Categories
Swords and Spaceships

The Plight of the 200-Year-Old Werewolf

Happy Tuesday, shipmates! It’s Alex, and I’ve got two new releases for you and a werewolf-themed book recommendation week coming in hot! I am in the midst of moving, so…hoo boy, am I tired and sore and filled with lots of other complaints. But at least I’ve had some audiobooks to keep me company while packing boxes! Right now, I’m listening to The Spice Must Flow by Ryan Britt. Stay safe out there, space pirates, and I’ll see you on Friday!

Autumn is here, which means it’s time to curl up with a great read and get cozy — whatever your version of cozy looks like. Whether it’s romance, creepy reads, modern classics, or escapist reads you crave, TBR can help you find the perfect books for your fall reading, with options curated to your specific reading tastes.

Let’s make the world a better place, together. Here are two places to start: Maui Aloha: The People’s Response, which sends support to those affected by the wildfires on Maui, particularly first responders; and Entertainment Community Fund, which supports entertainment workers who are striking for living wages and a future where humans can continue to create art for each other.

Bookish Goods

Werewolf Area sign

Warning: Werewolf Area Sign by SignsbyLindaNee

I love a novelty sign as decoration (I have a raptor attack one that lives in my office) and this is an excellent example of that genre. Particularly good if you’ve got a bit of a backyard to decorate! $25

New Releases

Cover of Hazardous Spirits by Anbara Salam

Hazardous Spirits by Anbara Salam

Evelyn Hazard is a very normal middle-class housewife in 1920s Edinburgh…until her husband announces that he can communicate with the dead. This pulls them both into the spiritualist movement, and her normal life begins to unravel quickly, even before secrets from her past begin to catch up to her. Worst, she must grapple with a question no wife wants to ask herself: is the man she loves a fraud, fallen into insanity, or worse — can he actually speak to the dead?

Cover of The Witches at the End of the World by Chelsea Iversen

The Witches at the End of the World by Chelsea Iversen

Two sisters who are witches grow up together in the birch woods of Norway, driven there on the day their former village burned their mother. Kaija, however, longs to rejoin society and eventually does, even though it means she will have to suppress her magic. Minna is devastated by her sister’s betrayal, and she expresses her rage with a curse aimed at punishing everyone who took away her family — she understands too late that it will destroy Kaija, too.

For a more comprehensive list of new releases, check out our New Books newsletter.

Riot Recommendations

In keeping with the Halloween theme of the month, more monsters! This time, it’s werewolves — the non-romantic sort.

cover of The Path of Thorns by A.G. Slatter

The Path of Thorns by A.G. Slatter

Asher Todd comes to Morwood as a governess because she knows the house is one that tends to eat secrets, and she has quite a few she’d like to make it choke on. But she unfortunately also becomes fond of the children, and the people of the surrounding community… just in time to wonder if she really wants to follow through with a plan she can’t really stop.

Cover of The Last Werewolf by Glen Duncan

The Last Werewolf by Glen Duncan

At a bit over 200 years old, Jake Marlowe is the last werewolf, and he is tired. All he’s got to try to salve his burgeoning existential crisis is his love of scotch and books…and the lust for meat and pleasures of the flesh that takes him during the full moon. He might be thinking of ending it all, but there are two groups, both equally dangerous, who want very much to keep him alive.

See you, space pirates. If you’d like to know more about my secret plans to dominate the seas and skies, you can catch me over at my personal site.

Categories
Giveaways

101623-VengeanceOfThePirateQueen-Giveaway

We’re giving away three copies of Daughter of the Pirate King by Tricia Levenseller to three lucky Riot readers!

Enter here for a chance to win, or click the image below!

Sent on a mission to retrieve an ancient hidden map—the key to a legendary treasure trove—seventeen-year-old pirate captain Alosa deliberately allows herself to be captured by her enemies, giving her the perfect opportunity to search their ship.

More than a match for the ruthless pirate crew, Alosa has only one thing standing between her and the map: her captor, the unexpectedly clever and unfairly attractive first mate Riden. But not to worry, for Alosa has a few tricks up her sleeve, and no lone pirate can stop the Daughter of the Pirate King.

