Paranormal Romance & Urban Fantasy discussion

I've found some great new authors thanks to you but I'm in a dry spell and need your help. There are more paranormal romance writers out there than I realised, and I don't know what they're like/about or where to start!

So far, I've read:
Stephenie Meyer
J.R. Ward
Christine Feehan
Lara Adrian
Lynsay Sands
Sunny
P.C. & Kristen Cast
L.J. Smith

and I have to-read:
Jennifer Armintrout
Robin McKinley
Raven Hart

I'd love it if you know of other authors and could recommend them to me, tell me which is the first book/best one to start with, and a bit about what it is about. Thanks heaps!

Shannon-
I stumbled across Succubus Blues by Richelle Mead during one of my dry spells. It was a case where I was desperate for something to read and hoped that I would end up with something that wasn't a complete wall-banger.

The main character is Georgina Kincaid, a centuries old succubus who has to deal with her sometimes overbearing boss (a middle management demon who likes John Cusack movies) and a job that she just isn't that crazy about. Sex or even a deep kiss steals some of the life force of her male victims and Georgina has principles. She tends to use her powers on slimy guys who deserve to lose some years off their lives.

The title and cover art suggest erotica while the blurb suggests chick lit. The book is neither. I was quite gratified that my quick pick up turned out to be quite well written with an engaging main character.

The plot is a basic whodunit mystery with imps, demons, vampires and angels as supporting characters. There is a second book that I haven't read yet, but fully intend to.

One of my favorite authors is Katie MacAlister. She has two paranmormal romance series out. One series is with a female main character who is a Guardian of a portal to Hell. There are dragons who are men and lots of demons and magic. It's a great series. There are currently four books out now with a fifth on the way that is to be a spin off. The books, in order, are:

You Slay Me
Fire Me Up
Light My Fire
Holy Smokes
Playing With Fire

The other series from her have a different set of main characters in each book, but are in the same "world". These are vampire books with some witchcraft thrown in. The books in this series are:

A Girl's Guide to Vampires
Sex and the Single Vampire
Sex, Lies, and Vampires
Even Vampires Get the Blues
The Last of the Red Hot Vampires

Another author I read is Erin McCarthy. Her vamp series is really light chick lit kind of reading. These books, in order, are:

High Stakes
Bit the Jackpot
Bled Dry
Sucker Bet

I also read the vamp series by Kathy Love. Each of her books has vamp brothers as the main character. There is one now about there sister. They are pretty good romances. These books, in order are:

Fangs For the Memories
Fangs But No Fangs
I Only Have Fangs For You
My Sister is a Werewolf

There is a young adult paranormal romance series written by Meg Cabot that I love and have reread several times. It's about a young girl who can see ghosts and help them with their unfinished business. (I know what you are thinking and they are pre-Ghost Whisperer). There is a great romance in them even though it's a teen romance. There are a total of six books in the Mediator series:

Shadowland
Ninth Key
Reunion
Darkest Hour
Haunted
Twilight

I could go on and on, but I will stop here. You can check my bookshelf out for more ideas.

Happy Reading!

Maybe you'd like to download a free sampler of 10 different authors' first chapters

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Feel free to share.

http://www.rowenacherry.com/downloads...

I haven't heard of these authors, this is great!

Melissa, I will check out your library, thanks!

Hi, Shannon--

You didn't mention Sherriln Kenyon, did you?. I just finished her Dark-Hunter and Dream-Hunter series, and they are AWESOME. I am totally addicted to Sherrilyn Kenyon now and can see why most pnr addicts rave about J.R. Ward and Sherrilyn Kenyon as their favs. Here are the series in order (from a list I saw on Amazon that worked well for me). I would suggest you to read the Dark-Hunter series first. Then you'll know many of the characters in the Dream-Hunter series.

