Top Ten Tuesday – Halloween Freebie – Books To Read At Halloween

Welcome to Top Ten Tuesday! Hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl, this week it is Halloween Freebie. For this prompt I have compiled a list of books that will get you in the Halloween mood over a range of genres.

First of all here is my Halloween book list from last year:

HAPPY HALLOWEEN! Books To Get You In The Halloween Mood

Now for this year’s list:

GOTHIC FICTION:

Book Review – The Silent Companions by Laura Purcell⭐Rated 5/5⭐

Book Review – Melmoth by Sarah Perry⭐Rated 3.5/4/5⭐

FANTASY:

Book Review – Witch Way To Murder And Mayhem by Jane Hinchey⭐Rated 5/5⭐

Witch Happens by AM King⭐Rated 5/5⭐COSY MYSTERY/FANTASY

The Ex Hex by Erin Sterling⭐Rated 5/5⭐ ROMANCE/FANTASY

The Witches of Moonshyne Manor⭐Rated 5/5⭐ FANTASY

MYSTERY:

Woman in the Library by Sulari Gentill⭐Rated 5/5⭐MYSTERY

The Book Of Cold Cases by Simone St James⭐Rated 5/5⭐ CRIME/MYSTERY/THRILLER

THRILLER:

Do No Harm by Jack Jordan⭐Rated 5/5⭐ CRIME/THRILLER

Quarter To Midnight by Karen Rose ⭐Rated 5/5⭐ THRILLER/MYSTERY/CRIME

What books would you recommend for Halloween?

#bookstagram #instabook #bookphotography #igbooks #ilovereading #bookhaul #bookhoarder #bookaddiction #bookstoread #whattoread #fortheloveofbooks #bookblogging #bookpics #weekendreads #bookrecs #booknerdproblems #bookpictures #bookstagram #amreading #booksbooksbooks #instablog #booknerds #bookphotos #bibliophile #toptentuesday #halloween #halloweenbooks #fantasy #gothicfiction #mystery #thriller

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Sunday Salon

Welcome to my Sunday Salon post! Hosted by Readerbuzz this post is a chance to have a weekly bookish and non-bookish catch up with other bloggers.

What I have been reading this week:

Random Things Tours – Book Review – Good Taste by Caroline Scott

Fingersmith by Sarah Waters (click for link to Goodreads)

Mini Book, Mini Review – Witch Happens by AM King

Witch Way To Murder And Mayhem by Jane Hinchey (click for link to Goodreads)

The Moose Paradox by Antti Tuomainen (click for link to Goodreads)

My Book Of The Week That Took Part In This Week’s Memes Was:

Fingersmith by Sarah Waters (click for link to Goodreads)

Memes that I have participated in this week:

Goodreads Monday – Hosted by me Budget Tales Book Blog

Top Ten Tuesday – Hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl

WWW Wednesday – Hosted by Sam @ Taking on a World of Words

Goodreads Top 5 Wednesday – Hosted by Goodreads T5W group

Time Travel Thursday – Hosted by me Budget Tales Blog

Book Blogger Hop – Hosted by Ramblings of a Coffee Addicted Writer

The Friday 56 – Hosted by Freda’s Voice

Stacking the Shelves – Hosted by Reading Reality

All Over Instagram – Hosted by me Budget Tales Book Blog

Sunday Post – Hosted by Caffeinated Reviewer

What else has been happening this week:

It feels like I lived at my son’s school this week!

Monday and Tuesday were quiet with me trying to get over the most recent cold. On Wednesday my son had his first school photograph (I am looking forward to seeing the results of that soon!). On Wednesday in the afternoon I went in to school for a parent’s phonics presentation, designed to give us an idea of what our children were being taught and how we can help them. To finish off Wednesday, in the evening we went to my son’s first parent’s evening which was quite positive.

Thursday I went shopping with my parents for some shoes. I was still feeling a bit unwell, but we managed to find shoes fairly quickly and had a nice lunch and a hot chocolate break. That evening I then had my flu jab so then spent Friday trying to get over that. Friday was also my son’s first non-school uniform day and also the last day of term so we are now officially on half term for the week!

