Bookish Gift Guide 2017: Horror/Thriller Reads

This is the week where everyone is hustling and bustling trying to finish their holiday shopping. If you need a few quick gifts for family or a friend, check out my Bookish Gift Guide series. For those who love YA horror novels or thrillers, I have a few ecommendations below.

1. Stalking Jack the Ripper by Kerri Maniscalco is definitely a mystery and thriller book in one. Audrey Rose Wadsworth and Thomas Cresswell investigate the White Chapel mysteries in the late 1800's. I highly recommend this novel for those who support females in the STEM field. Audrey takes interest in forensics despite her being a female during an age where it was look down upon for females to do more than look pretty and to stay at home.

2. Hunting Prince Dracula by Kerri Maniscalco is the second book in the Stalking Jack the Ripper series. After discovering the culprit in London, Audrey Rose Wadsworth and Thomas Cresswell travel to Romania to a forensics school only to find out that "Prince Dracula" is out for blood! The duo once again solves the gruesome mystery. Warning: this novel is more gory that the first.

3. Blood and Salt by Kim Liggett is a captivating and compelling horror romance. Ash and Rhys are twins and undercover their mother's deepest secret. Leaving NYC, the twins head to their mother's spiritual commune of Quivira, Kansas. If you are a big fan of the Vampire Diaires TV series story arc with Silas, Amara, and Qetsiyah and if you like the film The Village, you will love this novel!

4. The Last Harvest by Kim Liggett is set in Oklahoma where Clay had to give up football in order to take care of his mother and siblings after his father passed away. However, Clay never forgot the last words his father said. His father was trying to prevent something and Clay is trying to figure out what it is. This novel is terrifying yet gruesome and will permeate deep into your core!

5. How to Hang a Witch by Adriana Mather will capture those who love everything Salem. The novel is one part Mean Girls, one part Sleepy Hollow (the film) and one part Hocus Pocus. The eerieness, the mystery and the ambience makes this novel a wonderful read.

6. The Sleeper and the Spindle by Neil Gaiman is not a YA novel but yet a fantastic sequential illustrated novel. The book intertwines Snow White and Sleeping Beauty into one enchanting contemporary tale. The dark thrilling twist to the mashup retelling is chilling and slightly morbid. Chris Riddell's illustrations are beautiful! The usage of gold and positive and negative space is superb. I highly recommend this novel for anyone who loves fairytales.