The Book Bit: October 2020 Ed.

I don't know about you guys, but October blew right by over here. It's been a crazy month for us, but I managed to put away some extra spooky books. As some of you know, I traditionally only read horror books for the month of October. Just because I love spooky season so much. This month had some good horror books that I'm excited to share with you. I had fun, and maybe I left the lights on a few nights, but all around it was a good chunk of books.

"Pitch Dark"- Courtney Alameda

When Tuck Morgan wakes up from cryo-sleep, he immediately knows something is wrong. The John Muir is dark, the AI system is unresponsive, the wakeup functions aren't operating properly, and there seems to be a glitch in the records. No way could the entire ship have been asleep for almost 400 years. Why had no one found them? Why were they suddenly awake? As Tuck stumbles out of his pod he realizes something has gone majorly wrong, beyond what's normal and acceptable. He's not the only one awake and not everybody is considered human anymore.

Laura Cruz's family are shipraiders; modern day archeologists. But when Earth becomes uninhabitable, they're sent on a long mission to recover the lost John Muir, which holds the last dregs of terraformed Earth. The only left in the galaxy that can help Earthens rebuild on another planet. But Laura has more than one problem on her hands. A dirty ex-boyfriend, hackers, and her family name to uphold, Laura has more than enough drama. But when her ship collides with the recovered John Muir, it becomes up to her to save the galaxy and not get killed in the process.

This book was extremely interesting. We're talking deep space, archeologist vibes, zombie/alien action, high tech wars and thrills. It checked a lot of boxes for me. Unfortunately it never really checked the horror box. I would absolutely categorize this as a sci-fi thriller rather than horror. But it really knocked my socks off. Add to it that the badass hero is a female and Hispanic? I'm sold. I was getting a lot of deep space Tomb Raider vibes off this. Check this one out.

"The Silent Companions"- Laura Purcell

Elsie has been through a lot. Her father died unexpectedly when she was young, forcing her to raise her brother and take care of her mentally ailing mother as well as the family factory. Her mother passed after struggling with her mental health for an extended period. But after finding her husband, getting quickly married, and expecting a child, Elsie thought she finally had her happy ending. Then Rupert dies, leaving Elsie with an unborn fatherless child, a distant cousin that needs companionship, and an old family estate outside the busy city. There are rumors of this place. Witches, hexes, bad fortune. But they're just rumors. Aren't they?

As Elsie gets more settled into the house she quickly realizes something is quite wrong. The sounds in the night seem to call to her. And when she opens a door that was meant to stay shut, she gets more than she bargained for.

This was a really interesting and completely creepy read. I usually don't like period pieces, but I really enjoyed this. It jumps between past, present, and estranged past which helps you envelope the story from every angle. I definitely had to sleep with the lights on after finishing this and I may or may not have been wary of all my wooden furniture the following week.

"Mary: The Summoning"- Hillary Monahan

We've all heard the legend of Bloody Mary. Stand in the dark in front of the mirror, chant her name three times, and she shall appear. Usually nothing happens. Maybe a noise makes you jump and you flip the lights on only to have a laugh and tell yourself it was nothing. When Shauna agrees to try this after school one day with her three friends, she doesn't realize how obsessed her best friend Jess has become with this urban legend. She's done research. And Shauna and her friends are left with a surprise the first time they call on Bloody Mary. If only they had stopped there. If only they hadn't listened to Jess and let her pressure them into another session. If only. 

This one takes a close second place to scariest book I've read this year. Probably because we've all heard (and probably participated) in this legend really made it hit home. The only down side to this is it's the first book of a duology. So, the end was a bit of a cliffhanger. Definitely don't read this in the dark and perhaps cover your mirrors and invest in large quantities of salt. 

"Neverland"- Douglas Clegg

The Jackson family always vacations at the family house on Gull Island. It's not as glamorous as it sounds. The island is poor and run down, very much like the family home, or as they like to call it, The Retreat. But this summer is different. Beau can feel it in the air when they arrive. And when his cousin Sumter shows him his new clubhouse, Neverland, Beau knows this summer will go down in history. It all starts simple. Games, tricks of light, a boy's imagination run wild. But when Sumter begins talking about a new god, his god, Lucy, things descend quickly. What started as fun quickly becomes strange, out of hand, and potentially deadly. Word from the wise. Don't open the crate. Don't let it out. 

This book was creepy to the max and I loved it for that reason. But I did have some issue with it. It's told from a child's memory, which comes across as an unreliable narrative. I spent a lot of time just trying to understand what was real and what wasn't. This was a love/hate relationship. It made the story very scary, but I felt like I was constantly being duped. Which was more than a little frustrating. It also took me a long time to fully understand what was happening. Was it demonic possession? Satanic ritualistic/worshipping? Ghosts? Or just plain old obsessive psychotic behavior? Do with that what you will. At the end of the day, it scared the pants off me, so I'm happy. Check this one out, you won't regret it.

Overall, this past month was a complete win. I highly recommend all of these creepy books! Already getting into November books and very excited. Happy reading, book lovers!