With “cooler” weather coming our way, it’s time to set down the beach reads and cozy up with a book to put you in the fall spirit. Need a little inspiration? We asked the staff from three local bookstores for their favorite reads of the season to help you round out add to your TBR list.
Top Picks from Page and Palette in Fairhope
Over Yonder by Sean Dietrich
This delightful novel from the Sean of the South has it all — tender-hearted moments, mystery, romance, and thrilling adventure. Readers will fall in love with Woody, Caroline, and an emotional support goldfish named Gary as they head out on a grand journey through the Deep South. Filled with his trademark dry humor and compassion, Sean Dietrich highlights the good of humanity and the light that’s always just around the corner.
Slanting Toward the Sea by Lidija Hilje
Every word of this novel is as lyrically written as its cover. The splendor of the Adriatic Sea and Croatia is embedded within Lidija Hilje’s magnificent prose, making the lush setting a character itself. The raw emotions and deep regrets of Ivona and Vlaho, a couple torn apart by tradition and circumstance, come alive on each page. The complexity of the relationships in the story will have readers empathizing with not just one, but each character. A powerful, emotional story that we can’t stop thinking about.
The Correspondent by Virginia Evans
What a gem of a book! Beautifully told in letters, Virginia Evans’ The Correspondent is an unforgettable portrait of a woman’s brilliance, stubbornness, heartbreak, and regret. Through Sybil’s witty, insightful observations, we are treated to an honest, emotionally rich story of grief, loss, and love. Prepare to be inspired to write a real letter to someone weighing on your heart.
Something to Look Forward To by Fannie Flagg
Something to Look Forward To is a vibrant tapestry of joyful, surprising, and deeply human interconnected stories that celebrate the clever and sometimes eccentric ways people navigate life’s curveballs. With her signature humor and heart, beloved local author Fannie Flagg holds up a mirror to our foibles and ingenuity, reminding us how laughter, resilience, and a little creativity can help us not only cope, but prevail.
Culpability by Bruce Holsinger
Bruce Holsinger’s Culpability is an insightful, engrossing family drama that should be required reading for our times. Holsinger weaves a propulsive story about a family navigating a tragedy of their own making — their autonomous car collision kills an elderly couple, with their 17-year-old son behind the wheel. As each family member confronts their role in the crash, readers get a front-row seat to the moral responsibility and ethical dilemma of AI. Provocative, uncomfortable, and impossible to put down.
Buckeye by Patrick Ryan
This sweeping epic is the heartbreaking, heartwarming story of two Midwestern couples finding their way through decades of love, loss, tragedy, and forgiveness. Patrick Ryan is a masterful storyteller, intimately folding readers into the families’ lives from WWII to the late 20th century. Each character is beautifully drawn and authentic in their struggles with who they are expected to be. Readers will be thinking about Buckeye long after turning the last page.
Forget Me Not by Stacy Willingham
In Stacy Willingham’s simmering new page-turner, readers meet Claire Campbell, a journalist who takes a summer job at a vineyard in coastal South Carolina in an attempt to escape her traumatic past. Claire’s retreat is derailed when she becomes obsessed with an old diary, revealing various unsolved crimes and clues to her sister’s disappearance decades before. Forget Me Not is a pulse-pounding mystery about the power of sisterhood and the haunting grip of buried secrets.
The Irish Goodbye by Heather Aimee O’Neill
The Irish Goodbye has everything I want in a family drama — a cast of complex characters; forbidden affairs; a crumbling vacation house; long-buried family secrets; and a holiday weekend brimming with tension. Alongside all this, Heather Aimee O’Neill explores what it means to be a family, what we owe each other, and to ourselves.
Just Another Dead Author by Katrina Bivald
We loved this clever whodunit by the author of Readers of Broken Wheel Recommend. A group of writers gather for a conference in a French chateau and a not-so-well-liked keynote speaker ends up dead. One of the attending authors can’t resist reading, writing, or investigating a good mystery. Local law enforcement isn’t too keen on her meddling, and the stakes get even higher when an ambitious journalist attempts to solve the mystery first. A complex cast of characters all with something to hide makes for a fun, twisty read.
Angel Down by Daniel Kraus
In Angel Down, David Kraus drops readers into the mud and madness of World War I, where five soldiers stumble upon a wounded angel shot down in No Man’s Land. What follows is a haunting, one-breath descent into faith, fear, and a fragile hope of salvation. All Quiet on the Western Front meets City of Angels.
