The Real Chic Life

Now, I’ll be honest. I can make a case for reading all year long, but there’s something about fall that makes even my occasional-reader friends want to pick up a book a little more often.

Maybe it’s the cooler evenings, the return of our favorite cozy routines, or simply the feeling that fall is finally giving us permission to slow down a little. Whatever the reason, fall is one of my favorite seasons to curl up with a good book.

I’ve been reading and adding a few titles to my TBR list along the way. These books all caught my attention for very different reasons. There are complicated women, family secrets, friendship, ambition, relationships, and a few stories that sound like they’ll keep me turning pages long after I should have gone to bed.

Here are six books I’m recommending for your TBR list this fall.

1.Calamity Club

If you’re looking for a book about friendship with a little trouble thrown into the mix, Calamity Club deserves your attention.

The story follows a group of women whose lives become entangled in unexpected ways, and as the title suggests, things don’t exactly go according to plan. It’s the kind of story where friendship, secrets, and questionable decisions all collide.

Why I Couldn’t Put it Down: I’m always interested in stories about women and friendship, particularly when the relationships aren’t perfectly polished. Give me complicated friendships, a little drama, and characters who aren’t always making the right decisions, and I’m in. Also, the prose is perfect and I always give bonus points to stories that make me laugh.

2.The Revelation of Dionne Daphne

Dionne Daphne has a life that appears to be going exactly as planned. But appearances can be deceiving.

As secrets begin to surface, Dionne is forced to confront parts of her life and identity that she may have preferred to leave in the past. What follows is a story about relationships, revelations, and the complicated process of figuring out who you really are when the version of yourself you’ve created begins to unravel.

Why it surprised me: I love a book that makes me curious about a character before I even know her whole story. The title alone made me want to know exactly what the “revelation” is but it still took my breath away.

3. Fallow

Natalie Gallagher is struggling financially when she discovers an unusual opportunity: becoming the world’s first in-house corporate surrogate. In exchange for giving birth to seven babies over ten years, she’ll receive more than $1 million and a luxury lifestyle. But as the arrangement unfolds, Natalie begins questioning exactly what she has agreed to sacrifice for financial freedom.

Why I want to read it: It sounds smart, darkly funny, and just strange enough to keep me turning the pages.

4. Yesteryear

This book was on Courtney’s Summer Reading post and at first I hesitated because dark without the “funny” isn’t usually what I gravitate to. I’m glad I picked it up. The writing is divine.

Natalie Heller Mills has built a successful social media brand around her picture-perfect traditional lifestyle. Then she wakes up to discover that her modern Idaho farmhouse has somehow become a version of the 1850s, complete with no electricity, modern conveniences, or easy way out. Suddenly, she has to actually live the life she has spent years romanticizing online.

Why I enjoyed it: Besides the brilliant “in her head” prose, the premise is so clever. I love the idea of exploring the difference between romanticizing a lifestyle and actually having to live it.

5.The True Confessions of First Lady Freeman

The title alone made me stop scrolling.

The True Confessions of First Lady Freeman centers on a woman whose public life and private reality are not quite the same thing. As her story unfolds, secrets and revelations begin to challenge the version of events that everyone thought they knew.

And when a woman has something to confess, I’m going to want to know what it is.

Why I want to read it: Give me a complicated woman, a few secrets, and a story that makes me question who is telling the truth. I have a feeling this is going to be one of those books where I keep saying, “Just one more chapter.” 

True confessions…releases on September 29th.

6.The Great Wherever

Aubrey Lamb, a 32-year-old Washington, D.C., woman inherits a share of her family’s Tennessee farm after a difficult period in her life. As she reconnects with relatives and confronts a developer’s offer to buy the land, she uncovers complicated family secrets and begins to understand what the farm—and her family’s legacy—means to her. Blending family drama, humor, and a touch of the supernatural, the novel explores inheritance, generational wealth, grief, and the lasting influence of the past.

Why I want to read it: Courtney couldn’t stop raving about this one. I love a good reinvention story, especially one that reminds us that it’s never too late to change direction.

What’s on your fall TBR?

These six books couldn’t be more different, which is exactly what I like about a good reading list.

Sometimes I want something funny. Sometimes I want a little drama. Sometimes I want a story that makes me think, and sometimes I simply want to disappear into another woman’s life for a few hours.

Fall seems like the perfect time for all of it.

We’d love to know what’s on your fall reading list. 

Xo, Tonya