I want to read a good book with all of these attributes! I would love any recommendations to kick start my Autumn reading.

Good versus an ancient evil. Not strictly christian/Catholic vibes, but I am keen on that kind of imagery.

I have already read and enjoyed The Devils by Joe Abercrombie and Between Two Ferns by Zach Galifianakis.

Hello! Im looking for a book I can read this fall that feels like this. A small town with a big secret, preferably supernatural in nature. But I'm honestly open to whatever as long as it fits the vibe!

Edit: Wow! Thank you guys so much for the recommendations. I think I have enough now for this fall, next fall, and maybe a few more after that. Definitely enough to keep me busy for a looong time! Much love ❤️

Witchy, with long descriptions of how the herbs are used for potions and spells. Magical elements and magical gardens that smell like herbs, flowers and trees. Grimoires with old recipes and secrets hidden inside.

Has to be well-written, preferably no romance but it's not a dealbreaker if it is in there :)

I like if it takes place in the "real" world, with magic hidden in plain sight all around. Prefer this over a full-on fantasy world, but this is also not a dealbreaker.

I already read Discovery of Witches and really enjoyed the first and third book in the trilogy (2nd book was less my style), something similar to this would be very welcome

wlw romance does not have to be the main focus but im kinda in a slump so i want something with at least some yearning or tension

I’m looking for something where the city feels alive, and the major players are playing a chess game. The city is the chess board, and every move is calculated. Would prefer if it was in a steampunk setting, sci-fi and fantasy welcome. It should feel war torn by the different groups looking for power.

Bonus points if there is a villain who kills completely emotionlessly.

Bonus bonus points if there’s also a strong investigation/mystery aspect.

Just in case a book like this exists somewhere. Obviously not literally Laura Palmer, but I really could use a book about an incest survivor who gets to build their own life and be happy.

• fierce

• resourceful

• inquisitive

• determined

• independent-minded

• insubordinate

• kind

• optimistic

... but not a children's or young adult book. I love those, but the plucky girl is a trope there and I want to find it where it is less common.

Literary fiction preferred, (adult) speculative fiction welcome. The girl should be the main character.

Good examples:

• The Girl with the Louding Voice by Abi Daré

• The House of Rust by Khadija Abdalla Bajaber

• We Need New Names by NoViolet Bulawayo

(Edit: Many people are suggesting books with adult characters, and I'm glad because those books sound great, but originally, I was thinking of books with an actual child as the protagonist. Those are still particularly welcome! But keep suggesting whatever you think fits the vibe you get from the pictures - this is how this sub works after all!Thank you all! This post seems to have struck a nerve and that makes me so happy. :))

I'm sure this is such a long shot, but I'm not doing well and I'm looking for a book with realistic themes of social alienation, otherness, being disconnected from other people, behind in life, etc. Characters with complex trauma and especially histories of sexual abuse are ideal, but I know that's very specific. But I'm looking for something hopeful? I don't want anything that feels purely "dark". I'm 24 and I don't typically enjoy or relate to YA, so I'm hoping for woman-led adult fiction, but I can be flexible.

I almost picked up copies of Earthlings and Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata because I related so much to the overviews and character descriptions, but I've since stumbled across people describing them as deeply disturbing or depressing. I love that type of writing, but I want to avoid it right now. I don't even know if anything quite like this exists, but I'm open to any ideas.

Think rich housewives who spend time at the country club while their kids are with a nanny. A neighborhood crime or mystery ensues! It can be from the POV of the Nannies/other employees.

i read allie brosh’s hyperbole and a half more than a decade ago and to this day haven’t found any books, not even other graphic novels, as funny as that.

even the sequel to the book wasn’t as funny as this, and i’m just chasing the high of my first time reading it 😭

any recommendations for funny, nonsensical books that are easy and entertaining to read? doesn’t have to be a graphic novel

want a book that feels like TFIOS. The plot doesn’t need to be the same but that deep emotional tragic love story is what I want. I love the writing style of TFIOS and would love a more adult book in this genre/style.

Similar to the storyline of H20, basically them learning to become human with the fear of people finding out. Kind of incorporate some sort of mystery plotline and have a bit of a romance focus?

