Spooky Season 2025 TBR

Hey all, Sam here.

While I’m a believer that Spooky Season begins August 1st (because I enjoy the season and why not enjoy it as long as possible), I know there are some that declare it finally fall/spooky season come September 1st, or possibly after Starbucks brings back the Pumpkin Spice Latte. By any of those metrics, it is now finally spooky season, and over the next couple of months I’m hoping to read some books that fit the vibes of my favorite season.

That is why I have brought you 10 books that I am really hoping to read in September and October, although I suppose I could read them in November as well if it came down to it.

Anyway, hopefully I’m actually able to follow through with a TBR this time around. It used to be that I had many months where I could actually stick to the list of books I wanted to read without issue, but the past couple of years it has been the biggest struggle.

So, who’s ready to see what books are on my list for fall reading this year? I’m ready to talk about them so let’s get started.

First up: Curses & Cold Brew by Ali K. Mulford & K. Elle Morrison, The Pumpkin Spice Cafe by Laurie Gilmore, and A Harvest of Hearts by Andrea Eames

The second Maple Hollow book by Mulford and Morrison will be released September 2nd, so I will be starting this one just as soon as I get my copy in the mail. Yes, I realize I could get the e-book, but I already have the paperback of the first one and I like matching sets. This is a cozy sapphic paranormal rom-com, and I bet it will be just as delightful as the first one, so I’m looking forward to it.

Then there’s the Dream Harbor series, which I’ve been meaning to try out since last year and still haven’t done it. There’s five books out so far with a sixth one coming in 2026. I love a cozy small town series following the various members and businesses in the area, especially if there’s a dash of romance as well. Who knows, maybe I’ll just end up bingeing my way through the whole series.

Finally there’s a whimsical, cozy-adjacent, adventure in the same tradition as “Howl’s Moving Castle.” As soon as I saw A Harvest of Hearts, I knew I needed to have a copy in my library, and I’ve been putting off reading it since spring (well, aside from reading the first chapter in the hotel room after I bought it). Anyway, I think I’m going to enjoy this one and I can’t wait to finally read it.

Next I have: The London Seance Society by Sarah Penner, The Scandalous Confessions of Lydia Bennet, Witch by Melinda Taub, and The Keeper of Lonely Spirits by E.M. Anderson.

I really enjoyed reading The Lost Apothecary, so when I saw this new book by Penner, I wanted to read it…but I waited for it to come out in paperback so it could sit on my shelves with the apothecary book. I’m expecting a historical fiction book with a bit of magical/spiritual elements to it, which makes it perfect for this time of year.

I’m a big fan of any sort of twist or interpretation of Jane Austen works, and having Lydia take center stage and has other concerns not announced in the original texts…concerns like Kitty is actually a cat and Wickham is a demon….well, sign me up because this sounds incredible.

Then I have a book about an immortal ghost hunter who finds spirits and helps put them to rest, until his wandering takes him to a small town in Ohio and is drawn into the lives of the townsfolk, finding for the first time in a long time that he wants something other than death for himself….but can that last when everyone around him will die someday but he won’t? I’m intrigued.

For this last batch there’s: Don’t Let The Forest In by C.G. Drews, The Last One by Rachel Howzell Hall, Strange Beasts by Susan J. Morris, and Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil by V.E. Schwab

First up is a bit of a different one for me and that is a horror fantasy, which is not my normal genre/sub-genre, but I’ve heard it’s really good and that there’s Ace rep in the book…so I guess I’ll give this one a shot. Besides the premise does sound really intriguing, with a writer and an artist…and the art coming to life to attack anyone close to the writer, so both boys have to fight off the monsters, but as the writer and the artist grow more obsessed with each other, the monsters get stronger. The only way to end the monsters might be to end their creator. Honestly this sounds a bit dark and intense, but I’m still very intrigued.

The next book is a Romantasy that deals with a main character with no idea who she is or how she got to where she is at the story’s start, gods, a mysterious blacksmith, and a lot of questions. There are a lot of mixed reviews for this one on Goodreads, but a lot of those seem to be people who don’t like Red Tower Books and give this book a one star without giving it more than a handful of pages. While I’m not a diehard fan of Red Tower Books, many of them sound interesting, and I’m willing to give this a try.

Strange Beasts follows Samantha Harkness, the daughter of Dracula’s killer, and Dr. Helena Moriarty, the daughter of Sherlock’s nemesis, and they end up working a case together…and honestly I really didn’t need more than that to make me interested.

Finally, V.E. Schwab’s newest book, which is apparently a multi-timeline story following three women at different periods, and it is also about immortality and hunger, which makes me think vampires. I’ve managed to stay away from a lot of information and spoilers about this one, but it does seem like it will be a perfect read for Spooky Season, so I’m ready for it.

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All right, well that is all from me for today. Thank you so much for stopping by, and I’ll be back soon with more geeky content.