We earn a commission for products purchased through some links in this article.
What your favourite author wants you to read next
These expert reviews will see you through cosy season
Now that autumn is officially here, we're spending even more time on the sofa, and longing for 9pm bedtimes, so we can get cosy, tea in hand, ready to dive into our next read. And while we're forever adding to TBR list, it always helps to have reading recommendations from the people who know books best, aka authors.
To celebrate the cosy season we asked six of our favourite writers, who all have recently released new books this month, to share with us the must-read novels they turn to when the leaves change. From a spooky graphic novel, to a hauntingly moving story about school, here's what some of our favourite authors recommend you pick up this month.
"A continuation of the Discovery of Witches series, this peeks into the lives of a married witch and a vampire and their children, whose powers are due to be assessed by a world covenant of magical creatures. Harkness can world-build like no one else, and effortlessly balance sorcery with strong characters and dialogue that you leave believing the magical world might just be real." - Jodi Picoult
"If Autumn is for cooling down, this book is for heating you right back up. Maybe I’m outing myself here, but this book plays right into my desires: work crushes, older men, being the bright young thing in your mid-20s… It’s also the first book I’ve read with references to cultural moments that I’ve lived through (any author who mentions Caroline Polachek is a friend of mine.)" - Lucy Blakiston
Make it Make Sense by Lucy Blakiston and Bel Hawkins is out now
"In this graphic novel, you are a repairman who shows up to an office building to find it eerily empty and weird horrors wait around every Backrooms-esque corner. Much like a point-and-click video game, this is a book with choices and puzzles galore. It's one of the scariest books I’ve ever read, so if you’re looking for a terrifying Halloween read, this is it." - Alice Oseman
"This is the modern classic that everyone must read. I'm a sucker for nostalgic Hollywood vibes and the dramas and emotional rollercoasters that characters such as these take you on. Hold tight for lots of uppers, and lots of downers and be ready to fall in love with some 'dahhlings' that you'll never forget." - Dawn O'Porter
Paperback Five Quarters Of The Orange (Paragon Softcover Large Print Books)
"Immerse yourself in the world of Framboise, a famous cook from the Loire Valley, as she reminisces about her time as a crêperie owner during the Second World War. Filled with food memories, I salivated reading about some of my favourite French dishes, as well as trying to imagine what life was like during occupation." - Manon Lagrève
Chez Manon: Simple Recipes From A French Home Kitchen by Manon Lagrève is out now
"It’s decades since I was a student, but autumn makes me think of going back to school. The best fiction set at a school is Kazuo Ishiguro’s Never Let Me Go. As it’s also one of the saddest books ever written, I’d recommend David Lodge’s wry comic novels of academia—Changing Places, Small World, and Nice Work—as a palate cleanser." - Rumaan Alam
The best new novels are steamy novels
The best books coming out in 2026
The best books of 2025
Read an extract of R.F. Kuang's Katabasis novel
