Nothing says autumn quite like a good book. This October promises a slate of engrossing and cozy reads to get you through shorter days and chilly nights.
Literary giants have returned with force this month. Pulitzer Prize winner Barbara Kingsolver is back with Partita, a gorgeous novel set between rural Tennessee and a college campus in Indiana that reflects on paths not taken. Natalie Baszile, the voice behind Queen Sugar and We Are Each Other’s Harvest, has a new novel, Friends and Family, that examines friendship, loyalty, and privilege.
For those looking for Halloween frights: Charlotte B. Plumb’s debut gothic romantasy, Reap & Sow, takes readers on a journey through deals with demons. Meanwhile, Columbia University English professor Eleanor Johnson’s nonfiction work Monstrous Bitch examines the frightening ways women have been demonized by the patriarchy throughout history.
Whether you’re hunkering down inside or enjoying the crisp air, here are Bustle’s 10 best books of October.
Friends and Family by Natalie Baszile
Out October 6. Longtime best friends Babs and Nora share everything with each other. When Nora, a white woman, adopts a Black son named Nathan, Babs, who is Black, becomes a go-to source for advice. When their sons are alone at home, however, an encounter with the police leaves Nathan traumatized. Babs and Nora’s responses to the incident diverge, and the aftermath threatens the fabric of their families.
Partita by Barbara Kingsolver
Out October 6. Livia Cable has quietly resigned herself to life with her dairy farmer husband in rural Tennessee. Then she gets a call from a former lover that shakes her. Flipping between her married life and her past as a conservatory student studying piano at the University of Indiana, Livia reckons with the passions of her youth, paths not taken, and the price of artistic ambition.
Bad Words by Rioghnach Robinson
Out October 6. In this debut novel, writer Parker Navarro was on his way to literary stardom when critic Selina Chan dashed his hopes with a scathing review. Four years later, he has a shot at redemption with his newest novel. When Selina’s newest review threatens his success, their feud goes viral. As their squabble takes the internet by storm, boosting book sales and magazine subscriptions alike in the process, the two take up a softer conversation in private.
Every Story Is a Love Story by Imbolo Mbue
Out October 6. For three years, Wolo has grieved his wife and unborn twins who were killed in a tragic car accident. Then a letter arrives from Victoria, the woman behind the wheel that fateful day. Reeling, and against the guidance of his friends and family, Wolo resolves to meet Victoria face-to-face.
Carrying by Samantha Josephs
Out October 6. Martha seems to have the perfect life: She is a loving wife and stepmother to a doting stepdaughter, runs their home with finesse, and prides herself on her flawless body. Martha is also trans, a secret she hides from her family, staging miscarriages to keep her husband in the dark. When a chronic illness threatens her ability to keep up the lie, she explores experimental treatments that have strange side effects — including, puzzlingly, a real pregnancy.
Monstrous Bitch by Eleanor Johnson
Out October 6. For millennia, the patriarchy has tried to rationalize its fear of women. Eleanor Johnson argues that those beliefs manifest in a literary figure she calls the “monstrous bitch,” a haunting, promiscuous, outspoken woman. From Mesopotamia to Ancient Greece to contemporary cinema, Johnson traces the trope through history to highlight how misogyny still festers today.
Looks Perfect by Jessica Siskin
Out October 6. Fashion designer Stella has the life she’s always wanted: She’s built a successful businessand accrued one million adoring followers online, and she’s about to take her brand global. Behind the scenes, though, her relationship with boyfriend Alex is crumbling, threatening the perfect image she’s worked to build. Feeling lost, she signs up for Blindr, an anonymous dating app that promises real connections. When she meets an empathetic stranger on the app who calls himself Pineapple, his honesty takes Stella down an unexpected path.
Reap & Sow by Charlotte B. Plumb
Out October 6. In the fictional English town of Blackbridge, Eda Shaw and her brothers make a living brokering deals between the local poor and a nefarious demon, Mr. Night. When a bargain goes wrong and her brothers are arrested, Eda enlists the help of Kit’rath, the only demon Mr. Night fears. As the two work together to save her family, their allyship evolves into something more.
Back Where We Started by Becca Freeman
Out October 13. When Katie and Drew fell in love in high school, they dreamed of being a power couple: her in Hollywood, him in the White House. Although her acting career soared, their relationship crumbled. For years, she put her small Pennsylvania hometown — and its painful memories of her ex — behind her. But now, keeping a promise to her sister to come home for Christmas, she crosses paths with Drew again, and again, and again. Freeman’s sophomore novel is a second-chance romance for the ages, exploring themes of regret, fame, and ambition.
A Court of Splintered Harmony by Sarah J. Maas
Out October 27. For the sixth installment of the Court of Thorns and Roses series, old foe Koschei, the death god, threatens to return. As fear strikes the Fae territories, powerful actors begin to target the human lands. With tensions mounting, the Night Court must take action. But with past betrayals and new revelations coming to light, can they find a way forward to protect the innocent?
