As the leaves change and the air turns crisp here in Harrison Ohio, it’s the perfect time to immerse yourself in some fall-themed books! And what better way to do this than by exploring stories that evoke the season’s warmth. Whether it’s enchanting mysteries, heartwarming romances, or adventures through quaint, leaf-strewn towns that spike your interest; each page will wrap you in the cozy essence of autumn, making it the ideal backdrop for those chilly evenings with a hot apple cider or a cool pumpkin spice in hand!
For all of those Harrison students who find themselves looking for a new romance book, I have the perfect one for you. A Novel Love Story by Ashley Poston turns every reader’s dream into a reality, when main character Elieen finds herself in the town of her favorite romance book. And being in this town with her favorite characters, Elieen begins to realize that it’s her mission to find her main characters a happy ending. The only problem is that the happy ending of her favorite characters starts to get a little too wrapped up with her own. Overall, this book is a very cool concept and something that most avid readers have pictured many times. If a cute Gilmore Girl esc small town romance is your cup of tea, this is undoubtedly the fall book for you.
If you wanted to take the small-town Gilmore Girl vibes from the last book a little more literally, then the recently released memoir, The Third Gilmore Girl may be the book for you. This story is written by Kelly Bishop, who is the actress that played Emily Gilmore in the infamous Netflix show. It is a memoir of her remarkable show business career including her time on shows like Dirty Dancing, A Chorus Line, and, of course, her most famous role on Gilmore Girls. This book offers a completely new perspective on Broadway, Hollywood, and personal issues/accomplishments in Bishop’s own life. Overall, this read is certain to make you adore Bishop even more than we already do.
Nothing is more satisfactory as a reader than hiding from the chilly fall weather with a cozy small-town mystery. A Good Girl’s Guide To Murder by Holly Jackson fits that definition perfectly. This book features main character Pippa who lives in a small town in Connecticut and is faced with the task of her end-of-year school project. However, she decides to take a different route than her classmates: Pippa is going to try to prove her town’s local detectives wrong by solving the infamous Andie Bell murder case and finding her true killer. This story kept me constantly guessing at all of the many possibilities, and the author intertwines the facts of the case amazingly. Throughout all three books in this trilogy, my interest never ceased, and I can almost guarantee yours won’t either.
If that book keeps the pages turning as fast as leaves blowing in the wind, Holly Jackson’s Five Survive will undoubtedly have the same effect. This story is another mystery and crime novel, featuring 5 friends driving an RV together on their way to a vacation during their school break. All is going well until they get trapped in their broken down RV in an unknown area, and find themselves targets of a murderer in the woods. This book will have you on the edge of your seat as new drama, mysteries, and secrets long kept are constantly uncovered.
What is fall without the haunting horrors that October brings? These next two books take the spookiness to the next -and more much more personal- level. First is The Cellar by Natasha Preston, which is about a small-town girl who was kidnapped by a stranger and awoken in a cellar with other girls who have suffered the same fate and have to find a way out. This story offers the perspectives of the girl who was kidnapped, her boyfriend, and the kidnapper, with the perspectives winding together in a way certain the leave you unsettled and intrigued at the ways different minds work.
Another book that is certain to bring chills up your spine is The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides, which is a psychological thriller about famous painter Alicia Berenson who killed her husband and never spoke again. Main character Theo Faber is a psychotherapist who is dealing with his own past trauma and personal relationship issues on top of taking on the task of getting his new patient (Mrs. Berenson) to speak. This story also features multiple perspectives, and is filled with countless twists and turns that make sure readers can never be sure of anything up until the very end.
So bring on the cooler days, and wrap yourself up in a blanket and a good book.