Saturday we went to Tunbridge Wells to try and wear my son out. As it included a bit of christmas shopping he wasn’t too impressed so we didn’t get to walk around as much as I would have liked. Today we are off to my partner’s parents house for lunch and then to drop off birthday presents to his Aunt so another busy day ahead!

How has your week been?

#bookstagram #bibliophile #igreads #bookreview #instaread #lovetoread #booksarelife #readingisfundamental #whatimreading #bookreviewer #bookaddicts #bookpost #tbrpile #justread #bookishphotography #whattoreadnext #readallday #bookworms #booksofinstagram #bookwormproblems #bookaholic #bookpic #newreads #booknerd #bibliophile #sundaysalon #autumnreading #fallreading #halloween #fantasy

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Friday 56 – Fingersmith by Sarah Waters

Welcome to Friday 56! Hosted by Freda’s Voice, you turn to page 56 or 56% in any book or reading device and pick a sentence that grabs you.

My book of the week is Fingersmith by Sarah Waters (click for link to Goodreads)

Book Description From Goodreads:

“Sue Trinder is an orphan, left as an infant in the care of Mrs. Sucksby, a “baby farmer,” who raised her with unusual tenderness, as if Sue were her own. Mrs. Sucksby’s household, with its fussy babies calmed with doses of gin, also hosts a transient family of petty thieves—fingersmiths—for whom this house in the heart of a mean London slum is home.

One day, the most beloved thief of all arrives—Gentleman, an elegant con man, who carries with him an enticing proposition for Sue: If she wins a position as the maid to Maud Lilly, a naïve gentlewoman, and aids Gentleman in her seduction, then they will all share in Maud’s vast inheritance. Once the inheritance is secured, Maud will be disposed of—passed off as mad, and made to live out the rest of her days in a lunatic asylum.

With dreams of paying back the kindness of her adopted family, Sue agrees to the plan. Once in, however, Sue begins to pity her helpless mark and care for Maud Lilly in unexpected ways…But no one and nothing is as it seems in this Dickensian novel of thrills and reversals.”

FRIDAY 56 QUOTE

“The road was perfectly quiet and perfectly dark, and I imagined the sound of the horse, and the wheels, and our voices, carrying far across the fields. Then I heard, from rather near, the slow tolling of a bell – a very mournful sound, it seemed to me at that moment, not like the cheerful bells of London. It tolled nine times.”

I haven’t yet got to page 56. It is rather slow going and as this quote shows, there is rather a lot of description to get through. It is good description, but it does slow the story down. I don’t think that I will get it finished before the end of the month and therefore I won’t achieve my Gothic Fiction goal this month.

#bookstagram #bibliophile #igreads #currentlyreading #bookreview #instaread #lovetoread #booksarelife #readingisfundamental #whatimreading #bookreviewer #bookaddicts #bookpost #tbrpile #justread #bookishphotography #whattoreadnext #readallday #bookworms #booksofinstagram #bookwormproblems #bookaholic #bookpic #newreads #booknerd #friday56 #bookquote #autumnreading #fallreading #gothicfiction

“book”, “read”, “book blog”, “easy read”, “don’t miss out”, “entertaining”, “what book should I read next”, “book quote”, “halloween”, “autumn reading”, “fall reading”, “gothic fiction”

Time Travel Thursday

It’s Time Travel Thursday! This is where I take a look back at what I was reading this time last year (or the year before or the year before that…) and compare it to what I am reading now.

This day in 2021 I was reading:

Book Review – Dead World by Alex Apostol

Plot Summary:

“We are now on the third book and Christine and Zack are determined that they will carry on fighting to find the cure and not stop until they have it. They leave the group in the safety of the bunker and make the journey to the lab. Gretchen sneaks out of the bunker to join them at a great cost. 

The bunker life isn’t as safe as Christine and Zack first thought and the rest of the group end up fighting their own problems – both from the living and the dead!

Will Christine and Zack find the cure and will bunker life ever be the same again?”

Fast Forward To Today:

Fingersmith by Sarah Waters (click for link to Goodreads)

Book Description From Goodreads:

“Sue Trinder is an orphan, left as an infant in the care of Mrs. Sucksby, a “baby farmer,” who raised her with unusual tenderness, as if Sue were her own. Mrs. Sucksby’s household, with its fussy babies calmed with doses of gin, also hosts a transient family of petty thieves—fingersmiths—for whom this house in the heart of a mean London slum is home.

