Top Ten Tuesday: Unique Book Titles

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by  The Broke and the Bookish.

I don’t have much to say about this week’s choices since the theme is pretty straightforward so this post will be shorter than usual!

These are not in any particular order.

10.) Black Bird of the Gallows by Meg Kassel

9.) And The Trees Crept In by Dawn Kurtagich

Because it’s pretty yet creepy sounding.

 8.) Slasher Girls & Monster Boys stories selected by April Genevieve Tucholke

7.) Stormdancer by Jay Kristoff

6.) Lips Touch: Three Times by Laini Taylor

5.) Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo

4.) The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue by Mackenzi Lee

3.) And I Darken by Kiersten White

2.) Wink Poppy Midnight by April Genevieve Tucholke

1.) Vengeance Road by Erin Bowman

I don’t know why but for some reason I really like the word vengeance?

Have you read any of these books as well? What did you think?

What are some of your favorite unique book titles?

Let me know in the comments!

 

Top Ten Tuesday: Creepiest YA Covers

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by Jamie @ The Broke and the Bookish.

This week’s theme is covers, anything to do with covers! It’ll definitely be interesting to see everyone’s take on this and I decided to go with the creepiest book covers, because I looooove horror books. Of course there are actually quite a few creepy covers out there and these are just a couple of my favorites, some I have read and some are just on my TBR.

I will link up a review if I have one! These are also in no particular order.

10.) And The Trees Crept In (or The Creeper Man) by Dawn Kurtagich

For this book I just HAD to have both the US cover and the UK cover since they’re both creepy as hell! I do love the US cover more because it’s more beautiful than it is creepy but I can’t deny that the UK cover is probably the creepiest book cover I’ve ever seen.

Also the story is creepy and amazing so you can judge this book by its covers! It’s about two girls living in a mansion with their aunt and they notice that the trees are creeping closer to the house and that the entity known as the Creeper Man that watches them from the woods is getting closer too.

You can read my full review here.

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9.) The Dead House by Dawn Kurtagich

Two Dawn Kurtagich books? Yes! She’s becoming a queen of YA horror in my book and her covers match the stories perfectly too. This is a very creepy psychological thriller about a girl with a split personality disorder or maybe….it’s something more sinister than that.

You can read my full review here.

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8.) Daughters Unto Devils by Amy Lukavics

Creepy cover? Yes! Creepy story? Definitely yes! This one revolves around a family living out on the prairie, their secretly pregnant daughter, and well…..demons. This one is pretty insane but also scary, highly recommend!

You can read my full review here.

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7.) The Women in the Walls by Amy Lukavics

I’m sorry! I’m done with the repeat authors now I swear! I really love the typography on this cover, it is super eerie. The story is about a girl whose aunt tragically goes missing and her cousin claims she can hear her dead mother’s voice inside the house’s walls…..

You can read my full review here.

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6.) Alice by Christina Henry

I don’t know it could just be me but I find the creepy rabbit head pasted over top a man’s body to be very creepy. This is a very, very graphic horror retelling of Alice in Wonderland and I found it to be absolutely amazing. This one definitely isn’t for the faint-hearted though.

You can read my full review here.

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5.) The Girl From The Well by Rin Chupeco

Quick story time: when I was 10 years old I made the mistake of watching “The Grudge” and am now forever terrified of Asian ghosts. Therefore this book’s cover (and the book itself) creeps the shit out of me! It’s a very interesting and scary book revolving around the spirit Okiku, who takes vengeance on wrong-doers.

You can read my full review here.

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4.) Slasher Girls & Monster Boys stories selected by April Genevieve Tucholke

Whatever that thing is on the cover it’s disturbing and it creeps me out, but I suppose it fits the stories in this YA anthology perfectly in that case. There are TONS of creeptastic (shhh that’s a word) stories in here and pretty much all of them are amazing with the exception of 1 or 2.

You can read my full review here.

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3.) Mary: The Summoning by Hillary Monahan

Is it just me or are mirrors super creepy? So yeah, ghostly reflections in them = creepy. I have yet to read this one but it’s a take on the Bloody Mary urban legend.

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2.) Asylum by Madeleine Roux

Blurred/scratched out old timey photos are creepy, actually a lot of old photos are creepy but especially when they’re blurred or scratched out. This is a pretty popular book that I also have yet to read but I’m definitely looking forward to seeing if it’s any good.