Categories
Check Your Shelf

Witch Fiction Isn’t Going Anywhere

Welcome to Check Your Shelf. I just learned that an article I wrote for Public Libraries magazine a couple of years ago was used as an MLIS reading assignment! Talk about a career achievement I never expected to unlock!

Don’t forget, whether you’re looking for romance, creepy reads, modern classics, or escapist reads, TBR can help you find the perfect books for your fall reading, with options curated to your specific reading tastes.

Collection Development Corner

New & Upcoming Titles

Salman Rushdie is writing a memoir about his attack last year.

TJ Klune is publishing a sequel to The House in the Cerulean Sea.

Casey McQuiston announces her next book, The Pairing.

James Patterson is finishing a partially written manuscript by the late Michael Crichton.

George Stephanopoulos is writing a new book about the White House Situation Room, out May 2024.

Hugh Jackman is writing a memoir.

Here’s a first look at Gregory Maguire’s final Wicked book, The Witch of Maracoor.

14 pop culture memoirs and biographies coming out this fall.

The 30 must-read YA books for the rest of 2023.

Barnes & Noble has released its picks for Best Books of 2023.

Weekly book picks from Crime Reads, LitHub, New York Times.

What Your Patrons Are Hearing About

Down the Drain – Julia Fox (Bustle, Elle, People, USA Today)

Madonna: A Rebel Life – Mary Gabriel (Atlantic, New York Times, Town & Country, USA Today)

Blackouts – Justin Torres (New York Times, Shondaland, Washington Post)

The Upside-Down World: Meetings with the Dutch Masters – Benjamin Moser (New York Times, Washington Post)

The Dictionary People: The Unsung Heroes Who Created the Oxford English Dictionary – Sarah Ogilvie (New York Times, Washington Post)

How to Say Babylon: A Memoir – Safiya Sinclair (Guardian, NPR)

My Name is Barbra – Barbra Streisand (Entertainment Weekly, Vanity Fair)

Family Meal – Bryan Washington (Datebook, Washington Post)

RA/Genre Resources

How Jesmyn Ward is reimagining Southern literature.

On the Riot

Indie publishers with extensive BIPOC and queer catalogs.

The best horror novels of the past 3 years, according to Goodreads users.

10 great 2023 mysteries you may have missed.

The best new weekly releases to TBR.

10 romance authors like Abby Jimenez to make you swoon.

Decades: a journey of African American romance.

Why witch fiction isn’t going anywhere.

Where would fiction be without women?

All Things Comics

Dr. Seuss comes to comics in a new graphic novel series.

Comic book upstart Ghost Machine seeks to shake up the industry.

7 new comics for fans of horror — just in time for Halloween!

Literary graphic novels to add to your library.

On the Riot

The Center of Jewish History opens a Jewish comics experience.

New YA graphic novels and comics hitting shelves this fall.

8 comic book cover art collections to please your eyes.

Book Riot has podcasts to keep your ears listening for days! Check them out and subscribe.

Audiophilia

The Society of Authors in the UK is “deeply concerned” about Spotify’s new audiobook streaming provision.

Michelle Williams is narrating the audio version of Britney Spears’ memoir.

10 new audiobooks for fall 2023.

Book Lists, Book Lists, Book Lists

Children/Teens

15 high society YA novels similar to Bridgerton.

Adults

25 of the best vampire books of all time.

5 underrated horror books.

10 spooky page-turners to knock your socks off.

The 100 greatest film books of all time.

Bewitching romance books for a spooky season.

9 demonic thrillers to lose yourself in this October.

And here are some more possession thrillers!

Classic SF set on ocean planets.

8 South Asian novels about falling in love.

10 of the best historical romance mystery novels.

6 sports romance novels to root for.

8 literary reads with a touch of mystery.

On the Riot

8 of the best Indigenous middle grade novels.

20 must-read adult novels from YA authors.

20 must-read vampire books in 5 genres.

9 SF books that mix in medieval elements.

Nonfiction about witches, ghosts, and other odd creatures.

10 dark and twisted fairy tale retellings.

25 of the best cowboy romance novels.

8 horror reads to make your skin crawl.

10 fantastic Haitian books in translation.

Adult versions of your favorite childhood horror novels.

