List of Must Read Books This Fall

Autumn is the perfect time to settle down with a book - whether you're in a study hall with a required text or on the front porch with the latest cozy mystery from a beloved series. If you're like me, maybe you don't know what to read this year or your TBR pile is so daunting you'd rather not look at it. Goodreads is a little more forgiving than that stack on my bookshelf, so let's dive right in!

Here are the books that were recommended to me by respected Twitter followers.

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House of Salt and Sorrow by Erin A. Craig

"In a manor by the sea, twelve sisters are cursed.

Annaleigh lives a sheltered life at Highmoor, a manor by the sea, with her sisters, their father, and stepmother. Once they were twelve, but loneliness fills the grand halls now that four of the girls' lives have been cut short. Each death was more tragic than the last—the plague, a plummeting fall, a drowning, a slippery plunge—and there are whispers throughout the surrounding villages that the family is cursed by the gods."

A gorgeous and incredibly spooky retelling of "The Twelve Dancing Princesses", Craig's House of Salt and Sorrows is the perfect read for a spooky autumn evening. Keep an eye on this new voice in YA Horror!

Follow Erin. A. Craig on Twitter

Before the Broken Star by Emily R. King

"A fierce young female adventurer battles time itself to claim her destiny in a sweeping new fantasy saga from the author of the Hundredth Queen series.

Everley Donovan is living on borrowed time. The lone survivor of her family’s unexplained assassination, she was saved by an ingeniously crafted clockwork heart. But the time she was given won’t last forever. Now, every tick-tock reminds her how fragile her existence is and hastens her quest to expose Killian Markham, the navy admiral who shattered her world and left her for dead. But Everley’s hunt for justice will be a long and hard-won voyage."


Did you need any inspiration for your bad-ass female adventurer Halloween costume? You're welcome. If that's not enough - this book also has pirates, elves, pixies, and wooden soldiers. What more could you honestly ask from a fantasy novel...just read it.

Find Emily R. King on Twitter.

Rebel: Legend by Marie Lu

"Eden Wing has been living in his brother’s shadow for years. Even though he’s a top student at his academy in Ross City, Antarctica, and a brilliant inventor, most people know him only as Daniel Wing’s little brother.

A decade ago, Daniel was known as Day, the boy from the streets who led a revolution that saved the Republic of America. But Day is no longer the same young man who was once a national hero. These days he’d rather hide out from the world and leave his past behind. All that matters to him now is keeping Eden safe―even if that also means giving up June, the great love of Daniel’s life.

As the two brothers struggle to accept who they’ve each become since their time in the Republic, a new danger creeps into the distance that’s grown between them. Eden soon finds himself drawn so far into Ross City’s dark side, even his legendary brother can’t save him. At least not on his own . . ."

It's the long awaited finale in this series - Rebel releases on October 1st, so you've got plenty of time to read the previous three books in the Legend world!

Follow Marie Lu here on Twitter.

The Light Brigade by Kameron Hurley

"They said the war would turn us into light. 
I wanted to be counted among the heroes who gave us this better world. 

The Light Brigade: it’s what soldiers fighting the war against Mars call the ones who come back…different. Grunts in the corporate corps get busted down into light to travel to and from interplanetary battlefronts. Everyone is changed by what the corps must do in order to break them down into light. Those who survive learn to stick to the mission brief—no matter what actually happens during combat.

Dietz, a fresh recruit in the infantry, begins to experience combat drops that don’t sync up with the platoon’s. And Dietz’s bad drops tell a story of the war that’s not at all what the corporate brass want the soldiers to think is going on."


Have you ever wondered what kind of long term effects teleportation (via Star Trek) would have on a person? I hadn't either, but Hurley's fascinating light travel premise has me mighty curious now. This book is a worthy addition to the "future of war" genre and is right up there with classics like Starship Troopers.

Find Kameron Hurley on Twitter.

City of Ghosts by Victoria Schwab (aka V.E. Schwab)

"Cassidy Blake's parents are The Inspecters, a (somewhat inept) ghost-hunting team. But Cass herself can REALLY see ghosts. In fact, her best friend, Jacob, just happens to be one.

When The Inspecters head to ultra-haunted Edinburgh, Scotland, for their new TV show, Cass—and Jacob—come along. In Scotland, Cass is surrounded by ghosts, not all of them friendly. Then she meets Lara, a girl who can also see the dead. But Lara tells Cassidy that as an In-betweener, their job is to send ghosts permanently beyond the Veil. Cass isn't sure about her new mission, but she does know the sinister Red Raven haunting the city doesn't belong in her world. Cassidy's powers will draw her into an epic fight that stretches through the worlds of the living and the dead, in order to save herself."

Surely you didn't think I'd forget to add a ghost story? A staple in the realm of YA, Schwab also excels at Middle Grade fiction, and honestly - some of the best paranormal fantasy is written for younger audiences.

Find the very active V.E. Schwab on Twitter.

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What's in your TBR pile this fall? Leave me all your recc's in the comments!