What We Read in October: Our Spooky TBRs

H A P P Y   H A L L O W E E N ! ! !

Did you read any good, scary books this October? We set ourselves some goals, while also providing some recommendations, and this post is where we see how we did all month. You can see how much progress we made on our Spooky TBRs below, as well as check out our reviews for the ones we did get to. =)

April's Spooky TBR

April's Progress:

3 / 9

The Coldest Girl in Coldtown by Holly Black (Review)

Girl of Nightmares by Kendare Blake

Rot & Ruin by Jonathan Mulberry

The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater (Review)

Born Wicked by Jessica Spotswood

Unspoken by Sarah Rees Brennan

Beware the Wild by Natalie C. Parker

The Bargaining by Carly Anne West

The Fall by Bethany Griffin (Review)

So there you have it. A total fail. I had high hopes, but I didn't do nearly as good with this list as I did with my summer list. I blame the new job for everything! lol. I'm happy with the three I did finish though. If you could see how behind I am on reading, you'd be proud of me too! :)

Jen's Spooky TBR

Jen's Progress:

9 / 15

Chaos by Sarah Fine (review)

Blue Lily, Lily Blue by Maggie Stiefvater (review)

Unmade by Sarah Rees Brennan (review)

This Shattered World by Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner

In the After Light by Alexandra Bracken

Mortal Gods by Kendare Blake

Lailah by Nikki Kelly (review)

Trial by Fire by Josephine Angelini (review)

Creed by Trisha Leaver and Lindsay Currie

Suspicion by Alexandra Monir

Killer Instinct by Jennifer Lynn Barnes (review soon)

Mary: The Summoning by Hillary Monahan

Black Ice by Becca Fitzpatrick (review)

Exquisite Captive by Heather Demetrios (review soon)

The Perilous Sea by Sherry Thomas (review)

I knew I wouldn't be able to get to all of these, especially In the After Light which only just released this week. But I think I did pretty okay, all things considered. I was looking at my Fall TBR, and I think I have a real shot at finishing all of those books before the end of November. And I did read/listen to one ghost story that wasn't on my list, but it was a total waste of my time. Oh, well...

What spooky books did you read this month? Also, we were thinking of doing something similar for Christmas...have any recs for us? I can only think of a few Christmas-themed books, and at least one of those would be a re-read for me. :D

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Labels: halloween, holidays, reading challenges, spooky reads, TBR pile, what we read

Review: Lailah by Nikki Kelly

Title: Lailah
Author: Nikki Kelly
Series: The Styclar Saga, book #1
Publisher: Feiwel and Friends
Publication Date: October 7, 2014
Source: ARC received from publisher
Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Audible

The girl knows she’s different. She doesn’t age. She has no family. She has visions of a past life, but no clear clues as to what she is, or where she comes from. But there is a face in her dreams – a light that breaks through the darkness. She knows his name is Gabriel.

On her way home from work, the girl encounters an injured stranger whose name is Jonah. Soon, she will understand that Jonah belongs to a generation of Vampires that serve even darker forces. Jonah and the few like him, are fighting with help from an unlikely ally – a rogue Angel, named Gabriel.

In the crossfire between good and evil, love and hate, and life and death, the girl learns her name: Lailah. But when the lines between black and white begin to blur, where in the spectrum will she find her place? And with whom?

Gabriel and Jonah both want to protect her. But Lailah will have to fight her own battle to find out who she truly is.

Here's the thing about Lailah: your overall enjoyment of the novel will depend greatly on what kind of expectations you had going into the book. Based on that cover, I initially expected some serious creepy.  Then I read the synopsis and realized this was going to be a paranormal romance focused on the battle between good and evil. So, I waited until I was ready to read an angsty swoonfest, and then I picked up this book.

This story is definitely one you'll need to be in the mood for. It's campy and overly dramatic, full of clichés and rife with "pretty people". But it was exactly what I wanted to read at the moment, and once I looked passed those things, I found the story highly entertaining. I've seen a lot of comparisons to another vampire-themed series that falls victim to some of these same elements, but when I first read those books, I enjoyed them immensely, too. I think that's what you have to keep in mind with any book: the mood and your expectations can greatly affect your overall enjoyment. I'd read some of those less-than-stellar reviews and decided that I'd just lower my expectations and enjoy the book for what it was. That's not a dig at the book -- I really did enjoy it -- but I don't know that I'll honestly ever take a vampire story completely serious, not unless the vampires, and I mean every single one of them, are portrayed as the violent, lethal creatures they are. (Or would be if they really existed.)

