An Overly Aggressive Fall Book Preview
...a very chill 52 books
I think I’ve mentioned this before, but I truly believe that shopping for books and actually reading them are two entirely different hobbies — and lucky for my library/bad for my wallet, I enjoy shopping for books almost as much as I do reading them.
In my She’s Full of Lit days, I used to do a quarterly book preview, and it was one of my favorite posts to research and write, so I figured I would bring it over to Substack for all of you lovely readers! These are the books that I am most looking forward to that are coming out September - November, and like everything about enjoying literature, it’s extremely subjective. There are some authors with big books coming out this fall that I honestly have no interest in reading, and there is probably more romance and fantasy than you’ll see on any traditional book preview.
I hope that this can be a resource for you and that you find some fun new reads for your TBR. I know I have — and please let me know if there’s anything you think I should add to mine in the comments here or in the DMs.
I am afraid my expectations may be too high with this one, blurbed as “a stunning second novel from a writer who set the bar very high with her first!”, but it wouldn’t be a book preview if I didn’t go in with the highest of high hopes about a few books. I read and enjoyed Etaf Rum’s first book, and I am thrilled to read her follow-up, especially as there may be a family curse involved. (September 5)
When I went to add the link to the Bookshop page for The Fraud, the main categories were “Sagas, Historical, Literary, Biographical,” and honestly, who doesn’t love all of those things? I have carted around a copy of White Tooth through at least three moves, but have never actually read a word of it because…I’m afraid it can’t live up to my sky-high expectations of Zadie Smith’s brilliance. This may be the book that changes that because I can’t resist anything about this book, a fiction set around the “legal trial that divided Victorian England.” Obviously, will report back. (September 5)
Sing, Unburied, Sing is one of those books that I don’t think I will ever forget reading, and just from the blurb, I can tell that Jesmyn Ward’s newest will be the same. This novel is a reimagining of American slavery, told through the journey of a female slave sold south by the white enslaver that fathered her. This is one of those books that I know will be “hard-but-good” and I cannot wait to emotionally flay myself open with this one. (October 24)
Yes, yes, I know this technically came out the last week of August, but I couldn’t not include it on this list. Angie Kim is one of my immediate add-to-cart authors, and I have been waiting for this book to be released since she teased it as part of her book tour for Miracle Creek. (August 29)
The Exchange: After the Firm by John Grisham (Bookshop | Amazon)
The Firm is the first “grown up” book I remember reading (likely way too young - I think I was in fifth grade), and I have been a loyal John Grisham fan since then. While his recent books have veered away from the legal thrillers that I have loved since childhood, I am so excited to see how he returns to his roots in resisting Mitch McDeere’s life fifteen years after he left Memphis. Literally cannot wait. (October 14)
I read and enjoyed The Maid earlier this year — I love a good British murder mystery, probably based on too much Nancy Atherton during my childhood — and I am excited to see what shenanigans Molly the maid gets into at the Regency Grand Hotel this time. Feels like a perfect read for a rainy fall weekend, doesn’t it? (November 28)
The Shades of Magic is a series that I read and devoured as it came out years ago, and while I have stuck with V.E. Schwab as an author since then, I don’t think anything she’s written has reached that level of devotion (from me, at least!). I cannot wait to return to her four different Londons and meet this mysterious new antari (and if you don’t know what I’m talking about, but enjoy dark magic and parallel worlds, please, please, please trust me — read the original trilogy).
Maria Bamford is a comedian I’ve come to know over the last few years, and I find her particular brand of humor both weird and refreshing. When I saw that she had written a book, I was excited; when I saw it was a book about her trying out a variety of cults (or cult-like programs), I was thrilled. Cannot wait to read about her quest to belong, even if it is with Richard Simmons and Dale Carnegie.