DARK-HUNTER SERIES:

1.) Fantasy Lover
2.) Night Pleasures
3.) Night Embrace
4.) Dance with the Devil
5.) Kiss of the Night
6.) Night Play
7.) Seize the Night
8.) Sins of the Night
9.) Unleash the Night
10.) Dark Side of the Moon
11.) Devil May Cry
12.) Acheron

DREAM-HUNTER SERIES

1.) The Dream-Hunter
2.) Upon the Midnight Clear
3.) Dream Chaser

Has anyone read anything by Kresley Cole? I saw a PNR book by her the other day in a bookstore. I didn't pick it up because it was obviously further down in a series. (I hate starting in the middle of a series.) It looked interesting though. Just wondering if her books are any good or not....

Laura, I didn't mention Kenyon because as far as I can make out (correct me if I'm wrong), they're not about vampires? I read Fantasy Lover, which has nothing to do with vampires, and wasn't too impressed. But if you think I'd like them I'll look out for Night Pleasures

Jennifer, it's funny you should mention it cause I just got back from the bookshop where I bought Kresley Cole's A Hunger Like No Other , which seemed to be the first in a series.

I also picked up Lynsay Sands' new book, Vampires Are Forever, which has just been released; Jacob by Jacqueline Frank and Be Still My Vampire Heart by Kerrelyn Sparks. Anyone read these?

Hi, Shannon--
Actually, the Dark-Hunter series is about vamps. "Fantasy Lover" was strange in that it is totally different than the Dark-Hunters, yet it is considered the first novel in the series. That may be because Julian shows up in many of the Dark-Hunter books and mentions his good friend Kryian, who is a Dark-Hunter. Julian just doesn't know that yet, although he does catch a glimpse of him (he thinks, but of course Kryian died centuries ago) if you remember in a restaurant in "Fantasy Lover."

So try the first few Dark-Hunter books and see what you think. I was lucky in that my B&N didn't have "Fantasy Lover" when I started reading this series. I had to order it, and by the time it came in I had read the Books 2, 3, and 4. So by then I had seen Julian coming up all the time and was curious about his relationship to the vampy Dark-Hunters. Because of that I enoyed "Fantasy Lover" a lot since I knew how it fit in the plotline.

Thanks for clarifying that Laura, the Dark Hunter thing has always confused me! And thanks for drawing my attention to Melissa's recs, I must have missed the Kathy Love ones :)

If you like J.R. Ward, then I think you will love Mary Janice Davidson. Her 'Undead' series is sexy and hilarious.

Undead and Unwed is the first one in the series. If you read that one and like it, you will be sure to like the rest.

I would like to add my 2 cents to the conversation about Sherrilyn Kenyon. It is and yet it isn't about Vamps. The Dark Hunters and the Appollites in the series are what give way to legend and creates vamps in the series' world. There are many similarities, and it is constantly being pointed out that they are like vamps. In this series there are no such thing as 'traditional' vampires.

As a matter of fact, in one short story of hers she gives a new story of how Dracula came to be known. Quite entertaining stuff! If you want the full list (Laura, yours is good, but there are a bunch of short stories in other compilations and such that aren't there) you can go to this link on her website and she gives you all of the books in the series and in the order that they would preferably be read (preferred by her I assume!). Here ya go http://www.dailyinquisitor.com//hunte...

Also, I don't think that anyone mentioned Susan Sizemore. She has some good series about vamps, very good stuff. So far my favorites have been the I Thirst For You, I Hunger For You and I Burn For You series.

Enjoy!

You're right, Erica. Many times when Sherrilyn Kenyon is in a prn anthology with a short story or a novella hers is the best of the bunch, and I have read almost all of them. Although I should say some are about Were-Hunters and Dream-Hunters, not always about vampy Dark-Hunters. But I have enjoyed them all.

Thanks Michelle, I'll add Mary Janice Davidson to my list.

Thanks Erica, I've heard of Susan Sizemore but didn't know what her stuff was like. And you make the Dark Hunter books sound really interesting!