Level Up (Library Reads)

Do you take part in Library Reads, the monthly list of best books selected by librarians only? We’ve made it easy for you to find eligible diverse titles to nominate. Kelly Jensen has a guide to discovering upcoming diverse books, and Nora Rawlins of Early Word has created a database of upcoming diverse titles to nominate as well that includes information about series, vendors, and publisher buzz.

a black and white cat pawing at an open backpack

Here, we see Dini training for his new career as a TSA agent. And no, it has nothing to do with the strings on the face masks spilling out of the front pouch!

All right, friends. I’ll be back on Friday!

—Katie McLain Horner, @kt_librarylady on Twitter.

Categories
Promo

What the Sam Hell were you thinking?

My name is Robert Dugoni. I’m the author of many bestselling books, including the Tracy Crosswhite police series set in Seattle. I think the thing about me that raises the most eyebrows is, I am one of ten children, all from the same two parents. It’s rare, especially today. It was a bucolic childhood where in the summers my mother would open the door and we’d run outside to play in the cul-de-sac. I never wanted for someone to play with, and I was never lonely. With six brothers we were always up to something or guilty of something, and I remember fondly my father saying to me, or one of my siblings, “What the Sam Hell were you thinking?” Little did I know that Sam would become one of my more endearing characters in The Extraordinary Life of Sam Hell.

author Robert Dugoni leaning against a brick wall

What Are You Reading?

cover of Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin; rainbow font over an illustration of a wave

I read an eclectic mix of books. Often, I’m reading a book seeking a blurb. At present I’m reading Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin and it’s as good as its reviews. I’m also reading The Brisling Code by Janet Oakley, who has become the authoritative person on Norway during World War II. I’m also reading, The Wise Man’s Fear (The Kingkiller Chronicles) by Patrick Rothfuss which my son told me I had to read. He was right.

Books That Shaped Me

I’ve always been a reader, since I was young and my mother, a former English teacher, handed me classic literature to keep me occupied and out of trouble in school. Certain books have stuck with me, each for a different reason.

cover of The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas, Penguin Edition

The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas

I recall this as one of the first books I read cover to cover. I fell in love with the characters, and I was fascinated with the thought that a friend could betray another for the love of a woman. I fell headfirst into the adventure and was mesmerized at Edmond Dantes’ ingenious escape from a seemingly inescapable island prison. The book taught me to never quit fighting for my dreams and for what is right.

cover of Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry

Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry

I was thirty when I read Larry McMurtry’s classic western. I fell in love with the Old West and with the characters on a journey to bring home cattle to Lonesome Dove. I read the book at a pivotal moment in my life. My longtime girlfriend and I had separated, and I was living alone and in the shadows of my highly successful siblings. When I read the ending, and Captain Call came home alone to Lonesome Dove, I cried for him and all that he had lost. It was one of the first books that touched me deeply, and I’ve tried to do the same in my own writing.

cover of To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

This was one of the first books I read that was more than just a story. It was a commentary on racial injustice. I came to understand that books could have a higher purpose than just entertainment, and could truly be a guiding light on intolerance, bigotry, racism, and other social issues while still being a fascinating read filled with wonderful characters. For much the same reason, The Green Mile and Stephen King’s deft touch at discussing racial issues and the unfair application of the death penalty, moved me.

cover of The Color Purple by Alice Walker, showing illustrations of two Black women leaning on one another. Their faces are featureless except for lips.

The Color Purple by Alice Walker

I read this book for a course at Stanford University. I didn’t choose it and wasn’t all that excited, but I was hooked on page one and eagerly devoured the beautiful prose and the harsh reality of slavery in the deep south. It was an eye-opening read for a white, young man who grew up in a town with very few Black people, and who, up to that point, had never traveled farther south than the shores of Lake Tahoe in Nevada.

