Hi hello ghouls and goblins and welcome to Blogtober day 17! Today, I’ll be doing a wonderfully cozy book tag called The Autumn Tag by Jenniely. I did this tag back in 2019 and I’m really curious as to how my answers may have changed since then! Jenniely has been one of my favorite bloggers for many years and I just love how this tag really embodies everything that I love about the Fall season. So grab a blanket, and a hot drink, and let’s get started!
___________________________________________________________________________

1. Hot Chocolate: What is your comfort book?

The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab. Okay I know I’m starting off with a totally unexpected pick here, but it genuinely is my comfort book. Where Vicious helped me during cancer, Addie helped me navigate life after cancer. And I know that constantly bringing up the fact that I had cancer is probably annoying at this point, but it’s a part of me. Something about Addie just helped me through a difficult time when I was trying to figure out what to do next. I was lost and this book was like a helping hand guiding me through a dark time. It means so much to me.

2. Pumpkin Carving: What is your favorite creative outlet?

Writing! I just finished a book by a friend of mine and it really inspired me to get off my butt and finally write a book like I’ve always wanted to do. I’m pretty sure I said I was working on a book in 2019 but clearly nothing came of that. I have a solid idea currently and I’m hoping I can actually go somewhere with it this year! But writing has always been a way for me to express my thoughts and feelings, even when I have a hard time verbally communicating them. It’s such a big part of my life, whether it’s me trying to write a book or writing a fun blog post, I’m always writing in some way and I don’t think I’ll ever stop. I just wish I would finally write a book!

3. Falling Leaves: Changes that appear bad but you secretly love?

4. Pumpkin Spiced Latte: Something you love that others tend to judge

5. Bonfire Night: What makes you explode with joy?

My little family, hands down. Sora just turned 4 and we’re about to celebrate his 4th name-day! And Jamie and I just celebrated our 3rd wedding anniversary! We’ve had a rough go throughout the years but getting to spend my life with him has been such an adventure. I never would have imagined that the boy I fell head over heels for when I was 14 would be the one that I ended up getting a corgi with. Oh, and get married too as well, I guess. But we all know getting a dog together is a much bigger step, right? I just love my boys with all of my heart and they really do bring me so much joy on a daily basis. I’m so lucky to have them 🤍

6. Fright Night: Favorite scary book or film

My favorite scary book of 2022 is probably Small Spaces by Katherine Arden. I just read it recently and it actually gave me some chills and spooked me quite a bit! And it’s a middle-grade book that blows my mind. It was so atmospheric and the writing did a great job of pulling me in and creeping me out. I’m reading the sequel, Dead Voices, and I’m really enjoying it so far. Definitely, an unexpected turn of events for me as I don’t read a lot of middle-grade books, but I’m so happy I picked this one up!

As for my favorite scary film of 2022, that goes to Halloween Ends. I have an entire post dedicated to the Halloween series if you’d like to check it out and see me gush about how much I love the series! It was just such a fantastic ending to the trilogy and you can’t change my mind. I know it’s pretty controversial but it’s an amazing film, in my opinion, and is easily my favorite horror film of the year. An honorable mention goes to the new Hellraiser film because man was that fantastic! 

7. Halloween Candy: Favorite thing to eat

8. Scarves: Your Autumn must-have accessory

My heated blanket, oh my gosh. I finally got one last year after wanting one for years and it is amazing. I suffer from chronic pain so having my heated blanket on hand is very helpful to help me relax and be comfortable if I’m having a bad pain day. Which is quite often, unfortunately. But I have no idea how I lived without a heated blanket for so long! Everyone needs to get one so go put it on your wishlist. 

9. Fire: A book or film that burns your soul 

10. Toffee Apples: A book or film that seems one thing but really has a different inside

Hi hello ghouls and goblins and welcome to Blogtober day 16! Today, I'll be recommending some short and spooky spicy romance books that are perfect to read during the Halloween season. As a note, the first two books haven't been released yet but I wanted to put them on the list because they're two books that are set during spooky season! With all of these books, please remember to look up trigger/content warnings and don't read anything outside of your comfort zone (or age range). With that being said, let's get spicy and spooky!
___________________________________________________________________________

Title: He Who Haunts Me

Author: Kenna Bellrae

Pages: 318

Genre: NA Romantic Thriller

Release Date: November 2022

From Goodreads: "Bexley Laughtery lives a very unassuming life in Old Oaks, where secrets fast become dangerous. Unease grows as women are found murdered. Trails run cold for Detective Bishop as he is cuffed with bureaucracy trying to piece the city back together. While some believe they know the party responsible, every new answer leads to further questions. Bexley and other students keep a watchful eye as they participate in fraternity games and social politics. When she finds herself in the camera’s flash, Bexley soon discovers everything comes at a price when the monster they're looking for lurks closer than she could ever imagine. The game is survival. Things get complicated when romance, friendship, and loyalty get involved – and they aren’t playing fair."

