This is, as is traditional with Nicole and book hauls, a very late post. So I’m just going to dive right in and talk about the books I picked up/was sent in October!

From Publishers

1. The Conviction of Cora Burns – Carolyn Kirby
This was a piece of surprise book mail that arrived from No Exit Press. It’s a piece of historical fiction about a young woman born in prison, who fears she might inherit her mother’s violent tendencies. It’s for fans of Sarah Schmidt and Laura Purcell so I am definitely intrigued to read this one!

2. Odd One Out – Nic Stone
Another piece of surprise post was Odd One Out by Nic Stone. I’m yet to read Dear Martin though I do have it on my wishlist. I’m excited to read this one and it looks like it will be quite a quick read so hopefully I get to it before the end of the month.

3. The Haunting of Drearcliff School – Kim Newman
I love Kim Newman’s books so when Titan offered to send me a copy of his newest Drearcliff School novel, I jumped at the chance. Newman’s books are always fast paced with such fascinating spooky plots that I’m sure I’m going to love this one as much as the other Kim Newman books I’ve read.

4. Girl Squads – Sam Maggs
This is a non-fiction book about ’20 female friendships that changed the world.’ I started reading this today and honestly it’s completely fascinating. The stories range in time and location, covering athletes, artists and everything in between.

5. The Dark Vault – V. E. Schwab
My new found love affair with books by V. E. Schwab continues with this bind up of The Archived books. I am yet to pick this up because it’s absolutely massive but I’m going to try and binge read it at the start of December.

6. A Remedy For All Things – Jan Fortune
I participated in the blog tour for this fascinating book – you can read my guest post from the author here – and Jan kindly sent me a copy of the book to review as well. I haven’t had the chance to pick it up yet but I’m really looking forward to giving it a go.

7. The Silver Queen – Josie Jaffrey
Josie kindly sent me a copy of The Gilded King a few months ago and I loved it. (Review for that is here). She also very kindly sent me a copy of the next book in the series, The Silver Queen. I’m honestly dying to know what happens next so I am for sure picking this up as soon as possible.

Books I Bought

8. I’ll Be Gone In the Dark – Michelle McNamara
I’ve heard really fascinating things about this book and I’m trying to read more non-fiction instead of just fantasy and science fiction all the time so I thought this might be a really interesting read.

9. Mythos – Stephen Fry
I’ve never read anything from Stephen Fry but I’ve always wanted to read more about the Greek myths. I saw the paperback copy of this for sale online and thought I may as well pick up a copy.

10. The Missing Girl – Shirley Jackson
I’ve been wanting to read more Shirley Jackson since I read We Have Always Lived In the Castle earlier in the year so this short little book of short stories was a perfect chance to read more of her work. I read it earlier in the month and gave it 3/5 stars.

11. The Haunting of Hill House – Shirley Jackson
Along with The Missing Girl I also bought a copy of The Haunting of Hill House. This has definitely been my favourite of her work so far. It was creepy and odd and I really enjoyed it. I gave this one 4/5 stars.

12. Sea – Sara Driver
This was in all honesty a cover buy. I picked it up in a second hand book shop because I love pirate-y/sea type books and I’m basically looking for something to fill the void that The Wicked Deep left. It sounds like a fun and quick fantasy read and I’ve heard pretty good things about it already!

13. The Shining – Stephen King
I also bought this in a second hand book shop because I’ve never read The Shining. I saw the movie a long time ago but I don’t really remember the story so I’m excited to go into it with a blank slate and I’m hoping I really enjoy it. I was hoping to read this at Halloween but that obviously didn’t happen so hopefully soon!

14. Small Spaces – Katherine Arden
Katherine Arden’s middle grade novel was everything I hoped it would be and more. It was dark, spooky and very entertaining. I (unsurprisingly) gave this 5/5 stars and I’ll have a review up for it very soon.

15. The Dark Descent of Elizabeth Frankenstein – Kiersten White
I ordered this as soon as it came out because I was really intrigued with this fresh perspective on the Frankenstein tale. I read it really fast and I loved Kiersten’s writing style and take on this classic story. This was another 5/5 star read and one of my favourites of the month.