We’re collecting books that give us chills, stories full of ghosts, curses, and secrets. These October must-reads are full of wrong turns and dark corners, and we can’t get enough! Will you follow these characters on their quests to save their neighbors, their towns, and even the world?
The House Next Door by Ellen Oh
The house next door is definitely haunted and totally off limits.
Rory Parker doesn’t go near the home of his neighborhood’s scariest shadows and spirits. He lost his best friend to the evil house next door.
When a new family moves into the house, Rory can’t help but cross that boundary again to protect his new friend Jack. The house hasn’t been wasting time. The forces within have been building strength to achieve their evil goals. Rory and Jack are going to need all the help they can get if they want to defeat the house once and for all.
If you like: Fantasy, mystery, friendships, coming of age, ghosts, hauntings
The Dead of Summer by Ryan La Sala
Ollie Veltman returned to the small island of Anchor’s Mercy to celebrate the end of his mom’s battle with cancer. Her enthusiasm should be contagious, but Ollie is distracted. His ex-best friends think he left them behind, and his mom and other Anchor’s Mercy locals might be sick because of something a bit more supernatural.
Three weeks after returning, Ollie finds himself isolated on a military hospital ship. He survived something suspicious on the island, but he doesn’t know what. Anchor’s Mercy is in danger, and Ollie might be the only person willing to do something about it before it’s too late.
If you like: Horror, mystery, thriller, small towns
House of Hearts by Skyla Arndt
Violet Harper is going to get to the bottom of her best friend’s murder. While everyone else has been calling it an accident, Vi has been digging into what really happened.
She transfers to her friend’s former boarding school to find out about a secret society and its history. What she finds there is a prime suspect…and his handsome brother, Calvin. Their family is hiding a dark secret, and Violet’s feelings for Calvin might just be leading her down a dangerous path.
Can she help break the curse on the school, or will it get her, too?
If you like: Horror, mystery, dark academia, curses
Bad in the Blood by Matteo L. Cerilli
Puck’s Port is living in the future—or so it seems. While the city is full of marvels of technology and magic, dark secrets are making their way out into the daylight and increasing tension between humans and fey.
When a violent murder takes place at the docks, Gristle Senan Maxim is forced to take on the role of private investigator and solve the murder. All signs seem to point to a powerful fey killer, and Gristle is eager to prove that the fiery crime wasn’t committed by his fey sister Hawthorne Stregoni, who, despite participating in an experimental trial to contain fey magic, has a reputation for being unable to control her magic.
Working together might be their only shot to prove that Hawthorne is innocent and catch the real murderer.
If you like: Fantasy, fey, magic, mystery, sibling stories
Soulmatch by Rebecca Danzenbaker
Two-hundred years after World War III, a unique system maintains world peace. Every 18-year-old reports to the government for soul identification. The process unravels their past lives and determines if their souls are good or bad, determining their future.
When Sivon goes through the process, known as kirling, she knows things aren’t going to be normal. But instead of being a bad soul like she thought, she’s something else entirely, and it might not be better.
She is entered into a high-stakes game against other souls. Sivon has never lost a chess game, but things are getting complicated, and everyone she loves might be in danger.
If you like: Dystopia, fantasy, science fiction, romance
