Nightmare Before BPR / Spooky September Wrap-Up aka the month of thrilling and chilling reads that were mostly so-so?

Well, we made it through the month. This is probably one of my favorite reading months out there, and it did pretty okay? I got my fill of spooky, and I’m now ready to usher in the Halloween time officially.

The Prompts

👻 Zero – A Book with Ghosts
👻 Doctor Finklestein – A Spooky Book with an Eccentric Character i.e. like a Mad Scientist
👻 Lock, Shock, and Barrel – A Spooky Book with a Gang/Crew
👻 The Citizens: A Book with Any of the Following – deformed monsters, ghosts, ghouls, goblins, zombies, demons, mummies, vampires, werewolves, and witches
👻 This Is Halloween: Spookiest Book on your TBR
👻 What’s This: A Book with a Mystery
👻 Halloween Town: A book with a spooky town
👻 Sally: A Spooky Book with a Voice of Reason Character
👻 Mayor of Halloween Town: A Book that Has Two Faces – either two main characters, two separate plots, or one big plot twist
👻 Jack, the Pumpkin King: A Book Where a Character Has Skeletons
👻 Jack’s Lament: A Book with Sad Overtones
👻 Oogie Boogie: A Spooky Book You’re Taking a Gamble On
👻 Sally’s Song: A Spooky Book with a Love Story Featured
👻 Kidnap The Sandy Claws: A Book with a Disastrous Plan
👻 Santa Claus: A Non-Spooky Book for a Palette Cleanser

Books Devoured Whole

Spectacle Vol. 1 by Megan Rose Gedris
Prompt: Lock, Shock, and Barrel – A Spooky Book with a Gang/Crew
Spooky September Meter: 🎃
This was one of the best graphic novels I’ve read in a while. The art was quirky, but it was vibrant and fun. The storyline was interesting, and I’m invested in finding out more and who the murderer is. There was still some detachment from it, but it was a fun graphic novel!

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Ghosted in L.A. by Sina Grace, Siobhan Keenan, Cathy Le
Prompt: Kidnap The Sandy Claws: A Book with a Disastrous Plan
Spooky September Meter: 🎃
This was totally meh. The art was pretty nice, and I mean, this was just the first comic in the series, but I felt like reading it was a chore. I definitely recommend skipping – especially since there was a lot of disastrous plans in this one.

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The Doll: The Lost Short Stories by Daphne du Maurier
Prompt: Doctor Finklestein – A Spooky Book with an Eccentric Character i.e. like a Mad Scientist
Spooky September Meter: 🎃
After reading Monster, She Wrote and being reminded of the epic psychological horror maven du Maurier was, I decided to give this audiobook a try. Only really enjoyed 3 stories, and meh for the rest.

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House of Salt and Sorrows by Erin A. Craig
Prompt: Jack’s Lament: A Book with Sad Overtones
Spooky September Meter: 🎃🎃🎃
Atmospheric, lush, and far more spooky than I originally thought. The mood was alllllllllllll the vibes, and this was such an unique spin on a underappreciated fairytale. I recommend this wholeheartedly. Few minor issues, but overall, a contender for best read of the month.

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Here There Are Monsters by Amelinda Bérubé
Prompt: What’s This: A Book with a Mystery
Spooky September Meter: 🎃
Despite its spooky cover, it never brought the creeps. It was just so eh? The characters were quite lackluster, and like, it just got really weird? Like, really random and weird? Idk, I was not feeling this, and I started skimming pretty hard.

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The Best Lies by Sarah Lyu
Prompt: Mayor of Halloween Town: A Book that Has Two Faces – either two main characters, two separate plots, or one big plot twist
Spooky September Meter: 🎃
This definitely was one of the best psychological stories that I have ever read. I was so impressed by the way the author managed to dive deep. Had a few issues, but overall, a pretty good murder mystery.

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Capturing the Devil by Kerri Maniscalco
Prompt: Sally: A Spooky Book with a Voice of Reason Character
Spooky September Meter: 🎃🎃
Even though I wasn’t the biggest fan of the third book in this installment and swore I was going to even read this one, I caved. Tbh, I really should have skipped. This was so long, and I had so many issues with it. By the end of it, I was so done.

