Get Ready for Fall With These 7 LGBTQIA Books: Every Step She Takes, Girl Next Door, and more

With Fall right around the corner, it is time to get cozy, pick up a new LGBTQIA book, and make sure you reach your reading goal for 2025. If that is also your mindset, we have plenty of new stories for the next four months that will help you achieve that goal.

If you have read the books in our LGBTQIA picks for August, we have 7 new titles to add to your TBR list. Alison Cochrun, Ann Rose, and Rachel Meredith are among the authors we highlight this month.

In order of release date, here are 7 LGBTQIA books we are looking forward to reading this September:

1. Every Step She Takes by Alison Cochrun – September 2

In Every Step She Takes, Sadie takes her injured sister’s place on a tour along El Camino de Santiago. This opportunity comes at a perfect time as Sadie needs to escape her routine and deal with a gay panic that has led her to question her life as she knows it. On the plane, Sadie gets drunk and confesses her secrets to Mal, the woman sitting next to her. All of this before she discovers Mal is going on the same tour, and that the tour is solely for queer women.

As amused as Mal is by Sadie and as dedicated as she is to make sure Sadie has the queer adolescence she never had, she is also dealing with her own issues. Mal is still dealing with a very unexpected loss and the inheritance that came along with it. By the end of El Camino de Santiago, they must decide if their bond ends with the road or if it will continue onward.

Book Description: A swoon-worthy sapphic romance following two women who are thrown together on a European adventure, from the Lambda Literary Award–winning author of the “sexy, insightful, and utterly charming” (BuzzFeed) Kiss Her Once for Me.

Thirty-five-year-old Seattleite Sadie Wells needs an escape. She’s desperate to escape her monotonous routines, the family business that has consumed her entire life, and the unexpected gay panic that has her questioning everything she thought she knew about herself. So when her injured sister offers Sadie her place on a tour along Portugal’s Camino de Santiago, she decides this is the perfect chance to get away from it all.

After three glasses of wine on the plane and some turbulence convince Sadie she won’t even survive the flight, she confesses all her secrets to her seatmate, Mal. The the plane doesn’t crash, and it turns out Mal is on her Camino tour. Worst of all, Sadie learns that she is on a tour specifically for queer women, and that her two-hundred-mile trek will be a journey of self-discovery, whether she wants it to be or not.

Fascinated by the woman who drunkenly came out to her on the plane, Mal offers to help Sadie relive the queer adolescence she missed out on as they walk the Camino. As Sadie develops her newfound confidence, Mal grapples with a complicated loss and unexpected inheritance. But as their relationship blurs the lines between reality and practice, they both must decide if they will forever part at the end of the tour or chart a new course together.

With “funny, poignant” (Publishers Weekly, starred review) prose, Alison Cochrun explores the power of letting go of your past and realizing that it’s never too late to live as your authentic self.

2. It Had to Be Him by Adib Khorram – September 2

After being dumped by his boyfriend for being boring, Ramin decides to book a solo trip to Italy. Instead of focusing on reinventing his not-boring persona, Ramin is thrown into a passionate love affair with his high school crush. Noah is in Italy with his ex-wife and son, who asked him to join them after realizing how much of a homebody he had become.

In Italy, Ramin and Noah’s reunion seems perfect. However, as the trip gets closer to its end, they begin to wonder if their love can exist outside the Italian bubble. Ramin thinks he’s not adventurous enough, and Noah thinks he isn’t as supportive as he could be.

Book Description: Heartstopper meets Eat Pray Love in this swoony, spicy, second-chance romance from USA Today bestselling author Adib Khorram about two former classmates unexpectedly reuniting in Italy.

Ramin Yazdani’s marriage proposal has just gone bottoms up: his ex dumped him in public for being boring. Bent on proving him wrong, Ramin books a spontaneous solo trip to Italy. When he runs into his high school crush while in a gelateria, however, his resolve to reinvent himself is put to the test.

Noah Bartlett’s in a rut. Since his divorce, he’s become a bit of a homebody. So when his ex-wife insists he join her and their son on an Italian holiday, Noah reluctantly agrees. But his reticence turns to excitement when he sees his former classmate, who’s aged just like a fine wine. As a teenager, Ramin fascinated him—and since Noah now knows that fascination was code for crush—all those feelings are quick to come rushing back.

Soon Ramin and Noah are tumbling headfirst into a relationship. Only Ramin fears Noah’s feelings won’t last without Ramin’s adventurous new persona—and Noah’s not sure he can be the supportive partner Ramin deserves. With the days counting down to the end of their trip, can their love last without the magic of Italy?