More Good Stuff

There are a few of my books that, if you’re looking to discover me, I would recommend.

cover of My Sister’s Grave by Robert Dugoni

My Sister’s Grave

The first in the 10 book (and counting) Tracy Crosswhite series. Tracy is a Seattle Homicide Detective wracked with guilt over the death of her sister and determined to find her killer. To do so, she’ll first have to get the man convicted of the crime a new trial.

cover of The Extraordinary Life of Sam Hell by Robert Dugoni

The Extraordinary Life of Sam Hell

This coming-of-age story of a boy born with ocular albinism (red eyes) has captured the hearts and minds of millions of readers. With his uncompromising mother determined to give Sam the very best education at the local Catholic school, Sam must navigate classroom bullies and a principal determined to break his spirit. Sam bonds with his two best friends, Ernie, the only Black student in the school, and Mickie, a misfit tomboy, to navigate the pitfalls and difficulties of life and find for himself the true meaning of an ‘extraordinary life.’

cover of Her Deadly Game by Robert Dugoni

Her Deadly Game

The first in the Keera Duggan series. If you like games, police procedurals, legal thrillers and/or family dynamics, you’ll love watching Keera, a chess prodigy, deftly navigate in the courtroom defending Vince LaRussa, accused of killing his wife. She does so at the family criminal defense practice with her dysfunctional siblings, all of whom are scarred from their highly successful father’s lifetime of binge drinking.

cover of The Eighth Sister by Robert Dugoni

The Eighth Sister

The first novel in the Charles Jenkins espionage series. After years out of the spy game, Charles Jenkins is pulled back to Russia by his former case officer. His job is to find the Russian spy who has infiltrated an American spy ring and is killing the seven sisters who have provided America with a wealth of valuable information. Jenkins realizes, too late, that he’s a pawn and is soon scrambling to evade a dogged former KGB Agent, Viktor Federov, who has orders to bring Jenkins in, dead or alive.

Categories
Read This Book

Read This Book…

Welcome to Read This Book, a newsletter where I recommend one book that should absolutely be put at the top of your TBR pile. Recommended books will vary across genre and age category and include shiny new books, older books you may have missed, and some classics I suggest finally getting around to.

Before we get to today’s pick, autumn is here, which means it’s time to curl up with a great read and get cozy — whatever your version of cozy looks like. Whether it’s romance, creepy reads, modern classics, or escapist reads you crave, TBR can help you find the perfect books for your fall reading, with options curated to your specific reading tastes. Visit TBR to find out more and sign up — it only takes a few minutes!

Today’s pick is a new nonfiction book about rest that seems incredibly relevant right now.

Book cover of Rest Easy: Discover Calm and Abundance through the Radical Power of Rest by Ximena Vengoechea

Rest Easy: Discover Calm and Abundance through the Radical Power of Rest by Ximena Vengoechea

This book is integral in bridging the gap between knowing many of us need rest and practical tips on how we can get that rest. How do we actually rest? What the heck is rest aside from napping? Divest from capitalism, sure, but what does that even look like in reality when we live in a capitalist society? Rest Easy by Ximena Vengoechea is the book I didn’t even know I needed, and now that I’ve read it, I need to share it with everyone.

Ximena Vengoechea wrote another book I love titled Listen Like You Mean It, which pulled from her knowledge as a User Experience Researcher at large tech companies. As one can imagine, she got really burned out from that job plus being an author plus being a new mom, so she decided to put on her researcher hat and look into what rest is because she really, really needed it. She experimented with so many types of rest, interviewed a ton of people, and read a bunch of writing about rest not only in the United States but elsewhere. In this book, she shares not only some of her research but also the actual activities (or non-activities) that she found were restful.

At the beginning of the book, she addresses the social, racial, political, economical, etc. reasons why rest may not be accessible to some folks or why some folks look at rest in different ways depending on their situation and background. She digs into not only how others get in our way but also how we get in our own way of rest. The way a lot of us “rest” now, by shoving all our rest into our days off of work, is not sustainable and not actually helpful, according to Vengoechea’s research.

The author writes about why it is important to rest for resting’s sake and not only so that we can do more, even though rest can promote creativity. She also explains how rest doesn’t only mean being still and how things like exercise, knitting, baking, and other hobbies can be rest. The hallmark of rest is that we generally feel better after we do it, which is why she says that mindlessly scrolling the internet doesn’t usually count as rest.

As soon as I finished this book, I felt I needed to give it a reread. There is just so much in it that I want to absorb and try to implement in my every day.

Book Riot has podcasts to keep your ears listening for days! Check them out and subscribe.

That’s it for now, book-lovers!

