Books – Page 2

Spooky Backlist Reading Recommendations

An evening chill is starting to creep into the air, leaves will soon be changing colors, and with Labor Day weekend behind us, I am firmly focused on fall.

I enjoy the occasional spooky book all year long, but in September and October they are the focus of my reading. I tend to gravitate towards haunted house stories, or variations within that theme.

Here’s a few of my favorite backlist selections for you to add to your Spooky Season TBR:

Dead Silence by S.A. Barnes

A repair crew is heading back to Earth when they pick up a distress signal coming from the Aurora, a luxury space-liner that disappeared on its maiden voyage of the solar system more than twenty years ago. When the crew begins to investigate the craft, it’s quickly apparent that things aren’t right: there’s whispers, words written in blood, and scenes of horrible deaths. What happened to the Aurora?

The isolation of space is terrifying enough. Factor in missing spacecraft, salvage crews, and lots of unexplained death? I am all in. If you’re a fan of films like Event Horizon, Sunshine, and Supernova this one will probably work for you.

Wylding House by Elizabeth Hand

Wanting to work on their next album, a band takes up residence at Wylding Hall, a large country house with many secrets. The lead singer disappears within the mansion, never to be seen again. The surviving musicians reunite at Wylding Hall years later with a documentary film maker, hoping to tell their story and uncover what happened to one of their band members.

This gave me “Daisy Jones & the Six but for Spooky Season” vibes.

The House Next Door by Anne Rivers Siddons

Colquitt is a proper society lady in 1970s Atlanta, so imagine her disgust when buyers purchase the beautiful vacant lot next to her home and build a modern monstrosity of a home there. The tragedies of three different homeowners are presented, and the dread that builds over the course of the novel is perfect for spooky season. There’s something just not right with the house next door.

More eerie than horror, this is a great gateway to the haunted house genre for those who just want some tension and unease. (Or some great storytelling from Anne Rivers Siddons, who is known for her southern fiction.)

The Caretaker of Lorne Field by Dave Zeltserman

Generations of the Durkin family have weeded Lorne Field for almost 300 years. It’s the most crucial job in the world, although the town scoffs at the family’s determination to tend the field. The Durkins know that if they don’t, a terrible monster will grow…or will it?

This story had me guessing until the very last page, and I loved every minute.

Penpal by Dathan Auerbach

A novel that was born from a series of posts in an online horror forum, Penpal tells the story of a man who reflects on the horrible and unsettling events throughout his childhood to try to understand what happened.

The building tension and eerie factor make this one a standout I won’t forget.

Burnt Offerings by Robert Marasco

Ben and Marian Rolfe are ready for a summer away from their steamy Brooklyn apartment, so when an offer to rent a mansion in upstate New York comes along at a low price, they quickly accept. The one catch? Resident Mrs. Allardyce lives in one of the wings of the house and the family must leave meals for her. Creepy and inexplicable events begin to plague the home and family, who soon realize that their summer rental comes with a higher cost than anticipated.

1970s vibes and a creepy mansion in the country are a great combination. Maybe my favorite combination?

How to Sell a Haunted House by Grady Hendrix

Louise must return to her childhood home after the sudden death of her parents, and she isn’t looking forward to anything about that: dealing with the loss, leaving her young daughter behind, reacquainting herself with her brother, and handling the sale of the house, which happens to be stuffed with her mother’s beloved puppets and dolls. Some houses don’t want to be sold, however, and the nightmare truly comes alive in this fun horror story from master Grady Hendrix.

I have completely enjoyed everything I have read by Hendrix thus far.

Kill Creek by Scott Thomas

Four modern horror authors are invited to spend Halloween night at Finch House, an empty and overgrown dwelling at the end of an isolated country road. What starts as a publicity stunt becomes a fight for survival in this engrossing page-turner I read in almost one sitting.

This is probably my favorite haunted house story to date, but it definitely veers hard into horror. (Unlike some of the other titles mentioned here, which are much lighter.)

Into the Drowning Deep by Mira Grant

The Atargatis embarked on a voyage to the Mariana Trench to film a mockumentary about legendary ancient sea creatures, but the vessel and all crew were lost. Was it a tragedy or a hoax? No one could say for sure.

Years later, a new crew assembles to venture back to the Mariana Trench. And those legendary ancient sea creatures? The mermaids are very real, and not like the ones in cheerful musicals.

A one-day read for me, this blend of horror and a bit of sci-fi was perfection. Into the Drowning Deep remains one of my most recommended books of all time, and one of the most fun reading experiences I have had.

Have you read any of these? Which one would you choose first for Spooky Season?

July 2023 Reading

This is the first post in a new series focusing on my monthly reads.

Each month’s post will be updated as I finish a book, so check back weekly for updates!

The Celebrants by Steven Rowley

After the sudden death of a friend, a group of college friends makes a pact to call on one another when needed to hold a “funeral” for one another to celebrate the person who is need of a little extra care. The idea? That we shouldn’t wait until the people we love are gone to share the moments made together and the reasons why our loved ones are so important to us. Spanning decades, we revisit the friends at various vulnerable moments in their lives and how they gather to celebrate one another in the face of losing parents, facing cancer, etc.

