Top Ten Tuesday | Pride Month Reading Recommendations!

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature hosted at That Artsy Reader Girl. Each week you compile a list of ten books which coincide with that week's theme. You can find everything you need to know about joining in here!

This week's theme is 'Books I Decided to DNF (did not finish) too Quickly', but as someone who's a big fan of DNFing books that just aren't working for me, I decided to talk about my LGBT+ recommendations for Pride instead - Happy Pride Month!

(I'm also hoping to read at least one LGBT+ novel this month - you can take a look at my TBR here, if you like.)

Every Heart a Doorway by Seanan McGuire: We're starting off with a strange recommendation because I didn't actually enjoy this one very much; I liked the concept far more than its execution, but this is the only book I've come across (so far) in which the protagonist identifies as asexual, and describes herself as such, and we need far more asexual representation in fiction.

Lies We Tell Ourselves by Robin Talley: Set in America in 1959 when black students were first admitted to previously all-white high schools, this powerful debut follows two teenage girls, Sarah and Linda, as they battle racism, both outwardly and inwardly, and their growing feelings for each other.

Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli: Another fantastic voice in the world of YA, Becky Albertalli's debut follows Simon as he tries to find the courage to tell his friends and family that he's gay, only to be blackmailed by a fellow student who wants his help winning the affection of a girl at school. This is fun, funny and heart-warming, and has some brilliant things to say about the process of coming out.

The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue by Mackenzi Lee: A spoiled, wealthy, bisexual boy from an aristocratic family is given the opportunity to take a tour of Europe before he must resolve himself to the family business in this incredibly fun novel. Add to the mix the best friend he's fallen in love with, a sister with no intention of going to finishing school and a theft that sees them being pursued across Europe and you have a wild ride of a novel.

Fingersmith by Sarah Waters: Quite possibly the twistiest, turniest book I've ever read, Fingersmith is considered Sarah Waters' masterpiece and reads like a Dickensian thriller - only this time, the women have agency. Because of the Victorian setting this one is a great book to read in the autumn, but if you're looking for something to sink your teeth into for Pride this month I'd definitely recommend this one.

The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers: This is one of my favourite science fiction novels. While its focus is far more on character than plot, the universe Chambers has created is such a beautiful, hopeful vision of the future. She explores sexuality, gender, family units, war, peace and what it means to be human, and if you haven't read this one yet then I can't recommend it enough.

A Portable Shelter by Kirsty Logan: The stories in this collection, inspired by Scottish folklore, are told to an unborn child by its mothers, who are eagerly awaiting its birth. It's a lovely, melancholic collection and definitely one to read for anyone interested in folklore and fairy tales.

The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller: One of my favourite novels of all time, this stunning novel tells the story of Patroclus and Achilles, from their childhood together up to their roles in the Trojan War, and their relationship as it grows from friendship, to companionship to love. Definitely one to read if you haven't already!

Carmilla by J. Sheridan Le Fanu: Given that this is a Victorian novella I can't imagine Le Fanu would have described this as a lesbian story but, like most early vampire stories, Carmilla is awash with homoeroticism. This novella was released about 25 years before Dracula and, in my opinion, is the far better work. One to read if you'd like something short this month!

The One Hundred Nights of Hero by Isabel Greenberg: This beautiful graphic novel has stories within stories as two women in love tell tales to a friend of the husband of one of the women who has made a bet that he can seduce her while her husband is away. Inspired by The Arabian Nights, it features stories about and for women in a fantasy world where women are second-class citizens.

Which books made your list this week?

Top Ten Tuesday | All You Need is Love (and Books)

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature hosted at That Artsy Reader Girl. Each week you compile a list of ten books which coincide with that week's theme. You can find everything you need to know about joining in here!

This week's theme is a love themed freebie, so today I thought I'd talk about my bookish otps. I usually struggle with otps - something I've mentioned before is that, for whatever reason, I have more otps from films and tv shows than books - but today I decided to challenge myself to sit down and think about the romantic couples in books I love and was pleasantly surprised to discover that almost half of them are from books I read last year!

(Please be aware that there may be some spoilers in this post if you're the kind of reader who doesn't like to know who ends up with who!)

Cinder and Kai from The Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer: There are plenty of sweet couples in this series, Cress and Thorne are especially adorable, but I've always had a soft spot for these dorks.