Patricia

Find me on Book Riot, the All the Books podcast, Bluesky, and Instagram.

Find more books by subscribing to Book Riot Newsletters.

Categories
Bookish Goods

Bookish Good of the Week: October 15, 2023

Cozy Books and Tea Adjustable Book Cover

Cozy Books and Tea Adjustable Book Cover by JustABabyBee

This book cover is adorably cozy and fall with just a hint of kitchen witch. $24+

Categories
Giveaways

101423-HTPSept.EAC-Giveaway

We’re giving away three copies of A Stroke of the Pen by Terry Pratchett to three lucky Riot readers!

Enter here for a chance to win, or click the image below!

A delightfully funny, fantastically inventive collection of twenty newly unearthed short stories by Sir Terry Pratchett, the award-winning and bestselling author of the phenomenally successful Discworld fantasy series. This special trove—featuring charming woodcut illustrations—is a must-have for Pratchett fans of all ages and includes a foreword by Neil Gaiman.

Categories
Book Radar

Tiffany D. Jackson Announces New Book and More Book Radar!

Happy Monday, Book Friends!

Well, I’m older than I was the last time you heard from me. Yeah, I had my birthday on Friday the 13th. Now, as an official old person, I’m here to offer any life advice or words of wisdom you need. Just know I charge $25 per word from now on. Because the older you get, the more valuable your insights are.

No? Not interested? Just want to hear about the books? Okay, I get it. Here we go!

Autumn is here, which means it’s time to curl up with a great read and get cozy — whatever your version of cozy looks like. Whether it’s romance, creepy reads, modern classics, or escapist reads you crave, TBR can help you find the perfect books for your fall reading, with options curated to your specific reading tastes.

Book Deals and Reveals

somewhere beyond the sea book cover

If you loved TJ Klune’s The House in the Cerulean Sea as much as the rest of the world, get excited. The sequel Somewhere Beyond the Sea is hitting shelves in 2024, and here’s the cover reveal!

Here’s another must-read author with a new book coming out. Tiffany D. Jackson just announced her new novel The Scammer, but you’re going to have to wait til winter 2025. Already adding it to my TBR for two years from now.

Another one?!?! Yes, Casey McQuiston just announced their fourth novel (and third adult romance). McQuiston says The Pairing is about “two gloriously slutty bisexual exes having a transformational three-week reunion tour through France, Spain, and Italy.” It’s out in August, 2024.

Acclaimed novelist Salman Rushdie is releasing a memoir about his experience of being attacked on stage last year.

Sonic Youth singer Thurston Moore has canceled his book tour under the advisement of his doctors, who strongly advised against him flying.

This month, the Center for Jewish History opened JewCE! The Museum and Laboratory of the Jewish Comics Experience.

Here’s the cover reveal of Allen Bratton’s Henry Henry. This “reworking of Shakespeare’s daddy issues plays” is out in April.

The Nerd Daily has the exclusive cover reveal of Sudden Superstar by Claire Betita de Guzman. It’s out in November!

Corus Entertainment’s Waterside Studios has snagged the TV adaptation rights to two YA novels by Argentinian author Marcela Citterio: The Girl Who Didn’t Want to Be a Princess and Uma Ghost.

Book Riot Recommends

Hi, welcome to everyone’s favorite segment of Book Radar called Book Riot Recommends. This is where I’ll talk to you about all the books I’m reading, the books I’m loving, and the books I can’t wait to read and love in the near future. I think you’re going to love them too!

Book Riot has podcasts to keep your ears listening for days! Check them out and subscribe.

Prepare Your Shelves!

nestlings book cover

Nestlings by Nat Cassidy (Tor Nightfire, October 31)

I love domestic horror. I wrote a whole article about it for Book Riot (shameless plug). So you’d better believe I was ready to snatch this book up as soon as I heard about it, especially because it’s got serious Rosemary’s Baby vibes. Prepare your shelves if you’re a horror fan because you’re going to love this, too.

After a horrifically difficult birth, Ana is scarred in more ways than one. Now, she and her husband, Reid, are desperate for some good news. When they win an affordable apartment in one of New York’s most preeminent apartment buildings, they think this is it. But if something seems too good to be true (especially in a horror novel), then you know it probably is.

