If you’re looking for fall books to read that actually feel cozy, you’re in the right place. I went through my whole autumn reading list this year and picked out the ones worth your time.
Most of these are fall romance books, since that’s my favorite kind. There are a couple that are perfect if you want a little Halloween creepiness mixed in too.
I’m sharing what each one is about and whether it has some spicy scenes or not. Ready to be cozy all season? Then find your next book below.
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If It Makes You Happy by Julie Olivia
Michelle takes a leave of absence from her advertising job in Seattle and moves to the small town of Copper Run, Vermont, to temporarily run her late mother’s bed and breakfast.
She’s fresh off a divorce after her husband cheated on her, and she’s not exactly looking for romance while trying to figure out what she wants next.
Her next-door neighbor Cliff is a single dad who owns the local bakery and seems determined to help her settle into small-town life. He gives her tips on running the inn, helps her with guests, and slowly becomes one of the few people Michelle feels comfortable around.
What starts as friendship slowly turns into something deeper, but Michelle’s plan to return to Seattle makes their growing feelings complicated.
If you’re looking for a cozy, slow-burn fall romance with a single dad, small-town charm, and plenty of chemistry, check out If It Makes You Happy by Julie Olivia.
Genre: Standalone contemporary romance, slow burn, small town
Spicy scenes: Yes
The Cinnamon Bun Book Store by Laurie Gilmore
Hazel works at the Cinnamon Bun Book Store in Dream Harbor and feels like she’s played it too safe her whole life. With her 30th birthday coming up, she’s starting to wonder if she’s missed out on the adventures everyone else seems to have had.
Then she finds a highlighted sentence inside a romance novel that seems to invite her on an adventure. When more mysterious clues appear in books around the store, Hazel asks Noah, a handsome local fisherman who’s been secretly crushing on her, to help her solve the mystery. Their scavenger hunt turns into a “Summer of Fun,” and spending so much time together makes their growing attraction impossible to ignore.
If you’re looking for a cozy small-town romance with a bookstore, a fun scavenger hunt, and plenty of spice, check out The Cinnamon Bun Book Store by Laurie Gilmore.
Genre: Cozy small town romance, rom-com
Spicy scenes: Yes
Love and Lattes at Pumpkin Hollow by Victoria Walters
Willow has one chance to save her family’s farm after financial problems put its future at risk. When a property consultant named Dylan arrives with plans to buy the land, Willow makes him a bold deal. Give her 6 weeks to turn the farm into Birchbrook’s first pumpkin patch and prove it can become profitable.
Dylan agrees to stay and watch her try, even though he thinks selling the farm makes much more sense. As Willow works to build the pumpkin patch from scratch, Dylan unexpectedly starts helping her bring the plan to life. Their constant clashes slowly turn into attraction, making it harder for either of them to remember that Dylan originally came to help sell the farm.
If you’re looking for a cozy autumn romance with a pumpkin patch, enemies-to-lovers chemistry, and some spice, check out Love and Lattes at Pumpkin Hollow by Victoria Walters.
Genre: Cozy small town romance, rom-com
Spicy scenes: Yes
Pumpkin Everything by Beth Labonte
Pumpkin Everything by Beth Labonte follows Amy, a horror writer who’s struggling with writer’s block after a painful breakup. When she returns to her hometown of Autumnboro, New Hampshire, she ends up helping at her grandfather’s pumpkin-themed store while he recovers.
Being back home also means seeing Kit, her former best friend and first love. Amy left him behind years ago, so returning brings up old memories, unfinished feelings, and questions about whether some love stories really get a second chance.
It’s a sweet small-town romance with a strong autumn setting, pumpkin-filled charm, and a second-chance love story at its heart.
Genre: Cozy small town romance, rom-com
Spicy scenes: No
The Honeycrisp Orchard Inn by Valerie Bowman
Ellie is an event planner in New York City whose life falls apart when her boyfriend dumps her and gets her fired after taking credit for her work. With nowhere else to go, she heads back to her parents’ inn on a beautiful apple orchard on Long Island.