Judith and Lucas from All the Truth That's in Me by Julie Berry: I wasn't expecting to enjoy this book as much as I did and I loved it, and I was especially surprised by how much I enjoyed the relationship between these two.

Monty and Percy from The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue by Mackenzi Lee: Well done romances that grow from friendship are hard to do - quite often they come across as a little lazy to me - but the relationship between Monty and Percy was my favourite thing about this book.

Molly and Reid from The Upside of Unrequited by Becky Albertalli: These two are just the cutest nerdy, body-positive couple and I love them.

Saba and Jack from Blood Red Road by Moira Young: When it comes to fictional characters I have a genuine soft spot for guys called Ben and Jack and I love this Jack in particular, but I loved Saba even more and their chemistry is fantastic.

Achilles and Patroclus from The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller: I went into mourning after I finished this book and I adored the way Miller wrote the relationship between these two from childhood through to adulthood. If you haven't read this book yet you're severely missing out.

Rosemary and Sissix from The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers: The relationship between Rosemary and Sissix was such a pleasant surprise. I loved their chemistry and hoped something might happen but thought 'nah, the author's probably not going down that road' and then she did! This book is another one of my all-time favourites.

Meche and Sebastian from Signal to Noise by Silvia Moreno-Garcia: The above quotation is one of my favourites and always tugs at my heart. This is another one of my favourite novels and I loved the relationship between Meche and Sebastian, both their awkward teen years and their awkward reunion as adults. This is another example of platonic to romantic love done exceptionally well.

Laura and Carmilla from Carmilla by J. Sheridan Le Fanu: Definitely not exactly the healthiest relationship on this list, but Carmilla is one of my favourite classics and I've always loved the strange, intoxicating relationship between Laura and Carmilla.

Maia and Csethiro from The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison: If someone held a gun to my head and asked me to pick my favourite novel of all time, this is the novel I'd pick. What I love about the relationship between Maia and Csethiro is that we only ever see its potential, but I love the way they interact with each other and I love that they work at becoming friends before anything else.

What did you talk about this week?

#Victober TBR!

Ange @ Beyond the Pages, Katie @ Books and Things, Kate @ Kate Howe and Lucy @ Lucy the Reader are back for the second year in a row with #Victober - a read-a-thon focused on British and Irish literature written during the reign of Queen Victoria from 1837-1901.

Victorian literature was always my favourite era of literature to study when I was a student, I studied Victorian Popular Fiction and Victorian Gothic in the final year of my undergraduate degree and loved it, but I don't read much of it now that I'm no longer a student. There are so many more contemporary writers, particularly non-British, LGBT+ and poc writers, whom I'd rather devote my reading time to.

Having said that, I do still enjoy classics when I pick them up so I thought I'd join in and try to read a bit of Victorian literature this October alongside all of the other books I want to read this autumn!

There are five challenges:

• Read a Victorian book by a Irish, Scottish or Welsh author
• Read a Victorian book that was recommended to you 
• Read a supernatural Victorian book
• Read a lesser known Victorian book
• Read a Victorian book by a female author

I'm only going to attempt three of them, because I don't want Victorian literature to completely take over my reading month, so the challenges I've crossed through are the ones I won't be tackling.

Read a Victorian book by an Irish, Scottish or Welsh author // I'm going to re-read The Great God Pan by Arthur Machen, because I think I need to read it again to appreciate it. It's described as one of the best horror stories ever written but I remember being left a bit disappointed with it, so I'd like to give it another try. Arthur Machen was a Welsh author who focused on supernatural/horror stories, so he's worth checking out if you're into Victorian Gothic.

Read a supernatural Victorian book // Another re-read, this time of one of my favourite pieces of Victorian literature: Carmilla. Carmilla is a vampire story that pre-dates Dracula and I really, really enjoyed it when I had to study it for university. It'd be nice to read it again just for the pure enjoyment of it.

Read a Victorian book by a female author // I love Anne Brontë, but I've never read her masterpiece the whole way through. I've read bits of it here and there and I understand the social importance of it, but I want to read it properly so I can appreciate the often forgotten Brontë's genius. The Tenant of Wildfell Hall is the book I'd like to focus my attention on for this read-a-thon.

Are you taking part in #Victober? What are some of your favourite Victorian novels?

Top Ten Tuesday | Recommended Halloween Reads!

