Autumn, to me, seems like the perfect season for reading. You can curl up in your favorite spot under a soft blanket with a cup of tea and enjoy watching the leaves explode in more color, day after day. It’s my favorite season, and not only because I was born smack dab in the middle of it.
Of course, I also love autumn in books, and specifically people falling in love as the leaves fall, so I always read a ton of themed or at least relatively autumny romance. And because of that, I have the perfect recommendations to give you.
There’s a little bit of everything here; some contemporary, some fantasy, some historicals, so no matter what your reading taste is, you can find something to love.
Contemporary Fall Rom-Coms
You Deserve Each Other by Sarah Hogle
Naomi and Nicholas are engaged, miserable, and both too proud to be the one who calls it off. So they start a campaign of petty sabotage, each hoping the other cracks first. This book is so funny and heartfelt, and it’s one of my favorite love stories ever. It begins in October, with miserable weather and Halloween, and it stretches out over the whole Autumn season. I have a full review here if you’re curious, but I highly recommend this book overall — it’s slow burn, sweet and hilarious.
You Again by Kate Goldbeck
This is inspired by When Harry Met Sally and it’s perfect if you love books set in autumny New York. Of course, not all of it is set in the fall season because this book stretches over a decade. Ari and Josh meet when they both want the same girl, Ari’s roommate, and they both get ditched by her. After that, they keep running into each other over the years until eventually they become friends and then more. I have a full review of this book here, if you want to know more.
Out on a Limb by Hannah Bonam-Young
Win is a fiercly independent woman who spent her whole life proving to everyone that she can do it all on her own, despite lacking a leg. Then she meets Bo at a Halloween party, and their one night stand leads to her getting pregnant. Bo is more than willing to be a father but Win is unsure if she wants help or not. They decide to be just friends, but this, of course, blossoms into more. I normally don’t enjoy one-night stand or pregnancy books, but this one was surprisingly warm and cozy despite how it starts, and I loved Win.
Funny Feelings by Tarah DeWitt
Farley is a young commediene managed by an older, once famous comedian. Over the years, they’ve become best friends, but when she finally catches a break and a chance to go big (like, Netflix show big), it turns out her fame will be helped along if she pretends to date her friend and manager. However, this is no easy task as these two have harbored feelings for each other for a long time, and the fake dating plot doesn’t help them reign it in at all. I really liked this one, especially for the good friends to lovers plot!
If It Makes You Happy by Julie Olivia
If It Makes You Happy was perhaps a tad too long for my tastes (and I’m not a fan of first-person narration), but it was cute and cozy, so I approve! This one is set in 1997 (so you know the Gilmore Girls vibes are there), where Michelle has to take over her mom’s small town bed and breakfast despite wanting to get a promotion at her big city job. And the worst part of it is Cliff, who is popular, well loved, a baker who’s good at everything and who offers to help. Slowly, they become friends, but then it turns into more. Too bad Michelle has to leave soon, right?
Second Chance Romance by Olivia Dade
Here we get yet another baker, and the continuation of one of my favorite books (series), Harlot’s Bay! Karl and Molly were best friends in high school, and almost more, but then Karl gets a girlfriend and their friendship falls apart. Years later, Karl is a baker listening to monster romance books narrated by Molly, and Molly returns to Harlot’s Bay because she finds Karl’s obituary. When they finally reunite, they have to reckon with all their years apart and see if they can finally get their happy ending.
The Pumpkin Spice Café by Laurie Gilmore
I’ll be honest, I didn’t like this book, and I generally don’t enjoy heavily autumn (or any season, really) themed books and titles. But this one is so popular I couldn’t not include it because it just might be your favorite, who knows? So, this one follows Jeanie, who gets the Pumpkin Spice Cafe from her aunt, and sees it as a chance to start over. And there she meets the grumpy farmer Logan, who is inexplicably drawn to her. Romance hijinks ensue!
People Watching by Hannah Bonam-Young
And another Hannah Bonam-Young! I wouldn’t call this one a fan-favorite, but I liked it well enough, and it’s very autumny. In this story, Prudence, who once dreamed of leaving her small town, now finds solace in it as she works at her father’s gas station and cares for her mother. But then Milo, who doesn’t stick around anywhere for long, arives with his beat up van, and they strike up an unlikely friendship that slowly turns into more.