I just bought Sands' Vampires are Forever, is this not the first in ther series? Or is it a stand alone? I also just bought Kenyon's Night Pleasures, and Jeaniene Frost's Halfway to the Grave. Did a little Borders shopping spree last night...

No, Vampires Are Forever is the newest release. If you want to read them in order I think someone had a list of them under the Favourite topic discussion, but I read them out of order and it doesn't make any difference (I started with Single White Vampire, but I think my favourite is Bite Me If You Can.

I haven't heard of Jeaniene Frost.

Halfway to the Grave is Frost's first novel, and its fairly new. A couple people in this group read it and liked it, so I thought I'd give it a try. I just bought it last night, and haven't cracked it open yet. Thaks for the info Shannon!

Goodreads has Night Pleasures as book #4 in the Dark Hunter series. It is #1, right? (With a series like this, I'd like to start at the beginning!) I've read Fantasy Lover, and some of them seem to be short stories? Do I start with Dragonswan or Nigh Pleasures?

This is what I got from her website:

1. Fantasy Lover
2. "The Beginning", also in the back of Sins of the Night
3. Dragonswan
4. Night Pleasures
5. Night Embrace
6. "Phantom Lover", in the anthology Midnight Pleasures
7. Dance with the Devil
8. "A Dark-Hunter Christmas", also in the back of Dance with the Devil
9. Kiss of the Night
10. Night Play
11. "Winter Born", in the anthology Stroke of Midnight
12. Seize the Night
13. Sins of the Night
14. "Second Chances", in Exclusive Dark-Hunter Collectible Booklet
15. Unleash the Night
16. Dark Side of the Moon
17. "A Hard Day's Night-Searcher", in the anthology My Big Fat Supernatural Wedding
18. "Until Death We Do Part", in the anthology Love At First Bite
19. Fear the Night, free eBook
20. The Dream-Hunter
21. Devil May Cry
22. Upon the Midnight Clear

I love the Immortals After Dark series by Kresley Cole! The series actually starts in an anthology called "Playing Easy to Get" with the short story "The Warlord Wants Forever." The first full length novel is "A Hunger Like No Other" and it is actually my least favorite, but they just get better and better after that one! I can't wait for the next one to come out in April!

I would definitely go by that list that she posted on her site, Shannon. My mom got me hooked on these books, but what that meant was that I got into them haphazardly and when I have gone back and read some of the earlier ones, I have seen characters before their storyline came along. Interesting, but not ideal. I didn't read Fantasy Lover until much later and that pop up of Kyrian was odd. It would have been much better foreshadowing if I had seen it earlier!

The interesting thing about her series, although she technically separates the different series,is that there is a lot of crossover. You will see the same gods in both the Dream Hunter and Dark Hunter series, and there are some major things going on with these gods that I think affect all of the story lines. I expect that they will converge in Acheron, at least I hope so! Also, the same can be said of the Were Hunters, lots of cross over. Bride and Vane's story is directly linked to many other Dark Hunter stories, and if you miss one, you miss out!

Sorry, I just get worked up about these books. Although I have to say that I didn't enjoy her most recent, Upon the Midnight Clear as much as the others. But I am dying to read Acheron when it comes out! I might pre-order from Amazon if I can!

(Jennifer)
You will love "Halfway to the Grave." The vamp in it (Bones) is beyond yummy...he is so wonderful (grin)! I wasn't crazy about the ending, but the ride there was so fabulous it is well worth reading. Plus, it is the first in a series.

(Erica)
I agree. I have been totally spoiled by Kenyon's novels and the world she has created for all her Hunters. Yes, "Upon a Midnight Clear" wasn't the best, but it had a great Kenyon ending to it And I LOVED the three shorts at the end, because they included so many of my fav Hunters. Just major fun, so that made that novel very worthwhile for me.

Thanks Erica. I like to read series in order too if I can, though sometimes it's hard to get hold of books in a particular series. Some of them are short stories, is that right? I think I'll have to get Sins to read "The Beginning" at the back, then Dragonswan, so it's still in order!

