Bookmarks 'n Blankets
Hey story lovers, it’s time to unwind, relax, and get comfy cozy! Each week, I discuss one of my favorite pastimes - reading books. I also love talking about cozy living, cozy hobbies, self-care, and mindfulness tips. If you like reviews, recommendations, discussions, and a whole lot more, then you’re in the right place. Join me with your favorite blanket, beverage, and snack, and let’s get cozy together!
Bookmarks 'n Blankets
Ep. 148 - 12 Summer Thriller Books Perfect for Summerween - July 2026 TBR Book List
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If you’re looking for some isolated island thrillers, murder in the woods, theme park horrors, and summer vacations gone deadly wrong, then I’ve got you covered with these 12 mystery, thriller, and horror books that are perfect for Summerween. Come find out which books I’m excited to check out this summer.
Plus, I'll let you know about 12 new books coming out this month!
*Please note that this is NOT a recommendation list. I have not read any of these books yet, but they all sound interesting to me, so I'm excited to read them at some point.
You can find the companion blog here.
If you want to join my year-long Closed-Door Romance Reading Challenge, check out this post or listen to episode 129 for more information.
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If you're looking for some isolated island thrillers, murder in the woods, theme parkours, and summer vacations gone deadly wrong, then I've got you covered with these 12 mystery, thriller, and horror books that are perfect for Summerween. Come find out which books I'm excited to check out this summer. Hey story lovers, it's time to unwind, relax, and get comfy cozy. You're listening to the Bookmarks and Blankets podcast. I'm your host, Kelly Matsudira. Each week I discuss my favorite forms of art, which are books, movies, and TV series. I also love talking about cozy living, cozy hobbies, and self-care tips. If you like reviews, recommendations, discussions, and a whole lot more, then you're in the right place. Join me with your favorite blanket, beverage, and snack, and let's get cozy together. Welcome or welcome back, my book friends. I hope everybody is doing well. I am so glad that you are here with me today. If you are new, welcome. I'm Kelly. I am so excited for this episode, you guys. I have been wanting to get into some mystery, thriller, and horror books for quite a while, but I was working on some other projects. I'm also a mood reader and my mood was definitely with some other type of genres, but I am ready to hop into this genre right now because it is officially Summerween. Now, if you are new here and you have no idea what Summerween is, if you have not been in the reading world that long, Summerween is a mix between the creepy, spooky Halloween vibes mixed with summertime. So you get a lot of summer camp slasher type of books. There are people who will read Halloween books during the summertime, but my list is going to be a little bit different than that. It's not going to quite be Halloween-ish books. I do save the specifically Halloween-related books for October. But Summerween is just a really fun time to read some summer slasher murder type stories. And if you get on BookTalk, Bookstagram, BookTube, all of the social media places, you will see that there are tons of reading challenges, readathons, all kinds of fun stuff that you can join. I don't have anything specific to share with you today, but you can just get on YouTube and look up Summerween. And I'm sure you can find challenges if you want to follow along. I personally don't do those types of things, but I do see those everywhere. And sometimes there'll be fun little bingo boards that people create that you can download. So there's all kinds of fun interactive things that you can do during Summer Ween. Now, if you've been here for a minute, you will know that these last couple of years, that my July TBR episode that I put out, I did half Summer Ween and half Christmas in July because Christmas in July is also a thing. And my husband always laughs and he just rolls his eyes because he doesn't think you should read holiday books outside of the holiday season. But Christmas in July is a thing, and it's more of a thing outside of the book world too. So I know that there are Christmas movies like on the Hallmark channel, and I know there are certain stores. I've seen Crackleberrel send emails out about Christmas decorations that are on sale in the middle of summertime. So Christmas in July is a thing. However, I am not really in the Christmas spirit this year. I am a huge mood reader and I always base my book lists off of what I'm in the mood to read. And I'm not really in the mood to read Christmas books right now. So this is gonna be a complete summer ween book list. However, I am going to create a blog for Christmas in July. So if you are looking for holiday books to read a few this month, I will have a blog over on my website that'll be dedicated to Christmas in July. I just personally am not really in the mood to read those types of books. So that's not going to be on this TBR list. So I just want to let you know about that because I was debating if I wanted to do Christmas in July, but I'm just really not feeling it. If I want to read any kind of romance book, because usually the Christmas books are romance books, let's just be honest. If I want to read romance, I am very much in the mood for beach reads and summer romances right now. So also, if you are in the mood to read some summer romance books, I do have a brand new episode up on the podcast now. It's a try a chapter where I try six brand new summer rom-coms that just came out in the last couple months. So I try six books. I read the first chapter, and then I chose a winner to read the whole thing. And spoiler alert, there is a five-star in there. So just to let you know that that's already up on the podcast if you are interested in some summer romance books. But I am just really excited to get to more of a nitty-gritty genre. I honestly have not read a lot of mystery, thriller, and horror this year. I looked at my list because I do keep a spreadsheet of what I read. And I've only read 12 in this genre this year, which is really surprising to me because I would say mystery thriller horror, because I just kind of group it all together, is probably my second favorite genre to read in outside of contemporary romance. And it just really surprised me that I haven't read that many, but I have been reading more fantasy and YA books this year. It's just