The Folklore of Forever by Sarah Hogle
I really loved this book! Sarah Hogle is one of my favorite authors and this feels like the perfect autumny rom com with a sprinkle of fantasy throughout. So, Zelda returns to her small town in an effort to write her next book. There, she meets Morgan, who is obsessed with all things magical and wants to be a witch (Zelda’s sisters believe they are witches, but Zelda’s a cynic). Together, they explore their small town and the surrounding forests and find much more than they bargained for. I have a full review here, if you want to know more.
Autumn Fantasy Romance
A Witch’s Guide to Magical Innkeeping by Sangu Mandanna
This one is so lovely and so delightful, but it also made me tear up so many times. You can check out my full, spoiler-free review here! A Witch’s Guide to Magical Innkeeping follows Sera, a witch who lost her magic when she resurrected her aunt, and now she runs the ramshackle inn that seems sentient? When Luke, a magical historian, arrives to the inn with his little sister, he agrees to help her find her way back into the Guild and to get her magic back. It’s so good, just read it please!
An Enchantment of Ravens by Margaret Rogerson
I read this one a very long time ago, and found it just a little boring, but the autumn vibes are undeniable, and I loved the prose. Isobel is a portrait painter in a human town that borders faerie territory, which is how she ends up painting the Autumn Prince himself. But she accidentally gives him human emotion in his eyes, a mistake that could get her killed and get him to lose his throne. So, together they travel through the faerie territory to get the portrait back and save both their lives.
Uprooted by Naomi Novik
Every ten years, the reclusive wizard known as the Dragon takes a girl from Agnieszka’s village to serve him and everyone assumes this year, it’ll be her beautiful best friend. However, it isn’t. This one is very fairytale-like, with an enemies to lovers plot, which I did like, but I feel like her other book (the more wintery one), Spinning Silver is better. Still, this one is definitely more of a romance and if you don’t mind a loosey-goosey magic system, you’ll enjoy it. As a bonus, it’s my mom’s favorite fantasy book!
Sorcery of Thorns by Margaret Rogerson
Another Margaret Rogerson, and one I definitely have to reread because I just couldn’t get into it years ago and it’s so beloved, I want to be a part of the fan club! However, it has the perfect autumn vibes. There’s a library, a black cat, and a villainous love interest. Elisabeth has grown up inside a library of sentient, dangerous grimoires, training to guard against the magic that could turn them monstrous, until she’s framed for a crime she didn’t commit and has to team up with the charming, infuriating sorcerer she’s spent her life distrusting.
Bride by Ali Hazelwood
Bride is my favorite Ali Hazelwood book! I adored Misery and seeing her arranged marriage with Lowe blossom into more. You can find my full review here, but here’s what this book is about: Misery is a vampire who grew up in the human realm, and now has to marry a werewolf alpha at the orders of her father. Though she really doesn’t want to, she agrees because she thinks it’ll help her find her missing best friend. And Lowe has his own issues, the chief of them being his younger sister’s kidnapping attempts and the fact that he already has a mate.
A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness
Diana Bishop is a witch-turned-historian who’s spent her life avoiding magic, until she unearths an enchanted manuscript in the Bodleian and suddenly every vampire, witch, and demon in Oxford wants to know why. Slow-burn romance with the ancient vampire Matthew Clairmont wrapped around a dense, research-loving fantasy. I liked the show, but I feel like the book is better, though expect some Bella/Edward vibes from this one.
Witchy and Paranormal Rom-Coms
Practical Magic by Alice Hoffman
I absolutely adore all things Practical Magic: the movie, the book, the vibes, all of it is perfect. And if you haven’t read the book yet, I highly recommend it. It’s fun, maybe less romantic than you’d expect, but equally magical and sisterhood-y. So, the Owens women have carried a love curse for centuries, and sisters Sally and Gillian have spent their lives trying to outrun it in very different ways. But what happens when Sally’s husband dies, and Gillian’s boyfriend turns very very violent?
