The cozy fall season is coming and these books will encourage you to curl up with a cup of tea and get reading. With this list, you’ll welcome the cooler weather and even rainy days.
In between visits to the pumpkin patch and sipping warm apple cider, nothing lulls me into a cozy fall like a book set in autumn, or one that has spooky or holiday vibes. And the best part about a cozy fall is that it’s always a good time to read. Chilly mornings go great with coffee and a book. Rainy afternoons invite you into a cafe with your favorite read.
If you treasure your reading time like I do, fall is probably your favorite time of year. Books are also a great way to put your phone down. When you’ve lost hours of your life to too much screen time almost any book feels like a cozy blanket. Screen time stresses us while books relax us.
8 Books To Help You Embrace a Cozy Fall
I’ve read a few of these books, and some are just waiting for a beautiful cozy fall day. The synopsis for each book comes from StoryGraph (the app I use to track my reading). Use these books to relax, get lost in a beautiful story and get relief from too much screen time.
1. Habits of The Sea by Shea Earnshaw
I can’t put this one down. A woman rediscovers the mythical island she stumbled upon as a child—and the man she once met who apparently hasn’t aged—and must choose between the life she’s built and a love that defies the laws of time and nature.
The night Clay Lockhart’s wife dies, a violent storm tears their home—and the eight hectares of land beneath it—away from the Scottish coast, sending it adrift into the Atlantic. Thirty years later, twelve-year-old Ellie Mills discovers the fabled floating island off the coast of Nova Scotia and finds Clay still living in the weatherworn farmhouse perched on its highest hill.
When the island vanishes overnight, Ellie is left questioning whether it ever existed at all. But decades later, now in her thirties, the island resurfaces—and Ellie returns, determined to uncover the truth. What she finds is even stranger: Clay hasn’t aged a single day. Spanning centuries and coastlines, Habits of the Sea is a haunting, romantic journey through time, memory, and the invisible tides that pull us home.. Amazon | Libro.fm | Bookshop.org
2. Gentle, Rest More, Stress Less and Live the Life You Actually Want by Courtney Carver
I wrote this book to help you rest. Written by minimalism expert and celebrated author Courtney Carver, Gentle is the “don’t do it all” self-help book you need to live with less stress and more ease, less overwhelm and more joy by uncovering the Gentle You. Grounded in self-compassion and a fierce commitment to less, becoming the Gentle You isn’t about taking the easy road. It’s a practice of real self-care that, over time, will soothe your nervous system and strengthen your relationships. Organized into three parts–Rest, Less, and Rise–30 challenges and simple practices will help readers radically and (yes) gently shift their pace, headspace, and heart. All purchase options.
3. The Book of Alchemy by Suleika Jaouad
This book will bring new life to any journaling practice. The Book of Alchemy is based on the premise that journaling is an essential tool for navigating the challenges of modern life. We live in a world where we’re not only forced to grapple with personal peaks and valleys but also global upheavals far beyond our control—political, social, economic, technological, environmental. More than ever, we need a space for puzzling through. Designed to be a companion through challenging times, The Book of Alchemy will explore the art of journaling, offering encouragement, direction, and support to those looking for a way to navigate the in-between. Amazon | Libro.fm | Bookshop.org
4. Lady Tremaine by Rachel Hochhauser
A breathtaking reimagining of Cinderella, as told through the eyes of its iconic “evil” stepmother, revealing a propulsive love story about the lengths a mother will go to for her children
Twice-widowed, Lady Etheldreda Verity Isolde Tremaine Bramley is solely responsible for her two children, a priggish stepdaughter, a razor-taloned peregrine falcon, and a crumbling manor. Fierce and determined, Ethel clings to the respectability her deceased husband’s title affords her, hoping it will secure her daughters’ future through marriage.
When a royal ball offers the chance to change everything, Ethel risks her pride in pursuit of an invitation for all three of her daughters—only to see her hopes fulfilled by the wrong one. As an engagement to the future king unfolds, Ethel discovers a sordid secret hidden in the depths of the royal family, forcing her to choose between the security she craves and the well-being of the stepdaughter who has rebuffed her at every turn.