really interesting to see what my reading journey has been like. So I'm just ready to get into some nitty-gritty mystery thriller horror books. As far as what's been going on with me, there's really not much going on right now. Summertime is definitely heating up. It's getting hot out here in the mountains. We don't get as hot as in the city, but we have gotten up to about 88 degrees already. I know it does get in the 90s up here, but that means it's about 10 degrees hotter in the cities. So it is cooler up here. However, I am staying in a house that does not have air conditioning and it is miserable. So if you have central air, feel blessed because I don't. And I am so hot, it is so hot and stuffy, and we have power issues because this house runs on solar and there is a generator, but we try not to allow the generator to come on because propane is very expensive. So I can't even really turn on any fans. I have a battery-operated tiny little fan that sits next to me and open windows, and that is about all I have to cool myself off with. So it is a little rough out here in the mountains, but hopefully that will be fixed in a couple months. So more on that coming soon. But anyway, life is fine. And at the time of this recording, it is the beginning of July, and Starbucks, you guys know how much I love my coffees. Starbucks has released s'mores drinks, and I am so excited to drink a bunch of these this summer. So they did bring back the s'mores Frappuccino, but they also have a new s'mores cold brew. And you guys know that cold brew is pretty much all I drink there outside of their refreshers and their teas. But when it comes to coffee, I mainly stick with my cold brews. So I am very excited to try their new s'mores cold brew. And I think they also have a s'mores chai, which sounds really interesting. And I will try that as well. But I am just so excited to finally get the s'mores drink back, has been my favorite coffee drink of theirs. That is actually what got me into drinking coffee and drinking Starbucks was their s'mores frappuccino way back in the day. I mean, we're probably talking what, 10 years ago. So I'm just really happy that they brought it back. And I'm very excited to have a few of those this summer. But things are going pretty well. I don't really have much new to report with me. My summer reading has been going really well. I've been very excited to get to all the books I've been reading. And again, I just go with what my mood is going to dictate. But I've also been working on a lot of projects, some real-time reactions. I did my triad chapter. I have some pages to popcorn episodes coming up. So just a lot of fun stuff. I'm feeling very ambitious and excited to do these projects and to record. So hopefully I'll have a lot more of episodes coming later this summer and definitely later this year. All right, I think that's it for the intro. So I'm gonna hop to the new releases that are coming out this month because as most of you know, if you've been around, I don't do episodes where I talk about new releases. So I do try to include those in my book lists. If you're not interested in what's coming out this month, you can always just skip this part. But I have 12 new releases that are coming out in July that I am very much looking forward to. So on July 1st, this is already out by the time you listen to this, is The X Best Thing by Casey Stockton. This is also available on Kindle Unlimited if you're a member. I love Casey Stockton. She's one of my favorite clean, closed-door romance authors. She writes contemporary romance as well as Regency or historical romance. I've read in both genres. I love her. All of her books have been four or five stars for me. So this is the start of a brand new series called The Bella Courts. And the little blurb says, She's hiding from scandal, he's hiding from her, and this small town isn't big enough for the both of their secrets. First in the Bella Courts, the X-Best Thing is a second chance closed-door romantic comedy set in a small town in Northern California coast. So this sounds really perfect for summer, and it looks so cute. The cover's really cute. I'm really excited to just to read more by this author. I can't recommend her enough. No language, no spice, perfectly clean, and I'm very excited to get to that one. Alright, July 2nd is The Irish Girl by Sandy Taylor. And this is also going to be available on Kindle Unlimited. And the little blurb says, In the darkest days of war, can she find a place to call home? It looks like this is set in 1939. So you have a World War II. It says, But will I be able to reach the safety of Ireland? From best-selling author Sandy Taylor comes a heart-wrenching emotional story of the power of friendship and the importance of hope in the most difficult times. I first read Sandy Taylor earlier this year, and it was the Irish boarding house. I loved that historical fiction book. It was set in the 1950s about this woman who opened up a boarding house for women, and it was so cozy. It was so good. I gave it five stars. So I just wanted to read something else by this author, and I saw that she had a new book coming out, and it's on KU. So I definitely want to pick that one up. All right, then I have a couple books coming out on July 7th. The first is Habits of the Sea by Shay Earnshaw. Shea Earnshaw is a fantasy author that I have not read from yet. I've heard so many good things about her. I actually have a couple of her arcs that I have not read yet, and this is actually one of them. But I do want to finally get to this author. I think she writes YA and New Adult, so more on the younger age range. But this says a new adult novel from New York Times bestselling author Shay Earnshaw, in which a woman rediscovers the mystical island she stumbled upon as a child and the man she once met who apparently hasn't aged. And it says with her signature atmospheric lyrical prose, Shay Earnshaw offers us an original work of folklore with a masterful modern touch, a haunting tale that spans centuries and coastlines, journeys through time and memory, and redefines the very meaning of love itself. So very interested in that one. With the coast, it sounds like it could be really great for summertime as well. And then also coming out on July 7th, we are starting to get into the fall releases, you guys. I know it's the middle of summer, but we are starting to see fall books already coming out. So on this date, we have Candy Apple Kisses by Amy Clipston. I think this is a Christian fiction author. And it says, This autumn, love is in the air. So it looks like we