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature created at The Broke and the Bookish. Each week you compile a list of ten books which coincide with that week's theme. You can find everything you need to know about joining in here!

This week's theme is a Halloween themed freebie, so I thought I'd recommend some books that I think are ideal to read as Halloween creeps closer!

Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier: There's a reason this is Daphne du Maurier's most famous novel, and it's almost certain that if this had been the only book she ever wrote du Maurier would still be a famous author today. Rebecca is so atmospheric and beautifully written; you open the first page and you fall into Manderley. There are no 'boo!' moments here. If you're not a fan of slow reads this book might not be for you, but whatever your taste I recommend at least giving it a try.

The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson: Shirley Jackson is my favourite horror writer, and in all honesty anything she wrote would be a great read for Halloween. Still, you can't go wrong with a good ol' haunted house story, can you? If you'd rather read something shorter, check out 'The Lottery'.

The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters: The Little Stranger is quite similar to The Haunting of Hill House in its mood, and another great book if you want to read a haunted house story that, like Jackson's book, is genuinely creepy.

Rolling in the Deep by Mira Grant: Rolling in the Deep is like a literary version of a found footage horror movie. If you like movies like Trollhunter, The Blair Witch Project and Cloverfield then I think you'll like this, but if found footage movies aren't your thing I still recommend giving this novella a try. I read it in one sitting, and really enjoyed it.

Bellman & Black by Diane Setterfield: This is another very slow book, and one that I'm still not 100% sure that I understood. It's a difficult book to describe, and one that I think was marketed in a misleading way; Bellman & Black has been described as a ghost story, but it isn't really, although there is a kind of haunting. I recommend reading this one, though, because Diana Setterfield's writing is beautiful. Even if you come out of this book a little confused, the act of reading it is enjoyable.

Carmilla by J. Sheridan Le Fanu: Carmilla is one of my favourite classics, and one of the most interesting things about it is that it's actually a pre-Dracula example of vampirism in Victorian literature. I've tried reading Dracula several times, for pleasure and for university, but I've never been able to finish it. Carmilla, on the other hand, I devoured. I think it's fantastic.

Misery by Stephen King: I'm not really a Stephen King fan, so the fact that I enjoyed this book says a lot if your tastes happen to be similar to mine. I know King has a humungous fan following, but for the most part I don't think his writing style is particularly great, I really don't like how the majority of his main characters are white male writers (seriously, Stephen, can't you try writing about someone other than yourself?) and I feel like a lot of his stories just go too far. IT is scary enough if it's just about a clown that kills children, so why does there have to be a supernatural element, too? Anyway, I did enjoy Misery; Annie Wilkes is terrifying, and the film adaptation starring Kathy Bates is very good if you'd rather watch that than read the book.

Coraline by Neil Gaiman: In all honesty The Graveyard Book would be another wonderful read for Halloween, but Coraline is short and sweet - if you're looking for something to read in one sitting, then Coraline's for you. Henry Selick's film adaptation is also well worth checking out, especially at this time of year!

My Life as a White Trash Zombie by Diana Rowland: This one's less spooky and more fun, although there's a lot of fascinating detail about autopsies, but it's the start to such a brilliant urban fantasy series that I had to stick it on here.

Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë: I'm not actually the biggest fan of Wuthering Heights - I'm forever going to be on the 'Heathcliff is NOT a romantic hero' side of the argument - but it is one of the pinnacles of Victorian Gothic literature. It's very atmospheric, and very wild, and very fitting for Halloween because it's full of despicable characters.

What did you talk about this week?

Top Ten Tuesday | All Time Favourite Books

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature created at The Broke and the Bookish. Each week you compile a list of ten books which coincide with that week's theme. You can find everything you need to know about joining in here!

This week's theme is 'Top Ten Books you would classify as ALL TIME FAVOURITE BOOKS from the past 3 years'. I thought I'd find this list fairly tricky, but as much as I really love a lot of the books I read there are only a select few that end up on my list of favourites!

Feed by Mira Grant: Is it any surprise that this book is on my list? Feed was my favourite read of last year, and has an eternal place on my favourite books of all time list.

Cress by Marissa Meyer: I love The Lunar Chronicles, it's one of my favourite series, and so far the Cress has been the best book in the series in my opinion. It was so much fun to read, and I can't wait for Winter!

