Spooky reads for Halloween

Who else is loving October with its beautiful golden oranges and blushing reds, frequent rainfalls and pumpkin spice aromas? But of course, with autumn comes the fantastic celebration holiday of Halloween, and how do we celebrate? By watching Hocus Pocus, listening to the Nightmare Before Christmas soundtrack on repeat (as I’m listening to it right now) and by picking up some spooky books to read!

So I’ve compiled a list of some books perfect to read in the next few weeks and some books that have just been released that I can’t wait to read that sound perfect for Halloween:

City of Ghosts by Victoria Schwab

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

City of Ghosts pages: 285
Tunnel of Bones pages: 287

City of Ghosts is a middle grade book set in Edinburgh that’s full of ghosts and a brilliantly spooky read for Halloween! The sequel, Tunnel of Bones has just been released and is set in Paris. For a super quick and easy read, you could even read them both on the day of Halloween!

♥

Coraline by Neil Gaiman

Pages: 192

Another middle grade book but with a very creepy premise – a young girl finds a door that only appears at nigh which leads to her ‘Other Mother’ who is everything she’s ever wanted in a mother. There’s just one small problem: her Other Mother has buttons for eyes. This edition has some very creepy illustrations and if you’re keen on this story then check out the equally spooky film!

 

 

 

♥

The Witch’s Kiss by Katharine Corr and Elizabeth Corr

 

The Witch’s Kiss pages: 424
The Witch’s Tears pages:
The Witch’s Blood pages:

A trilogy about a struggling sixteen year old witch and a centuries-old curse – it’s a very sweet trilogy about magic and friendship.

 

♥

Toil and Trouble by Jessica Spotswood and Tess Sharpe

Pages: 405

An anthology that includes 15 tales of women and witchcraft – could this book be any more perfect for Halloween?! There’s something for everyone with historical fiction, contemporary and all different types of witches including some LGBT representation.

A book full of short stories at this point in October is great for just picking up and reading one each day!

 

 

 

♥

Forever Autumn by Mark Morris

Pages: 256

If you love Halloween and Doctor Who then this book is absolutely perfect for you! I love the style of writing in this book as I think the author captures Ten’s mannerisms so well. This is a brilliant book for reading in the run-up to Halloween as you follow Martha and the Doctor to the town of Blackwood Falls for some mystery and spooky cats!

 

 

 

 

 

♥

The Beautiful by Renée Ahdieh

Pages: 448

This is a newly released book from the author that brought us The Wrath and the Dawn that’s all about vampires. Set in New Orleans in 1872, a young girl gets pulled into a murder mystery after fleeing her life as a dressmaker in Paris. Books about vampires seem to have taken a backseat in the last few years so this a new vampire story to bring us back into their world!

 

 

 

 

♥

Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo

Pages: 458

The newest book from the author behind Shadow and Bone and Six of Crows, this is a creepy thriller about a young woman who gets a mysterious benefactor to monitor the activities of Yale’s secret societies which turns out to be more sinister than first thought.

This sounds like a very weird and creepy book that fits in well with the spooky season and I can’t wait to read it.

 

 

 

♥

Which of these have you read or plan to read this October? And let me know your Halloween book recommendations in the comments below!

Toil and Trouble Book Review

Toil and Trouble

Authors: Tess Sharpe, Jessica Spotswood, Brandy Colbert, Zoraida Córdova, Andrea Cremer, Kate Hart, Emery Lord, Elizabeth May, Anna-Marie McLemore, Tehlor Kay Mejia, Lindsay Smith, Nova Ren Suma, Robin Talley, Shveta Thakrar, Brenna Yovanoff
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Pages: 405
Rating: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

Synopsis from goodreads:

“A young adult fiction anthology of 15 stories featuring contemporary, historical, and futuristic stories featuring witchy heroines who are diverse in race, class, sexuality, religion, geography, and era.

Are you a good witch or a bad witch?

Glinda the Good Witch. Elphaba the Wicked Witch. Willow. Sabrina. Gemma Doyle. The Mayfair Witches. Ursula the Sea Witch. Morgan le Fey. The three weird sisters from Macbeth.

History tells us women accused of witchcraft were often outsiders: educated, independent, unmarried, unwilling to fall in line with traditional societal expectations.

Bold. Powerful. Rebellious.

A bruja’s traditional love spell has unexpected results. A witch’s healing hands begin to take life instead of giving it when she ignores her attraction to a fellow witch. In a terrifying future, women are captured by a cabal of men crying witchcraft and the one true witch among them must fight to free them all. In a desolate past, three orphaned sisters prophesize for a murderous king. Somewhere in the present, a teen girl just wants to kiss a boy without causing a hurricane.

From good witches to bad witches, to witches who are a bit of both, this is an anthology of diverse witchy tales from a collection of diverse, feminist authors. The collective strength of women working together—magically or mundanely–has long frightened society, to the point that women’s rights are challenged, legislated against, and denied all over the world. Toil & Trouble delves deep into the truly diverse mythology of witchcraft from many cultures and feminist points of view, to create modern and unique tales of witchery that have yet to be explored.”