Bones is very similar to Spike in Buffy, but not as crazy as Spike was.

Frost's Halfway to the Grave was an amazing read.

I'm another Laura:)

I just bought Halfway to the Grave thanks to all these positive recs! You know, I never liked Buffy, but the Spike character (I saw bits) was intriguing.

I too have purchased Halfway to the Grave (from Amazon, who does free shipping and 4 for 3 all the time). I also pre-ordered One Foot in the Grave (again from Amazon because they give you 5% off pre-orders) which is the second book in the series due out at the end of April. Thanks everyone for the suggestion! Keep 'em coming.

Patricia Briggs is really good! I couldn't put her down!
1. Moon Called
2. Blood Bound
3.Iron Kissed

And she has a story in "On the Prowl" anthology.

Eileen Wilks is AMAZING! (she also has a story in the above mentioned anthology)
1. Tempting Danger
2. Mortal Danger
3. Blood Lines
4. Night Season

Majorie M. Liu "Dirk and Steel" Series is excellent!

1. Tiger Eye
2. Shadow Touch
3. The Red Heart of Jade
4. Dark Dreamers (Anthology with Christine Feehan)
5. Eye of Heaven
6. Soul Song
7. The Last Twillight

I also enjoyed Gena Showalter's "Atlantis" series

1. Heart of The Dragon
2. Jewl of Atlantis
3. The Nymph King

Her book "Catch a Mate" had me laughing out loud, so if you need a light hearted read, check it out.

Thanks Tricia! I've only heard of Eileen Wilks - I saw her books in the bookshop yesterday but couldn't tell where they start or if they were good. I'll look into the others too.

It's amazing how many authors of paranormal romance there are once you scratch beneath the surface!

What a great suggestion. It has got to be the best way.

Shannon here's my list of authors I've collected so far. And I'm still adding to the list. {snicker}

Monica Ferris--Mystery : Needlework Mystery Series
Patricia Briggs--Paranormal-fantasy : Mercy Thompson Series
Jim Butcher--Paranormal-fantasy : The Dresden Files; Codex Alera - Series
Carole Nelson Douglas--Paranormal-fantasy
P.N. Elrod--Paranormal-fantasy : The Vampire Files Series
Tanya Huff--Paranormal-fantasy : Smoke ; Blood - Series
Elizabeth Amber(Erotic)--Paranormal-romance : The Lords of Satyr Series
Amanda Ashley--Paranormal-romance
Alexandra Ivy--Paranormal-romance : Guardians of Eternity Series
Kathy Love--Paranormal-romance
Katie MacAlister/Kate Marsh--Paranormal-romance : Dark Ones; Aisling Grey, Guardian; Silver Dragons; Karma Marx - Series
Sharon Page(Erotic)--Paranormal-romance: “Blood” Historical Series
Sara Reinke--Paranormal-romance : The Brethren Series
Stephanie Rowe--Paranormal-romance
Lynsay Sands--Paranormal-romance : The Argeneau Vampire Series
Susan Sizemore--Paranormal-romance : Laws of Blood; The Primes - Series
Shiloh Walker(Erotic)--Paranormal-romance : The Hunters Series(ebook author)
J. R. Ward--Paranormal-romance : Black Dagger Brotherhood Series

Thanks to everyone for all the great suggestions and recommendations. I appreciate people taking the time to write such comprehensive lists; especially listing particular series in reading order. Its very helpful! Thanks a bunch!

Wow Ja'niece, that's a hell of a list! I've read a few of those authors, and have a few more on my shelf at home, waiting their turn. Which of these would you say are a must?

I keep stumbling across mentions of Jim Butcher. Are his books good?

I kept reading your list looking for Laurell Hamilton thinking she must be there, but she's not! If you like the authors you list here, I can't imagine you wouldn't love Hamilton. She's written a large number of vampire themed books that are heavy on romance (frankly, some are nearly pornographic!) - some are average, but most are really good. I really would recommend starting with her first and moving through - it's the easiest way to make sense of some rather complex character interactions.

