Halloween Bingo 2018
hosted by Moonlight Madness and Obsidian Blue
I didn't think that I'd be participating in any reading games this year. With the massive reading slump I had had since the beginning of the year, the last thing I wanted to do was restrict myself to reading based on any challenge.
But I have participated in Halloween Bingo since it's inception in 2016, and with the new categories, as well as a new game twist, I couldn't help but join in. On top of that, my reading slump IS, kind of, sort of lifting. So to all of my reading buddies and friends at Booklikes:
I'm back!!! Let the Halloween Bingo game begin!
I don't want to get too carried away assigning books, but here are a few books that I would like to read for Halloween Bingo, some of which fit a few different squares. Other book possibilities for the squares on my card follow after these two series.
The Circle Trilogy by Nora Roberts --
After reading the summaries for each of these books, I have come to the conclusion that they all fit into at least six of the thirty-one different Halloween Bingo categories. The villain is a vampire, the hero of the first book is a sorcerer, the hero of the second book is a shifter, the hero of the last book is a vampire... so there are elements of the paranormal/supernatural involved. Nora Roberts is a well-known romantic suspense author...
I'm super stoked!
Possible squares:
- Spellbound
- Dead Lands
- Shifters
- Supernatural
- Romantic Suspense
- Terrifying Women
Harper Connelly by Charlaine Harris --
I've been looking for a reason to read this series, and I admit that I was kind of looking forward to sliding these books into Halloween Bingo at some point. These books don't fit as many squares as the above series, but they still fit some.
Possible squares:
- Southern Gothic
- Supernatural
- Cozy Mystery
- Terrifying Women
- Terror in a Small Town -- counts for at least two of the books
The Squares on Ani's Card:
-- I'm considering one of many of the Simone St. James books, as there are several, all about ghosts and hauntings. But I haven't quite decided yet. But the chances are high that I will probably just read one of the books I already own, Ghost Horse by Patricia Rosemoor, which is a book I've also got lined up to read for my Reading Assignment challenge this year.
Possible books: An Inquiry into Love and Death by Simone St. James; Silence of the Dead by Simone St. James; The Other Side of Midnight by Simone St. James; Lost Among the Living by Simone St. James; Ghost Horse by Patricia Rosemoor
-- The first author I thought of off the top of my head was Sherry Thomas, if only because I still have her A Study in Scarlet Women sitting on my Kindle, unread. It's probably time to get it read, but I'm leaving this square open for now in case I come across something else I may want to read.
Possible books: A Study in Scarlet Women by Sherry Thomas; A Conspiracy in Belgravia by Sherry Thomas; The House of Spirits by Isabel Allende
-- I have several possibilities for this category, a couple that are unread books on my Kindle, and a few that are books I'll need to check out from the library. I'm still trying to decide in which direction I want to go. I'll probably end up letting my mood decide for me what to read.
Possible books: The Innocent by Amanda Stevens; Midnight Exposure by Melinda Leigh; Grave Sight by Charlaine Harris; Real Murders by Charlaine Harris; Whiskey Beach by Nora Roberts; Hold Back the Dark by Kay Hooper; The Obsession by Nora Roberts
-- I had considered reading If I Ever Return, Pretty Peggy-O, also by Sharyn McCrumb, but due to availability, I decided on Sick of Shadows instead. I've read the reviews and noted that Sick of Shadows is not her best work, but that the series DOES get better with each book, so I will keep that in mind while I read it. It's possible I may decide to read the next book in the series and try to insert it somewhere on my card.
Other possibilities: Garden Spells by Sarah Addison Allen; Grave Sight by Charlaine Harris; Real Murders by Charlaine Harris
-- Lake Silence by Anne Bishop would be my other choice, but I'm still on a wait list to check out said book from the library, and the wait list is very, very long. The chances of getting Lake Silence in time for Halloween Bingo does not have a very good outlook. On the other hand, Dance of the Gods is very much available right now, and I'm crossing my fingers in hopes that it will still be available by the time Halloween Bingo starts up.
Because I can only check out an e-book for 21 days, max, I don't want to check it out too early. Although, I could just run to the library and find a paperback, I'm sure--then renew the heck out of it.
Other possibilities: Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater; Her Rogue Alpha by Paige Tyler; In the Company of Wolves by Paige Tyler; Bodyguard Bear by Zoe Chant
-- This is a very broad category and I have a lot of books I want to read for it. I recently purchased some Audible books by Elizabeth Peters, and I even own Crocodile on the Sandbank in paperback, a book I bought at a library sale a long time ago. But I'm also considering the Harper Connelly series listed above as well. And then there are a lot of other cozy mysteries I'd been wanting to read for a long time.
