Cozy vs. Creepy Fall TBR: Witches, Vampires, Haunted Houses & Spicy Orc Romance
Book Dragon Banter hosts Zinzi Bree, Sage, and Katherine share fall TBR picks and discuss whether they read seasonally (cozy vs. creepy) based on mood or climate, plus announce HearthCon panels on Oct. 3–4. Zinzi recommends cozy fantasy titles including Tails, Tusks and Teacakes, The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches, and upcoming Twig’s Traveling Tomes, and reacts to the spicy orc romantasy The Pumpkin Bride (including repeated “rosebud nipples” phrasing). The group also highlights creepier or atmospheric reads like Leigh Bardugo’s Ninth House series, Anne Rice’s Vampire Chronicles, The Historian, The Golem and the Jinni, The Night Circus, Fangs Divide Us, Don’t Let the Forest In, Mexican Gothic, Practical Magic, Garden Spells, One Dark Window, The Scorpio Races, Starling House, and The Undertaking of Hart and Mercy, and notes Banned Book Week in October.
HearthCon Schedule: https://www.lazydragonbooks.com/hearthcon-2026
HearthCon Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@LazyDragonBooks
Podcast links:
Book Dragon Banter Substack - https://bookdragonbanter.substack.com/
TT: https://www.tiktok.com/@bookdragonbanterpod
Insta: https://www.instagram.com/bookdragonbanter/
BDB Fable Fantasy Focused Book Club: https://fable.co/club/diverse-fantasy-with-zinzi-bree-271215645134?referralID=f9KdWh3wtd
Other links:
Book Dragon Ink Online Writing Retreats: https://www.bookdragoneditorial.com/ink-retreats
Write With Me, Zinzi Bree - Substack: https://writewithmezinzibree.substack.com/
Sage: https://readorbleed.substack.com/
Book Dragon Ink: https://www.bookdragoneditorial.com/
Cozy-ish Books:
Tusk, Tails, and Teacakes by T.L. Stone
The Pumpkin Bride by Fiona Buttercup
The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandanna
A Witch’s Guide to Magical Innkeeping by Sangu Mandanna
Twig’s Traveling Tomes by Gryffin Murphy
The Golem and the Jinni by Helene Wecker
The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
Fangs Divide Us by Katherine Crowe
Bunnicula Series by James Howe
Garden Spells by Sarah Addison Allen
The Screaming Staircase (Lockwood & Co Series) by Jonathan Stroud
Winnie-the-Pooh Series by A.A. Milne
The Undertaking of Hart and Mercy by Megan Bannen
Creepy-ish Books:
The Wolf Gift by Anne Rice
Ninth House Series by Leigh Bardugo
Interview with a Vampire by Anne Rice
The Witching Hour (Lives of the Mayfair Witches Series) by Anne Rice
The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova
Don’t Let the Forest In by C.G. Drews
Hazelthorn by C.G. Drews
Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs
Pride and Prejudice and Zombies by Seth Grahame Smith
We Kept Her in the Cellar by W.R. Gorman
Shadow Show Anthology Edited by Sam Weller and Mort Castle
One Dark Window (Shepherd King Duology) by Rachel Gilig
The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater
Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
House of Dark Shadows by Robert Liparulo
The Familiar by Leigh Bardugo
The Knight and the Moth by Rachel Gilig
Edgar & Allen: Rare Beasts by Charles Ogden
The Weirdies by Michael Buckley
The Everlasting by Alix E. Harrow
The Starling House by Alix E. Harrow
Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil by V.E. Schwab
00:00 Fall TBR Kickoff
01:24 Sponsor And Pod News
02:07 Cozy Vs Creepy Reading
05:34 Cozy Corner Picks
07:06 Pumpkin Bride Spicy Talk
12:01 Irregular Witches Rec
12:46 Ninth House Spooky Campus
16:08 Book Witch Cozy Release
17:08 Anne Rice Vampire Mood
21:33 Indie Vampires Adventure
23:18 Creepy Forest YA
24:52 Comfort Reads For Kids
25:48 Cozy Paranormal Classics
26:36 Twisted Fairy Tales
27:29 Witchy Fall Reads
28:37 Short Story Spookiness
29:27 Atmospheric YA Favorites
31:22 Creepy Houses Obsession
33:50 One Time Read Debate
35:15 Whimsical Comfort Books
37:07 Kikis Cozy Editions
38:41 Banned Books Week
40:14 Sentient House Buddy Read
43:57 Vampire Origins And Plans
46:10 Wrap Up And Where To Find Us