Top Picks from The Haunted Book Shop in Mobile
Halloween Pieces: A Mobile Writers Guild Anthology
“Mobile Writers Guild’s Halloween Pieces Anthology features 18 short stories and poems by local Gulf Coast authors, celebrating all things spooky from Halloween parties in Springhill to haunted portraits, ghostly pranks gone wrong, and more. It’s a treat—no tricks!—to get a taste of the excellent literary talent we have here in Mobile and surrounding areas.” – Candice Conner
Black River Orchard by Chuck Wendigo
“What if Faust was an apple farmer? A farmer finds an apple, it’s the best tasting apple you’ve ever had in your life. It grows in a bumper crop. And if you eat a lot of the apples, you start becoming what you want to be – strong, or charismatic, or making a nearsighted man have perfect vision. But becoming what you want to be, with all the brakes turned off your personality, isn’t always the safest thing for people around you. And there’s a price.” – Alex McLeod
Love’s a Witch by Tricia O’Malley
“This was such a treat to listen to! The characters are well written, the story is a great mix of tropes and fresh ideas, and the setting is super cozy. I’m excited for the rest of the series!” – Thea George
What Stalks the Deep by T. Kingfisher
“Kingfisher hands in another perfectly paced horror yarn with the ever-relatable Alex Easton. Set in the rough hills of West Virginia, this story combines people being people with the most fascinating monsters. This book will give you a really good idea of what claustrophobia feels like. Be ye warned!” – Alex McLeod
The Lies of Alma Blackwell by Amanda Glaze
“This witchy YA checks off my favorites: a fabulous Gothic seaside setting, a cinnamon roll mystery boy, cool charm-based magic system, and whoa the twists upon twists! The cover is a moody vibe that perfectly fits the story. I highly recommend this as Amanda Glaze has become one of my auto-read authors.” – Candice Conner
Top Picks from Mobile Bookseller
Remain by Nicholas Sparks and M. Night Shyamalan
Coming October 14, 2025
A one-of-a-kind novel that grapples with the supernatural mysteries of life, death, and human connection – an unprecedented collaboration between the globally bestselling author of love stories like The Notebook and the renowned writer and director of blockbuster thrillers like The Sixth Sense.
What We Can Know by Ian McEwan
What We Can Know is a literary mystery spanning centuries, beginning in 2014 when poet Francis Blundy reads a now-lost poem at a dinner honoring his wife. Over a century later, in a post-apocalyptic future, scholar Thomas Metcalfe becomes obsessed with finding the vanished poem, drawn by a longing for the richness and freedom of the past. His search uncovers a hidden story of love and betrayal that challenges everything he believed. This novel is a blend of romance, literary sleuthing, and speculative fiction, offering hope amid catastrophe.
Fall I Want by Lyra Parish
The first book in the Cozy Creek collection, Fall I Want is a small-town romantic comedy with a billionaire who falls first. Brokenhearted billionaire Zane Alexander escapes to Cozy Creek, where an unexpected connection sparks between him and a woman named Autumn. What starts as a fake relationship to ward off an ex quickly turns into something real as the pair navigate holiday events and a flirty friendship.
Wild Reverence by Rebecca Ross
Set in the world introduced in Divine Rivals, Rebecca Ross’ Wild Reverance tells the story of Matilda, a young goddess born between two warring divine clans. Matilda must hide her unique messenger magic and navigate dangerous godly politics after her mother is killed and she’s forced into exile. She crosses paths with Vincent, a mortal lord who once dreamt of her. But their reunion, tangled with power plays, fake alliances, and prophesied threats, forces Matilda to choose between protecting her magic or letting herself finally be loved.
The Land of Sweet Forever Stories and Essays by Harper Lee
Coming October 21, 2025
From one of America’s most beloved authors, a posthumous collection of newly discovered short stories and previously published essays and magazine pieces, offering a fresh perspective on the remarkable literary mind of Harper Lee. This collection comes with an introduction by Casey Cep, Harper Lee’s appointed biographer, which provides illuminating background for the stories and connects them both to Lee’s life and to her two novels.
Book of Lives: A Memoir of Sorts by Margaret Atwood
Coming November 4, 2025
Margaret Atwood, lauded author of The Handmaid’s Tale and The Testaments, tells all in her long-awaited memoir hitting stands this November. Starting with her unconventional childhood spent in the wild forest of northern Quebec, Atwood walks readers through the seminal moments of her life and the connections they have to the worlds she created on page.
Softly As I Leave You by Priscilla Presley
Priscilla Presley’s long-awaited memoir chronicles her life after divorcing Elvis and how she struggled to find her own identity outside his world. She details her life as a businesswoman and single mother and how the profound losses she experienced throughout her life helped shape her as a person.
Alchemised by SenLinYu
In this riveting dark fantasy debut, Alchemised follows Helena Marino, a once‑hopeful healer and alchemist who, after a violent war, awakens with her memory fragmented and finds herself a captive under the rule of necromancers in the city of Paladia. Her captor, the High Reeve Kaine, is tasked with probing her erased past, and as Helena struggles to reclaim her lost identity, their dangerous entanglement reveals hidden truths about the war, her place in it and the price of survival.
Not Another Swipe by Paula Lenor Webb
In Not Another Swipe, Claire Eidean reluctantly tries a dating app under a fake name and connects with the charming Ethan—who’s also hiding his real identity. Their online chemistry is undeniable, but there’s a catch: they’ve already met in real life, and it was a disaster. As mistaken identities and meddling friends collide, Claire and Ethan must navigate a second chance at love they never expected.
The Secret of Secrets by Dan Brown
In this thriller by the author of The Da Vinci Code, symbologist Robert Langdon travels to Prague to support his partner, Katherine Solomon, a noetic scientist about to reveal a groundbreaking discovery on human consciousness. When Katherine vanishes after a murder and her manuscript disappears, Langdon is thrust into a dangerous chase across Prague, London, and New York, pursued by an ancient mythic figure and a secretive organization—ultimately uncovering a shocking truth about a secret project that will forever change the way we think about the human mind.
