let’s get sbooky! | 10 spooky season books for scaredy-cats like me
Hello and 🦇👻🎃Happy Halloween🎃👻🦇, friends! I hope all is well for you and if it’s not then I hope brighter days head your way soon! In the spirit of the holiday, I’ve got a little treat for y’all today! As you may remember, I am quite the scaredy-cat who hates horror. Fortunately for me and my fellow scaredy-cats, there are still plenty of spooky (but NOT scary!!) books to read around this time of year to get in the mood for the season! And today I figured I’d recommend some of those books to y’all! Some of these are books I’ve already read, and others are still on my TBR, but all of them have some prominent element that’s just perfect for spooky season reading. So let’s jump into the recommendations!
trick or treat, lovers meetA Dark and Secret Magic by Wallis Kinney
Genre: Paranormal Romance; Contemporary Romance
Age Band: Adult
Representation Present: None
The Story: A witch must uncover the dark secrets of her family before Samhain, when she comes into her full powers…but she’ll need the help of a handsome necromancer from a rival coven.
For Fans Of: Gilmore Girls, “Linger” by The Cranberries, The Ex Hex by Erin Sterling, pumpkin carving
Rewitched by Lucy Jane Wood
Genre: Contemporary Fantasy; Cozy Fantasy; Paranormal Fantasy
Age Band: Adult
Representation Present: None
The Story: After failing her coven’s test of her magic on her 30th birthday, a witch must prove her worth to her coven (with the help of some unlikely allies) while her powers on the line
For Fans Of: “Witches” by Alice Phoebe Lou, Sabrina The Teenage Witch, The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandanna, found family
Soul Searching by Lyla Sage
Genre: Paranormal Romance; Contemporary Romance
Age Band: Adult
Representation Present: None
The Story: A psychic medium returns home to her small town, where she rents a ghost-ridden room from a new upholsterer. Could romance be in the air?
For Fans Of: Medium, “Fade Into You” by Mazzy Star, Haunted Ever After by Jen DeLuca, small town romances
Bride by Ali Hazelwood
Genre: Paranormal Romance; Contemporary Romance
Age Band: Adult
Representation Present: None
The Story: A vampyre and a werewolf from feuding clans have an arranged marriage with the goal of squashing the beef. What could go wrong?
For Fans Of: The Twilight Saga by Stephenie Meyer, The Originals, the omegaverse, romances starring women in STEM
This Ravenous Fate by Hayley Dennings
Genre: Historical Fantasy; Paranormal Fantasy
Age Band: Young Adult
Representation Present: Black American; Sapphic
The Story: In Jazz Age Harlem, a vampire and a vampire slayer who are allies-turned-enemies must investigate a brutal series of murders.
For Fans Of: The Harlem Renaissance period of history, Interview with the Vampire, “A Little Party Never Killed Nobody” by Fergie, Q-Tip, & GoonRock
A Tempest of Tea by Hafsah Faizal
Genre: Fantasy; Paranormal Fantasy; Flintlock Fantasy
Age Band: Young Adult
Representation Present: POC-coded cast (South Asian, East Asian, Black)
The Story: Arthie Casimir run an establishment which is a tearoom by day and a bloodhouse for vampires by night. But when her business is threatened, she must gather a team of unlikely outcasts topull off a heist whilst infiltrating vampire society.
For Fans Of: Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo, Peaky Blinders, Arthurian legend
Stalking Jack The Ripper by Kerri Maniscalco
Genre: Historical; Mystery; Romance
Age Band: Young Adult
Representation Present: Multiracial; South Asian
The Story: A young woman in Victorian England is taken under the wing of her uncle—an esteemed forensic scientist—as his new student and must team up with her uncle’s other, infuriatingly handsome student to figure out who Jack The Ripper really is.
For Fans Of: The Infernal Devices by Cassandra Clare, Jack The Ripper lore, Sherlock Holmes
The Devouring Gray by C.L. Herman
Genre: Contemporary Fantasy; Paranormal Fantasy
Age Band: Young Adult
Representation Present: Bisexual; Sapphic; Disability; Mental Health Disorder
The Story: When Violet returns to her mom’s hometown and discovers she’s a descendant of one of the founders, she also finds that she must confront an ancient dark power with the help of the other children of the founding families.
For Fans Of: The Vampire Diaries, “Eyes on Fire” by Blue Foundation, creepy forests full of fog
The Familiar by Leigh Bardugo
Genre: Historical Fantasy
Age Band: Adult
Representation Present: Jewish
The Story: During the Spanish Golden Age, a Jewish woman’s ability to do magic is discovered by those who want to use it for their own gain.
For Fans Of: The Alina Starkov x The Darlking ship, “Which Witch” by Florence + The Machine, villain love interests
Immortal Consequences by I.V. Marie
Genre: Contemporary Fantasy; Romantasy
Age Band: Young Adult
Representation Present: None
The Story: Students at an academy of the edge of the afterlife are tasked with being psychopomps, and the only way out is to join a competition where the winner gets the choice of joining the magical elite or crossing over to the “Other Side.”
For Fans Of: Dark academia, enemies-to-lovers, The Atlas Six by Olivie Blake
What are some of your favorite spooky season reads? What’s on your spooky season TBR this Halloween season, 2025? Do you like horror or are you more a fan of “spoopy” books instead?
change the world with me!Before anything: FREE PALESTINE!!! 🍉 For over half a century now, the Israeli government has been enacting a genocide against the Palestinian people. This is more than something that started on October 7, 2023. It’s not complicated. It’s genocide. And it’s important that we witness, raise our voices, protest, and fight against it in any way possible. Below are a list of resources to help educate yourself on Palestine, as well as to donate to aid the Palestinian people. In addition, I’ve added some Palestinian influencers and journalists you can follow to learn more from and who keep track of what’s going on. Peace to all and keep fighting the good fight!
education & information resources
donation & aid resources
PALESTINIAN JOURNALISTS & INFLUENCERS TO FOLLOW & AMPLIFY
InfoRMATION & resources
inforMATION & resources
Love this post! I’m planning on reading A Dark and Secret Magic this month, so I’m excited to see you mention it 🥰 I’ve also been meaning to read Rewitched, it looks so cozy!
I just LOVED A Dark and Secret Magic! It was so cozy and autumnal and magical—I think you’ll like it! Rewitched is one of the books I’m currently reading, and it’s also very cozy and magical, although the romance element is very much a subplot (which was unexpected for me, as I feel like it was marketed as a cozy paranormal romance). I’m glad you stopped by, Caro—I can’t wait to hear your thoughts on A Dark and Secret Magic!
I’ve had my reservations for The Familiar, but you mentioning darklina and which witch really seals the deal for me to add this book to my TBR! 😀
Oooh I’m so glad you got a good recommendation from my post! Definitely update me on your thoughts about The Familiar when you get around to it!