Top Ten Books on My Fall 2024 To-Read List

Juniper Bean has big plans for her writing career. Swoony kisses, sigh-inducing happily ever afters—she’s going to write them all.

There’s just one problem: she can’t seem to stop killing off her main characters.

After accepting that a genre change is in order, Juniper sets out to do some research. What’s the best way to carry a dead body? How exactly does one pick a lock? Juniper is going to find out—with the unwilling help of her new roommate, Aiden.

But Juniper’s plans go haywire when she stumbles across an actual, real-life dead body—and before she knows it, she and Aiden are thrust into the middle of a murder mystery that seems suspiciously tied to Juniper’s past.

Who killed the girl in the woods? Can Juniper ever get the hang of mystery writing? And, perhaps the biggest question of all: Why the heck does Aiden look so good in a tweed jacket?

The Ravenswood Witch by Jenni Keer

‘There are a lot of shadows at Ravenswood, so you will need to be strong…’

The year is 1885 and a young woman is on the run, knowing if she’s caught, she’ll be hanged for murder. Moments from a safe haven, she collides with a gruff stranger, falling and breaking her ankle.

To her surprise, the man – Marcus Greybourne – convinces the local constable that she is his reclusive wife of ten years, Luna. He carries her back to the neglected and crumbling Ravenswood Hall, promising if she agrees to maintain this charade, he will keep her safe until her injuries have healed.

But the house is haunted by shadows and secrets. What’s more, the real Luna Greybourne is missing, without trace. Scratches and marks made by her around the house suggest witchcraft; and indeed Luna is known locally as the Ravenswood Witch; her reputation in tatters, like the wallpapers of the padlocked rooms she’d destroyed.

As strange happenings in the house continue, outside the screech of a raven echoes across oppressive woods that seem alive with dark magic. And the woman who is now pretending to be Luna can’t help but fear she’s escaped the noose for a far more terrible fate…

A completely compelling and unforgettable historical bookclub read – fans of Jane Eyre, Weyward and The Binding will be utterly spellbound.

Bitter House by Kiersten Modglin

Vera Bitter is dead, but her secrets have yet to be buried.

After the tragic death of Bridget’s parents, her grandmother took her in. Vera Bitter raised her from behind a closed door—cold and uncaring from the moment she arrived at Bitter House. After Bridget’s high school graduation, Vera kicked her out without so much as a goodbye, and Bridget never heard from her again. Which is why, when she receives word of Vera’s passing and discovers she’s inherited the family manor, she’s immediately filled with dread.

Those worries are amplified when she arrives at Bitter House after years away to find an enigmatic piece of her past waiting for her. Growing up, there was only one person Bridget distrusted more than her grandmother, and that was Cole Warner—the son of Vera’s house manager and the bane of her childhood existence. Now, he’s her new housemate.

Owning the house she was once forced to leave with a man she’s always despised forces Bridget to confront feelings and questions she’s been running from since the day she was driven away from Bitter House.

Then the first letter arrives.

And with it, a world of secrets, darkness, and deception is unlocked. Years ago, Bridget tried and failed to find sanctuary inside the shadowy halls of Bitter House, and as she struggles to imagine a future there now, she discovers a terrifying behind the iron gate and stone walls of the old estate, nothing is quite what it seems. Bitter House has secrets and, if she can’t decide whom to trust, danger lies in wait.

Perfectly Wicked by Lindsay Lovise

Charmed meets Ghost Hunters in this magically wicked paranormal romance, perfect for fans of Not the Witch You Wed and The Ex Hex.

Holly Celeste and her sisters make the best apple cider in Maine—courtesy of a magical secret ingredient—but even that hasn’t been enough to keep their orchard afloat. To save the family business, Holly accepts a proposal to let a ghost hunting series film an episode on her farm. Connor Grimm may be the sexy and down-to-earth TV host the nation loves, but to Holly he represents her greatest fear: exposure. Holly doesn’t mind if Connor chases down a silly ghost story—it’s their other secret she’s terrified he’ll reveal.

Connor Grimm’s life goal is to normalize the paranormal, which he does on his show, Grimm Reality. Except he isn’t only looking for a ghost at Wicked Good Apples. There have been rumors of rain during droughts and other inexplicable happenings that could only be attributed to something supernatural, and Connor plans to expose it on an episode that will take his show’s success to another level.

Intent on keeping Connor in the dark, Holly joins him as he interviews eyewitnesses, hunts for old records, and unearths a story even she didn’t know existed. Despite her resolution to dislike him, she begins to fall for the only man who’s ever made her feel like strange could be normal. Too bad a relationship with Connor could only be temporary; he moves to a new state every month, and there’s no room in his life for a woman with a pet hedgehog, a houseful of nosy aunts and sisters, and a failing apple orchard.

When Connor finally pieces together Holly’s greatest secret, he’s forced to choose between revealing his biggest paranormal discovery yet and propelling his show to the top of the charts, and giving it all up for the wicked woman who’s charmed his heart.

The Curse of Morton Abbey by Clarissa Harwood

Jane Eyre meets The Secret Garden in a gothic novel of romantic suspense set in 1890s Yorkshire.

Solicitor Vaughan Springthorpe knows perfectly well that Sir Peter Spencer’s offer of employment seems too good to be true: he hires her sight unseen, offering a suspiciously large salary to prepare the sale of Morton Abbey, his crumbling Yorkshire estate. But few people in late-Victorian England will entrust their legal affairs to a woman, and Vaughan is desperate to prove herself.

Once at Morton, Vaughan discovers that someone is determined to drive her away. An intruder tries to enter her bedroom at night, gunshots are fired outside her window, and an eerie crying echoes from the uninhabited second floor. Even Netherton, the nearest village, seems odd: the picturesque houses and perfect-looking families are haunted by dark secrets connected to Morton Abbey itself.

To complete her work and solve the mystery at the heart of Morton, Vaughan needs the help of Joe Dixon, the handsome gardener, and Nicholas Spencer, her employer’s irascible invalid brother. But with her questions diverted, her progress thwarted, and her sleep disrupted by the crying, will Vaughan escape Morton Abbey with her sanity intact or be cursed by the secrets within?

Fall I Want by Lyra Parish

The brokenhearted billionaire visits Cozy Creek to escape. I never expected to become his fake girlfriend or fall madly in love…but here we are.

My first impression of Zane Alexander isn’t great. The second is worse, but when he forces me to hang out with him, I can’t say no. We quickly go from familiar strangers to flirty friends.

When my ex returns, Zane flawlessly pretends to be my boyfriend to protect me. He’s so damn good at it, I almost believe it. Afterward, we devise a plan to fake date through the holidays. I become his plus one and he becomes mine.

I don’t know when our relationship moves from pretending to passionate, but I catch feelings. As our exes desperately crawl back into our lives like zombies, I realize there is only one man for me, and (f)all I want is him.

FALL I WANT is a spicy autumn-inspired small-town romantic comedy with a billionaire who falls first and harder. Grab a pumpkin spice latte, a warm fuzzy blanket, and make your way down to Cozy Creek. Each book in the series is a complete stand alone with a happily ever after.

Morbidly Yours by Ivy Fairbanks