have a character who is heading to the North Carolina Mountains and is going to be part of a family apple orchard. So definitely getting that cozy apple fall time feel. The cover is absolutely beautiful. I have an arc of this to read as well. This will be the first time that I'm reading from this author, and I've heard very good things. I believe this is completely clean, closed door romance. So there is a part of me that, as much as I'm enjoying my summer books, when I'm starting to see all of these fall releases either coming out or being announced, I am kind of getting into the fall mindset. So I am very excited to read that one, which I will probably save for the fall time though, because I also am a seasonal reader and I don't really want to read fall in the middle of summer, but definitely gonna keep that on my radar for this fall. Alright, so let's move on to July 14th. I have two books. The first one is This Changes Everything by Lisa Scotolini. I have read a couple books by this author. This is actually, I believe, a sequel or a companion to The Unraveling of Julia, which I read last year and absolutely loved it. I gave it five stars. And I think this picks back up a little bit later. So we're still with Julia, and she's in Tuscany, Italy, but I think she has to go back to the States because there's some things going on. And the little blurb says, A woman risks her life to help her best friend find justice for a tragic crime and realizes she has more power than she ever knew. It says this is a gripping and laird of a story combining a woman's search for truth with the revelation of her own empowerment, as well as the enduring strength and joys of female friendship. So I loved the unraveling of Julia, and I'm very excited to get back with these characters and to see what happens in this sequel. Then the next book that's coming out on this date is Hot Girl Murder Club by Ashley Winstead. Ashley Winstead is an author that I keep wanting to read. I put her on the list, I put her on TBRs, and I always say I'm gonna get to her, and I just haven't yet. I do have a couple of her arcs that I need to read. So maybe I'll finally get to her because I do actually have this arc to read as well. And I've heard so many good things. I know she writes in a multiple of genres. She writes mystery thriller, but she also writes contemporary romance. I think she has a contemporary fiction out that's really good. But I've heard her thrillers are the best of the genres she writes in. And I just really, really want to try to read this author. And I've just heard so many good things. So the blurb for this one says from national best-selling author Ashley Winstead comes a buzzy, bloody new thriller about success, sisterhood, and demanding justice by any means necessary. What's a girl got to do to get some fame, a few million record sales, and justice for murder? So this looks like it's celebrity, maybe rich people behaving badly, which is a thriller trope I really enjoy. And probably talking about celebrity culture, social media, online culture, things like that. So very curious to check this one out. Alright, let's move on to July 21st. I have two books on this date. The first, again, we have another fall book, and it's called How Not to Renovate a Haunted House by Jenny L. Howe. And it says in this spooky small town summerween romance, an amateur ghost hunter and a supernatural skeptic team up for a haunted house renovation project. But is their relationship the real fixer upper? So this I think is a YA romance. It is supposed to be spice-free, so no explicit scenes. The cover is super cute, and yeah, it looks like this could be great for Summerween, or I'll probably just hold on to this until the fall time. But this looks very cute. I've never read anything by this author, but it sounds really good. And then the next book I have on my list is Married with Benefits by Ellie Palmer. This says a trope-filled delight of a rom-com about two strangers who enter into a marriage of convenience that becomes anything but convenient. So I read Ellie Palmer for the first time last month. She writes contemporary romance, and I heard some good things about it. I thought it was really well written. It was very lyrical, beautiful prose. But the story itself I had some problems with. I gave it three stars. It wasn't terrible, but it wasn't the best. It was a closed door, it was more fade to black. There was nothing open door. It was kind of some heavy makeout sessions, but nothing explicit. So I'm hoping that she stays with being a closed-door romance author, but I wanted to read something else by her to see if maybe another book would be better for me. But I really enjoyed her writing. Just the story I had a few problems and some of the characters I had some problems with, but definitely wanted to try this author again. All right, and then moving on to July 28th. I actually have four books. So this is a big release day. So the first one is Sea of Charms by Sarah Beth Durst. This is the third book in the spell shop series. So this is a cozy fantasy. And this follows Marin. So if you have read The Spell Shop or The Enchanting Greenhouse, Marin is the character that is the runner with her ship and she gets supplies and helps. I think we see her in the enchanted greenhouse. So this is her love story. And I've read the first two books in this series. They were cute. It was cozy, but I had some problems with some things. And you can read my reviews on my website. But I am still curious to read this book in this series because I've already read the first two. I liked Marin the little bit that we see her in the second book. So I thought it'd be interesting to read about this character. I think this takes place on the high seas because she is a sailor. It has found family elements. It's very cozy. It is funny. It says that this is a standalone romance. I think you can read these books on their own, but it probably would be more beneficial to read them in order just to be familiar because there are mentions of characters in each of these books. But it looks like this has friends to lovers, magical creatures, says swimming lessons. So definitely perfect for summertime because we are on the ocean. So I am willing to give this third book in the series a try. All right, the next book on my list is Meet Me in Paris by Kristen Harmel. I loved The Stolen Life of Colette Marcue. I have just read Kristen Harmel for the first time earlier this year. And I fell in love with that. This is historical fiction. That one was set during World War II. And the book that I read was