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1.) Shutter by Courtney Alameda

Look at that black, gaping ghost and tell me it isn’t creepy! This is a book I have sitting on my shelf currently awaiting to be read and it’s about teenage ghost hunters basically.

What do you think of these covers? Creepy or not so much?

What are some of your favorite creepy YA covers?

Have you read any of these books or anything similar?

What cover theme did you choose for you TTT this week?

Let me know in the comments and feel free to link up your TTT as well!

Book Review: And The Trees Crept In by Dawn Kurtagich

Stay away from the woods…

When Silla and Nori arrive at their aunt’s home, it’s immediately clear that the manor is cursed. The endless creaking of the house at night and the eerie stillness of the woods surrounding them would be enough of a sign, but there are secrets too—questions that Silla can’t ignore: Why does it seem that, ever since they arrived, the trees have been creeping closer? Who is the beautiful boy who’s appeared from the woods? And who is the tall man with no eyes who Nori plays with in the basement at nigh…a man no one else can see?

Dawn Kurtagich does it again with yet another amazingly creepy psychological horror book! I don’t think I can ever be disappointed with one of her books since I loved her debut “The Dead House” my expectations for “And The Trees Crept In” were high and I wasn’t let down. This is definitely a book for horror lovers and perfect for Halloween!

Firstly, this book was ACTUALLY scary I mean it is one of the few books that truly scared me. A lot of horror books are usually one of two things: quiet horror or jumpy horror, and yet this book happens to be both. There’s a fair share of quiet, creepy, and suspenseful scares as well as a few jump scares that had me setting the book down so I could take a breather. I was tense the entire time I was reading and that’s something I look for in a good YA horror book (or horror book period). The atmosphere was also on point, it was incredibly eerie and was one of the best parts of the book. I’ve read quite a few horror books and seen many, many horror movie and so my standards for what I find scary are high and I was very impressed with this.

Now normally I’d try and give you a little synopsis of the plot but I just don’t dare say much because the more blind you go into this book the better. There are so many crazy twists that you won’t see coming AT ALL and there’s so much mystery as to what is actually happening that you just have to keep reading.

We start out the story with Silla and Nori arriving in the dead of night to their Aunt Cath’s manor in the middle of the forest. As the story progresses we slowly learn more about the house, how Silla and Nori came to be at the house, and the history between Cath and Silla and Nori’s mother. Then there’s the arrival of an odd young man, Cath’s mental abscence, the depletion of the food supply, the creeping trees, and finally….The Creeper Man. With the many different things happening it’s up to Silla to sort everything out and determine if she can truly trust anyone or even her own mind as the trees slowly creep in….

I loved how we couldn’t trust anyone or anything that was happening throughout this book it added so much to the mystery, the eeriness, and the terror. Are the trees actually moving? Is the Creeper Man real or a figment of Silla’s imagination? What made this even more horrifying was that you can try and answer these questions yourself but you won’t be able too, as I said the plot twists were insane and you just won’t see them coming.

This book is also very fast paced and will have you turning pages and finishing it in no time! I will say that the pacing for me slowed down a bit about 3/4 of the way through because let’s be honest the book got very weird and confusing. However, this just made the story even better when I finally got to the end and sorted everything out! So if you find yourself muddling along towards the end be patient because the ending is very satisfying although I thought the conclusion took a bit away from the scariness ( I won’t elaborate because of spoilers).

Another very unique thing about this book? The formatting. Just based on Dawn Kurtagich’s two books she is a queen of great formatting, it adds so much to the atmosphere of her books. There are notes, journal entries, and just a few other oddly formatted pages. I think it makes for a more fun reading experience as well!

If there’s one thing I ever find very lacking in horror books it’s character development and this book definitely is not lacking. We get so much insight into every single character, especially Silla since she narrates a majority of the time I got to really know each character and feel their hysteria as the events of the book progressed.

This book is very much psychologically driven so getting into Silla’s mind was necessary and Dawn Kurtagich did it so well. We got flashbacks of Silla’s memories as well as good looks into her mind set via journal entries and notes.

I also found all of the characters quite..relatable which is odd since there is nothing relatable about their situation at all for me but that just goes to show how well written and complex they were.

