Top Ten Tuesday – 10 Books That are Perfect for Spooky Season

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together.  Top Ten Tuesday has been one of my favorite memes ever since I started blogging, so huge thanks to Jana for taking over the hosting duties!

This week’s TTT topic is actually supposed to be Books I Read On Vacation.  I haven’t really taken a vacation any time recently and I’m pretty sure I didn’t read much the last time I did, so I decided to go rogue this week and share some spooky season book recommendations instead. Now I don’t really read actual horror because I’m a big chicken, so if you’re looking for truly terrifying reads, you’ll have to look elsewhere.  Aside from that, I think I have a pretty good variety here.

10 Books That are Perfect for Spooky Season

1. THE EX HEX by Erin Sterling  –  “New York Times bestselling author Rachel Hawkins, writing as Erin Sterling, casts a spell with a spine-tingling romance full of wishes, witches, and hexes gone wrong..” This is a fun witchy rom-com that features the second chance romance and enemies to lovers tropes.

2. THE KISS CURSE by Erin Sterling  – “This follow-up to The Ex Hex features fan favorite Gwyn and the spine-tinglingly handsome Wells Penhallow as they battle a new band of witches and their own magical chemistry. When their professional competition leads to a very personal—and very hot—kiss, both Wells and Gwyn are determined to stay away from each other, convinced the kiss was just a magical fluke. But when a mysterious new coven of witches come to town and Gwyn’s powers begin fading, she and Wells must work together to figure out just what these new witches want and how to restore Gwyn’s magic before it’s too late.”  I’m reading this one right now and loving it even more than the first book in the series!

3. THE VERY SECRET SOCIETY OF IRREGULAR WITCHES by Sangu Mandanna – “A warm and uplifting novel about an isolated witch whose opportunity to embrace a quirky new family–and a new love–changes the course of her life..” I reviewed this one on the blog a few weeks ago and just adored everything about it.

4. THE ONCE AND FUTURE WITCHES by Alix E. Harrow  – This is a wonderful story about sisterhood and suffragist witches who are determined to reclaim the power that men have historically denied them.

5. WILD IS THE WITCH by Rachel Griffin – “When eighteen-year-old witch Iris Gray accidentally enacts a curse that could have dire consequences, she must team up with a boy who hates witches to make sure her magic isn’t unleashed on the world.” Loved the haunting and atmospheric writing in this one and that the magic is so steeped in nature.

6. SPELLS FOR FORGETTING by Adrienne Young – “A deeply atmospheric story about ancestral magic, an unsolved murder, and a second chance at true love.”

7. YOU’LL BE THE DEATH OF ME by Karen McManus  –  “From the author of One of Us Is Lying comes a brand-new pulse-pounding thriller. It’s Ferris Bueller’s Day Off with murder when three old friends relive an epic ditch day, and it goes horribly–and fatally–wrong.”  Honestly, if you enjoy YA thrillers, any of McManus’ novels are great choices for spooky season. I read this one over this past weekend and couldn’t put it down.

8. IN MY DREAMS I HOLD A KNIFE by Ashley Winstead – “A college reunion turns dark and deadly in this chilling and propulsive suspense novel about six friends, one unsolved murder, and the dark secrets they’ve been hiding from each other—and themselves—for a decade.”  Another thriller that I devoured this weekend.  If you enjoy dark academia, this is a great choice. It kept me guessing from beginning to end.

9. SIGN HERE by Claudia Lux  –  “A darkly humorous, surprisingly poignant, and utterly gripping debut novel about a guy who works in Hell (literally) and is on the cusp of a big promotion if only he can get one more member of the wealthy Harrison family to sell their soul..” This was my October Book of the Month pick and my current read and I’m loving the dark humor so much!

10. EMPIRE OF THE VAMPIRE by Jay Kristoff – “Gabriel de León is a silversaint: a member of a holy brotherhood dedicated to defending realm and church from the creatures of the night. But even the Silver Order couldn’t stem the tide once daylight failed us, and now, only Gabriel remains. Imprisoned by the very monsters he vowed to destroy, the last silversaint is forced to tell his story. A story of legendary battles and forbidden love, of faith lost and friendships won, of the Wars of the Blood and the Forever King and the quest for humanity’s last remaining hope: The Holy Grail.”  This is a brick of a book at 739 pages, but I flew through it in 3 days.  It’s a dark read, often gory and violent, definitely not for kids, but it’s also filled with tremendous emotion and passion as the last silversaint shares his often painful story.

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Question:  Have you read any of these or are you planning to read any of them?