Spooky Reading Recommendations!

So I’m not great with scary things. They aren’t my favourite and I don’t enjoy scaring myself, so instead my recommendations for Halloween reads are more mystery, thriller and dark, rather than pure scary. I’ll start off with children’s books and move on through to adult literature, but definitely try out all you feel comfortable with! I also have this post in video format on my YouTube channel from last year, so click here if you prefer to listen to/watch the recommendations!

Sheets by Brenna Thummler

This cute little graphic novel is linked into Halloween with an adorable ghost who appears and wants to assist our protagonist. A nice and unspooky way to join in with the season. Find my full review here!

 

Kiss of Death by Malcolm Rose

Something a little more creepy, two children pick up a coin on a school trip to a town which was previously ravaged by the plague. Taking this coin places a curse on the two and we see them struggle to come to this realisation and figure out a solution.

Blood Water by Dean Vincent Carter

There’s a “thing” in the water in this slightly scary teen read. It’s escaped from where it was being kept for research and is resulting in the gory deaths of those living nearby. Something a bit more creepy for those who want to test themselves. This isn’t a book I enjoyed personally but if the synopsis looks intriguing to you then check it out.

The Black Book of Secrets by F. E. Higgins

Back to something not as scary again, this book (and the whole series) are very fun, creepy reads aimed at 11+ readers. This book focuses on a man who pays money to write peoples secrets in his black book, our protagonist doesn’t understand why he would pay for this. So he tries to find out.

Who Could That Be at This Hour by Lemony Snicket

What creepy but not too scary book recs list would be complete without Lemony Snicket?! Obviously there is the whole Series of Unfortunate Events, however, another one of his series’ is called All The Wrong Questions and is more of a YA book. More of the Snicket we love with a more mature audience in mind.

Skulduggery Pleasant by Derek Landy

One of my absolute favourite series’, that I’ve been following since the beginning and continue to pick up. These books are 11+ and follow a Skeleton detective and the niece of his best friend as they get into a lot of scrapes. So much fun, great Irish humour and perfect for Halloween! (Also not spooky at all, the only fear is when the characters get themselves into stupid situations haha)

The Last Apprentice by Joseph Delaney 

This series goes by many names, in the UK (where I’m from!) it’s called Spooks, but in the US it is The Last Apprentice, and the first book has the same name. A little more of a creepy YA, we follow a young boy as he becomes the apprentice of the spook. A man who rounds up witches and keeps society safe from them. There are a few issues with this series, as it seems to be incredibly patriarchal with a mistrust of any female, however, I thought I would still mention it on this list as when I first read it at 15 I didn’t notice this and still really enjoyed the books. It’s up to you.

Messenger of Fear by Michael Grant

Another one of my favourite books, I read this for the first time recently and couldn’t put both it and the sequel down. I’m waiting on tenderhooks for book #3!! This follows a girl who has been apprenticed to the Messenger of Fear. It’s a nasty job, but she chose to take it on, and doesn’t remember why as her memory was wiped. Lots of graphic violence and a little bit of creepiness. A lot of fun!!

Cold Bath Street by A. J. Hartley

Not the most well heard of book, which is such a pity as this is yet another 5* read on this list! We follow a young boy names Preston when he has died, and how he copes in the world beyond. But there’s trouble, things aren’t following the route that they’re supposed to and he somehow gets himself entwined within this issue and aims to discover what is going on. Creepy (on a small scale, but more than some of the others on this list) and so engrossing! Find my full review here!

Alice by Christina Henry

An Alice In Wonderland retelling with a twist. This book had me absolutely ensnared for well over a week after I finished reading it! It’s dark, gritty and you should probably forget about other retellings you’ve read as this doesn’t follow that tried and tested format. I loved the skewed, humanoid versions of our well-known characters within Wonderland and how this was dragged into more of a dystopian world than a mythical land. 100% recommend and love! This isn’t a YA read though, so don’t go in with that expectation. Find my full review here!