The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman: This is another book that I didn't read until last year - I know, what took me so long? - and I just adored it. I'm a big fan of Gaiman's work, but I think this is my favourite of his novels, with American Gods coming in at a close second.

Rat Queens, Vol.1: Sass and Sorcery by Kurtis J. Wiebe and Roc Upchurch: I only read this in January, but I've absolutely fallen in love with this series.

The Unlikely Ones by Mary Brown: I found this book in a local charity shop and read it in my first year of university. It's just a traditional high fantasy novel; there's witches, dragons, unicorns, knights and talking animals. It's a really lovely little book, and what makes me love it all the more is that the fate of the world doesn't depend on the heroes' success in their quest. The only thing that's going to be affected by the outcome is their happiness.

Carmilla by J. Sheridan Le Fanu: The first of my three all time favourite classics. Screw Dracula, read Carmilla.

The Gargoyle by Andrew Davidson: Such a beautiful book. If you haven't read this yet I can't recommend it more, it's just stunning.

The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins: The second of my all time favourite classics. I thought I was going to hate this book when I had to read it for a Popular Victorian Fiction module at university but I ended up really enjoying it. If you're interested in some pre-Sherlock Victorian detective fiction then I recommend checking it out!

Corrag by Susan Fletcher: My list wouldn't be complete without some historical fiction, and Corrag is a gorgeous novel. If you're a fan of novels like Burial Rites or Alias Grace then this is another book worth your time!

Frankenstein Mary Shelley: The third of my all time favourite classics. This book is a masterpiece.

Which books made your list?

Top Ten Tuesday | Books I'd Read if I Had a Book Club

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature created at The Broke and the Bookish. Each week you compile a list of ten books which coincide with that week's theme. You can find everything you need to know about joining in here!

This week's theme is 'Ten Books I'd Love To Read With My Book Club/If I Had A Book Club'. Sadly, I don't have a book club; my local library has one that meets each month, but it's at 2:00 on a Wednesday and I work 9-5 Monday-Friday. Oh well!

I was thinking of theming this post, but instead I decided to go for the ten books I'd most love to talk about with other people. I've decided to split my list into books I'd love to reread, and books I haven't read yet. So, without further ado, here are my top ten!

Books I'd Reread

Noughts & Crosses by Malorie Blackman: One of my all time favourite books. There are so many things in this book to discuss, and I'd love to hear what other people had to say about it.

Carmilla by J. Sheridan Le Fanu: Again, this is another favourite and another book in which there's a lot to talk about. This classic is just fascinating.

Feed by Mira Grant: Haha, I think we should just assume that this book is going to pop up on the majority of my TTT posts from now on. Honestly the main reason I'd want to read this for a book club is to make even more people read it because it's amazing and I love it.

The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins: Probably my favourite classic. There. I said it. Again, there's a lot to talk about in this novel. It's quite dense, yes, but if you stick with it it's so worth it.

American Gods by Neil Gaiman: I just think this book would be a lot of fun to read with other people, and, again, there's a lot to talk about here!

Books I'd Read for the First Time

Among Others by Jo Walton: I've heard a lot of wonderful things about this book, and something about it makes me think it'd be a great book club read.

The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood: I need to read this book (I promise I'll get to it this year, Mallory!) and I might read it sooner if I had to read it for a book club. Plus I think there'd be a lot to discuss.

The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafón: I think a book about books would be a great choice for a reading group, and I've heard brilliant things about this book! Plus I like book clubs that include books that were not originally written in English.

Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov: I feel like this is a classic I have to read before I die, but I'm not all that interested by it. The premise doesn't put me off (I know that probably sounds weird, but I'm more frightened by supernatural creatures than I am by creepy people) although I'm sure reading it would certainly make me uncomfortable, and I think it'd be a really interesting book to discuss with other people.

Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke: This book is such a beast. My copy's like a brick, I swear to God it should be one of the murder weapons in Cluedo. A book's size usually doesn't put me off, but this one is the exception. A book club might finally make me crack this baby open!

Which books made your list this week?

Top Ten Tuesday | Books I'd Like to Reread!

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature created at The Broke and the Bookish. Each week you compile a list of ten books which coincide with that week's theme. You can find out everything you need to know about joining in here!

This week's theme is 'Top Ten Books I Want To Reread/Would Reread In An Ideal World'.

