Young Adult Reads to Keep You Spellbound This Fall

Fall feels like the perfect time to sink into a YA book—whether it’s a magical fantasy, a feminist retelling, or a spooky ghost story that keeps you up at night. For the 2025 Fall Reading Guide, I’ve pulled together three standouts that I couldn’t stop thinking about. Each one of these YA books offers unforgettable characters, immersive worldbuilding, and just the right mix of thrills and emotions to carry you through the season.

Top 3 YA Books

Thorn Season by Kiera Azar

Kiera Azar’s Thorn Season is a lush debut that hooked me with its lyrical writing and high stakes. Alissa Paine has grown up hiding a dangerous truth—she’s a Wielder of magic in a kingdom where being one could get her killed. When she’s kidnapped by other Wielders during her society’s Rose Season, she’s thrust into a political game that forces her to confront her identity and loyalties. I picked this book because it’s both intimate and sweeping, balancing romance, intrigue, and questions of belonging. For readers who loved Serpent & Dove or Throne of Glass, this story of resilience and betrayal felt heart-wrenching and beautiful all at once.

You can get a copy on Amazon.

Daughter of the Underworld by Katharine Corr & Elizabeth Corr

If you love mythology with a feminist edge, Daughter of the Underworld is an absolute must-read. Deina, bound by forty years of servitude to the House of Hades, dreams of freedom for herself and her best friend. When Orpheus offers a chance to win release by venturing into the Underworld to retrieve Eurydice, she accepts—but the Orpheus she meets is far from the tortured artist of legend. Deina faces cruelty, impossible trials, and a dangerous romance while discovering her own strength. I included this book because it reimagines a familiar myth with grit and empowerment, and I think fans of Lore Olympus and Circe will devour it. It left me cheering for Deina’s courage long after I turned the last page.

You can get a copy on Amazon.

The House Saphir by Marissa Meyer

Marissa Meyer’s The House Saphir is a deliciously eerie YA reimagining of Bluebeard, and it gave me the perfect spooky chills for autumn. Mallory Fontaine and her sister Anaïs, descendants of witches, are hired to help exorcise the ghost of a murderous ancestor at a crumbling estate. But while they sell charms and spells, only Mallory has the true gift of speaking with ghosts. As blood sacrifices mount and romance sparks with Count Armand Saphir, Mallory has to face horrors that go far beyond restless spirits. I chose this one because it combines folklore, supernatural suspense, and just the right amount of romance—perfect for fans of House of Salt and Sorrows or Gallant. It had me turning pages with my heart in my throat.

You can get a copy on Amazon.

Why These YA Picks Are Perfect for Fall

This year’s YA fall reading guide is packed with stories of identity, bravery, and facing the monsters—both magical and human—that shape us. From Alissa’s dangerous secret in Thorn Season, to Deina’s mythic fight for freedom in Daughter of the Underworld, to Mallory’s eerie battle against a ghostly curse in The House Saphir, each of these books delivers an autumn reading experience that’s immersive, emotional, and unforgettable.