such an immersive read. It reminded me so much of Kristen Hannah, if you're a big fan of that historical fiction author. I was just captivated by the characters. I was immersed in the story. It was past and present timeline. And I was so invested in both. So I definitely am sold on this author. And when I saw that she had a new book come out, I requested it on NetGalley. I did get the arc for this. So I am very interested to read this. And it says that this is Love Actually Meets the Notebook and a Tale of Love, Lost, and Finding Your Way Home, all set over the course of one life-changing week in Paris. It says nine Americans in Paris, seven intertwined love stories, one city of light. These intertwining stories, plus several others, unfold over a few breathtaking spring days as an unforgettable group of Americans in Paris must find their way to their own versions of Happily Ever After in the City of Light. So that sounds really good. It sounds definitely different than the World War II book that I read, which was a little heavy here and there. So this seems like a little more romance related. So I am very, very excited to read this one. This is high on my list to read. All right, the third book coming out this day is a mystery thriller, Getting Away with Murder by Sherry Lapina. I have read a couple books by Sherry Lapina. She's kind of a popcorn thriller author for me. Her books are easy to read, easy to fly through, easy breezy. You don't have to think hard. They're just really fun, good time. Thrillers. I read The Couple Next Door and The Unwanted Guest. Both of those were four stars for me. So I'm just interested to read more by this author. And she has a way of keeping me guessing. I'm so enthralled in her stories. I listen to these audiobooks in literally like two days because I'm just so invested and so curious about the mystery. And they lean more toward mystery than thriller. So I'm guessing this probably will as well. But I just will read anything by this author because I just really enjoy her books. And then the final book on my new release list is Buyer Beware by Catherine Ryan Howard. And it says from internationally best-selling author of 56 Days, a page-turning thriller about two women whose shattered lives come crashing together around a house whose secrets could bury them both. It says this is a puzzle box of a thriller full of mind-boggling twists and turns. It's a chilling exploration of the dark secrets that any house can hold, and the lengths will go to start over. So this sounded really interesting. I've never read anything by this author, but I've heard with early reviews that this was pretty good, and saw some of the mystery thriller people that I follow say that they really enjoyed this. So I have this on my radar. Okay, so those are all of the new releases that I am very excited to read. So I think that's it. I know it's a very long intro, but that's usually how it goes with these types of episodes. So let me hop to the logistics for those that are new. As I do with this type of episode, I'll let you know the books I've put into my pile of possibilities, as I call it. I will read the Goodreads description and briefly explain why I chose each book. I do want to note that this is not a recommendation episode because I have not read any of these. So I don't know which ones are good. We're gonna find out together. These are just books that have interested me and that I would like to read at some point. We all know I'm not gonna get to all 12 of these books this month, but I'm hoping to pick up maybe a couple of these. I also encourage you to check out the cover art for some of these books because some of them are really cool looking, some of them are kind of creepy. You can always head over to my website to the companion blog. I do have a companion blog for every episode that I do. You can go to bookmarksthelter nblankets.com. You can view the covers, learn more about the books, see all the new releases. I've got all of that information over on my website. The link is always in the description. Also on my website, I have a blog. I do post every Tuesday and Thursday. So if you are looking for book discussions, book crafts, reading tips and tricks, book lists, you can head over there and I've got new posts every week, and it is very seasonal. So if you are looking for any type of summer reading lists, I have a bunch of lists over there that you can check out. And then I am also putting out more seasonal summer content this summer. So check back every week for new bookish content there. If you want to know what I'm reading in real time, you can follow me on Goodreads. I am in there every single day. I read multiple genres and multiple formats, all kinds of authors, whatever my mood is telling me to read, that's what I'm reading. I am a slave to my mood. So whatever it's telling me that I need to pick up is what I pick up over there. And I also post all of my written reviews on that platform as well. And you can also see when I'm reading in real time, you might be able to piece together themes and see what kind of projects I might be working on too. So a little hint hint for future episodes. And finally, if you've read any of these books, I would love to know your thoughts. I invite you to join me on social media. You can find me in all the places X or Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest. I make graphics for these types of episodes. So you can get in there and leave me a comment, or just let me know what are your favorite summer thrillers, summer mysteries, what are summer ween books that you enjoy reading, or just what are some new releases that are coming out. I would love to engage with you so you can find me over there. All right, enough chit-chatting. Let's get to the best part, you guys, because I am so excited to talk about these books. Here are all of the summer ween books that I have chosen to read at some point. So let's get comfy, let's get cozy, and let's dive in. So these books are in no particular order, and many of them are on Kindle Unlimited if you're a member. I am a member, that's why I always mention KU because I'm trying to take advantage of my membership. So I do try to find books that are through that platform. So if you are also a member, then you can check these out as well. Now, like I said, I don't specifically choose Halloween books to read at Summerween. I do save those for October, but I do have some subgenres that I did find books under that I feel fit the summer thriller vibes. So I have Bad Vacations or Vacations Gone Wrong, Isolated Islands, In a Dark