3. A Hexcellent Chance to Fall in Love by Ann Rose – September 9

If you’re ready to get into the Spooky mood, A Hexcellent Chance to Fall in Love is the great place to start. The Dead of Night Halloween store always pops up at a new location days before Halloween, and is gone two days later. Nobody understands how this happens except for Pepper, who the last Keeper of the Store tricked to take their place.

Pepper disappears alongside the store, and because she understands what this means, she has never tried to find a replacement. However, when Christina walks into the store and the chemistry between them is obvious, Pepper decides it’s time to do whatever it takes to find someone to take her place. After all, all’s fair in love and spells.

Book Description: In this slightly spooky paranormal romance, will two women finally break their curse and get the happily ever after they’ve fought for?

Each year, when no one is paying attention, The Dead of Night Halloween store appears in a new location with its giant sign and great low prices. No one sees them setting up or tearing down—one day it’s just there and then, two days after Halloween, it’s gone.

Pepper White knows exactly how this works. For five years, ever since the last Keeper of the Store tricked her, she has been cursed—appearing when the store does, and disappearing when it goes away. People will remember The Dead of Night, but they’ll completely forget Pepper. That is, until Christina Loring walks in the door. Their chemistry is instantaneous and, for the first time in five years, Pepper finds herself wishing for more time.

But how do you tell the girl you’re falling for that you’re cursed and that you only have ten weeks together before Christina forgets . . . everything? To have a chance at happily ever after, Pepper has to do the one thing she swore she wouldn’t—find the right treat to trick someone else into taking on the curse. But all’s fair in love and spells, and this spooky season, Pepper and Christina are ready to stir up trouble in the name of love.

4. Everything She Does Is Magic by Bridget Morrissey – September 9

Darcy has lived in Fableview her entire life. Even though she loves the town, she is ready to move out for college next year. However, that might not be as easy as it sounds, given the fact that her parents want her to stay and take over their Halloween empire. Anya, on the other hand, is a real-life witch who has moved from town to town an uncountable number of times. Now, she is getting ready to join her coven, but must find a mortal ally to become her protector.

Anya’s next task might not be as easy to accomplish because she has no friends. That is when Darcy comes to play. Anya tells her coven Darcy is willing to take on the role, and Darcy is willing along as Anya helps her leave town. As the two promise to help one another, their feelings begin to grow.

Book Description: In the charming town of Fableview, every day is Halloween. Get ready to fall under the spell of this bewitching sapphic romance, perfect for fans of Gilmore Girls and Wicked!

Darcy Keller, resident ray of sunshine and town spirit princess, loves every moment of Fableview’s fall festivities. But she’s also really ready to leave for college next year, even though her parents expect her to stay and take over their Halloween empire.

Enter brooding new girl Anya Doyle, a real-life witch and almost a full member of her coven. In order to be initiated, she has to choose a mortal ally to act as her “protector.” But having moved around so much, Anya is completely friendless. So she does what any self-respecting teenage almost-witch would—she lies and tells her coven her secret crush, Darcy, is willing to do the job.

Desperate to solve their personal problems, they agree to help each other out, attending everything from a costume parade to a pumpkin patch party to an apple bobbing contest together. But with Anya’s magical powers and Darcy’s future independence on the line, the last thing they need is the added complication of pesky feelings . . .

5. Girl Next Door by Rachel Meredith – September 9

MC is surprised when her best friend Joe introduces Girl Next Door to her by telling her one of the characters is her. Even though the book was written under a pen name, Joe believes the writer is Nora, MC’s childhood next-door neighbor. To uncover the truth, Joe asks MC to travel back to her hometown undercover and get close enough to Nora to get her to confess.

Back at home, MC must face the fact that her brother married her secret high school crush, and that Nora might not be the only one keeping secrets. The closer MC and Nora get, the more complicated her undercover investigation gets.

Book Description: In this charming debut rom-com, a young freelancer returns to her suburban hometown to uncover why her childhood next door neighbor’s bestselling book appears to be an epic love story about the two of them.

When MC Calloway’s best friend Joe, an editor at the notorious gossip website Jawbreaker, calls her in for an emergency meeting, MC is unprepared for how frantic he is. But when he shows her a copy of Girl Next Door, the steamy, bestselling rom-com taking the literary world by storm, written under a pen name, points to one of the women on the front cover, and says, “that’s you,” its MC who begins to panic.

Joe is convinced that the author is Nora Pike, MC’s prickly, childhood next-door neighbor, and their former high school classmate – and MC knows he’s right, since the book describes actual events that happened their senior year, down to the tiniest details. But in the book, the characters based on MC and Nora are desperately in love, rather than the awkward acquaintances MC remembers being in real life.

