Thank you NetGalley for the ARC of Falling Like Leaves by Misty Wilson! 🍂

This book felt like stepping straight into a small-town autumn day—warm drinks, cozy vibes, and a dash of teenage drama. Ellis, pulled away from NYC and dropped into Bramble Falls during her parents’ separation, has to navigate new beginnings, old friendships, and her own heart. The town itself gave me total Gilmore Girls energy—quirky, gossipy, but so comforting.

I loved Ellis and Cooper’s dynamic (and their cookie moments 🥰), even if some of the miscommunication felt very “teen.” The fall setting was my favorite part—it wrapped the whole story in that crisp, cozy feeling. I just wish there had been a little more depth with Ellis and her dad.

Releasing this September, Falling Like Leaves is the perfect curl-up-with-a-PSL read when you’re craving something light, sweet, and autumnal.

This was a great YA cozy small town fall read! If you love Gilmore Girls, you'll love this book full or quirk, heart, parental expectations and a little bit of drama. Like most teenage love stories- this definitely took us through a lot of ups and downs but I enjoyed the realistic rollercoaster and personal growth of Ellis the FMC.

I loved that there was a great balance of inner dialogue and situational plot development. This had the classic antics of small town traditions and found quirky family.

I would definitely recommend to anyone looking for a cozy young adult story full of heart, young love and characters you'll want to keep following!

Thank you to NetGalley as well as Simon and Schuster Children's Publishing ? Margaret K. McElderry Books for this eARC in exchange for my honest review.

This book is set to release on September 2, 2025!

📖 ARC REVIEW 📖

Thank you @simonteen for an early copy of Falling Like Leaves by @mistywilsonwrites. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. 🤍

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐/5
Release date: September 2nd, 2025

Blurb: When Manhattan teen Ellis is forced to spend her senior year in the small town of Bramble Falls, she finds herself reluctantly drawn into its charming autumn traditions—and back into the orbit of Cooper, her former best friend and first kiss. As the Falling Leaves Festival brings them together, Ellis must decide between the future she’s always planned and the unexpected life—and love—she’s finding in the present.

🛑Read on with caution; review may contain spoilers🛑

Falling Like Leaves is brimming with cozy autumn vibes, from crisp fall air to the delightful activities of the Falling Leaves Festival. The small-town charm of Bramble Falls really shines through its warm, welcoming residents, who make Ellis feel at home despite her arriving in the middle of her senior year. And then there’s Cooper, her former best friend and first kiss, who proves irresistible despite their rocky reunion. He’s sweet in every sense of the word, baking cookies for Ellis (without revealing he’s the baker) and earning her heartfelt praise before she even knows the treats are from him. Their romance is pure sweetness, full of tender moments and second-chance charm.

This book gave very cozy vibes, like relaxing with a good book and drinking hot chocolate. The book takes place in Bramble Falls, CT and the main character Ellis takes part in a lot of fall events for the small town. These really help the reader immerse themselves in the town and feel it come to life. This book was really good at exploring family dynamics and how people can change in a relationship and lose their identity and everything that makes them happy, which I loved considering this a YA book. The romance between Ellis and Cooper was super cute as most first loves. I will say I did find myself getting annoyed at Ellis at times, because she seemed to act a little selfish and self-absorbed, but I remembered that she is a teen and she is still growing and learning. I did not really like all the designer brand name dropping but I understand somewhat that it's there to show Ellis' interest in fashion. However, it almost felt like it only added to Ellis' superficiality. Overall though, I really enjoyed this book and thought it was a cute YA romance that did a really great job of immersing the reader into the world the author created.

I gobbled this book up. It was so adorable. I loved the characters and side characters. I can't wait to read more of this series. There was conflict within the story and misunderstandings and human emotion. It was a real book but also a HEA.

