Have you ever noticed how Halloween stores seem to pop up out of nowhere and disappear as quickly as they came? In A Hexcellent Chance to Fall in Love (2025), by Ann Rose, there’s a reason for that: magic.
Pepper has been the Keeper of the Dead of Night Halloween store for five years. It’s not merely a job, but a curse, which the previous Keeper tricked her into taking on. Every year, Pepper appears in August alongside the store, and disappears when it closes ten weeks later. And each time the store closes for the season, everyone’s memories of her disappear as well. Pepper is more-or-less okay with this state of affairs—until she meets Christina, a high school teacher who needs her help decorating for a Halloween fundraiser. The two quickly begin to fall in love, but Pepper knows that if their relationship is going to have a future, she needs to find someone else to take over the curse.
This is a feel-good book full of warm, fuzzy fall vibes, more whimsical than spooky. The twist ending was a surprise!
Consider trying these books next: The Devil She Knows (2025), The Ex Hex (2021), Can't Help Falling in Love (2024), or Best Hex Ever (2024).