is a cutthroat literary agent from NYC who ends up on vacation with her very pregnant younger sister Libby. They visit a small town based on a popular romance novel by an author Nora represents and Libby loves. Libby creates a bucket list for their trip and insists Nora become the main character as a part of it, all while Nora is still working remotely. One of those items is for Nora to go on a date with a local for a Hallmark-inspired romance – a concept that Nora finds nauseating, at best. Needless to say, Nora is less than thrilled, especially when she keeps running into Charlie - a book editor who also happens to be a professional nemesis and coincidentally from the town they’re visiting. As shenanigans ensue (as they do in a rom-com), Nora & Charlie realize that they might not be perfect, but they could be perfect for each other. That is, if they can get past a challenge that neither of them can see a way around. 

If you are ready to give up summer and want a cozy rom-com, read → The Long Game by Elena Armas

With the world falling in love with sports romances centered around co-eds this year, this one was a refreshing find with grown-up main characters. Sensing a theme here? I read The Spanish Love Deception by Armas a few years ago and loved it, so when I saw The Love Game peeking out in the sports romance section of a local bookstore, I grabbed it without a second thought. Cranky retired soccer player who wants to be left alone, millennial career-driven, overachieving female main character, and farm animals? What's not to love?

I love that these characters were dealing with problems that, as a 30-something, I could relate to. From her anxiety triggers to the way he managed to sneak past her walls, it was relatable...maybe a little too much. The banter was fun, her Mother is someone I want to be friends with, and I'm over here hoping this becomes a series because I want to dive back into the world of these characters since being friends with them isn't a realistic expectation. 

If you like gripping memoirs that are gritty and honest, read → Chanel Bonfire by Wendy Lawless

I'm wondering why it took so long to grab this book off the shelf. Chanel Bonfire was a rough one to read, but the way Wendy tells the story of her childhood was so compelling that I couldn't put it down. The complexity of her mother's personality and the way Wendy and her sister navigated it should be a case study on survivors of narcissistic parents. Memoirs are hit or miss for me, but Wendy's writing style earned a full five-star rating from yours truly. I'd step into this one cautiously, as it covers some heavy topics including addiction, abuse, and self-harm. If you’re up for it, though, it’s a particularly thought-provoking read. 

For a tongue-in-cheek rom-com with a supernatural twist, read → The Dead Romantics by Ashley Poston

Florence Day sees ghosts. Really…she sees ghosts. And the irony is that her family owns a funeral parlor, so they naturally come with the territory. Florence ghostwrites (yes, Poston enjoys a good pun) for a famous romance author but is having a hard time with her upcoming deadline after a bad breakup. She’s living in NYC and feels the looming death of her career breathing down her neck when she’s forced to return to her small South Carolina hometown after her Father dies unexpectedly. While in the thick of dealing with her father’s funeral, she comes face to face with a ghost at the funeral parlor doors. Ben insists he’s not dead, but Florence begs to differ, no matter how much he argues the contrary. As they’re stuck spending time together, Florence tries to help Ben move through his “unfinished business” to find peace, and Ben helps Florence as she navigates the grief of losing her father and facing a small town that made it difficult for her while growing up. It’s funny but has a lot of depth with a few heartbreaking scenes. In the end, we learn the identity of this famous romance author, find out whether Florence writes the book, and whether Ben is, in fact, dead. 

If you’re looking for a winding narrative that takes you on a ride, read → The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab

This book seems to have a divided audience: you either love it or you hate it. The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue is one of the more unique stories I’ve read in a minute. It follows the life of Addie LaRue, a girl born in 1714 who makes a bargain with a god to live forever and, in doing so, is cursed to be forgotten by everyone she meets. She lives a truly extraordinary life, from meeting influential figures over the centuries to overcoming impossible situations, experiencing countless significant wars and historical events, eventually ending up in NYC, a place where everyone is, on some level, forgettable. That is, until she meets Henry - someone with a secret of his own. And this is where the story picks up. 

