Paranormal Romance & Urban Fantasy discussion

Hi Everyone,

I'm looking for the top vampire series books. My top five would be -

The black dagger brotherhood
The Midnight Breed
The Night Huntress
Vampires In America
Sookie Stackhouse Books

I'm looking for more books and series to read, all suggestions helpful.

Thanks :)

I like Lynn Viehl's Darkyn series. The first book in the series is "If Angels Burn".

I do too, Julie! I also like the Chicagoland Vampires: Some Girls Bite.

I second Chicagoland Vampires and would add:


- Anna Strong by Jeanne Stein (1st bk: The Becoming)
- Dark Days by Jocelyn Drake (1st bk: Nightwalker)
- Dorina Basarab by Karen Chance (1st bk: Midnight's Daughter) ** 1/2 vamp, 1/2 human **
- Riley Jenson by Keri Arthur (1st bk: Full Moon Rising) ** 1/2 vamp, 1/2 were **
- Maker's Song by Adrian Phoenix (1st bk: A Rush of Wings) ** different twist on vamps **

I would also add Lynsay Sands Argeneau Series and Kerrelyn Sparks Love at Stake series. They are a
lighter read.
I'm also recommending Chloe Neill's Chicagoland Vampires.

I'll give another recommendation for Chicagoland Vampires. I'd also recommend Faith Hunter's Jane Yellowrock series as well as Yasmine Galenorn's Otherworld series.

If you're into YA, I would suggest the Vampire Academy series by Richelle Mead.
Also, Night Huntress series by Jeaniene Frost.

Night Huntress and Vampire Acadmey are my favorites!!

Melissa wrote: "Night Huntress and Vampire Acadmey are my favorites!!"

I see someone has excellent taste :)

Schay wrote: "Melissa wrote: "Night Huntress and Vampire Acadmey are my favorites!!"

I see someone has excellent taste :)"

:)

For UF Vamp stories, might I suggest the Bloodhound Files by D.D. Barant. But these are very definately UF, no sign of a love-interest much less an HEA yet, and she's at 3 books so far.

My faves are up there already, but I do love Acheron- that would be The Dark Hunter Series by Sherrilyn Kenyon.

but chicagoland vamps, Vampire Acadamy, BDB, and Night Huntress (world) are my faves.

Definitely Vampire Academy!

Rebecca wrote: "Definitely Vampire Academy!"

I second that! and also Strange Angels

Melissa wrote: "Night Huntress and Vampire Acadmey are my favorites!!"

I'm going with the Night Huntress series, too. Bones is perfect. :)

I loved the Vamp Academy series. I was so sad for Adrian at the end, though. He needed a HEA.

Hum, Kate Danies series (Magic Bites is book #1) also has vamps--but they are totally DIFFERENT vamps.

And YA, another series with vamps (and very on the "lite" side) is the Blood Coven series. Boys that Bite is #1 in the series.

Since no one had mentioned those 2, thought I'd throw them into the fray.

Night Huntress is the best, I also love Sookie Stackhouse because it is what got me into all this stuff.

Also just as an individual book Seducing the Vampire by Michelle Hauf is amazing, it also has a spin-off that should be published next year I think...(: (: (:

Night Huntress
Makers Song
Chicagoland
Dark Hunter
5th is a tie between Cassandra Palmer and Jaz Parks

Black Dagger Brotherhood
Dark Hunters
Brotherhood of Blood
Midnight Breed
Darklyn

the dark hunter series is the best. as well as house of night, black dagger brotherhood, vampire academy, anita blake the vampire hunter, ummmm.... there are lots but i just cant think of them right now.lol

I like the Sookie Stackhouse books, too. I'm also a sucker for gothic stories, so J. Sheridan LeFanu's Carmilla always got to me. Very erotic with lesbian undertones if you're not familiar with it.

Anita Blake (Laurell K Hamilton)
The Black Dagger Brotherhood (J.R. Ward)
The Midnight Breed (Lara Adrian)
The Night Huntress (Jeaniene Frost)
Cassandra Palmer (Karen Chance)

Roberta wrote: "Hi Everyone,

I'm looking for the top vampire series books. My top five would be -

The black dagger brotherhood
The Midnight Breed
The Night Huntress
Vampires In America
Sookie Stackhou..."

Who does Vampires in America? I've read the other series, and I'm always looking for other series

Have you read the Vampire Academy series or The Vampire diaries Series?

Anita Blake, definitely anita blake!! you become so hooked you feel attached to the characters you connect with most.

Anita Blake but only for the first--hum 8 or 9 books or so. After that, LKH forgets all the things that made the books GREAT and turns to writing porn. Sorry, but I STILL mourn the loss of a great writer since she started doing the whole erotica thing. Maybe if she hadn't taken an established series and done that to it, I wouldn't still be so angry at her. But because she DID destory what I had considered a great series, I have refused to buy anything else by her. And yes, I know that she said that her divorce "freed her to write what SHE wanted to write," but still, she should have just wrapped up the Anita series and started another one.