Cross Her Heart by Sarah Pinborough

A straight thriller, a common choice for this time of year. This one messed with my mind, and it’s why I gave it 5 stars! I’ll say straight off that not everyone will enjoy this book, for example, BooksandLala really didn’t like it due to the ending which she considered to be over the top (and I can see why), so keep that in mind. But personally, I loved it and was absolutely enraptured and unable to put it down. Find my full review here!

The End of Mr Y by Scarlett Thomas

This book is a lot less well known than it should be, in my opinion, and I only know about it as I spotted it in a charity shop. With a creepy mystery surrounding a long-lost book, death, fantasy and weird shit are all present in this great book!

His Bloody Project by Graeme Macrae Burnet

This isn’t your traditional Halloween read, the only real gory section is that there is a murder. Our MC is being tried for a murder he committed, and we follow the events before, during and after the murder, as well as the trial itself. This is 100% not creepy, but it will make you think. Find my full review here!

The Girl in 6E by A. R. Torre

This thriller has it all, murderous tendencies, a creep that goes rogue and so much more. This will keep you on the edge of your seat and I personally came to really love our protagonist despite her obvious and glaring flaws.

The House of Silk by Anthony Horowitz

I had to include a traditional style mystery in here! I love reading Agatha Christie and Arthur Conan Doyle so whenever people add to their works and build upon their characters – I’m in! This book was brilliant and had me hooked, 100% recommend if you want to delve back into the world of Sherlock.

Macbeth by William Shakespeare

Now for an original classic, this book has murder and witches and is thoroughly enjoyable! If you find play scripts difficult to read then there are many great film adaptations of the work, sometimes watching a performance before reading it can be helpful for those who don’t flow naturally into this different writing layout.

The Damned vol 1 by Cullen Bunn, and illustrated by Brian Hurtt and Bill Crabtree

A dark, noir, gangster comic which definitely fits within the horror genre with its graphic panels, there are also fantasy elements within the story which allows it to break the walls of reality in an interesting manner. Check out my full review here!

Ghosts of the Past by Serge LeTendre and David S. Khara, and illustrated by Frédéric Peynet

This is a mystery/crime comic which follows our protagonist as he deals with Nazi’s, both in the present day and also with what they did during WWII. Pretty dark, due to the topic that it deals with, however, there isn’t really a scare factor. Click for my review for more of my thoughts.

And that’s your lot! It’s a bit of a long list, and my video is almost 25 minutes long so I apologise for that, but hopefully, I’ve been able to provide some ideas for books to delve into this spoopy season!! If you want to see how I get along with my October reads (which have a bit of a spooky theme) then keep an eye on my channel for my October Reading Wrap Up!

Have you read any of these? What did you think of them?

The Doll Factory review

1850s London, a young girl with a spinal deformity and a love of art, an up and coming artist, and a taxidermist. What could go wrong…
The concept of this book is so interesting! I have only one complain (and will address this first), and that is that once the *event* has occured, the book becomes a little slow. The writing really slowed down for me and I struggled to get to the event and then read through it. I didn’t have this issue leading up to the event and afterwards so that was a real pity. I also wished that there had been more time within the book after the event rather than it just stopping.
However, this is a lovely historical fiction that delves into the darker truth of humanity whilst retaining some of the purer and more loving aspects of humanity.
I give this book 3.5 out of 5. I enjoyed it, but it was pulled down by the slower ending. I’d definitely keep an eye out for anything else Elizabeth Macneal releases in the future.

FEBRUARY TBR!! | 2019

It’s time for us bookworms (well, a decent number of us) to decide what we want to read for the next month! February is a short one, and I also have 2 exams and a 5000 word assignment this month (and I have to do work on my thesis too) so this isn’t going to be a huge tbr. A little spoiler into my January wrap up, I didn’t read Fall of Giants. It was too much for me in my surgery month and it’ll be too much in this hectic time at uni so I’m not adding it to my tbr again this February. Instead, I have three smaller books!