Like many white women around my age, I have a lot of unlearning to do about racial history in the United States, and I’ve done a lot of reading on that subject over the past few years. With that said, I cannot wait to read this “unapologetically provocative” retelling of American history that places Black people appropriately in the middle of everything — because they were. (September 19)
Given my gushing about Fourth Wing in many fora these last few months, the sequel should not come as a surprise. I cannot wait to see what happens for Violet and Xaden, and their dragons (duh), especially given the big twist at the end of Book 1. I’m even planning to re-listen in the week leading up to the release, just so I am fully immersed in this world. (November 7)
She’s so lucky, she’s a star — when I heard about this book from Britney, the lyrics of “Lucky” immediately popped into my head. I think we’ll learn how prescient that song really was when we get to hear Britney’s story from her —the good, the bad, and the Las Vegas elopements of it all. I actually preordered this one on audio, because I want to hear her story in her voice (I did this with Jessica Simpson’s memoir, and it was amazing), so if you are at all a fan of a good podcast/audiobook walk, this would likely be a good contender for that. (October 24)
Beth O’Leary has been an automatic “add-to-cart” author for me ever since I read The Flatshare many summers ago; while some of her more recent efforts haven’t quite recaptured that magic for me, I have high hopes for her newest. Enemies-to-lovers holiday romance with a mystery involved? Obviously added to cart. (September 26)
I read (maybe actually devoured is the right term) all of the books in The Inheritance Games trilogy, and even if it strained credulity at the end of the series, I still loved them. I can’t resist retuning to this world to get to know these siblings better, and honestly, I thought the Hawthorne boys were the most interesting part of the original book. I cannot wait to see this story continue, even if I am constantly sad I wasn’t chosen by a billionaire to be his heir randomly. (August 29)
Rich people behaving badly is a favorite genre of mine, and I find at least one in this category to read every season. This fall, I’m looking forward to Lauren Munoz’s debut, where a decadent flapper themed party ends in murder! A little bit Great Gatsby, a little bit Agatha Christie, and a whole lot of over the top. (September 5)
I blame a childhood fondness for Singing in the Rain and White Christmas for an adult love of books that capture the absurdity of early Hollywood studio life, so a murder mystery set in 1943 Hollywood — with a female protagonist — is an obvious “add to TBR” for me. (November 7)
I grabbed the first of the Midsolar Murders (a great play on words, tbh) from the library on a whim earlier this summer, and I came to love amateur detective Mallory Viridian. I can’t wait to see her next adventure, because I also feel like fleeing into space to avoid responsibilities is a normal course of action. (November 7)
Any book description that kicks off with “for fans of Practical Magic and Gilmore Girls” is speaking my language (I am an elder millennial, after all), and so I couldn't resist adding this debut novel to my fall TBR. It wouldn’t be spooky season with a witchy novel, and I’m intrigued by the premise of this one. (September 19)
There is very little in this world I love more than a modern take on a regency romance, and for me Virginia Heath’s are close to the top (see also: Sophie Irwin, Martha Waters). This is the third (and final) in the series about the Merriwell sisters, and beyond being clever and a bit swoony, how can I resist a love story between two main characters named Venus and Galahad? (November 7)
Family mystery and romance set around gelato in New York City? I don’t need to hear anything else to add this to my TBR, but I will also add that I’m excited to see another holiday novel from Josie Silver, who does them so well. (October 3)
This is one of those books that I knew I wanted to read when I saw the description, but I’m not fully sure I can articulate why. It may be because I enjoy a workplace comedy, it could be because I have a soft spot for “self-proclaimed losers,” or it could be because I also hate late-stage capitalism. Can’t wait to read this debut that brings that, plus some extra awkwardness, together. (October 17)
Sophie Cousens’ newest feels like a mash up of Big, 13 Going on 30, and The Devil Wears Prada, and I am here for it. Who among us hasn’t wished we can skip ahead in life to the “good part” — and who wouldn’t be freaked out if that actually happened? I would, for sure — but I think I’d want to go on the journey to get there. I can’t wait to see what happens here; and side note, where can I find a wishing machine? (November 7)
I have been a loyal follower of Becca’s podcast Bad on Paper for years, and after hearing about her time writing this book, I obviously need to read it (don’t worry, I will preorder Olivia’s too!). She and I have very similar book taste, so I can’t imagine not enjoying her debut novel about friends and found family. (September 26)
Any book that is named a Most Anticipated Book of the Year from multiple venues I trust is going to get a second look from me, and after reading the description of C Pam Zhang’s newest, I am happy to say it is also one of my most anticipated of the year. I know the New York Times was just waiting for my endorsement. I will leave you with the sentence that added it to the top of my TBR: “It is a love letter to food, to wild delight, and to the transformative power of a woman embracing her own appetite.” (September 26)
While I often say I don’t like to scare myself on purpose, I do listen to a fair amount of true crime podcasts and read quite a few thrillers (I contain multitudes!) — so naturally, when I saw this books that blends “elements of psychological suspense and true crime,” I was intrigued. How can I resist the lure of a (fictional) All-American Sex Killer? (September 19)
I subscribe to Heather Cox Richardson’s Substack Letter from an American — and I have learned so much from it — so I was thrilled to see that she’s written a book. One thing about me is that I love history, and while I have a fondness for the British Isles, I’ve recently been turning my attention closer to home. Plus, I love anything that will help me be calm and optimistic about the future of this country because I am often…not. (September 26)
I have been chronically online for longer than I care to admit, and so I have seen influencer culture from the very beginning. Like many, I have a love/hate relationship with some of the people I follow online, and I also have a love/hate relationship with reading about fictional people that exist online. I have high hopes for this debut about ten teen influencers that go to the Caribbean to film a reality show, where only nine come back alive. Dun dun dun. (October 31).