Once she’s home, Ellie finds Aiden, her childhood friend and the handsome son of the orchard’s owner, already staying in the attic apartment she planned to use. The two are soon put in charge of the annual Harvest Festival, which could help save the struggling inn and orchard.
Working together means spending a lot of time with the guy Ellie once knew so well. As they deal with old memories, clashing personalities, and growing chemistry, their friendship starts to feel like something much…much more.
If you’re craving a cozy autumn romance with an apple orchard, a Harvest Festival, and plenty of chemistry, check out The Honeycrisp Orchard Inn by Valerie Bowman.
Genre: Cozy small town romance, rom-com
Spicy scenes: Yes
Autumn Skies Over Ruby Falls by Holly Martin
Autumn Skies Over Ruby Falls by Holly Martin follows Clover, who teaches dance at the hotel she co-owns with her sisters on Jewel Island. After a devastating betrayal left her afraid to trust again, she decides that a casual fling might be the easiest way to dip her toes back into dating.
Then Angel Mazzeo returns to the island. He’s been friends with Clover since he first arrived 6 months earlier, and the chemistry between them has always been there. When the hotel is fully booked, Angel ends up staying in Clover’s spare room, making it much harder to ignore their growing attraction.
What starts as a casual arrangement soon becomes something deeper as they spend time together during the island’s big Halloween festival. Clover has to figure out whether she’s finally ready to let someone in and fall in love again.
Genre: Cozy small town romance, rom-com
Spicy scenes: Yes
The Pumpkin Spice Café by Laurie Gilmore
Jeanie leaves her stressful corporate job after finding her boss dead at his desk and decides she needs a fresh start. When her Aunt Dot retires, Jeanie takes over her café in the small town of Dream Harbor, hoping to build a quieter, happier life.
But peaceful isn’t quite what she gets. Strange scratching and banging noises keep her awake at night, making her wonder if the café is haunted.
When she meets Logan, a grumpy local farmer who offers to help investigate, the two end up spending a night together on a stakeout. They soon discover that the “ghost” is actually a stray cat, but their growing attraction turns out to be much harder to explain.
The Pumpkin Spice Café by Laurie Gilmore is a cozy fall romance filled with small-town charm, a pumpkin-filled café, a little mystery, and a grumpy farmer who might just steal Jeanie’s heart.
Genre: Cozy small town romance, rom-com
Spicy scenes: Yes
Pumpkin Spice and Not So Nice by Becky Monson
Jenna works at her family’s pumpkin patch every fall, and she’s convinced she’s cursed when it comes to love. She has a habit of dating emotionally unavailable men, helping them open up, and then watching them leave her for someone else.
While working at the pumpkin patch, she finds an old 50 dollar bill with a sentimental handwritten note attached. Tracking down its owner leads her to Aidan, a reserved and emotionally unavailable man who needs help becoming better at communicating with people before an important work event.
Aidan offers Jenna $5,000 to help him become more comfortable talking to others, giving her a pretty good reason to say yes. As they spend more time together, Jenna starts wondering if this emotionally unavailable man might finally be different.
If you’re looking for a cozy fall romance with awkward chemistry, and a slow-burn romance, check out Pumpkin Spice and Not So Nice by Becky Monson.
Genre: Cozy small town romance, rom-com
Spicy scenes: No
A Pumpkin and a Patch by Jennifer Peel
Josie is a third-grade teacher who has spent years living with the embarrassment of a story she wrote about her high school crush, Reece, which was read aloud to the whole school.
15 years later, she runs into Reece again when he’s representing her ex-fiancé in a dispute over her engagement ring.
To make things even more awkward, Reece is now a single dad, and his daughter becomes Josie’s student. As Josie spends more time with Reece during pumpkin season at her family’s farm, old feelings start coming back. She has to decide whether she’s ready to stop hiding from her past and give their unexpected romance a chance.
If you’re looking for a cozy fall rom-com with a single dad, and plenty of sweet chemistry, check out A Pumpkin and a Patch by Jennifer Peel.