I wasn't sure if I was going to take part in TTT this week because I don't tend to reread books that often; I have such a huge TBR list that I'm usually too busy reading something I haven't read before to reread an old favourite. What I tend to do is reread some of my favourite sections in books rather than reread the entire book. That being said I would like to try rereading books more in future, and these are the ten I'd most like to reread!

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone by J. K. Rowling: To be honest I'd like to reread the entire Harry Potter series because it's been far too long since I last read them and I miss this world and these characters!

Skulduggery Pleasant by Derek Landy: Again, this is another series I'd like to reread and then finish. I've read all of the books up to Kingdom of the Wicked, and there are that many characters with that many bizarre names that I think if I tried diving into Kingdom of the Wicked now I'd be pretty confused! These books are so much fun, though, so I really don't think they'll take me long to reread when I get around to them.

Sabriel by Garth Nix: This is another book I haven't read in years. I first discovered Sabriel when I was around 13/14 and I loved it, so I'd love to reread it, and the rest of The Old Kingdom series, very soon - especially with the recent release of Clariel!

Cress by Marissa Meyer: I read The Lunar Chronicles a lot more recently and it's quickly become one of my favourite series. I really enjoyed Cinder and Scarlet, but I adored Cress - it was so action-packed and cool and fun; I can't wait for the releases of Fairest and Winter next year!

The Gargoyle by Andrew Davidson: This is one of my favourite standalones. It's beautifully written and just gorgeous, so I'd love to reread it.

Agnes Grey by Anne Brontë: I'm actually hoping to reread Agnes Grey pretty soon, not only because it's one of my favourite classics but also because I'd love to challenge myself to adapt it into a screenplay. For years I've been complaining about how there's no drama adaptation of Agnes Grey, and then it occurred to me that if I want an adaptation maybe I should write it myself.

The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins: Another of my favourite classics. I'd love to reread it but, as with most Victorian literature, it's very dense!

The Silence of the Lambs by Thomas Harris: I have yet to read Hannibal Rising, Red Dragon or Hannibal, so once I get my hands on some copies of them I'd love to read the entire series, including a reread of The Silence of the Lambs. Plus I need my fix until season 3 of Hannibal...

The Undressed by Jemma L. King: Unlike the other books on my list, this is a poetry collection. I read it earlier this year during my publishing internship, and I'd love to buy my own copy and reread it to my heart's content - it's a fabulous little book.

Carmilla by J. Sheridan Le Fanu: Another favourite classic of mine. This book has one of my favourite last lines of any book ever, and as much as I often go back and reread that final little section I'd like to read it from start to finish again.

Which books made your list?

Classics & Contemporaries | Victorian Vampires

Happy Halloween!

This month in Classics & Contemporaries we're going to explore  a section of the spooky genre that is Victorian Gothic, one of my personal favourites. I did an entire module on Victorian Gothic at university and I loved it, so I've been looking forward to this installment!

When it comes to Victorian Gothic there are some very famous pieces of literature; Bram Stoker's Dracula, Robert Louis Stevenson's The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, and Emily Brontë's Wuthering Heights just to name a few. Today, however, I've opted to explore some of the lesser known, but equally fabulous, pieces of Victorian Gothic fiction out there.

So today we're going to look at some vampire stories, and neither of them are Dracula!

First published in 1871 (that's right - before Dracula!), J. Sheridan Le Fanu's Carmilla tells the story of Laura, a young girl who lives in Styria with her retired, widowed father, who has been looking forward to a visit from Bertha Rheinfeldt, the niece of her father's friend. Her father receives a letter from his friend, General Spielsdorf, informing the two of them that Bertha has died under mysterious circumstances which he will soon discuss with Laura's father in more detail.

Disappointed that she will have no companion, Laura's prayers are answered when a carriage accident outside their home leaves a young girl, around Laura's age, in their care. The girl introduces herself as Carmilla, and she and Laura immediately bond when the two of them recognise each other from a strange dream they both claim to have had during their childhood.

Carmilla and Laura grow intimately close, but as the months wear on it is clear there is more to Carmilla than meets the eye.

First thing's first: Carmilla is more of a novella than a novel, my edition is only 108 pages long, so whether you feel intimidated by classics or not I highly recommend giving it a try, especially at this time of year. It's one of my favourite classics, and has one of the most exquisite last lines of any story ever. I love it!