I may have to book a book roulette into play for this one... or just read based on my mood.
Possible books: Devil May Care by Elizabeth Peters; Grave Sight by Charlaine Harris; Brownies and Broomsticks by Bailey Cates; It Takes a Witch by Heather Blake; A Dark and Stormy Murder by Julia Buckley; Real Murders by Charlaine Harris
-- I honestly have already decided that this will be the book for this square. Ever since reading the description, I got very curious--a family of cryptozoologists, studying the monsters of the world and protecting them from humanity. Now I only hope it will be available at the library when I'm ready to read it for Halloween Bingo.
And I also hope that I have better luck with this urban fantasy series than I've had with other urban fantasy books in the past.
Other possibility: The Color of Magic by Terry Pratchett; Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them by Newt Scamander (J.K. Rowling) XD
-- This is also a broad category for me since I read a lot of crime thrillers and romantic suspense. So I'm leaving it open for the time being, though I have a massive list of romantic suspense I could use for this category.
Possible books: Promise Not to Tell by Jayne Ann Krentz; Ghost Horse by Patricia Rosemoor; Irresistible Force by D.D. Ayers; The Black Opal by Victoria Holt; Midnight Exposure by Melinda Leigh; Chasing Evil by Kylie Brant; Desperate Girls by Laura Griffin; In the Company of Wolves by Paige Tyler; Her Rogue Alpha by Paige Tyler
-- I honestly considered requesting to exclude this category from my card, but since we could only exclude three, I went back and forth before deciding which squares I really DIDN'T want to include. Between this one and 'Fear the Drowning Deep' somehow I convinced myself that I'd have a better chance of finding a book for this square... Now I"m not so sure.
So there is a high possibility that this square will be a Wild Card author square, or I could use the Buddy Read starting in October to fill this one.
Possible books: Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
-- The first book in the Circle trilogy by Nora Roberts features a sorcerer as the main hero, so this was the first square I thought of. Well, it was either this one, or Dance Upon the Air by Nora Roberts, the first book in her Three Sisters Island trilogy, which I believe is a series about three women who are witches.
Other possibilities: Brownies and Broomsticks by Bailey Cates; A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness; Good Omens by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett; Dance Upon the Air by Nora Roberts
-- I'm not sure what I actually wanted to read, but after I found that I had this in my Kindle, I'm kind of looking forward to it. I also own a large collection of Edgar Allan Poe works, which would all also qualify for this square (and with shorter stories too, in case I can't keep up with my reading).
Other possibilities: The Masque of the Red Death by Edgar Allan Poe; The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins
-- This category is just as broad as the 'Suspense' category and the 'Cozy Mystery' category. I'm not making a decision yet, but I know I have tons of books to choose from.
Possible books: Midnight Exposure by Melinda Leigh; Desperate Girls by Laura Griffin; Real Murders by Charlaine Harris; Hold Back the Dark by Kay Hooper; The Anatomist's Wife by Anna Lee Huber; This Side of Murder by Ann Lee Huber; Otherwise Engaged by Amanda Quick; A Study in Scarlet Women by Sherry Thomas
-- I'm leaving this one open for anything just because...
-- The Key trilogy by Nora Roberts would definitely fit, but I don't know if I want to do a Nora Roberts flood for Halloween Bingo since I'm already reading one trilogy by her. (Hint: It's entirely possible that I will choose her romantic suspense or supernatural books as my two wild card books, so there will probably be a Nora Roberts take over on my card).
For my own sake, I'm going to insert the link to the Halloween Bingo reading list for this category here--Halloween Bingo 2018 - Relics and Curiosities--and keep checking it until I find something I'm interested in reading.
-- I considered requesting this category as one of my three exclusions. But I decided that I should be able to find at least one book for this category I might enjoy. We had fun with the Classic Noir group read last year, even if I didn't enjoy the book. But that's neither here nor there.
I happened across Murder by Death's Halloween Bingo reading list and saw that she has listed a book by Jasper Fforde as her choice for Modern Noir--The Fourth Bear. Upon further searching, I found that it is the second book in a series; the first book is called The Big Over Easy, and there is indeed a noir tag in the GR top shelves page of this book.
I'm not entirely familiar with 'Noir,' but I'm definitely interested in reading these books. It is also available through my library's e-book collection.
