Autumn is setting in, which means it’s time to start considering what books to read for the long nights. What books read best when the wind is rattling your window? Which plots stick with you when your feet feel cold in your fluffy socks? We’ve got a list of Autumn 2025 must reads.
Ellie’s pick: Katabasis by R F Kuang
Aptly described as ‘Dante’s Inferno meets The Secret History’ (ELLE), Katabasis follows two rival graduate students as they journey to the underworld in search of their recently deceased thesis supervisor, whose soul now languishes in Hell, awaiting its judgement day. Promising biting humour, immersive world-building, a sprinkling of mythology and a simmering enemies-to-lovers romance, it sounds like the perfect dark academia novel to curl up with this autumn. It was also one of the most hotly anticipated releases of the year, which could explain why I am still only twenty-second in line at the library to borrow it… If Katabasis is half as compelling as Babel, I may have to give in and buy my own copy!
Demi’s pick: Alchemised by SenLinYu
What once began as fanfiction within the Harry Potter Universe, has now blossomed into a sprawling story of magic, war and misplaced memories. A prisoner of the new world order and her own mind, Helena Marino, a once talented alchemist, must now uncover the truth of her past and her role within the Resistance, which has been brutally slain by the corrupt ruling class and their army of the undead. Words cannot express how excited I am for this gothic plot with high-fantasy world building! Not only does the plot sound amazing, the hardback copies have gorgeous endpapers and a stunning gold foil stamp of a dragon – honestly, it’s every fantasy readers dream!
Lisa’s pick: We Love You, Bunny by Mona Awad
I cannot wait to read Mona Awad’s We Love You, Bunny – the follow-up to her addictive novel Bunny which is out this month. Her new novel has been described as ‘Frankenstein by way of Heathers’ – what’s not to love there – and it features some of my favourite tropes in fiction: dark academia, female rage and twisted humour. If you love the themes in Mona Awad’s writing you’ll find that many of VERVE’s titles have these in spades too, such as Laurie Petrou’s Stargazer for some seriously dark academia, A. Rushby’s Slashed Beauties for female rage, vengeance and twisted sisterhood (plus a touch of witchcraft!) and Sarah Rose Etter’s dark surrealism and inventiveness in Ripe and The Book of X.
Sarah will actually be speaking with Mona at the Cheltenham Literature Festival on 14th October about their ‘fever dream’ novels and I cannot wait to see them in conversation. Sarah will also be speaking about writing ‘women on the edge’ with Sophie Mackintosh at Ink@84 Books in London the next evening. Grab your tickets here.
Jenna’s pick: The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins
Known as an iconic Victorian novel that blends the Gothic with psychological horror, The Woman in White is a must read in the darker months. Despite being engaged to Laura Fairlie, Walter Hartright is drawn to Sir Percival Glyde and his peculiar friend Count Fosco. Get lost in the corridors of English country houses, and explore the thin line between sanity and madness.
VERVE’s picks: Slashed Beauties by A. Rushby
Slashed Beauties is an exciting tale of wax dolls, women and witches. Blending historical fantasy with elements of body horror and female rage, this novel is set in both the past and the present, following Eleanor in Victorian London as a young runaway with nowhere to go and Alys in the 20th century, an antiques dealer trying to precure an Anatomical Venus with the intention of destroying it. When Elizabeth, glamorous, gorgeous and beguiling, offers Eleanor a way out of her bleak situation, Eleanor accepts her help, selling herself – and a piece of her soul – in the process. Years later, Alys is trying to clean up the mess.
Heap Earth Upon It by Chloe Michelle Howarth
The wait for Chloe Michelle Howarth’s highly anticipated second novel Heap Earth Upon It is nearly over! Taking place in 1960s Ireland, this novel follows the orphaned O’Leary siblings who have recently moved to the village of Ballycrea in the hopes of escaping their troubled past. But it’s hard to hide secrets, and even harder to hide feelings. When one of the siblings, Anna, becomes infatuated with a woman in town, how long can the O’Learys stop things from spiralling out of control?
Described as ‘a deeply affecting tapestry of gothic landscapes and virtuosic, character driven prose’ by Lucy Rose, Howarth revisits the countrysides of Ireland, replacing yearning with obsession.