{ TTT } Halloween Freebie – Spooky Books

Hi beautiful people,

I am back today with yet another Top Ten Tuesday about covers. TTT is a fun meme that was created by The Broke and the Bookish, which is now hosted by The Artsy Reader Girl. Today’s theme was a freebie, as long as it was around Halloween theme, so I decided to write about 10 spooky books that are perfect for Halloween. As you may already know, I really enjoy seasonal books and some months have a particular meaning, October being the month when I focus on spooky reads. There will be on this list books I liked and of course books I adored, but also some books I didn’t like all that much for some reasons but that were still creepy enough to make it to this list. I tried to list books that are generally liked by the majority and that I wouldn’t want you to skip them when you might as well adore them.

A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness
🏷️ Fiction, Fantasy, Middle Grade, Horror, Standalone

I feel like I’m breaking open doors with this rec, because it’s a very famous book, but in case you haven’t read it yet, let me explain. A Monster Calls is the perfect example that books targeting a younger audience can be scary AF. Even though I was unexpectedly terrified by the monster in this story, the spooky part was not even the best part of this book. The story itself was both sad and beautiful at the same time, I honestly didn’t expect this book to touch me like that and I’m so grateful to have given it a chance because it’s worth your time.

Caraval by Stephanie Garber
🏷️ Magic, Fantasy, Young Adult, Fiction, Romance

This book’s strong point is the atmosphere. I often get sucked in books’ stories and characters and word buildings, but never I have ever been in such a trance while reading. I wasn’t just reading a story about two characters in a circus, I WAS in the circus, I was smelling powder and candies, I was walking in the narrows alleys, I was mesmerized by performances… I lived it all thanks to Stephanie Garber’s compelling writing. I have only read the first instalment so far, but I promised myself to finish this series this fall.

Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo
🏷️ Mystery, Fiction, Fantasy, Magic, Adult

I don’t know if that’s cheating, because I’m currently reading this book and I’m only around 20%, however, even though it was just the beginning and knowing that Leigh Bardugo’s books often start slowly, I have to add this book to my list. The ghosts are so scary in this book, and some of the things that Alex lives when she encounters them at first gave me goosebumps on several occasions. I can’t wait to go on with my reading, and I hope I will manage to finish it by October 31st because it would be perfect timing and I’m sure a great Halloween book.

Say Her Name by James Dawson
🏷️ Horror, Young Adult, Paranormal, Mystery

This book is an easy pick for several reasons, first, the story is happening on Halloween’s night when a dare goes wrong. Friends try to summon the legendary Bloody Mary, saying her name five times in front of a mirror. But nothing happens. Then weird events are happening for our three characters, including a bloody message on the mirror on the following morning saying ‘five days’. Outside of the ghost story that gave me a good scare, I really liked this book and I was really satisfied with the ending (it’s seldom the case when I read/watch books/movies from the horror genre).

The Bone Houses by Emily Lloyd-Jones
🏷️ Fantasy, Young Adult, Horror, Standalone

This was once again a book I didn’t have any expectations for. I received an ARC of it at BookExpo 2019 and didn’t know much about it before diving in. Even though I ended up reading it in August, I didn’t expect to have all the Halloween vibes as well as the fall evening vibe right in the middle of a summer day. I really feel like no one talks about this book and so I wanted to give it some visibility, it was such an interesting story that I hope you will cherish and love.I

The Invisible Life of Addie Larue by V.E. Schwab
🏷️ Historical Fiction, Adult, Fantasy

This book is the last one I finished less than a week ago and I’m so happy it lived up to my expectations (which was not an easy task, since I’ve almost never been so hyped about a book in my adult life). I don’t think The Invisible Life of Addie Larue was supposed to be spooky, and I don’t know if it’s because we are in October and this is the time I am constantly feeling on a Halloween mood, but this book actually crept me out on several occasions. It didn’t have the usual keys of the horror genre, and yet, I had this vibe and atmosphere that made me jump at the creaking wood of my flat.

The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin
🏷️ Young Adult, Fantasy, Paranormal, Mystery, Romance

Okay, let’s talk about the Unbecoming of Mara Dyer real fast. Something surprising happened with this series, I enjoyed each book less than the previous one (let’s say it ended with a 2 stars rating on one of the books and me putting the rest of the series on DNF). Anyway, this first instalment is actually really good and also, extremely spooky. Mara’s hallucinations really spooked me and I was fascinated by her voice, I will stan unreliable narrators because their voice already add so much to the actual story, even before anything serious happens

An Enchantment of Ravens by Margaret Rogerson
🏷️ Fantasy, Young Adult, Romance, Fae

An Enchantment of Ravens is one of the books that I like the least in this list. But yet, it had such a fall vibe to it that I still wanted to add it here. To be honest, I don’t even remember much about the book, not even what made it feel like fall (might as well be the cover) but it just felt right to put it here. I know a lot of the readers were torn on this one so I hope that if you ever want to give this book a try, you’ll enjoy yourself and lose yourself in the story and lyricality of the author.

Serpent & Dove by Shelby Mahurin
🏷️ Fantasy, New Adult, Romance, Witches

Serpent & Dove was one of the ARCs I received at BookExpo in 2019, and it was one of my favourite reads of this year as well. It”s easy, I loved every single part of it. From the characters to the relationship building, to the plot and story, everything was perfect. And of course, the fact that one of the characters is a witch helped me a great deal when I had to decide the books that would be on that list. Magic, powers that have a cost and danger, this book will definitely uplift your heart while giving you the Halloween chills.

House of Salt and Sorrow by Erin A. Craig
🏷️ Fantasy, Young Adult, Romance, Horror, Mystery, Retelling
 

House of Salt and Sorrow was one of the books I disliked the most in my entire life – and still, I’m avoiding the ‘hate’ word. But since this list is not about the books I liked, but more about the ones I think will give you chills, this one fits right in. I know it has been widely loved and shared on social media, and my opinion is not the same as the majority, but I’m lucid enough to be able to admit that this book had some scary vibes. Think The Haunting of Hill House in a book and you get the general idea of where this story is going.

 

What are your reading plans for Halloween?