It's officially spooky season, so it's time to cancel your plans for one reason: There are too many good books to read.
This October is all treats, no tricks, for readers, with highly anticipated new releases from literary superstars like Elin Hilderbrand, Celeste Ng and Colleen Hoover. Plus, Divergent author Veronica Roth is back with another epic dystopian tale and Harry Potter alum Tom Felton (a.k.a. Draco Malfoy) is spilling all of the tea butterbeer about his time at Hogwarts.
So whether you're in the mood for a thriller that will make your pulse race and set the mood for Halloween or a cozy love story to prep for Christmas, we've got you covered.
Here are 14 books to check out this month:
The Little Fires Everywhere author is back with another thought-provoking novel about the bond between a mother and child. Reese Witherspoon's Book Club pick for the month about a man's journey to find his mom, a Chinese American poet who left when he was a boy, will stay with you long after you finish it. (October 4)
The best-selling authors of Wish You Were Here and She's Not There, respectively, team up to deliver the season's most unexpected suspense story. Olivia McAfee knew returning to her small hometown wouldn't be easy after her husband's dark secret was revealed, but what she didn't anticipate was her son being accused of murdering his girlfriend—or that she believes he could've done it. Yes, we're pretty sure your Kindle just downloaded this one on its own. (October 4)
Forget about an end of the summer bummer as our Nantucket queen has bestowed upon us a bounty of sun-soaked short stories that are previously unreleased prequels, sequels, and bonus chapters to some of her most beloved novels. Consider this an essential text for Hilderbrandians! (October 4)
Can a bad reputation ever truly be shed? That is what reformed rebel Genevieve West is trying to find out when she returns home for her mother's funeral after running away from the trouble she caused in her small coastal hometown...and the ex-boyfriend who was by her side for all of it. Though she tries to stay away from him, the exes keep running into each other in this swoonworthy story about the power of second chances. (October 4)
Four stints on The Bachelor franchise shows and a popular dating podcast later, Viall knows a thing or two about relationships. And he's sharing everything he's learned about red flags, toxic love and f--kboys, whether you are ready to hear it or not. (October 4)
In the latest young adult novel from The Ivies scribe, a decades-old mystery is resurfaced when the homecoming queen is killed. The new girl at school Cecelia Ellis begins her own investigation into two unsolved murders, digging up dark secrets about the town in this thriller that is the perfect spooky season read. (October 4)
What if the monsters under your bed turned out to be real? That is the haunting truth aspiring artist Haven Marbury discovers when she finds a secret handwritten manuscript while clearing out her late father's remote seaside home. Disturbingly different from his Pulitzer-winning works, Haven hopes to use it to jump-start her career. But she soon finds herself battling a haunted house, her dad's obsessed fans and otherworldly family secrets. Oh, and, you know, those real monsters we mentioned. (October 4)
Christmas came early for rom-com fans, thanks to the Always, in December author's latest epic holiday love story. Twenty years after the loss of her parents, Cassie is distraught after the death of her brother, Tom. But her sibling left her one final gift: A scavenger hunt that sends her on a globe-trotting journey that will have her reconnecting with old friends and rekindling a lost love. (October 11)
In her charming and clever debut, Golden travels back to the 1950s to tell the tale of a serial killer stalking the halls of the Pinnacle Hotel. Determined to find the murderer is the owner's agoraphobic daughter, who teams up with one of the hotel's employees (who just so happens to be her secret crush) to throw a glamorous party to investigate their suspects. But will she find herself RSVPing to her own demise? (October 11)
If Hoover writes it, people will read it—especially when it's the long-awaited follow-up to the beloved author's It Ends With Us. Prepare to hear everyone (your best friend, your mom, the person in front of you in the grocery checkout line, etc.) talking talking about this book for the rest of the year. (October 18)
If you thought your in-laws were less than ideal, you can take solace in novelist Harriet Reed's predicament when she goes to meet her fiancée's powerful family: The patriarch gives her a taped confession of a grisly murder that he has committed, along with four rules, the last one being "run for your life." (October 18)
An imprisoned woman is offered a chance at freedom after the fall of the oppressive regime she was once the poster girl for in this gripping dystopian mystery from the author of the Divergent series. The catch? She must find a missing child and her search leads her to uncover dark truths about her own family and the community she was once a part of. (October 18)
Accio, behind the scenes stories straight from everyone's favorite Slytherin! In his first memoir, Felton pulls back the cloak for us mere muggles on what life was really like as one of the cast members of the beloved Harry Potter franchise. (And yes, he writes about his friendship with Emma Watson. You're welcome, shippers!) (October 18)
Prepare for even more magical backstabbing, betrayal and belated bedtimes—at least for you—in this highly anticipated sequel to 2020's The Atlas Six. (October 25)