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Just Beyond: The Scare School by R. L. Stine, Nicole Matthews, & Kelly Matthews
Prompt: Halloween Town: A Book with a Spooky Town
Spooky September Meter: 🎃
R. L. Stine has definitely made his name in horror and children’s/young adult novels. This middle grade horror novel was a little wacky and misguided at times, but the art was quite nice and it was fun.

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Snow, Glass, Apples by Neil Gaiman & Colleen Doran
Prompt: The Citizens: A Book with Any of the Following – vampires
Spooky September Meter: 🎃🎃
I stumbled upon this on my library’s app, and I was immediately drawn in by the cover. Seeing the name, I figured it was a Snow White retelling – I was correct, and it was quite well done. Pretty confusing at times, but a super beautifully illustrated, dark, and spooky version of the story.

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Forking Good: A Cookbook Inspired by The Good Place by Valya Dudycz Lupescu & Stephen H. Segal
Prompt: Santa Claus: A Non-Spooky Book for a Palette Cleanser
This was a total surprise read.With how much I love the show and ready for the new season, I figured it would go for it next after it magically showing up on my doorstep. However, it sadly wasn’t forking good.

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Grimoire Noir by Vera Greentea & Yana Bogatch
Spooky September Meter:🎃
Prompt: Oogie Boogie: A Spooky Book You’re Taking a Gamble On
I hadn’t heard  anything about this book before it was advertised online for my library. I’m always down for the missing sister with witches is always a cool concept. Overall, it was just okay? With good art?

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The Canterville Ghost and Other Stories by Oscar Wilde
Prompt: Zero – A Book with Ghosts
Spooky September Meter: 🎃
This edition was a clever and accessible edition to Wilde’s short stories. I loved the ease of this collection compared to a few other ones that I have tried to read. The foundations of Wilde’s wit and ability to craft a complex but easy story were still here.

Ghosts of Readathon Past (aka prompts I didn’t get to)

Scream All Night by Derek Milman
Prompt: Jack, the Pumpkin King: A Book Where a Character Has Skeletons
Spooky September Meter: 🎃
I’m about 3 hours from being done from this, but I’m still currently struggling with reading audiobooks. This book is weird, but kind of a good weird? It’s dark, but funny? Definitely an odd one.

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Our Bloody Pearl by D. N. Bryn
Prompt: Sally’s Song: A Spooky Book with a Love Story Featured
Spooky September Meter: 🎃
This book is really good so far. I’m so glad that I stepped outside the YA bounds for it. I’m about 50% into it as I’m writing this post – I just always struggle with ebooks with my eyes, so it takes me forever. While not quite spooky, it’s still good, and I’ll finish it by the end of the week.

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And…This Is Halloween: Spookiest Book on your TBR – nothing called to me as the spookiest one?? And the one that I did look at wasn’t available despite me swearing that I saw it on my library app. So, I gave up on this one.

Non-Spooky News

👸 Mandy went to London! You can read all about my England experience here and here. I failed being a proper YA protagonist, but I got a pretty book and hopefully some good pictures??

👸 I got super sick right before I went to England, so I accidentally took a week / week and a half long hiatus that I didn’t plan at all. It totally threw me off my game, and I’m now playing a bit of catch-up to get myself back in the game. Work has been total chaos as well, so mostly I’ve just been melting into a pile of goo.

👸 As for TV shows, a lot of shows are coming back now. The Good Place has officially started again, and I just want to binge it all?? AND I DIDN’T KNOW IT WAS THE FINAL SEASON??? HOW DARE. Also, The Great British Baking Show is delivering as always. I love it so much, and there needs to be ten million more seasons of it. I’m still deciding what other shows I still want to actually watch this season, since I’ve been giving up on a lot of shows in favor for more reading and blogging.

👸 I’ll be posting my TBR today as well for next month, which I separated this time around due to the fact that I…WILL BE GOING TO YALLFEST AGAIN THIS YEAR. While this year isn’t as jam packed with my top authors like last year was, I’m so super excited to be going back. My two top authors that I’m excited to see are Ash Poston and Mason Deaver. I also might finally be able to meet Roshani Chokshi this time around??? Now, though, is the mad dash to read a good deal of the books beforehand so I can make the most of the experience.

What do you think? How was your September reading go? What are some books you loved/hated? Let’s discuss in the comments below!