thriller – Paws & Paperbacks

Top Ten Tuesday: Spooky Shows to Watch on Netflix this Halloween 🦇

Published on October 30, 2018February 15, 2019 by Breanna16 Comments

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme created by The Broke and the Bookish and now hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. Today was a Halloween freebie, and so I’ve put together a list of ten spooky shows perfect for a marathon night of watching tv!

1. CHILLING ADVENTURES OF SABRINA
The first season has just been released on Netflix, and I’m so ready for it. The first episode really sets the tone for what to expect out of this reboot and it’s a completely different kind of show than Sabrine the Teenage Witch – but in a good way. It’s a lot darker, grimmer, and definitely creepier. I’m excited to watch the rest of the episodes.

2. STRANGER THINGS
Why is season three taking so long?! I binge-watched the entire first season last year in one weekend and had absolutely no regrets. Stranger Things is a show unlike any other on Netflix (or anywhere else) and it’s popularity is earned. The creepy/mysterious story coupled with the 80s nostalgia and eerily perfect music makes it easy to watch episode after episode.

3. THE HAUNTING OF HOUSE HILL
I haven’t had the chance to watch this yet, but I’ve been hearing such great things about it and a lot of my coworkers have recommended it to me recently. From what I’ve gathered, Haunting of House Hill is a reimagining of the Shirley Jackson book by the same name. Since this show skips the dark thriller genre and heads straight into horror territory, this won’t be something I’ll be watching alone!

4. THE MIST
I watched the film years ago when it first came out, and I was excited to see that Stephen King’s novel was being adapted into a show as well. Unfortunately, it was cancelled after season one, but that just means it will be quicker to get through all of the episodes!

5. PENNY DREADFUL
Another show I’ve yet to watch, but that has been highly recommend to me by friends. I’ve always been intrigue by the show and it’s synopsis sounds right up my alley. Penny Dreadful is a psychological thriller featuring classical literary characters – such as Dorian Gray and Dr. Frankenstein – in a gothic Victorian England setting.

6. BATES MOTEL
I have to admit: I’ve never seen Psycho. I haven’t watch Bates Motel yet, but everything I’ve seen and heard about this prequel show sounds equal parts intriguing and thrilling. Backstories to villains are always interesting: who wouldn’t want to learn more about the twisted history of Norman Bates?

7. RIVERDALE
If you prefer a little murder mystery along with a good dose of high school drama, then Riverdale is the show for you. Compared to the comics, the show and characters are a lot darker and grittier, and I think it’s really well done. From suspense and mystery, to love triangles and budding friendships, there’s a little bit of everything here.

8. BLACK MIRROR
The thing I love best about this show is that each episode has it’s own story. Black Mirror is a thought-provoking show about the consequences of modern-and future-technology. Not all of the episodes are frightening per se, but most have some sort of eerie, suspenseful quality to them. The scariest part of the show is just how realistic some of the situations could be.

9. THE WALKING DEAD
Is anything more Halloween than zombies? This show has been running for a long time (long enough for me to loose interest) but the first few seasons were so good. Murder, suspense, morally grey characters, and a fight for survival against not only zombies but other humans? What more could you ask for?

10. THE VAMPIRE DIARIES / THE ORIGINALS
Vampires are almost synonymous with the word Halloween, so of course I had to include them somewhere on the list. I’ve never seen The Originals, but I was always a big fan of The Vampire Diaries. Featuring suspense, romance, magic, and lots of supernatural creatures, this a great low-key show to watch.

Five Spooky Podcasts to Listen to this October 🎃

Published on October 12, 2018October 12, 2018 by Breanna22 Comments

Podcasts are my new obsession. One of my best friends had been listening to them for a while and eventually convinced to me to try them. It took a while to find one that really captured my attention, but once I did, I was hooked. I commute an hour to and from work, and the radio can become annoying after awhile, play the same songs over and over. There are podcasts for every genre and subject, and I’ve included some of the more eerie and thrilling series I’ve listened to that are perfect for October!

SPOOKED – I just started listening to this podcast, and I can’t get enough. This is the perfect podcast for the Halloween season. Each episode features stories about paranormal encounters, or just bizarre and unexplained experiences, told first-hand buy the people it happened to. The stories are always interesting and some of them really make you think. And I love that while these stories are spooky and creepy, they’re not scary enough that I end up turning it off while I’m driving home at night like some other podcasts.

