Let the Right Book In

A secret order gathers at Grimmauld Place to try and fight against the dark forces, whilst Harry must learn how to protect himself from Voldemort’s mind-penetrating assaults. “We’ve all got both light and dark inside us. What matters is the part we choose to act on. That’s who we really are.” Probably one of my least favourites in the series, and yet I still absolutely LOVE it. I love all the scenes with Dumbledore’s Army, the introduction of thestrals(!!!), Luna Lovegood... the way Neville Longbottom is so frickin’ brave and loyal at the Ministry of Magic. Just ALL of it!! Order of the Phoenix also gives us the most DESPICABLE villain ever in the form of Dolores Umbridge. There is nothing redeeming about this monster in pink. Her treatment of Hagrid in particular simultaneously makes me want to both cry and punch a wall. Or her face. This book is really when the series transitions from being a story for children to becoming more young adult (although I do believe HP tra...

A travelling carnival arrives in a small midwestern town one day in October, resulting in a nightmarish experience for two 13 year old boys. "Beware the autumn people." Do you like coming of age tales? Do you like beautifully written prose? Do you like your stories to invoke stunning autumnal imagery whilst whisking you away to the carnival? Well then, step right up, because Something Wicked This Way Comes... Ray Bradbury has been a new favourite for me this year. I read The Halloween Tree last year and although I liked it, I wasn’t completely enamoured. Then I read The October Country last month and it blew me away... I decided I needed more Bradbury STAT so picked up this one, and all of a sudden I’ve got a Bradbury Pinterest board and I’m sitting fawning over Bradbury quotes (this is a clear marker for when I’m obsessed with something!) This book has it all! A carousel that depending on which direction it spins can either age the rider or turn the yea...

A group of teenagers are out on a walking trip with a group leader, but pretty quickly there is tension within the group and some of them start to disappear... “A gust of wind blew through the campsite and caused the slowly dying fire to gutter, making their shadows dance in the orange light.” I’ve never been much of a camper... I was forced to join the scouts when I was younger and I knew pretty quickly that this outdoors shit was not for me. The Moor has reinforced this aversion to camping - it’s bad enough sleeping on a cold, hard floor, and heating up a can of beans over a fire that took far too long to light... but when your camping mates start disappearing, you got a REAL problem! No matter how annoying your camping mates may be (looking at you, Gary) This was an enjoyable, well-written creature-feature. The thirteen year old boys were very believable in their interactions, Haysom really nailed his characterisation. The setting of the moors itself was very chilling...

A collection of nine short stories inspired by the witching season! “When they come out of the corn, they’ll come close enough for him to see their faces.” Anytime I start reading anything by Burke I am quickly reminded how frickin’ amazing his writing is. Sure, he’s a great storyteller too, but there’s something special about his writing - it’s so incredibly atmospheric and he has a way of describing things that really makes you feel like you’re right there. He really excels in this collection with regards to his depiction of autumn and Halloween. So many quotes left me heart-eyed! I’d say I really enjoyed the majority of the stories in this collection. My favourites were Someone to Carve the Pumpkins, The Toll and The One Night of the Year! The Toll was particularly great - any story that centres around being buried alive makes me feel so claustrophobic. Although, the standout story for me was definitely The One Night of the Year. This was CHILLING and so unset...

Scott Carey is steadily losing weight, but he doesn’t look any different. To make things even weirder, he weighs the same in and out of clothes, no matter how heavy they are… “Everything leads to this, he thought. To this elevation.” When I’m reading a book, and because my memory is terrible, I will usually make some observations and reminders in the Notes section of my iPhone which are very helpful when I go to write my review. Given the length of this novella and the fact that I read Elevation in two sittings, there really wasn’t a lot of opportunities to make notes. In fact, I only had one note written down for Elevation: “Stop obsessing over legs” – I mean, come on, King!! If he’s not commenting on a woman’s breasts, it’s the legs. And 95% of the time, it’s really not relevant or necessary. There were two lesbians in this story and I lost count of how many times there were references to their legs and/or the running shorts they were wearing. I cannot fathom how Tabby has...

A collection of Lovecraftian tales in celebration of the spookiest time of the year. “”Cthulhu fhtagn!”, I shouted, as I hefted the bloodied axe onto one shoulder and disappeared into the darkness.” Lovecraft fans! Look no further! (Because I know this is exactly what you were trawling through the internet looking for) I have found the perfect Lovecraftian collection for Halloween time. I would probably label myself a Lovecraft fangirl. I did drag my boyfriend through a cemetery on an incredibly hot day to find his grave in Rhode Island on our recent vacay. So this collection was a whole lot of fun! There are references to and inspiration derived from all the usual Lovecraftian sources: Cthulhu, Innsmouth, the Necronomicon, Yuggoth, Azathoth, the sleeping gods… etc. I don’t think you need to have read Lovecraft in order to enjoy this collection, but I would hazard a guess that it does make it more enjoyable? My absolute favourite story was That Small, Furry, Sharp-To...

Frankenstein is the story of Victor Frankenstein, a young scientist who attempts to reanimate a dead body.   “Beware; for I am fearless, and therefore powerful.” Hollywood… you have lied to me all these years *shakes fist* Frankenstein is the complete opposite of what I expected! First of all, Frankenstein himself is a major tool. Second of all, the monster is not some dim-witted fool without a brain. He is actually more well-spoken than yours truly. My overwhelming reaction to Frankenstein is how the hell did Mary Shelley write this at just 18 years old?! The writing is so beautifully atmospheric, and it’s such a complex multi-layered novel. What I really find fascinating is that this isn’t set in any of the usual gothic settings, like a crumbling castle for example, a lot of it takes place in the great outdoors, which really brings something different to the narrative. Frankenstein is also considered to be the first science fiction novel combined with supernatur...

Four horror authors agree to spend the night in a haunted house as part of a publicity stunt. "They were human minds set into paper, and Sebastian loved every single one of them, even the ones he considered disposable." Let me get one thing straight - if I needed a horror book to scary in order for me to enjoy it, I would not be a horror fan. I can count on one - maybe two hands - the number of books that have actually scared me (Pet Sematary, Summer of Night, The Exorcist, Naomi's Room, to name a few), so it's actually a rare occurrence that a book will actually unsettle me. However, if I'm going into a book expecting to be scared or wanting to be - as a lot of previous reviews had hyped up - then yeah, I will be disappointed if it doesn't deliver. But as we've found time and time again, what one person finds scary, another will not. And that's fine, that's all part of reading, we all have different personal experiences that we bring...