I will just say this now: I am not a fan of Dawn Kurtagich’s romances. I did not like the romance in “The Dead House” and I didn’t like it in “And The Trees Crept In” either unfortunately. I just find them to be kind of unnecessary and take away from the creepy atmosphere. This romance also kind of had a degree of insta-love and just felt very underwhelming. Although I will say at the end I warmed up to it a little bit…but not much.

I was very impressed with this book but the romance,  my occasional confusion, and a very tiny personal issue with the ending kept this from being a true 5 star read for me.

I will definitely be reading anything and everything that Dawn Kurtagich continues to write though because she is certainly proving herself to be a real YA horror genius!

Yes I highly recommend reading “And The Trees Crept In”! Especially if you’re looking for your next “keep the lights on all night” horror book or something to read for Halloween this week!

Links: Goodreads / Amazon / Book Depository

October TBR (aka Lots of Spooky Books)

Hello everyone! Who else is super excited for October and Halloween? Because I know I am, Halloween is my absolute favorite holiday and yes that means more than Christmas. I love getting to watch horror movies, eat a crap ton of candy, and dress up but most of all I love getting to read creepy books! So I have quite a few that need reading (or re-reading) this month and so I thought I’d put together a TBR that I’ll actually stick to!

So I’ll start with two ARCs I’ll be reading and reviewing this month that aren’t necessarily spooky….

Seventeen-year-old Audrey Rose Wadsworth was born a lord’s daughter, with a life of wealth and privilege stretched out before her. But between the social teas and silk dress fittings, she leads a forbidden secret life.

Against her stern father’s wishes and society’s expectations, Audrey often slips away to her uncle’s laboratory to study the gruesome practice of forensic medicine. When her work on a string of savagely killed corpses drags Audrey into the investigation of a serial murderer, her search for answers brings her close to her own sheltered world.

An ARC I’m very excited to get to and it sort of fits in with October actually! I mean come on the title just says it all, who wouldn’t want to read it?

Damaged. Deceptive. Dangerous. Darling. Are they labels or a warning? The answer could cost Sera everything.

Murder, justice, and revenge were so not a part of the plan when Sera set out on her senior camping trip. After all, hiking through the woods is supposed to be safe and uneventful.

Then one morning the group wakes up groggy, confused, and with words scrawled on their wrists: Damaged. Deceptive. Dangerous. Darling. Their supplies? Destroyed. Half their group? Gone. Their chaperone? Unconscious. Worst of all, they find four dolls acting out a murder—dolls dressed just like them.

Suddenly it’s clear; they’re being hunted. And with the only positive word on her wrist, Sera falls under suspicion…

With that description this book sounds creepy especially with that cover! I can’t wait to get to this ARC and hopefully it won’t let me down.

Outside the palace of Versailles, it’s modern day. Inside, the people dress, eat, and act like it’s the eighteenth century—with the added bonus of technology to make court life lavish, privileged, and frivolous. The palace has every indulgence, but for one pretty young thing, it’s about to become a very beautiful prison.
When Danica witnesses an act of murder by the young king, her mother makes a cruel power play . . . blackmailing the king into making Dani his queen. When she turns eighteen, Dani will marry the most ruthless and dangerous man of the court. She has six months to escape her terrifying destiny. Six months to raise enough money to disappear into the real world beyond the palace gates.
Her ticket out? Glitter. A drug so powerful that a tiny pinch mixed into a pot of rouge or lip gloss can make the wearer hopelessly addicted. Addicted to a drug Dani can sell for more money than she ever dreamed.
But in Versailles, secrets are impossible to keep. And the most dangerous secret—falling for a drug dealer outside the palace walls—is one risk she has to take.

This is not a horror book or a creepy book but rather an ARC that happens to come out this month and therefore needs reading. The premise sounds interesting and unique and that cover is pretty as fuck! Although some reviews I’ve seen already don’t make my hopes very high.

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Now onto the ACTUAL spooky books I plan on reading and reviewing this October!

 

I have been super excited to get my hands on this book and I finally did, although I have ARCs that need reading first it’s definitely going to be hard not to dive right in! I also have a feeling this will be the scariest book I’ll read this month.

A sequel I feel like I’ve been waiting forever for and what better time to read it than October?

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And then here’s a potential bonus book if I can get my hands on it this month:

I actually really enjoyed Lukavics debut book “Daughters Unto Devils” and so I’m pretty excited about reading her new book. Plus how creepy is the cover?