Ann aka Iftcan wrote: "Anita Blake but only for the first--hum 8 or 9 books or so. After that, LKH forgets all the things that made the books GREAT and turns to writing porn. Sorry, but I STILL mourn the loss of a grea..."

Hi! I'm new here and wasn't planning to comment just yet, but I was so relieved to see this. I was beginning to think I was the only one who felt like that. And I like erotica! But this series didn't begin that way and seemed to become more sexually bizarre with each book. I simply gave up reading them and it made me very sad.

Hi everyone, here are my top 10. I've read and am still reading these series.. To me they are the best..

1.House of Night
2.Love at Stake
3.Night Huntress
4.Argeneau
5.Vampires Kisses
6.Sabina Kane
7.Chicagoland Vampires
8.Morganville Vampires
9.Blue Bloods
10.Blodd Coven Vampires

My favorite vampire series are:

1) The Black Dagger Brotherhood
2) The Night Huntress
3) The Taker (The Reckoning, The Descent)
4) The Fever Series
5) Twilight
6) Chicagoland Vampires

I have found a new series that I just love. It is the Elemental Mysteries 4 part series by Elizabeth Hunter. All 4 books are 5 star IHO. Before this series, Chicagoland Vampires was by far my fav.

Sookie stackhouse Definatly, but I'm realy like the new Immortal rules by Kilo Kagawa too. even though its only one book in, I think the rest will be great

correction for last comment, Julie Kagawa

Armintrout, Jennifer - Blood ties series 01-04
Mead, Richelle - Vampire Academy 01-06
Stein, Jeanne - Anna Strong Chronicles
Patricia Briggs - Mercy Thompson Series (has vampires but LOVED it)
Kenyon, Sherrilyn - Dark Hunter Series 01-22 (THE BEST!!)
Ward, JR - Black Dagger Brotherhood 01-10 (THE BEST)
Adrian, Lara - Midnight Breed 01-10 (THE BEST)

Did anyone mention Nina Bangs yet? Her vamps fall into different types. Herititary vamps (born human and transform over at about the age of 30--but until they transistion into vamp, they are as mortal as anyone else), "made" (i.e. traditional) vamps. Then there were some that I never did exactly figure out WHAT they were--except that they fed by biting on big TOES. (Yeah, strange, yes?) But her novels are usually very much in the "Vamp lite" category.

Night Huntress - Frost
Sookie Stackhouse - Harris
Argeneau - Sands
Black Dagger Brotherhood - Ward
Anita Blake - Hamilton
Love At Stakes - Sparks
Jane Jameson - Harper
VV Inn - Ellison
Glory St. Clair - Bartlett
Oldest City Vampire - Haddock
Vegas Vampires - McCarthy
Chicagoland Vampires - Neill
Immortality Bites - Rowen

My favorites are Argeneau by Sands, Night Huntress by Frost, and Sookie Stackhouse by Harris.

Here are a few I didn't see mentioned that are great IMHO:

A Girl's Guide to Vampires Excellent humor, suspence; the works.

When Darkness Comes Love this one and it gets better with each book.

The Crimson City series it also a good read, very different environment/world built in this series.

Has anyone mentioned Nalini Singh's Guild Hunter series, yet? It's not my favorite series, but still, quite good in my opinion! Plus, the stories include angels, which I like as well. The first book in the series is "Angel's Blood". Like most everyone else I enjoy BDB, although I'm fairly tired of the term "sh$# kickers"? (laughing) I stopped enjoying Laurell K Hamilton's series once sex took over and crowded out Edward, who is one of my favorite characters. I know he's made short reappearances from time to time, but still...(sigh). I read my first Kathryn Smith "Brotherhood of Blood" books over the weekend. I really liked the first one Be Mine Tonight, but didn't care much for Night of the Huntress. If you're from the southeastern US you're almost required to like Sookie, but I prefer the newcomer, Molly Harper and her "Nice Girls Don't" series. Her hilarious descriptions of southern small town life are absolutely spot on. Her protagonist, Jane Jameson, a spinsterish librairian type with a fondness of all things Austen and a snarky sense of humor, is turned into a vampire after being shot from the window of a pickup truck driven by the town drunk who mistakenly thought she was a "ten pointer"! The whole series is a gigglefest, but the second book Nice Girls Don't Date Dead Men is, thusfar, the best in the series in my opinion. Several have already mentioned Richelle Mead's "Vampire Academy" books, but her "Succubus" series also has vampires and is one of my favorites with Succubus Blues being the first in the series. Like everyone else I really enjoy Jeaniene Frost even though Bones is pretty much a carbon copy of Spike, from Buffy. (grin) andddd...speaking of Spike, I do so love to listen to James Marster's narratives of Jim Butcher's "Dresden Files" which, also, have vampires although the protagonist, Harry Dresden, is, himself, a wizard. (smile)

Black Dagger Brotherhood
Night Huntress
Blue Bloods
Succubus Blues
Vampire Academy

:DDDDDDDDDDDD AWEEYEAH

Ok, guess its time my my obligatory rant about BDB (Black Dagger Brotherhood for those of you fortunate enough to NOT have read any yet.)

