‘I’ve got two claws, Katie. Two giant, evil, freaking Freddy Krueger monster things. I am not calm.’
Evie Wilder is living a very normal life. Except for the fact that her mum has gone missing, she’s just found out she’s a werewolf, she and her sister have to go into hiding from supernatural beings, and there’s not a single
helpful vampire slayer to be found.
With the help of Kevin, the dorky-hot teenage manager of the guesthouse where Evie and Kate go to lie low, Evie begins to learn to harness her wolfish abilities. But there’s something a bit odd about Kevin that Evie can’t quite put her finger on.
Meanwhile, reports of animal attacks are increasing, local teenagers have started to go missing, and Evie is about to find herself at the centre of a supernatural showdown.
Welcome to day two of the blog tour! Author Aislinn has kindly shared with us her top five supernatural adventures recently, along with some of her inspiration. Read on!
My Top Five Supernatural Adventures
My YA Debut, Big Bad Me, was unleashed on the world yesterday. It's the zippy, quippy Buffy The Vampire Slayer-inspired adventure story of my heart – and I still can’t believe it’s a real book. The story may be jam-packed with werewolves, vampires, pop-culture nods and hot chocolate, but it’s really sister-centric story about family, friendship and how far we’d go for the people we love. Although the monsters, gory action scenes and awkward flirting were a lot of fun to write too.
The seeds of Big Bad Me were planted when I fell asleep in front of the television mid Buffy-marathon, but that was far from the only supernatural adventure that influenced it. In fact, my rag-tag band of monster misfits drew inspiration from everywhere: from The Goonies and IT to The Lost Boys, Supernatural and even the Frozen movies.
But while my own inspo might be little retro, there have been plenty of amazing supernatural adventure stories published in the last few years – books which have a huge hold on my heart because they’re just my flavour of family/friendship focused spookiness, with all the heart and peril that comes with it. Let’s take a look at five of my absolute favourites:
Cemetery Boys – Aiden Thomas
Yadriel, a trans Latinx boy, attempts to prove himself a real brujo by summoning his cousin’s ghost. Instead he accidentally raises the ghost of school trouble-maker, Julian Diaz, then falls in love with him as the pair try to solve the spate of local murders that got both Julian and Yadriel’s cousin, Miguel, killed.
Cemetery Boys is a hilarious, cosy paranormal romp full of creepy mystery, quippy dialogue and incredibly wholesome romance. Yadriel’s pain as his beloved family struggle to (or refuse to) accept him as a boy feels realistically heartbreaking, but his relationship with Julian – who turns out to be sweetest, most excitable golden-retriever of a ghostboy ever – is both adorable and hilarious. The romance burns slow, giving the pair plenty of time click as odd-couple friends before developing into something deeper. Oh, and Yadriel’s badass bruja cousin, Maritiza, is such a scene stealer I’m going to need an entire spin-off series devoted to her.
Mina and The Undead – Amy McCaw
17-year-old horror fan Mina visits her estranged sister, Libby, in New Orleans for the summer - and ends up trying to prove her sister’s innocence in a spate gory murders which seem to be replicating New Orleans' most brutal supernatural killings.
Mina and The Undead holds a special place in my heart, it’s the first book I read after getting my offer for Big Bad Me. And what a way to celebrate! Set in the 90s and packed with so much nostalgia and horror movie references, Mina and The Undead is a spinetingling, sister-centric vampire adventure-mystery with characters you’ll wish you could to hang out with all summer long. I want to live in Mina’s New Orleans (even with all the damn vampires).
Raising Hell – Bryony Pearce
The world goes to hell, literally, after Ivy and her friends accidentally open a rift allowing Dark Matter into the world. Ivy’s doing her best stem the tide, but there’s only so much one girl with a machete (and a cat possessed by her own dead grandmother) can do … and that’s before the potential zombie apocalypse kicks off!
Raising Hell is just so much Supernatural-esque, cinematic fun. Ivy’s jaded badassery gave off serious YA Dean Winchester vibes – and the hellhounds were terrifying! I wasn’t expecting the bodies to pile quite as high as they did, but I’m not complaining. No one was safe in this kickass teens-vs-the-end-of-the-world adventure story, and I was here for it!
Fledgling – Lucy Hope
Cassie Engel’s already dark and gothic life (she lives in an old house at the top of steep hill in the Bavarian forest) is flung into supernatural turmoil when a cherub is blown into her room during a thunderstorm - triggering a series of terrifying events that might be linked to her family’s own dark secrets...
Fledgling pulled me in from the first line, with its beautiful writing and a cast of wonderfully drawn characters including Cassie’s self-obsessed opera singer mother, strange taxidermist father, and her a best friend – Raphael – who I’m sure is going to be a gateway book-boyfriend for the whole new generation of soon-to-be YA readers. The plot is twisty and creepy, and I’m worried I’ll give something away if I start gushing, but suffice it to say Fledgling is the perfect spooky season read for younger and older readers. I still get chills thinking about it.
Scarenthood – Nick Roche & Chris O’Halloran
A rag-tag gang of parents investigate a local spooky mystery and wind up drawn into some serious supernatural shenanigans, in between daycare drop-offs and pick-ups.
The only graphic novel on this list, Scarenthood might be one of my favourite spooky reads ever. Set in a small Irish town, with all the local lore and colourful characters that come with it, the story manages to be both laugh-out-loud funny and properly terrifying. The unsettling presence our heroes unearth is the stuff of nightmare, and watching the gang struggle to maintain calm in front of their kids is simultaneously hilarious and heart-wrenching. If you grew up longing to be part of the Scooby Doo’s Mystery Inc, or even one of Buffy The Vampire Slayer’s scooby-gang, then Scarenthood’s exhausted, stressed-out parent crew will be just your thing!
Thanks so much, Aislinn! My TBR is now exactly six books longer. Don't forget to check out the rest of the tour stops to find out some more of Aislinn's favourite things and more insight into the creation of the book!
No comments:
Post a Comment