My Favourite Halloween Entertainment- Books, Films and TV Shows| CarenzaOnBooks

Back in the day, when I first started this blog, I used to do something called Spooky Week. As the title suggested, for a week, I would post spooky related content. I did it for two or three years, but for various reasons I stopped. However, I still love making Halloween content. In today's post, I thought I would share my favourite/ultimate Halloween entertainment guide. I am going to pick one book, film and TV show to share and talk about how much I love them. These are just my personal preferences, but these are guaranteed to put my in a Halloweeny mood.

Book- Serpent and Dove by Shelby Mahurin

You are probably sick to death of me talking about how much I love this book and this series, but that's not going to stop me from talking about it. I believe Serpent and Dove is the perfect Halloween/autumnal series because of two things- witches and a gritty/dark tone. These books aren't perfect, they have their flaws, but they're so entertaining. If you love an enemies to lover romance, witches and witch-hunters, iconic characters and a beautiful magic system, then look no further. 

Shoutouts for other books that could have featured in this category are The Diviners series, The Once and Future Witches, The Devil and the Dark Water and If We Were Villains. 

Film- The Nightmare Before Christmas

Taken from Google Images

I am one of those people where it isn't Halloween unless I've watched this film. The story is great, the songs are great, the characters are great, the art style is great. In summary, it's great. It can also pass for a Christmas film, so you can watch it twice a year. I've watched this so many times I've lost count. Having now seen Schitt's Creek, I refuse to believe that the same person who played Moria Rose, also played Sally and one of the spooky kids. My brain can't cope.

TV Show- The Living and the Dead 

Taken from Google Images

This is probably the most unknown on this list as it's a criminally underrated show. If you like historical fiction, supernatural things that go bump in the night and Colin Morgan, then you'll love this show. It was a BBC show that got cancelled even before it aired, so the ending leaves you wanting more, but sadly you'll never get it. I have watched this at least once a year every year since it came out (in 2016). Some of the things that happen in it are genuinely quite scary and it's one of those shows I have to watch with the light on because it kinda terrifies me. It has a wonderful story, with a beautiful soundtrack and incredible performances. It is on BritBox or you can buy it on DVD. If you take anything from this list, then please take this show because I need more people to watch it. 

What are your go to Halloween entertainments??

My Spoopathon TBR| CarenzaOnBooks

I know we're a few days into October, but I thought I'd share my TBR for the Spoopathon readathon taking place this month. In case you don't know, this is a month long readathon hosted by @spoopyhol on Twitter, Instagram and YouTube. The aim is to escape the haunted house by completing reading prompts which give you points. The points go towards your team. This is a very brief summary and you can find more information on the @spoopathon Twitter account. I am a member of Team Order of Spies and I am super excited to take part. Without further ado, here is my TBR and the prompts they will be completing.   

This also includes some non Spoopathon TBR books for the month

Gifted to You

My first book of the readathon completes the "gifted to you" prompt as this was a birthday present from my best friend back in August. I have wanted to read The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse for some time. I keep on seeing it around and know that quite a lot of people like it. I don't actually know what this is about other than it can make people quite sad. It's a graphic novel and it's on the short side, so I thought it would be the perfect book to start with. 

Autumnal Cover

For the second prompt, I have chosen The Thursday Murder Club. This has a fox on the cover and I would say foxes are very autumnal. Again, this is another book I have heard nothing but great things about. I love a good cosy, murder mystery, so this sounds like it should be something I should enjoy. 

500+ Pages and Team Colour

I really enjoyed Stuart Turton's other book, The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle, so I cannot wait to read his latest book. This comes in at just over 500 plus pages and it very subtly features my team colour of yellow as the chain on the cover is yellow. I may be stretching it to fit the prompt, but I think that is a shade of yellow and therefore, it counts. 

Bonus photo of my cat Mac with my TBR!

Diverse Rep and LGBTQIA+ Rep/Author

It seems I have picked books that I've heard a lot of good things about and so my next pick is Mina and the Undead. I love a good YA urban fantasy and this one has vampires in it, so it should be good. The diverse rep in this book is that it's written by a female author (which I checked does count for the prompt) and that one of the characters is LGBT+. Part of the reason I want to read this is that I saw James Marsters, who played Spike on Buffy, saying some really nice things about this book and that made me want to read it more,  

Read it After Dark and Spooky Book 

My final book for the Spoopathon is Wakenhyrst, which is a gothic historical fiction. I bought it almost a year ago, really wanting to read it and here we are a year later. I've really gotten into historical fiction in the past year and would consider it one of my favourite genres. Add in some gothic, spooky elements and well, you've got my attention. 

That concludes my TBR for the Spoopathon. I've only pledged to go around the house once because I want to enjoy the books and I don't want to rush myself, plus I think this is quite an ambitious TBR as is. I can't wait to help lead Team Order of Spies to victory!

Spooky Week 2016| Spooky Book Recommendations| It'sCarenzaB

Hey Guys!
How are you?
Welcome to day 2 of Spooky Week 2016. In this post I am going to be recommending some spooky books that I think are perfect for this time of year. These are all YA books and are more on the spooky side rather than scary as I am not the hugest fan of scary and I'm sure there are people out there who feel the same. So here are my Spooky Book recommendations!

 Vassa in the Night by Sarah Porter is a perfect book for this time of year! To read my review click here. Vassa is based of a Russian fairytale, Vassilisa the Beautiful. It has some spooky moments in it and is a really fun read for this time of year.

 Anna Dressed in Blood and Girl of Nightmares are also perfect books for this time of year. Written by Kendare Blake, the story revolves around a ghost hunter called Cas who encounters the beautiful Anna. These books are definitely the most gruesome on my list as they have a lot of graphic violence, so if you are not a fan of blood and gore, these books are not for you. However to anyone who loves a good ghost book, I would highly recommend the Anna Dressed in Blood duology.

 The Archived by Victoria Schwab is another great book for this time of year. The book is about a girl called Mackenzie (or Mac for short) who helps return the dead to their final resting place and solves why they are coming back more and more often. Again for fans of ghost books, this is the book for you. There is a sequel called the Unbound that I need to get and read.

 The Harry Potter series are great books to read all year round, but I know that I love reading them around this time of year. They fit perfectly with the Halloween vibe and are perfect for all ages. I don't think I need to explain what these books are about as most people have read them.

My final recommendation for Spooky Books are the Miss Peregrines Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs, to read my review click here.
With the movie released last month, these books are perfect to read around Halloween. If you love spooky and quirky books, then these are the books for you. The story revolves around a boy called Jacob who, after his grandfather dies, goes in search of an island in Wales his grandfather told him about.





So those were my Spooky Book recommendations, if you have any other books to recommend, please leave a comment! If you are looking for spooky films, then come back tomorrow and I will be recommending some of my favourite spooky films.
Love,
Carenza x