Review: Fall I Want by Lyra Parish | An Autumnal Spicy Escape

Warnings: Explicit sexual content, grief and discussion of the loss of a parent, brief mentions of depression, and encounters with persistent/intrusive exes.

Themes: Small-town autumn escapism, emotional healing and vulnerability, billionaire meets small-town girl, fake dating to lovers.

An oversized cardigan, a cinnamon candle, a maple pecan latte, an autumn weekend, and a very specific itch that hits the second the leaves start turning — these are the exact essentials you’ll need to dive into Lyra Parish’s Fall I Want. 

With a cleverly disguised cover design by Paul Miele-Herndon (at first glance, you’d swear this was a sweet Young Adult romance) and gorgeous, cozy, sprayed edges by Elizabeth Parkes, Parish delivers a classic billionaire-meets-small-town-girl romance packed with unapologetically heavy spice and playful, rhythmic banter. It will make you regret not booking a mountain getaway and slipping your number to that hot customer you saw at the coffee shop the other day. 

What makes this book sing is the setup between Autumn and Zane, the book's two leading lovers with alternating chapter narration. Their crackling romantic tension keeps the pages turning fast, backed by a tight-knit community that forces the characters into close quarters against a backdrop of local traditions and fiercely supportive best friends. The story also gracefully bypasses exhausting, trauma-heavy angst while remaining grounded in genuine emotional friction that proves these characters not only have a high sex drive — they have empathy, too. 

If you want a book that can be easily devoured in a single weekend with equal parts heart and heat, add this to your fall TBR immediately. Without the pressure of memorizing every line of high-brow literary fiction or classics stuffed to the brim with lofty language, books like this provide a well-deserved break, giving the gift of the true meat of reading: loveable characters, an atmosphere drenched in comfort food and small-town staples, and romantic payoff that confirms that true love can, and still does, exist. 

P.S. Consider this a formal petition for romance novels to come with a travel voucher for a rustic cabin and an unlimited coffee shop tab. 

P.P.S. When does the book's epilogue get turned into a sequel? I, for one, would have been completely satisifed with the ending's closure without the tease of more Autumn and Zane --- but a girl can dream.

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