I feel like I've read a book with a similar premise before -- angels versus vampires, good versus evil -- but I can't for the life of me remember what that book or series was. The story in general felt familiar, but I attribute that to the simple fact that I've read quite a few vampire and angel-themed stories in the last few years, and it's hard not to tread on territory that's already been covered. The lore here is somewhat surprising, though, discovering who and what Lailah is, where she comes from and what truths that leads her to about the angel and vampires in her company.

What wasn't surprising was the love triangle...I mean, it's pretty obvious in that summary. So, if you don't love them, this is definitely a book to pass on because it is a full-on, going-to-drive-you-nuts love triangle. But if you don't care either way, if you're just waiting to see which team you'll end up on, this book was written with you in mind. Personally, I still don't know which team I'm on. One boy is the love interest Lailah is destined for, and the other sees her for who she truly is, good and bad, and loves her regardless. Gabriel is the enigmatic angel with secrets. Jonah is the vampire seeking redemption. Both are yummy and both want to protect her. I'm having a hard time picking just one of them. =)

Lailah, on the other hand...well, I'm just going to say it: she was annoying at times, the way she waffled between the two guys and played them against each other and was just one of those girls. I know she's been through quite a lot and not knowing who you are could leave a person feeling not-so-well-adjusted, but you have to draw the line somewhere, especially when there are sooo many people's feelings involved. Still, Lailah's character grew on me eventually. Especially as more of her history and her destiny was revealed.

I breezed through this one and found more than enough to keep me entertained: an interesting premise, intriguing twists and turns, and characters that kept me guessing, especially as to where their loyalties truly lie. The next book is entitled Gabriel, which makes me assume that the sequel is told from his perspective. Yes, please...especially after reading that last bit in Lailah from his point of view. I'm pretty excited to see what the next book holds.

GIF it to me straight:

Entertaining and exactly what I was in the mood for...good, frivolous fun.

About the author:

I was born and raised only minutes away from the chocolately scent of Cadbury World in Birmingham, England. So it will probably come as no surprise that when I'm not dreaming in Vampires & Angels, I dream in chocolate! For the past ten years I have lived in West London with my hubby and two dogs, Alfie - the Pug & Goose - the Chihuahua.

LAILAH is my debut novel, and first launched in serial form to wattpad, a readers & writers community. Within just 6months, LAILAH had over a million reads and thousands of comments and votes.

Since then, The Styclar Saga has gone on to pick up a traditional deal with Feiwel & Friends, and LAILAH, the first book in the series is due for release on October 7th 2014.

These days I spend my time balancing my amazing job of writing fantasy fiction, with my other, very important role of Chocolate Connoisseur. I like to multitask and do the two together. It makes me happy.

Find Nikki:

Website | Twitter | Goodreads | Tumblr | Pinterest | Facebook

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Labels: angels, beautiful covers, macmillan, nikki kelly, reviews, spooky reads, the styclar saga, vampires

Spooktacular Giveaway Hop - INTERNATIONAL!

Big thanks to Kathy at I Am A Reader, Not A Writer for organizing this hop!

We just love Halloween.  Getting dressed up.  Scaring the pants off people.  Candy.  :)  And to share our love of this holiday, we're giving you guys the chance to win your choice of some seriously awesome -- and creepy! -- books.

TWO WINNERS!!!

Rules:

• This giveaway is international. As long as The Book Depository ships to your location, you are good to go. (You can double-check that here.) 
• One entry per household. 
• Entries will be verified. Any entry found to be falsified will result in disqualification of all entries for that participant.
• Please note that if you use your Twitter account solely for giveaway entries and you enter using the Tweet about the Giveaway entry, that entry will be disqualified. Please remember that this entry method is to spread the word about the giveaway, not simply increase your chances of winning.
• Winner will be notified via email. Winner will then have 48 hours to respond before another winner will be selected. Please check your SPAM folder!!! 
• We are not responsible for lost packages. 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Now that you've entered here, be sure to check out all of the other stops on the Spooktacular Giveaway Hop:



Thanks for entering & happy reading!

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Labels: giveaway hops, giveaways, halloween, spooky reads

Judging a Book By Its Cover: The Fall by Bethany Griffin

We so borrowed this idea from Sara at Forever 17 Books, who got the idea from an article on Babble called Judging a Book by Its Cover: A 6-year-old Guesses What Classic Novels Are All About. Basically, it's about getting a child's perspective on the story inside the book based on just the cover art. It can be hilarious, but it can also be enlightening.