Nestlings is eerily unsettling and might just make you feel unsafe in your own home. Yes, I mean that as a compliment.

What I’m Reading This Week

Black Paradox cover

Black Paradox by Junji Ito

Vampires of El Norte by Isabel Cañas

Lunar Love by Lauren Kung Jessen

Immortal Longings by Chloe Gong

The Beast You Are by Paul Tremblay

People Collide by Isle McElroy

Monday Memes

Here are some fresh memes for my girlies (and guys and everything in between) in the publishing industry.

And Here’s A Cat Picture

Cat with Calcifer toy

Is this a shrimp or a cat? I am not quite sure! Note the cute little Calcifer toy Murray is holding. I wish I could say he put it there, but I saw him sleeping and gave it to him. Maybe I shouldn’t have ruined the magic. Either way, it’s cute.

And that’s all I’ve got for you today, friends! Have a wonderful rest of your day, and see you later in the week.

Emily

Categories
The Fright Stuff

Get Cozy with Horror Books?

Horror fans, it’s me, Emily, your friend in all things frightful. The leaves are starting to turn, and it’s getting a little cooler outside; I’m starting to see the appeal of a cozier horror read. Especially with all the Practical Magic style witchy activities I got into over the weekend. What is cozy horror, you ask? I’ll have some examples for you down below.

Speaking of the cozy fall weather, now that autumn is here, it’s time to curl up with a great read and get cozy — whatever your version of cozy looks like. Whether it’s romance, creepy reads, modern classics, or escapist reads you crave, TBR can help you find the perfect books for your fall reading, with options curated to your specific reading tastes.

Bookish Goods

go away i'm reading blanket

Go Away I’m Reading Blanket by EverythingAfterCo

Speaking of cozy, why not cozy up with a horror-themed blankie this fall and winter? This blanket features a skeleton and says “Go Away, I’m Reading,” because, sure, you want to be cozy, but that doesn’t mean you have to be nice about it. Available in three sizes starting at $40.

New Releases

the girl who cried diamonds

The Girl Who Cried Diamonds & Other Stories by Rebecca Hirsch Garcia

Rebecca Hirsch Garcia’s debut short story collection explores the beautiful and grotesque aspects of living inside of a body, from a girl who is slowly losing her senses to another who produces valuable gems from her bodily fluids. This one is great for fans of Carmen Maria Machado, the perfect mix of fabulism and horror.

cover of brainwyrms by alison rumfitt

Brainwyrms by Alison Rumfitt

In this new queer horror novel, Frankie’s world is falling apart after her workplace was bombed by a transphobe. Now, Frankie deals with the trauma by partying, sleeping around, and hanging out with her new friend, Vanya. The two quickly fall into an intense friendship with one another, but the closer Vanya and Frankie get, the more Frankie grows suspicious that Vanya is hiding something from her. Something dark and impossibly evil.

For a more comprehensive list, check out our New Books newsletter.

Riot Recommendations

we have always lived in the castle book cover

We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson

We all know about cozy mysteries, but is there such a thing as cozy horror? Yes. The focus is less on violence, gore, and dark imagery, and more on atmosphere and general eeriness. Even though you’re immersed in a horror story, you still get the sense that everything is okay. Or is it?

A classic example would be Shirley Jackson’s novels like We Have Always Lived in the Castle. This is the story of Katherine “Merricat” Blackwood, who lives with her sister and uncle. Six years ago, Merricat’s family were victims of a horrible tragedy that left the three remaining members of the Blackwood family living alone in their estate, isolated from the rest of the community.

The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches cover

The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandanna

Cozy horror can also go a little sweet and heartwarming. As long as it’s also a little (or a lot) witchy. This is the story of a young witch named Mika who has to keep her magic identity a secret. But then she finds the Nowhere House, where three young witches need help learning how to control their powers.

how to sell a haunted house book cover

How to Sell A Haunted House by Grady Hendrix

Grady Hendrix’s How to Sell A Haunted House strikes the cozy horror balance of eeriness, heartwarming family story, and humor (yes, cozy horror can be funny, too). Siblings Louise and Mark Joyner are totally different from each other and basically never speak. But when their parents die, Louise and Mark are forced back together to get their childhood home on the market. But something is strange in that house. Before their parents died, they taped newspaper over the mirrors and nailed the attic door shut. And that’s just the beginning.

