Monday, October 24, 2016

Horror Books for the Chicken-Hearted (AKA: Non-Horror Halloween Reads)

While I have a post planned for next week where I talk about why, exactly, I don't like/read horror books, I wanted to do a post where I give some recommendations for Halloween reads that aren't the usual horror books. Some of these books might have monsters, others might just be atmospheric, but none are what I'd consider horror.




Unspoken by Sarah Rees Brennan
Halloween Read Because: Atmospheric (also, witches).
Scare Factor: Mildly creepy in a realistic, human way - mostly coming from the murders and animal deaths. There are plenty of laughs to balance it out, though.

Kami Glass loves someone she's never met . . . a boy she's talked to in her head ever since she was born. She didn't spend her childhood silent about her imaginary friend, and is thus a bit of an outsider in the sleepy English town of Sorry-in-the-Vale. Still, she has a best friend, runs the popular school newspaper, and is only occasionally caught talking to herself. Her life is in order, just the way she likes it, despite the voice in her head. 


But all that changes when the Lynburns return...


The Night Parade by Kathryn Tanquary
Halloween Read Because: Yokai (basically, Japanese demons - sure, there's more to it than that, but that's the idea)
Scare Factor: Possible warning for frightening imagery. Some of the creatures are pleasant towards humans and others want to do them harm, but they are all rather strange looking.

The last thing Saki Yamamoto wants to do for her summer vacation is trade in exciting Tokyo for the antiquated rituals and bad cell reception of her grandmother's village. Preparing for the Obon ceremony is boring. Then the local kids take an interest in Saki and she sees an opportunity for some fun, even if it means disrespecting her family's ancestral shrine on a malicious dare.


But as Saki rings the sacred bell, the darkness shifts. A death curse has been invoked... and Saki has three nights to undo it. With the help of three spirit guides and some unexpected friends, Saki must prove her worth - or say good-bye to the world of the living forever.


The Beautiful and the Cursed by Page Morgan
Halloween Read Because: Gargoyle shifters, hellhounds and, honestly, the absolute creepiest angels I've ever met.
Scare Factor: Not for the faint of heart. This is the closest to horror that I get here, but there are descriptions of creatures and what they do to humans that can get a little...much at times.

After a bizarre accident, Ingrid Waverly is forced to leave London with her mother and younger sister, Gabby, trading a world full of fancy dresses and society events for the unfamiliar city of Paris.

In Paris there are no grand balls or glittering parties, and, disturbingly, the house Ingrid’s twin brother, Grayson, found for them isn’t a house at all. It’s an abandoned abbey, its roof lined with stone gargoyles that could almost be mistaken for living, breathing creatures.

And Grayson has gone missing.

No one seems to know of his whereabouts but Luc, a devastatingly handsome servant at their new home.


Ingrid is sure her twin isn’t dead—she can feel it deep in her soul—but she knows he’s in grave danger. It will be up to her and Gabby to navigate the twisted path to Grayson, a path that will lead Ingrid on a discovery of dark secrets and otherworldly truths. And she’ll learn that once they are uncovered, they can never again be buried.


Monstrous by MarcyKate Connolly
Halloween Read Because: This is, basically, a youth retelling of Frankenstein. Do you need more of a reason than that?
Scare Factor: Very low. More of a thoughtful book than one to make you jump.

The city of Bryre suffers under the magic of an evil wizard. Because of his curse, girls sicken and disappear without a trace, and Bryre’s inhabitants live in fear. No one is allowed outside after dark.

Yet night is the only time that Kymera can enter this dangerous city, for she must not be seen by humans. Her father says they would not understand her wings, the bolts in her neck, or her spiky tail—they would kill her. They would not understand that she was created for a purpose: to rescue the girls of Bryre.

Despite her caution, a boy named Ren sees Kym and begins to leave a perfect red rose for her every evening. As they become friends, Kym learns that Ren knows about the missing girls, the wizard, and the evil magic that haunts Bryre.

And what he knows will change Kym’s life.


A Breath of Frost by Alyxandra Harvey
Halloween Read Because: Witches - also a slight bit of creepy atmosphere.
Scare Factor: Some light spooky-ness with the witches and spells.

In 1814, three cousins—Gretchen, Emma, and Penelope—discover their family lineage of witchcraft when a binding spell is broken, allowing their individual magical powers to manifest. Now, beyond the manicured gardens and ballrooms of Regency London, an alluring underworld available only to those with power is revealed to the cousins. By claiming their power, the three cousins have accidentally opened the gates to the underworld. 

Now ghouls, hellhounds—and most terrifying of all, the spirits of dark witches known as the Greymalkin Sisters—are hunting and killing young debutante witches for their powers. And, somehow, Emma is connected to the murders…because she keeps finding the bodies. 

Can the cousins seal the gates before another witch is killed…or even worse, before their new gifts are stripped away?


And there we have some 'Halloween' books for you if you are like me (*cluckcluck*) to read. Hope you can find something here that catches your attention and I'll take any suggestions you've got for like books!