Okay, I totally missed doing these posts with Katie, and it looks like it's been right at a year since our last one. While cleaning recently, I found the folder that I kept her previous iterations in -- all 33 of them! -- so I begged April to see if Aubrey would be up to contributing, too. Lucky for me, she was! =)






This week, the girls are working on the following book:

Title: The Fall
Author: Bethany Griffin
Series: n/a
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Publication Date: October 7, 2014
Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Madeline Usher is doomed.

She has spent her life fighting fate, and she thought she was succeeding. Until she woke up in a coffin.

Ushers die young. Ushers are cursed. Ushers can never leave their house, a house that haunts and is haunted, a house that almost seems to have a mind of its own. Madeline’s life—revealed through short bursts of memory—has hinged around her desperate plan to escape, to save herself and her brother. Her only chance lies in destroying the house.

In the end, can Madeline keep her own sanity and bring the house down? The Fall is a literary psychological thriller, reimagining Edgar Allan Poe’s classic The Fall of the House of Usher.

Behold, the girls' attempts at recreating The Fall by Bethany Griffin...

Aubrey's masterpiece & guess:

Aubrey says:

"I think she must be lost in the woods. She is looking for her momma, but she can't find her. And it's dark and scary because it's Halloween."

Now I haven't read this one, and I don't think Jen has either. Why would we choose this one for the girls to color then? well, scrolling through goodreads Aubrey started yelling that she wanted to draw the one with the yellow haired girl in the scary woods. So there you have it! I've been so wrapped up and busy lately, so I'm sad I haven't gotten to this one yet, but I hope to find time soon! It looks really creepy and Aubrey may be on to something here!

*update* I started The Fall this week, and it's so creepy and awesome so far!



Katie's artwork & thoughts:

Katie says:

"I think it's about a girl who's about to fall because the Earth is all tipped, and she's the only person left on the Earth when it's tipping. And there also might be a storm with mist and fog."

Nope, I haven't read this one yet, but I loved Griffin's Masque of the Red Death duology. I've never read The Fall of the House of Usher, which this book is based on, but I'm intrigued by the premise. I don't think Katie got the same kind of creepy vibe from it that I did, but her interpretation based on the cover is still pretty scary. I'm hoping to get to this one before the end of the month in order to include it in my Spooky Reads.


Have you read this book or do you plan to? What do you think of the girls' artwork and their thoughts on the story's premise?

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Labels: aubrey, bethany griffin, cover art, harper-collins, judging a book by its cover, katiebug, spooky reads, the fall

Our Favorite Spooky Reads and Recs + Our Spooky TBRs

Trick or treat! Smell my feet! Or...don't. Whatever. :)

April and I had so much fun planning out our summer reading and recommending great summer reads to all of you a few months ago that we thought we'd incorporate our spooky reads into a similar post...just in time for October and all of the scary, Halloween-type books that will be popping up soon. I thought it might be a tad too early for this type of post, but several of my neighbors already have their houses completely decked out for Halloween, so apparently not. Guess it's time to head to the attic to dig out the fall wreaths, at least. :)

We've separated all of our scary recommended reads by theme or the creatures they feature and have gone on to explain why we picked these particular novels. At least one of us has read the novels depicted below, so you know our recommendations are heartfelt. We'd never intentionally steer you wrong...or would we? ;0) At any rate, we tried to recommend some titles that maybe aren't super popular but that are beloved to us, that would make great recs for those who maybe don't read as much as we do.

Jen: Salt & Storm was a recent read for me and it really stuck with me, maybe because of the bittersweet effect it had on me. I've had Born Wicked on my shelf forever -- with the old cover -- and my library finally got the audio...so good. Just wish they had the other two books on audio. :( The Hex Hall series was fun, magical, and included a lot more than just witches. I've never even attempted to read Blood Magic, though I do own a copy...loved her short stories on Merry Sisters of Fate with Maggie Stiefvater and Brenna Yovanoff. Beautiful Creatures is the only witch story on which (ha) April and I differ...I've tried reading and listening to the book so many times and can't get past the first quarter, let alone move on to the next book. I did like the movie okay, though. o_O

April: I have yet to read Salt & Storm and Born Wicked. Born Wicked is one I'm hoping to get to this fall though! Hex Hall was just okay for me, but Blood Magic and Beautiful Creatures rocked my world. I've only read up to book two from the Caster Chronicles so far, but I'd like to continue them someday.