Time to grab a cozy blanket and get to reading! I’ll see you next time, horror fans. In the meantime, you can follow me (and message me) on Instagram at emandhercat. Sweet dreams, horror fans!

Categories
Kissing Books

A “Not-So-Fake” Engagement

Greetings and salutations! Welcome, or welcome back, to the Kissing Books newsletter. I’m PN Hinton, here to give you the rundown on the world of romance, including new releases, recommendations, and other entertaining ways to pass your time.

How are we almost done with October yet?!?! It really seems like the month just started, and I really wanted it to last forever! Seriously, the older I get, the more October is my favorite month outside of my birthday month, even though it’s always hot as all get out then. At least we still have a few weeks left, so I’ll make sure to make the best of them!

It’s fall y’all, and this season is the extra perfect time of the year to cozy up with an engaging book or two. Though sometimes it can be hard to pick what to read next, and that is where Book Riot’s TBR comes in. No matter what your preferred genre is, TBR’s Bibliologists, also known as Bibs, work to find the perfect ones for you to add to your book pile.

Sign up here to pick your preferred plan and wait for the recommendations to roll in!

Bookish Goods

picture of Enemies to Lovers pin

Enemies to Lovers Pin by BrioandBrandish

This is a beautiful and perfect way to show off your love of this trope. Even if this isn’t one of you preferred ones, it still makes the perfect gift for your bookish bestie that adores it. $14

New Releases

cover of The Marquis Who Mustn't

The Marquis Who Mustn’t by Courtney Milan

When Naomi needs the permission of the ‘”man in charge of her” to sign up for ambulance classes, she claims that Kai, the nobleman she just met, is her fiancé. To her surprise, he goes along with the ruse. What she doesn’t know is that Kai is in Wedgeford for his own personal reasons, and his plans will include committing fraud, stealing a fortune, and fleeing the country. She also doesn’t know that the two were actually betrothed as children before he disappeared for 17 years and that their engagement is actually real.

cover of 10 Things That Never Happened

10 Things That Never Happened by Alexis Hall

For the most part, Sam enjoys his job managing a bed and bath retailer. The one thorn in his side? The owner, Jonathan. When Jonathan calls Sam to London for a “difficult talk,” Sam uses that as the opportunity to fake amnesia. What seemed like a good way to get out of getting fired quickly turns when Jonathan, ridden with guilt, shows Sam a softer side he never knew existed, leaving him to wonder what will happen when the truth comes to light.

For a more comprehensive list of new releases, check out our New Books newsletter.

Riot Recommendations

Keeping with the swag from earlier and romances that have a Halloween/supernatural/horror vibe, today’s recommendations are enemies-to-lovers monster romances. Yeah, that’s quite the string of words there, I know, but they are accurate for the titles listed here.

Quick reminder: as monster romances tend to be darker romances, be sure to check for the various content and trigger warnings.

cover of The Hunted Mate

The Hunted Mate by Darcy Dahlia

For years, Yara has managed to resist the siren-like call of the ocean, but when her mentor is murdered, it shakes her resolve to stay on dry land. To make matters worse, the person picked to replace her, Jack is infuriating on every level. Even as they bicker with one another, Yara finds herself being unnervingly drawn to him even though she has no idea why.

cover of Not So Kind Regards

Not So Kind Regards by Clio Evans

Warts & Claws Inc. is almost like any other corporation, with the exception of being staffed by monsters who are caught in a war with their evil HR department. While Inferna finds herself very attracted to Calen, his lover just happens to be her office rival. However, sparks fly between them after a visit from one of the HR reps, and it leaves them wondering if they will survive the week to be able to see if there is a chance for all three of them to engage in a satisfying and sexy relationship.

This was a fun word association quiz, and seeing as I’m married, I’m going to say it’s fairly accurate.

I didn’t even know that Light Gothic Romance was a thing, but I’m here for it.

PSA for all non-readers with bookish partners.

And that’s all I have for you today. I’ll be back in your inboxes on Thursday and in the meantime you can still find me on the bird app under @PScribe801. Until then, happy reading and stay hydrated.