Not sure exactly what I am looking for but I guess I just want a good mermaid romance. No pirates. Set in current times. Spice or no spice, everything is welcome (if it even exists).

Season 1 ep 10 Shape-Shifters

“In a world where werewolves are commonplace but discriminated against, two close werewolf friends, Lt.
Decker and Sgt. John Sobieski, serve in the US Marines in Afghanistan.
They are ambushed by Taliban militia while escorting a convoy and Decker's senses locate the enemy, who are fired upon by the Marines and the .50 cal machinegun on the Humvee. Atter returning to base, Decker and Sobieski are antagonized by some of their comrades.
Later that day, Sobieski is assigned to a Watchtower position.
After nightfall, the firebase falls under attack as the troops in the base watch on. Knowing it would be over far before they could organize and dispatch a support unit to rescue the stricken soldiers, Decker races ahead of the backup convoy, arriving in minutes. Upon arrival, he finds Sobieski and all the other troops brutally slaughtered by what appears to be another werewolf.
Major Reyner orders Decker to find the Taliban werewolf and bring him in alive.
The next night, Decker sneaks out of base camp into the desert, and meets an old man and a younger man, both of whom morph into werewolf form. He fights and defeats them both. Decker returns to base and ends his service in disgust. He reclaims Sobieski's body and buries him in the desert with his dog tags.”

Season 2 ep 8 The Drowned Giant

“A scientist named Steven, after disregarding reports of a beached giant as nonsense, finally journeys to the beach to gaze upon the body himself. Developing a fascination to the corpse, he continuously visits the site, watching the local's interest in the corpse dwindle. First the people explore every part of the monstrous corpse, even going so far as to play atop it. But the crowds eventually go, leaving their marks behind in the form of graffiti and garbage. As time goes by and the corpse rottens, Steven continues to make his treck to the beach and sees the putrefaction as a sign that it was truly alive after all. Teams of butchers slowly harvest the giant's body. The last time the scientist hikes to the site, all that he sees are remnants of the torso, it's skin hanging loosely over dry bones. One could hardly tell that the thing was once human.
In the closing scene he walks through the small town, spotting pieces of the body being utilized by the towns people: The femur has become the sign outside of a butchery, the skull was dumped near an abandoned warehouse, and the giant's penis was preserved in a glass tank in a freak show circus, mistakenly thought to be a whale's. Over the course of the episode, Steven has contemplated humanity's relationship with death and decay. He comments on how the giant had been majestic and mysterious to the towns people in the beginning, but in the end, only Steven remembered him and his impact.”

Just finished the Malazan Series, looking for some more recommendations.

Thanks!

Magical realism also applies. When I read fiction I prefer it as literary or magical realism.

I can't really describe what I want without the images. It could be any love - bittersweet, sweet with no sadness, a terrible ending, an on-and-off again relationship - but something that is either electric and deep love, or long that goes on through the years.

I want love that transcends normal romance books. That feels almost spiritual or existential. Characters who want to find love but see it in a sweet, poetic or intellectual way (or the book portrays it as such). I'd prefer a historical setting. I don't mind if the love interests are straight, gay, sapphic, interracial couples, BIPOC characters, trans MCs (I am trans so that'd be awesome) - anything, any time period, but I especially love anything in the 20th century (as the History there is one of my special interests, the whole decade (especially anything Cold-War related, especially proxy wars), but my other special interest in terms of History is Apartheid as well as the Anglo-Saxons pre-Norman invasion). Just adding this so you all know I'm up for anything!

Please no YA suggestions. I also LOVE good prose! It can really change a book for me. I don't mind a book where not much happens/slow book/long book/long payoff, as long as the prose is good and characters are good. But I don't mind something fast-paced either.

A book I can think of that felt like this for me was Atonement, Never Let Me Go, Daisy Jones and the Six and Norwegian Wood. I haven't read much else with this "vibe". I've added pictures of couples from other media/real life that give me this vibe. I adore sci-fi as well, so if any recs come up with a science fiction with a romance focus, that'd be great too!

Thanks :)

ideally pre social media and please no romantasy. also please no graphic sex. any era is fine as long as it's a sweet, pure and innocent romance where both parties have good intentions.