An Education in Malice

S.T. Gibson

There’s nothing like a dark academia novel to really get you in the cozy, spooky season spirit. If you’re looking for something sapphic, something dark, and something with high tension, An Education in Malice is what you need.

Our story takes place in New England (so, already a win for fall!) at a mysterious and ancient university full of strange ceremonies and dark secrets. Students Laura and Carmilla are thrust into an academic rivalry and pulled toward their enigmatic poetry professor, who harbors a dark obsession with Carmilla.

Lots of romance, lots of steamy scenes, and plenty of magic!

Spice level:

Soul Searching

Lyla Sage

Lyla Sage’s latest has taken the internet by storm. This one is embracing the spooky vibes, the cozy, small town feels, and the absolute spice!

Collins, our FMC, is coming back home to Sweetwater Peak to save her parents’ antique shop. But also because the ghosts she’s been able to talk to all her life have suddenly gone silent. Brady, the new-to-town upholsterer who has absolutely no secrets and no hidden reason for moving to Sweetwater Peak, offers Collins the apartment above his shop. The two get closer (maybe even pushed together by ghosts?) and those lines between friendly and more-than-friendly begin to blur.

Because I loved Sage’s Rebel Blue series, this was an instant “add to cart” for me and one I’m recommending to everyone!

Spice level:

The Dead Romantics

Ashley Poston

This is, easily, my favorite Ashley Poston novel (with Sounds Like Love as a close second!), and I recommend it to everyone who asks for something spooky, but not scary. Listen, Poston is not my favorite when it comes to spice — she’s just a bit above “closed door” — but she does magical realism like no other. Not only does The Dead Romantics feature gorgeous magical realism, but the FMC is a romance author! And she’s a romance author who speaks to the dead!

Florence Day gets stuck with a new, hardass editor (who is way too handsome), and finds herself panicked over the state of her job. But that panic fades to the background when she gets the call that her father has passed and she must head home to bury him. Quite literally. Because her family owns the town funeral home.

Returning home, Florence sees a familiar figure standing at her doorstep and realizes two things:

1. Her brand new editor is a brand new ghost
2. Her trip home just got a lot more complicated

Spice level:

The Nightmare Before Kissmas

Sarah Raasch

A Royals and Romance novel, The Nightmare Before Kissmas is just fantastic! If you want something that is over-the-top kitschy when it comes to holiday fun, this is a must-read.

Okay, first things first — our main characters are the prince of Christmas and the prince of Halloween. So, that tells you how cheesy we’re going (in the best way!). Nicholas “Coal” Clause and Hex find themselves vying for a marriage to the same person, the Easter Princess. But neither of them wants her. Instead, they want each other.

This gives can’t-keep-your-hands-off-each-other, rivals-to-lovers vibes. It starts out spicy with an initial hookup, but it turns into a slow burn that builds up deliciously as the two men duke it out.

Spice level:

If It Makes You Happy

Julie Oliver

This isn’t just a pretty fall cover, y’all. If It Makes You Happy is nostalgic, small town, and giving all the New England fall vibes! Set in Copper Run, Vermont, this novel is complete with a hot, single-dad baker and a bed-and-breakfast — it really doesn’t get cozier than that.

With a promotion waiting for her back in Seattle and an arrival date for her little sister to take over their mom’s bed-and-breakfast, Michelle doesn’t have time for anything serious. But when her next door neighbor turns out to be the town’s golden boy single dad who just happens to be an amazing baker with an uncanny ability to care for everyone around him, what’s a girl to do?

Enjoy a sweet, slow burn that feels well-paced and still just steamy enough.

Spice level:

Deja Brew

Celestine Martin

If you’re looking for a fun, paranormal romance, Deja Brew is what you need!

An ex-celebrity chef with magical cooking powers and a former reality star take center stage in this sweet story. After royally screwing up, chef Sirena Caraway makes a last-ditch wish for a second chance to fix the messes she’s made. When she wakes up the next morning, she realizes she’s getting the chance to do the entire month of October over again. What makes it even better? She runs into Gus Dearworth, former reality star with magic of his own and a deal up his sleeve.

This slow burn romance is a cozy dream for this season, complete with pumpkin patches and crisp October mornings.

Spice level:

The Devil She Knows

Alexandria Bellefleur

Sapphic demons? That’s an immediate yes from me! Super spicy? Absolutely! Deals with the Devil? Count me in!

The Devil She Knows is here just in time for Halloween and all things spooky. The story follows Samantha Cooper after quite possibly the worst day ever, one that’s resulted in the end of her relationship, and sees Samantha with nowhere to live. It couldn’t get much worse until she finds herself trapped in an elevator with Daphne, a pink-clad, bubbly, deal-making demon. Daphne offers Samantha six wishes, a way to turn her life around, in exchange for one tiny thing — her soul. Samantha sees a loophole, and she’s going to take it, but Daphne has motivations of her own and isn’t going to make it easy for her.

As the two get closer and feelings grow, Samantha’s not so sure that the life she dreamed of is the life she wanted after all, and Daphne isn’t convinced Samantha’s soul is one she wants to take. But can they outsmart the Devil himself?

Spice level: