The month of Halloween is now in full-swing. When you’re not binging your favorite horror movie or planning your costume, curl up with your favorite pumpkin spice latte (or if that’s too basic for you, try this decadent rosemary drinking chocolate) and curl up with one of these spooky romance novels.
Northanger Abbey by Val McDermid
Genre: Modern-Day Classic
Jane Austen’s Northanger Abbey is a classic gothic romance that’s perfect to read every Halloween. And you can also enjoy the classic story with a modern twist with Val McDermid’s version.
Now in paperback, Val McDermid’s Northanger Abbey is an updated take on Jane Austen’s classic novel about a young woman whose visit to the stately home of a well-to-do acquaintance stirs her most macabre imaginings. A homeschooled minister’s daughter in the quaint, sheltered Piddle Valley in Dorset, Cat Morland loses herself in novels (and, of course, her smartphone) and is sure there is a glamorous adventure awaiting her beyond the valley’s narrow horizon. So imagine her delight when her neighbors, the Allens, invite her to attend the Fringe Festival in Edinburgh as their guest. Cat quickly begins to take Edinburgh by storm and is taken into the bosom of the Thorpe family, particularly by eldest daughter Bella. And then she meets handsome Henry Tilney, who lives at the beautiful and forbidding Northanger Abbey. Cat is entranced by Henry and his charming sister Eleanor, but she can’t help but wonder if everything about them is as perfect as it seems. Maybe she has just been reading too many novels?
Get Northanger Abbey at your local bookstore today.
Whispering Woods Witch by Britany Elizabeth
Genre: Fantasy, LGBTQ
In the kingdom of Dethia, there is one place everyone avoids: The Whispering Woods. The woods were once home to witches, and it is said that their ghosts and magic still linger. If you listen, you can hear them whispering from the woods. After witnessing her mother’s murder and having to run, Lena Amsel finds herself deep in the woods, and is confronted by an old woman. The woman is a witch near death, and performs a spell on Lena, passing onto her all of her magic – including a spell she carries that defeats death itself.
As years pass, Lena is finally in control of herself and her magic. She receives an invitation from the king of Dethia to attend a feast in the castle, where she meets princess Eleanor. Lena and Eleanor bond and form a friendship; but not all is well when the king of Drale feels that Lena is winning the heart of the princess and getting in the way of Eleanor’s marriage to his son. Mysterious deaths also begin to occur around the castle – deaths believed to be done by a witch. Lena is blamed for the crimes and ordered to be sent to the cells, but she refuses to go without a fight – and she cannot be killed.
Get Whispering Woods Witch on Smashwords today.
Her Halloween Treat by Tiffany Reisz
Genre: Contemporary
Trick…or wicked treat?
It was a devastating dirty trick–Joey Silvia just found out her boyfriend of two years is married. What. A. Dick. Joey knows her best chance to get over one guy is to get under another. Of course, heading home to her family’s remote cabin in Oregon poses some challenges in the “available men” department…until she discovers this cabin comes with its own hot handymanHoly crap, Chris Steffensen. When did her brother’s best friend turn into a hard-bodied pile of blond-bearded hotness?
He’s the perfect Halloween treat–and a surprisingly dirty rebound guy. For a couple of weeks, anyway. Except that Chris has other ideas…like proving to Joey that this blast from the past is a whole lot more than a naughty Halloween hookup.
Get Her Halloween Treat on Indiebound today.
Forever Charmed by Rose Pressey
Genre: Fantasy
Halloween LaVeau is descended from a long line of witches. Yes, her name is Halloween. The cosmic universe is definitely playing some kind of sick joke on her. She’s the ultimate witch cliché, complete with a black cat and spooky house. Thank heavens she’s missing the warts and flying broom.
When Halloween inherits her great-aunt’s manor, she decides to put the house to good use as a bed-and-breakfast. Her first guest is the sinfully good-looking Nicolas Marcos, but he’s not here for the continental breakfast. Halloween discovers a ratty old book in the attic. It’s written in an unfamiliar language.
Halloween soon learns this is not an ordinary spellbook. The tome brings her a new talent, but her new skills come with a catch. When a rival witch comes after the book, Halloween doesn’t know who to trust-the sexy vampire who says he wants to save the day, or the warlock who says he can destroy the book once and for all.
Get Forever Charmed free on Smashwords.
The Cottage on Pumpkin and Vine by Kate Angell, Jennifer Dawson, and Sharla Lovelace
Genre: Contemporary
Welcome to Moonbright, Maine…Where the scents of donuts and cider waft through the crisp night air…with just a hint of magic.
It’s time for the annual Halloween costume party at the cottage on Pumpkin and Vine, the perfect place to celebrate the pleasures of the season. Guests return to the picturesque B & B year after year to snuggle up in its cozy rooms, explore the quiet, tree-lined streets and enjoy all the spooky fun of the holiday. But local legend whispers that it’s also a place where wishes have a strange way of coming true.
For three unsuspecting revelers, it’s going to be an enchanted weekend of candy corn kisses and midnight black kittens, along with some real Halloween surprises—the kind that make your heart skip a beat—for many more celebrations to come…
Get The Cottage on Pumpkin and Vine at your local bookstore today.
I hope everyone has a fun and safe Halloween. If you want to enjoy one of your favorite Halloween treats without the guilt, try out this recipe for Almond Butter Cups. These are vegan, paleo, and gluten-free. And if you use Equal Enchange products, they will also be Fair Trade.
Also, if you like showing off online, snap a picture of how you celebrate Halloween and post it on Instagram. You could win an assortment of chocolate from Equal Exchange if you do.
Disclaimer: All the links to Smashwords and Indiebound are affiliate links (unless the book is free). This means I get a small commission if you purchase from any of these links but at no additional cost to you. I donate 50 percent of my affiliate earnings to Trees for the Future.