October 2022 Wrap Up

Happy Halloween, my spooky friends! Do you have any big plans for tonight?

I know it’s Halloween, but it’s also the end of the month so it’s time to recap my reading for the month. So, let’s get to my October 2022 Wrap Up.

I wanted to read a ton of scary books this month, but everything I picked up took a direction I wasn’t expecting. I think I picked spookier books in September. So, I’m still craving something really spooky.

Dracul

Synopsis:

It is 1868, and a twenty-one-year-old Bram Stoker waits in a desolate tower to face an indescribable evil. Armed only with crucifixes, holy water, and a rifle, he prays to survive a single night, the longest of his life. Desperate to record what he has witnessed, Bram scribbles down the events that led him here…

A sickly child, Bram spent his early days bedridden in his parents’ Dublin home, tended to by his caretaker, a young woman named Ellen Crone. When a string of strange deaths occur in a nearby town, Bram and his sister Matilda detect a pattern of bizarre behavior by Ellen–a mystery that deepens chillingly until Ellen vanishes suddenly from their lives. Years later, Matilda returns from studying in Paris to tell Bram the news that she has seen Ellen–and that the nightmare they’ve thought long ended is only beginning.

My Rating: 3/5

My Full Review: https://wildwoodreads.com/2022/10/14/dracul-review/

Purchase

Cryptid Club

Synopsis:

Do you hate social gatherings? Dodge cameras? Enjoy staying up just a little too late at night? You might have more in common with your local cryptid than you think Enter the world of Cryptid Club, a look inside the adventures of elusive creatures ranging from Mothman to the Loch Ness Monster. This humorous new series celebrates the unique qualities that make cryptids so desperately sought after by mankind (to no avail). After all, it’s what makes us different that also makes us beautiful.

My Rating: 5/5

My Full Review: This was a spur of the moment purchase that I mentioned in my last haul, but I’m so glad I picked it up. It was absolutely hilarious. I know I drove my husband insane because I would read something funny and would immediately make him read it. I totally recommend this if you’re looking for a quick, funny graphic novel.

Purchase

Such Sharp Teeth

Synopsis:

Rory Morris isn’t thrilled to be moving back to her hometown, even if it is temporary. There are bad memories there. But her twin sister, Scarlett, is pregnant, estranged from the baby’s father, and needs support, so Rory returns to the place she thought she’d put in her rearview. After a night out at a bar where she runs into Ian, an old almost-flame, she hits a large animal with her car. And when she gets out to investigate, she’s attacked.

Rory survives, miraculously, but life begins to look and feel different. She’s unnaturally strong, with an aversion to silver–and suddenly the moon has her in its thrall. She’s changing into someone else–something else, maybe even a monster. But does that mean she’s putting those close to her in danger? Or is embracing the wildness inside of her the key to acceptance?

My Rating: 3/5

My Full Review: https://wildwoodreads.com/2022/10/26/such-sharp-teeth-review/

Purchase

DNF

The House of the Seven Gables

Synopsis:

The House of the Seven Gables has been home to many generations of the Pyncheon family, each with their own dramas and tragedies. But all have felt the cold touch of a curse placed upon the house by a man who was hanged for witchcraft, the victim of a Pyncheon ancestor’s greed. This evil house is haunted by the ghosts of its sinful dead and tortured by the fear of its frightened living.

My Thoughts: I don’t normally include dnfs, but I only had about 40 pages left when I dnfed it. I really expected to love The House of the Seven Gables, but it wasn’t what I expected. The first chapter was great. I loved the ominous feeling. But that didn’t last. There’s a vague spooky feeling, but it’s hardly ever mentioned. And turns out it was supposed to be a romance, but there wasn’t much romance either. I really didn’t figure out a point to the entire thing.

Purchase

So that’s my October 2022 wrap up. What did you read this month?