Top Ten Tuesday: Book Covers That Give Off Fall Vibes

This was a really fun list to pull together and left with a brand new stack of books to add to my TBR! And while you can’t see all of the covers easily below, I promise that these are the perfect way to spend an autumn afternoon with your drink of choice in hand, pumpkin spice latte, anyone? I hope your fall is starting off on a good foot, and I’m excited to see the leaves start to change and get that little crisp in the air! (Meanwhile, it was almost 90 degrees today as I type this…)

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Book Covers That Give Off Fall Vibes

Awkward October by Teresa Yea

My name is Theodora Dy. I’m single and live with my parents. I may be existing, but I sure as hell am not thriving. I want more out of life before resigning myself to decrepit spinsterhood. And I want adventures and mistakes, balmy summer nights and stirring rooftop conversations. I want a beautiful romance. Like something ripped straight out of the pages of The Witch of Blackbird Pond, my favorite book of all time. But that’s all wishful thinking until I commit to a dramatic change.

So I quit my job. Purchased a cheap old house sight unseen and booked a one-way ticket to Connecticut where autumn is in full swing and Halloween is just around the corner. I may be living my best life, but I’m in over my head. My fixer upper is falling apart and my big stupid gesture is sucking my bank account dry. Fortunately, my grumpy neighbor, Carter, knows a thing or two about repairing ‘money pits’ (his words, not mine). He’s perfectly practical in every way. I’m a hopeless romantic.

We’re as opposite as two people can be. But unbeknownst to him or me… In October any wonderful unexpected thing might be possible. Even the beginning of a beautiful romance.

Fall I Want by Lyra Parish

Autumn

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.

Given Our History by Kristyn JJ Miller

Assistant professor Clara Fernsby is nothing if not driven. She’s wanted to teach history since she was fourteen, and she hasn’t let anything stand in her way―not even the love of her life. And it all paid off in the end, because she landed a well-paid position at a private liberal arts college fresh out of grad school, and this year, she’s finally up for tenure.

When Theodore Harrison is brought on for the fall semester as a visiting scholar, it’s an unexpected blast from Clara’s past. She hasn’t spoken to Teddy since rejecting him over a phone call ten years ago. Now that he’s here, she’s reminded of their time together at every turn: autumns spent at a sleepaway camp in the Blue Ridge Mountains, trading battered history books and burned CDs with the quiet, dark-haired boy she once fell in love with.

That boy might’ve been her best friend, but the man teaching HIST-322 is a total stranger―or so she thinks. As they spend evenings working on a shared project and brainstorming over drinks at a college bar, Clara realizes she’s at risk of falling all over again. Given their history, she knows there’s every chance he’s not interested. But history’s all down to interpretation, and this time around, she’s got no intentions of repeating it.

The Heartbreak Hotel by Ellen O’Clover

Louisa Walsh emerged from a tumultuous childhood with a degree in counseling, a wealthy boyfriend, and her sunny outlook on life mostly intact. But that optimism is tested when she’s dumped and left unable to afford rent on their gorgeous house in the mountains of Colorado. Even with her life in disarray, Lou knows losing the one stable place she’s ever called home is not an option.

Her plan: ask her reclusive landlord, Henry Rhodes, to let her stay for free in exchange for renting out the house’s many rooms as a bed-and-breakfast. She’s shocked when he agrees to her terms, and even more surprised to discover Henry is a handsome thirtysomething veterinarian with silver at his temples and sadness in his eyes. One who does not take it well when Lou starts marketing her B and B as a retreat for the recently heartbroken.

But as the Comeback Inn opens its doors to its weary, hopeful guests, Lou and Henry find themselves dancing around both their undeniable connection and the closely held secrets that threaten to topple this fragile new start. A chance at love, here, could be too close to home…or it could be exactly where their hearts finally heal.

If It Makes You Happy by Julie Olivia

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.

Kindling by Bonnie Woods

A cosy autumnal retreat in the Scottish Highlands is the perfect escape for city girl, Harper… Until she is stranded in the forest with nowhere to stay.

Fraser, a gruff local woodcutter, reluctantly offers her his lumberjack’s cabin on one condition – she mustn’t distract him from his duties.

