All Hallows Reads - Spooky TBR

I know I should have planned my Halloween reading/TBR lists in advance. But am a mood reader, so when have I ever done that?!

But I do have titles on my radar that I know I would like to read over the course of the month. Highly unlikely, truth be told, but these titles feel like PERFECT reads and listens so I thought a little post to shout a few titles out would be a good idea. Plus, you might think that there would be good reads for you as the nights draw in for us lot in the Northern Hemisphere (there will be affiliate links in this post when referencing titles in this post.

The first on the list is a series I have plans to attack next year – The Diviners by Libba Bray. I know, I keep saying this every now and then, but I actually been thinking about following through with my plan. I now own all four audiobooks in the series – The Diviners, Lair of Dreams, Before the Devil Breaks You and The King of Crows – and am always surprised by the love this series get while feeling very under the radar. Plus, I did like elements of the first book and intrigued, up to a point, to find out what happens in 1920s New York with these paranormal teens. However, some of the choices left a lot to be desired and I find one of the main leads, Evie, insufferable – and the character growth she had through the book was thrown out of the window in the last few pages. But I feel like I am ready to tackle the creepy and the slow burn. Plus, the idea of the spirit serial killer of Naughty John is still terrifying…

I have another series on my Kindle that I bought on impulse (and yes, because it was surprisingly cheap!) is the Stalking Jack the Ripper series by Kerri Maniscalco. I know this series did the rounds when it first came out – Stalking Jack the Ripper, Hunting Prince Dracula, Escaping from Houdini and Capturing the Devil. Not entirely sure if this series fits the Halloween vibes as it has a strong romance element to it, but with its murder mystery vibes to it (not so much paranormal, but we humans are the scariest things out there, aren’t we?), this might trick some boxes for you.

Most of us want to be scared at Halloween. Others, myself included, like to dip our toes into the world of magic. And I have several titles that fit this “cosy fantasy” troupe well. A Natural History of Dragons by Marie Brennan is a cosy fantasy that follows Lady Brent as she becomes a world's preeminent dragon naturalist. This, written in a style of a memoir, fits the same style as Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett, the big difference being… yes, you guessed it. Faeries (I do have this on my kindle, even though fairies aren’t my normal go-to for fantasy. But I avoid zombies barring one or two huge expectations).

Now, I should say one more book and then be done. I know what you want to me to say. A horror, a thriller, something that will keep you all reading WAY past your bedtime and, when the house creaks, you jump out of your skin. But there are scarier things than that: love and being true to yourself. Stay with me here with this book as I do have plans to slip this in for Halloween Reading: Charming Young Man by Eliot Schrefer is a historical coming-of-age novel following a young, talent pianist trying to find his place in the world at a time when being gay was against the law. Now, we all know that there are still countries today that seeing homosexuality as crime and will sentence that person is prison or, worse, to death. And we are being to hear very scary transphobic language from people in positions of power, so yes, this is terrifying. But, at the same time, isn’t growing up and figuring yourself out more terrifying?

Am sure I can think of more spooky/creepy Halloween reads (and I probably will do another post nearer the Big Day) and I sense this will spill over into November. So, what spoooOOOOoooky books and audiobooks are on your radar this month? Leave a comment or tap me up on socials and let me know!