Oct 25, 2012

Spooktacular Reading + Giveaway : What to Read and Why

Seeing Night Reviews loves Halloween, it's my favorite time of the year. The ghost stories, the trips to haunted houses, the awesome costumes that are actually well thought out and of course the scary books that we cant wait to read. Who doesn't love sitting on the couch on a cold October night reading a good scary book with some hot chocolate? I know I do.

Here are some titles that are my must reads for Halloween, I'm going to list some goodies for both Young Adult and Adult readers.


VooDoo Dues by Stephany Simmons

Why Read This: This is a perfect book for the urban fantasy lovers, plus its got some fantastic humor, romance and yes lots of VooDoo. VooDoo Dues follows Figg she works at a bar that gets either no customers or very strange ones dealing with both voodoo and magic. Her boss Lian tends to be the man to come to when dealing with odd things, even the very well known local voodoo queen. Not too long after her visit crazy things start to happen, including a chicken leg being left on Figg’s doorstep and the dead body of the voodoo queens grandson. Figg and Lian are put in the middle of a zombie fest and family feud. 
Conclusion: You can't go wrong with voodoo, zombies and witches for a good halloween read.

Possess by Gretchen McNeil
Why Read This: Ummm Lets just say Demons + Possession = Scary!
Bridget Lui, a teenager whose life is tragically altered with the death of her father. But her life doesn’t get any better when voices of demons follow her everywhere and she hold the power to banish them. While she helps the local priest with the demon problems in the town, she is trying to keep the secret from her mom, friends and the local sergeant of polices’ cute son who keeps trying to mend their past friendship. She just doesn’t seem to be getting a break and now with a possible rise of a demon king, she has to prepare for the worst and protect those around her. 
Conclusion: Not sure if I would recommend reading before or after watching the exorcist, because this book and the movie scared the bejesus out of me. So yes...scary and must read!

Darkhouse by Karina Halle
Why Read This: This series is fantastic, this first is always the best and it's what got me hooked in the first place. You have ghost, a creepy lighthouse and two people who can see some pretty scary stuff happening.
Darkhouse starts of with a scary encounter and the lead Perry waking up to a not so nice dream. Perry reminded me a lot of myself; she’s the more tomboy of the family where her sister is the fashion perfect popular girl. Perry has had a pretty up and down life and nothing that has really been uplifting to her, until one day after a creepy encounter with a media producer in her uncles lighthouse, everything changed. Perry videotaped what she and the producer saw and heard in the lighthouse and ended up posting it on her sister’s fashion site. Little did she know if would become extremely popular and that the producer named Dex would want to make a show about it. But the real question is… what did they see in the lighthouse and why is it so interested in Perry and Dex?
Conclusion: Lets just say this made me never want to go near a lighthouse again, but the story and characters are fantastic and must read for a good haunted night.

She Smells the Dead by E.J. Stevens
Why Read This: First off, who doesn't love the title of this book! Can you imagine having the ability to smell the dead....ehhh gross but still this book is great! Yuki has an unusually power of smelling the dead. She very spirited and has an awesome assortment of Gothic attire; she’s just a bundle of fun. Along with her two best friends Emma and Calvin they try to solve the mystery behind a man’s death whose spirit is following Yukie around. Also spirit animals are a fun topic and funny thing is Yukies spirit animal is a scarab aka a dung beetle. I found this hilarious but also really interesting because the beetle guides her when she needs help.
Conclusion: This is an ongoing series and one that all ages can read, there is romance, humor, werewolves, ghost and much much more as the series goes on. 

Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake
Why Read This: By far the scariest young adult book I have ever read, this has gore, a haunted house, a girl who is super creepy and a boy who takes down the dead. What more do you need, this book has it all!
Anna Dressed in Blood follows Cas, he travels all over killing the dead. That may sound strange… how do you kill something that’s already dead? But with the ghost that Cas encounters they are every bit as real as you and me. When a story of a ghost who gruesomely kills young teens comes to Cas, he doesn’t hesitate to take the case. You see Anna has a bit of a temper and getting near the house is one scary task. Little does he know how much this Anna Dressed in Blood with forever change his life and bring back the past that’s haunted him. 
Conclusion: Down right the best book to read on Halloween and you really should keep the light on, this will make you never want to step into an old creepy house.

Well these are my top five picks, each of these has a special something that will make you wish you kept the light on before getting into bed. But also they are greats books with fantastic characters and written by authors whom I cant get enough of.

Now I have read a lot of books, ranging from R.L Stine in the good old days, Ann Rice and Stephen King. What books do you recommend for a dark and awesome Halloween night? Tell me what book and why and be entered to win!

USA/CANADA Only
3 Winners 1 for each book

a Rafflecopter giveaway

10 comments:

  1. I totally agree with you on Anna Dressed in Blood. This book was great with the scares, the creepy ghost with the blood dress who kills everyone, and a teen boy determined to vanquish her. I was beyond creeped out. I really need to read book 2 soon!

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  2. Books I would recommend for a Halloween night are The Forrest of Hands and Teeth series, Alice in Zombieland, Altered, and Anna Dressed in Blood. More I can't really think of at the moment. I like the books you picked, specially Anna Dressed in Blood. I loved it, The visuals you are presented while reading are pretty freaky.

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  3. Read The Devouring by Simon Holt. It's freaking creepy.

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  4. I like your Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake selection! I haven't read Darkhouse by Karina Halle yet, but I plan to :)

    I loved reading R.L. Stine's Fear Street series when I was a kid!

    My recommendations:

    Chain Letter I and II (it's being reissued into a 2-in-1 edition) by Christopher Pike

    Trick or Treat | The Mall | Silent Stalker by Richie Tankersley Cusick

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  5. I don't really read much horror, but for an excellent book with really scary, vicious vampires, read Vampire Empire: The Greyfriar. I liked the books you picked, especially Possess and Anna Dressed in Blood. And I'm going to have to check out VooDoo Dues, it sounds awesome.

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  6. I'd recommend The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan and Bleeding Violet by Dia Reeves.

    Erin K.

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  7. I agree with Possess. I read it last Halloween. I had to stop and read it another day because I was spooked!

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  8. for halloween ...i recommend UNDEAD by kirsty mckay...it's about zombie...
    thx 4 the giveaway :)

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  9. I think Possess looks like a good one to read for Halloween also. I usually watch movies for Halloween also like Van Helsing or Underworld series.

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  10. On your list, the only one I've read is Anna Dressed in Blood, and yes, I'd recommend that too. I'd also recommend Sam I Am by Heather Killough-Walden. It's spooky, but not scare-the-pants-off you scary, and it also has some romance. It has a Halloween theme so it's perfect for this time of year.

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