But Fraser is finding his beautiful guest annoyingly hard to ignore. And the way he chops firewood – dogged, powerful and precise – is distracting Harper too. Soon, as the flame-red leaves fall overhead, Harper and Fraser are both forced to wonder: Am I falling faster?

A Pumpkin and a Patch by Jennifer Peel

Every person has that one thing they’re known for, and it doesn’t matter what you do, that one thing—whether good or bad—follows you around like a bloodhound for the rest of your life. For me it’s a story I wrote when I was fifteen. Forever more I will be known as the Reece the Rogue Pirate girl, instead of Josie Peterson. Why couldn’t I be known for all the cute children’s stories I’ve written about my family’s pumpkin patch?

Tragically, the torrid story I wrote as a teen was based on a real person, Reece Cavanaugh. And guess what? He grew up to be a pirate—okay, lawyer. Same thing. To make matters worse, the man is representing my ex-fiancé who wants to steal my treasure, aka engagement ring. If that wasn’t the icing on the cake, Reece has an adorable daughter who happens to be my new student. That’s right, I must now have actual conversations with him after avoiding him for half my life, even by hiding behind banana displays when needed.

But the more I get to know Reece—the real version, not the imaginary one who ravishes me on sandy beaches—I can’t help but wish we could roll around in the sand together. There’s a problem though, the school I work for frowns upon relationships between parents and teachers. And it’s pumpkin season, which means all my free time is spent on the family farm. But when he kisses me, I can’t help wanting to break all the rules and get tangled up in the barn. The burning question is, am I brave enough to make my story a reality or will it be another bad ending?

Pumpkin Spice and Not So Nice by Becky Monson

If I were ever to write a memoir, it would be titled, Jenna Peterson’s Guide to Dating Emotionally Unavailable Men. I’m like a professional at it. I am so good, I can take any dysfunctional man and turn him into Prince Charming, just in time for him to dump me and then go on to marry the next woman he dates. I’m about ready to give up on loving real men and focus on lusting over fictional men in the Turkish dramas I can’t stop devouring.

But then . . . I find a mysterious fifty-dollar bill with a handwritten note on it that was donated to my family’s pumpkin patch by accident. And wouldn’t you know it, the mystery man it belongs to is emotionally unavailable, albeit freakishly attractive. I keep telling myself to walk away, but there’s something about Aidan St. Claire that makes me want to unravel all his secrets. All I know is he sure can heat up the cozy fall nights. I can’t help but think that maybe this time I’ll get to keep Prince Charming for myself.

See You Next Fall by Annabelle McCormack

For four years, Elle Winnick and Quinn Camden have shared a standing date as friends—no expectations, no strings attached. After all, a romantic relationship between them seems impossible. Elle’s roots are firmly planted in Tennessee, tethered to her life and family, while her trust in love remains fragile after a devastating heartbreak. Meanwhile, Quinn is immersed in managing his father’s company and preparing to inherit his family’s ancestral estate in England—a destiny predetermined since his childhood.

The rules between them are crystal clear:

Sex is off the table.
Honesty is paramount.
Meet the first week of October, every year.

But what happens when their connection runs deeper than friendship, when every encounter stirs the embers of love? Are they willing to risk breaking the “rules,” knowing that it could change everything they’ve known?

You, Again by Kate Goldbeck

Can they stop hating each other long enough to fall in love?

When Ari and Josh first meet, the wrong kind of sparks fly. They hate each other. Instantly.

A free-spirited, struggling comedian who likes to keep things casual, Ari sublets, takes gigs, and she never sleeps over after hooking up. Born-and-bred Manhattanite Josh has ambitious plans: Take the culinary world by storm, find The One, and make her breakfast in his spotless kitchen. They have absolutely nothing in common . . . except that they happen to be sleeping with the same woman.

Ari and Josh never expect their paths to cross again. But years later, as they’re both reeling from ego-bruising breakups, a chance encounter leads to a surprising connection: friendship. Turns out, spending time with your former nemesis is fun when you’re too sad to hate each other—and too sad for hate sex.

As friends-without-benefits, they find comfort in late-night Netflix binges, swiping through each other’s online dating profiles, and bickering across boroughs. It’s better than romance. Until one night, the unspoken boundaries of their platonic relationship begin to blur. . . .

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together.