This is my favorite time of year — hoodie and baking season — a time of anticipation and preparation, with a hint of melancholy as the year races to a close. Autumn snuck up on me somehow. The trees have already turned color and are shedding red and yellow leaves far too soon. But with a stack of fall-themed romances piled by my bed, I can hold onto this glorious season even after the branches go bare and winter looms. That’s the wonderful thing about romance fiction — it lets me linger in a time and place I love.

Here are two books that have satisfied my need to escape into a happy world that’s cozy, bright, and cinnamon-spiced.

*****

I don’t know how it’s possible, but Laurie Gilmore’s The Cinnamon Bun Book Store (One More Chapter) is even more delightful than the first volume in her Dream Harbor series, The Pumpkin Spice Café.

Bookish introvert Hazel Kelly has worked at the Cinnamon Bun Book Store since she was 15, and she’s mostly happy in her small New England hometown of Dream Harbor. But as her 30th birthday approaches, Hazel feels as if she’s spent more time reading about life than experiencing it. So when she finds first one, then a second, cryptic message highlighted in mis-shelved books at the shop, she decides it’s the call to adventure she’s been craving.

Determined to follow the clues and solve this literary mystery, Hazel discovers a willing partner in handsome fisherman Noah Barnett. Noah has a reputation as a good-time guy who keeps the tourists happy but avoids serious relationships. What no one knows is that he has a secret crush on Hazel — and her treasure hunt gives him the perfect opportunity to spend more time with her.

Despite their differences, their friendship blossoms into a delicious slow-burn affair that has the whole town talking. With plenty of humor and spice, a charming cast of quirky secondary characters, and a hint of mystery and adventure, The Cinnamon Bun Book Store is ideal for fans of “The Gilmore Girls” and small-town romance. I can’t wait to revisit Dream Harbor in The Christmas Tree Farm!

*****

In Catch and Keep (St. Martin’s Griffin), Erin Hahn brings all the lakeside vibes to a tale that’s both heartwarming and empowering.

At 33, Maren Laughlin decides to reinvent her life after she turns down her boyfriend’s marriage proposal and leaves her job as a park ranger. To make her new start, she returns to northern Wisconsin, where she spent summers as a child, and the rundown bait shop she inherited there. Things have always come easy and just happened for Maren, and she’s tired of it. She’s ready to make her own choices, even if they seem risky to everyone around her. Everyone, that is, except Josiah Cole.

As a single father and manager of his family’s local summer resort, Josiah is no stranger to life’s unexpected twists. He admires Maren’s willingness to shake things up and start over, even if his best friend, her brother, feels differently. Although they aren’t looking for a romantic entanglement, the chemistry between Maren and Josiah is so immediate that romance finds them anyway. It’s clear they’re meant to be together — the tricky part is going to be figuring out how to make the magic last long-term.

With an idyllic lakeside setting and close-knit community as a backdrop, Hahn has crafted a swoony, feel-good celebration of second chances and the beautiful risk of living the life we love.

Kristina Wright lives in Virginia with her husband, their two sons, two Goldendoodles, and a ginger cat. She’s a regular contributor at BookBub and a lifelong fan of romance fiction. Find her on Twitter at @kristinawright or on Bookshop, where she features her book recommendations.