Fall is a season beloved by many around the world. The leaves change colour, the wind temperature drops, and pumpkin spice fragrance fills the morning air. Sweater season brings an onslaught of fashionable sweaters into the market and scarves are socially acceptable to wear. But best of all, this is the perfect weather to curl up with a book! Even though Halloween may now be behind us, there’s always time to enjoy a few books that may seep into your nightmares…

Ghosts by Raina Telgemeier
Goodreads

With beautiful illustrations to accompany the story, Ghosts is about two sisters, Catrina and Maya, whose family has just moved to a town on the Northern California coast in hopes that the cool air will help Maya with cystic fibrosis to breathe better. Turns out that the town is full of ghosts, but the thing that haunts Catrina more than anything is that her sister might soon become one of them. Raina Telgemeier writes about a tough topic in a humorous way from the perspective of a child. Follow Catrina through her journey as she learns that sometimes ghosts aren’t the scariest things around.

Lockwood & Co: The Screaming Staircase by Jonathan Stroud
Goodreads

A middle-grade novel about ghost hunters with special abilities, The Screaming Staircase by Jonathan Stroud is a thrill and the first book in the Lockwood & Co series. Anthony, Lucy, and George have various gifts that allow them to see, hear, and sense ghosts. Anthony Lockwood, the founder of Lockwood & Co, leads the group to various terrifying investigations as the group strives to solve hauntings around London. Screaming Staircase may be the talented trio’s biggest challenge yet.

A Game for All the Family by Sophie Hannah
Goodreads

This psychological thriller will haunt your thoughts until all the answers are revealed. After quitting her job as a TV producer, Justine moves to the countryside for some peace and quiet in her life, but she finds none when her daughter grows visibly more upset when her best friend is unjustly expelled from her school. When Justine talks to the principal to reconsider, she’s told that George hasn’t been expelled because George doesn’t exist. What is real? Who is lying? A series of threatening phone calls increases the drama and suspense as Justine tries to make sense of what is happening around her.

The Lost by Natasha Preston
Goodreads

A heart-pounding story of torture, violence, and hope amidst it all. When teens in their small town go missing one by one, Piper and Hazel suspect that these teens aren’t simply runaways as the police suggest. Kidnapped by three wealthy boys, Piper and Hazel find themselves amongst the missing teens in a building far into the woods locked away from the outside world. They are forced to play a game of torture their goal only to survive in this thrilling book of twists and turns.

The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield
Goodreads

An instant New York Times Bestseller, The Thirteenth Tale has also been adapted into a movie of the same name. Winter has spent six decades of her life telling stories that have kept her from her own past. At last, she is ready to reveal the truth to the world. To write her biography, she invites Margaret Lea who finds that Winter’s story curiously takes a parallel of her own. Read as Margaret unveils the truth from Vida as she is transformed by her haunting stories.

Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier
Goodreads

A stunning classic about a man, a woman, and another woman’s shadow. When Maxim de Winter proposes to the heroine, she is ecstatic as she is swept away to his massive country estate. She can’t believe her luck. But only when they arrive does she realise the part Maxim’s late wife plays in her new life. Rebecca although dead still feels very much alive to our heroine as she fears the death of her marriage at the hands of a dead woman.

We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson
Goodreads

The Blackwood family is met with distrust, fear, and hatred by the village people in New England where this story takes place. Everyone in the wealthy Blackwood family is dead except Mary, her sister, Constance, and her Uncle Julian. Six years ago, half the family was poisoned with arsenic in their food. This little family survives in complete isolation as the reader explores them through a set of events while the mystery of the murders hangs in the air.

The Diviners by Libba Bray
Goodreads

With supernatural powers and murder set in 1920s New York, The Diviners is the perfect binge read! Evie O’Neill is banned from her old hometown, so she packs her bags and heads for New York City to live with her Uncle Will, but Evie has a dark secret she is determined to keep: a supernatural power that has brought her nothing but trouble. But when a girl is murdered with a cryptic mark on her arm, she realises that her powers could be used to catch a serial murderer.