One day, the most beloved thief of all arrives—Gentleman, an elegant con man, who carries with him an enticing proposition for Sue: If she wins a position as the maid to Maud Lilly, a naïve gentlewoman, and aids Gentleman in her seduction, then they will all share in Maud’s vast inheritance. Once the inheritance is secured, Maud will be disposed of—passed off as mad, and made to live out the rest of her days in a lunatic asylum.

With dreams of paying back the kindness of her adopted family, Sue agrees to the plan. Once in, however, Sue begins to pity her helpless mark and care for Maud Lilly in unexpected ways…But no one and nothing is as it seems in this Dickensian novel of thrills and reversals.”

Witch Way To Murder And Mayhem by Jane Hinchey (click for link to Goodreads)

Book Description From Goodreads:

“To call Gran eccentric is somewhat of an understatement. She has questionable fashion sense, cough, can anyone say bedazzled Ugg boots and a tutu? But my Gran? She is awesome. So when she suggested I buy The Dusty Attic Bookstore I was all in, after all, what could go wrong?

Try finding my high school nemesis dead on the floor of my newly acquired store for starters. Now I’m on the suspect list! Okay, so I just need to find the killer, clear my name, and pass my witches exam. Oh, didn’t I mention that? Yeah, seems the stunt I pulled on my cheating ex-fiancee cost me not only my job but my magic.

My name is Harper Jones and this is not how I expected my return to my magical hometown of Whitefall Cove to go.”

Comparison:

From Dystopian to Gothic Fiction and Cosy Mystery. They all can be classed as Halloween reads though. I do try to read seasonally as far as possible and apparently I have managed to achieve it 2 years running (at least this week!).

What were you reading this time last year or the year before (or the year before!)? Add your links in the comments below!

#bibliophile #igreads #currentlyreading #bookreview #instaread #lovetoread #booksarelife #readingisfundamental #whatimreading #bookreviewer #bookaddicts #bookpost #tbrpile #justread #bookishphotography #whattoreadnext #readallday #bookworms #booksofinstagram #bookwormproblems #bookaholic #bookpic #newreads #booknerd #timetravelthursday #pastreads #autumnreading #fallreading #cozymystery #gothicfiction #dystopian #halloween

“book”, “read”, “book blog”, “recommended”, “easy read”, “don’t miss out”, “fiction”, “past reads”,”entertaining”, “what should I read next”,”dystopian”, “gothic fiction”, “halloween”, “halloween books”

My Book Of The Week – Fingersmith by Sarah Waters

Welcome to my Book Of The Week post! Each week I will highlight one of the books that I am currently reading and use that book to participate in blog memes such as First Chapter First Paragraph Tuesday Intros, Thursday Quotables and Friday 56. Feel free to read along with me!

This week I have chosen Fingersmith by Sarah Waters (click for link to Goodreads) published 26 June 2012.

Book Description From Goodreads:

“No one and nothing is as it seems in this Dickensian novel of thrills and reversals. Sue Trinder is an orphan, left as an infant in the care of Mrs. Sucksby, a “baby farmer.” Mrs. Sucksby’s household also hosts a transient family of petty thieves–fingersmiths–for whom this house in the heart of a mean London slum is home.

One day, the most beloved thief of all arrives–Gentleman, an elegant con man, who carries with him an enticing proposition for Sue: If she wins a position as the maid to Maud Lilly, a naïve gentlewoman, and aids Gentleman in her seduction, they all will share in Maud’s vast inheritance.

With dreams of paying back the kindness of her adopted family, Sue agrees to the plan. Once in, however, Sue begins to regret her decision.”

#bookstagram #bibliophile #igreads #instaread #lovetoread #booksarelife #readingisfundamental #whatimreading #bookreviewer #bookaddicts #bookpost #tbrpile #justread #bookishphotography #whattoreadnext #readallday #bookworms #booksofinstagram #bookwormproblems #bookaholic #bookpic #newreads #booknerd #bookoftheweek #halloween #gothicfiction

“book blog”, “don’t miss out”, “entertaining”, “what books do you recommend”, “what book should I read next”, “halloween”, “gothic fiction”

Happy National Book Lovers Day!