All the Walls of Belfast by Sarah J Carlson -> RELEASE DATE: 12th March 19

This is an arc copy of a book set in the capital of Northern Ireland, as a woman who is half-Irish, and grew up in America, comes back to meet her father and explore his world. If all goes well there’ll be some cool stuff up on the blog closer to March for this one. Fingers crossed!!

The Princess Diarist by Carrie Fisher

I couldn’t resist picking this up from the charity shop (thrift shop for non-Brits) and I know that if I don’t read it soon it’ll collect dust on my shelves for a while. So I’m intending to read this sooner rather than later so I can actually get the enjoyment out of it that I wanted when I bought it!

Orphan Monster Spy by Matt Killeen

Simply put I’ve owned this for far too long and I really need to read it!! As it’s YA and a topic I love to read I’m really hoping that this’ll be a speedy one and I’ll be completely sucked in and absorbed.

 

And that’s it! Again, another short tbr. But I never stick to this small number of books and always end up reading something else (my smallest reading month since tracking was 4 books) so fingers crossed I’ll get to some more books as well, but I’ll only stick to these three for now so I don’t overwhelm myself.

What are you wanting to read in the coming month?

Sending a review from My Padded Cell

This was a very quick read, being only 230 pages, and also an enjoyable one. An account of people lives and how various events and circumstances lead them to addiction. This book doesn’t just focus on drug addictions, but also on those of gambling and the need for attention.

We are given the life story of a selection of people. Their childhoods, which were normally not ideal whether due to abuse, poverty or something else, through to abusive of negative relationships, both romantic and otherwise, and then through to their struggle with “sobriety” and how they’ve dealt with the 12 Step Programme. There are some fresh successes, some who have failed and have come back again, and also some who have managed to stay “sober” and have decided to work with other addicts and help them to improve their lives.

It’s a very candid look at these peoples lives, and it very much made me feel connected with these individuals and feel more for their situation. All too often addicts are stigmatised within our society, but this stigma can prevent them from reaching the help that they need and deserve. Books like this one can help break down the walls of that stigma and in turn allow more people to recover and become active members of society.

I gave this book 3/5 stars, thank you to NetGalley for an ecopy of this book in return for an unbaised review.

This Cruel Design to break your heart!

I was lucky enough to win an ARC (advanced reader copy) of this book in a Twitter giveaway, and I was so excited! I hadn’t actually read This Mortal Coil at this point (book #1 in the series) but it was something I’d had my eye on and this gave me the push to bump it up my TBR (to be read) list. Once I had read Mortal Coil I was hooked and had to use a lot of self control to not just dive straight in to Cruel Design! But personally I will mix the plot of series’ together if I read them back to back so I gave myself some time, and then dove in.

From this point on I will be vaguely outlining the plot of The Cruel Design (which is book #2) so there will be some spoilers for book #1. Don’t read ahead if you don’t want to be spoiled! You’ve been warned!

So we continue to follow our protagonist Cat after what they thought was code to stop the Hydra virus has been released, and the extra code hidden within has been given to every human on the planet. The code that Lachlan can use to control and reprogram humanity. They’re in a race against Cartaxus, the corporation that has their own adgenda and will do anything to reach it, whether that is working with or against Catarina, Cole and Leoben.

The virus is continuing to evolve pass the vaccine and they have to head to Entropia, the base of all extreme hackers and coders, to find the woman who runs it, and who used to work on the code with Cartaxus until she escaped, Regina. But more comes to light than the three were expecting, and everything that Cat knew might turn out to be a lie.

So if that plot summary doesn’t sound good to you then…. well I guess this book isn’t for you. But if it does, oh my genehacking coders, you need to pick it up! This book had me reading well past when I wanted to go to sleep. I used to do this a lot as a child and thought that I had just “grown-up” and that is why I’m not kept up by books anymore. Apparently, I was wrong! I was up until 3am finishing this bad boy, and if you follow me on Instagram (@autumnofpellinor) you’ll have seen my stories when I finally finished the book. Emily killed me in the absolute best way! I was heartbroken, shocked, confused, angry, and I needed more! I can’t believe I’m going to have to wait so long for part three of this series, but I’m also super excited that there is going to be a book three! For some reason, I had assumed it was a duology and was expecting it to wrap up in this book!