As you can tell from the above--I am NOT a fan. In my opinion Ward is possibly THE most over-rated writer in the English language. She can't spell, she can't use proper punctuation, she can't write, and we won't even TALK about the villians in this series. . . I will admit--she has GOOD ideas. I think that her premise for BDB was GREAT--she just should have sold it--or gone into partnership with someone who COULD write (I'm sure there are plenty of third graders out there who would love to become her partner, since she writes at about a second grade level.) And yes, I HAVE tried to read the series. Three times with book 1--only to wind up throwing it at the wall each time. I DID get all the way through book 2--and it "only" (note the sarcastic quotes) took me 2 weeks--and, since I normally read a book to a book-and-a-half a day. . .

(Clearing throat in embarassment.) Ok, having now finished my rant I will turn the soapbox back over to the rest of us so we can go on listing good vampire books.

Jeanie wrote: "Has anyone mentioned Nalini Singh's Guild Hunter series, yet? It's not my favorite series, but still, quite good in my opinion! Plus, the stories include angels, which I like as well. The first b..."

I'm with you! Molly Harper is one of my faves, though if you're expecting dark and brooding vamps, she's not for you. These are a great read when you need a laugh or a break from more serious fare. Her characters are gems and Gabriel is... (sigh)...

Ann aka Iftcan wrote: "Ok, guess its time my my obligatory rant about BDB (Black Dagger Brotherhood for those of you fortunate enough to NOT have read any yet.)

As you can tell from the above--I am NOT a fan. In my opi..."

I actually have some issues with the series, even though I rated many of them 4 or 5 stars. I overlooked a lot because of the concept and characters. I can overlook writing if I'm sucked into a story and I feel the emotions, which I did with this series. What bothered me is the constant name dropping and slang. I have a hard time believing men who had been alive for hundreds of years would be into rap music and talk the way kids do. My husband still uses 80's phrases and listens to the music from the 80's. There is no way they'd all be into the same music and talk the same way.

Also, I feel the books have been slowly declining. Usually, I like the books more and more as they're released but with BDB I am liking each one less. Lover Reborn was the first book in that series I gave such a low rating to (2 stars)

My top 10 vampire series are:

1. Vampire Academy / Bloodlines
2. Night Huntress
3. Guild Hunter
4. Jane Yellowrock
5. Jane Jameson / Half Moon Hollow
6. Chicagoland Vampires
7. Sookie Stackhouse
8. Immortality Bites
9. Dead End Dating
10. Haven

Also, BDB is a guilty pleasure of mine. I have to agree though that the writing could be a lot better. The pseudo-slang is grating, the villains are laughable and most of the time I have no respect for the female leads. But still, there is something about that series that sucks you in, despite all its faults.

Cmkage wrote: "Also, BDB is a guilty pleasure of mine. I have to agree though that the writing could be a lot better. The pseudo-slang is grating, the villains are laughable and most of the time I have no respect for the female leads. But still, there is something about that series that sucks you in, despite all its faults."
I think the fact that the guys are such huge, sexy, damaged men, despite their love of rap and urban slang, is why I still listen to them. Jim Frangione does a great narration, so I can't speak to how poorly Ward's spelling abilities are. I listen to most books these days. It's amazing how much work one can accomplish when you have a great book blaring away in your earbuds! (grin)I'm with P.A., though, that the stories are getting weaker with each book. I thought "Lover Reborn" was a real stinker, too. So, this series might just have to be filed away with my Laurell K. Hamilton's, soon. (sigh)

Hmmm...

Chicagoland Vampires
Scanguards Vampires
Night Huntress

Jeanie wrote: "Cmkage wrote: "Also, BDB is a guilty pleasure of mine. I have to agree though that the writing could be a lot better. The pseudo-slang is grating, the villains are laughable and most of the time I ..."

So far I've only read the first 6 books. I'm hesitant to read the rest, mainly because so many people seem to think that the books are getting progressivly worse. But I'm really looking forward to read the pairing in Lover At Last, so I guess I will catch up eventually.

I haven't tried BDB as audiobooks yet, even though I listen to audiobooks a lot (you are so right, Jeanie, one gets a lot done while listening to them).

Rebecca wrote: "Definitely Vampire Academy!"
I so agree with this.

Lara Adrian's Midnight Breed
Christine Feehan's Dark series
Twilight :)

My top five vampire series would be:

Midnight Breed by Lara Adrian
Love at Stake by Kerrelyn Sparks
Mark of the Vampire by Laura Wright
Sweetblood by Laurie London
Guardians of Eternity by Alexandra Ivy

Worth mentioning:
Argeneau Vamps by Lynsay Sands
Scanguards Vamps by Tina Folsom

I found a series by J.R.Rain, called Samantha Moon. Very light hearted books!

VA/Bloodlines.