Top Ten Tuesday: My picks for 'Horror Books I Would Love To Read [Part II]'.

First of all, before I say anything else, Happy Halloween! It's that spooky time of the month where everyone else goes out trick or treating and/or partying and I sit at home reading spooky stories (my preferred method of celebrating). I have a couple of great choices for this evening, but for now I'll give you some others currently on my TBR that I'm hoping to sit down with one Halloween! 

I actually did this topic a couple of years ago. Some I've managed to read since then, and some I haven't, but it will be fun to revisit it and add ten fresh, exciting books to my list. I won't repeat myself!

1) 'The Madman's Daughter' by Megan Shepherd.

I'm really surprised that this book didn't go on my last list. I've been hankering to read it for quite a while now! I've never read H.G. Wells' 'The Island Of Dr Moreau' (I would like to at some point) but this is a retelling of that story and has definitely piqued my interest. A mad scientist who makes strange beasts, his daughter who is caught between her love for her Father and knowing that what he does is wrong, and of course a potential for a little romance along the way. The aforementioned creatures sound creepy, I hope this book is as horrifying as it sounds.

2) 'The Boy On The Bridge' by M.J. Carey.

I read and adored 'The Girl With All The Gifts' a while ago. It was the best zombie apocalypse novel I'd ever read and heavily reminded me of the video game The Last Of Us in terms of the creatures themselves. It was definitely very creepy. This is apparently a companion novel to the original and I am desperate to read another book set in this world so that sounds perfect! Also, I'm a sucker for matching covers and this bright red really catches the eye.

3) 'Midwinterblood' by Marcus Sedgewick.

So many of Marcus Sedgewick's books are on my TBR because they look so intriguing, yet I've only read one: 'Saint Death'. I actually bought this one a long time ago and you only have to look at that creepy cover to know it's going to be a horror. I like the idea of the seven parts of this novel being influenced by the moon - the dark forces combined with nature are always intriguing in stories to me. It has been described as dark literary YA which probably sounds like my ideal combination of genres, but my favourite thing about this book is I have next to no idea what it is actually about. 

4) 'The Coffin Path' by Katherine Clements.

I really love Susan Hill's work. In fact I'm reading (and loving) a book of her ghost stories right now! But I really wanted to read other works that gave that same vibe, and here I think I've found it. I was recently approved this read on Netgalley and the synopsis is definitely intriguing if you're a fan of ghostly mysteries: an old house, the Yorkshire moors, shadowy figures etc. I've heard of some of Clements' other books though never read them, so this looks like a good place to start! Fans of 'The Loney' may well enjoy this story too, it looks like it contains the same sense of isolation and haunting atmosphere.

5) 'Verdegris Deep' by Frances Hardinge.

Frances Hardinge is probably my favourite YA horror author. She mixes a really great sense of creepiness, with a good story, and I really loved reading 'The Lie Tree'. It comes as no real surprise that another one of her works should appear on this list as I'm pretty determined to read all of her works at some point or another. Wells are really creepy and this book's premise is very interesting when you think about it. Children stealing coins from a well is bound to have terrible consequences in a horror story after all!

6) 'The Shining' by Stephen King.

I've read a couple of Stephen King's books now: 'It' which I liked but found very long, and 'The Bazaar Of Bad Dreams' which contained short stories I found myself feeling very mixed about as some were great while others lacked something to keep me on tenterhooks. One thing can be said about King though - he is meticulous in his approach to detail when it comes to this genre. I've watched 'The Shining' starring Jack Nicholson and found it terrifying, so I'm really hoping that the book will be just as compelling. 

7) 'Between The Spark & The Burn' by April Genevieve Tucholke.

This first book in this series, 'Between The Devil & The Deep Blue Sea' was a strange one for me to like. The characters had bizarre names, the romance was a little sickly sweet, and yet everything felt so nauseatingly colourful that it actually added to the creepiness of the book. The era in which it was set felt very 60s too though it definitely had timeless qualities to it that meant it could just as easily be earlier or much later. I do really want to find out what happens to Violet and her friends. Hopefully book two is as creepy as the first.

8) 'Frankenstein' by Mary Shelley.

Everyone knows that most classic, gothic horrors are spookier than modern day horror. There's something about the aged writing style that adds to the intrigue of supernatural occurrences. I've never actually even seen a 'Frankenstein' film adaptation though the story is pretty well-known to me thanks to how ingrained it is into popular culture. My fiancé has read the book though and really enjoyed it. He's not easily impressed when it comes to novels generally so I really think this is going to be worth my time! 

9) 'My Best Friend's Exorcism' by Grady Hendrix.

Thanks to 'Stranger Things' and the recent adaptation of Stephen King's 'It', my love for horror in the American eighties has grown immensely. There's something about watching teenagers battling the forces of evil but also making time to visit the arcade, and the slightly ridiculous nature of the paranormal entities that they face that's really appealing to me too. The cover for this looks really cool and I think it will be a fun read if nothing else!

10) 'A Sudden Light' by Garth Stein.

So this book is set in the 90s? The same decade that I was born! I don't actually see many books from that era, but it will be weird to see how much I recognise from it. Ghost stories are probably my favourite genre of paranormal fiction, so I'm glad to see there's a spirit present in this one. But also, this book is about uncovering multi-generational family secrets, and I find those kinds of stories really cool too.