Cute and cozy! The perfect way to start off the fall season.
Falling Like Leaves is a sweet YA romance that combined difficult family dynamics, teenage romance, and small town charm into an adorable story! I enjoyed these characters and felt like they were the perfect amount of "complex" that represents the true teenage experience. I felt like Ellis was relatable for young readers, as she is comfortable enough to show her emotions off (especially the negative ones). Cooper, while sweet and endearing, was difficult to root for. Being "YA" might be the excuse, but the constant angry silent treatment with a 180 attitude change any time that Ellis acknowledged him became old the second time it happened. The longer I read, the more the plot of the story became primarily miscommunication, both between Ellis and Cooper and also between Ellis and her parents.
I loved the "festival" activities throughout the story, and having Ellis's aunt be the mayor of the small town gives you the perfect buy-in to all of the events. I wish the author would've gone more into the fundraising side plot that was going on, as this came out of nowhere and felt unfinished.
If you love a sweet, cozy small town setting with a little bit of teenage love and family drama, this story will be a perfect addition to your fall TBR!

Like the great Richard Gilmore, I too, identify as an autumn and my heart beats for crisper days when the leaves change and the smell of pumpkin spice lingers on the breeze. When I saw this cover and read the description, my autumn heart squealed in delight. I just KNEW this was THE book for me.

Wilson delivers a story that is bursting with all the quintessential fall must dos - pumpkin and apple picking? Bonfires? Harvest festivals? Bobbing for apples and horse drawn wagon rides? YES TO ALL. The small town charm was OFF THE CHARTS and getting lost in this delightful town with its sometimes meddling citizens was truly a delight. In a world where the hustle and bustle is glorified, spending time in this world Wilson created and being reminded to intentionally slow down and enjoy the moment is something we all need.

This was such a heartwarming story of community and belonging. I loved seeing Ellis go on a journey of self discovery and finally take the chance to take up space, claim her worth, and make decisions that brought her joy and weren’t with the intention of pleasing others. I also really loved how this was a love story between mothers and daughters! It brought tears to my eyes witnessing the evolution and healing in their relationship and how they both reclaimed their voices.

Now to the romance… OHEMGEEEEE talk about SWOONY!! There was so much delicious tension in this sweet second chance with your first kiss romance! I appreciated how Cooper and Ellis communicated and worked through past hurt in order to build a foundation of trust before pursuing their romantic feelings. Cooper is a GEM and so precious and he must be protected at all costs. The lead up to their kiss was nothing short of electric and holy moly, when Ellis and Cooper finally kissed… FIREWORKS.

And this is a story where the entire cast of supporting characters is just as charming and memorable as the main characters, and I ADORE Sloane, Asher, Jake, and Fern. I am ecstatic that the series is continuing with Sloane and that we get to return to Bramble Falls!!

Thank you Netgalley for my early copy!

I really enjoyed this book. If you want a quick, cozy, and cute little fall romance; i would recommend this. I will say i got annoyed with the drama and then i remembered they are in high school, so it did a good job representing young love. I love Cooper. He is so adorable but Ellis was some what selfish in this book, so that irked my nerves. All in all this is a cute little small town romance and i would read it again.

This was a solid cozy autumn small town ya romance. It was absolutely adorable and I enjoyed every minute. It was light-hearted and funny; with a bit of emotion all wrapped up. Ellis and Cooper's story was just what I needed to get myself even more excited for autumn.

thank you NetGalley for this eArc in exchange for a review.

This book follows the main character, Ellis, as she takes on new changes in her life. When Ellis is shocked to find out that she will be spending a few months living with her aunt. Even though she isn’t thrilled about the changes at first, she is soon able to appreciate the move when she is reintroduced to her old friend Cooper. I loved the fall vibes of this book and I thought it had a really good romance plot as well as a fun found family dynamic. I liked that even though it was a romance it also had certain coming of age moments that Ellis experienced throughout the book. It’s definitely a super fun book to read this upcoming fall!

I found the perfect autumn romance. It's charming and filled with cozy, autumnal atmosphere, the novel balances humor and heart as Ellis wrestles with what she truly wants. I rooted for her as she navigated family, rekindled feelings, and the choice between the glitter of Manhattan and the golden glow of Bramble Falls. The only thing that I wasn't a fan of was how Ellis treated Jake sometimes, but other than that I flew through this book!

