TOP TEN TUESDAY: Books and Characters for Halloween

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme created and hosted by The Broke and the Bookish where, each week, a Top Ten list is posted based on a particular topic.

Hi there Misfit Booknerds! I'm a sissy. If you have been following my blog and what goes on in it, you'd know that I am easily terrified of reading scary stories and I'm easily shaken if they have pictures and stuff. Yeah.. A sissy. But I will recommend five books that might just get you in the Halloween spirit. And then five of my favorite characters I'd want to dress up as on Halloween!

BOOKS TO READ

1. Carrie by Stephen King

A quintessential Stephen King read is Carrie which is his debut novel that has put Stephen King on the map! It is the story of a young girl named Carrie who is an outcast at school. Her mother has been overprotecting her and been influencing her in the teachings of the world. Carrie, however, wants to experience how it is to be a normal young teenager but experiencing her first period doesn't help with her situation and everyone bullies her at school. Carrie becomes more of an outcast but learns that she has telekinesis. A tragedy at school prom pushes her on the edge, making this book one of the best horror/thriller books ever. The movie also brought out the best out of Carrie's story. (I'm talking about the 1976 film okay? The new one just didn't cut it. Sorry Chloe and Ansel)

2. The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman

Neil Gaiman is one amazing story teller, and in fact, one of my favorites! The Graveyard Book is one of his classic books published telling the story of Nobody "Bod" Owens as he lives with ghosts in a graveyard after his parents were murdered by the man Jack. He is then pursued by the man Jack to finish what he had started, and the ghosts in the graveyard won't let anything happen to Bod and decide to protect him. The story is filled with unique and amazing characters that will melt your heart but also give you the spook that you need for Halloween! It's also a perfect Halloween read for the kids!

3. Miss Peregrine's Home For Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs

Equipped with haunting black and white photos, Miss Peregrine's Home For Peculiar Children tells the story of Jacob Portman as he meets children with peculiar abilities and powers. He must help them get away from the hollows that are trying to destroy their time loop in order to get rid of the peculiar children. Jacob, along with the other children try to save their time loop while also finding out about the secrets that lie in his grandpa's past. Ransom Riggs was able to bring out a humor and a definite scare in his novel with his story as well as with the photos he used. Read Hollow City as soon as you finish it.

4. The Shining by Stephen King

Another Stephen King novel, I haven't actually read The Shining yet, however, I do have a friend who has been pushing me to read it. I have seen a little bit of the film, which I regret, not because it was bad, but because it is terrifically terrifying! I had to hide under my blanket, seriously. It tells the story of Jack Torrance who accepted a caretaking position of a hotel where he takes his wife and son, Johnny who has the "shining", an ability to see the supernatural beings living in the hotel. These supernaturals cause a break in Jack's sanity and thus, causing a risk to his family.

5. The Silence of The Lambs by Thomas Harris

If you aren't scared of Hannibal Lecter, in any degree, then I don't even think you are human. I have read Silence of The Lambs, never finished out of fear of being eaten by a novel. I was that scared. The movie wasn't any different causing spasms and a nervous breakdown from my body. If you don't know who Hannibal Lecter is, I have one word for you. CANNIBAL. HAHAHA! Pun, but seriously. If you have the guts to read it, then I really recommend it but read Red Dragon, which is the first, that I finished and was great as well!

HALLOWEEN DRESS-UP

1. Adelina Amouteru from The Young Elites by Marie Lu

Seems impossible really, Adelina is becoming one of my faves, mostly because of her look and also coz steampunk. DUUUH! HAHAHA! 

2. Katniss Everdeen from The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

Sport a leather jacket or a hunting jacket, some black jeans, braid your hair to the side and put on some barely there make-up, and you got yourself Katniss Everdeen, somehow. You can make your own bow and arrow or go to a kids' store then spray paint a toy black.

3. Luna Lovegood from The Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling

Now I know most girls would go with Hermione Granger, which is fine, honestly, I would love to, but dressing up as cute and a little loony, Luna Lovegood seems befitting for Halloween. Find a uniform, a wand, a blonde wig if you ain't blonde and then take out some funny shoes and those classic glasses!