As today is National Book Lovers Day I thought that I would honour it by posting some of my favourite books from this year (it was difficult to pick just these 10 as I have read so many excellent books!):

Book Review – The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood – ROM COM

Book Review – The Man Who Died Twice by Richard Osman – MYSTERY

Book Review – The Silent Companions by Laura Purcell – GOTHIC FICTION

Book Review – The Little Cafe in Copenhagen by Julie Caplin – ROMANCE

Book Review – A Moment on the Lips by J Taylor – HUMOUR

Book Review – The Midnight Library by Matt Haig – MAGICAL REALISM

Book Review – The Better Brother by Simon Gravatt – DARK HUMOUR

Book Review – Four Aunties And A Wedding by Jesse Sutanto – ROM COM

Book Review – Lucie Yi Is Not A Romantic by Lauren Ho – ROM COM

Book Review – Last Time We Met by Emily Houghton – ROMANCE

What are some of your favourite books of 2022 (so far!)?

#bookstagram #instabook #bookphotography #igbooks #ilovereading #bookhaul #bookhoarder #bookaddiction #bookstoread #whattoread #fortheloveofbooks #bookblogging #bookpics #weekendreads #bookrecs #booknerdproblems #bookpictures #bookstagram #amreading #booksbooksbooks #instablog #booknerds #bookphotos #bibliophile #favouritebooks #romance #mystery #gothicfiction #humour #nationalbookloversday

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Top Ten Tuesday – Books To Pull You Out Of A Reading Slump

Welcome to Top Ten Tuesday! Hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl, this week it is Books On My Wishlist. As I try my very hardest not to buy new books, I have decided instead to do Books To Pull You Out Of A Reading Slump (a previous Top Ten Tuesday topic). Maybe these can be added to your wishlist!

The last time I did a books to get you out of a reading slump post was 16 September 2021. Click here for that post.

Here is my “updated” list – or as I like to see it an “in addition to” list.

Random Things Tours – Book Review – Do No Harm by Jack Jordan – THRILLER

Book Review – The Man Who Died Twice by Richard Osman – MYSTERY

Book Review – Finlay Donovan Is Killing It by Elle Cosimano – MYSTERY

Book Review – The Maid by Nita Prose – MYSTERY

Random Things Blog Tour – Book Review – Shadow Flicker by Gregory Bastianelli – CRIME/MYSTERY/THRILLER

Random Things Tours – Book Review – It Only Takes A Minute by Sasha Lane – ROMANTIC COMEDY

Random Things Tours – Book Review – The Attic Child by Lola Jaye – HISTORICAL FICTION

Random Things Blog Tour – Book Review – The Better Brother by Simon Gravatt – DARK COMEDY

Book Review – The Midnight Library by Matt Haig – MAGICAL REALISM

Book Review – The Silent Companions by Laura Purcell – GOTHIC FICTION

I have tried to do a range of genres to cater for a wide range of tastes.

What books would be on your list?

Happy TTT!

#bookstagram #bibliophile #igreads #instaread #lovetoread #booksarelife #readingisfundamental #whatimreading #bookreviewer #bookaddicts #bookpost #tbrpile #justread #bookishphotography #whattoreadnext #readallday #bookworms #booksofinstagram #bookwormproblems #bookaholic #bookpic #newreads #booknerd #toptentuesday #readingslump

“book blog”, “don’t miss out”, “entertaining”, “book reviews”, “what books do you recommend”, “what book should I read next”, “what books would get me out of a reading slump”, “thriller”, “mystery”, “rom com”, “historical fiction”, “magical realism”, “dark comedy”

Goodreads Top 5 Wednesday – Heart Racing Reads

Welcome to Top 5 Wednesday! Hosted by Goodreads T5W group this week it is Heart Racing Reads. Recently I have been reading more Rom Coms, so I will have to look further back to find heart racing reads. Here are my Top 5:

Book Review – The Silent Companions by Laura Purcell – GOTHIC FICTION

This was spooky throughout and ended on such a cliffhanger!

Book Review – Kill Me Goodbye by A K Reynolds – THRILLER

You never knew what was going to happen next.

Book Review – The Wildest Hunt by Jo Zebedee – FANTASY

The magical element in this story is quite dark.

