9 Books to Add to Your Fall TBR

Happy Friday, friends! Fall always feels like a great season to read. The air turns crisp and you can go outside to find a nice pile of crunchy leaves to read next to without worrying about overheating. 🎉 Here are a few of the books I’ve read so far this year that would be great additions to your TBR list, pile, or shelf(ves) this fall!

Note – Some of the links in this post are affiliate links, which means if you purchase anything using one of the links I’ll make a small commission, at no extra cost to you.

Jane Steele by Lyndsay Faye  |  Thriller, Humor

A “retelling” of Jane Eyre, in which Jane Steele is a murderess.

This is a marketed as a retelling, but in the book Jane Steele is actually a big fan of Jane Eyre and notices similarities in their lives. That little detail aside, I absolutely loved this book! It was so much fun to read about this “Jane Eyre” character with a twist. I laughed, I was pulled into the action, it was a great read! I listened to this on audiobook and it was absolutely fantastic, so if you’re looking for a book to listen to, this would be a great one.

Read This If…
// You loved Jane Eyre and are looking for a well-done twist on a classic.
// You wanted to love Jane Eyre, but it wasn’t your fave. (🙋🏻🙋🏻)
// You love a kick-butt heroine in a book. (Maybe heroine is the wrong word to describe a character who’s a murderess?)

 

Pretty Baby by Mary Kubica  |  Thriller

When Heidi encounters a homeless teenage girl with an infant, she eventually brings both into her home, to the frustration of her husband and daughter.

If you’re looking for a thriller that will have you at the end of your seat, this isn’t it. Pretty Baby is definitely more of an exploration of all the characters involved: Heidi, her husband and daughter, and Willow, the teenage girl she brings home. This book, like many others that I’ve enjoyed, have characters that feel so real, mostly due to the fact that they’re not exactly characters that I always liked. I wouldn’t say I loved any of them, but I really enjoyed learning more about them and I cared for them. The mystery had me guessing until the very end, but I was as invested in the interpersonal relationships of the characters as I was in knowing more about Willow’s past and who Heidi brought into their home. This is the second time I read this book: the first time I read it, the second time I listened to it on audiobook. I’d recommend the audiobook for this one.

Read This If…
// You enjoy a thriller that’s a bit slower-paced and isn’t full of thrills.
// You enjoy exploring the inner workings of the characters as much as the outward plot.

 

The Hypnotist’s Love Story by Liane Moriarty  |  Contemporary

Ellen is dating Patrick and all is going well until he wants to talk to her something. She’s worried about what he has to stay, but is pleasantly surprised when he finally tells her: he has a stalker. She’s kind of excited that she’s dating someone who actually has a stalker and becomes fascinated with the woman. Ellen even wants to meet her, although she’s unaware that she already has.

I went into this assuming it would have more action than it did, however that didn’t bother me at all. I also thought I knew how it was going to end before I read a page, but I was wrong. And I absolutely loved the book! I loved how realistic all of the characters were: I grew to care about all of them, even though they all frustrated me from time-to-time. I loved this look at each of their lives and was so sad when I realized the book was coming to an end. I wasn’t ready to part from them! It was hard to move onto a different book once I was finished because I wanted to read another one just like this one. I also listened to this on audiobook and thought it was fantastic!

Read this if…
// You love Liane Moriarty’s stories, but are interested in something that feels a bit more “realistic.”
// You love a story that really centers around and explores the characters.

 

Still Me by Jojo Moyes  |  Contemporary

Still Me continues the story of Louisa as she travels to New York to work for the superrich, ready for a new adventure and a new life, while still holding onto her boyfriend back in England.

If you’ve followed my blog for awhile, you might know that I hated Me Before You. I had my own issues with it, which grew once I read other issues in the novel. However, I read After You because I was curious what the second book would be like and I loved it. I was excited for Still Me, and it wasn’t my favorite of the three, but I enjoyed seeing Lou figure out this next chapter of her life. I enjoyed following her life in New York and some of the tension in the world she inhabited. I also loved the portrayal of her long-distance relationship and how hard that can be.

Read this if…
// You want to continue the story of Louisa.

 

The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah

In 1974 Leni Allbright and her parents move to Alaska for a new family adventure and settle into a small community of strong men and women–they have to be in order to survive the long, cruel winters. As winter approaches, the Allbright family realizes just how unprepared they are to survive the elements… and each other. The dark winter

Kristin Hannah did a great job of building tension in this book. She built up the unease that filled society at this time, the danger of the landscape in Alaska, and relationship tension–both within families and between people in the community. I spent most of the novel waiting for what would come next. I absolutely loved some of the characters and hated some of the others. Thanks to getting the flu shortly after I started this, I was able to dedicate an afternoon to reading this book, and I was so happy I didn’t have to put it down. However, I felt the book was longer than it needed to be and toward the end things happened just to create sadness and tragedy. Everything that happened to these characters felt like it was a little much. I’m excited to read more from Hannah, but I’m wondering if this is a trait of her writing.

