There are some books that seem to arrive with their own season. You know the ones. The covers make you want to wrap yourself in a blanket, the story involves a small town, there’s probably a fall festival somewhere in the background, and suddenly you’re craving pumpkin-flavored everything.
My Favorite Color Is the Golden Hour by Eva Austin is one of those books.
Published in 2024, this YA romance follows Emma, who is sent to stay with her grandmother in Carlton Landing for the fall semester after a string of bad luck. She plans to focus on school, finish writing her novel, and maybe find a way to meet the cute carpenter next door.
Then Bryson comes back.
The problem? He used to be Emma’s best friend. Now she considers him her enemy. And she promised herself she would never forgive him. So, naturally, spending an entire fall in a tiny town with him is going to go exactly according to plan.
Or not.
A YA Romance Made for Autumn
One of the biggest reasons My Favorite Color Is the Golden Hour caught my attention is the setting. In fact, it was one of my top picks for this year’s Fall TBR.
The entire story has that cozy fall YA romance atmosphere that makes you want to read with a hot drink beside you.
Emma is spending the fall semester in a small town. There’s a fall festival, cozy lake scenery, and plenty of opportunities for the story to lean into that quieter autumn feeling.
And after reading it, I can guarantee it is the kind of YA book you pick up when you're ready for:
🍁 golden leaves
☕ cozy afternoons
🏡 small-town settings
🎡 fall festivals
📖 writing and reading
💕 complicated friendships
🌅 golden-hour scenery
🍂 autumn romance
Childhood Friends Turned Enemies
The romance also has a trope that I always enjoy seeing in YA: childhood friends to enemies to something more. You see, Emma and Bryson have history.
Three years earlier, they were best friends. Now Emma is determined to stay away from him after whatever happened between them destroyed their friendship.
Except Bryson isn't exactly easy to avoid. Especially when you're both living in the same small town.
The interesting part is that Emma has spent years convinced she knows exactly what happened. As Bryson becomes part of her life again, she has to question whether the story she's been telling herself is actually the whole truth.
That gives the romance something more to work with than simply putting two characters together and waiting for them to fall in love.
There's history to unravel first.
A Sweet, No-Spice YA Romance
If you're looking specifically for clean or closed-door YA romance, this is another reason My Favorite Color is The Golden Hour might belong on your autumn TBR.
The book is a sweet, wholesome, no-spice teen romance, making it suitable for readers looking for romance without explicit content. I mean, sometimes you just want a romance that's about the feelings. The awkwardness. The glances. The history between two people.
And that slow realization that maybe the person you've been trying so hard to avoid isn't quite who you thought they were.
The Jane Austen Connection
And here is where the book actually goes from great to freaking amazing! This story is full of little nods to Jane Austen.
Emma is working on her own novel during her stay in Carlton Landing, while the romance itself involves old misunderstandings, complicated feelings, and a relationship that isn't quite as straightforward as Emma initially believes.
This book could basically be summed up as: contemporary small-town life, autumn scenery, complicated friendships, and a romance that has a little Austen-inspired flavor. Yes, please! (I’ll take two.)
Is It Actually a Fall Read?
Yes, and this is where the book really stands out as an autumn YA book. The setting isn't simply autumn because someone mentions a sweater once.
Emma is actually spending her fall semester in Carlton Landing. The story includes a fall festival, autumn atmosphere, seasonal beverages, and the cozy lake-town setting that makes the season feel like part of the reading experience rather than just background decoration.
It's the kind of book I'd reach for when I want something light and romantic without the darker or more dramatic side of YA.
If your ideal fall reading list includes small towns, romance, golden leaves, cozy settings, friendship drama, and a little enemies-to-lovers tension, then this one certainly fits the mood.
Do You Need to Read Book One First?
No. And I didn’t. Because… well, fall reads, right?
My Favorite Color Is the Golden Hour is the second book in Eva Austin's My Favorite Color series, but the books can be read in any order.
That makes it particularly easy to pick up as a standalone autumn romance.
And if you enjoy it, there are two other books in the series to explore:
Who Would Enjoy My Favorite Color Is the Golden Hour?
I'd put this YA romance on the radar of readers who enjoy:
🍂 Fall YA romance
🏡 Small-town romance
🤍 Clean YA romance
🌶️ No-spice romance
💞 Childhood friends-to-lovers
⚡ Enemies-to-lovers romance
🌊 Cozy lake settings
👥 Dual-POV romance
💕 Sweet contemporary romance
📖 Jane Austen-inspired stories
🍁 Books with strong autumn vibes
It's especially easy to imagine this one working as an autumn TBR pick when you're looking for something romantic, cozy, and relatively light.
Final Thoughts - A YA Romance That Feels Like Golden Hour: My Favorite Color Is the Golden Hour
Some books are perfect for a particular time of year, and My Favorite Color Is the Golden Hour definitely has that autumn feeling.
Between the fall semester, small-town setting, cozy lake atmosphere, fall festival, complicated friendship, and sweet romance, Eva Austin has created a YA romance that fits neatly into that golden-hour part of the year.
So, if you're looking for your next cozy fall YA romance, this might be one to add to the TBR.
Especially if your ideal reading afternoon involves a blanket, something warm to drink, and a book that feels like autumn from beginning to end. 🍂
Looking for more fall YA romance?
If you're building an autumn TBR, check out my 6 YA Romance Books I Added to My Autumn TBR for more cozy YA romance recommendations.
Looking for Another Cozy Fall Romance?
If you love small-town romance, autumn vibes, playful banter, and closed-door love stories, you might also want to add my upcoming rom-com, Hearts, Leaves & Other Falling Things, to your fall TBR.
It follows Olivia, a single mom in a small town, and Riley, a ridiculously charming teacher who has a little more history with her than she realizes. Expect pumpkin festivals, bake-off disasters, small-town gossip, and plenty of slow-burn chemistry.
📚 Add Hearts, Leaves & Other Falling Things to your Goodreads shelf and save it for your fall TBR!
Hearts, Leaves & Other Falling Things
A single mom. A ridiculously charming distraction. And a small town that desperately needs to mind its own business.
Olivia has enough on her plate.
She’s twenty-three, raising her six-year-old daughter, working at the town’s beloved pâtisserie, and trying to keep her life together one pastry box at a time. Rosetown has all the autumn charm of a Gilmore Girls episode—quirky neighbors, small-town gossip, community events, and far too many people invested in everyone else’s business.
The last thing Olivia is looking for is romance.
Then Riley shows up.
He’s charming. Annoyingly confident. And somehow, despite Olivia’s best efforts to keep her life uncomplicated, he has her heart skipping one too many beats.
There’s just one little problem: Riley remembers Olivia from years ago. Olivia doesn’t remember him.
Between pumpkin festivals, bake-off disasters, runaway decorations, and a town full of people who seem to have nothing better to do than watch her love life unfold, Olivia is finding it increasingly difficult to ignore the feelings Riley brings out in her.
A cozy, funny, closed-door small-town romance filled with autumn vibes, playful banter, family, friendship, and enough chemistry to make your heart race.
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About Me
📍Dumbo - New York
I'm Zøe!
I write heartfelt, character-driven fiction featuring resilient teenage heroines navigating personal challenges and striving to become their best selves. Beyond my novels, I love storytelling in all its forms. On this blog, I share narrative-rich travel pieces, offering glimpses into my favorite places, hidden corners, and unforgettable encounters around the globe.
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