Wood, so kind of your woodsy cabin in the woods type of books, and theme park horrors. So those are my subgenres that I have chosen books under that I felt really fit the summer vibes along with the creepy, spooky, Halloween-ish vibes. Alright, book number one is The Vacation by John Mars. And this has a 3.69 on Goodreads. And the description reads, How far would you run to escape your past? Venice Beach, Los Angeles, a paradise on Earth. Tourists flock to the Golden Coast and the promise of Hollywood. But for age strangers at a beachfront hostel, there's far more on their minds than an extended vacation. All of them are running from something, and they all have secrets they'd kill to keep. So this is Vacation Gone Bad or Bad Vacation. I know this author is known for the one that was a book that turned into, I think, a TV series or a movie. I have not watched that or read his book. I've not read anything by this author yet, but I think this sounds really interesting and it fit the bill for Vacation Gone Bad, and I'm just very curious to check this one out. Book number two is Strangers in the Villa by Robin Harding. This is another bad vacation or vacation gone wrong and has a 3.58 on Goodreads. The description reads Sidney Lowe's life in New York is shattered when her husband Curtis admits to a meaningless affair with a client. Begging for forgiveness and vowing to prove his devotion, Curtis suggests the couples retreat to a remote hilltop house in Spain to repair their marriage. High above the Mediterranean, Sydney and Curtis are working on the isolated property and their relationship when a pair of Australian travelers turns up at their door in dire need of help. Lonely for companionship and desperate for free labor, Sydney and Curtis invite the young, attractive couple to stay. But as the days pass, dark secrets come to light. The Lowe's bond is tested, and not everyone will leave the villa alive. This is also available on Kindle Unlimited. This is an author that I have been wanting to read for a while. I've heard really good things. I will say a lot of these mystery thriller horror books are usually rated pretty low, but I just take those ratings with a grain of salt. This is a genre that is normally rated low for people. I've had books in this genre that I rated five stars and people gave two stars to. So the ratings don't really affect me, but even though she has low-rated books on Goodreads, I have seen many people say that her books are really good. So I'm just very curious to read from this author for the first time. This is actually a brand new book by this author. It just came out this past March. I'm just very curious to see what this is like, and it seems perfect for my bad vacation or vacation gone wrong theme. All right, and then book number three is Diavola by Jennifer Marie Thorne. This is my third book under Bad Vacation or Vacation Gone Wrong. And this has a 3.80 on Goodreads. I think this is considered more of a horror than Mystery Thriller. And the description reads: Anna has two rules for the annual Pace family destination vacations. Tread lightly and survive. It isn't easy when she's the only one in the family who doesn't quite fit in. Her twin brother Benny goes with the flow so much he's practically dissolved, and her older sister, Nicole, is so used to everyone, including her blandly docile husband and two kids, falling in line that Anna often ends up in trouble for simply asking a question. Mom seizes every opportunity to question her life choices, and Dad, when not reminding everyone who paid for this vacation, just wants some peace and quiet. This gorgeous remote villa in tiny Monte Perso seems like a perfect place to endure so much family togetherness until things start going off the rails. The strange noises at night, the unsettling warnings from the local villagers, and the dark, violent past of the villa itself. I've actually heard that this is quite a creepy story. I don't know if it's supernatural, if there's anything ghostly or haunting about it, but I have heard that this is very creepy. So this is perfect for Summerween. And this is also available on Kindle Unlimited. Alright, so let's move on to the isolated island trope. Because if you think of Summer Slashers, one of the first things that I think of is being on an isolated island, or maybe just murder or slasher on an island. So I have three under this subgenre. So the first book, book number four, is You Are Fatally Invited by Andy Palego. And I'm sorry if I butchered that last name. This has a 3.56 on Goodreads. And the description reads: An exclusive thriller writer's retreat hosted on a private island turns lethal when one of the authors is found murdered in this twisty lockeromed mystery. When renowned anonymous author J.R. Alistair hires former aspiring writer Mila Del Angel to host a writing retreat at his private manor off the coast of Maine, she jumps at the chance, particularly since she has an ax to grind with one of the invitees. The guest list, six thriller authors, all masters of deceit, misdirection, and mayhem. Confess the crimes, survive the tropes. Alistair and Mila have masterminded a week of games, trope-fueled riddles, and maybe a jump scare or two. The perfect cover for Mila to plot a murder of her own. But when a guest turns up dead, and it's not the murder she planned, Mila finds herself trapped in a different narrative altogether. One by one, you'll lose your turn. With a storm cutting off the island and the body count rising, Mila must outwit a killer who knows literally every trick in the book until only one of us remains. I am so excited to read this book because I have seen so many people reading this book lately. My Goodreads feed is flooded with this book, and they're giving it four and five stars. I'm seeing so many people gush about this. I think I saw some people talk about it last year, but it seems like everybody is reading it this year. So this feels like the mystery thriller book of the summer for me, at least my feeds and what I'm seeing on social media and on Goodreads. I'm starting to feel FOMO, fear of missing out, and I just have to see what this is all about. But this also sounds so good. Not only do we have isolated island, we have a locked room, we have riddles, we have mysteries, we have surviving these kind of games, and they're all writers that write mystery thrillers. This sounds amazing. So I am very, very interested to read this book. This is probably one of my most anticipated to read on this list. Alright, book number five under our isolated island is How Bad Things Can Get by