How to Survive a Horror Story by Mallory Arnold

 

How to Survive a Horror Story by Mallory Arnold - 368 pages

Seven authors enter the manor

Can they survive the story within?

When legendary horror author Mortimer Queen passes, a group of writers find themselves invited to his last will and testament reading expecting a piece of his massive fortune. Each have their own unique connection to the literary icon, some known, some soon to be discovered, and they've been waiting for their chance to step into the author's shoes for some time.

Instead, they arrive at his grand manor and are invited to play a game. The rules are simple, solve the riddle and progress to the next room. If they don't, the manor will take one of them for itself.

You see, the Queen estate was built on the bones of Mortimer's family, and like any true horror story, the house is still very, very hungry.

With the clever, locked-room thrills of Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone with the ghostly horror of The Fall of the House of Usher, How to Survive a Horror Story is a bright, biting, thrill-ride that begs us to contemplate how the best horror stories come to be.

This was a great book; I couldn't put it down.  The author does a great job of developing the characters, although at times I think they bicker too much.  I really liked this one; particularly the ending.

Something I Keep Upstairs by J.D. Barker

 

Something I Keep Upstairs by J.D. Barker - 492 pages

In the sleepy coastal town of New Castle, New Hampshire, seventeen-year-old Billy Hasler's life is about to take a terrifying turn. When his best friend David Spivey inherits a mysterious house on a nearby island, it seems like the perfect place to spend their final summer before heading off to college. No parents. No police. No responsibilities.

As they dig into the island's dark past, they awaken an ancient evil that has influenced generations. What begins as an innocent summer adventure quickly descends into a nightmare.

"Something I Keep Upstairs" is a haunting exploration of friendship, sacrifice, and the darkness lurking just beyond our understanding. It will keep you on edge until the final, chilling page.

This was good beginning to end; I really enjoyed this one.  Took me a while to figure out exactly what was going on, which I like.  Another great book by this author!

Octavius Grimwood's Graveyard Guide by Rod Green

 Octavius Grimwood's Graveyard Guide by Rod Green, 29 pages

Written from the perspective of Octavius Grimwood, erstwhile collector and professor of paranormal knowledge, this is a child's field guide to What Goes Bump In The Night, cleverly encased in a coffin-shaped book. Subjects studied include: vampires, witches, ghosts, werewolves, mummies, and skeletons, and more!

Full of need-to-know info for the juvenile supernaturalist on-the-go, this graveyard guide contains helpful tips for spotting and defeating various dark forces, including detailed illustrations and folklore facts from around the world. And, if the subject matter has properly heebied your jeebies, the guide also includes jokes to bring some levity to the situation. 

10/10, highly recommend to any kid of any age who gets a thrill from ghoulies and ghosties.

A House with Good Bones, Kingfisher | 247 pages

"Nice and normal."

"Mom seems off."

Sam's life hasn't really been normal. After her dad died, she and her mom and brother had to live with her grandmother for a season. As obsessed as Gran Mae was with presenting things as normal, they absolutely weren't, with her frustration and roses and threats about the Underground Children. Sam's now 32 and laid off. She heads back to the house her mom inherited after Gran Mae's death... where things are anything but "nice and normal."

This is my first Southern Gothic - a gothic subgenre set in the American south. It's violent and haunting, with a solid dose of the supernatural. I liked it a lot even though it had me frequently shouting "What on earth?!"

Stolen Tongues by Felix Blackwell

 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Stolen Tongues by Felix Blackwell - 306 pages

A romantic cabin getaway doesn’t go exactly as planned. High up on the windswept cliffs of Pale Peak, Faye and Felix celebrate their new engagement. But soon, a chorus of ghastly noises erupts from the nearby the screams of animals, the cries of children, and the mad babble of a hundred mournful voices. A dark figure looms near the windows in the dead of night, whispering to Faye. As the weather turns deadly, Felix discovers that his terrified fiancée isn’t just mumbling in her sleep – she’s whispering back. Originally a contest-winning story on reddit.com’s horror community NoSleep , Stolen Tongues has received widespread acclaim and is now being adapted into a feature film.

If you are a fan of horror this is a must read.  I normally don't get creepy vibes from horror books but this one did just that.  The thought of something out in the dark woods mimicking loved ones trying to lure you out gave me the willies.  When I finished this book, initially I was let down by the ending.  Thinking on it now I don't think it was terrible, it did end well, just not how I expected it to.

The Women in the Walls by Amy Lukavics

The Women in Walls by Amy Lukavics
248 pages

Lucy Acosta's mother died when she was three. Growing up in a Victorian mansion in the middle of the woods with her cold, distant father, she explored the dark hallways of the estate with her cousin, Margaret. They're inseparable—a family.  