Middlegame by Seanan McGuire
Goodreads

“Godhood is attainable. Pray it isn’t attained.” Roger and Dodger are twins containing talents beyond human ability. Roger is skilled with words while Dodger is a magician with numbers. These abnormally talented beings aren’t quite human as they were made by an alchemist, Reed, who monitors their life from afar. He has a dangerous plan. A plan to raise the children into their highest power and claim their authority as his own. This book of fantasy breaks all rules, plays with the mind, and tells a story unlike any other.

Find Her by Lisa Gardner
Goodreads

Flora Dane was kidnapped and kept for 472 days where she learned just how much a person can endure. After surviving the ordeal, Flora learns to navigate life and strives to find a new sense of normal. When it is revealed that Flora has tangled with three other suspects since her return to society, it brings up the question: is Flora Dane a victim or a vigilante? The gruesome details of Flora’s kidnapping and the reality of the situation haunt readers worldwide in this fast-paced thriller.

You by Caroline Kepnes
Goodreads

One of Suspense Magazine’s Best Books of 2014, You by Caroline Kepnes is a terrifying novel for the 21st century. When Guinevere Beck enters a bookstore where Joe Goldberg works, Joe is immediately taken by her. He googles the name on her credit card to find her public Facebook account learning everything he needs to know about her there. Since then, Joe obsesses over Beck going to extreme lengths to make his presence known in her life even if it means getting rid of a few obstacles.

Pet Sematary by Stephen King
Goodreads

A ground-breaking piece of horror fiction, the Pet Sematary by Stephen King is a scare like no other. Rather than lots of blood and gore, this novel is a slow-burning unease that explodes in the final chapters. Dr. Louis Creed’s home is located near a road that is often claims the lives of animals. Children in the area have created a growing cemetery for the animals killed on that road, but even further into the woods, Dr. Creed discovers an ancient Indian burial ground with sinister properties that are better read than said. The less you know going into this book, the better.

House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski
Goodreads

House of Leaves is a complex book that makes your mind work for it. It never hands you the information directly. It has an incredible way of crawling under your skin and taking root in your mind. This book will elicit a reaction from you. Anyone who has ever read this book always has something to say about it. House of Leaves is not an easy book which makes it the perfect for a spooky read.

Do you have any other spooky suggestions? Tell us in the comments below!

The post 13 Spooky Reads That Will Give You Goosebumps appeared first on The Nerd Daily.

Read on to discover our picks and tell us in the comments below what you will be checking out!

Fire & Heist by Sarah Beth Durst
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In Sky Hawkins’s family, leading your first heist is a major milestone–even more so than learning to talk, walk, or do long division. It’s a chance to gain power and acceptance within your family, and within society. But stealing your first treasure can be complicated, especially when you’re a wyvern–a human capable of turning into a dragon. Embarking on a life of crime is never easy, and Sky discovers secrets about her mother, who recently went missing, the real reason her boyfriend broke up with her, and a valuable jewel that could restore her family’s wealth and rank in their community.

Once Upon A River by Diane Setterfield
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

A dark midwinter’s night in an ancient inn on the Thames. The regulars are entertaining themselves by telling stories when the door bursts open on an injured stranger. In his arms is the drowned corpse of a little child. Replete with folklore, suspense and romance, as well as with the urgent scientific curiosity of the Darwinian age, Once Upon a River is as richly atmospheric as Setterfield’s bestseller The Thirteenth Tale.

Realm of Ruins by Hannah West
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Weaving together her imaginative world of gritty fairytale magic with snippets from Beauty and the Beast and other classic stories, Hannah West’s dark and dangerous adventure is a gripping, immersive companion to her acclaimed debut, Kingdom of Ash and Briars. This richly packaged edition includes an illustrated family tree, detailed map, and embossed jacket with shimmering metallic effects.

Burning Ashes by James Bennett
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In the vein of Kevin Hearne, Burning Ashes is the third book in the Ben Garston series, a contemporary fantasy tale of dragons and ancient magic hidden within our own world.

Of Blood and Bone by Nora Roberts
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The #1 New York Times bestselling author of the epic Year One returns with a new tale of terror and magic in a brand new world. They look like an everyday family living an ordinary life. But beyond the edges of this peaceful farm, unimaginable forces of light and dark have been unleashed.