Title: The Dame & The Devil

Author: Dalia Davies

Pages: 78

Genre: Paranormal Fantasy Romance

Release Date: 16 October 2022

From Goodreads: "For the last twelve years, I’ve spent All Hallows Eve hunting the Devil on a dance floor suspended over the pit of hell. Those of us considered saints dress in our funereal best and are transported into the hands of sinners disguised as devils. We are their only hope for absolution. One kiss can seal two fates, for a saint’s lips will save the sinner. But the Devil lurks among the dancers, and his kiss will damn even the most innocent. This year, I plan to make him mine."

Title: Riding the Headless Horseman

Author: Molly Likovich

Pages: 

Genre: Halloween Romance

Release Date: 22 September 2022

From Goodreads: "Arletta Harrington doesn't believe in Death. It's Halloween in Sleepy Hollow and Arletta is spending the night selling tarot readings to her fellow townsfolk—the ones who don't see her witchcraft as the work of the Devil that is. The people of Sleepy Hollow believe in many magical things but the one Arletta firmly doesn't believe in is Death. The deadly rider of The Hollow. The Headless Horseman. All of that changes when she encounters him on her late-night walk. He senses how powerful her magic is and knows he has to have her. He whisks her away to his realm and tells her of his plans to make her his forever. Though she may be resistant at first after a passionate night spent with the messenger of Death, she isn't so sure being his sounds like such a bad idea after all. But Halloween can't last forever...can it?"

Title: The Demon's Bargain

Author: Katee Robert

Pages: 130

Genre: Paranormal Fantasy Romance

Release Date: 25 September 2022

From Goodreads: "Lenora made a mistake. She trusted the wrong man, and in a moment of weakness, he stole a family heirloom from her. Her only chance to get it back will be during Samhain, when the Shadow Market opens and magical folk gather for three days to celebrate, and unfortunately, she can’t do it alone. She needs a demon. Ramanu’s entire existence is making bargains. They’re a bargainer demon, after all. They’ve had their eye on Lenora for some time now, so they’re pleased when she summons them to help with her little thief problem…especially because it means spending time in close proximity with her. Lenora thought she could get away with a bargain that didn’t require seven years of service, but when Ramanu informs her those are the terms, she decides to go it alone…even though the demon wants to tag along to the market. But as the clock ticks down and all Lenora’s attempts to reclaim her amulet fail, making a deal with Ramanu might be the only option she has. And they might take her heart right along with her soul."

Title: Jack

Author: Layla Fae

Pages: 49

Genre: Paranormal Romance

Release Date: 14 October 2021

From Goodreads: "Jack is a monster full of tricks… with one very special treat in his pants. Suzy is feeling lonely on Halloween. She performs a love spell, hoping to summon a nice, perfectly safe Mr. Hunky to keep her entertained… but she fails. The creature that answers her summons is neither nice nor safe, but oh boy, is he hunky! Jack-o’-lantern is a devious ancient monster who once tricked the devil himself into granting him immortality. Now, Jack is here, a grinning pumpkin in the place of his head and a thing out of this world in his very bulging pants. The monster will have Suzy in every way he pleases, filling her close to bursting with his fertile seed… and nothing can hold him back."

Title: Scream For Us

Author: Molly Doyle

Pages: 124

Genre: Dark Romance

Release Date: 12 October 2021

From Goodreads: "After wandering into an alluring Halloween party that is said to go down in history, Quinn finds herself captivated by three masked men. As she immerses herself in a night of both pleasure and pain, she finally has the perfect opportunity to bring her darkest fantasies to life. Or death."

Title: Love, Laugh, Lich

Author: Kate Prior

Pages: 87

Genre: Paranormal Romance

Release Date: 22 October 2021

From Goodreads: "Some people have monsters for a boss, but not everyone has an undead Necromancer Lord at the office. Lily has been the Lich's secretary ever since his evilness took over the company. She loves her job, but she's got some questions about her boss. Like what's under that cloak of ever-billowing. Her wondering intensifies when one day the Lich needs something from her that isn't just scheduling appointments-- but a shiver. He needs it for a spell, but it feels like it crosses a line from their usual workplace banter. After her contributions to his dark rituals become more than OSHA-compliant, sex-magic-and-triple-cocks-oh-my, she starts to contemplate whether the Lich Lord returns her feelings, or still only sees her as his secretary. Lily may have given him her body, but he never asked for her heart."

