
With fall nipping at our noses, everyone seems to be in the mood for the queer romance equivalent of a pumpkin spice latte this month, so let’s get to it and mix it up a bit!
With All My Haunted Heart

Author: Isabel Sterling
Released: September 8, 2026 by Berkley
Genre: LGBTQIA, Paranormal, Romance
A witch hired to ethically haunt a small-town B&B instead finds herself spellbound by her non-magical client in this cozy and enchanting sapphic romance.
Steadily losing clients to the new DIY-magic shop on the other side of town, Pippa Ainsley is getting desperate. Instead of hiring the witch to correct their magical maladies, local mundanes have been taking their chances with the cheaper—and unpredictable—crystals and herb blends. So when Pippa’s best friend hires her to inspect his newly acquired bed-and-breakfast for ghosts, she doesn’t think twice about it.
That is, until she learns that his unfairly attractive co-owner, Elle Thompson, doesn’t want Pippa to rid their business of spirits. She wants Pippa to give them an edge over the competition by haunting their B&B.
It’s the perfect challenge for Pippa’s experimental magic, but just because she could figure it out, doesn’t mean it’s a smart or safe idea. But Elle is persistent, and the financial boost could save her own business if Pippa succeeds. Soon, Pippa finds herself testing the limits of her magic… and her ability to stop the growing attraction she feels toward Elle, a woman with a painful secret of her own.
Isabel Sterling’s These Witches Don’t Burn is maybe YA’s biggest Sapphic witch book, so we’re blessed to see her taking her talents to adult for the first time. Cozy, witchy, and perfectly playing on the concept of “haunting” in romance, this sweet and sexy PNR is the perfect pick to ring in autumn.
Isn’t He Romantic?

Author: Adib Khorram
Released: September 22, 2026 by Forever
Genre: Contemporary Romance, LGBTQIA, Romance
Series: Love on the Vine #3
To deter his ex, a lovelorn cellist starts a fake relationship with his one-night stand in this steamy, swoony fake dating romance from USA Today bestselling author Adib Khorram.
Arya’s always been a “one-and-done” man when it comes to romance—but with his friends all pairing up and the big 4-0 creeping ever closer, he’s starting to question his life choices. Especially when he discovers his latest hookup is the new committee chair for the charity ball Arya’s company is planning.
Ben’s plan to start over in Kansas City isn’t going so great. And having to spend lots of time with the one-night stand who ghosted him isn’t helping. Worse yet, when his ex-boyfriend shows up looking for a reunion, a panicked Ben claims he’s already moved on—with Arya.
Torn between staying professional and helping the man he can’t forget, Arya agrees to give Ben a hand, in exchange for Ben’s help landing a big client. But when the lines start to blur, they’ll have to decide if it’s time to change their tunes about love.
If you ask me for my top m/m recs, I am always gonna come back shouting about Adib Khorram, who not only brings rare Persian rep but whose Love on the Vine series (of which this is the third book) is also heavy on food, wine, and spice. I can’t wait to see the whole gang again (and I love that male friendship is such a major element of this series), and fauxmances that start with one night stands just hit different for me in the best way.
The Invisible Roommate

Author: Timothy Janovsky
Released: September 29, 2026 by St. Martin's Griffin
Genre: Contemporary Romance, LGBTQIA, Romance
Gerard Wells loves music but hates fame ―not ideal when he’s the youngest member of the chart-topping band of brothers, We the Wells. Cracking under the spotlight, Gerard runs away to a small, remote island in the middle of the Chesapeake Bay. There, he goes by “James” and takes up residence in a crumbling Victorian house on the island’s shrinking shoreline. Little does he know, he’s not the studio apartment’s only inhabitant…
Mysterious and moody Emory Griffin never planned to be a test subject for his own groundbreaking invisibility research. He also never planned on sharing a room with a world-famous pop star, but needs must when you’re an unemployed graduate school drop-out who’s wanted by the local police.
With nowhere else to turn, the unlikely pair agree to be temporary roommates. Their forced proximity and vulnerability lead to an unexpected romantic spark. As Halloween approaches, their secrets and feelings grow harder to keep hidden, testing the strength of their newfound bond. Could this be a love that neither of them saw coming or an experiment set to go horribly wrong?
Janovsky is such a fun jack of all romance subgenres, and of course he had to go paranormal for fall. But my favorite thing about this premise is that our rock star MC is in a boy band of brothers a la the Jonases. It’s cute, it’s clever, and it culminates in Halloween. What more can a mood reader ask for?
From Beijing, With Love

