Welcome, Tartlets, to my living, breathing, ever-updating list of Scary Books You Need to Read.
This book list is compiled by yours truly. Unlike a lot of book lists on the internet, the spooky books I've recommended below are all books I’ve actually read.
Table of Contents for The Best Scary Books to Read List Horror consists of so many subgenres these days, so I've divided my list into separate categories. You can scroll...
Tartlets, prepare yourself for ALL the things with In the Garden of Monsters by Crystal King. I could not put down this novel that blends historical fiction, fantasy, Greek and Roman mythology, Gothic horror, and so much more into an amazing read.
What’s In the Garden of Monsters about?
In the Garden of Monsters follows Julia, a 1940s art model who takes a job posing as the goddess Persephone for famed artist Salvador Dali. Julia, Dali,...
Meredith, Alone is one of those stories that gives you hope. It’s a book that makes you want to hug the main character when you reach the end.
There's not a very original premise – traumatized woman with a big heart learns to take steps outside of her comfort zones, both literally and figuratively – but author Claire Alexander creates a main character that you’re cheering for the entire time you’re reading.
What’s Meredith, Alone...
Slow Productivity: The Lost Art of Accomplishment Without Burnout is a book that 20-Something CJ wouldn't have looked twice at.
Let's fast forward (quite) a few years to, well, now. CJ's in her early 40s (and apparently speaking in third person). She has a great career and several side hustles that she loves.
And she's exhausted from trying to fit everything in.
So, you better believe she/I clicked Order on bookshop.org and tracked the...
Tartlets, I literally jumped at the chance to receive an ARC of Wilderness Reform by authors (and brothers) Matt Query and Harrison Query. Their first novel, Old Country, is one of my favorite horror novels ever. I will read anything this duo writes.
While I didn’t love Wilderness Reform quite as much, I really enjoyed the story, especially toward the end. Let’s get into it.
Before you start reading, you should know that Wilderness...
Grab a glass of lemonade, settle into your beach chair, and get ready for the lovely summer read that is The Summer Club.
What’s The Summer Club about? The Summer Club by Hannah McKinnon takes place at a generations-old beach club in Massachusetts named Mayhaven. Everything at Mayhaven – along with its members and staff – is going through a summer of change, whether it's ready for it or not.
This contemporary novel has an ensemble...
I regularly attend goat yoga sessions in the summer, so when I heard that Janna Rollins was writing a cozy mystery titled An Escape Goat: A Zen Goat Mystery about a goat yoga retreat gone awry, I knew I had to read this book.
Prepare yourselves, Tartlets, for all the goats, all the yoga, all the foodie fiction, and, yes, for a spot of murder.
What’s An Escape Goat about?
An Escape Goat is about a woman named Callie who opens up a goat yoga...
I really wanted to love Namrata Patel’s newest novel, The Curious Secrets of Yesterday. I absolutely adored Patel’s debut, The Candid Life of Meena Dave. While I didn’t get a chance to read her sophomore book, Scent of a Garden, I was excited when Kaye Publicity approached me about an ARC for book #3.
Unfortunately, The Curious Secrets of Yesterday is getting added to the DNF pile for me. Let’s talk about why.
What’s The Curious...
I wasn’t going to read Horse by Geraldine Brooks. I usually avoid books about animals because I’m terrified of getting attached to said animal, and then of the animal dying at the end.
(Marley and Me, Where the Red Fern Grows – I’m looking at you.)
But something made me pick up Horse. I have absolutely zero regrets.
What’s Horse about?
Horse is about, well, a horse. As you may have guessed. It’s also about so much more than...
I feel super bad that I’m placing The Jinn Daughter in my DNF column. Because I really don’t think it belongs there.
You know what? It doesn’t belong there. There are a lot of things about this book that I really enjoyed.
I just didn’t enjoy them enough. **cringe**
What’s The Jinn Daughter about?
The Jinn Daughter embraces Middle Eastern mythology and folklore to tell us a story about a jinn – a genie tasked with helping souls...