There’s something about crisp fall mornings and cloudless afternoons that means love is in the air once again. Fall romance books feature everything that we love about the season, from apple-picking dates and spicy mulled cider to chilly nights spent around the fire with that special someone.
With the holidays right around the corner, now is the time to pull on your favorite oversized flannel, dig out your coziest around-the-house socks and curl up under your softest blanket. Fall romance books are made for sweater weather. Discover slow-burn feelings and second chances that blossom into love (or lust) with a healthy dose of small-town charm. These swoon-worthy moments that feel even better with an apple or pumpkin spice candle flickering nearby.
Whether you’re craving a sweet autumn romance novel set in a pumpkin patch or a steamy LGBTQ+ love story that’ll keep you up past midnight, we’ve rounded up 10 fall romance reads to carry you through the season. Grab a warm drink, and get ready to fall head over heels with our favorite autumn romance novels from fan-favorite authors like Dylan Morrison and Lyra Parish.
1. If It Makes You Happy: A Cozy Fall Romance
by Julie Olivia
An Instant USA Today Bestseller!
One of Cosmopolitan‘s 58 Best Romance Novels of All Time! Now with exclusive bonus content!
Grab your favorite fall candle, cuddle into a comfy blanket, and travel back in time to 1997 in this cozy, slow-burn romance set in the autumn glow of small-town Vermont.
My new next-door neighbor seems to have everything figured out. Small town golden boy? Check. Single dad extraordinaire? Check. Hot baker forearms? I didn’t notice them, I swear.
I, on the other hand, don’t-at all-have anything figured out. Trust me, I didn’t think taking over my mom’s dream bed and breakfast in Copper Run Vermont was going to be easy. It should be a good place to heal after my divorce. But apparently my scones belong in the garbage with my small talk skills. As pointed out by none other than Cliff.
Cliff is inescapable. He knows exactly what people need-always. His charm, the way he wears flannel, and even his pastries, make not wanting to be friends with Cliff and his daughters pretty hard.
Friends? I can make friends. That’s safe. Except I’m leaving in three months to pass the inn off to my little sister and get the promotion in Seattle I’ve been working towards. So ask me why I’m thinking about kissing my hot neighbor.
2. Fall I Want
by Lyra Parish
USA TODAY BESTSELLER! Fall I Want is a feel-good, spicy small-town, romantic comedy with a billionaire who falls first and harder! 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 uses his powers of persuasion to get 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.
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.
Zane
Everything changes the moment I see her. Autumn’s enchanting gaze makes my heart race, so I push her away to protect myself. Immediately, I regret it. But when I find her standing in my haunted house, I convince her to be my friend. She begrudgingly agrees.
As the leaves transform and Cozy Creek’s fall festivities come alive, our playful charade blossoms into something more. The lines between real and pretend begin to blur, and I find myself falling under her spell. I should keep my broken heart in check, but instead, I fight for love that feels like magic.
This woman is all I’ve ever needed and (f)all I want.
Grab a pumpkin spice latte, a warm fuzzy blanket, and make your way down to Cozy Creek! Each book in the collection is a complete stand alone with a happily ever after.
3. Under the Orchard’s Spell
by Ann Adams
A woman reunites with her first love to solve the mystery of the strange occurrences plaguing her family’s pear orchard–only to discover the land holds more magic than she thought–in this cozy second-chance romance.
“A beautiful story of love and loss, curses and choices, healing and happiness!” — Sarah Beth Durst, New York Times bestselling author of The Spellshop
Ali Reid has luck so bad she might actually be cursed. The pear orchard she inherited from her late uncle is drowning in debt, her fiancé and best friend have left her, and now, with picking season looming, she has no way to harvest all her fruit before it rots on the branch.
Desperate, Ali turns to Logan Wright, the town’s stoic carpenter, her first kiss, and the one she left behind. Now, 14 years later, Logan agrees to move into her farmhouse to help, wearing plaid and a steady gaze, even though the land holds memories he’s not keen to revisit.
As they work side by side, Ali’s feelings for Logan come rushing back, and the orchard’s troubles turn increasingly bizarre. Unnatural storms rage overhead. Jewel-toned rabbits take shelter in the barn. And, worst of all, the pears are crystallizing on their branches, like some kind of fairytale gone wrong.
The deeper they dig into these mysteries, the more long-buried family secrets they uncover–and the more they begin to suspect the land itself carries a curse, one that touches any visitor who lingers too long. With the magic stirring once again, Ali must uncover the orchard’s secrets before she loses the one she loves all over again.
