Happy spooky season, literary ghouls and goblins!

This month I wanted to take myself further out of my comfort zone and read books that covered genres of horror, mystery/thrillers and paranormal/fantasy–with the addition of some romance that slithers its way through some of these books. I’ll be a romantic book lover until I’m in the grave. 

When choosing books for this month, I wanted books that included fall themes, paranormal activities, mysteries to uncover, and thrills that have readers turning the pages. To curate this month’s lists of six books to read, I chose books from different Goodreads lists. 

I’ve enjoyed the books I’ve read to date, and I strongly believe that switching up the genre has helped me avoid my mid-season reading slump. 

So far for the month of October I’ve read the following books:

“She’s Gone” by David Bell:

This book has been on my Goodreads list for over a year and a half, and I’ve been wanting to read David Bell’s work for a long time. He specializes in books that place ordinary people and extreme circumstances while focusing on suspense, thriller and mystery elements. 

The plot of this novel follows 17-year-old Hunter, who wakes up with amnesia after a terrible car crash after leaving Homecoming, and his girlfriend has disappeared without a trace. 

Throughout this novel, learning about Hunter and Cloe’s relationship was enough to keep me interested; however, it was the suspense of wanting to know whether or not Hunter actually hurt Cloe that kept me on the edge of my seat, especially since his amnesia leaves him at a disadvantage. I would definitely read it again and recommend it to a friend. 

“The Man Who Died Twice” by Richard Osman:

This book is the second book in the Thursday Murder Club series that I started in September’s book recommendations. I enjoyed the wit and humor of the first book, and wanted to see if the next few books in the series offered me more. I was not disappointed. 

My favorite elderly characters are at it again with what I like to call nosey neighbor syndrome. The mystery of this book combined with the humor of the characters beats the first book by a landslide in my opinion. 

Most importantly, what will forever keep me coming back to this series is the characters–especially Joyce. The book switches between third person point-of-view to first person point-of-view via Joyce’s journal and the woman is hilariously naive. I liked it so much that I will be reading the next book in the series. 

“Pumpkin Spice & Poltergeist” by Ali Mulford:

This book is the first book in the Maple Hollow series. This is a queer ghost love story told in the town of Maple Hollow–a cozy and witchy place preparing for a Halloween festival. 

I literally wanted to jump through the pages to live amongst the witches, vampires, ghosts, and other humans. I could feel the fall aesthetic seeping through the pages, and it reminded me so much of the Halloweentown series from old-school Disney. Experiencing that sort of nostalgia was amazing!

I’m a sucker for dual point-of-view novels in general, but reading a dual point-of-view novel of witches–was a much needed experience. The addition of solving a murder and Jordyn being hunted by her ghost ex made the plot much more enthralling to me. 

I had a love-hate relationship with the main character Jordyn, and had nothing but love–and a little bit of jealousy–for Harlow. My favorite part of this two day reading journey was connecting so much with fictional characters, and although the ending was satisfying enough–I definitely needed more. This might be my favorite read of this month. 

“Morbidly Yours” by Ivy Fairbanks:

This is another book that came up as a romance recommendation in one of the Goodreads newsletters. It was added to the list before I read what the book was about. The name alone made me think that the book included a love to die for. 

I couldn’t have been more wrong.

Callum prefers the bodies in the mortuary than he does socializing with others, so finding out that the stipulation for him to inherit his family’s undertaking business included marriage–I could imagine him going as cold as a corpse. Luckily, he meets Lark, who is a widow that is not trying to date him, and definitely wants nothing to do with a mortuary. Even with the weight of her deceased husband on her shoulders, she agrees to help Callum find his perfect match–but ends up having her heart brought back to life after spending time with the social recluse. Even Callum himself finds a pull towards Lark, and dreads her leaving Galway. 

My favorite part of this book was the Irish language sprinkled in throughout the book, and my favorite phrase reminded me of a secret that should be taken to the grave. Callum told Lark that the phrase, “Santaíonm mé thú” meant something else when it really meant ‘I love you’. 

My girlish heart will always root for the weird introvert who finds love. This is the first novel in the Galway series, and I look forward to seeing what the second book in the series holds. 

I still have to read the following books to read:

“A Deadly Education” by Naomi Novik:

This is the next novel I will be reading for the month of October. This book is promoted as a young adult novel with horror, romance, and fantasy embedded into the plot. This would have to be my most anticipated read of the month, so I’m excited to start the read. According to Goodreads, the story follows El, a student at Scholomance, as he goes through the motions of uncovering the secrets inside this school of dangers.

“The Disappearance” by Bentley Little:

The last book I plan to read for the month of October, is another novel where a girl vanishes without a trace. Gary’s girlfriend Joan disappears during their trip to the Burning Man festival.

I’m already excited for the angst and suspense, as well as to learn about the infamous ‘Outsiders’ that Joan was wary of. 

If you prefer the suspense, horror, and thrillers associated with October, I recommend reading “She’s Gone”, “A Deadly Education”, and “The Disappearance.”

If you want nothing but a thriller filled mystery then read “The Man Who Died Twice”. Lastly, if you want to read stories that are more light hearted, romance based, but still full of intrigue then I recommend “Pumpkin Spice & Poltergeist” and “Morbidly Yours”. 

I hope you enjoy these reads as much as I did, and if you want a reading friend then join me in reading the last two books of October. Also, all book recommendations can be found in the Literary Radar Goodreads list. 

Till the next time the Literary Radar goes off!