Put the jack-o-lanterns down and carve out some time for reading this October with this spooktacular line-up of romance reads!
Join us as we highlight notable romance book releases each month to add to your never-ending TBR pile. October’s roster of rom-com book releases includes highly anticipated sequels, a few quirky curses, a ghost story, and more than one seasonal tale of snow and snuggling.
In order of release date, here are 6 rom-com novels to read this October:
1. Make the Season Bright by Ashley Herring Blake — October 1
A seasonal read for the girls and the gays, this dating pact involving to formerly engaged best friends sets out to be the perfect mix of sweet and spicy with small town shenigans and holiday dating excurtions.
Make the Season Bright promises an alternative rom-com where the two leading ladies have a mutually devastating past together and their own career parrells, all set to the fluffy, magic backdrop of a traditional Christmas meet-cute.
Book Description: It’s been five years since Charlotte Donovan was ditched at the altar by her ex-fiancée, and she’s doing more than okay. Sure, her single mother never checks in, but she has her strings ensemble, the Rosalind Quartet, and her life in New York is a dream come true. As the holidays draw near, her ensemble mate Sloane persuades Charlotte and the rest of the quartet to spend Christmas with her family in Colorado—it is much cozier and quieter than Manhattan, and it would guarantee more practice time for the quartet’s upcoming tour.
But when Charlotte arrives, she discovers that Sloane’s sister Adele also brought a friend home—and that friend is none other than her ex, Brighton. All Brighton Fairbrook wanted was to have the holliest, jolliest Christmas—and try to forget that her band kicked her out. Instead, she’s stuck pretending like she and her ex are strangers—which proves to be difficult when Sloane and Adele’s mom signs them all up for a series of Christmas dating events.
2. Best Hex Ever by Nadia El-Fassi — October 1
Best Hex Ever follows a self-described kitchen witch with a skill set for making downright magical pastries. Sadly this witch is also plaques by a bad luck hex that has kiboshed her love life.
Spend the remainder of spooky season enjoying a romance that features a couple willing to overcome several supernatural hurdles to make their doomed relationship work. All while running a cafe and helping plan a wedding.
Book Description: As a skilled kitchen witch, Dina Whitlock knows her way around a pastry recipe. In fact, she runs her very own London café serving magic-infused pastries for her loyal customers. But only a select few friends know about her magical abilities or the hex that has plagued her love life. It’s hard to fall in love when your partner is guaranteed to have a string of bad luck the second they start to have feelings for you.
Scott Mason is back from traveling the world and is excited to begin his new job as a curator at the British Museum. After leaving London to heal from a brutal breakup two years ago, Scott only now realizes how much he missed out on. Now that his best friend’s wedding is right around the corner, Scott is determined to be the most amazing best man ever, but he doesn’t expect to be bewitched by the maid of honor, who also happens to be the owner of his new favorite café and, more surprisingly, a witch.
3. Nothing Like the Movies by Lynn Painter — October 1
The sequel to the adorable teen rom-com Better Than the Movies, Nothing Like the Movies depicts the devastating fall out of Wes and Liz’s made-for-movies relationship after they left readers to prepare for university.
However Wes is determind to win his high-school sweetheart back by giving her the rom-com grand gestures she loves so much. That said, with a new city, new friends, and new revelations, are these two former enemey-to-lovers still meant to be?
Book Description: For a few beautiful months, Wes had his dream girl: strong-willed girl-next-door Liz. But right as the two were about to set off to UCLA to start their freshman year together, tragedy struck. Wes was left dealing with the fallout, which ultimately meant losing Liz in the process.
Flash forward months and months later and Wes and Liz find themselves in college, together. In a healthier place now, Wes knows he broke Liz’s heart when he ended things, but he is determined to make her fall back in love with him. Wes knows Liz better than anyone, and he has a foolproof plan to win her back with the rom-com worthy big gestures she loves. Only…Liz will have none of it. Wes has to scheme like a rom-com hero to figure out how to see her.