Speaking of being chronically online — this debut novel also tells the dark story of what can happen in our era of online cancel culture. Our main character is all set to marry the love of her life, when all of a sudden her fiancé’s name ends up on “The List,” a viral social media post about men behaving badly. (October 3)
I read — and still think about — Lola Akinmade Åkerström’s In Every Mirror She’s Black when it was first released, and I was so excited to see that her second novel is out so soon after her first. This one focuses on the lives of three Black women in Sweden, which on the surface is one of the most egalitarian places in the world — but I’m guessing we will go below the surface to find out that’s not really true. (October 24)
Glossy: Ambition, Beauty, and the Inside Story of Emily Weiss’s Glossier by Marisa Meltzer (Bookshop | Amazon)
I read (and adored) This is Big by Marisa Meltzer when it was released, and I cannot wait to see her turn her wit and incisive reporting to what happened behind the scenes at Glossier. While I was never a Boy Brow girl, no one who grew up on Instagram like I did could escape the Glossier aesthetic, and watching it implode was fascinating. Can’t wait to learn all of the behind the scenes details — will we learn what happened? I hope so. (September 12)
As you can see from other parts of this list, I love witches, and I love a Regency-adjacent read, so someone writing a book turning my least favorite Bennet sister into a witch — absolutely yes! I cannot wait to read this reinterpretation, and I’m also curious as to how it will all go. (October 3)
Sonali Dev’s Jane Austen series (see here!) is one of my favorite interpretation of Miss Austen's works — love the Bollywood twist — and so I was excited to see she has a new novel coming out this fall, even if it’s not taking us back to the 19th century. However, this work — premised as “three women navigating ugly truths and safe lies” — is sure to bring out the same sort of happy-ending feelings as the other books by her I’ve read. (September 26)
Kate Quinn is another automatic “add to TBR” author for me, and while I adore her World War II novels, I am thrilled to see her turn her impeccable talents to another time period — and to collaborate with another author whose works I have read and loved. How could I not want to read about “the intertwined lives of two wronged women, spanning from the chaos of the San Fransisco earthquake to the glittering palaces of Versailles”? (I’m finding conflicting release dates on this so stand by)
When I first saw the title of this book, my immediate thought was obviously Carole King and the Gilmore Girls theme song, and one might think I would be disappointed when I found out this wasn’t a tell all by Amy Sherman-Palladino. Don’t worry, when I saw the real description, I wasn’t — this is a novel based on the Jane Collective and the brave women who ran it in the early 1970s, which feels especially timely in today’s political environment. (September 19)
Egypt seems so adventurous and mysterious — maybe it’s the pharaoh’s legacy, maybe it’s the pop culture that has emerged around them — and so I am surprised that I haven’t read more books set in Egypt. That said, I am thrilled to find this new release (in a duology — so be prepared!) that combines an enemies-to-lovers romance with a race across the continent after a mysterious death in the family. (October 31)
If you’ve read this far (I love you), you know that I am a sucker for a good book blurb — and so this debut novel being described as “Nora Ephron for Gen Z” is something that really appeals to me. I have never had a coworker enemies-to-lovers romance, nor have I ever seen one outside of fiction, but damn, if I don’t love reading them. (October 10)
It’s bad timing that I’m ending this list on a book that really doesn’t feel like it can be easily described, but that’s how the cookie crumbles sometimes. From what I can understand, there’s a magical cactus that kicks off a journey for our main character, who has fled her normal life to get a respite from grief. I’m sure this will be weird and profound, like Melissa Broder’s earlier books, and I hope that I find myself in the right mood to read it soon. (October 3)
And because I have absolutely no chill, the books that almost made it to the list and will still probably get read at some point:
The Rosewood Hunt by Mackenzie Reed (Bookshop | Amazon) | The Graham Effect by Elle Kennedy (Bookshop | Amazon) | The Sisterhood: The Secret History of Women at the CIA by Liza Mundy (Bookshop | Amazon) | Midnight at the Christmas Bookshop by Jenny Colgan (Bookshop | Amazon) | A Beautiful Rival by Gill Paul (Bookshop | Amazon) | Playing the Witch Card by K.J. Dell’Antonia (Bookshop | Amazon) | Enchanted to Meet You by Meg Cabot (Bookshop | Amazon) | The Second Chance Hotel by Sierra Godfrey (Bookshop | Amazon) | The Six: The Untold Story of the First Women Astronauts by Loren Grush (Bookshop | Amazon) | Faking Christmas by Kerry Winfrey (Bookshop | Amazon) | Check and Mate by Ali Hazelwood (Bookshop | Amazon) | Starling House by Alix E. Harrow (Bookshop | Amazon) | The Burnout by Sophie Kinsella (Bookshop | Amazon) | Friends Don’t Fall in Love by Erin Hahn (Bookshop | Amazon) | Better Hate than Never by Chloe Liese (Bookshop | Amazon) | Main Character Energy by Jamie Varon (Bookshop | Amazon)
If you click on one of the links in this article and make a purchase, TIRML may receive a small commission. It doesn’t add anything to your price — I promise! Thanks so much for your support.
I've missed your previews, thank you for this!! Just added so many books to my Libby holds