We are well into cosy reading season! The -ber months are arguably the best times for readers. Just think: Rain tapping at your window, Hot chocolate/coffee in hand, Blanket either lay across your knees, or right up to the neck, and a good old book. PERFECTION. With that being said, there are hundreds of books to be read during this season, so I thought I would share my Autumnal picks.
I thoroughly believe in reading ANY book or your choice at any time, so if you don't want to read autumnal books and would rather either continue your beachy, summer reads, go ahead! You can always save these recs on your Goodreads for whenever you're ready. I just think there is something so fun about reading books which reflect the current season. Each of my picks give me an autumnal feeling for whatever reason - whether it was the author's intention or not.
Let's get into it!
#1 BABEL BY REBECCA F. KUANG
Synopsis
1828. Robin Swift, orphaned by cholera in Canton, is brought to London by the mysterious Professor Lovell. There, he trains for years in Latin, Ancient Greek, and Chinese, all in preparation for the day he’ll enroll in Oxford University’s prestigious Royal Institute of Translation—also known as Babel. The tower and its students are the world's center for translation and, more importantly, magic. Silver-working—the art of manifesting the meaning lost in translation using enchanted silver bars—has made the British unparalleled in power, as the arcane craft serves the Empire's quest for colonization.
For Robin, Oxford is a utopia dedicated to the pursuit of knowledge. But knowledge obeys power, and as a Chinese boy raised in Britain, Robin realizes serving Babel means betraying his motherland. As his studies progress, Robin finds himself caught between Babel and the shadowy Hermes Society, an organization dedicated to stopping imperial expansion. When Britain pursues an unjust war with China over silver and opium, Robin must decide . . .
Can powerful institutions be changed from within, or does revolution always require violence?
Thoughts
I have a full review of this novel here, so I won't get into my overall thoughts in this post. The reason why I chose it as an autumn recommendation is because of the genre and setting. Babel is a novel set in Oxford, England which is a small city that gives a town/village feel. I have only been to Oxford a couple of times, but each time I have been, it has been the most picture perfect autumnal experience. The way it is depicted in the novel also carries this same energy - perhaps its the dark academia aspect blending seamlessly with its paired setting. I read this novel in September, which I thought was perfect and I would highly suggest embarking on a Babel reading experience during the 'ber' months.
#2 IF WE WERE VILLAINS BY M.L. RIO
Dark Academia
Synopsis:
Oliver Marks has just served ten years in jail - for a murder he may or may not have committed. On the day he's released, he's greeted by the man who put him in prison. Detective Colborne is retiring, but before he does, he wants to know what really happened a decade ago.
As one of seven young actors studying Shakespeare at an elite arts college, Oliver and his friends play the same roles onstage and off: hero, villain, tyrant, temptress, ingenue, extra. But when the casting changes, and the secondary characters usurp the stars, the plays spill dangerously over into life, and one of them is found dead. The rest face their greatest acting challenge yet: convincing the police, and themselves, that they are blameless.
Thoughts:
Dark academia is a genre that I always think is exclusively for autumn/winter time. There's something about it that just screams colder months. If we were villains is a fantastic one to sink your teeth into. If you love drama, morally grey characters, and Shakespeare, it's definitely one for you. I remember having such a great time reading it, and would highly recommend.
#3 ONE BY ONE BY FREIDA MCFADDEN
Thriller
Synopsis:
One by one, they will get what they deserve...
A night spent sleeping on dirt and leaves is not how Claire Matchett expected to spend her vacation. She thought this would be a break from the stresses of work and raising her young children. A chance to repair her damaged marriage. A week of hiking and hot tubs with two other couple friends. It sounded like heaven.
Then Claire’s minivan breaks down on a lonely dirt road. With no cell reception, the group has no choice but to hike the rest of the way to their hotel. But it turns out the woods aren’t as easy to navigate as they thought.
Hours later, they are lost. Hopelessly lost.
And as they navigate deeper into the woods, the members of their party are struck down mysteriously one by one. Has a wild animal been hunting them? Or is the hunter one of them?
But as more time passes, one thing becomes clear:
Only one of them will return home alive.
Thoughts:
With the majority of this book being set in the woods, I think this is a great Autumnal thriller option. Freida McFadden is one of my go-to authors for thrillers, because they are fast-paced page turners. If you want something that keeps the cogs in your mind turning, she has some great books. This one is less than 300 pages and one you could definitely finish in one sitting, under a fluffy blanket.
#4 BEFORE THE COFFEE RUNS COLD BY TOSHIKAZU KAWAGUCHI
Magic Realism
Synopsis:
In a small back alley in Tokyo, there is a café which has been serving carefully brewed coffee for more than one hundred years. But this coffee shop offers its customers a unique experience: the chance to travel back in time.
In Before the Coffee Gets Cold, we meet four visitors, each of whom is hoping to make use of the café’s time-travelling offer, in order to: confront the man who left them, receive a letter from their husband whose memory has been taken by early onset Alzheimer's, to see their sister one last time, and to meet the daughter they never got the chance to know.
But the journey into the past does not come without risks: customers must sit in a particular seat, they cannot leave the café, and finally, they must return to the present before the coffee gets cold . . .
Thoughts:
This book is full of wonderful, cosy, emotional short stories that will have you gripped. This series is incredibly unique with its blend of cosy yet eerie tones. They are absolutely perfect autumn/winter reads. I loved how different each story and character is. It also had me thinking about how I'd approach things if I were ever in this situation. Would I want to go back? Would I be able to cope with nothing changing, even if I did?
#5 FOURTH WING BY REBECCA YARROS
Fantasy
Synopsis:
Twenty-year-old Violet Sorrengail was supposed to enter the Scribe Quadrant, living a quiet life among books and history. Now, the commanding general—also known as her tough-as-talons mother—has ordered Violet to join the hundreds of candidates striving to become the elite of Navarre: dragon riders.
But when you’re smaller than everyone else and your body is brittle, death is only a heartbeat away...because dragons don’t bond to “fragile” humans. They incinerate them.
With fewer dragons willing to bond than cadets, most would kill Violet to better their own chances of success. The rest would kill her just for being her mother’s daughter—like Xaden Riorson, the most powerful and ruthless wingleader in the Riders Quadrant.
She’ll need every edge her wits can give her just to see the next sunrise.
Yet, with every day that passes, the war outside grows more deadly, the kingdom's protective wards are failing, and the death toll continues to rise. Even worse, Violet begins to suspect leadership is hiding a terrible secret.
Friends, enemies, lovers. Everyone at Basgiath War College has an agenda—because once you enter, there are only two ways out: graduate or die....
Thoughts:
I actually read this in spring this year and still had the best time ever (it was a 5 star read), but there is something about it that screams autumn. Maybe it's the dragons? This book was PHENOMENAL. I grew to adore the characters and found family, the plot was super engaging all the way through, and I could visualise every single thing that took place. This was my first ever adult fantasy book and I'm so glad it was. If you're intimidated by fantasy, I would highly recommend starting with this one, as the world building isn't too complex and the magic system is fairly easy to follow. There wasn't too much information dumping and I was well and truly immersed in the narrative from start to finish.
So, those are my autumn book recommendations! Do you have any to add? Let me know in the comments.
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