4. People Watching: A Fall Romance
by Hannah Bonam-Young
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER – In this sexy and emotional romance from the acclaimed author of Out of the Woods and Out on a Limb, a small-town woman’s journey to spread her wings intertwines with the arrival of an adventurous newcomer who brings out the best in her.
Prudence Welch has found solace in her introverted life in Baysville, a charming tourist town in Northern Ontario. Despite once dreaming of a life beyond its borders, she now finds contentment in her routines: working at her father’s gas station, writing poetry, and caring for her mother, who was diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer’s disease shortly after Prue’s 19th birthday. But as her mother’s condition worsens and her father’s concerns about her own future intensify, Prue feels her world slipping further out of control.
Enter Milo Kablukov, an enigmatic wanderer whose beat-up van covered with ill-advised bumper stickers rolls into town just when Prue needs a change. It’s all too easy to let go with him, and Prue can’t help but strike up an unlikely friendship with Milo, which leads to a wild and sexy agreement between them.
Milo, a man of many adventures and countless stories, is not one to settle down. However, his brother’s urgent need for help has brought him to Baysville, and now the intriguing Prue has given him more reason to stay–especially once they start spending more time together, their chemistry intensifying, and casual-sex lessons begin at Prue’s request.
But as their temporary arrangement blossoms into something deeper, Prue and Milo discover that getting out of their comfort zones is one thing … taking that leap together is something else entirely.
5. Flirty Fall Fling
by Lyra Parish
THE USA TODAY BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF FALL I WANT PRESENTS FLIRTY FALL FLING!
I read the grumpy skeptic’s fortune in the bottom of a coffee cup. The grounds say he’ll find true love, but I tell him to expect a flirty fall fling …
In my defense, he thinks I’m a fraud and made it clear he doesn’t believe in l-o-v-e. I try to forget him, but he keeps appearing wherever I go. Then he offers me five grand per hour to break a family curse he swears is real. Considering I need the money to repair the roof of my haunted manor, I help him.
Our sessions end before the autumn equinox, and instead of walking away he proposes a new deal: be each other’s until Halloween. Against my better judgment, I agree, but with strict rules.
Between sneaking around at the apple orchard and finding each other in the hay maze, I catch myself not wanting to keep him my dirty little secret. The town’s meddling matchmakers don’t know their beloved Jamie is Jameson Cross, a billionaire in hiding. Or that he’s in my bed every night. When the paparazzi track him down and the tabloids leak that he’s dating a witch, his bags are already packed for New York.
The cup said he’d find his forever, and I don’t believe it’s me. Magically, the stubborn man who’s never been able to commit to anyone longer than thirty days is determined to prove me wrong.
And I think the universe might be on his side. Pfft.
Flirty Fall Fling is the first book in a brand new season series by Lyra Parish. This book is a laugh-out-loud romance that’s set in a small touristy mountain town where our heroes and heroines fall in love when least expected. Warning: this book is a spicy secret fling rom-com with all the witchy, fall vibes. It’s time to snuggle up with a soft blanket and get cozy!
6. It’s Different This Time: A Fall Romance
by Joss Richard
NATIONAL BESTSELLER – In this sweeping, second-chance romance, a twist of fate forces two former roommates back into their beloved New York City brownstone where they must confront the events that led to their estrangement and the unresolved feelings lingering between them.
Reeling from the cancellation of her hit TV show, June Wood has nothing left to lose when a mysterious email lures her back to the New York City brownstone she once called home before she moved to Los Angeles. Thanks to a clause in the former owner’s will, she and her old roommate, Adam Harper, now own the multimillion-dollar property–or at least they will in a month, once all the paperwork is signed.
Four weeks, then June can return to her life in LA and forget about New York City and everything she left behind. Sure, the fact that June and Adam are estranged and haven’t even spoken in five years, and that their friendship didn’t exactly end on good terms might complicate matters, but this is an opportunity of a lifetime.
As the autumn leaves fall around them, through shared meals and late-night conversations, old wounds and long-buried sparks resurface, and it becomes strikingly clear: June and Adam have unfinished business. Confronted with the consequences of their choices years before, they must now navigate the minefield of their past the best way they know how: together. Second chances are always a risk, but maybe, if they get it right and are finally honest with each other and with themselves, it could be different this time.
7. The Story Between Us
by Susan May Warren
Best friend’s older brother. The almost-kiss summer. And one bestselling manuscript that’s years overdue.
Livvie Fox has spent six years being too nice for New York publishing-bringing cupcakes to the man who stole her promotion, watching senior agents take credit for the books she fought for, smiling while the bestseller list ticks past her name and lands on someone else’s.
Then her agency drops the bomb: bestselling reclusive author Ian Rivers is two years past deadline. The contract is about to die. The agency is about to take a hit it can’t afford. And if Livvie can’t fix it, she’s the one out the door.