When her aunt Penelope, the only mother she's ever known, tragically disappears while walking in the woods surrounding their estate, Lucy finds herself devastated and alone. Margaret has been spending a lot of time in the attic. She claims she can hear her dead mother's voice whispering from the walls. Emotionally shut out by her father, Lucy watches helplessly as her cousin's sanity slowly unravels. But when she begins hearing voices herself, Lucy finds herself confronting an ancient and deadly legacy that has marked the women in her family for generations.

I have tried to read this book a couple different times over the years, but this time I actually finished it and I highly do not recommend unless you like weird stories. I really wanted to like this book because it had great potential, but I was highly disappointed. 

Wicked by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Wicked by Jennifer L. Armentrout -- 376 pages

Things are about to get Wicked in New Orleans.

Twenty-two year old Ivy Morgan isn’t your average college student. She, and others like her, know humans aren’t the only thing trolling the French Quarter for fun… and for food. Her duty to the Order is her life. After all, four years ago, she lost everything at the hands of the creatures she’d sworn to hunt, tearing her world and her heart apart.

Ren Owens is the last person Ivy expected to enter her rigidly controlled life. He’s six feet and three inches of temptation and swoon-inducing charm. With forest-green eyes and a smile that’s surely left a stream of broken hearts in its wake, he has an uncanny, almost unnatural ability to make her yearn for everything he has to offer. But letting him in is as dangerous as hunting the cold-blooded killers stalking the streets. Losing the boy she loved once before had nearly destroyed her, but the sparking tension that grows between them becomes impossible for Ivy to deny. Deep down, she wants… she needs more than what her duty demands of her, what her past has shaped for her.

But as Ivy grows closer to Ren, she realizes she’s not the only one carrying secrets that could shatter the frail bond between them. There’s something he’s not telling her, and one thing is for certain. She’s no longer sure what is more dangerous to her—the ancient beings threatening to take over the town or the man demanding to lay claim to her heart and her soul.

The New Girl by R.L. Stine

 The New Girl By R.L. Stine - 168 pages

The new girl is as pale as a ghost, blond, and eerily beautiful -- and she seems to need him as much as he wants her. Cory Brooks hungers for Anna Corwin's kisses, drowns in her light blue eyes. He can't get her out of his mind. He has been losing sleep, ditching his friends...and everyone has noticed.

Then as suddenly as she came to Shadyside High, Anna disappears. To find a cure for his obsession, Cory must go to Anna's house on Fear Street -- no matter what the consequences.

Anna may be the love of his life ... but finding out her secret might mean his death.

I liked this book because it brought back memories of reading the Goosebumps collection as a kid. However, I can tell that it is for a less mature audience. I decided that since I never read this series growing up that I was going to read all of them, which I am doing, slowly haha. 

Fresh Meat by Alice Henderson

 

Fresh Meat by Alice Henderson, 355 pages

When a suspicious number of hikers mysteriously disappear from the trails surrounding Lake Tahoe, Sam and Dean Winchester team up with Bobby Singer to hunt a suspected wendigo. But once on the mountain, they find themselves fighting not only monsters, but nature itself, in order to survive.

Fresh Meat takes place in the seventh season of the show, and contains spoilers for season six. The book was a fun ride, but the story dragged a little, especially in the beginning. The characters would have felt flat and interchangeable if I hadn't already been a fan of the show. 

Her Wolves by G. Bailey

 Her Wolves by G. Bailey - 352 pages

Fall Mountain Shifters #1

I knew nothing about mates until the alpha rejected me...

Growing up in one of the biggest packs in the world, my life is planned out from the second I turn eighteen and find my true mate in the moon ceremony.

Finding your true mate gives you the power to share the shifter energy they have, given to the males of the pack by the moon goddess herself. The power to shift into a wolf.

But for the first time in the history of our pack, the new alpha is mated with a nobody. A foster kid living in the packs orphanage with no ancestors or power to claim.

Me.

After being brutally rejected by my alpha mate, publicly humiliated and thrown away into the sea, the dark wolves of the Fall Mountain Pack find me.

They save me. The four alphas. The ones the world fears because of the darkness they live in.

In their world? Being rejected is the only way to join their pack. The only way their lost and forbidden god gives them the power to shift without a mate.

I spent my life worshipping the moon goddess when it turns out my life always belonged to another...

Midnight Sun by Stephenie Meyer

Midnight Sun by Stephenie Meyer -- 658 pages

When Edward Cullen and Bella Swan met in Twilight, an iconic love story was born. But until now, fans have heard only Bella's side of the story. At last, readers can experience Edward's version in the long-awaited companion novel, Midnight Sun.

This unforgettable tale as told through Edward's eyes takes on a new and decidedly dark twist. Meeting Bella is both the most unnerving and intriguing event he has experienced in all his years as a vampire. As we learn more fascinating details about Edward's past and the complexity of his inner thoughts, we understand why this is the defining struggle of his life. How can he justify following his heart if it means leading Bella into danger?

The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner by Stephenie Meyer

The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner by Stephenie Meyer - 178 pages

Bree Tanner is a newborn in a coven of other very young vampires.  She and her counterparts were created for a purpose that none of them but their leaders know.  Bree starts to learn the truth and eventually, everything comes to light.