Darcy Coates. And this has a 3.72 on Goodreads. The description reads: It was supposed to be the party of the century. Miles of idyllic white sand beaches, lush jungle foliage, and a dark legend nobody dreamed might be all too true. When an online influencer and several hundred of his most loyal fans land on Prosperity Island, the plan is simple. Five days of elaborate games, drinking, and suntan fun. A week in paradise should have been a welcome respite. The only survivor of an infamous cult, Ruth wants nothing more than to keep her head down and not draw attention. She spent decades outrunning her blood-soaked childhood and her identity as a closely held secret. But then the true history of the island is revealed, along with its sinister connection to Ruth's past. As guests go missing and Gabes turn deadly, Ruth and the rest of the attendees are forced to question whether they've really been invited to paradise or whether something much darker and far bloodier is waiting for them just beyond the bonfire's light. So I read Darcy Coates for the first time last fall, and I really, really enjoyed that story, and I just want to read more by her. And this book was actually a Goodreads nominee for Favorite Horror just last year in 2025. So this is a new release. It's been out for almost a year, and it just sounds really good. It sounds perfect for Summerween. I know that I like this author, at least the book that I read, and I just wanted to read more by her and see what else she has up her sleeve. Because I read The Haunting of Ashburn House, and that was a creepy book, you guys. That was very creepy. And I'm just wanting another creepy book by this author. Alright, and then book number six is Dead Eleven by Jimmy Giuliano. And this is my final isolated island book that I have on this list. This has a 3.6A on Goodreads. And the description reads: On a creepy island where everyone has a strange obsession with the year 1994, a newcomer arrives, hoping to learn the truth about her son's death, but finds herself pulled deeper and deeper into the bizarrely insular community and their complicated roles. Clifford Island. When Willow Stone finds these words written on the floor of her deceased son's bedroom, she's perplexed. She's never heard of it before, but soon learns it's a tiny island off of Wisconsin's Door County Peninsula, 200 miles from Willow's house. Why would her son write this on his floor? Determined to find answers, Willow sets out for the island. After a few days on Clifford, Willow realizes this place is not normal. Everyone seems to be stuck in a particular day in 1994. They wear outdated clothing, avoid modern technology, and perhaps most mystifyingly, watch the OJ Simpson car chase every evening. When she asks questions, people are evasive, but she learns one thing. Close your curtains at night. High schooler Lily Beck has lived on Clifford her entire life, and she is sick of the island's twisted mythology and adhering to the rules. She's been to the mainland and everyone is normal there. So why is Clifford so weird? Lily is determined to prove that the islanders' beliefs are a sham. But are they? Five weeks after Willow arrives on the island, she disappears. Willow's brother Harper comes to Clifford searching for his sister, and when he learns the truth that this island is far more sinister than anyone could have imagined, he is determined to blow the whole thing open if he can get out alive. So this was actually a Goodreads nominee for Favorite Horror a few years ago in 2023. Now I joined the online book community in 2023. So I had heard so many people talking about this when I first joined the community. I was not reading mystery thrillers at that time. I was just really exploring all genres and just really getting my feet wet with this community. And I've had this on my list for a few years now, and I thought this would be a great time to finally pick this up because I just had heard so many people talking about this back then, and it fits my isolated island subgenre, and it just sounds perfect for Summerween. It sounds really interesting. I was a teenager in the 90s, so this sounds like this could be very nostalgic, and I'm very curious to see what this is like. And the cover is also really cool, so go check that out. So very interested to see what this one is about. Alright, so let's move into my next subgenre or my next trope. And this is like in a dark woods or cabin in the woods, something with woods or forest. So book number seven is What Lies in the Woods by Kate Ellis Marshall. And this has a 3.94 on Goodreads. The description reads Naomi Shaw used to believe in magic. Twenty two years ago, she and her two best friends, Cassidy and Olivia, spent the summer roaming the woods, imagining a world of ceremony and wonder. They called it the Goddess Game. The summer ended suddenly when Naomi was attacked. Miraculously, she survived her 17 stab wounds and lived to identify the man who had hurt her. The girl's testimony put away a serial killer, wanted for murdering six women. They were heroes. For decades afterward, the friends have kept a secret worth killing for, but now Olivia wants to tell, and Naomi sets out to find out what really happened in the woods, no matter how dangerous the truth turns out to be. This is also available on Kindle Unlimited. So K Alice Marshall is a mystery thriller author that I have been wanting to read forever. So this is another author that I keep putting on my list, but I just never get to. I've heard this is her best book of all of her books out there, and that it's super creepy. It's perfect for slasher in the woods type of story if you like those. I just finally want to read this author. So I just had to put her back on the list again to see if I can finally get to her this time. Alright, book number eight is The Last to Vanish by Megan Miranda. And this has a 3.54 on Goodreads. The description reads: Ten years ago, Abigail Lovett fell into a job she loves, managing the Passage Inn, a cozy upscale resort nestled in the North Carolina mountain town of Cutter's Pass. Cutter's Pass is best known for its outdoor offerings, rafting and hiking, with access to the Appalachia Trail by way of a gorgeous waterfall and its mysterious history. As the book begins, the string of unsolved disappearances has haunted the town is once again thrust into a spotlight when journalist Landon West, who was staying at the inn to investigate the story of the vanishing trail, then disappears himself. Abby has sometimes felt like an outsider within the community, but she's come to view Cutter's Pass