Jen: I discovered the 13 to Life series completely by chance, but it really grabbed me, especially the werewolf brothers. Hemlock reminded me a lot of Veronica Mars, which is why I need to make every effort to finish the series. Rachel Vincent's Shifters is an adult series and was so much fun from start to finish, and I wasn't ready for it to end when it finally did after the 5th or 6th book. The Others series by Anne Bishop is absolutely phenomenal. It also includes other paranormal creatures, but one of the main (and one of my favorite) characters is a werewolf, so I stuck it in this category. I love Jennifer Lynn Barnes, but I couldn't make myself read past the first book in the Raised by Wolves series...I just didn't find it as compelling as some others.

April: Stray and Raised by Wolves are the only two I can vouch for. I really loved them both, and I need to get to their sequels!

Jen: I think the Blood of Eden series is one of the best vampire series I've ever read. From start to finish, it was one of those edge of your seat reads. The Coldest Girl in Coldtown, though, my be my favorite vampire read ever...I've read and listened to it several times and I still swoon for Gavriel every single time. I listened to the entire Vampire Academy series in one fell swoop over summer vacation a couple of years ago and fell hard for Rose and Dimitri...and poor Adrian. And I fell harder still for Adrian and Sydney in the Bloodlines spin-off series. The only one I haven't read of these is The Hallowed Ones, but I believe I have this first book on my Kindle. I have to admit, the promise of the Amish and vampires in such a story has intrigued me since it was first rec'd to me.

April: The only vampire book in this group that I haven't read is The Coldest Girl in Cold Town. I cannot freaking wait to get to that, and it's on my spooky read list, so soon! I have to agree with Jen on the Blood of Eden books. They were awesome. Vampire Academy and Bloodlines are amazing too. The Hallowed Ones though, is one of the scariest vampire novels I've read to date. It's seriously fucking creepy. Vampires + Amish = instant win.

Jen: I adore Kendare Blake and everything she writes, but it all started with Anna Dressed in Blood. I also thought that the Shade series by Jeri Smith-Ready was fantastic, but for me, it was even better on audio because the narrator is fabulous at Zachary's Scottish brogue. ;0) I started reading Velveteen before it was released but had to put it aside...but what I did read of it was so unique and completely awesome...I need to make time to finish it. I've heard great things about Karina Halle and Dark House, enough that I purchased a copy, but I haven't gotten to it yet.

April: Ahhh, Anna Dressed in Blood! Best ghost book I've ever read. Hands down. Shade, was kind of meh for me. I just couldn't get into those as much as others have. Velveteen, I honestly have not heard of that one, but I may have to add it to my goodreads. I really enjoyed Dark House, but I think it's an acquired taste. I've had a couple of friends say they couldn't get into it, and others that blew through the series. I stopped at about book 5, and I really need to pick them back up. Her writing gets better as the stories go on. And they are pretty scary. Great for this time of year.

Jen: I think gothic horror stories might just be my favorite reads because they are so atmospheric and all-encompassing. Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea was beyond phenomenal for me, as was its sequel...full of red-headed devils and crooked-smiling liars. And I don't know a single person I haven't told to read Sarah Rees Brennan's Unspoken...I'm dying for the third and final book to release next week! Each of the stories in Megan Shepherd's The Madman's Daughter series is based on a gothic classic and each has a beautiful cover to match. Blythewood is set at a boarding school, where magic and the fey linger, and the story within is just as gorgeous as the cover on the outside. (I had some other recs for this category, but I'm not trying to rec my whole library. :P)

April: I have never read a gothic horror. This disappoints me, so even though my spooky reads list is big, I added Unspoken to the pile.

Jen: Those first two series are two of my very most favorites ever! They deserve so much more recognition than they get. Sanctum is the book that made me jump on the Sarah Fine bandwagon, and I can't wait to read the final book very, very soon. MALACHI!!!! I just helped out on the blog tour for the second book in the Rephaim series by Paula Weston, but Shadows was outstanding...angels, angel/human offspring, demons, hellhounds, the search for the fallen angels. Probably the best angel-themed series I've read next to Angelfall by Susan Ee....which could also probably be placed on this list, what with those evil angels and their "locust" creations. I'm obviously a Sarah Rees Brennan fangirl, as she's made it into two different categories now. But the snark, oh, the snark, in The Demon's Lexicon series...it's sooo good. Haven't read Exiled, but that cover has definitely piqued my interest, April.