Author: Bei Lin
Released: September 29, 2026 by Alcove Press
Genre: Contemporary Romance, LGBTQIA, Romance
A candid exploration of identity and the love we deserve, this steamy rom-com will remind you that sometimes you have to get a little lost before you can find yourself.
Daniel Wu’s life in Amsterdam is far from spontaneous. When his boyfriend dumps him on the same day a work mishap lands him on leave, he breaks all his rules by impulsively escaping to Beijing to visit his best friend Poppy.
There’s just one hitch—Poppy isn’t there.
Alone in the foreign city his late father grew up in, Daniel wants nothing more than to fly home early. After all, running away is what he does best. But then Poppy signs him up for a tour of the Great Wall.
Enter Yang Li, the PhD student moonlighting as a tour guide. A transplant to Beijing, Yang has never felt at home in the bustling capital—or with himself. Cynical and disciplined, he isn’t the least impressed when Daniel shows up to their tour hours late. The tour is painful in more ways than one, but at least it’s a one-time ordeal.
Then life pushes them together again and again, until time spent together over stunning sights and mind-blowing eats feels less like vacation and more like finally finding home.
From Beijing, to Xi’an, to Tokyo, will they confront their own ghosts—past and present—to find their happily-ever-after?
Brimming with humor, wanderlust, and emotional vulnerability, this charming debut is perfect for fans of Casey McQuiston and Alexis Hall.
Moving off the Halloween path, I’m so excited for this debut gay whirlwind romance set in Beijing. A slow burn with food and travel across East Asia? This is exactly my jam, and the perfect way to soothe my post-summer wanderlust.
Happily Ever Afterlife

Author: Emma Alban
Released: September 29, 2026 by Alcove Press
Genre: LGBTQIA, Paranormal, Romance
A hauntingly good sapphic paranormal romance from USA Today bestselling author Emma R. Alban.
A struggling writer falls for the hot ghost mom she meets in the iconic Dakota Building in a romance perfect for fans of The Dead Romantics.
Frannie’s awful boss, celebrated literary novelist Henry L. Olsen, just told her that her latest manuscript is a dud—again. Frustrated and lonely, Frannie stomps around the ninth floor of the famously haunted Dakota Building in Manhattan, desperate for something to change. And then, something does.
Bridgette, the ghost of a little girl from 1889, appears out of nowhere and asks Frannie to play catch. Shocked, and wildly curious, Frannie says yes to the ghostly invitation, and soon meets Bridgette’s ghost-brother, Michael . . . and the children’s exceedingly attractive and aloof 1960s ghost mom, Elsa.
Fascinated, and more than a little flustered, Frannie starts secretly writing a book about Elsa (a.k.a. Hot Ghost Mom). And while her boss is on book tour, through a mutual affection for musicals, banter, and the ghost children, Frannie and Elsa slowly become friends, until Frannie finds herself tumbling head over heels in love with a ghost tied to a building she couldn’t afford to live in over four lifetimes.
Now, Frannie either has to give up her ambitions of becoming a novelist to remain Henry’s assistant in the Dakota forever, or somehow free her ghost family from their immortal home. With her career, future, and heart on the line, can Frannie find a way to write them all a happily ever after . . . life?
Emma R. Alban brings her signature swoon-worthy writing to another gorgeous sapphic love story that will have every reader yearning for their own Hot Ghost Mom.
Alban is best known for her Victorian romances (and don’t worry, she’s got one of those coming up in January, too), but she’s stepping out of the historical box for the first time with a PNR involving a hot ghost mom, an iconic NYC building, and a fabulous tagline. Bring on the boo babe!