Someone like the woman who knew him before he was Ian Rivers.
Before the bestsellers. Before the funeral. Before the night on a Maple Lake dock when she told him exactly how she felt and he just stood there, frozen, while every star in northern Minnesota watched her heart break.
Nate Rivers shouldn’t open his door.
Not for the publisher. Not for the lawyer. Not for the woman who walked off his sister’s dock seven years ago and took half the world with her.
But Livvie Fox is back in Maple Lake. With stolen soup. With his sister’s name in her mouth. With a publisher’s deadline that could cost him the only house left where Emma still feels real.
The town is gearing up for the Flannel Festival. The maples are turning. The dogs already love her. And the chapter Nate has been refusing to write for three years is suddenly demanding a co-author.
Some what-ifs deserve a second chapter.
Falling for Flannel-some stories are worth coming home for.
8. Comfort Read: A Cozy M/M Bookish Romance
by Dylan Morrison
Kit Forrest is officially the saddest man in Cedar Falls. A year after his boyfriend turned down his proposal and left town, Kit’s beloved bookstore is falling down around him. The old brick firehouse has overstuffed shelves, a resident orange cat with an attitude problem… and repairs Kit can’t begin to afford.
Sage Ballard is a hometown boy who got famous, then became a tabloid disaster, and now urgently needs a nice, ordinary boyfriend to convince one very rich investor he’s a changed man. Three months of fake dating, and Sawyer’s Books will get the cash injection it needs to survive. And it’s not like he has to actually be nice to the guy, right?
Kit thinks Sage is a rude, sunglasses-indoors diva. Sage thinks Kit is an earnest nerd who talks too much. But then something shifts. Sage starts turning up at the bookstore for no particular reason. Kit starts saving him the good armchair. And the cat–who bites everyone–won’t leave Sage alone.
By the time the first snow falls, pretending has begun to feel a bit too real. Which would be wonderful, if the whole thing weren’t built on lies. You know what they say about small towns and secrets …
9. If Not You
by Ellen O’Clover
AN INSTANT USA TODAY BESTSELLER! Five years of history. Four weeks on the road. Two rival copywriters learning love is the hardest sell of all.
Mattie French has always known how to tell a good story. It’s why she stopped at nothing to land her dream career as a copywriter at a scrappy independent advertising agency. In fact, if it weren’t for one person, Mattie would probably be the most-talked-about rising star in town.
Campbell Porter is a senior copywriter at Chicago’s slickest agency. Absurdly talented, incredibly aware of it, and the bane of Mattie’s existence since they were interns together, Campbell is always just … there, with his golden-boy smirk and the familiar gaze that never fails to taunt her across a crowded room.
Mattie would love nothing more than to avoid Campbell forever. But when their agencies are pitted against each other to compete for a luxury resort account, it’s her chance to prove she can beat him–and earn the promotion she covets.
During the month of travel required for the pitch, Mattie and Campbell are thrown together as fierce competitors and, slowly, as unexpected witnesses to each other’s hidden wounds and softest parts. As their trip barrels toward its final pitch, Mattie is forced to confront the increasingly obvious truth: the story she’s crafted for her and Campbell over the years might need a new ending.
10. The Invisible Roommate
by Timothy Janovsky
The Invisible Man meets Love is Blind in this autumnal love story.
Gerard Wells loves music but hates fame –not ideal when he’s the youngest member of the chart-topping band of brothers, We the Wells. Cracking under the spotlight, Gerard runs away to a small, remote island in the middle of the Chesapeake Bay. There, he goes by “James” and takes up residence in a crumbling Victorian house on the island’s shrinking shoreline. Little does he know, he’s not the studio apartment’s only inhabitant …
Mysterious and moody Emory Griffin never planned to be a test subject for his own groundbreaking invisibility research. He also never planned on sharing a room with a world-famous pop star, but needs must when you’re an unemployed graduate school drop-out who’s wanted by the local police.
With nowhere else to turn, the unlikely pair agree to be temporary roommates. Their forced proximity and vulnerability lead to an unexpected romantic spark. As Halloween approaches, their secrets and feelings grow harder to keep hidden, testing the strength of their newfound bond. Could this be a love that neither of them saw coming or an experiment set to go horribly wrong?
Now is the perfect time to enjoy one of these cozy (or spicy) romance books. Whether you want to try a new author like Susan May Warren, are just getting into the romance genre or want to get out of your comfort zone by reading something different, these fall romances will complete your seasonal reading list. All you need is a soft blanket, a cozy sweater and a warm fall-inspired drink.