April: I think I own Sactum. I'm not entirely sure though, I think I may have grabbed it on sale. I thought about adding Angel Fall to this group, so it's funny seeing Jens commentary now as I'm filling out mine. I tend to stay away from angel or demon books. They just don't call to me, but Angel Fall was recommended to me by Jen, and it was amazing. Exiled was pretty good. I bought it because I loved the cover. It's self published, so I was wary, but the writing was great.

Jen: Zombies used to be my favorite paranormal/supernatural creature to read about. Now, I love them all equally, but I still have some mad favorites in this genre, tops being The Forest of Hands and Teeth, though the second book in this series is actually my favorite. The Ashes trilogy is about zombies that aren't zombies and human nature; in other words, it's heart-stopping and jaw-dropping and just so, so good. Enclave was my first experience with an Ann Aguirre book, and I've been a fan ever since. Feed by Mira Grant is about bloggers and zombies and more human nature and it's pretty effing good on audio. I still need to catch the rest of the series. I've never read a zombie book that felt so contemporary before, but leave it to Courtney Summers to write a book like This is Not a Test. Warm Bodies was different and humorous, but I actually kind of think I liked the movie better. (The soundtrack was killer, too.) I haven't read the other two.

April: The Forest of Hands and Teeth is one of my favorite zombie series. Loved those books hardcore. I love zombie stories, but there are a ton out there that I still haven't read. This Is Not A Test was great. Graveminder was pretty cool, a different take on the whole living dead phenomenon. Warm Bodies, that one I felt the movie was better than the book. Might be a first ever. Red Hill, is also really good!

Jen: I blame my dad for my love of sci-fi. Also, good stories like these. The 5th Wave is probably my favorite novel featuring aliens because they are evil aliens hellbent on destroying the humans. The Host has a similar premise, but more like the aliens want to use the humans. In These Broken Stars, I kind of feel like everyone's an alien, but there are some beings that are more so than others. Super-psyched for the companion novel! What I like best about all of these, though, is the exploration of human nature and the human instinct to survive at all costs.

April: I loved all three of these books for different reasons. The Host is one of my favorite books of all time. If I had to choose a spooky read with aliens, The 5th Wave fits that bill the best. While it's not really spooky, it scared the living crap out of me. Those aliens are no joke.

We're also including our projected spooky TBR piles for now through the end of October. These include review copies, as well as scary books from our shelves, though with the time constraints of finishing by Halloween, we may be a little overzealous once again. Okay, okay, April, I know you finished your piles this summer. I mean me...I'm the one who didn't finish my stacks of books for my proposed summer reading. But I gave it my best, and that's what we'll do again with these books.

April's Spooky TBR

So these are my spooky picks. Jen loved the Coldest Girl in Coldtown, and to be honest, it wasn't even really on my radar before I knew that. Girl of Nightmares has been on my tbr list for ages. Rot & Ruin seems like it will be a solid zombie choice. It was a toss up between that one and Enclave. The Raven Boys, I'm not really sure what its' about, but it came up as a spooky Halloween-ish book under the Goodreads Listopia, and I've been curious to try this series. Those are my solid 4.

As some of you may know, I just started a new job and it's double the amount of hours I've been working, so reading will be somewhat sparse for a while until I can get acclimated to a full time schedule again. I would like to try and get to Born Wicked, Unspoken, Beware the Wild and The Bargaining. Beware the Wild and The Fall are both review books for this fall, so I really want to get those read. Here's to hoping! :)

The one thing going for me is that fall brings colder temps, and that means more time on the couch on the blanket and not outside in the cold. Plus the view from my new office will put me in the mood to head home and read those scary books!

As you can see the leaves are changing already!

Jen's Spooky TBR

As per usual, my spooky TBR is very ambitious, but as I have most of these for review, they need to be read anyway, so I'm killing two birds with one stone, so to speak. I just wish I had access to more of them on audio...that would help me knock a few out quickly AND make for a very atmospheric listening experience. And I'm really, really looking forward to each and every one of these, so it should be easy to read all 15 in a month's time, right? Now, reviewing them, that's a whole different story. :P

I did have The Infinite Sea on this list, but I read it earlier this week. I thought about leaving it so that I could have one marked off already, but that seems like cheating, lol. If I haven't reviewed it by the time this post goes live, soon. But it was a PHENOMENAL sequel.

What books are on your spooky TBR list? Plan on reading any of the ones we have listed here? Have any recs for us? :D

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Labels: 2014, demons, discussion, funfunfun, ghosts, gothic horror, halloween, scary reads, spooky reads, TBR pile, vampires, werewolves, witches, zombies