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Imagine you’re sitting on the porch in the crisp autumn air under a light breeze with leaves swirling and mug of hot apple cider. Is there any better place to begin a new book? This season, there’s no better time to check out the hottest releases from Philadelphia-based authors. These fall reads are a great way to spend a lazy Saturday afternoon curled up and cozy with a good book.
Cakewalk: A Fully Baked Memoir by Carole Algier, Sue Katein, and Kathy Lanyon
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Sisters Algier, Katein and Lanyon grew up in Collegeville and entered into business together following 9/11 to create liquor-infused cake. This memoir follows their journey from an abusive household through their efforts to get their cake to Rachel Ray and producers at The Food Network. Their sense of humor and bonds of sisterhood make for a story that both tugs at the heartstrings and basks in the glow of local positivity for a heartwarming fall read.
The Bog Wife by Kay Chronister
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Until 2020, Chronister had only been an author of short fiction, though her work appeared in literary magazines like Strange Horizons, Clarkesworld, Beneath Ceaseless Skies, The Dark and more. Since then, she’s written three novels: Thin Places, Desert Creatures and the upcoming The Bog Wife (releasing October 1). A tale drenched in Appalachian folklore, this story follows the Haddesley siblings of West Virginia, whose family has tended the cranberry bogs since time immemorial. Amid supernatural undertones filled with generations of patriarchal trauma, the modern generation of Haddesley must confront both its past and future.
by Emma Copley Eisenberg
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Author of The Third Rainbow Girl, lauded by The New Yorker, Rolling Stone, People magazine, Time magazine, The Los Angeles Times, The Boston Globe and more, Eisenberg’s latest novel, Housemates, follows two young Philadelphia-based roommates who embark on an adventure to discover their inner selves across America. Themes of identity, love and chosen family follow protagonists Bernie and Leah as they journey both across the county and across their inner artistic selves in a delightful fall read.
by Cheryl Cantafio
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Norristown-based Cheryl Cantafio is a children’s book author and poet who released her latest work as recently as September 24. Written in verse, A Place Where No Flowers Grow creates a modern-day gothic tale that follows Octavia, an optimistic doctor with a passion for the natural world, who meets Roen, a young innovator. Themes of fate, love and rage collide in this modern epic.
by Adam Cesare
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Philadelphia-based horror author Adam Cesare has written dozens of works since 2012, with content ranging from musicals to comics, screenplays, short stories and novels. His latest release, Influencer, explores the dark underbelly of social media and the quite literal cults of personality it has spawned. Influenced by Bram Stoker, this psychological thriller, releasing October 1, is perfect for the Halloween season.
Beyond the Aching Door and Beneath the Buried Sea by Victoria Mier
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Get Beneath the Buried Sea online: Amazon or Barnes & Noble
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Owner of the former Spiral Bookcase in Manayunk, author Victoria Mier’s Fatebound Duology began with Beyond the Aching Door, released in March 2024, and has continued with Beneath the Buried Sea, released this September. This romantasy series follows Philadelphia-based Raegan Maeve Overhill and her hunt for answers in the shadowy places where magic beings inhabit the city’s underworld. Inspired by themes of Welsh, Slavic and Arthurian mythology, this adult fantasy series is a page-turner.
Related: Here’s What to Do Around the Main Line Area This Weekend