Book Review – Dead Soil by Alex Apostol – POST APOCALYPTIC

This book was scary due to the fact that it was about a virus and trying to eradicate it caused the end of the world as we knew it.

Book Review – The Sanatorium by Sarah Pearse – MYSTERY/THRILLER

The whole set up was dark.

Have you read any of these heart racing books? What books would be on your list?

#bookstagram #instabook #bookphotography #igbooks #ilovereading #bookhaul #bookhoarder #bookaddiction #bookstoread #whattoread #fortheloveofbooks #bookblogging #bookpics #weekendreads #bookrecs #booknerdproblems #bookpictures #bookstagram #amreading #booksbooksbooks #instablog #booknerds #bookphotos #bibliophile #goodreads #top5wednesday #heartracingreads

“book”, “read”, “book blog”, “easy read”, “don’t miss out”, “fiction”, “entertaining”, “what should I read next”, “what book do you recommend”, “books to get me out of a reading slump”, “heart racing books”

Friday 56 – Melmoth by Sarah Perry

Welcome to Friday 56! Hosted by Freda’s Voice, you turn to page 56 or 56% in any book or reading device and pick a sentence that grabs you.

My book of the week is Melmoth by Sarah Perry (click for link to Goodreads)

“The last girl – lagging behind, her feet sore in new shoes perhaps, or slowed by heaviness of heart – looks up at the window as she passes, and sees there a man and a woman, silent, grave, gazing down at something out of sight.”

I was quite pleased when I saw this on page 56 as it shows the sort of language that is used in the book and how even in isolation it hints at something spooky.

What is happening on page 56 of your current read?

#bookstagram #bibliophile #igreads #currentlyreading #bookreview #instaread #lovetoread #booksarelife #readingisfundamental #whatimreading #bookreviewer #bookaddicts #bookpost #tbrpile #justread #bookishphotography #whattoreadnext #readallday #bookworms #booksofinstagram #bookwormproblems #bookaholic #bookpic #newreads #booknerd #friday56 #bookoftheweek #bookquote

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Thursday Quotables – Melmoth by Sarah Perry – #gothicfiction

Hosted by Bookshelf Fantasies, this is where you share a favorite quote, line, or passage from your reading each week!

Each week I chose a Book of the Week to take part in this (and other) book memes. This week my chosen book is Melmoth by Sarah Perry:

“Adaya pauses for a moment. She gestures with the toe of a well-worn shoe to a place on the pavement which has been cleared of snow. “A stumbling stone.” These are familiar to Helen, who has seen them shining among the cobbles many times before: brass plates that mark places where men and women and children were taken from their homes to be murdered in the camps. She looks. The inscription is very small, and somewhat rubbed, and she is not particularly minded to stoop and read. Adaya removes her glasses. She says: “Murdered in Theresienstadt, 19th of August 1942. And only just sixteen. I wonder, when God permitted us to fall, if He knew we’d fall so far.”

There are a lot of quotes that I could have chosen, however this one highlighted the tone of the book, the description and the sadness fairly well. It doesn’t show quite how spooky the book got, but I don’t want to spoil it!

Book Description From Goodreads:

“For centuries, the mysterious dark-robed figure has roamed the globe, searching for those whose complicity and cowardice have fed into the rapids of history’s darkest waters-and now, in Sarah Perry’s breathtaking follow-up to The Essex Serpent, it is heading in our direction.

It has been years since Helen Franklin left England. In Prague, working as a translator, she has found a home of sorts—or, at least, refuge. That changes when her friend Karel discovers a mysterious letter in the library, a strange confession and a curious warning that speaks of Melmoth the Witness, a dark legend found in obscure fairy tales and antique village lore. As such superstition has it, Melmoth travels through the ages, dooming those she persuades to join her to a damnation of timeless, itinerant solitude. To Helen it all seems the stuff of unenlightened fantasy.

But, unaware, as she wanders the cobblestone streets Helen is being watched. And then Karel disappears. . . .”

#lovetoread #booksarelife #readingisfundamental #whatimreading #bookreviewer #bookaddicts #bookpost #tbrpile #justread #bookishphotography #whattoreadnext #readallday #bookworms #booksofinstagram #bookwormproblems #bookaholic #bookpic #newreads #booknerd #thursdayquotables #gothicfiction

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