This book was everything I needed. I loved the small town, the characters, the story...no spoilers, but it kept me wanting to know what would happen. Thank you for the opportunity to read!

Okay this was actually so fun. Imagine every cozy autumn vibe and a hallmark small town had a baby and you get this book. I loved it.

The town was so charming. Like I found myself wanting to go to the pumpkin prom?? Honestly who doesn't want a pumpkin propmposal. It just felt so real and fresh like a place I could actually see myself visiting.

The characters were 🤌🏻🤌🏻🤌🏻. Even the side characters were really interesting and dynamic. One of my favorites was actually the mmcs best friend he was just so funny. There were definitely some emotional moments too that I wasn't expecting but man they come up on you real fast. Definitely would read from this author again.

to start this is a young adult romance. the dedication immediately drew me in as a fall lover, and its part of my personality. i really loved the small town setting of bramble falls especially for autumn, the author does a great job at describing it. this was so binge worthy, like i could not put it down and was invested the entire way through. i liked that this was more than just a romance and a lot on self discovery and personal battles (especially being a young adult read and being common things to face at this age). in a way, i related to ellis when i was this age unsure of what college or what career i wanted while being pressured.

the romance between cooper and ellis was cute and because it’s a young adult, clean. i loved these two and their back and forth banter and participating in fun fall festivities, it got me excited for the season myself! definitely a perfect, cozy YA read for the upcoming autumn season!

ellie has a lot of expectations for her senior year but moving from nyc to bramble falls for her parents separation was never on the itinerary. she wants to follow her father’s footsteps and go to columbia but bramble falls comes with the biggest distraction, her old fling cooper. dragged to each event for the falling leaves festival, she keeps running into cooper. will they rekindle or will she end up back in nyc pursuing a career she doesn’t want?

tropes: small town, second chance, forced proximity, lgbtq+ rep from side characters, gilmore girls x gossip girl vibes, single pov

This was so cute!! I’m so excited for fall and this just captured such a cozy fall vibe perfectly. I read it in one sitting because I just wanted something lighthearted and enjoyable! There are so many great characters and loved Ellis and Cooper - the chemistry, the childhood best friend of it all was really great.

The whole book felt perfect for fans of Gilmore Girls or just cozy fall reads. In addition to the romance I really like the plot too and it was just easy to get lost in it. Highly recommend!

This was a cute aesthetic autumnal read that reminded me of the pumpkin spice cafe and I loved it! Thanks so much Simon teen

What a fun, cozy, autumn read! Going into the book I thought it was going to be a straight romance, but I was pleasantly wrong. I enjoyed the second chance romance, but I really enjoyed Ellis's story and what it took for her to finally realize the things that really made her happy. I also really loved her mom. She was Ellis's biggest fan even when Ellis was angry at her. All in all great read and will definitely be on our shelf!

What a great story. This definitely has all the feels to it. Ellis is someone I was rooting for from the beginning. Alone, Jake and Cooper were great additions to this cast of characters and this story was so well set up that I was right there at every scene. I could see every leaf and cookie it was great scene development for sure. I want to live in Bramble Falls for sure. I love the small town vibe.

I would highly recommend this book!

I want to thank NetGalley and Simon Schuster Children’s Publishing for this advanced reader copy and this is my honest review.

I absolutely adored this book; it grabbed me from the first scene and never let go. The characters are memorably written (they feel like friends you’d actually miss), and Ellis, the FMC, showed a lot of growth and self discovery through the book. But the real highlight is the chemistry between Cooper and Ellis: slow-burn tension, sharp banter, and those heart-in-your-throat near-misses that land again and again. I highly recommend this book for anyone who loves a coming-of-age story with a heartfelt romance and characters you’ll miss after the last page.


Plot story: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Characters: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Readability:⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️



Favorite quote from the book: “Look, all I know is I’m not going to spend the rest of my life doing something I’m not passionate about. Not when doing something I love is an option. Nothing is guaranteed in any career, so I might as well be chasing my dreams.”

Cute small town fall vibes. Worth the read and a great palate cleanser from dark romance. I loved the FMC in this book.