Fall is the perfect time to cozy up with piles of blankets, a steaming mug of hot chocolate, and stacks of good books. The slight nip in the air and the season of changing leaves makes me want to reach out mostly for spooky, atmospheric books, thrillers, and mysteries with an occasional magical realism story.

Here’s a list of some of my favorite reads from this Fall, all of which I have absolutely loved, and would highly recommend!

Don’t Look For Me by Wendy Walker

Don’t Look For Me by Wendy Walker is possibly the creepiest psychological suspense that I’ve read this year. For the most part I had no clue what was going on and I could never have guessed the culprit even in my wildest dreams. The premise is very simple – Molly Clarke contemplates leaving her family behind and starting over every day, so when she suddenly vanishes one day, leaving her car abandoned and a note saying she doesn’t want to be found, what can the police do? The search for her goes cold, and it feels like she simply disappeared into thin air? Or, did she? With sinister characters, manipulative twists and a brisk pace, Don’t Look For Me is a heart pounding, unputdownable and very very clever story that should not to be missed by fans of psychological thrillers.

Watch Over Me by Nina LaCour

Watch Over Me by Nina LaCour is the definition of an ideal atmospheric read. With beautiful, haunting prose, a lurking sense of foreboding and an unidentifiable strangeness to the plotline, this one is bound to give its readers the chills while making sure they keep turning pages. Set on a remote coastal farmhouse in Northern California that houses traumatized children, their adoptive parents, and a few helper interns, Watch Over Me explores some pretty heavy themes of loneliness, grief and abandonment, but also healing and acceptance. Nina LaCour writes with an emotional depth that makes her characters shine. Also, did I mention there’s some excellent incorporation of ghosts too?

The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab

The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab is a treasure of a book and easily one of my favorites this year. It all starts in a small town in France in the year 1714 and ends at a bookstore in 2016 London, England, and the journey is absolutely magnificent. This is a story about a girl who wants to see the world and everything it has to offer, so, she makes a deal with the devil and gets to live forever and experience all there is, but is cursed to be forgotten by every person she meets, until, nearly three centuries later she meets a boy who remembers her. V.E. Schwab is an absolute magician with words and possesses an exceptional storytelling ability. The way she has constructed this story, going back and forth into various timelines and places, incorporating art, linking events, weaving emotions is simply breathtaking. And then, she wraps it all up with just the right conclusion. The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue is an absolute masterpiece that I’ll forever be recommending to all readers. 

And Now She’s Gone by Rachel Howzell Hall

And Now She’s Gone by Rachel Howzell Hall is unlike any thriller I’ve read before. In a nutshell it’s a complex, character driven story that is both a nail-biting thriller as well as an emotional roller coaster. I really don’t want to give anything about the plot as it’s best to go into this blind and without any prior idea on what to expect. Just know that the author has expertly crafted a multilayered and tangled mystery that’ll keep the readers guessing until the very end. Along with the suspense aspect, what really struck me was the harsh and honest portrayal of race, gender and domestic abuse. With brilliant writing, a mind boggling storyline and an intense conclusion, And Now She’s Gone is bound to leave its readers both stumped and satisfied. I am keeping my fingers crossed for a sequel.

The Midnight Library by Matt Haig

The Midnight Library by Matt Haig is a story about life and its many struggles, the choices and regrets, hopes and aspirations, moments of despair and pockets of joy. It’s a profound and melancholy book with an emotional depth that will strongly resonate with its readers. It begins with the main character Nora Seed attempting to take her life, and while doing so she stumbles into the midnight library, a place between life and death that has books upon books, each telling the story of every life that she could’ve led based on every single different decision. If she can pick the perfect life before midnight, she can live it or else everything burns to ash. Despite its sad undertones, The Midnight Library is a positive and uplifting tale that entertains as well as provides hope and solace to its readers.

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