Recap: October 2015!

I'm fairly certain I say this every month, but where did the time go?  A month ago I was living in a different state and anxiously awaiting Halloween.  Now it's November the first and I'm wondering how Halloween has already passed and typing this post up in a new house.   

This Halloween my family and I went to an amusement park that was having a horror night.  Although I couldn't dress up as I planned (as Buffy from Buffy the Vampire Slayer), since costumes weren't allowed, I still had a spooktacular time.

I rode my first ever real roller coaster, the kind that flips you upside down and drops without warning--and it was beyond awesome.  Plus, candy.  And pretzels.  And all sorts of yummy deliciousness.

The Shining by Stephen King

Rating:  3 Keys

The Shining was my first Stephen King novel, carefully selected to scare the living daylights out of me.  Unfortunately, while King is a master at spinning unbelievable realistic and flawed characters and at analyzing the psychology of the human mind, he failed to frighten me.

The Near Witch by Victoria Schwab

Rating: 4 Keys

Victoria Schwab has never failed to give me a stellar reading experience, and The Near Witch is no exception.  The story has the feel of an old fairy tale, paired with melodic writing, which results in an imperfect but enjoyable read.

Love Letters to the Dead by Ava Dellaira

Rating:  3.5 Keys

As you can imagine, Love Letters to the Dead is not exactly a cheerful book, but is rather heartfelt and genuine.  It deals with tough issues in an extremely sensitive and respectful way, although it does not escape from faults--there is often foolish drama and an erratic writing style.  Even so, I would recommend this book to anyone up for an emotional roller coaster ride.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer: The Long Way Home by Joss Whedon and George Jeanty

Rating:  4 Keys

If you couldn't guess, Buffy the Vampire Slayer is one of my favorite TV shows of all time.  I was over the moon excited to get my hands on the graphic novels, which pick up where the last season left off.  While it isn't perfect, the first issue is so intrinsically Buffy that I couldn't help but fall in love with it.

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The Near Witch by Victoria Schwab

Publication Date:  August 2, 2011
Publisher:  Hyperion Books
Pages:  282
Series:  Stand Alone
Genre:  Paranormal
Synopsis:  The Near Witch is only an old story told to frighten children. 

If the wind calls at night, you must not listen. The wind is lonely, and always looking for company. 

And there are no strangers in the town of Near.

These are the truths that Lexi has heard all her life. 

But when an actual stranger-a boy who seems to fade like smoke-appears outside her home on the moor at night, she knows that at least one of these sayings is no longer true.

The next night, the children of Near start disappearing from their beds, and the mysterious boy falls under suspicion. Still, he insists on helping Lexi search for them. Something tells her she can trust him.

As the hunt for the children intensifies, so does Lexi's need to know-about the witch that just might be more than a bedtime story, about the wind that seems to speak through the walls at night, and about the history of this nameless boy.