as her home. When Landa's brother Trey shows up looking for answers, Abby can't help but feel the town closing ranks, and she's still on the outside. When she finds incriminating evidence that may bring them closer to the truth, Abby soon discovers how little she knows about her coworkers, neighbors, and even those closest to her. So this might not be true Cabin in the Woods, but we have The Inn in a Mountain Town with all of this outdoor activity, so it still kind of fits the genre that I'm looking for. And I have read two books by this author, The Only Survivors and You Belong Here. They were both three stars for me. They're pretty mediocre mystery thrillers, and they leaned more on the mystery than the thriller. But I did enjoy her writing. I did enjoy parts of the story. There were a few things that I had problems with, but I do want to read more by this author and hopefully find a better book that would work for me. So that's why this is on the list because I just want to try another book by this author, and this fits the theme that I'm looking for as well. So this definitely sounds really interesting. Alright, and then book number nine is The Lake Escape by Jamie Day. And this has a 3.54 on Goodreads. And the description reads Will this be the best week of their lives or the last? Julia, David, and Erica grew up together spending summers at their idyllic Vermont lake homes for as long as they can remember. Now adults with their own solemn teens, endless mortgages. And low voltage sex lives, the three friends have amassed secrets over the years. This summer, David is eager to show off his newly renovated home, which now blocks his friend's cherished lake views and his much younger girlfriend. He also unwittingly brings a nanny with a hidden agenda. What could possibly go wrong? When David's girlfriend mysteriously vanishes after a shouting match, Julia and Erica wonder just how well they know their lifelong friend. The lake harbors a harrowing, two young women with no known connection, vanished without a trace 30 years ago. Did the lake take another? As a search is mounted, an intricate web of lies, deceit, and betrayals spanning generations starts to surface, and everyone finds themselves in dangers of becoming the next victim of the lake or something darker. So this is also available on Kindle Unlimited. The lake fits the whole kind of cabin in the woods, woodsy slasher type of stories. This is an author that I've had on a previous list, and I just still haven't gotten to her yet. And so I'm just very curious to read from this author. This sounds really interesting. I'm always curious about lakes and are there secrets in the lake, what's buried underneath. It just sounds really interesting. Alright, and then the last three books that I have on my list are theme park horror. So book number 10 is Wonderland by Jennifer Hillier. And this has a 4.06 on Goodreads. The description reads: Welcome to Wonderland. By day, it's a magical place boasting a certain retro charm. Excited children, handsticky with cotton candy, run frenetically from the giant octopus ride to the spinning sombrero, while the tinkling carnival music of the giant wonder wheel, the oldest ferris wheel in the Pacific Northwest, fills the air. But before daybreak, an eerie feeling descends. Maybe it's the clown museum, home to creepy wax replicas of movie stars and a massive collection of antique porcelain dolls. Or maybe it's the terrifying real house of horrors. Or maybe it's the dead king body left in the midway for all the wonder workers to see. Vanessa Castro's first day as a deputy police chief of Seaside Washington is off to a bang. The unidentifiable homeless man rotting inside the tiny town's main tourist attraction is strange enough. But now a teenage employee whose defiant picture at the top of Wonder Wheel went viral that same morning is missing. As the clues in those seemingly desperate crimes lead her down a mysterious shared path of missing persons that goes back decades, she suspects the CD rumors surrounding the amusement park's dark history might just be true. She moved to Seaside to escape her own scandalous past, but has she brought her family to the center of an insidious killer's twisted game? Acclaimed author Jennifer Hillier's bone-chilling thriller is masterful and fast-paced, hurdling toward a shocking, bloody conclusion. So this book is also available on Kindle Unlimited. And this is an author I have read from before. I read Things We Do in the Dark. I really did not like that book. I gave it two stars, but I wanted to read more from this author. I wanted to give her another try because I have heard so many people talk about her books and how good they are. And this one's rated pretty decent. And I've heard a lot of people say that this is their favorite from her. She also has a sequel to this book coming out on August 24th called Heart of Glass. So if you have read this book, or if you want to read this and then read the sequel, the sequel is coming out later this summer. So that's definitely something that interested me as well. But I just want to try another book by this author. And I've never read a theme park horror book before. So I think this might be a really good one to start with. Alright, book number 11 is Fantastic Land by Mike Bachoven. This has a 3.83 on Goodreads. The description reads Since the 1970s, Fantasticland has been the theme park where fun is guaranteed. But when a hurricane ravages the Florida coast and isolates the park, the employees find it anything but fun. Five weeks later, the authorities who rescue the survivors encounter a scene of horror. Photos soon emerge online of heads on spikes outside of wriths and human bones littering the gift shops, breaking records for hits, views, clicks, likes, and shares. How could a group of survivors, mostly teenagers, commit such terrible acts? Presented as a fact-finding investigation and a series of first-person interviews, Fantasticland pieces together the grisly series of events. Part policy was that the mostly college-aged employees surrender their electronic devices to preserve the authenticity of the Fantasticland experience. Cut off from the world and left on their own, the teenagers soon form rival tribes who viciously compete for food, medicine, social dominance, and even human flesh. This new social network divides the ravaged dreamland into territories ruled by the pirates, the shop girls, the freaks, and the mole people. If meticulously curated online personas can replace private identities, what takes over when those constructs are lost? So it