There are plenty of reasons to read Carmilla; it's a pre-Dracula example of vampirism in literature, and when it comes to monsters in literature the Victorian era is possibly the best era to start your exploration; because of the publication of Darwin's On the Origin of Species, Victorian society was terrified by the prospect of devolution. If people really had evolved from apes, did that mean they could revert back to an animalistic state? Was devolution responsible for criminals, homosexuals and over-ambitious women?

Carmilla is beautifully written and utterly haunting, and the relationship between Carmilla and Laura is both fascinating and tragic.

But if you don't feel ready to tackle any 19th century fiction just yet, there's a piece of historical fiction that's perfect for this time of year!

First published in 1999, Sarah Waters' Affinity tells the story of Margaret Prior, a woman who is recovering from a suicide attempt following the death of her beloved father. She decides to volunteer at the nearby women's prison, Millbank, as part of her rehabilitive charity work, where she works as a companion to the inmates. She speaks with them, listens to their stories and their troubles, and is discouraged from growing close to any of them.

One woman in particular, however, intrigues her. Selina Dawes claims to be a spiritualist who has found herself in prison after one of her séances led to the death of one woman and the deep disturbance of another. Though Margaret is initially sceptical of Selina's claims, she slowly becomes enamoured by this mysterious, enchanting woman.

But is Selina all that she appears to be?

Obviously there are many differences between Carmilla and Affinity, the most obvious being that there are no vampires in Affinity! But there are many similarities between them. They are both beautifully written, both claustrophobic and gothic, and both set in the 19th century. I have mentioned Sarah Waters in Classics & Contemporaries before - here! - as an author well known for her LGBT historical fiction, and Affinity is no different. Margaret and Seline's sexuality is not shied away from at all throughout the novel; in fact if you're a lover of historical fiction who would like to see more LGBT characters in the books you read I highly recommend giving her work a try if you haven't already. The majority of Waters' novels include LGBT characters in lead roles, perhaps her most famous works being Fingersmith and Tipping the Velvet.

Similarly, if you'd like to see more LGBT characters in your classics then Carmilla is the ideal book for you! It's often described as 'the lesbian vampire story', though whether or not that description is true is debatable; there are certainly elements of the homoerotic throughout the text, but I would be surprised if Le Fanu himself meant it as an LGBT text.

All the same, if Affinity interests you then there's no reason you wouldn't enjoy Carmilla!

Next we have an even shorter and even lesser known 19th century vampire story...

Robert Louis Stevenson is no stranger to the Victorian Gothic genre. He is perhaps most famous for The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde and Treasure Island, but during his life he also wrote many short stories, and many of those short stories were spooky and included elements of the gothic and fantastical.

Olalla is one such story. First published in 1885, Olalla tells the story of a nameless English soldier who is recovering from his injuries received in the Peninsular War. Still weak, his doctor advises him to stay with a once noble Spanish family, consisting of a mother and her two children: her son, Felipe, and her mysterious daughter, Olalla.

Our narrator feels welcome and comfortable in his temporary home, although he believes his hostess and her son to be slothful and dim-witted, but something seems odd. Though he hears of Olalla he does not see her, and each night when he goes to sleep he hears wild noises as though he were staying in a mad house.

When he finally meets Olalla he discovers that, unlike her mother and brother, she is extraordinarily intelligent and the two of them fall deeply in love with one another. He wishes to take her away from her home, but when he cuts his wrist on some glass while trying to orchestrate their escape, Olalla's family have an incredibly strong reaction to his blood...

Olalla is a very interesting piece of gothic fiction in that it is still being debated as to whether or not it is a vampire story or a werewolf story, for there are strong cases for both. After all, it wasn't only vampires that were popular in Victorian Gothic fiction - werewolves, ghosts and monsters were also very popular!

Just as Carmilla explores the idea of devolution, in Olalla we have an idea common in Victorian vampire fiction: fallen noble families with bad blood. In Olalla it is implied that Olalla's mother and brother, and indeed Olalla herself, are the way they are because they are the product of years and years of inbreeding. This idea of tainted nobility can also be seen in Dracula, the most famous vampire story in history, and it can even be seen in more modern incarnations of the vampire story such as Scott Snyder and Rafael Albuquerque's American Vampire graphic novel series, where a new breed of vampire is able to survive beneath the sun and threatens the existence of vampires who are stuck in their bourgeoisie-esque ways.