___________________________________________________________________________

And that does it for some spicy spooky book recommendations! I just discovered the final novella and I am so excited to pick it up. I'm always on the lookout for more spicy reads so leave me a comment with some of your favorite spicy books that you've picked up recently. Bonus points if it's spooky and/or set around Halloween time! I hope you guys found some awesome recommendations with this list and that you'll be picking one up to read on Halloween night. Tomorrow is day 17 and I'll be doing The Autumn Tag, so be sure to come back by and check it out. Thanks for stopping by and I'll scare ya later!

Hi hello ghouls and goblins and welcome to Blogtober day 12! Today, I’m going to be sharing some of my favorite spooky book covers. Personally, I feel like spooky can mean a number of things when it comes to the vibes and the Halloween season, don’t you? Spooky can be an umbrella term for something that’s generally scary, sure, but what about spooky cute? Just like my banner that I created for this year's Blogtober posts (and the adorable pastel Halloween decor that Michaels releases), I feel like spooky cute is definitely a thing! But these are just some book covers that I think fit the Halloween season aesthetic. Let’s get spooky!
___________________________________________________________________________

You want spooky cute? You’ve got spooky cute! This Blood That Binds Us by S.L. Cokeley is a stunning example of how to blend something that could be considered spooky (a human heart) with something cute (pastel frickin pink, y’all)! I’ve been following the author on TikTok for a while now and watching this book come to life has been such a treat. And when the cover was revealed to be this gorgeous pastel peachy pink, (which is not what anyone usually expects of a vampire book, right?) I could not believe what a beauty it turned out to be! It’s a great mix of the expected and unique and pulls off spooky cute so well!

Let’s take a sharp left away from cute and turn into downright creepy, shall we? Into the Sublime by Kate A. Boorman has probably one of my favorite covers I’ve ever seen because it reminds me so much of not only The Luminous Dead, but also one of my all-time favorite horror films called The Descent. Immediately upon looking at this cover, you’ll feel a chill running down your spine when you realize there’s a girl on the cover just…staring at you. Then you notice the water and what appears to be a cave setting? The font choice and how it graduates from small to large and the bright, almost blood red, color of the book title just lends to the creepy factor. All of the elements involved come together to make an unsettling and incredibly memorable book cover, and definitely one for this list!

I may be in the minority here, but this next one is spooky, sure, but also beautifully horrific. Plastic Monsters by Daniel J. Volpe caught my eye with the cover first and then the synopsis had me flying to add this to my TBR! If you’ve ever played the original Bioshock video game, you’ll (hopefully) remember the demented and tortured artist Sander Cohen. Sure, he’s a little out of his mind but hey, we all go a little mad sometimes. This book instantly reminded me of one of my favorite characters from one of my favorite video games so of course I’m going to talk about it! It’s a simple cover that gets more and more almost painful the longer you look at it. But in its horror, it leads you to want to learn more about why it has this cover design, which is the beauty of the terrifying image you see. Yet another case of a cover being simple but very effective and successful!

It took me multiple times of looking at this cover to notice that something just isn’t quite right. Look at it. Then look again. Yeah, that’s a hand coming out of the water to grab her. And also she has a pillowcase on her head which I thought was maybe a rag or towel to block out the light. Nope, pillowcase. Mary: An Awakening of Terror by Nat Cassidy seems to be a big hit with a lot of horror fans, and I think it’s for a good reason. Unfortunately for me, I put it down and haven’t picked it back up yet, but I’ve seen rave reviews for this and one thing that a lot of people have mentioned is this cover. I love it when horror isn’t super in your face and it takes you a bit to really notice something could be off, just like this cover. It’s subtle but also not at all, if that makes any sense? It makes you wonder if the cover is this creepy, how horrific are the pages beneath? From what I read and have seen in reviews, it’s pretty darn horrific. The cover does a wonderful job at preparing you for the story, although I don’t think you’ll be prepared by how bloody it is!

I think we can all collectively agree that Hell Bent by Leigh Bardugo has a spooky cover, yes? Make no mistake, it is stunning, but something about the white and grey tones with the creepy rabbit just gives me the, well, mega creeps. Of course, I mean that with all the love in the world because the excitement I have for this book is insane, but I won’t deny that this cover is infinitely more unsettling than Ninth House was. I think that’s what makes it so effective as a cover, though. This isn’t even a horror book but it has a horrifying cover that will make people want to pick it up because what the heck is up with it?! I can only hope that my future book will have a cover as cool as Hell Bent.