♥

This anthology of 15 witchy tales was a perfect read for autumn and it was all about WITCHES! Who doesn’t love a good story about a witch and witchcraft? There are stories set in the modern world and set in the 1800s, stories about girls loving girls and girls loving boys, stories about sibling love and rivalry, stories about using magic for good and for evil, and so much more! There’s something in there that you’ll like and I found myself liking more of the stories than not, which can be difficult with an anthology. While it starts off a bit disappointing, there are lots more stories inside worth a read with some creepy witchcraft sprinkled throughout the pages. Here is a list of the stories with their respective authors and my rating for each:

Starsong by Tehlor Kay Mejia ♥
Afterbirth by Andrea Cremer ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥
The Heart in her Hands by Tess Sharpe ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥
Death in the Sawtooths by Lindsay Smith ♥ ♥ ♥
The Truth About Queenie by Brandy Colbert ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥
The Moonapple Menagerie by Shveta Thakrar ♥ ♥ ♥
The Legend of Stone Mary by Robin Talley ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥
The One Who Stayed by Nova Ren Suma ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥
Divine are the Stars by Zoraida Córdova ♥ ♥ ♥
Daughters of Baba Yaga by Brenna Yovanoff ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥
The Well Witch by Kate Hart ♥ ♥ ♥
Beware of Girls with Crooked Mouths by Jessica Spotswood ♥ ♥ ♥
Love Spell by Anna-Marie McLemore ♥ ♥
The Gherin Girls by Emery Lord ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥
Why They Watch Us Burn by Elizabeth May ♥ ♥ ♥

Books to read this Halloween

Halloween is mere days away – I’ve got pumpkin pie in the fridge, having pumpkin pancakes tomorrow and going to make some pumpkin biscuits and if that’s not enough, I’m going pumpkin picking today with my sister – it’s pumpkin crazy round here at the moment and I’m loving it! I’ve finally bought Hocus Pocus and as I’m writing this I’m listening to The Nightmare Before Christmas soundtrack. I never realised how much I actually enjoy Halloween – not the proper scary part of it, the more fun and treat-filled side! I went to a scary escape room yesterday for Halloween and it wasn’t that scary at all – I was getting more annoyed that I couldn’t solve the puzzles in time. It was a good escape room, but it was strange in the fact that normally you solve everything in one room and then open another – this one you randomly opened the doors to other rooms half way through and then still had puzzles to solve in the original room so it did make things a bit confusing!

I’m feeling perfectly spooky and of course, with Halloween comes some spooky reads to have on your shelf and even though I’m currently about 650 pages deep into Kingdom of Ash at the moment, I’m still hoping to fit in some spooky reads before the day comes along! So here are a few recommendations of books to read if you just want a little taste of some spooky stories before Halloween!

♥

Coraline

Coraline is such a good film and the book is perfectly creepy too! Written by Neil Gaiman and illustrated by Chris Riddell in this gorgeous version, it’s a quick 192 page story with one of my favourite characters (the black cat) and a brilliantly spooky Other Mother (which we all have!) Definitely pick up this book this Halloween and give the film a watch too! Both are guaranteed to get you in the mood for the spooky season.

 

 

 

♥

Because You Love To Hate Me

Haven’t got a lot of time to read before Halloween? Pick up a book of short stories with this book all about VILLAINS with a perfect number of 13 tales. Featuring some of my favourite authors like V E Schwab, Samantha Shannon and Renée Ahdieh, it’s got some awesome writing to get you hooked on new authors whilst giving you some amazing villains to love to hate!

 

 

 

 

♥

Toil and Trouble

Another book of short stories but this time it’s all about WITCHES! I have yet to pick up this book (since I’m reading the tome that is Kingdom of Ash!) but I’m hoping to fit in a few of these short stories before Halloween rolls around and finish it off in November because Halloween doesn’t have to end on October 31st! A perfect book to give you a taste of witchery and I’ve not read any of the authors featured in this so I’m excited to discover some new ones.

 

 

 

♥

Forever Autumn

I loved reading this last year for Halloween – Forever Autumn is a story of the tenth Doctor and Martha who get caught up in some creepy events in the town of Blackwood Falls. Even if you don’t like Doctor Who, it’s a great Halloween-feel read to get you in the spirit of the season! At only 256 pages you can read this in a day or two right before the 31st hits!

 

 

 

 

 

♥

City of Ghosts

A final recommendation is City of Ghosts by V E Schwab. I’ve not read this yet either (I’m saving it for the day of Halloween!) but anything this woman writes is worth reading with her A Darker Shade of Magic series and This Savage Song and Vicious being complete winners. You could even start up either This Savage Song or Vicious and get into the spooky spirit with the monsters in these stories! But for this book, it’s all about ghosts. It’s a middle-grade book and only 285 pages set in beautiful Edinburgh – so what are you waiting for?

 

 

 

♥

There are loads more books I could recommend but being so close to Halloween now, I thought I’d recommend some quick reads that would give instant satisfaction and Halloween vibes! So go grab a slice of pumpkin pie and enjoy these Halloween reads and have a Happy Halloween everyone!