This is a novella that goes with Meyer's Eclipse.  Bree is the vampire that surrenders herself to the Cullen clan during the big battle with Victoria's newborn vampire army in Eclipse.

Midnight Sun by Stephenie Meyer

Midnight Sun by Stephenie Meyer - 672 pages

Midnight Sun is a companion novel to Twilight because it is a retelling of the main events of the original - but this time through Edward's eyes.  

Bella Swan moves from Arizona to Forks, WA, and completely unnerves and intrigues Edward upon her arrival.  His "vegetarian" vampire way of life is threatened because Bella has the most appealing smelling blood that Edward has ever experienced.  Instead of being scared, Bella embraces the danger of her newly discovered love interest, Edward.

It was interesting to read an old favorite from my adolescence through a different character's viewpoint.  It was more creepy at times than romantic, but I still enjoyed rereading the story as an adult.

Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer

Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer - 768 pages

Book 4 of the Twilight Saga

Bella and Edward get married and soon after their honeymoon, discover that Bella is pregnant.  Except she's still human and her baby is growing at a rapid rate.  She willingly risks her human life for the vampire immortality she has been seeking all along.

We also get Jacob's perspective in this book.  He is coming to terms with the fact that Bella didn't choose him.  His wolfpack learns of Bella's half-vampire fetus and plans to kill Bella and her unborn.  Jacob becomes very protective over Bella and leaves his pack to start his own.

I always thought that this was a weird way to end these novels, with Bella almost dying to give birth to a half-vampire daughter and becoming immortal in the process; Jacob imprinting and declaring a newborn baby his soulmate...

Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer

Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer - 640 pages

Book 3 of the Twilight Saga

Bella once again finds herself in danger.  Alice Cullen has a vision that Victoria, the vengeful vampiress from prior books, will come kill Bella.  Despite the threat of death, Bella finds herself within a love triangle between Edward, her vampire love interest, and Jacob, her werewolf best friend.  Eventually, the Cullens discover there is an army of new-born vampires being controlled by Victoria, and the Cullens then ally with the werewolves to defeat the vampire army.

New Moon by Stephenie Meyer

New Moon by Stephenie Meyer - 608 pages

Book 2 of the Twilight Saga

Bella and Edward's relationship is having issues, especially after certain incidents, leaving Edward to come to the realization that their vampire-human romance isn't safe for Bella.  Edward disappears, leaving Bella to deal with their "break-up."  She is heart-broken and depressed, but her old friend Jacob, comes to her rescue to try to help her heal.

Twilight by Stephenie Meyer

Twilight by Stephenie Meyer - 544 pages

Book 1 of the Twilight Saga

The reading challenge for November has inspired me to re-read the Twilight saga, especially because I've been wanting to read Stephanie Meyer's new book, Midnight Sun.

Bella Swan moves to rainy Forks, WA from Arizona, to live with her father after her mother remarries and moves to Florida.  Forks seems to be a relatively boring and average town where nothing ever happens.  After meeting a mysterious classmate, Edward Cullen, Bella quickly learns that Forks might be more interesting than she initially believed.  She soon discovers that Edward and his family are secret vampires.

A Private Cathedral by James Lee Burke

 Detective Dave Robicheaux gets caught up in a New Iberia family feud when two wealthy families just can't seem to work out their differences.  An added hint of supernatural sightings makes this southern mystery too good to pass up.  Book 23 in the Robicheaux series, Burke continues to pleases his readers with his descriptive writing that takes you along for the ride.

The Secret of White Stone Gate by Julia Nobel

The Secret of White Stone Gate by Julia Nobel - 304 pages
Black Hollow Lane Book 2

After a summer at home in Connecticut, Emmy returns to England to go back to the boarding school where she almost died last year accompanied by her best friends Jack and Lola.  Intrigue with communications from her long lost father continue to embroil Emmy further in the machinations of the evil Order.  When Lola is framed for a crime she didn't commit, Emmy knows she must do whatever it takes to find the truth.

Think modern day Nancy Drew meets Harry Potter (just the boarding school, not magic) and you have a feel for the tone of this juvenile series.  Its lots of fun with strong characters and a vivid sense of place.  I look forward to the next one.

DAUGHTERS OF THE LAKE by Wendy Webb

DAUGHTERS OF THE LAKE by Wendy Webb - 430 pages

The ghosts of the past come calling in a spellbinding heart stopper from the "Queen of the Northern Gothic".

After the end of her marriage, Kate Granger has retreated to her parents' home on Lake Superior to pull herself together - only to discover the body of a murdered woman washed into the shallows. Tucked in the folds of the woman's curiously vintage gown is an infant, as cold and at peace as its mother. No one can identify the woman. Except for Kate. She's seen her before. In her dreams...

If you like Supernatural/Gothic Suspense, you'll like this.  At least I did.