The Ex Hex by Erin Sterling
Nine years ago, Vivienne cursed her ex-boyfriend Rhys out of heartbreak and mostly forgot about it. Then he comes back to the witchy little town of Graves Glen for Halloween season, the curse reactivates, and chaos (and old feelings) ensue. This one was a lot of fun, but perhaps a little cheesy in the end, though you’ll definitely have a good time if you’re looking for something kind of cozy and witchy.
A Witch’s Guide to Fake Dating a Demon by Sarah Hawley
I read this book years ago and enjoyed it fairly well! Mariel accidentally summons a soul-collecting demon named Ozroth while practicing a spell, and rather than admit the mishap to her intimidating mother, she blurts out that he’s her boyfriend. It goes about as well as fake-dating a demon usually does in these books. You can also read its third part, A Werewolf’s Guide to Seducing a Vampire, which I liked more and didn’t realize it was a part of this series at first (reviewed here).
The Dead Romantics by Ashley Poston
So, Florence is a a romance book ghostwriter who can see ghosts, and ever since a bad breakup, she struggles to write. Her very handsome boss won’t give her a deadline extension, and then her father dies and she has to go back to her small town to help bury him. But then the ghost of her boss shows up at her door, with some unfinished business, and they both have to deal with it. The plot sounds a bit kooky, trust me, I know, but this one is really good, so give it a try!
Twilight by Stephenie Meyer
When I was about 14, I was obsessed with Twilight. And then some very stuck up people talked me into hating it, that it was cool to hate it. Now, at 30, I don’t think this is a bad series. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not exceptionally good, but for a fun, enjoyable time with some vampires and werewolves and perfectly rainy and gloomy vibes, it’s still a good read. You know the story: Bella moves to Forks where she gets obsessed with a group of really pretty schoolmates, and one of them seems obsessed with her right back. Plot twist: they’re vampires!
Payback’s a Witch by Lana Harper
Emmy hasn’t been back to her witchy hometown of Thistle Grove in years, not since her ex Gareth broke her heart, but a once-a-generation magical tournament drags her home anyway, straight back into his orbit and, on her very first night back, into unexpected sparks with Talia, another of Gareth’s exes. I thought this one is kind of like the movie John Tucker Must Die, but with a better twist with two of the scorned exes getting together. This is a fun read!
Horror and Spooky Romance
Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo
Everyone thinks Alex Stern has thrown her life away, between dead end jobs and bad boyfriends. And then she’s the sole survivor of a multiple homicide. While in the hospital, she’s offered a once-in-a-lifetime chance: to attend Yale, one of the most elite universities. Her job is to monitor the activities of Yale secret societies, which she soon discovers are more occult and disturbing than she ever imagined. There’s romance, of course, but the setting and campus atmosphere make it the perfect autumn read of the darker, more Gothic variety.
Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
Noemí travels to a remote, decaying mansion to check on her newly married cousin, who’s sending unsettling letters home, and finds a family and a house with big secrets and a violent past. Her cousin husband is creepy but alluring, his father fascinated by Noemi, and there’s a younger brother who’s shy and quiet but might know more than he says. Though romance is again more of a B plot, this book is properly creepy and suited for autumn.
The Death of Jane Lawrence by Caitlin Starling
Jane proposes a marriage of convenience to the town’s reclusive doctor, purely for practical reasons. He agrees, on one condition: she must never go to his crumbling mansion outside of town. But she gets stuck in it on their wedding night, and sees an entirely different version of her handsome, confident doctor. Obviously, there’s romance between Jane and her new husband, but the whole story is very dark and very horror-y, so if that’s what you need from an autumn read, go for it!
A Dowry of Blood by S.T. Gibson
Told in letters Constanta writes to the vampire who turned her centuries ago, this is a slow, gorgeous unraveling of a relationship that starts as devotion and curdles into something much more complicated, especially once he starts bringing other lovers into their strange, tangled household.
Immortal Dark by Tigest Girma
Oh, I enjoyed this one entirely too much! This is another vampire book, but of the weirder, more fever dream-y variety, but plenty of romance and horror. Kidan Adane, who grew up outside of the arcane society, believes her sister June was kidnapped by a vampire, her family’s vampire, Susenyos Sagad (powerful families have vampires in this one). To find her sister, she has to live with Susenyos and infiltrate the Uxlay University, both of which is hard. And obviously, sparks fly with Susenyos.