Ah... and Charlaine Harris - lighter than Hamilton, but her Southern Vampire series is really quite amusing (and quick, light reads).

Hmmmm... Speaking of Jim Butcher, I think the Dresden Files is a new series on TV. On the Sci-Fi channel maybe. I could be wrong, but I think I remember hearing something about it.

Another author you might want to try is Rachel Caine. It isn't officially paranormal romance, it probably leans a little more toward sci fi, but I have to admit I'm hooked. Her Weather Warden Series is great-
Ill Wind
Heat Stroke
Chill Factor
Windfall
Firestorm
Thin Air

I haven't read Hamilton mostly because I can't find her first book! And then when I'm looking at the impressive collection of books in the bookshop, I can never remember what the first one is called! Also, she gets very mixed reviews from people here, but I'll try any author once!

I've seen the Harris books around; what's the title of the first one?

Haven't heard of Rachel Caine I don't think, but I'll look into them. Thanks!

Shannon, I'd recommend the first five or so books of Hamilton's Anita Blake series. I loved the series up to that point, and then it just went downhill for me and degenerated into a blatant Mary Sue having repetitive, poorly written sex scenes every ten pages or so. I love sex scenes, but there's a point where it just gets boring.

I'm sure she's already been mentioned, but Keri Arthur's series (I'm away from my books and can't look up the name of the series, haha) is great. It's sexy and definitely not schmoopy, and the overarching story arc keeps me hooked. I also like that the books are set in Australia and written by an Australian. Most of the paranormal romances I read are written by Americans, even if they're set in other countries, and it's refreshing to get another cultural perspective on a story.

I've picked up the first Keri Arthur book, and I'm looking forward to it! I love reading books by Australians, they make me nostalgic :) You're right, American authors really do dominant this genre. They also dominate online too, why is that?

I confess I don't know what you mean by "Mary Sue" - I could guess, but I'd probably be wrong. And you're right about sex scenes getting boring. Christine Feehan does that to me. She can take the fun out of anything with her corny, sugary, repetitive writing!

Just wanted to say that I love Rachel Caine too. She has a vampire series that is considered young adult. It's a college student who finds out the hard way that vampires really run her small college town. She moves in with a group of other college kids who are trying to help her stay safe. There are some cool other world aspects to this series. There are three books out already with a fourth due out soon. Light on the romance since it's YA, but good paranormal reading.


Another cool series is the Dante Valentine series by Lilith Saintcrow. The main character is a necromancer who is basically told by the devil that she must do a job for him. This of course leads to all sorts of other problems as the series progresses. It's a five book series. Lots of demons and magic, suspense and cop like action. In order, the books are:

Working For the Devil
Dead Man Rising
The Devil's Right Hand
Saint City Sinners
To Hell and Back

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RE: Shannon - [Quote:] Wow Ja'niece, that's a hell of a list! I've read a few of those authors, and have a few more on my shelf at home, waiting their turn. Which of these would you say are a must?

I keep stumbling across mentions of Jim Butcher. Are his books good? [/Quote:]

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Katie MacAlister ( Dark Ones - [vamps:]; Aisling Grey, Guardian - [dragons:]; - Series ). Would be #1 on my must read list, as she was the one who got me additively hooked on paranormal romance in the first place.

Susan Sizemore (The Primes Series) Alpha male testosterone driven vamps.

Kathy Love (Young Brothers Series) light humor vamps.

Elizabeth Amber ( The Lords of Satyr Series ) If you're into kinky erotica she's a must! Check out my review of Nicholas

If you like the reluctant hero/wizard type then the Dresden files are a very good fantasy read. The hero Harry has a half brother who's a vampire. But you don't learn about him until the 4 or 5 book in the series.

Considering that the Sci-Fi channel decided to make a tv series out of the books must mean something in the way of popularity. BTW, you can get the first season on DVD now.

