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Amelia, a studious overachiever, and Flora, a Scottish princess, share a room in Scotland's prestigious Gregorstoun school. One is attempting to flee her post-breakup life in her hometown, while the other is hoping to be expelled. Flora's skiving efforts are hindering Amelia's life and she can't help but dislike her...or can she?

Sometimes, even minimal is superfluous.

Seventeen-year-old Izumi Tanaka has always felt a slight disconnect from the world around her, whether it’s due to her Japanese-American ethnicity or because she's being raised by a single mother in a mostly white town. When a search for her father reveals him to be the Crown Prince of Japan, Izumi is invited to meet the royal family. She gets mired in a whirlwind of lessons, family, culture and duty, while feeling caught between worlds and simultaneously falling for the enigmatic bodyguard assigned to her.

Mallard is a predominantly black village in the South, surrounded by a slew of bigoted settlements. It's where Stella and Desiree Vignes were born, twins with skin so pale that they might pass for white. In a state of restlessness, they run away from home at an early age to begin life anew; but their contrasting decisions govern and transform them. Years later, Stella, estranged from her sister, is a white woman with a husband to whom her past is unknown; and Desiree is back in Mallard with her black daughter.

It is Paris, 1714. Adeline LaRue is fascinated by the world. She yearns to explore it all, but her life prevents her from doing so. Desperate, she strikes a bargain with the darkness: unlimited time on earth in exchange for her soul when she no longer wants it. She quickly understands, however, that it was a curse. The people she meets forget her as soon as she is out of sight. Unable to do much else, Addie roams the earth for three hundred years, constantly recalling but always forgotten...until one day, in a dusty old bookshop in the crevices of New York, someone remembers her name.                    

For those who peruse the internet in pursuit of books with variety, here are a couple Young Adult romances to binge-read.  

Charlie Goodwin is in Los Angeles, where she hosts a reality baking show with a sabotaging coworker. She must compete against him for a promotion. Her twin, Cass Goodwin, is back in their hometown, running the family's bustling bakery by herself and struggling with love. When Charlie suffers a concussion and loses her sense of taste and smell, she begs her sister to switch places. With only days until Christmas, Cass must outdo Charlie’s colleague while Charlie recovers, manages their bakery and battles a rival bakery chain… while the swap works its magic on their love lives.

The Lit Lair, a content house of teenaged influencers, has it all: millions of followers, lucrative sponsorship deals and a Malibu mansion. However, things start to go south when one of them is found dead in the pool and the rest are pronounced suspects. The group's TikTok account is taken over by an outsider, who starts posting about the murder. Personal jealousy, a financial scandal and an affair emerge, all accompanied by intensive media scrutiny and incriminating evidence.

A mysterious plague has engulfed 1920s Shanghai, leading victims to sever their own throats. The city's two main gangs are forced to put aside their long-standing rivalry and work together to repress the source before it's too late. Among the animosity are ex-lovers Juliette Cai and Roma Montagov, who are both heirs to their respective gangs. Past betrayals and rivalry between their clans are keeping them apart. An alliance is formed, clues are unraveled and discoveries are made. It is a mystery, a monster-hunt and a Romeo and Juliet retelling, all rolled into one.     

 We Hunt the Flame is set in a fantasy world, Arawiya, which is inspired by ancient Arabia. It follows Zafira, a fearless huntress in a patriarchal society, on a quest to retrieve a jewel that will restore magic and put an end to the cursed forest that has caused her people to suffer. She crosses paths with Nasir, an assassin and the crown prince, who has embarked on a journey to steal the jewel and kill her in order to prove himself to his father.

As the spooky season approaches, it is only fitting that we grab our essentials- a blanket, some snacks and a thriller novel. Here are three to add to your October TBR .  

  Set in Nazi Germany and narrated by Death, The Book Thief recounts the story of Liesel Meminger and her coming of age during the Second World War. A love for books blossomed within her when she was nine, and with the guidance of her foster father, Liesel learns how to read. Soon she is stealing books from wherever she can and sharing her stories with the people in her world while the dangerous times threaten to tear everything apart.