4. R from Warm Bodies by Isaac Marion

Easy enough to mess yourself up with make-up, cake yourself white and walk like a total zombie will surely make a Halloween more halloween-y!, yes? Plus R is so hot, so guys, don't hesitate to dress up as him.

5. Sherlock Holmes from Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

I know, I know. This is BBC's Sherlock, but it is a lot easier to put on a sexy purple shirt, pants, an amazing coat and a sweater that just accentuates your face. Plus, please, SHERLOCK!??? No matter if it's the classic Sherlock or BBC Sherlock, Sherlock is still SHERLOCK! Sorry, I'm quite obsessed with him.

{BLOG TOUR} REVIEW: Mary Hades by Sarah Dalton

Title: Mary Hades (Mary Hades #1)

Author: Sarah Dalton

Publication: May 4th 2014, Creatspace

Format: Digital Copy

Source: Giselle of XpressonBookTours

Buy on: Amazon | Barnes and Noble | iBooks | Kobo

SYNOPSIS:

Not many seventeen year old girls have a best friend who’s a ghost, but then Mary Hades isn’t your average teenager. 

Scarred physically and mentally from a fire, her parents decide a holiday to an idyllic village in North Yorkshire will help her recover. Nestled in the middle of five moors, Mary expects to have a boring week stuck in a caravan with her parents. Little does she know, evil lurks in the campsite…

Seth Lockwood—a local fairground worker with a dark secret—might be the key to uncovering the murky history that has blighted Nettleby. But Mary is drawn to him in a way that has her questioning her judgement.

Helped by her dead best friend and a quirky gay Goth couple, Mary must stop the unusual deaths occurring in Nettleby. But can she prevent her heart from being broken?

The first in a series of dark YA novels, Mary Hades follows on from the bestselling Kindle Single 'My Daylight Monsters'. A spine-tingling tale with romance, readers will be shocked and entertained in equal measure.

Misfit Review:

*I received a review copy of the book from Giselle of XpressoBookTours in exchange for an honest review.

So, I decided this is gonna be a short review of Mary Hades. I have read the book but it took me a while to get attached to it or being that I was still in my slump, it's attractiveness might've been buried. Anyway, I read the book and there were nice points and really just annoying pieces to the book.

So Mary is being held in an institution after the fire that scarred her mentally. With this she gained an ability.  This ability was to see ghost. While in the hospital, she gets acquainted with Lacey, an upbeat girl with her own problems. They become fast friends and the rest you would say is history, but no. Lacey gets into an accident and Mary gets left behind. But Lacey stays and helps Mary go through her phase of seeing The Things and the imminent death.

I ain't a fan of ghost stories. I love gore and stuff, but I can't seem to wrap myself up with horror books. I wanted to read this book for a change but I still felt as though I couldn't read it. But, in terms of scaring me out of my wits, yes, yes it did its job. (Probably coz of me being a total ninny.)

The characters were fine. I had a good feeling about Lacey from the beginning, maybe because she was a good foil and friend to Mary. She's just quirky and witty even in the afterlife. As for Mary, she was so-so for me. She had her shining moments of course, but yes, Lacey stood out for me.

The ending was just yeah. I thought I'd never get to the end, I did, but then I didn't think it was enough. It was sooooooo boring. Hahahaha. For someone who isn't a fan of horror books, this is what I felt. Maybe since it was an ending, it could've been ended with a BAM! But then, there's still a few books after it, so, maybe.

I don't know if I will read the next installments, but you could say I enjoyed Mary Hades though honestly terrified. I will remember not to request books that could potentially kill me.

P.S. The cover is gorgeous.

About The Author:

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads

Sarah grew up in the middle of nowhere in the countryside of Derbyshire and as a result has an over-active imagination. She has been an avid reader for most of her life, taking inspiration from the stories she read as a child, and the novels she devoured as an adult.

Sarah mainly writes speculative fiction for a Young Adult audience and has had pieces of short fiction published in the Medulla Literary Review, PANK magazine, Apex Magazine and the British Fantasy Society publication Dark Horizons. Her short story ‘Vampires Wear Chanel’ is featured in the Wyvern Publication Fangtales.

She is the author of the popular YA dystopia series 'Blemished' and the gothic novella 'My Daylight Monsters'. She is currently working on a YA Fantasy series titled 'White Hart'.