Genre: Cozy small town romance, rom-com
Spicy scenes: No
Falling Like Leaves by Misty Wilson
Ellis is a driven high school senior whose parents split up right before her final year, forcing her to move from New York City to the small, fall-obsessed town of Bramble Falls, Connecticut.
Her plan is to keep her head down, focus on getting into Columbia, and avoid getting distracted by anything or anyone.
Obviously that plan falls apart when she runs into Cooper, her childhood best friend and first kiss, who’s now working as a barista at a local coffee shop and acting distinctly cold toward her. Between the Falling Leaves Festival, pumpkin carving, apple picking, and old memories, the two of them can’t quite stay away from each other.
If you’re looking for a sweet young adult autumn romance filled with fall festivals, small-town charm, and second-chance feelings, check out Falling Like Leaves by Misty Wilson.
Genre: Cozy young adult romance, rom-com, small town
Spicy scenes: No
The Dead Romantics by Ashley Poston
Florence ghostwrites romance novels for a bestselling author, but she’s stopped believing in love after a painful breakup. She’s also struggling to finish her latest manuscript, and her new editor refuses to give her another extension on the overdue book.
Then Florence’s dad dies suddenly, sending her back home to help her family with the funeral. When she arrives at the family funeral home, she gets the shock of her life when she finds her editor’s ghost standing at the door.
Now Florence has to figure out why her editor is back, what unfinished business is keeping him around, and whether there’s still room for love in her life.
With ghosts, romance, humor, and plenty of grief, The Dead Romantics by Ashley Poston is a great pick if you want your fall reading to feel a little spooky.
Genre: Cozy contemporary romance, paranormal romance, magical realism
Spicy scenes: Yes
Morbidly Yours by Ivy Fairbanks
After losing her husband, Lark moves from Texas to Galway, Ireland, for a fresh start and a job at an animation studio. Things get weird fast when she receives a shipment of body bags that were meant for the funeral home next door, run by Callum, a painfully shy and socially anxious mortician.
Callum has 6 months to find a wife or risk losing his family’s funeral home because of a condition in his grandfather’s will. Lark decides to help him find the perfect woman, even though she’s sworn off love herself. But as she helps Callum navigate the dating world, their friendship slowly turns into something neither of them expected.
If you’re looking for a quirky, funny, spooky-leaning romance with a funeral home, a shy mortician, and plenty of chemistry, check out Morbidly Yours by Ivy Fairbanks.
Genre: Adult contemporary rom-com, friends to lovers
Spicy scenes: Yes
Funny Feelings by Tarah DeWitt
Farley is a stand-up comedian whose career is finally taking off, and Meyer, her manager and best friend, has been her steady support system for the past 3 years. Meyer is also a former comedian and a single dad raising his Deaf daughter, Hazel.
When Farley gets the biggest opportunity of her career, there’s a catch. She and Meyer need to fake-date to create publicity around her upcoming tour opportunity.
Meyer reluctantly agrees to play along, even though Farley has secretly been in love with him for years. As their fake dates become more convincing, the feelings they’ve both tried to ignore start coming to the surface. What was supposed to be a publicity stunt slowly starts feeling very real.
If you’re looking for a funny, steamy friends-to-lovers romance with fake dating and plenty of emotional tension, check out Funny Feelings by Tarah DeWitt.
Genre: Cozy contemporary romance, rom-com, friends to lovers
Spicy scenes: Yes
Well Met by Jen DeLuca
Emily moves to the small town of Willow Creek, Maryland, to help her sister recover from a car accident and look after her teenage niece. When her niece wants to join the local Renaissance Faire, Emily has to volunteer too and gets cast as a tavern wench.
She immediately clashes with Simon, the English teacher who inherited the faire after his brother’s death. But once the faire begins, Simon transforms into Captain Blackthorne, a charming and flirtatious pirate. As Emily and Simon’s characters start flirting at the faire, the line between their pretend romance and their real feelings begins to blur.