And last, but certainly not least, I want to discuss something that seems to be the new “book snake” trend which is people covered in flowers. Horrid by Katrina Leno is the first book with a cover like this that came to mind when I was thinking about this trend and yeah, it’s pretty spooky. There are so many books that follow this trend and I think it’s a really effective one, especially when it’s done the way that Horrid is done. Surely, your first thought when seeing this cover was “Why are there flowers coming out of her eyes?” And maybe you even wondered why they were black roses (it’s part of the plot and it’s creepy) because those can’t be normal, right? Having a book cover that’s covered in flowers always gives me ominous vibes for some reason, even if the book isn’t supposed to be scary at all. I love when things that are supposed to be inherently beautiful are twisted and made into something horrific, which is probably why I love the flower trend so much. But Horrid did it in a very effective way, I feel, and it still remains one of my favorite covers for a horror book!

___________________________________________________________________________

And that does it for some of my favorite spooky book covers! Honestly, this post was more of a self-indulgent one because I absolutely love looking at and talking about book covers, especially ones I think are spooky in some fashion. So, thank you for sticking around and reading my rambles! I would love to know what some of your favorite spooky book covers are so let me know in the comments below. Tomorrow is day 13 and I’ll be doing the Friday the 13th Book Tag, so be sure to come back tomorrow for some Camp Crystal Lake fun. Just make sure to leave your camp counselor shirts behind because I’ve heard rumors of people wearing them and going missing. I’m sure it’s nothing. Thanks for stopping by and I’ll scare ya later!

October 1st: October TBR
It's officially spooky season so let's read some spooky books! I'll be sharing my tentative TBR for the month of October.

 October 2nd: Mystery Day!

 October 3rd: Spooky Review #1
It's exactly what it says- a spooky review! I'll be sharing a review of a spooky book!

 October 4th: Spellbound Lies Blog Tour

October 5th: Horror Film Review

 October 6th: Finally Fall Book Tag

 October 7th: Book Line Poetry
This idea came from Jemma at Fantastic Books where she did book poetry with specific prompts. Unfortunately, the original post (and blog) is gone, but basically, I'll be attempting to make some book-line poetry and hopefully make it spooky! 

 October 8th: Spooky Review #2

 October 9th: The Season of the Witch
Wanna hear about some awesome witchy books? Then check out this post!

October 10th: The Horror Film Book Tag by Royal Reader

October 11th: Spooky Scary Book Tag by Clever Fox

 October 12th: Spooky Book Covers

 October 13th: Friday the 13th Book Tag

 October 14th: Halloween Finally Ends: 44 Years of The Shape

October 15th: Monstrous Recommendations
Vampires, werewolves, witches, fae, ghosts, sea monsters, demons- this is the post for book recommendations with spooky monsters!

October 16th: Spicy Spooky Book Recommendations 

October 17th: The Autumn Tag

October 18th: Spooky Review #4

October 19th: American Horror Story Tag by Susan @ Novel Lives

October 20th: Sora's Name Day!
This is the day that Sora came home so obviously I have to celebrate him! I’ll be sharing photos, videos, and some cute stories about our wonderful kiddo.

 October 21st: Thriller Book Recommendations 
Looking for some thriller books to read this month? Look no further! I'll be sharing some of my favorite thriller books that I definitely think you should pick up during spooky season.

October 22nd: Spooky Review #5

 October 23rd: Horror Film Recommendations
I'm a huge fan of all things horror, so I'm gonna share some of my favorite horror films!

 October 24th: Horror Game Recommendations
Remember the horror movie recommendations post? This is the same thing but with horror video games. Much creative. Such fun.

 October 25th: Creatures of the Night Tag by Katytastic

 October 26th: Spooky Review #6

October 27th: Halloween Movie Book Tag

 October 28th: Nightmare Before Christmas Book Tag

October 29th: Horror Film Review

 October 30th: October Reading Wrap Up
I'll be sharing what I’ve read throughout October and hopefully, it's more than one book!

 October 31st: Halloween Creatures Book Tag!
It's Halloween and what better day to do a Halloween book tag! I'll be doing the one I found from Keep Reading Forward!
___________________________________________________________________________

And that's about it for my preparations for Blogtober 2022! I'm really excited to be participating this year and I hope that I'm able to keep up better than I usually do. If you're taking part in Blogtober, I'd love to see some of your awesome posts. Be sure to comment down below a link to your Blogtober posts so I can check them out! Also, I'll be linking every post I make this month back to this master post in case anyone wants an easy place to locate each post for the prompt in one place. Thanks for stopping by and I'll scare ya later!