Halloween is just round the corner so I thought it would be the right time to recommend some great books. All of these have been books I have read this year.

Plot: In a land far away, there were two kingdoms: the Outside, where twisted beasts roamed that could curse with a touch, and the Inside, where humans lived in safety and peace. The girl and the beast should never have met, but when they do, a quiet fairytale begins. This is a story of two people – one human, one inhuman – who linger in the hazy twilight that separates night from day.

If you are a manga fan, you have to read this series. The art work is so eerie and there is foreboding energy with each page. You can feel a bigger plot and more questions forming by the end of this volume which makes you want to read more!

Plot: In her forest-veiled pagan village, Évike is the only woman without power, making her an outcast clearly abandoned by the gods. The villagers blame her corrupted bloodline—her father was a Yehuli man, one of the much-loathed servants of the fanatical king. When soldiers arrive from the Holy Order of Woodsmen to claim a pagan girl for the king’s blood sacrifice, Évike is betrayed by her fellow villagers and surrendered. But when monsters attack the Woodsmen and their captive en route, slaughtering everyone but Évike and the cold, one-eyed captain, they have no choice but to rely on each other. Except he’s no ordinary Woodsman—he’s the disgraced prince, Gáspár Bárány, whose father needs pagan magic to consolidate his power. Gáspár fears that his cruelly zealous brother plans to seize the throne and instigate a violent reign that would damn the pagans and the Yehuli alike. As the son of a reviled foreign queen, Gáspár understands what it’s like to be an outcast, and he and Évike make a tenuous pact to stop his brother.

I saw this promoted all over TikTok and I finally made the decision to read it. This is a slower read than some of the other books on this list but the story is chockfull of folktale horror, creepy atmosphere and enemies to lovers. If you don’t want to be too scared but still want to read something this Halloween I recommend this. It’s also a great read for the Winter time.

Plot: Twelve tales, twelve dangerous tales of mystery, magic, and rebellious hearts. Each twists like a spindle to reveal truths full of warning and triumph, truths that capture hearts long kept tame and set them free, truths that explore life . . . and death. A prince has a surprising awakening . . .  A beauty fights like a beast . . . A boy refuses to become prey . . . A path to happiness is lost. . . . then found again.

If you miss the more gory and darker versions of the Grimm’s Fairytales then look no further. Chainani takes the fairytales we know and love and spins it on it’s head. They are darker but also the re-tellings are super smart and centre more of a feminist look at some of the stories as well. Which I personally loved.

Plot: Marion Shaw has been raised in the slums, where want and deprivation are all she knows. Despite longing to leave the city and its miseries, she has no real hope of escape until the day she spots a strange advertisement in the newspaper, seeking a ‘bloodmaid’. Though she knows little about the far north – where wealthy nobles live in luxury and drink the blood of those in their service – Marion applies to the position. In a matter of days, she finds herself at the notorious House of Hunger. There, Marion is swept into a world of dark debauchery – and there, at the centre of it all is her. Her name is Countess Lisavet. Loved and feared in equal measure, she presides over this hedonistic court. And she takes a special interest in Marion. Lisavet is magnetic, charismatic, seductive – and Marion is eager to please her new mistress. But when her fellow bloodmaids begin to go missing in the night, Marion is thrust into a vicious game of cat and mouse. She’ll need to learn the rules of her new home – and fast – or its halls will soon become her grave.

This story oozes atmosphere. I was on the edge of my seat the entire reading this novel. The characters are amazing, the mystery brilliant and an ending that literally has you tearing your hair out. Also, who doesn’t love a castle set on a remote island for a Halloween setting.

Plot: Upon the cliffs of a remote Scottish island, Lòn Haven, stands a lighthouse. A lighthouse that has weathered more than storms. Mysterious and terrible events have happened on this island. It started with a witch hunt. Now, centuries later, islanders are vanishing without explanation. Coincidence? Or curse? Liv Stay flees to the island with her three daughters, in search of a home. She doesn’t believe in witches, or dark omens, or hauntings. But within months, her daughter Luna will be the only one of them left. Twenty years later, Luna is drawn back to the place her family vanished. As the last sister left, it’s up to her to find out the truth . . .

A book that had me guessing on every turn. Set on a creepy island, this book had me shaking in fear at some of the things that were happening. I was scared and confused and just wanted to everything to make sense and it was amazing.

Plot: Norfolk, 1643. With civil war tearing England apart, reluctant soldier Thomas Treadwater is summoned home by his sister, who accuses a new servant of improper conduct with their widowed father. By the time Thomas returns home, his father is insensible, felled by a stroke, and their new servant is in prison, facing charges of witchcraft. Thomas prides himself on being a rational, modern man, but as he unravels the mystery of what has happened, he uncovers not a tale of superstition but something dark and ancient, linked to a shipwreck years before. Something has awoken, and now it will not rest.

If you want more of a Historical setting then you must check out this book. I went into this book thinking it was going to be a state of the art historical mystery. Those books are my bread and butter but my god! It was so creepy and I couldn’t tear my eyes away from what I was seeing!