Not really a must, but still an OK read - Patricia Briggs, Monica Ferris. I'm still working my way through the others on the list and will write reviews on each one in turn. So keep an eye on my update feeds.

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RE: Nlydia - [quote:] I kept reading your list looking for Laurell Hamilton thinking she must be there, but she's not! [/quote:]
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Not to worry! I just recently added Laurell K. Hamilton to my list. I ran across a Graphic Novel entitled Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter: Guilty Pleasures, Vol. 1 (Hardcover) 0785127232 I assume it's about her first book in the series. Anyway I hope to collect the other 6 volumes in Graphic Novel hardcover when they come out. (I really liked the artwork in the book not to mention the story so far.) Or I may get impatient and just buy the paperback so I can finish the entire story.

one last note: I've added yet another author to my list – Kerrelyn Sparks. She has 4 books out in the (Love at Stake Series). I've read the back page blurb and liked what was there, so I bought all 4 books to add to my ever growing pile of To-Reads.

Jennifer, here's a pretty accurate definition of Mary Sue: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_sue . It's a term that originated in fanfiction communities to describe a certain type of character.

Melissa, I've been meaning to pick up Lilith Saintcrow's books, and it's good to see them recommended!

Actually, that was my silly question :D

Thanks TDF, that makes a lot of sense. I can certainly that I can't stand Mary Sue characters!

Shannon,

To answer your questions - Harris's first in that series (southern vampire) is "Dead Until Dark". On the Hamilton series (vampire one, she has one on Faire), I believe the first is "Guilty Pleasures." As I said (and think someone reiterated in a later post), some get pretty heavily sexual, but to be honest there was only one that I recall that was basically porn (in that book, you get where you say "okay I get it... move on!"). To be honest, I think she was newly divorced at that point or in a new relationship (based on her dedications) so maybe she was just in the mood ;-)

This is the URL for Hamilton's series - provides the book list - http://www.laurellkhamilton.org/Anita...

Thanks Nlydia.

I'm going to have to read a Hamilton book - just to see what all the fuss is about!

Shannon, let me know what you think about LKH when you try her books. I wanted to find out what all the fuss was about too and was looking forward to sampling her last year. I started "Guilty Pleasures," which everyone raves about as one of her best. I quit after 50 pages. I tried really hard to like it, but it just wasn't my thing.

Then I tried a Merry Gentry novel (her other series), hoping I would like it more, because Merry is Fey (and you know how I adore the Fey). I got about 100 pages into that one and quit too.

I realized LKH is just not for me. She can't hold my interest. Why? I've thought a lot about this and realized there is an underlying meanness to everything...her sex scenes, plot lines, etc., that was a total turnoff for me. I'm weird, I know (grin). So I would be curious to know what you think about her too.

CL Wilson is another pretty good author. Ok...she doesn't write vampire books, but she does deal with magic and magical beings. She only has 2 books out right now. Like Christine Feehan, she has Mages, but all of hers are the bad guys from what I have seen so far.

I've read C.L. Wilson's first two books and loved them. She writes fantasy with a bit of romance, and there's some good original stuff in them that I appreciate. Also, her prose is quite good :)

Yeah, I really want to find out how she [Wilson] continues with the series next Fall.

One author I haven't seen mentioned is Julie Kenner. She writes all kinds of books. She has a paranormal series with a soccer mom as a demon hunter. That series is still on going. She also has an older series with the main characters having superhero powers. They are pretty clever.

Someone mentioned her earlier, I think, but I just picked up Gerry Bartlett's book Real Vampires Have Curves. I'm about halfway through, and so far I think it's pretty entertaining. As far as vampire chick-lit goes, I'm still rooting for Kimberly Raye as my favorite, but Glory St. Clair is a funny character. Anyone else read these with opinions?

I love Julie Kenner! I've read everything of hers all the way back to The Cat's Fancy- She has the Givenchy Code, Prada Paradox and Manolo Matrix too ( more chick lit/ suspense)