DR. DEATH – As someone who works in healthcare, this podcast is equal parts fascinating and downright horrifying. It’s all anyone on my unit is talking about. Dr. Death is a true-crime podcast about Dr. Christopher Duntsch, a neurosurgeon that severely botched 33 spinal surgeries, severely injuring most of them, and killing two. It’s not scary in the traditional sense, but it’s absolutely bone-chilling listening to just how horribly he performed these surgeries, his terrible behavior in and out of the operating room, and how long it took for someone to finally stop him.

UP AND VANISHED – This is the podcast that really got me into listening to them. It’s an investigative journalism podcast following the disappearance of Tara Grinstead. One of the coolest things about this podcast is that while the host, Lindsay Payne, was in the middle of creating his weekly episodes and investigating, her case that had been cold for over ten years was finally solved. The entire production is so well-organized and put together, and some of the details and leads surrounding her mystery are really eerie.

THE NO SLEEP PODCAST – The title says it all. This podcasts takes stories for the NoSleep reddit forum, where people write fictional horror stories. The stories range from severely creepy to completely terrifying. Some are too scary for me, especially at night, and I have to skip them. But if you enjoy horror stories, this is definitely the podcast to check out this October.

HAUNTED PLACES – I like this well enough, but it’s not my favorite. A podcast dedicated to exploring and talking about real haunted places around the world is totally up my alley, but I’m just not a huge fan of the way it’s produced. There’s a lot more fictional storytelling than factual discussion. If the stories were based off of actual encounters instead of made up, I think it would be more enjoyable. The podcast is still pretty cool to listen to, however, and it’s neat learning all about these haunted places and their historical backstories.

Do you like listening to podcasts? Which are you favorites? Let me know in the comments!

REVIEW: You – Caroline Kepnes

Published on September 17, 2018September 14, 2018 by Breanna6 Comments

Title: You (You #1)
Author: Caroline Kepnes
Rating: ★★★★

“And the bullshit thing is, if someone saw the three of us, well, most people would think I’m the weird one just because I followed you here. And that’s the problem with this world, with women.”

This has to be one of the most unique and eerie thrillers I’ve ever read. Told entirely from the second person, You is a dark, gritty, and completely creepy story in which the narrating protagonist is stalking you.

The writing in You absolutely brilliant. I don’t think I’ve ever read another book quite like this. There is something to be said when an author can make you feel tense and anxious while reading, and yet at other times root for and sympathize with a sociopathic stalker.

“I take your little head in my hand – sorry – and smash it against the wall – sorry. You are going to be so sorry too when you calm down and realize what you made me do.”

You also had me second guessing the way we all use social media. A lot of people – including myself – geotag their locations, and it’s alarming to think about just how easy stalking becomes. If online dating and meeting strangers at bars didn’t already make me uneasy, it definitely would now that I’ve read this. You is a dark, messy, page-turning book that sticks with the reader. I’ll definitely be checking out the sequel, and I can’t wait to binge watch the tv series once all the episodes are out!

WWW Wednesday #14

Published on September 12, 2018November 27, 2018 by Breanna2 Comments

WWW Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Sam @ Taking on a World of Words in which the three W’s stand for:

What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading?
What do you think you’ll read next?

WHAT ARE YOU CURRENTLY READING?

You by Caroline Kepnes. This has been on my not-so-immediate TBR for a while, but now that the Lifetime series is starting, I need to read this!

WHAT DID YOU RECENTLY FINISH READING?

The Towering Sky (The Thousandth Floor #3) by Katharine McGee

WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU’LL READ NEXT?

Blanca & Roja by Anna-Marie McLemore

REVIEW: Sadie – Courtney Summers (ARC)

Published on July 17, 2018July 17, 2018 by Breanna7 Comments

Title: Sadie
Author: Courtney Summers
Rating: ★★★★★

ARC provided by the publisher.

But She’s dead is the reason I’m still alive. She’s dead is the reason I’m going to kill a man.

This book was damned good. Sadie is a brilliant, gripping YA thriller that will keep you on the edge of your seat the entire time you’re reading.

Sadie is told in two separate parts: the story alternates between Sadie’s POV following the murder of her sister and in the form of podcast episodes as the host attempts to find Sadie, who has since gone missing. I really liked the format. I think it worked well for the story being told and that Courtney Summers executed it perfectly. The ending feels like a sucker punch: it’s completely ambiguous and yet it fit the tone of the novel exquisitely.

Sadie pulled me in from the first chapter and I couldn’t seem to stop turning the pages. I highly recommend this book, especially those who enjoy listening to podcasts like Up and Vanished or Serial.