If this is a genre/topic you enjoy then this book will be unputdownable and absolutely amazing! I did have one or two little gripes, but that’s just me being a pedantic pain in the arse (and probably just feeling angry at all the amazing plot twists and turns!) and Emily Suvada has absolutely nothing to worry about because this book was pretty much perfect!

This book is set to come out on the 30th October/1st November (Goodreads says Oct, my ARC copy says Nov so keep an eye out on both dates) and I 100% recommend picking this beauty up! The cover artist(s) did an amazing job on the cover and the book itself will blow you away, and if you haven’t read book #1 yet then get on it! It killed me so much that I was lying on the floor of my flat kitchen (and my poor flatmate who had only known me 3 weeks got to see a BookWorm disintegrating through shock, anger and love – she’s recovered now don’t worry) and couldn’t do anything. I can’t wait to read the short story which goes along with this series, and also absolutely anything else that Emily comes out with in the future! She is now one of my auto-read authors!! (I finished this book 3 days ago and I’m still in “aaaaggghhh” mode, which should also be an indicator for how much I loved this!)

Have you read This Mortal Coil or Thie Cruel Design? What did you think? Are you going to pick them up? Comment below! I need someone to nerd out with about this series!

The End of Chiraq, who is it for?

This is going to be a tough review for me to get into words. I got this book through NetGalley, and ended up both giving it 3* and also DNFing it (Did Not Finish). The 3 stars was for the content, personally this is not the type of writing style that I enjoy, although the content was informative, and I would not run to pick it up again. It’s the DNF factor that is tough in this review.

I DNFd the book because, I felt like I shouldn’t be reading it? The strongest feelings I had throughout the 50% of the book that I did read were of injustice, hatred (justifiably so) and that this book was not meant for me. And it’s not. This book, in my opinion, is written by black Chicagoans, and is intended for black Americans. Now I know that we should read books that aren’t aimed at us and expand our bases, however, this felt in essence like I was intruding. Like I was listening to something that I shouldn’t get to listen to.

I will say, I learnt a lot about “Chiraq” from what I read, and I can see the struggles that happen every day. The police in this city have some serious explaining to do, but let’s be real. That’ll never happen. This is a tough book, about a tough subject, about lives that are lived every day in an area where the police are more like the army than anything else. Racism abound towards black people, despite the majority of people in the neighbourhood being black, and essentially the rest of America stays silent.

I encourage you to pick up this book, even if you DNF it like I did. It’s something that needs to be highlighted as an issue, and these voices need to be heard. Black Lives Matter. Full stop. Maybe this book can help more people realise that.

The Mystery of Three Quarters, an homage to classic mystery

I adore classic mystery stories. I’ve loved the original Sherlock books for as long as I can remember, as well as Agatha Christie’s writing, so when I spotted this little gem on NetGalley I just had to request it and luckily my request was granted!

This is the third book in this new installment by Sophie Hannah in the Hercule Poirot series and follows Poirot investigating an apparent murder where a forger has pretended to be him and has accused individuals of the crime via letters. This, of course, intrigues him and he begins to delve deeper into the mystery that has been laid out.

The writing style is done very well, and really gives you the feel of a classic Christie book. There are obviously imperfections in the writing, however, it is a well written piece and incredibly enjoyable. I found myself speeding through the book, and it was finished in no time at all. Always a sign of a good book for me. I definitely want to go back to the first two books Sophie Hannah released and delve into those too, as I can only imagine how much I’ll enjoy them. If you enjoy a traditional mystery then definitely pick this up. Great fun, enjoyable plot twists and all-in-all something that fits in well alongside Agatha Christie and Arthur Conan Doyle.

September TBR| 2018

So I’m a little behind with this post, but I’m really not sure how to write it up! I’ll link my video version here, cause it’s easier to babble and explain that way. However, I’ll attempt to list at least the basics of what I’d like to read this month!

