Welcome to Litsy!

National Bookshop Day! (Apparently) 🥳

I enjoyed this gothic horror story set in 2 time periods, late 19th century when newly widowed Elsie Bainbridge goes to the ancestral home of her husband, a run down property which is suitably spooky. The other narrative is in 17thc when the same house hosts Charles 1 while the mistress of the house seems to have premonitions. Captured the atmosphere well, + great characters but I had some misgivings about an aspect of the plot but good ending.

#Movie2BookRecs @Klou
Prompt: Suspiria

January reads

Perfect October read- really atmospheric, with a truly chilling ending! However, one thing I didn't get- why did Hetta (the companion) look like Elsie? Has anyone else read this or have any thoughts???

This was a pretty decent gothic tale; creepy and atmospheric. I like how the story unfolded along three different timelines. #ReadSpooky2022

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I love a gothic novel, so I fully expected to love this, but, while overall I enjoyed it, I felt it could have done with some more editing. In particular, something was referred to several times in the novel but nothing was made of it, leaving it feeling as if part of the later story had been edited out but everyone forgot to edit out the earlier references. Not a bad novel, but not great either.

Starting this next.

#ReadSpooky2022 #20in4 #Readathon

Good, creepy, read.

Read for #sharreadathon #FabulousFebruary #readspooky2022 #BookSpinBingo
@Andrew65 @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks @Professional_Book_Dragon @teebe @TheAromaofBooks

I am reading this now, it is on Sharon's TBR ❤️
#sharreadathon
@Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks @Professional_Book_Dragon

Make a great reading day for Sharon ❤️

Beautiful morning. Will attempt to finish tagged book. #FabulousFebruary

Make a great day😊

In San Diego visiting sister, not sure how much reading for #FabulousFebruary

Make a great day everyone 😊

This was really good! I liked it more than I thought I would. Well written and very creepy.

#readspooky2022

Books in red I am currently reading (#FabulousFebruary readathon) - close to a bingo this month - if I could get 56 days (long holds at the library and overdrive) 😃

Enjoying the #BookSpinBingo @TheAromaofBooks - it is such a fun way to stay motivated to read and to tackle my TBR (although for each book that comes off the list one or two more go on it 😂)

Make a great day everyone -

#FabulousFebruary @Andrew65

These are the books I hope to finish and start -

Make a great day everyone 🙂

#Two4Tuesday Thanks for the tags @Nute and @TheSpineView

1. I would take a book or flowers - in that order -
2. I don't read many romantic novels, so I'll list one of my favorite books and call it a “bromance“ - Lonesome Dove

Want to play @bookaholic1 ?

Make a great day everyone 🙂

For anyone following along with the official list, this is up next for #ReadSpooky2022

And since I‘ve finally got my StoryGraph account organized, I‘ve made a challenge there for this: https://app.thestorygraph.com/reading_challenges/5fc84614-830d-4ae9-b41e-629547e...

This didn‘t work for me at all. Didn‘t like the characters, found the lack of explanation irritating, and wasn‘t the least bit creeped out. I would have DNFd, but it was a bookclub selection. I‘m in the minority though, so if gothic horror is your thing, you might like it!

This is a late post; I had received this 📦 0n the 10th.
Thank you @Avanders !!!!!
❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️ the books and treats. I have worn the socks quite a few times. You are such a sweet and generous person.

Thank you for the tag @RaeLovesToRead !! ⭐️✨

My Top 21 for the year 2021 🤖✨ This year I fell in love with Retellings and Dark Fantasy and dipped my toes back into Science Fiction. I also discovered a handful of new authors that are now my absolute favorite, Madeline Miller, Laura Purcell, Holly Black just to name a few 🖤

Not a bad year as reading goes #Top21of21

Consider yourself tagged!!

#TBRPile 📚 “The new doctor took her by surprise.”

This book was so creepy but I sympathized with the main character too much to allow for such an unhappy ending. Spooky, yes. Horrifying, yes. Satisfying? Not at all. Still, I feel sufficiently haunted #20in4 **edit: I haven‘t been able to stop thinking about this since I read it. Now I‘ve thought of three different interpretations, none of them pleasant, but all very interesting! #itgrowsonyou

Finished book 1 of 2 to meet my goal of reading two books for @Andrew65 #20in4
I really liked this one! The alternating time frames were perfectly woven. Faced paced and super creepy! I'll try to get this back out to you on monday @sprainedbrain
@AFrostCauseReads @rjsthumbelina
#lmpbc

A very happy birthday to you, Sarah 🎉🎂🎉📚🤗 @TheAromaofBooks

I started at midnight but decided to post this with a #BirthdayBash breakfast. I love how we are celebrating your birthday from different parts of the world. 🥐🍳

I chose your birthday to start a new book, my #halloweenread. This is my second by the author and it is set in the UK.

I enjoyed this one quite a bit, but man, don't read this at night! This one was extra gothic and extra creepy. I have been wanting to try Laura Purcell for some time, and she certainly didn't disappoint! Read for #LMPBC @Mynameisacolour @sprainedbrain @AFrostCauseReads @suvata

This was my pick for the current round of #LMPBC so it‘s been a couple of months since I read it. 😳 I was pleasantly surprised at this spooky classic-feeling gothic ghost story. Sufficiently scary and pleasantly unpredictable. Not going to say much more as one of my Group K buddies probably still needs to read it.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

A pick with reservations. This was suitably creepy. It hit all its marks but felt predictable. I wanted something less generic.