Joe begs MC to go home undercover and get the scoop on Nora. That’s the last thing MC wants to do, especially for an assignment that seems morally dubious at best, but she reluctantly agrees, knowing Joe is desperate to break a big story. Crashing in her childhood home with her older brother Conrad (now married to MC’s secret high school crush, Gabby), MC begins untangling truth from fiction, trying to get close to Nora, who is just as hot and prickly as ever – and now suspicious of MC to boot. But the more involved she gets with Nora, the more it becomes clear they’re both hiding secrets . . . and MC realizes she might be in over her head.

Perfect for readers of Delilah Green Doesn’t Care and Book Lovers, Girl Next Door is a delicious debut brimming with romance, humor, and heart.

6. Try Your Worst by Chatham Greenfield – September 23

Being the first baby born in the new year should never carry so much weight, but for Cleo and Sadie, it meant becoming lifelong rivals. From that moment on, the two have competed against each other in absolutely everything. Now, they are competing to become valedictorian. However, the rivalry must be pushed to the side when several pranks take place in school, setting them up for expulsion.

As Cleo and Sadie join forces to find who is guilty, they realize there is more to their bond than rivals. Sadie opens up about her depression and academic burnout, while Cleo begins to accept it’s time to fight for what she wants. Could it be that their rivalry was never meant to be?

Book Description: I Kissed Shara Wheeler meets The Agathas in this cozy mystery about two rivals forced to team up to figure out who is framing them for crimes they didn’t commit.

Sadie Katz and Cleo Chapman have been rivals since birth. Literally. They entered the world competing to be the first baby born in the new year, a title Cleo ultimately won. And she’s been nonchalantly winning at just about everything since—much to Sadie’s chagrin. Now in the fall of their senior year, Sadie and Cleo are neck-and-neck for valedictorian. But when a string of increasingly serious pranks take over their school, the perpetrator deliberately sets up Sadie and Cleo to take the fall.

Suddenly expulsion is on the line, and the only way to clear their names is to join forces and search for the culprit. As their investigation progresses, the girls begin to question more than suspects. Sadie, struggling with depression and academic burn out, finds that her ivy league dream doesn’t seem as appealing as it once did. Meanwhile, Cleo wonders if it’s time she start fighting for what she wants, rather than passively accepting whatever comes easiest.

With their futures on the line, the two grow closer, and both start to ask themselves: Are they really meant to be rivals? Or were they always destined to become something more?

7. Hollow by Taylor Grothe – September 30

Cassie’s mother decides it’s time for them to move back to Upstate New York when she suffers a meltdown that leads to her autism diagnosis. While Cassie believes this will be a great opportunity to reconnect with her friends, they aren’t as eager to welcome her back. Nevertheless, they invite her on their camping trip to Hollow Ridge. After a fight on the first night, Cassie wakes up the next morning to find all her friends are gone.

As the weather worsens and Cassie is faced with sensory overload, she finds herself being rescued by Kaleb. He takes her to a compound of artists and outcasts named the Roost. While Cassie believes she is finally free to be herself at the Roost, strange things begin to happen. Cassie begins to wonder if the forest is the danger or if she has walked into it by coming to the Roost.

Book Description: Don’t Let the Forest In meets The Whispering Dark in a queer YA cult horror following a recently diagnosed autistic teen who becomes enmeshed in a community of outcasts harboring sinister secrets.

“One of the best horror novels of the year, full stop. Haunting, heartfelt, and downright creepy.” —Kamilah Cole, bestselling author of So Let Them Burn.

After a meltdown in her school cafeteria prompts an unwanted autism diagnosis, Cassie Davis moves back to her hometown in upstate New York, where her mom hopes the familiarity will allow Cassie to feel normal again. Cassie’s never truly felt normal anywhere, but she does crave the ease she used to have with her old friends.

Problem is that her friends aren’t so eager to welcome her back into the fold. They extend an olive branch by inviting her on their backpacking trip to Hollow Ridge, in the upper reaches of the Adirondacks. But when a fight breaks out their first night, Cassie wakes to a barren campsite—her friends all gone.

With severe weather approaching and nearing sensory overload, Cassie is saved by a boy named Kaleb, who whisks her away to a compound of artists and outcasts he calls the Roost. As Kaleb tends to her injuries, Cassie begins to feel—for the first time in her life—that she can truly be herself. But as the days pass, strange happenings around the Roost make Cassie question her instincts. Noises in the trees grow louder, begging the question: Are the dangers in the forest, on the trail, or in the Roost itself?

In a world where autistic characters rarely get to be the hero of their own stories, Cassie Davis’s one-step-back, two-steps-forward journey to unmasking makes Hollow as much a love letter to neurodiversity as it is a haunting tale you’ll want to read with the lights on.

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What will you be reading in September? Share your picks in the comments below!

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