Let’s get going!

First up, I aim to finish my beta read of Jemahl Evan’s newest book in the Blandford Candy series. There’s no cover image for this book yet but I am excited to finally finish it up and give Jemahl my thoughts!

Aaru by David Meredith

This was sent to me as a review copy by the author, so I’d like to get around to this while I still have access to the physical copy. It’s a dystopian novel about the possibilities of a digital afterlife and the impacts that will have on society when it’s owned by a company.

The Empathy Problem by Gavin Extance

This book follows a banker who discovers he has a brain tumour, and after this he slowly starts to become more empathetic (where previously he had been uncaring). I absolutely loved The Universe versus Alex Woods, also from this author, so I’m excited for this one.

Truth Sister by Phil Gilvin

I got this book as an ARC at the NYAListFest at the beginning of the year and I didn’t manage to read it before the publication date, so this is one I would love to be able to get to!!

 

The Mystery of the Three Quarters by Sophie Hannah

This beauty (I mean look at it!) came out at the end of last month, and I got an ARC of it from NetGalley so I’d like to get around to it sometime soon. I’m a liiiitle behind on my arcs (I’m so far behind, please send help!)

 

The Way of All Flesh by Ambrose Parry

According to Goodreads, this book is released in October. So maybe I could actually get to it before it’s pub date?! Probably not, but it’s the aim at least! Set in 1800s Edinburgh, there is murder afoot.

 

Time School by Nikki Young

This is a middle grade novel and is based around WWII so of course I need to read it. This should be a nice quick read as it’s only 129 pages long and aimed at a younger audience.

 

The End of Chiraq by Young Chicago Authors

This is a collection of modern poetry set in and based around Chicago. As a Brit I don’t know too much about this area so this should be an interesting read, and possibly another quick one as poetry usually flows quickly. We’ll see

 

So there it is, the main bulk of my September tbr! There are a few offshoots and random bits and pieces here and there that I mention a little more in my video, but this is the core, and is what is written down in my bullet journal! Fingers crossed I can complete this tbr this month. I really hope I can!

My stupidly large August TBR! Aaand, my last catch up post!

I have definitely set the bar a little toooo high this month! So I’m likely to not manage all of these, but at least I’m aiming high… right? This should also be my last “catch up” post after the hecticness of the readathons and my Gran coming to visit. Fingers crossed I can stay up to date from now on! Also, I’m not going to be including the remainder of my BookTubeAThon tbr (which continued into the beginning of August), if you’d like to see that tbr then click here, and my wrap up for that is here!

Finally, into the tbr!

Of Blood Exhausted by Jemahl Evans

This one doesn’t have any cover art as yet, as I am reading it as a beta reader. I keep putting it off as it feels like a bit of a daunting challenge (and it’s on my laptop which is just awkward). But hopefully, placing it within my tbr will encourage me to actually get to it! It is the 3rd book in the Blandford Candy series (link to book #1 here) which I adore and go on about frequently! I really am so excited to get to it! Just a little daunted!

King of the Seven Lakes by A. B. Endacott (Legends of the Godskissed Continent #2)

I absolutely fell in love with Queendom of the Seven Lakes, book one in the series (link here!), and am so pleased that the series is continuing on (book 3 is already out! I need to read, read, read!). This is an amazing fantasy series, with great character and world development and this should be such a good read!

Aaru by David Meredith (The Aaru Cycle #1)

I was sent a copy of this self-published book by the author, and the dystopian synopsis really intrigues me. I’m hoping that I really enjoy this, as there is already a sequel out and I can jump into it!

The Mystery of the Three Quarters by Sophie Hannah (New Hercule Poirot Mysteries #3)

I got this book to review from NetGalley, and although I haven’t read much from her, I really love Agatha Christie’s writing so I’m hoping that Sophie Hannah can match it! Many of Christie’s books could be read individually so I’m hoping that I won’t be at too much of a disadvantage having not read the first two books.

