Bold of me to assume I actually managed to find books in between my panic in August and now. But I kind of did? This is way less ambitious than my 17 books for last year’s Halloween, which might mean that I’ll actually read them all, but we’ll see. Almost all of these are new purchases, too, which is just making my pre-2020 TBR scream, but oh well, that’s part of the fun, right?
Prelude for Lost Souls by Helene Dunbar has got a town that talks to the dead, a Guild that’s described as sinister, and a medium best friend, and I feel like that checks a lot of spooky boxes. It’s got a beautiful cover, a perfect title for the season, and it’s queer. I mean? Every town has a story. This town has a ghost story. Come the heck on.
I always read a horror classic for Halloween, and this year it’s The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson! I haven’t watched the show yet, but I recently watched We Have Always Lived in the Castle, and it made me want to pick up something by Jackson immediately. I’ve only ever read The Lottery by her, but it’s stuck out in my memory for years and years later, so I’m really excited to read something new to me.
Though The Shadows Between Us by Trisha Levenseller is not labeled a horror, it’s got a Shadow King, a plot to murder him, and a MC described as a “cunning, villainous queen” sooooo? Sounds like I’m actually going to get some fantasy during spooky season! That never happens, either, so I’m even more excited.
Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia is legitimately the only book that I knew I wanted to read for Halloween, and I have been holding out on buying it for so long, and I am SO EXCITED IT’S FINALLY IN MY POSSESSION. This sounds like the absolute perfect Gothic horror ever to read for Halloween, ugh. I’m going to read this immediately, I can’t wait.
I had to sneak a middle grade in there somewhere, and since I accidentally read my Día de Muertos MG in September, we’re here with Ghost Squad by Claribel A. Ortega! I almost read this one in September, too, because I was feeling that spooky vibe early, and it just looked adorable, but I was very firm with myself.
Bloodleaf by Crystal Smith is also not specifically a horror, but it does have a poisonous forest and witch hunters, and the sequel takes place in a manor that sounds spooky as heck, so I’m adding it to my Halloween TBR in the hopes that it’ll give me scary with a side of magic and witches.
Yes, tis the season, I’m trying to read every Madeleine Roux ever. I’m really focusing on finishing up the Asylum series because I’m sick of them sitting on my shelf, so first up will be Catacomb. If there are not actual catacombs involved, I’ll be hella pissed. I’m excited to finish up this series, though, especially since I’ll get to switch my focus to her new books.
And yes, that does mean I’m also trying to read both The Asylum Novellas and Escape from Asylum by Madeleine Roux. I feel like I might get annoyed with this series by the end of this month? It’s already kind of a subpar series for me, and though I enjoy it, I’m not over the moon about it like I am about House of Furies. (Seriously, will any horror ever be as good as that? Trick question, the answer is no.) However, I really want to not have eight million unread books by Roux anymore, so I’m being very strategic about reading these. By that, I mean I’m going to probably have to do every other because this alone is, like, five novels, oi.
Mary and the Words 
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