Chasing Graves by Ben Galley
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Meet Caltro Basalt. He’s a master locksmith, a selfish bastard, and as of his first night in Araxes, stone cold dead. They call it the City of Countless Souls, the colossal jewel of the Arctian Empire, and all it takes to rule it is to own more ghosts than any other. For in Araxes, the dead do not rest in peace in the afterlife, but live on as slaves for the rich.

A Bad Deal for the Whole Galaxy by Alex White
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Valiant by Merrie Destefano
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

The Valiant was supposed to save us. Instead, it triggered the end of the world. Earth is in shambles. Everyone, even the poorest among us, invested in the Valiant’s space mining mission in the hopes we’d be saved from ourselves. But the second the ship leaves Earth’s atmosphere, our fate is sealed. The alien invasion begins. They pour into cities around the world through time portals, possessing humans, forcing us to kill one another. And for whatever reason, my brother is their number one target.

Evermore by Sara Holland
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Jules Ember was raised hearing legends of the ancient magic of the wicked Alchemist and the good Sorceress. But she has just learned the truth: not only are the stories true, but she herself is the Alchemist, and Caro—a woman who single-handedly murdered the Queen and Jules’s first love, Roan, in cold blood—is the Sorceress.

Strange Days by Constantine Singer
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Alex Mata doesn’t want to worry about rumors of alien incursions – he’d rather just skate and tag and play guitar. But when he comes home to find an alien has murdered his parents, he’s forced to confront a new reality: Aliens are real, his parents are dead, and nobody will believe him if he says what he saw. On the run, Alex finds himself led to the compound of tech guru Jeffrey Sabazios, the only public figure who stands firm in his belief that aliens are coming.

Splendor and Spark by Mary Taranta
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In this exciting follow-up to Shimmer and Burn, Faris has given up love to save her sister’s life and the dying kingdom of Avinea, but will her sacrifices be enough to overcome the poisoned magic and villains surrounding her on all sides?

Siege of Stone by Terry Goodkind
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The ramifications of Shroud of Eternity extend throughout all of the Old World as familiar allies, dangerous magic, and creatures created by twisted sorcery all work at cross purposes to either save or destroy Ildakar in Terry Goodkind’s Seige of Stone

What fantasy and sci-fi books are you most excited for? Tell us in the comments below!

The post December Book Releases: Fantasy + Sci-Fi appeared first on The Nerd Daily.

This month sees the highly anticipated final instalment in Cassandra Clare’s The Dark Artifices series, along with some intriguing new fantasy and sci-fi novels such as Diane Setterfield’s Once Upon A River and Merrie Destefano’s Valiant. If royalty is more your speed, Jennifer Robson brings us The Gown, which follows the women who created Queen Elizabeth’s wedding gown. Or perhaps a thriller or mystery is more your speed? Then try Hunting Annabelle by Wendy Heard, The River Widow by Ann Howard Creel, or Natalie D. Richards What You Hide! But if you need a little romance this holiday season, Christina Lauren will delight with My Favorite Half-Night Stand.

Queen of Air and Darkness by Cassandra Clare
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Dark secrets and forbidden love threaten the very survival of the Shadowhunters in Cassandra Clare’s Queen of Air and Darkness, the final novel in the #1 New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling The Dark Artifices trilogy.

Hunting Annabelle by Wendy Heard
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Sean Suh is done with killing. After serving three years in a psychiatric prison, he’s determined to stay away from temptation. But he can’t resist Annabelle–beautiful, confident, incandescent Annabelle–who alone can see past the monster to the man inside. The man he’s desperately trying to be. Then Annabelle disappears. Sean is sure she’s been kidnapped—he witnessed her being taken first hand—but the police are convinced that Sean himself is at the centre of this crime. And he must admit, his illness has caused him to “lose time” before. What if there’s more to what happened than he’s able to remember?

The Gown: A Novel of the Royal Wedding by Jennifer Robson
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

From the internationally bestselling author of Somewhere in France comes an enthralling historical novel about one of the most famous wedding dresses of the twentieth century—Queen Elizabeth’s wedding gown—and the fascinating women who made it.