If you’re looking for a funny enemies-to-lovers romance with a Renaissance Faire, playful chemistry, and plenty of steam, check out Well Met by Jen DeLuca.
Genre: Contemporary romance, women’s fiction
Spicy scenes: Yes
Fall I Want by Lyra Parish
Autumn is a romance writer in the small town of Cozy Creek who has given up on love after being hurt by her ex. For years, she’s kept a private journal about a recurring dream involving a mystery man she calls Mr. Dreamy.
Her routine gets flipped upside down when Zane Alexander, a brokenhearted billionaire, comes to town and looks exactly like the man from her dreams. After an awkward first meeting and a few unexpected encounters, the two become flirty friends. When Autumn’s ex returns, Zane agrees to pretend to be her boyfriend, and their fake relationship quickly starts feeling much more real.
If you’re looking for a spicy fall romance with fake dating, a billionaire hero, small-town charm, and plenty of autumn vibes, check out Fall I Want by Lyra Parish.
Genre: Contemporary romance, rom-com, small town
Spicy scenes: Yes, there’s quite a bit throughout the second half of the book.
Fall at Once by Nora Everly
Madi has just ended a long relationship and heads to Cozy Creek to help her grandmother run her bakery while she recovers from a sprained ankle. When Madi’s car breaks down on the way into town, her grandmother sends Cole, her handsome firefighter neighbor, to rescue her.
Madi wants to stay away from love, while Cole is still dealing with the fallout from his recent divorce. But when Cole needs help planning the Cozy Creek Fire Brigade’s Fall Fundraiser, Madi’s experience as a party planner makes her the perfect person to help. Spending more time together makes their attraction harder to ignore, even though neither of them planned to fall for anyone.
If you’re looking for a steamy small-town fall romance with a single-dad firefighter, plenty of chemistry, and a cozy autumn setting, check out Fall at Once by Nora Everly.
Genre: Small town contemporary romance, rom-com
Spicy scenes: Yes
Drawn Together by Juliana Smith
Flora has moved to New York City to build her career as a children’s book illustrator, but her first big commission isn’t going well. The author she’s illustrating for keeps rejecting her work, and she needs to find a way to bring the dark, moody feel of his writing into her usually cheerful illustrations.
Then Flora meets Fletcher, a surly stranger who steals her muffin and turns out to be her roommate’s friend. Fletcher needs help writing a column about romance novels, while Flora needs help understanding darker literature. They decide to start a two-person book club, with Flora teaching him about love stories and Fletcher helping her embrace the shadows in her artwork.
As they swap books and spend more time together, their friendship slowly turns into something deeper. The problem is that Flora doesn’t realize Fletcher is the very author who’s been rejecting her work.
If you’re looking for a sweet, closed-door fall romance set in New York City, check out Drawn Together by Juliana Smith.
Genre: Contemporary romance, rom-com, enemies to lovers
Spicy scenes: No
Fall Too Well by Erin Branscom
Everly moves back to her small hometown with her daughter after leaving her ex-husband, hoping to start over and make a better life for them. She finds herself working for Nash, her childhood best friend and the one man she’s never stopped loving.
They haven’t spoken in years after their painful falling out, and Nash clearly hasn’t forgotten what happened between them. Being around each other again brings all those old feelings rushing back, but Everly’s ex soon returns and starts causing trouble.
As Everly and Nash work through their past and the feelings they’ve tried to ignore, they have to decide whether they’re willing to risk their hearts again.
If you’re looking for a spicy small-town autumn romance with a single mom, a broody cowboy, and second-chance love, check out Fall Too Well by Erin Branscom.
Genre: Contemporary romance, second chance romance, small town
Spicy scenes: Yes
Conclusion
Those are all 18 fall books to read that I’ve been picking through this season. Some were exactly what I wanted, and some fell a little short.
If you’re building your own fall reading list, I’d start with whichever one matches your mood best. Cozy and sweet, spicy and slow burn, or a little spooky for Halloween season.
Any of these would make solid fall book recommendations depending on what kind of reader you are, and there’s something here for pretty much everyone.