House of Salt and Sorrows by Erin A. Craig
Annaleigh is one of twelve sisters in a family being picked off one by one by mysterious “accidents,” and the only clue is that her surviving sisters keep sneaking out at night to dance until dawn. This is a gothic, eerie retelling of the Twelve Dancing Princesses fairy tale, with a slow-building romance tucked inside the mystery.
Cackle by Rachel Harrison
Annie moves to a small town to lick her wounds after a bad breakup and falls under the spell of Sophie, the town’s glamorous, magnetic local woman who lives life on her own terms (unlike Annie, who constantly apologizes for her own existance). The locals seem a little afraid of her, and Annie isn’t blind to the fact the Sophie seems unearthly, and her house a little eerie, but she doesn’t believe Sophie could really be a witch (could she?). This is funny and more about learning to live unapologetically, but still there’s a bit of nice romance there.
Swoony Historical Autumn Romance Books
Love in The Afternoon by Lisa Kleypas
When her vain friend won’t write back to a desparate Captain Christopher who’s at war, Beatrix takes it upon herself, but she never tells the Captain who she is. While writing back and forth they fall in love, and when Christopher comes back, he goes looking for Bea’s friend instead of her. But their fates intertwine nevertheless and what happens when Christopher starts to figure it all out? This one is set in autumn, and it has plenty of lovely descriptions, though it wasn’t my favorite historical romance (you can see why here in this review).
What I Did For a Duke by Julie Anne Long
Genevieve’s best friend and the man she loved for three years decides to propose to her best friend at her parents’ house party. She’s heartbroken and stuck with the both of them, and the mysterious, much older Duke of Falconbridge, who’s come for revenge on her brother. His idea is to seduce and abandon Genevieve but she’s not so easily seduced, so instead they scheme together to trick her brother and her friend. I love this book so much! And it’s set in autumn, as the last leaves fall. Ugh, it’s so good, ignore the awful cover!
Slightly Dangerous by Mary Balogh
Christine, a poor widow, and Wulfric, the Duke of Bewcastle, are both invited and stuck at a two-week-long house party. Wulfric is stern and practical where Christine is playful and fun, and sparks fly when they meet. But they also dislike each other. So, as you can imagine, the banter is perfect between them. And then he asks her to be his mistress, which she refuses (twice), so after they part, the Duke decides to pursue her in earnest and prove that he’s worth loving. Such a fun read! Starts in summer, but happens over autumn, I believe.
Autumny Classics With Romance
North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell
If Pride and Prejudice is spring, North and South is autumn (to me, at least). Margaret Hale is uprooted from the genteel south of England to a grim industrial mill town and immediately clashes with the blunt, self-made mill owner John Thornton (who may just fall in love with her immediately). Perfect if you love Jane Austen (or have recently loved The Other Bennet Sister) but want something grittier.
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë
Plain, poor, and fiercely principled, Jane takes a governess job at Thornfield Hall and falls for her brooding, secretive employer, Mr. Rochester, right up until the secret he’s been keeping in the attic comes to light.
Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë
Catherine and Heathcliff’s love is less a romance than a slow-motion act of mutual destruction, playing out across the Yorkshire moors and an entire second generation left to deal with the wreckage. Not a cozy read by any stretch, but it’s the moodiest, windiest book on this list and so it’s perfect for a stormy autumn night. I have a full review of it here, and then even more books like it here.
Jamaica Inn by Daphne Du Maurier
Where Rebecca feels like a summery sticky gothic book to me, this one feels gloomy and autumny gothic. Mary goes to live with her aunt at a bleak, isolated Cornish inn and quickly realizes her uncle and his associates are up to something far more sinister than bad hospitality.
The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins
A chance encounter with a mysterious woman fleeing in white sets off a tangle of secrets, mistaken identity, and a genuinely unsettling villain or two, as art teacher Walter Hartright gets pulled into a plot against the woman he’s falling for. Widely considered one of the first great mystery novels, and still a genuinely gripping, twisty gothic read.