Shattered by Teri Terry (Slated #3)

I’m finally getting round to finishing this series!! I started it so many years ago and am so ready to see the conclusion, although I’m 100% not ready for it to end! I’ve loved the first two books in this series so this should be a good one!

The Universe Between Us by Jane C. Esther

A book I acquired through NetGalley that I should’ve read a long time ago. I don’t remember what it’s about, I’m assuming it’s a Sci-Fi. I hope I enjoy it but only time will tell.

 

The Orchard by Anne Frasier/Theresa Weir

Another book I got through NetGalley that looked interesting. This is an autobiography of fighting for love and changing her life dramatically. I don’t actually know of the author but she has written fiction so I am expecting it to flow well and be interesting!

Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas (Throne of Glass #1)

Does this need an explanation? No, I’ve not read it yet. Yes, this is my first time through it. I really hope that I enjoy this! The hype is intense for this book so fingers crossed!

 

Sabriel by Garth Nix (Abhorsen #1)

Another well known YA book that many have read, although this one is a little older! I only bought this relatively recently, so it’s not toooo bad… right? Again, hoping I enjoy this one!

 

The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness (Chaos Walking #1)

There seems to be a bit of a theme going on here… another older YA book that so many people have read. I intend to join their numbers!

 

Dark Places by Gillian Flynn

Booksandlala (in her older videos) goes on about Gillian Flynn so much that I had to pick up a couple of her books! This is the one that has the most intriguing synopsis to me so it’s up first!

 

The Empathy Problem by Gavin Extence

Look at how pretty this cover is! This was a total cover buy, along with The Universe Versus Alex Woods, but I absolutely loved that book and the synopsis sounds really interesting so I’m expecting to really enjoy this one!

Truth Sister by Phil Gilvin

I got this book as an ARC (Advanced Readers Copy – pre-publishing with a few minor tweaks to be made to the finished book) at NYALitFest (see my haul here!) and at the time it wasn’t on Goodreads and there was no date on my copy so I didn’t know when it came out. Fast forward months later and it turns out it was released on the 1st July so I need to get reading! This is a novel that, as far as I can tell from the synopsis, revolves around a matriarchy with a severe class system, knowledge, and corruption. Should be a good one!

The Time Travel Handbook by Wyllie, Acton and Goldblatt

I already started reading this during the 7in7readathon (vlog here) and I’m really enjoying it. It’s essentially a travel guide to 18 historical events, both very recent history (the fall of the Berlin wall) and ancient history (such as the eruption of Vesuvius) and is written in a really engaging and interesting way. Excited to finish it!

And that’s it! Fourteen books! Like I said I probably won’t get around to all of them but I can try! I’ll be going off to a different University next month to start a Masters so I probably won’t have too much free time, hence the massive reading goal for my last month of freedom for another year! Let’s see how much I manage!

That Old Black Magic, a review

First of all, thank you for NetGalley for a copy of this book in return for an unbiased review. I grabbed this book as it was set in WWII times, no surprise there. However, I didn’t re-read the synopsis before diving into the book so this was all I knew, and lord was I confused! But, obviously, this was all my own fault and I managed to catch up to the gist of the plot by 20-odd% through.

This book engages in the mystical and the unknown, following a Scottish policeman in his work to uncover German spies. He manages to tangle himself up in a world of magic and spirits, with people supposedly speaking to the dead and transferring messages from the other side as well as being part of curious cults (for want of a better word) who terrify and control their members. Essentially this is a very odd book which mixes the occult with British 1940s/50s values and it’s incredibly entertaining.

I was invested in the plot and hooked right to the very end, I absolutely loved the mystery present within the story and how it entwined itself into the fantastical plot and the societal feelings of the times. Our Scotsman protagonist is a great viewpoint for the story, but there are also other points of view dotted about within the book which encompass the story more fully and allow for the reader to gather the gist of events and their relevance to each other.

I whole-heartedly recommend picking this book up if its synopsis intrigues you, as there are so many dimensions to this novel that something is sure to spark your interest! I definitely enjoyed the reading experience.