The smell of pumpkin in the air, and the cold breeze blowing orange leaves off the sidewalk. The sound of rain pattering against the windows and the crunching of leaves outside. Wrapped in a big comfy sweater and your favorite blanket, you cuddle up in your favorite spot and grab a book, ready to be sent off to a world that matches the current atmosphere you’re in. Here are some of my book recommendations that are the perfect fall reads.

The first book on the list is Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo. This Paranormal/Thriller book follows ghost-seeing Galaxy Stern and her mission to observe the secret societies at Yale University in New Haven. Each society specializes in a specific magic archetype: transformation, illusion and prophecy. Set in the fall and winter at Yale, the setting of the novel gives off the perfect dark academia aesthetic. With mysterious murders and dark, cryptic tombs, this book may be scary for some.

Galaxy’s dark past threatens to reveal secrets that could disrupt the life she has built. Set at 458 pages, this book is somewhat lengthy, but with an engaging plot, it’s fast paced. This book can be bought at stores like Barnes and Noble and Amazon. For readers interested in the dark, gothic side of universities, Ninth House is the perfect read for you. Readers should check trigger warnings for this book as it mentions heavy topics like sexual assault, murder, suicide and drugs.

Continuing with the dark academia aesthetic, A Deadly Education by Naomi Novik follows Galadriel Higgins, a dark sorceress at Scholomance, a dangerous school for wizards and witches, trying to make it through “graduation,” a big battle with dark magical creatures where only the survivors escape the school. Struggling with controlling her dark urge to use her magical abilities, Galadriel uses dark humor to make light of her situation. Partnering up with Orion, the golden boy of the school, they work together to defeat evil, magical beings.

With danger at every turn, the school is crawling with dark creatures and Galadriel, one of the only people not corrupted by malia, dark magic, is trying everything to stay alive. This book is a combination between the School of Good vs Evil and Harry Potter. This book is perfect to read during the fall because of its eerie setting and ties to the dark magical world. For this book readers should be sure to check trigger warnings.

If We Were Villains by M.L Rio is a Shakespere inspired book about a group of theater friends. Taking on the dark messages of Shakespere plays, each has a character role in the upcoming play: hero, villain, princess, and knight. Their roles in the play attribute to their character in real life. However, the play takes on a sinister plot when one of the friends turns up dead. The twisted script causes friends to betray one another and question their trust. My favorite part about this book was the fact it was written in a play-like format with each paragraph being headed with a script title such as Act 2.

However, there is no dialogue and stage direction in script style which makes it feel more like a book. For fans of Edgar Allen Poe and dark Shakespeare tales, this book is definitely for you. The mystery is intricate and not as easily predictable as other mystery books which makes it a better challenge for the reader. This book can be bought at most book selling stores, and its beautiful cover makes it a wonderful addition to your bookshelf.

Wrapping up this fall-tastic list is the classic 1897 novel Dracula by Bram Stoker. Appealing to the Halloween side of fall, Dracula is a gothic classic about a vampire from Transylvania. This gothic horror has the eerie vibes to get anyone into the Halloween spirit. Count Dracula is on a mysterious mission throughout Europe, and characters such as Jonathan Harker, Van Helsing and Mina Murray, have to team up to kill the all powerful vampire.

The spooky imagery and haunting tales of Dracula will entice you to figure out the mystery and save the people of Europe. The epistolary style of writing creates an intertwining storyline that brings all the characters together. This book can be bought at any store selling books and has a multitude of different covers and styles to choose from.

From gothic horror to magical schools, these wonderful books are perfect additions to take with you to parks and cozy libraries to enjoy the fall season.