Valiant by Merrie Destefano
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

The Valiant was supposed to save us. Instead, it triggered the end of the world. Earth is in shambles. Everyone, even the poorest among us, invested in the Valiant’s space mining mission in the hopes we’d be saved from ourselves. But the second the ship leaves Earth’s atmosphere, our fate is sealed. The alien invasion begins. They pour into cities around the world through time portals, possessing humans, forcing us to kill one another. And for whatever reason, my brother is their number one target.

Kingdom of Needle and Bone by Mira Grant
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

Modern medicine has conquered or contained many of the diseases that used to carry children away before their time. Vaccination and treatment are widely available, not held in reserve for the chosen few. With the reduction in danger comes the erosion of memory, as pandemics fade from memory into story into fairy tale. Those old diseases can’t have been so bad. They don’t matter. They’re never coming back. How wrong we could be. It begins with a fever. By the time the spots appear, it’s too late: Morris’s disease is loose on the world, and the bodies of the dead begin to pile high in the streets.

The River Widow by Ann Howard Creel
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From the bestselling author of The Whiskey Sea comes a stirring novel of a young woman’s survival and liberation during the Great Depression. In 1937, with flood waters approaching, Adah Branch accidentally kills her abusive husband, Lester, and surrenders his body to the raging river, only to be swept away herself. So begins her story of survival, return to civilization, defense against accusations of murder, and the fight to save herself and her stepdaughter, Daisy, from the clutches of her husband’s notoriously cruel family.

My Favourite Half-Night Stand by Christina Lauren
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By the New York Times bestselling author who “hilariously depicts modern dating” (Us Weekly), My Favorite Half-Night Standis a laugh-out-loud romp through online dating and its many, many fails. Perfect for fans of Roxanne and She’s the Man, Christina Lauren’s latest romantic comedy is full of mistaken identities, hijinks, and a classic love story with a modern twist. Funny and fresh, you’ll want to swipe right on My Favorite Half-Night Stand.

Undying by Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner
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The earth’s fate rests in Mia and Jules’s hands in the epic conclusion to New York Times best-selling authors Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner’s tomb-raiding sci-fi duology.

What You Hide by Natalie D. Richards
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Spencer volunteers at the library. Sure, it’s community service, but he likes his work. Especially if it means getting to see Mallory. Mallory spends a lot of time keeping her head down. When you’re sixteen and homeless, nothing matters more than being anonymous. But Spencer’s charm makes her want to be noticed. Then sinister things start happening at the library. Mysterious symbols and terrifying warnings begin to appear, and management grows suspicious. Spencer and Mallory know a homeless teenager makes an easy target, and if they can’t find the real culprit soon, they could lose more than just their safe haven…

The Fork, The Witch, and the Worm by Christopher Paolini
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Welcome back to the world of Alagaësia. It’s been a year since Eragon departed Alagaësia in search of the perfect home to train a new generation of Dragon Riders. Now he is struggling with an endless sea of tasks: constructing a vast dragonhold, wrangling with suppliers, guarding dragon eggs, and dealing with belligerent Urgals and haughty elves. Then a vision from the Eldunarí, unexpected visitors, and an exciting Urgal legend offer a much-needed distraction and a new perspective.

The Frame-Up by Meghan Scott Molin
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

MG Martin lives and breathes geek culture. She even works as a writer for the comic book company she idolised as a kid. But despite her love of hooded vigilantes, MG prefers her comics stay on the page. But when someone in LA starts recreating crime scenes from her favourite comic book, MG is the LAPD’s best—and only—lead. She recognises the golden arrow left at the scene as the calling card of her favourite comic book hero. The thing is…superheroes aren’t real. Are they?

Once Upon A River by Diane Setterfield
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

A dark midwinter’s night in an ancient inn on the Thames. The regulars are entertaining themselves by telling stories when the door bursts open on an injured stranger. In his arms is the drowned corpse of a little child. Replete with folklore, suspense and romance, as well as with the urgent scientific curiosity of the Darwinian age, Once Upon a River is as richly atmospheric as Setterfield’s bestseller The Thirteenth Tale.

What book are you most excited for? Tell us in the comments below! 

The post December Book Releases appeared first on The Nerd Daily.