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Potential re-reads for this month, some of my favorite horror books:

Such a fantastic and funny book for any horror movie lover! I’d love to get a chance to re-read this and give it an actual review especially since it’s a pretty quick read I could probably finish it in a day.

This might actually be my favorite horror book of all time, there are so many great short stories in here that will literally scare your pants off! I’d love to re-read through this but even if it’s just through my favorite stories that’s good enough for me!

So that wraps up this month’s planned TBR, hopefully I get through them all!

Have you read any of these books?

Are any of these on your October TBR as well?

What spooky books are you planning on reading this month?

Let me know in the comments!

The Harry Potter Tag

I was tagged to do this by both Michelle @ Book Adventures and Ariana @ The Quirky Book Nerd , these ladies are both absolutely fantastic bloggers so make sure you head over to their blogs and check it out! Seriously, do it.

This tag and all of these lovely Harry Potter themed images were created by Lashaan and Trang from Bookidote! The only rule of the tag: you cannot use Harry Potter books for any of your answers.

A book where you found the theme interesting , but you’d like to rewrite it.

Unhooked by Lisa Maxwell

A darker Peter Pan retelling with a potential love triangle between the MC and young adult versions of Hook and Pan? Yeah that drew me in right away, but it was not dark or twisted, the love triangle wasn’t as great as it should have been, and these versions of Hook and Pan were boring. If it were up to me to rewrite it I would actually add some darker, creepy elements to the story as well as make Hook and Pan a little more swoon-worthy.

You can find my review here. 

The first book in a series that got you hooked.

The Raven Boys (The Raven Cycle #1) by Maggie Stiefvater

I haven’t finished this series YET but as soon as I finished the this first book I went out and bought ALL of the other 3 books. So yeah, I guess you could say I was hooked and I can’t wait to finish!

You can find my review here. 

A book you wish you could have right now.

And The Trees Crept In by Dawn Kurtagich

There sure are a lot of books I wish I could have right now! Normally I would probably go with “Gemina” but I REALLY need some good old fashioned creepy horror right now and this book is sure to be perfect! I really enjoyed Kurtagich’s other book “The Dead House” and I’m sure I won’t be disappointed with this one either.

A killer book. Both senses. Take it as you like.

Alice (The Chronicles of Alice #1) by Christina Henry

This book definitely falls under both senses! It was a five star read for me it had everything I wanted: a dark, twisted plot, morally ambiguous characters, and fantastic writing. Not to mention it is a horror book so it definitely is “killer”.

You can find my review here. 

 

A book that you found really confusing.

Bliss by Lauren Myracle

I read this book a looooong time ago and never reviewed it but I do remember when I read it that I was confused as hell! I felt like there was too much trying to be crammed in and at the same time nothing was explained well enough which all lead up to an unsatisfying ending. Not a fan.

Your spirit animal book.

Stormdancer by Jay Kristoff

I am a sucker for fantasy novels. Especially when they contain 100% badass heroines, unique and in depth world building/mythology, Thunder Tiger companions, and chainsaw katanas. There’s a lot going on but seriously best way to sum up this book: badass. I just really feel like “Stormdancer” is my spirit animal book, read this and you will know me! Not really but you should read it anyways!

A dark, twisted book.

Dark Places by Gillian Flynn

Dammit! I already used “Alice” by Christina Henry….well just so you all know that’s my real answer! The next best thing to that, though, is anything Gillian Flynn writes especially “Dark Places”. It shows the very dark and twisty side of human nature.

You can find my review here.

A book that surprised you in a great way, reveals to be more than it is.

So at first glance at both the cover and the description you’d think this is some sappy, trope-filled, romance book when in fact it’s so much more. While it IS a very romance focused book it’s very unique, the writing is absolutely gorgeous and the stories are filled with original mythology. This was such a wonderfully surprising book!

You can find my review here.

***No obligations to do this tag and sorry if you’ve already done it before, if that’s the case please leave a link to it so I can check out your answers!!***

Brooke @ Brooke’s Books

Isabella @ The Book Pandas

Esther @ Chapter Adventures

Beth @ Reading Every Night

Nessa @ Bookish Nessa

Cassidy @ The Little Book Cottage

Lauren @ Wonderless Reviews

Christine Joyce @ The Book Harpy

Britt @ Geronimo Reads

Hannah @ A Mortal Reader

Donna @ Chocolate ‘N Waffles

Carrianne @ Carrianne’s Cuppa ‘N Critques