MY SPOOKY SEASON TBR (too soon?)

23 titles broken down by category + 10 others I have read and enjoyed

It goes without saying that Halloween is my favorite time of year

…my favorite holiday, my favorite home decor, my favorite books, my favorite everything. There’s a palpable energy in the air around Halloween; I can’t quite describe it but I feel an actual electric sizzle in my brain (…do I need to see a doctor?) any time I see a pumpkin patch, a kid getting their face painted, the fall candles being set out at Anthropologie, and the Halloween masks in the back-section of Target - the ones that give off a strong faux vanilla smell. Call me crazy, but those smell like straight up vanilla.

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…is me in the 4th grade when I won ‘most A.R. points’ in my school at the mid-point of the semester (Halloween). That pumpkin full of candy (the prize for 1st place) sat on a rickety stool in the front corner of our English classroom all month. I was determined to make it mine. And, I did. This sounds like a humble brag but it is not. The only brag I have is that my fashion was on point that day. Flare sleeves and a bejeweled headband? Get out of here.

Why do you love fall book-lists, you ask?

I have my elementary school librarian to thank. She made a huge fall-themed book display that year, that I very much took advantage of, which ultimately secured my landslide victory. Now, whenever I see a fall-themed book list I am transported back to the school bus with a prize pumpkin sitting on my lap hugging it for “stability” because “the country roads were bumpy.” (I was hugging it for joy.) BTW, I don’t think I ever ate a single piece of candy from it because it felt too sacred. It was a trophy, not a treat.

Needless to say, I love making my own lists. I start the very moment I see upcoming titles that may fit the bill. My Goodreads list is linked here for reference, and currently contains 96 titles.

This post contains:

• My TBR (titles I have not read and want to) broken down into separate categories:

  • Cozy

  • Vibe-y (i.e. ambience)

  • Witchy

  • Ghosts/supernatural

  • Thriller

• Books I’ve read and have enjoyed

Each book title is hyperlink’d take you to Bookshop.org (not an affiliate link) which helps support a local independent bookstore of your choosing.

*if it wasn’t on Bookshop.org, or if it’s not even available yet (pre-order only), I linked Barnes and Noble instead.

The Bakeshop at Pumpkin and Spice (3.42 average rating) Cozy because: Halloween parade, “frothy pumpkin lattes,” specialty baked goods, and a little bit of a love story.

First Frost (3.97 average rating) the second book in the Garden Spell story. Cozy because: fall ambience; set during Halloween; Claire is still baking, and is now in the candy business.

A Wizard’s Guide to Defensive Baking (4.15 average rating) Cozy because: Mona’s magical gift (literally) is working with a sourdough starter in her aunt’s bakery. Mona’s life is turned upside down when she finds a dead body on the bakery floor.

The Unfortunate Side Effects of Heartbreak and Magic (available Sept. 19) Cozy because: pitched as Practical Magic meets Gilmore Girls. Some reviews say that’s too generous of a comparison, that it only relates to P.M. because of the strong sense of family, and G.G. because of the small town vibes. Regardless, it sounds lovely.

Rebecca (4.24 rating on half-a-million reviews!) Vibes: gothic, eerie, suspenseful

Weyward (4.14 rating; 2023 release) Vibes: eerie-cottage-core; historical; multigenerational

Curious Tides (available Oct. 3, 2023) Vibes: dark academia; secret societies

Spells for Forgetting (3.91 average rating) Vibes: island rooted in folklore; murder mystery (her best friend is murdered by the love of her life)

The Lighthouse Witches (3.96 average rating) - “…two sisters go missing on remote Scottish island.”

The Year of the Witching (3.81 average rating) - “…a feminist fantasy set in a dark, puritanical society.”

A Discovery of Witches (4.02 average rating) - a 2011 throwback; vampires and witches, oh my.

The Manningtree Witches (3.66 average rating) - “17th century witch-trials and the young women tasked with saving themselves.”

The Nature of the Witches (3.85 average rating) - “…witches control the weather, but their powers are becoming more erratic as the atmosphere is changing.”

Briefly a Delicious Life (3.77) - POV of a ghost that falls in love with a writer

The Silent Companions (3.89) - newly widowed Elise finds a wooden doll in her husband’s closet that looks just like her… did the dolls eyes just move?!

The Library of the Dead (3.51) - A child goes missing in Edinburgh; Ropa learns to talk to the dead to solve the mystery.

The Bone Houses (4.01) - newly orphaned siblings become gravediggers in a remote village to make ends meet

The Only One Left (4.21 ; new release) - murder mystery thriller

How to Sell a Haunted House (3.77) - when both parents die, Louise heads home to clean out their house.

Rouge (available Sept. 12) - a horror-tinted gothic fairytale where the MC is on a pursuit to pursue youth and beauty

Silver Nitrate (3.77; new release) - “a meld of Mexican horror movies and Nazi occultism.”

Mister Magic (3.79; new release) - former child stars reunite to uncover what ended their show

The Chateau (3.56; new-ish release) - a luxury girl’s trip turns turns into a nightmare of secrets and murder

Shadow of the Wind (book about books + fall ambience) // Ninth House (Yale in the fall + dark academic + ghosts/supernatural) // The Graveyard Book (ghosts and other supernatural beings - not scary + fall ambience) // Long Lost (book about books + fall setting; YA/middle grade) // House of Salt and Sorrows (vibey; old gothic manor + ghosts + spooky ambience) // We Ride Upon Sticks (witchy + 80s vibes) // Pumpkin Heads (graphic novel; ultimate Halloween vibes) // A Pinch of Magic (magical sisters; middlegrade) // Gallant (ghosts + vibey; middlegrade) // The Witches of Moonshyne Manor (80 year old witches & a teen incluencer join forces)

That’s all for now! Have some I should add to the list? Comment below. No, seriously.

Happy Reading!

❤️Allyson