Read this if…
// You love coming-of-age stories.
// You enjoy epic sagas.
// A story about a family attempting to live in a remote part of Alaska during the ’70’s sounds intriguing to you.

 

It Ends With Us by Colleen Hoover  |  New Adult

Lily escaped her uneasy home in Maine and moved to Boston to finish college and start her own business. When she meets medical student Ryle on a rooftop, she quickly falls for him. But as she becomes the one exception to his “no dating” rule, she starts to question their relationship, and an old love from the past comes back into her mind.

I’m not a big fan of Colleen Hoover’s books, but they’re addicting reads so I’ve been making my way through some of them. I actually really appreciated this one. I didn’t know a lot about it going in and I think that’s the way to read it. It allows you to experience the story on a different level. Of course, if you’re uncomfortable not knowing what issue it discusses before you read it, there are a lot of reviews that will let you know. I don’t think the story will make as big of an impact if you know ahead of time. There are a few things in the end that bothered me and it wasn’t an easy read, but this is a book by Colleen Hoover that I appreciated and can be used to spark conversation. If you’ve read it, I’d love to chat!

Read this if…
// You’re interested in an experience.
// You like books that encourage discussion.

 

Three Dark Crowns by Kendare Blake  |  YA Fantasy

Each generation a set of triplets are born, all queens and each with a equal rights to the crown. All three have their own magical talent and they must fight until only one queen is left standing–the one who will eventually take the throne.

This book… I didn’t think I liked it. I listened to it on audiobook and my mind always wandered. Halfway through I realized I hadn’t taken much of it in and decided to give it another shot, so I re-listened to the beginning. My mind wandered again and I didn’t think I’d read the second, however it takes a turn toward the end. I was drawn into the story and really grew to love a few of the characters. When it ended I was ready to jump in the second. I haven’t yet, but I do own a copy of it and I’m excited to read it! I ended up buying a physical copy of book two. The voice of the narrator sounded too old for the age of the characters and that doesn’t always bother me, but it was noticeable to me with this one. It pulled me out of the story a few times. Since I also had a hard time focusing on the audiobook at the beginning I decided to read the second.

Read this if…
// You like character-driven fantasy’s.
// You enjoy stories with a slow build.

 

Illuminae by Aimee Kaufman & Jay Kristoff  |  YA Fantasy

The day Kady breaks up with her boyfriend Ezra their planet is attacked and they’re separated during the evacuation. During the evacuation a deadly plague breaks out, the AI might be trying to kill them, and Kady realizes she doesn’t trust anyone who’s actually in charge, so she reaches out to Ezra again.

This is a really crappy description for a book that I absolutely love. I’ve read it before and loved how the story is put together. This time I decided to listen to the audiobook since I’ve heard such good things and I’ve decided this series should be read physically while listening to it at the same time. Or you should read it and then listen to it. Both mediums are absolutely fantastic and should be consumed. The story is told in a dossier of hacked documents: chat logs, descriptions of security footage, etc. The print copy of the book is absolutely beautiful and a work of art in terms of how everything is displayed on the page. If you typically read ebooks I highly recommend getting your hands on a physical copy of this one. The audiobook has a full cast and sound effects. This is such a great read/listen and I can’t wait to read/listen to the second in the trilogy. (I know, I know… I’m a little behind in this series.)

Read this if…
// You want to go on an adventure.
// You enjoy stories that use unique methods of storytelling.

 

 

The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo  |  YA Contemporary

Xiomara feels like people don’t want to hear–and don’t even care–about what she has to say, so she writes all her thoughts in a journal her twin brother gave her for her birthday. She can’t imagine ever sharing her poetry out loud… until she attends the Slam Poetry Club at her school.

I haven’t read a verse novel in a long, long time, and I’ve really gotten into slam poetry this year, so as soon as I saw this book I knew I had to read it. It took me a little longer to get into the book than I anticipated, but Xiomara captured my heart right away and I was ready to follow her story. This story is so real and honest. It’s been awhile since I was this emotionally invested in a story. I read the book, but Acevedo narrates the audiobook so I’m waiting for a copy to become available at the library and I’ll be listening to it, too. Read or listen to this book and watch videos of Elizabeth Acevedo’s poetry on YouTube. Be sure you have some time before you do, because once you start reading and listening it’s hard to stop!

Read this if…
// Just read it.

What books have you read recently? What’s on your fall TBR?