Spooktober Recommends: Classics to YA

Here it is guys...the final recommends post for Spooktober! 

This was actually supposed to go up on Halloween but I've had a jam packed week and haven't had time to finish my last review book for the month so I'm switching blog posts around! 

So, I came across a couple of books when I was doing my recommends posts that I thought sounded like a YA version of certain classics, or that went with some of the classics or was similar in some way and I thought I'd do a blog post about them! I could only find four, I'm sure there are more although for the life of me I can't find a YA Dracula! 

SO. Here we go! 

1. Phantom of the Opera

In this modern day spin on Leroux’s gothic tale of unrequited love turned to madness, seventeen-year-old Rune Germain has a mysterious affliction linked to her operatic talent, and a horrifying mistake she’s trying to hide. Hoping creative direction will help her, Rune’s mother sends her to a French arts conservatory for her senior year, located in an opera house rumored to have ties to The Phantom of the Opera.

At RoseBlood, Rune secretly befriends the masked Thorn—an elusive violinist who not only guides her musical transformation through dreams that seem more real than reality itself, but somehow knows who she is behind her own masks. As the two discover an otherworldly connection and a soul-deep romance blossoms, Thorn’s dark agenda comes to light and he’s forced to make a deadly choice: lead Rune to her destruction, or face the wrath of the phantom who has haunted the opera house for a century, and is the only father he’s ever known. 

Roseblood is, as the synopsis says, a modern day spin on Phantom of the Opera! Whether you've read the classic itself or seen the movie or the stage show...then this is for you! I feel like I need to read Phantom of the Opera before I read this, it's on my shelf, but I've not had the guts to dive in yet! 

2. Jekyll and Hyde

In 1897 England, sixteen-year-old Finley Jayne has no one... except the "thing" inside her.

When a young lord tries to take advantage of Finley, she fights back. And wins. But no normal Victorian girl has a darker side that makes her capable of knocking out a full-grown man with one punch...

Only Griffin King sees the magical darkness inside her that says she's special, says she's one of them. The orphaned duke takes her in from the gaslit streets against the wishes of his band of misfits: Emily, who has her own special abilities and an unrequited love for Sam, who is part robot; and Jasper, an American cowboy with a shadowy secret.

Griffin's investigating a criminal called The Machinist, the mastermind behind several recent crimes by automatons. Finley thinks she can help and finally be a part of something, finally fit in.

But The Machinist wants to tear Griff's little company of strays apart, and it isn't long before trust is tested on all sides. At least Finley knows whose side she's on even if it seems no one believes her.

The Girl in the Steel Corset is one of my favourite books, I'm not going to lie to you guys! I've included it because Finley reminds me a lot of Jekyll and Hyde, or rather a version of them, soooooo YA Jekyll and Hyde right there but with lots more going on! 

3. Frankenstein

Victor and Konrad are the twin brothers Frankenstein and inseparable until Konrad falls gravely ill. In the forbidden Dark Library, Victor finds an ancient formula, and seeks an alchemist to recreate the Elixir of Life. With friends Elizabeth and Henry, he scales highest trees in the Strumwald, dives deepest lake caves, and each sacrifices a body part.

This Dark Endeavour isn't so much a YA version of Frankenstein but it is a YA prequel to Frankenstein and I actually thought it was pretty damn good! If you're kind of intimidated about starting Frankenstein, then this prequel might be a good way to get yourself psyched up for it! 

4. The Fall of the House of Usher

Madeline Usher is doomed.

She has spent her life fighting fate, and she thought she was succeeding. Until she woke up in a coffin.

Ushers die young. Ushers are cursed. Ushers can never leave their house, a house that haunts and is haunted, a house that almost seems to have a mind of its own. Madeline’s life—revealed through short bursts of memory—has hinged around her desperate plan to escape, to save herself and her brother. Her only chance lies in destroying the house.

In the end, can Madeline keep her own sanity and bring the house down? The Fall is a literary psychological thriller, reimagining Edgar Allan Poe’s classic The Fall of the House of Usher. 

The Fall is a YA version of The Fall of the House of Usher by Edgar Allan Poe and it was SO good when I read it you guys! Perfectly creepy and Halloween-y! I haven't read much Poe to be honest, I was slowly working my way through one of those collected works books but this is one of the few I had read, and I loved this reimagining! 

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The Girl With The Windup Heart

The Girl With The Windup Heart
Rating: 5/5
Buy or Borrow: Buy!
Source: ARC Courtesy of NetGalley
For Fans Of: The Infernal Devices

You have no idea how long I've been waiting for this book, I don't even know how long I've been waiting for this book, like I've been anticipating it for so long I've lost track of time, the days have blended in to one. I loved the first book when I stumbled upon it by chance, and promptly ordered the second, I then had a bit of a wait for the third, but I've loved all three of the books, and I was practically frothing at the mouth with excitement for  this book.

I was not disappointed. Well, I was disappointed that this is supposedly the last book, because this series is the first Steampunk book I ever read, and I've loved the books a lot, watching the story develop and continue and watching the characters grow and develop.

In Windup Heart we have the final battle with The Machinist and Griffin's gang, but we also get this really cool parallel story involving Jack Dandy and Mila who we met in the last book. Jack offered to let her stay with him, while she's learning how to be more human, or act human rather. Mila is the perfect match for Jack, let's be honest, he needs a kick up the arse, and someone to challenge him.

Mila is a great addition to the crew, her naivety is as humorous as it is interesting, watching her experience everything we usually take for granted or don't think about much for the first time. For everyone who's been crazily curious about Jack, we finally get an insight in to him and his backstory, and we discover his deepest, darkest secret. Ya know...that he actually does have a kind heart ;)

If you think this book will  be all about Finley like the previous books, you would be wrong, while the stories are parallel, it's mostly about Mila, which I did like, but I was also sad not to see as much of Finley.

Every single character in these books is incredibly well written, and continue to be in Windup Heart. There is so much depth to the characters, and they're so engaging they practically jump off the page. It was great to see all the character development from the previous books come to a conclusion and see how far some of the characters have come, like Sam for instance moving past his anger. Windup Heart is an ensemble piece, the gang work together so well, and always have done.


Windup Heart has lots of threads all coming together, some from previous books or that have been running through the previous books, wrapping everything up nicely. I say wrapping everything up nicely, but to be honest, everyone loves the characters so much that there's an opportunity for spin off's and novellas.

 I cannot get over how much I love this book and this series. I was sucked straight in from the beginning. The world is so beautifully written you really do feel like you're there, and you're totally absorbed in to the world that real life fades away. The thing about this series is, yeah the characters are well written as I said, but the female characters/leads are so strong, which is unusual for the time period, and I love nothing more than a strong female lead.

I honestly couldn't put this book down, I read it in a matter of hours, then was sad it was over and that I read so fast. The plot is rich, intriguing, the pace and flow where perfect. I couldn't find a single appropriate place to put the book down. I had to know what happens next, and to be honest, I've shipped Finley and Griffin together since day one and I'm totally obsessed with those two!

The Girl With The Windup Heart is a perfect conclusion to a well loved series. There's action, adventure, romance, different perspectives to provide tonnes of insight. Everything is wrapped up nicely, with plenty of threads being tied in to the conclusion. As with all final books, i'm so happy with how everything turned out, but super sad because I don't want to let the characters or the world go.

If you haven't read the other books, I recommend you read them because you will love them so much! Each of them is impossible to put down, and each is better than the last. These books will take you on one hell of an epic journey, I can promise you that!