Hi friends,

Looking at Instagram today I realized that …Fall was two days ago! So Shanah @bionicbookworm asking us to post about our top 5 Fall reading recommendations makes sense! Duh!

 

But what would be “Fall” recommendations?

Well Fall has shorter days, a lower golden sun and vibrant colors. It’s becoming chilly and time to curl up on the sofa to read a book while drinking hot cocoa. I know for my US friends it’s also time for Halloween but here in Europe when I was young, we never celebrated Halloween. No, my memories are from long walk in the woods surrounded by the scent of damp earth and fallen leaves. Some mushroom and pine scents too.

So to me, a book that would give a “Fall” vibe is either a sweet book but with a little melancholy or either a “vintage” book giving an “old fashion” feel.

 

Fall Season Welcome Fall GIF from Fallseason GIFs

First book to come to mind is: An Enchantment of Raven by Margaret Rogerson

Not only is the cover screaming fall with its brown and rusty colors but also because reading this felt bitter-sweet. And because Fall is an enchanting season with mist in the fields and this book is about enchantments!

“One raven for uncertain peril. Six for danger sure to arrive. A dozen for death, if not avoided. The enchantment is sealed.”
― Margaret Rogerson, An Enchantment of Ravens
Second book: The Sweet Gum Tree by Katharine Allred
I chose this one because I’ve read it many years ago and it left me with a fond memory, like a dream. This is a sweet romance book with a litlle angst but not too much.
“You can’t turn love on and off like a light switch, no matter how hard you try. All you can do is wall it off, one brick at a time, until you’ve created an impenetrable fortress around your emotions. And once that fortress is built, you camouflage it so well that even you can’t see it anymore.”
― Katherine Allred, The Sweet Gum Tree
Third book: Running Barefoot by Amy Harmon

This was my first book by Amy Harmon and the beginning of a long love story! This is a story of unexpected friendship and blossoming love. It’s also a tale of wisdom, the journey of two kindred spirits to find their own path, to grow up. All of this happening in rural America, in a tiny city among farmers and a close community.

It shows you how some encounters are life altering helping you to discover your potential, your dreams and to blossom into your true self.

“What softened your heart?” I asked softly.
“Good music and a friend.”
I felt my eyes burn a little and turned from him, blinking quickly to lap up the sting of tears. “Music has incredible power”
“So does friendship,” he supplied frankly.”
― Amy Harmon, Running Barefoot
Fourth book: The Girl He Used to Know by Tracey Garvis Graves
I have finished this book last week but it left me this was such a sweet and emotional story! Certainly one you want to read taking your time while drinking hot cocoa. It is a second chance romance so bitter sweet and it also gives a vintage feel, maybe because of the cover, I don’t know.
“I never know what people are thinking. It’s like visiting a country where you don’t speak the language and you’re trying so hard to understand but no matter how many times you ask for juice, they keep bringing you milk. And I hate it.”
Fifth book: Radiance by Grace Draven
The topic as stated above is about true beauty. It’s also about love, not insta-love but a love built on a partnership, on mutual respect. It’s about the fear of the other, the one different in culture and coloring from your people. It’s a timeless topic treated with finesse and grace.
This was a sweet book and a real gem hidden under the (to my eyes) hideous cover!
“This should never have happened, Brishen. We were unimportant, you and I. We weren’t supposed to mean anything to anyone.”
“Woman of day,” he said slowly. “You mean everything to me.”
― Grace Draven, Radiance
Sixth book: The Golem and the Jinni by Helene Wecker
I was immersed in Chava and Ahmad’s poignant stories. They were polar opposite and inhuman, both trapped by a destiny they did not ask for, both trying to adapt to their new life and desperate to find their place in this strange world. This is the epitome of a delicate and vintage book!
”We can’t seem to talk without fighting.” “It’s strange that we can be friends. I hope that you do consider me a friend, and not a burden. I don’t want these walks to be something you dread.” “I look forward to walking with you. I think I even look forward to the arguments. You understand what my life is, even if we disagree. So yes, I consider you a friend. And I would miss this, if we stopped.”
Seventh book: The Hard Truth About Sunshine by Sawyer Bennett
Because it’s a beautiful, hopeful yet sad story.
“Listen… it’s okay if you want to sunshine your way through life and look on the bright side of things. And it’s also okay if you get scared and think the world is falling in on you. You can have both. You can have moments of great confidence in yourself, and then moments where you’re so low you don’t think you can make it another day. But the one thing you can never do is give up the belief that it will all be okay. And you’ll know it will all be okay because regardless if you’re up or down, I’ll be with you through it all.”

Now what’s a fall read for you? And what book would you recommend?

Thanks for reading!

Sophie

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26 Comments

  1. I definitely agree about An Enchantment of Ravens having an autumn vibe! And the cover to Radiance definitely gives off that vibe as well ^.^

    Reply

    1. Ha Dani! Difficult to tell you. Maybe yes as it is very different from Sorcery of Thorns and has more bitter than sweet in it really.

      Reply

  6. I’ve had both Sweet Gum Tree and The Hard Truth About Sunshine sitting on my Kindle for so long. Someone recommended Sweet Gum Tree to me several years ago, I bought it, and then promptly forgot about it. I *adored* The Girl He Used to Know. One of my favorites of the year!

    Reply

  7. I have several of these on my tbr. For the ones I’ve read – I LOVED the first half of The Sweet Gum Tree, but sadly it fell apart for me in the second half. 🙁 I can see why it reminds you of fall, though. And The Girl He Used to Know – yes! Especially at the beginning of the school year when they meet over chess.

    Thanks for sharing! 🙂

    Reply

    1. Well yes Lashaan! It exists here since my kids were born take or add some years! So i’d say around 20 to 22 years!

      Reply

    1. Yes you are correct! There are several seasons in the book but the vibes were chilly indeed as fae’s world was a cruel world!

      Reply

  11. I loved The Girl He Used to know. So many feels! I put off The Hard Truth About Sunshine, though I love Bennett, but you saying it’s hopeful makes me a little less scared of it.

    Reply