Possible books: The Big Over Easy by Jasper Fforde; In the Woods by Tana French; Ice Princess by Camilla Läckberg
-- Like the 'Murder Most Foul' and 'Genre: Suspense' categories, I'm leaving this one open while I work on the others. More than likely, I'll end up reading Promise Not to Tell by Jayne Ann Krentz
Possible books: Promise Not to Tell by Jayne Ann Krentz; Ghost Horse by Patricia Rosemoor; Irresistible Force by D.D. Ayers; The Black Opal by Victoria Holt; Midnight Exposure by Melinda Leigh; Chasing Evil by Kylie Brant; Desperate Girls by Laura Griffin; In the Company of Wolves by Paige Tyler; Her Rogue Alpha by Paige Tyler
-- I think I ended up picking an Amanda Quick book last minute, so those are always good possibilities for this category. Otherwise, I haven't decided what I want to read yet.
Possible books: A Study in Scarlet Women by Sherry Thomas; Otherwise Engaged by Amanda Quick: Slightly Shady by Amanda Quick; The Name of the Star by Maureen Johnson; Crystal Gardens by Amanda Quick; The Anatomist's Wife by Anna Lee Huber
-- I'm not sure what to read for this category, though I'm thinking of just picking up anything that might be on the Halloween Bingo suggestions reading list for 13. I have one possible book, Nora Roberts's Year One, but seeing as it's the first book in a trilogy, and I'm loathe to start a series that I can't finish in a timely manner (the second book comes out in December this year, and the third book will probably be out next year about the same time) I will probably not touch it. It has a raven on the cover and would be perfect for this square.
This square might end up as a Wild Card author book.
-- The last book in the Circle trilogy would go great in this spot, since the main hero is a vampire AND the main villain is a vampire.
As an aside, every year I tell myself that I don't have a vampire book to read, and every year I find a reason to keep this particular square. It's kind of interesting how things turn out.
Other possibilities: Lake Silence by Anne Bishop
-- I'm on a couple wait lists for the library copies right now, but I'm crossing my fingers and hoping I'll get this one picked up at some point in the next three months. Otherwise, I'm sure there are other books I can insert into this square.
Other possibilities: Beauty by Robin McKinley; The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden; Heartless by Marissa Meyer
-- I almost forgot about this category, but after going through my books, I found a Susanna Kearsley audio book I already own. Definitely going to get used for this square.
Other possibilities: This Rough Magic by Mary Stewart; The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins; Window on the Square by Phyllis A. Whitney; The House of a Thousand Lanterns by Victoria Holt; The Black Opal by Victoria Holt
-- Obviously another free space for me. We'll keep our options open.
Possible books: Devil May Care by Elizabeth Peters; Real Murders by Charlaine Harris; The Key of Light by Nora Roberts; Morrigan's Cross by Nora Roberts; Whiskey Beach by Nora Roberts; A Study in Scarlet Women by Sherry Thomas; Slightly Shady by Amanda Quick; Otherwise Engaged by Amanda Quick; Midnight Exposure by Melinda Leigh; Chasing Evil by Kylie Brant; Desperate Girls by Laura Griffin; Promise Not to Tell by Jayne Ann Krentz... and many, many more...
-- I've been looking for a chance to read The Last Policeman series ever since my BFF read it and told me she loved it. I've heard good things about it as well. So we'll get to see what this is all about!
Other possibilities: Good Omens by Neilg Gaiman & Terry Pratchett; Year One by Nora Roberts; The City of Ember by Jeanne DuPrau; The Stand by Stephen King; Pines by Blake Crouch
-- I had a couple other books in mind for this square, but the one I'm going to go with just sounds interesting to me at the moment. Chances of switching it out are 50/50, because I don't know when the last time was that I read something YA or Childrens.
Other possibilities: The Secret of the Old Clock by Carolyn Keene; Prep School Confidential by Kara Taylor; Going Rogue by Robin Benway
-- This is a very broad category, but I have two different books I'm considering: Desperate Girls by Laura Griffin, which is a mystery and romantic suspense; or Promise Not to Tell by Jayne Ann Krentz, also a mystery and romantic suspense. Both books were published in 2018. I'm leaving this category open, though because there are so many other possibilities, and my tendency to change my mind is pretty high.
Other possibilities: The Broken Girls by Simone St. James; Lake Silence by Anne Bishop; City of Ghosts by Victoria Schwab