The Guncle was one of my favorite books of 2022, and I anxiously awaited the publication date of The Celebrants after putting my copy on hold immediately upon its entry into our library’s system. Sadly, this book didn’t have any of the warmth or heart that I loved so very much in The Guncle. The only storyline I cared about was that of Jordy and Jordan, and when the book features an ensemble cast, it’s not good when there are more characters you don’t care about than those you do. Disappointing. ⭐⭐

The Only One Left by Riley Sager

The 1929, the Hope family murders rocked the Maine coast. Most people assumed teenage Lenora was responsible, but she was never proven guilty. Following the incident, she never spoke publicly about it nor left the walls of her home, Hope’s End, the cliffside manor where the crime occurred. In 1983, home-health aide Kit McDeere tends to Lenora after her previous nurse fled. One night, Lenora communicates to Kit that she wants to reveal everything about the massacre, but even as she reveals details, Kit questions her honesty. She is left to wonder if she is safe within the mansion’s walls…and with Lenora.

Since the publication of Final Girls, Sager’s first novel, I have looked forward to his new release each year. The two most recent titles, Survive the Night and The House Across the Lake, let me down a bit. The Only One Left, however, won me over immediately and proved to be a great palette cleanser that revitalized my love and appreciation for Sager’s storytelling. The creepy mansion on the cliff’s edge, mysterious Lenora, and the 1980s vibe all worked for me. Not knowing the direction the story was heading was nice too. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Happy Place by Emily Henry

Harriett and Wynn are known among their friends as the perfect couple, together since college, happy in every way. Except, they aren’t. They have been broken up for six months but haven’t revealed this to the friends they vacation with each summer in Maine. Too afraid to break their friends’ hearts, they keep their secret, and each continues to play the part of loving partner. What happens when you still want each other while pretending you don’t?

Each Emily Henry novel is better than her last. I love how she writes relationships, but in Happy Place, I really loved the focus on friendship, group dynamics, and the strain that time and maturity places on friends who have known one another for so long and find themselves growing in different directions. It all just felt real and relatable.

The setting of fictional town Knott’s Landing, Maine is the perfect backdrop for a summer read, which is essential to my enjoyment when I read June through August. I want the cute little town with its quaint shops, descriptions of summer foods, morning boat rides hikes, and walks to get morning coffee (from a place with a cute name of course.) Absolutely delightful. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

The Beach Trap by Ali Brady

DNF at 39% – I realized I didn’t care for the characters or the story, so I decided to move on

California Golden by Melanie Benjamin

In 1960’s California, the Donnelly sisters grow up in a household with an absent father and a mother who would rather be out in the waves than at home prepping casseroles. But when Carol introduces daughters Mindy and Ginger to surfing, the girls view it as a way to keep their family together and ignite some mothering instincts in Carol, as they constantly fear she will leave them. The girls grow up, and their paths veer in different directions: Mindy excels in surfing, takes roles in films, attends parties, takes a tour with the USO in Vietnam, and delights in her minor celebrity status. Ginger; however, struggles with finding her identity, and ultimately seeks community and love through a cult. No matter where they are in the world, there are things that tie them together.

When I first requested this ARC, I was pulled in by the description of a surf family’s saga, set against the backdrop of 1960s California with its party scene, drugs, and cults with the Vietnam War happening abroad. I generally enjoyed the story, but there were just too many big themes there and none of them received enough attention. It all felt a bit surface-level, and I wanted to go deeper. More surfing, or more about the cult, or more about the USO tour in Vietnam, rather than a little bit of everything. ⭐⭐⭐ 1/2

The Final Girls Support Group by Grady Hendrix

⭐⭐⭐⭐

352 pages

publication date: July 13, 2021

thriller/horror

Lynette Tarkington and five other final girls gather under the care of a therapist to work through their tragedies and slowly piece their lives back together. These final girls are women who survived vicious murderous rampages and had movie series created based on their stories, and they share a bond of living through a nightmare. When one of the final girls doesn’t attend a meeting, Lynette realizes they are being hunted…again.

Grady Hendrix is such an engaging, clever author and I am always excited to open the cover on one of his books. If you’re looking for a great page-turner this summer, The Final Girls Support Group is the perfect read for the beach or plane. It’s more thriller than horror, so if you’re more sensitive to scary but love a good thrill, give this one a go.

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley Books for an Advanced Reader’s Copy in exchange for an honest review.

Malibu Rising by Taylor Jenkins Reid

⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

384 pages

publication date: June 1, 2021

family story / beach read

Synopsis: The end-of-summer party at the Riva Malibu mansion is the season’s most anticipated event, making an invitation highly desirable. The four Riva siblings (Nina, Jay, Hud, and Kit) come together at the party, with revelations spilling forth about their present lives and their childhood. The story is told alternating between past and present, beginning with the parents’ love story and concluding with the Malibu mansion erupting in devastating flames, Between the two, we get to know the four Riva children and their parents.

Why You Should Read It: TJR is just a fantastic storyteller, no matter the subjects she takes on. While this one won’t surpass my current favorites of hers, it was still a great read and one I would recommend.

Bottom line: Another solid novel from TJR, but not my favorite. ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

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