But for a 21st century recommendation, I've turned to YA!

Sarah Beth Durst's Drink, Slay, Love is a fun standalone about 16 year old Pearl, a classic vampire - she's allergic to the sun, loves blood and really quite evil - who is stabbed through the heart by a unicorn. Naturally, her family, who just so happen to be the vampire mafia, think she's been attacked by a vampire hunter - because unicorns don't exist! - but what really shocks them, and Pearl, is that she's suddenly able to withstand the sun. In fact, she's slowly becoming less and less vampiric.

Never to waste an opportunity, especially with the Vampire King coming to visit, Pearl's family decide to make use of her new 'talents' and send her to high school. Why? For dinner, of course. But can Pearl really feed her family, and the King, her newfound friends when she's slowly starting to develop a conscience? And does she really have a choice? Because if she doesn't offer up her classmates, she's dead meat anyway...

Drink, Slay, Love is nothing like its 19th century fear-mongering ancestors, but there's certainly elements of the early vampires within the story even when they are being parodied. Like Olalla, Drink, Slay, Love plays on this idea of old, intimidating families who are as threatening to each other as they are to outsiders.

Obviously there are more differences than similarities here - there's a unicorn, for heaven's sake! - but if you enjoy this brilliantly bizarre and self-aware novel, then I don't see why you won't enjoy a 19th century short story.

As always, I hope this has been an interesting installment of Classics & Contemporaries! Happy Halloween!

Top Ten Tuesday | Characters I'd Be For Halloween!

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature created at The Broke and Bookish. Each week you compile a list of ten books which coincide with that week's theme. You can find out everything you need to know about joining in here!

This week's theme is 'Top Ten Books/Movies To Read Or Watch To Get In The Halloween Spirit OR Top Ten Characters Who I Would Totally Want To Be For Halloween' which is far too fun to pass up! I don't really read much horror, something I need to change, so I decided to go with the latter - here are the top ten book characters I'd most like to dress up as for Halloween!

1) Georgia Mason from Feed by Mira Grant: To be honest most of the characters on this list aren't exactly spooky or scary, they're just characters I'd like an excuse to dress up as. Having said that, Georgia is the heroine of a zombie novel so she's pretty fitting for Halloween! She's also one of my favourite heroines of all time, so I'd love to dress up as her.

2) Helena Ravenclaw from Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling: What's not spooky about the ghost of a murdered witch? I knew someone from Harry Potter was going to be on this list - in fact even someone like Bellatrix would be a great character to be for Halloween - but I decided to go with Helena because I think she's one of the lesser loved Potter characters.

3) Johanna Mason from Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins: All you need is a wetsuit and a bloody axe. If that doesn't scream Halloween then frankly I don't know what does!

4) Carmilla from Carmilla by J. Sheridan Le Fanu: Carmilla is one of my all time favourite classics. It's a vampire novella, with a homosexual protagonist, that was written before Bram Stoker's Dracula and has one of the most haunting last lines of any book I've ever read. I think Carmilla woud be a fantastic character to dress up as for Halloween.

5) Victor(ia) Frankenstein from Frankenstein by Mary Shelley: Frankenstein's another favourite of mine. Genderbend the main character (or not if you're a guy!) and you have a brilliant character for Halloween!

6) Queen Levana from The Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer: I feel like people who love experimenting with make up would have great fun dressing up as Levana. We don't actually know what she really looks like, so that would be a lot of fun to play around with, and I imagine a character like Levana would have some gorgeous dresses.

7) Clarice Starling from The Silence of the Lambs by Thomas Harris: I think Clarice would be especially fun to dress up as if you could coerce one of your friends into dressing up as Hannibal Lecter!

8) The Other Mother from Coraline by Neil Gaiman: Surely everyone familiar with Coraline can agree that the Other Mother is absolutely terrifying? With some well placed face paint it shouldn't be too hard to put some buttons over your eyes!

9) The Cheshire Cat from Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll: It might be a children's book but I've always found something sinister about the Cheshire Cat, and I think he's another character that would be a lot of fun to dress up as - you could really go wild with a lot of bright make up and cool contacts!

10) Lirael from Lirael by Garth Nix: Lirael is the Abhorsen. She spends her days controlling the dead and righting the wrongs of Necromancers. Cool, right? Plus I imagine her costume would be pretty awesome. (Bonus points if you have a dog).

Who made your top ten?