Fall is my favourite season with its changing leaves and rain. Nothing inspires me more than that weather. It calls for hot coffee, a good fantasy book and cuddles with your pets and loved ones.

I thought about making a list of my favourite fall reads, and once I started I realized that a lot of them have the same vibes: magical forests and creepy creatures. My other favourite theme is haunted houses but I think it would be my second set of recommendations.

Here are my favourite 5-star reads that feature magical forests and creepy creatures that live in them. All of the books feature LGBTQIA+ characters.

Naturally, I am going to start with the Luminaries as I am currently participating in a read-along hosted on the author’s Discord channel. You can read more about it on Susan’s substack as well.

**The Luminaries**
**(Luminaries series, Book 1)**
**by Susan Dennard**

Summary:

Hemlock Falls isn't like other towns. You won't find it on a map, your phone won't work here, and the forest outside town might just kill you.

Winnie Wednesday wants nothing more than to join the Luminaries, the ancient order that protects Winnie's town—and the rest of humanity—from the monsters and nightmares that rise in the forest of Hemlock Falls every night.

Ever since her father was exposed as a witch and a traitor, Winnie and her family have been shunned. But on her sixteenth birthday, she can take the deadly Luminary hunter trials and prove herself true and loyal—and restore her family's good name. Or die trying.

But in order to survive, Winnie enlists the help of the one person who can help her train: Jay Friday, resident bad boy and Winnie’s ex-best friend. While Jay might be the most promising new hunter in Hemlock Falls, he also seems to know more about the nightmares of the forest than he should. Together, he and Winnie will discover a danger lurking in the forest no one in Hemlock Falls is prepared for.

Not all monsters can be slain, and not all nightmares are confined to the dark.

https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250194107/theluminaries

What I loved about it: Very detailed descriptions of all creepy creatures and lore; an absolutely lovable and relatable main protagonist; strong family bonds; badass females; LGBTQIA+ characters.

Bonesmith
(House of the Dead Duology, Book 1)
By Nicki Pau Preto

Summary:

In the Dominions, the dead linger, violent and unpredictable, unless a bonesmith severs the ghost from its earthly remains. For bonesmith Wren, becoming a valkyr—a ghost-fighting warrior—is a chance to solidify her place in the noble House of Bone and impress her frequently absent father. But when sabotage causes Wren to fail her qualifying trial, she is banished to the Border Wall, the last line of defense against a wasteland called the Breach where the vicious dead roam unchecked.

Determined to reclaim her family’s respect, Wren gets her chance when a House of Gold prince is kidnapped and taken beyond the Wall. To prove she has what it takes to be a valkyr, Wren vows to cross the Breach and rescue the prince. But to do so, she’s forced into an uneasy alliance with one of the kidnappers—a fierce ironsmith called Julian from the exiled House of Iron, the very people who caused the Breach in the first place…and the House of Bone’s sworn enemy.

As they travel, Wren and Julian spend as much time fighting each other as they do the undead, but when they discover there’s more behind the kidnapping than either of them knew, they’ll need to work together to combat the real danger: a dark alliance that is brewing between the living and the undead.

https://www.simonandschuster.ca/books/Bonesmith/Nicki-Pau-Preto/House-of-the-Dead-Duology/9781665910606

What I loved about: Creepy; lots of action and fight scenes; lovable characters; lots of plot twists; badass females; LGBTQIA+ characters.

Summary:

Journey through the woods in this sinister, compellingly spooky collection that features four brand-new stories and one phenomenally popular tale in print for the first time. These are fairy tales gone seriously wrong, where you can travel to “Our Neighbor’s House”—though coming back might be a problem. Or find yourself a young bride in a house that holds a terrible secret in “A Lady’s Hands Are Cold.” You might try to figure out what is haunting “My Friend Janna,” or discover that your brother’s fiancée may not be what she seems in “The Nesting Place.” And of course you must revisit the horror of “His Face All Red,” the breakout webcomic hit that has been gorgeously translated to the printed page.

https://www.simonandschuster.ca/books/Through-the-Woods/Emily-Carroll/9781442465954

What I loved about it: Creepy and gripping; gorgeous art; LGBTQIA+ characters.

**Silver in the Wood**
**(The Greenhollow Duology, Book 1)**
**by Emily Tesh**

Summary:

There is a Wild Man who lives in the deep quiet of Greenhollow, and he listens to the wood. Tobias, tethered to the forest, does not dwell on his past life, but he lives a perfectly unremarkable existence with his cottage, his cat, and his dryads. When Greenhollow Hall acquires a handsome, intensely curious new owner in Henry Silver, everything changes. Old secrets better left buried are dug up, and Tobias is forced to reckon with his troubled past—both the green magic of the woods, and the dark things that rest in its heart.

https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250331458/thegreenhollowduology

What I loved about it: Creepy, very atmospheric, heartbreak; LGBTQIA+ characters.

**The Darkest Part of the Forest**
**by Holly Black**

Summary:

Children can have a cruel, absolute sense of justice. Children can kill a monster and feel quite proud of themselves. A girl can look at her brother and believe they’re destined to be a knight and a bard who battle evil. She can believe she’s found the thing she’s been made for.

Hazel lives with her brother, Ben, in the strange town of Fairfold where humans and fae exist side by side. The faeries’ seemingly harmless magic attracts tourists, but Hazel knows how dangerous they can be, and she knows how to stop them. Or she did, once.

At the center of it all, there is a glass coffin in the woods. It rests right on the ground and in it sleeps a boy with horns on his head and ears as pointy as knives. Hazel and Ben were both in love with him as children. The boy has slept there for generations, never waking.

Until one day, he does…

As the world turns upside down and a hero is needed to save them all, Hazel tries to remember her years spent pretending to be a knight. But swept up in new love, shifting loyalties, and the fresh sting of betrayal, will it be enough?

https://blackholly.com/books/darkest-part-forest/

What I loved about it: Atmosphere and descriptions; creepy; family bonds; heartbreak; LGBTQIA+ characters.