Lady Tremaine reimagines the myth of the evil stepmother at the heart of the world’s most famous fairytale. It is a battle cry for a mother’s love for her daughters, and a celebration of women everywhere who make their own fortunes. Amazon | Libro.fm | Bookshop.org
5. The Book Witch by Meg Shaffer
I loved The Lost Story by Meg Shaffer and can’t wait to read her latest. Rainy March is a proud third-generation book witch, sworn to defend works of fiction from all foes real and imaginary. With her magical umbrella and feline familiar, she jumps into and out of novels to fix malicious alterations and rogue heroes like a modern-day magical Nancy Drew.
Book witches live by a strict code: Real people belong in the real word; fictional characters belong in works of fiction…. Do not eat, drink, or sleep inside a fictional world, lest you become part of the story. Falling in love with a fictional character? Don’t even think about it. Which is why Rainy has been forbidden from seeing the Duke of Chicago, the dashing British detective who stars in her favorite mystery series. If she’s ever caught with him again, she’ll be expelled from her book coven—and forced to give up the magical gifts that are as much a part of her as her own name.
But when her beloved grandfather disappears and a priceless book is stolen, there’s only one person she trusts to help her solve the case: the Duke. Their quest takes them through the worlds of Alice in Wonderland, The Great Gatsby, and other classics that will reveal hidden enemies and long-buried family secrets. Amazon | Libro.fm | Bookshop.org
6. The Alchemy of Secrets by Stephanie Garber
I read this last fall and highly recommend. Most students believe the Professor’s stories are just fiction, but Holland St. James has always been convinced that magic is real. When she tracks down a local legend named the Watch Man, who can supposedly tell you when you’ll die, the world finally makes sense. Except that the Watch Man tells her she will die at midnight tomorrow unless she finds an ancient object called the Alchemical Heart. With the clock ticking, Holland is pulled deeper into this magical world in the heart of Los Angeles—and into the path of a magnetic stranger. Everything about him feels like a bad idea, but he promises Holland that her sister sent him to protect her. As they chase clues and stories that take them closer to the Alchemical Heart, Holland realizes everyone in this intoxicating new world is lying to her, even this stranger. And if she can’t figure out whom to trust, not even the Alchemical Heart will save her. Amazon | Libro.fm | Bookshop.org
7. The Pumpkin Spice Café by Laurie Gilmore
I haven’t read it yet, but this book screams cozy fall.
When Jeanie’s aunt gifts her the beloved Pumpkin Spice Café in the small town of Dream Harbour, Jeanie jumps at the chance for a fresh start away from her very dull desk job.
Logan is a local farmer who avoids Dream Harbour’s gossip at all costs. But Jeanie’s arrival disrupts Logan’s routine and he wants nothing to do with the irritatingly upbeat new girl, except that he finds himself inexplicably drawn to her.
Will Jeanie’s happy-go-lucky attitude win over the grumpy-but-gorgeous Logan, or has this city girl found the one person in town who won’t fall for her charm, or her pumpkin spice lattes. Amazon | Libro.fm | Bookshop.org
8. The Little Shop of Merry and Bright by Jenny Bayliss
Coming soon! I am looking forward to my annual holiday book from Jenny Bayliss.
Three years ago, Casey declined her boyfriend’s marriage proposal . . . and it went viral. After years of dealing with the backlash online, Casey now leads a quiet life, working as a stock replenisher for a family-owned department store. No risk of public humiliation, no stress, no possibility of love.
Until she meets the Spirit of Christmas Present, Margo, who has chosen to sit this holiday out. Margo offers Casey a bargain: She will use her powers to erase the video that made Casey notorious. There’s just one catch. Casey must witness five of her alternate realities, and if after all five she still wants it wiped, Margo will grant her wish. While glimpses into other lifetimes are fascinating, the question remains: What if everything Casey wants is waiting for her in the life she already has? Amazon | Libro.fm | Bookshop.org
My cozy fall will include books I can read with my eyes and my ears.
I read books I can hold in my hand, read some books on Kindle and listen to audiobooks from Libby or Libro.fm. I listen to audiobooks with Libro.fm instead of Audible for a few reasons.
For starters, you get a couple of free audiobooks when you sign up with Libro.fm. Next, you can choose a local bookstore to support with each order. And, Libro.fm allows you to download your books, unlike Audible where you have to listen to them on the platform. Because you can download your audiobooks, you can share them with friends. When friends share their audiobooks with me, I listen with an app called Book Player. I’m sure there are other options!
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