says that this is a modern take on Lord of the Flies meets Battle Royale that probes the consequences of a social civilization built online. I have actually never heard of this author or this book, so when I was doing research for Summer Ween, specifically theme part horrors, this one kept popping up. And some people that I follow have read this and said that they really liked it. It sounds really interesting. With the new Lord of the Flies series that's on Netflix, I have started watching that. I've watched the first two episodes. I still have the second two to watch. I've actually never read the book, but I know about it. And Battle Royale, I have seen that movie. My husband was really into Asian horror for a while, and that's actually a really, really good movie. I know a lot of people compare that to Hunger Games. Even people say Hunger Games stole from Battle Royale because Battle Royale was before Hunger Games, but it is fight for survival, survival of the fittest. So the fact that it takes place in this theme park, and then you have the mix of Lord of the Flies and Battle Royale. I just thought this sounded really, really interesting, and I wanted to check it out. And then the final book on my list is book number 12, How to Survive a Horror Story by Mallory Arnold. And this has a 3.63 on Goodreads. This isn't exactly theme parkour, but I would say it's adjacent. This is locked manor with games, so it kinda has the theme parkour vibes to it. So that's why I put this on the list, but this one just sounded really interesting. So the description reads Seven authors enter the manor. Can they survive the story within? When legendary horror author Mortimer Queen passes, a group of writers find themselves invited to his last will and testament reading, expecting a piece of his massive fortune. Each have their own unique connection to the literary icon, some known, some soon to be discovered, and they've been waiting for their chance to step into the author's shoes for some time. Instead, they arrive at his grand manor and are invited to play a game. The rules are simple solve the riddle and progress to the next room. If they don't, the manor will take one of them for itself. You see, the queen estate was built on the bones of Mortimer's family, and like any true horror story, the house is still very, very hungry. With the clever locker rolls of Everyone in my family has killed someone, with the ghostly horror of the fall of House of Usher, How to Survive a Horror Story is a bright, biting thrill ride that begs us to contemplate how the best horror stories come to be. So I've kind of seen this book everywhere. I've never read from this author, but this sounds so fun. It kind of reminds me of You've Been Fatally Invited. It just instead of being on an isolated island, this is in a manor. And this came out last July, so this has been out for a year, but I think it's starting to gain a little bit of traction because I'm seeing more and more people reading this. And this just sounds so go. You have a locked manor, obviously, secrets and lies, and then just playing the game. So I'm always curious when we have locked rooms and there's games or puzzles you have to figure out, riddles you have to figure out. So this just sounded really, really interesting, and I am very curious to see what this is about. All right. Well, there you have it, my fellow bookworms. Those are all of the books that I'm attempting to read for Summer Ween. We know I'm not going to get to all of them. Some of these I actually might push to the fall time because some of them I don't know if they necessarily take place during summer. They could just be some good mystery thriller horror to read around spooky season. But I am going to try to get a couple of these under my belt. Like I said, I haven't read much in this genre this year, and I really want to increase my numbers. So very curious to read all of these. You can check back to my website to see if I have read any of these. I will have my written reviews up on the website. I haven't been doing a lot of reading wrap-ups or recent read episodes on the podcast, but I'm trying to get my written reviews done and posted on the website and on Goodreads. So if you either follow me on the platform or just head back over to the site, you can find out what my thoughts are about these books. Again, I invite you to the companion blog if you missed anything or want to learn more. I also invite you over to social media. Let me know if any of these have piqued your interest, if you're going to put some of these on your list this summer, or what are some other mystery, thriller, horror books that are good summer ween books. I would love to know your thoughts and add to my never-ending TBR list. If you are here to the very end of this episode, thank you so much for hanging out with me today. I hope that I have inspired you to maybe pick up a few of these or check them out. And I am very excited to read some of these and just see what I think. I definitely keep an open mind when it comes to this genre because, like I said, they're usually not rated very well. But some of these can just be really, really good thrill rides. And I think that's what I'm looking for at this point in summer right now. But thank you so much for hanging out with me today. And stay tuned to the podcast because as I mentioned earlier, I am working on a lot of projects behind the scenes. I've got some pages to popcorn episodes coming. I've got some real-time reactions. I want to do another try-a chapter. So lots of fun stuff coming up. And I'm already planning out fall, you guys. How crazy is that? We're in the middle of summer and I'm already trying to plan out my fall schedule and blog list. But I think that's all I have for this episode. So until next time, my story lovers, happy reading. Well, that's all I have for this episode. If you missed anything, you can find the companion blog on my website at bookmarksandblankets.com. That's bookmarksthelternblankets.com. If you enjoyed today's discussion, please consider subscribing to the podcast so you don't miss any episodes. Also, if you feel called to do so, please share this podcast with others who you think may be interested in this type of show. Or if you have a few minutes, I'd love for you to write a quick review. This helps me reach more people, and I would greatly appreciate it. If you would like to support the show even more, you can join my Patreon community at patreon.comslash bookmarks and blankets. Until next time, my friends, please remember to take care of yourself and always stay cozy.