Addie & Henry’s relationship is fascinating. They both essentially made a deal with the devil out of desperation, heartbreak, and honestly, a bit of selfishness. The wishes they had granted came with specific consequences that would make most people question if the wish was truly worth it in the first place. These two characters coming together allowed them to receive what their wish intrinsically deprived them of – which, ironically, was what they ran from in the first place. And at the center of these wishes was the old god whom Addie named Luc.

Luc, in my opinion, is the most interesting character in the book, and I wish we could have gotten more of him. Addie’s resistance to giving in to him backfires and makes him borderline obsessed with her (as much as an easily bored, immortal god can be). In meeting Henry, Addie is eventually faced with a decision that forces her to either choose herself again, consequences be damned, or make a selfless sacrifice to save the one person fated to remember her. It’s a thought-provoking read that takes you on a three-century-long journey. A great read as the days turn darker. 

If you’re looking for something witty and fun with a touch of the supernatural and love classic literature from the likes of Jane Austen & the Brontës, read → The Wisteria Society of Lady Scoundrels by India Holton

The second book in this series popped up on our summer reading list and for good reason. I am obsessed with the “Dangerous Damsels” series. These books are part historical romance, part fantasy, with a dash of appreciation of English literature. Each book follows a quirky heroine who ends up on some action-packed adventure with a morally gray, slightly annoyed, and eventually besotted suitor hot on her heels. What’s not to like, right? The first book in the series follows Cecilia Bassingwaite, a Victorian lady and thief who gets caught up with Ned Lightbourne, an assassin with orders to kill her. Good thing that Ned has his own agenda! Holton’s books are delightfully entertaining, with an unhinged level of banter and captivating, page-turning stories. Do yourself a favor and give this one a try. 

If you’re looking for a fantasy series to keep you entertained for months, read → From Blood & Ash by Jennifer L. Armentrout

The last fantasy series I read was Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas. It was a beast, a journey, and absolutely perfect. So when I read the final page over three years ago, it was clear that I needed a break from this genre. TOG is the type of series that reading anything afterward would be disappointing, and that didn’t feel fair to any of the wonderful other book series out there. 2026 felt like the year to dive back into the fantasy world, and picking up From Blood & Ash renewed my love for the genre all over again. It has everything you’d want in a fantasy series: a strong heroine, detailed world-building, and a swoony morally gray hero. There’s action, yearning, tension, and banter for days. Aremntrout does a beautiful job setting up the story. Another great thing about the first book in this series is that there are strong supporting characters that you know will have larger roles as the story continues. Characters that you want to know more about, rather than ones simply needed to facilitate the larger storyline. 

One thing I’ll say about the “Blood & Ash” series is that it’s long. If you’re looking for something to settle into the colder months and not worry about what to read next, this is a good choice, as there are a total of ten books in the universe, with more coming. After book three of the “Blood & Ash” series (The Crown of Gilded Bones), you start the prequel series “Flesh & Fire”. From there, you bounce between the two series as the stories interconnect. Another thing that’s a bit frustrating is that Armentrout leaves us on cliffhangers that are pretty much mid-conflict. Again, this is a fantastic series and worth the read, but it feels like each book starts with the final hundred pages of the previous one. It’s incredibly difficult to make a clean stop and move on to something else if you need a change of pace. I’ve currently read through A Shadow in the Ember, book one of the “Flesh & Fire” series and the fourth book in the overall reading order. 

For a sci-fi psychological thriller that will have you guessing the whole time, read → Dark Matter by Blake Crouch

This one took me by surprise. Set in Chicago, Dark Matter follows a man who suddenly finds himself in a parallel universe after being kidnapped by a stranger. He’s in his body, but the life he wakes up to is not his own. Familiar people are there, but none are as he remembers. The story follows Jason as he tries to figure out what’s going on, making friends and enemies along the way, to ultimately step through doors that lead to different timelines within the same universe. What would you do if you knew each choice you made every single day, no matter how big or small, could make a monumental impact on your future? Something as simple as the road you drive to work in the morning, or meeting a friend after work for a drink. Would you choose differently? Dark Matter is all about the consequences of choices, appreciating the life we have, and a mind-bending theory that there is an infinite number of timelines all living in the same universe. It’s a book that will have your heart racing and desperate to read just one more page all the way until the end.