4. Love You a Latke by Amanda Elliot — October 8
Fresh off the high that was Netflix’s very hot and very Jewish No One Wants This comes a holly-jolly Hanukkah read that challenges one pissed cafe owner to join forces with her rudest customer to spread the holiday cheer.
As the two galavant around Manhattan in the winter eating latkes, the fake relationship and work grudges are carefully stripped away to reveal real feelings just in time for the big Hanukkah festival.
Book Description: Snow is falling, holiday lights are twinkling, and Abby Cohen is pissed. For one thing, her most annoying customer, Seth, has been coming into her café every morning with his sunshiny attitude, determined to break down her carefully constructed emotional walls. And, as the only Jew on the tourism board of her Vermont town, Abby’s been charged with planning their fledgling Hanukkah festival. Desperate for support, Abby puts out a call for help online and discovers she was wrong about being the only Jew within a hundred miles. There’s one Seth.
As it turns out, Seth’s parents have been badgering him to bring a Nice Jewish Girlfriend home to New York City for Hanukkah, and if Abby can survive his incessant, irritatingly handsome smiles, he’ll introduce her to all the vendors she needs to make the festival a success. But over latkes, doughnuts, and winter adventures in Manhattan, Abby begins to realize that her fake boyfriend and his family might just be igniting a flame in her own guarded heart.
5. If I Stopped Haunting You by Colby Wilkens — October 15
It wouldn’t be October without a proper ghost story, but how about a steamy ghost rom-com?
When rival horror novelists Penelope and Neil wind up at the same writers retreat in a Scottish castle, they cannot help but believe the greatest horror is spending time together. Until they find themselves trapped in a spine-chilling scary story of their own.
Book Description: It’s been months since horror author Penelope Skinner threw a book at Neil Storm. But he was so infuriating, with his sparkling green eyes and his bestselling horror novels that claimed to break Native stereotypes. And now she’s a publishing pariah and hasn’t been able to write a word since. So when her friend invites her on a too-good-to-be-true writers retreat in a supposedly haunted Scottish castle, she seizes the opportunity. Of course, some things really are too good to be true.
Neil wants nothing less than to be trapped in a castle with the frustratingly adorable woman who threw a book at him. She drew blood! Worse still, she unleashed a serious case of self-doubt! Neil is terrified to write another bestselling “book without a soul,” as Pen called it. All Neil wants is to find inspiration, while completely avoiding her. But as the retreat begins, Pen and Neil are stunned to find themselves trapped in a real-life ghost story.
6. Wish I Were Here by Melissa Wiesner — October 15
A rom-com with a touch of fantasy, Wish I Were Here imagines a story where one woman’s life is erased from existance and the only man who is able to help just happens to be the useless flirt doorman of her building.
How can Catherine get her life back when the only man capable of helping her can’t even get the other tenants to resect him enough to keep their bikes out of the lobby? With a little chaos and whimsical romance, we hope.
Book Description: Everything in Catherine’s life is ordered, from her lists to her lesson plans at her new job as a college professor. Catherine’s carefully calculated life goes awry, though, when the university’s human resources system rejects her employment paperwork. Soon after, her credit card is declined. At the Social Security office, Catherine makes a shocking discovery—she’s disappeared from the government’s records, and there’s no evidence she exists at all. Catherine can’t seem to convince anyone she’s a real person, even though she’s standing right there in the flesh.
Catherine knows she can’t count on her dad, and the university is only concerned with who will teach her classes. The one person who offers to help is Luca Morelli, her attractive but aggravating doorman who spends more time flirting with Catherine’s neighbors than he does enforcing the building rules. The older residents might fall for Luca’s charm, but if he can’t keep bikes out of the lobby or put packages in their designated area, how can he help Catherine get her life back?
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What will you be reading in October? Share your picks in the comments below!
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Alicia Gilstorf
Alicia is a writer from Canada. She credits her passion for TV and film to superheroes, workplace comedies, cheesy holiday movies, and coming-of-age stories.
