Olivia Prior has grown up in Merilance School for girls, and all she has of her past is her mother’s journal—which seems to unravel into madness. Then, a letter invites Olivia to come home—to Gallant. Yet when Olivia arrives, no one is expecting her. But Olivia is not about to leave the first place that feels like home, it doesn’t matter if her cousin Matthew is hostile or if she sees half-formed ghouls haunting the hallways. Olivia knows that Gallant is hiding secrets, and she is determined to uncover them.
This book came out earlier this spring or early summer but I’ve had it resting on my bookshelf for the colder months of the year. The last time I read a book with illustrations was in middle school and I’m pretty sure the book was “The Invention of Hugo Cabret”. So it’s been a long time since I’ve returned to that world of books but I’m looking forward to the calming aesthetic of illustrated books. I’ve heard many mixed things about “Gallant” but I’m going in with not that high expectations but simultaneously with the belief that I’m going to really enjoy it. Does that make sense? Probably not lol but it does to me. Basically, I’m okay for it to turn out to be an okay book but I’m fairly certain that I’m going to love it. I recently finished the author’s Villains duology and I absolutely loved it. I love how beautiful, dark, and purposeful her writing is and I can’t wait to see how “Gallant” plays with this. From the cover itself, I have a feeling that this book is going to be cozy and eerie and I can’t wait to dive into it.
England, 1882. In Victorian London, two children with mysterious powers are hunted by a figure of darkness —a man made of smoke. Sixteen-year-old Charlie Ovid, despite a lifetime of brutality, doesn’t have a scar on him. His body heals itself, whether he wants it to or not. Marlowe, a foundling from a railway freight car, shines with a strange bluish light. He can melt or mend flesh. When two grizzled detectives are recruited to escort them north to safety, they are forced to confront the nature of difference, and belonging, and the shadowy edges of the monstrous.
This is a tome of a book. It’s huge. I can probably take someone down with it and honestly, that makes me even more excited to pick it up. This book has many elements that I love in a book. A historical fiction setting, especially Victorian England, a found family, and what I assume are misunderstood children. I heard that this book is a slow burn so I’m going to go into it with my full attention this month. I’m not going to lie, one of the main reasons why I’ve been pushing this book off till October is because the title has the word monsters in it and what better time to read about monsters than in October?
Boston, 1662. Mary Deerfield is twenty-four years old. Her skin is porcelain, her eyes delft blue, and in England she might have had many suitors. But here in the New World, amid this community of saints, Mary is the second wife of Thomas Deerfield, a man as cruel as he is powerful. When Thomas, prone to drunken rage, drives a three-tined fork into the back of Mary’s hand, she resolves that she must divorce him to save her life. But in a world where every neighbor is watching for signs of the devil, a woman like Mary–a woman who harbors secret desires and finds it difficult to tolerate the brazen hypocrisy of so many men in the colony–soon finds herself the object of suspicion and rumor.
I don’t know much about this book except that I assume it’s got to do with witches. The cover of this book also reminds me a bit of “The Handmaids Tale” which I coincidentally also have not watched. I’ve never been super into witches or made it a point to pick up witch books around October or autumn time but this year, my interest has been peaked. I’ve been listening to a ton of Morbid, the true crime podcast that also touches on many historical cases such as witch hangings as well as other paranormal and cryptids related subjects. Listening to the reasoning behind witch hangings always sets me on fire (that was unintentional pun) because of how ridiculous the claims were and how most of the reasons were caked in patriarchal nonsense. I’ve read this author’s most recent release, “The Lioness”, that explored the Cold War and its affect on African countries. It looks like this author likes to explore a ton of different historical events and settings so I’m excited to see what I’ll learn from this book.
Abby and Gretchen have been best friends since fifth grade, when they bonded over a shared love of E.T., roller-skating parties, and scratch-and-sniff stickers. But when they arrive at high school, things change. Gretchen begins to act….different. And as the strange coincidences and bizarre behavior start to pile up, Abby realizes there’s only one possible explanation: Gretchen, her favorite person in the world, has a demon living inside her.
I don’t usually read horror books but this October, I’m going to. I’ve heard great things about this book and I can’t wait to get into this one. First of all, the cover of this book is gorgeous and it’s giving me all the Stranger Things vibes. I don’t know much about this book other than that it’s centered around a friendship and one friend trying to save the other one after they get possessed? I’m hoping that this book is going to be fast paced, full of tension, and will have wholesome conversation around friendship and love.
As one of the few witches in Britain, Mika Moon knows she has to hide her magic, keep her head down, and stay away from other witches so their powers don’t mingle and draw attention. And as an orphan who lost her parents at a young age and was raised by strangers, she’s used to being alone and she follows the rules…with one exception: an online account, where she posts videos pretending to be a witch. She thinks no one will take it seriously. But someone does.
Like with many other books, I have a vague idea of this book. I tend to pick up books based off a vibe I get from a review rather than researching into the plot. I like to go into books with little idea of the plot as possible. This book I’ve heard is reminiscent of “The House in the Cerulean Sea” and that was one of the most wholesome books I’ve ever read so I’m really excited by this comparison. I also heard that there’s a romance in this book and I think it’s a grumpy sunshine romance which I’m sure is going to be fun to read. While I love to read darker and spookier things in October and the later months of autumn, I always like to pick up something wholesome, cute, and cozy to relive that nostalgic comfort that I find in Halloween movies. I’m hoping that this book does that for me.