Now in an asylum, the story flashes back to 1865, when then recently widowed Elsie visits her husband‘s estate. The decrepit manor has a tragic and haunted past. Journal excerpts from 1635 help fill in some of its history and suggest the family Elsie married into is cursed.

#RoaringWolf Ominous October (Spooky Family)

@Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks
@Eggs
#FallTreasures

Day 2 - #AugustStats

Few books this summer 😖

#wondrouswednesday @Eggs
Tagged by: @Eggs and @persephone1408 💙🖤

1. Summer ☀️
2. Visiting new cities and travelling during holidays ✈
3. I would like to visit a lot of libraries in the world, specially San Florian Library in Linz, Austria
4. For the love and daily support of my family and friends ❤

Such a wonderfully creepy book to kick off the spooky season! (My spooky season starts early, lol) I reserve a more in-depth review till #groupk has all read it for our #lmpbc

It‘s on the way to you tomorrow (weather permitting) @rjsthumbelina !!!

@sprainedbrain @Mynameisacolour

@Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks
@Eggs
#ConflictedWorlds

Day 31 - #Amnesia

The book starts with Elsie, locked in a psychiatric institute, and she has her memories locked as well...

Some victorian gothic vibes with a silent (?) companion of mine 🖤🤍🖤🤍
Miele is not exactly quiet 😅😂

I am posting one book per day from my to-be-read collection. No description and providing no reason for wanting to read it. Some will be old, some will be new - don't judge me, I have a lot of books.

Day 128th

Join the fun if you want!

#tbrpile

This book was right up my alley. Creepy gothic horror. 🖤

I'm a big fan of Gothic Horror and this was fantastic! Elsie inherits a big, creepy house after her husband dies in a mysterious circumstance in it. Her sister in law and her move into the house. There's a room in the house that remains locked, but they force their way into it, where they find lifelike wooden figures, called Companions. All of the Companions are people in the book and they all move around the house by themselves.

I had to buy the Hardcover 🖤 love it so much

Limited sleep due to an overactive mind, plus a demanding cat... Looking on the positive, I finished this.
Spooky throughout, lots of twisty bits and good overlap between times and setting.

I loved this book!!!
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I love this kind of horror, the kind that slowly creeps underneath your skin and settles there, making you a little jumpy, a little uneasy...
atmospheric and creepy! I‘m just automatically going to buy this authors work and will probably buy this in hardback as well. It‘s a 10/10 fo me

My two companions this chilly morning!
Speeding through this spooky read... It does give me a chill and a shudder as we find out more about the peculiar wooden figures...

Oooh, a gothic style mysterious tale. Apparently it is reminiscent of Rebecca and Woman in Black 😊👻😸

Now starting ✨

Yeah #bookmail! I got these two lovelies from bookshop.org which helps support independent book stores. I can't wait to read these two. #bookhaul

This was one creepy gothic novel. A widow and cousin move into this house of horrors. Are they experiencing evil paintings come to life or is it all in their heads? There‘s a couple twists at the end to make you even more creeped out. 😬 four ⭐️‘s

So much atmospheric creepiness packed into this slim novel! It features layered stories (one in the 1600s, one in the 1800s). It also centers around a creepy country estate and antiques called "Silent Companions." Googled them, and they are a real thing. ?

Thanks again, @Bookish_AF! Somehow you knew just the type of book I needed at the moment! Reading to distract myself from this scary election! ?

I went to take a photo of this novel for my review (in under the wire for #scarathlon2020) and caught sight of this gorgeous sunset. The novel is also quite good: a haunted-house story in the Gothic tradition that addresses the challenges of relationships between women in a patriarchal society. Purcell does an excellent job portraying the main characters' feelings of being trapped.

About 6 hours of reading so another 76 pts for #TeamHarkness.

This takes a deep dive into madness, deception, memory, family, and trust.

Turns out this was a re-read for me, but I‘d forgotten most of what happened so I got to experience it all unfolding again which was wonderfully enjoyable.

#votedearlyreadathon @howjessreads

Wow, @Bookish_AF! What a bookish bonanza of Halloween goodness! I had a few helpers like my cat, Chewie helping me. I'm proud of my kids waiting for me to get home from work--they've been dying to open it all week.

This box rocks! From cozy socks to chocolate and a cute mug to great books and a bookmark, I feel so spoiled! I don't know which book to read first. All look so good. Hurray! 🥳 #HauntedHollowSwap @wanderinglynn

I rarely go for historical fiction and this might not have grabbed me if I‘d read it at another time of year, but it was perfect for spooky season and an absolute page turner. I read it in pretty much one sitting. The companions were some of the spookiest gothic figures I‘ve ever come across in anything 😨 I loved every scene they were in so much.

#scarathlon2020 #teamharkness @StayCurious +16 pts

This started slow, but turned out to be a great, creepy, gothic read. 4⭐️

My only complaint is that it started so sloooow. I‘m glad it picked up steam! The writing was great and very atmospheric. I loved the creepyness and that I was always questioning if this was really happening or if Elsie was crazy. I would definitely read this again after that ending!

This was such a fun round of #LMPBC 🤗 Amy, I will mail this out to you on Monday ☺️