Feature: Creatures & Things that Go Bump in the Night (Spooky Szn Recs)
Welcome to our spooky season recs! We’ve been putting together these posts for years and, tbh, they are some of our favorite posts we get to write. Shouting about authors and books we love during our favorite season? Here for it. Stay tuned for more posts about thrillers, non-humans, books to media, and more!
Creatures & Things that Go Bump in the Night
- Vampire Weekend by Mike Chen: Mike is great about showing the complications of life through things like the lens of time travel and now, being a vampire. Twilight, The Vampire Diaries, and other media make being a vampire seem so glamorous because the mundane doesn’t happen on screen (or is excused in some way). Like all of Mike’s books, this story is ultimately about family and is a different take on vampires worth your read!
- The Narrow by Kate Alice Marshall: Somehow Kate makes each of their books more terrifying than the last (see: Kelly texting me that she had to turn the audiobook off because it’s too scary haha). This one is, indeed, quite scary and ended up being so much more than I imagined by the title and description. Ghosts and secrets and lore lure you in and keep hold of you….which it just might not let you go.
- Gremoryland vol 1 by A. Rasen: I read this on a flight and it is honestly so scary! This is not for the weak haha. It was nice to have multiple perspectives and THAT ENDING. We love a good WebToon to page port!
- My Imaginary Mary by Jodi Meadows, Cynthia Hand, and Brodi Ashton: I’ll always find a way to rec the Janies/Marys. This one is a meta inclusion to this list, being that the protagonist is Mary Shelley. This is a rare fae story that works for me and I could have read another 100 pages of Mary’s adventures.
- Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake: You’re probably wondering why we included a 10+ year old book – it’s because it got a new cover and a new novella! Why? Because it’s a classic in the YA community that never gets old. Once you read this story, it only makes sense why Kendare was chosen to write the next generation of slayers. Equally scary and enchanting…this one will stay with you!
Vampire Weekend
by Mike Chenon January 31, 2023
Bookshop
Goodreads
Being a vampire is far from glamorous...but it can be pretty punk rock.
Everything you've heard about vampires is a lie. They can't fly. No murders allowed (the community hates that). And turning into a bat? Completely ridiculous. In fact, vampire life is really just a lot of blood bags and night jobs. For Louise Chao, it's also lonely, since she swore off family ages ago.
At least she's gone to decades of punk rock shows. And if she can join a band of her own (while keeping her...situation under wraps), maybe she'll finally feel like she belongs, too.
Then a long-lost teenage relative shows up at her door. Whether it's Ian's love of music or his bad attitude, for the first time in ages, Louise feels a connection.
But as Ian uncovers Louise's true identity, things get dangerous--especially when he asks her for the ultimate favor. One that goes beyond just family...one that might just change everything vampires know about life and death forever.