Happy Tuesday, y’all! This week, Jana from That Artsy Reader Girl is giving us a Halloween freebie. I have to say, I was a bit stumped by this, which is strange for me. Then I dug through some older posts and found the Halloween Creatures Book Tag I made when I first started blogging. It feels like perfect timing, and I will use only books read in 2026. So I guess you could say this is the Halloween Creatures Book Tag: 2026 edition.
I found this tag at Read All The Things and Nily. You should check out their posts when you get the chance. You can find my first attempt at this tag here. I did this tag last year, too; you can find it here.
WITCH: A MAGICAL CHARACTER OR BOOK?
- Title: This Book Made Me Think of You by Libby Page
- Genre: Contemporary
- Release Date: February 2026
- Why? How to describe this without spoiling anything? The easiest way I can think of is to say it’s a book about bookish people. Oh, and it’s probably my favorite book of the year.
WEREWOLF: A PERFECT BOOK TO READ AT NIGHT?
- Title: Best Wishes From the Full Moon Coffee Shop by Mai Mochizuki
- Genre: Magical Realism, Translated, Christmas
- Release Date: February 2021 (in Japanese), October 2025 (in English)
- Why? The book is under 230 pages and contains three interconnected stories.
FRANKENSTEIN: A BOOK THAT TRULY SHOCKED YOU?
- Title: The Astral Library by Kate Quinn
- Genre: Magical Realism
- Release Date: February 2026
- Why? This book is unlike anything else I’ve read by Quinn. Her usual genre is historical fiction; this one leans more into fantasy.
THE DEVIL: A DARK, EVIL CHARACTER?
- Title: Lady X by Molly Fader
- Genre: Mystery
- Release Date: July 2026
- Why? A few characters in this book are dark and evil. In the current timeline, we have the cheating husband and the personal assistant. In the 1977 timeline, there are a lot of men, especially one in particular. I can’t be more specific without spoiling the book.
GRIM REAPER: A CHARACTER THAT NEVER SHOULD HAVE DIED?
- Title: Eight Ways to Say I Love You by Amanda Elliot
- Genre: Contemporary, Romance, Hanukkah
- Release Date: October 2026
- Why? I know the death was needed to move the story along and bring the main characters together. But it was still sad!
ZOMBIE: A BOOK THAT MADE YOU HUNGRY FOR MORE?
- Title: Love by the Book by Jessica George
- Genre: Contemporary
- Release Date: April 2026
- Why? This book was marketed as a romance. But it’s so much more than that. It’s a story of friendship and finding where you belong.
GARGOYLE: A CHARACTER YOU WOULD PROTECT AT ALL COSTS?
- Title: The Arctic Cruise by Caroline James
- Genre: Contemporary, Christmas
- Release Date: January 2026
- Why? Can I protect two characters? Of course I can; this is my list. Joy is finally living for herself. Henry is finally living. How can I not want to protect them both?
VAMPIRE: A BOOK THAT SUCKED THE LIFE OUT OF YOU?
- Title: Home for the Homicides by Elle Cosimano and Hannah Morrissey
- Genre: Christmas, Mystery, Romance
- Release Date: October 2026
- Why? Was this supposed to be a romance with a side of mystery? Or a mystery with a side of romance? And don’t get me started with the town and the people who live there.
GHOST: A BOOK THAT STILL HAUNTS YOU?
- Title: Cleo Dang Would Rather Be Dead by Mai Nguyen
- Genre: Contemporary
- Release Date: April 2026
- Why? Grief is no joke, and Nguyen based this book on her experience as a grieving mother.
DEMON: A BOOK THAT SCARED YOU?
- Title: Snowblind by Ragnar Jónasson
- Genre: Mystery, Thriller, Translated
- Release Date: October 2010 (in Icelandic), January 2017 (in English)
- Why? A small, isolated town where a woman is found unconscious and half-naked in the snow. Add to that, the most famous resident falls to his death. If it can happen there, it can happen anywhere.
SKELETON: A CHARACTER YOU HAVE A BONE TO PICK WITH?
- Title: The Woman Who Wouldn’t Die Quietly by Katarina Bivald
- Genre: Mystery
- Release Date: August 2026
- Why? Berit, it wouldn’t kill you to open up to people, especially Ian.
MUMMY: A BOOK YOU WOULD PRESERVE THROUGHOUT TIME?
- Title: Check, Please! by Ngozi Ukazu
- Genre: Graphic Novel
- Release Date: September 2018
- Why: How can you not love Bitty? I may have even squealed a bit at the end.
CREEPY DOLL: A COVER TOO SCARY TO LOOK AT?
- Title: The Keeper of Lost Causes by Jussi Adler-Olsen
- Genre: Mystery
- Release Date: September 2007 (in Danish), August 2011 (in English)
- Why? Scary? Sure, but more of an ominous feeling. I mean, a bare light bulb just hanging there with nothing else on the cover. How can that not be ominous?
Monster Mash: If you want to answer these questions, consider yourself tagged.
And that is the Halloween Creatures Book Tag 2026 Edition! Did my answers surprise you? How would you have answered the questions? Let me know in the comments. Happy Halloween!
Looking for more books to read? Check out my other bookish lists, book reviews, and monthly reading wrap-ups.
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