With a charming small-town setting, an annual fall festival, a former best friend, and plenty of romantic tension, Falling Like Leaves by Misty Wilson delivers the cozy autumn atmosphere that makes fall reading so much fun. Not to mention the perfect YA romance that feels like autumn.
Published in September 2025 by Margaret K. McElderry Books, Falling Like Leaves is a young adult contemporary romance and the first book in the Bramble Falls series.
What Is Falling Like Leaves About?
Ellis has her senior year planned out. She's focused on applying to Columbia University, studying journalism, and building the future she's been imagining. Then her parents announce they're separating, and Ellis moves with her mother from New York City to Bramble Falls, Connecticut.
Bramble Falls should be a distraction from everything she's trying to accomplish. Instead, it's full of them. There's the town's huge Falling Leaves Festival, which Ellis gets pulled into helping with, and then there's Cooper Barnett.
Cooper was once Ellis's best friend. He was also her first kiss. Now he's a local barista who's grown up, seriously glowed up, and apparently wants nothing to do with her.
As Ellis gets dragged into apple picking, pumpkin carving, festival events, and everything else Bramble Falls has to offer, avoiding Cooper becomes increasingly difficult. And the longer she stays, the more she starts questioning the future she thought she wanted.
Why Read Falling Like Leaves?
1. It's Peak Fall Romance
Some books have a little autumn atmosphere. Falling Like Leaves practically is autumn.
The story revolves around the Falling Leaves Festival, with apple picking, pumpkin carving, corn mazes, fall decorations, harvest spice lattes, and the Pumpkin Prom all adding to the seasonal atmosphere.
If you love reading fall romance books when the leaves start changing, this one fits the mood perfectly.
2. It's a Small-Town Romance
Bramble Falls is one of the biggest parts of the book's charm. Ellis arrives from New York City and finds herself surrounded by a quaint Connecticut town preparing for its biggest autumn event.
It's a very different world from the one she had planned for herself, and that contrast becomes an important part of her story.
If you love small-town YA romance, this is an easy book to add to your list.
3. Friends-to-Lovers Energy
Ellis and Cooper have history. They were best friends. They shared a first kiss. And now they have to figure out what it means to see each other again after everything has changed.
That gives their romance a layer of history that you don't get with strangers meeting for the first time.
If friends-to-lovers and second-chance romance are your favorite tropes, this setup is particularly fun.
4. The Gilmore Girls Vibes
The book has been described by its publisher as “Gilmore Girls meets Jenny Han,” which tells you a lot about the atmosphere. And I couldn’t agree more!
You've got:
🍂 A charming small town
☕ Cozy fall drinks
🎃 A town-wide autumn festival
💕 Young romance
🏡 Quirky community energy
🍎 Seasonal activities
💬 Plenty of romantic tension
It's an especially good match for readers who love the cozy small-town atmosphere of Gilmore Girls and the romantic coming-of-age stories associated with Jenny Han.
5. Ellis Has More Than Romance to Figure Out
One thing that makes the story more than just a cute fall romance is Ellis's uncertainty about her future.
She's spent a lot of time planning what comes next: New York, Columbia, journalism, her career.
Then Bramble Falls forces her to consider whether the future she's been working toward is actually the one she wants. Her relationship with Cooper is part of that journey, but so is figuring out who she wants to become.
The Romance Tropes in Falling Like Leaves
If you pick books based on tropes (no judging here), here's what you'll find:
🍂 Fall romance
🏡 Small-town romance
💞 Friends-to-lovers
💋 First love / first kiss
💕 Second-chance romance
🐢 Slow-burn romantic tension
☕ Cozy romance vibes
🎃 Autumn festival setting
📚 YA contemporary romance
🌱 Coming-of-age romance
The Fall Activities Are a Huge Part of the Fun
One of my favorite things about an autumn romance is when the season actually matters to the story.
Falling Like Leaves doesn't just put a few orange leaves on the cover and call it fall. The story incorporates the season through the Falling Leaves Festival and its events, including apple picking, pumpkin carving, corn mazes, and the Pumpkin Prom.
That makes it a particularly good choice for a cozy fall reading list.
Who Should Read Falling Like Leaves?
I'd recommend adding this one to your TBR if you love:
🍂 YA contemporary romance
🍁 Fall romance books
🏡 Small-town romance
💞 Friends-to-lovers
🔄 Second-chance romance
🌱 Coming-of-age stories
☕ Cozy autumn settings
🎃 Festival romances
🍂 Gilmore Girls vibes
📚 Jenny Han-style YA romance
🍁 Books with strong fall atmosphere
Final Thoughts - Falling Like Leaves by Misty Wilson: A Cozy YA Fall Romance You Need on Your TBR
Falling Like Leaves by Misty Wilson feels like the kind of book you want to read with a warm drink beside you while the leaves are changing outside. It's romantic, cozy, autumnal, and packed with the kind of small-town atmosphere that makes fall romance so addictive. And if you're a fan of YA romance, friends-to-lovers stories, small-town settings, and autumn vibes, this is one to put high on your fall TBR.
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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