beib’s blog

This isn’t finished, it’s only up to last October and since I had surgery and was off work for a week, plus other time since then, I’ve read a lot more and will update it later!

So after reading Twilight and all the following books (New Moon, Eclipse, Breaking Dawn and Myers’ chapters she released online of Edward’s book Midnight Sun), I got majorly engrossed in vampire romance/action, werewolf, witchy kinda books. I found a site with a post “life after Twilight” which listed other books of the genre or whatever that people who loved Twilight could check out.

So, since I’ve read so many (not all from the site above), I’m gonna list them here mainly because I lost track myself and it’d be nice for me to have a list of what I’ve actually read.

Updated on January 13th (ohhh, spooky!), with a blurb on each series and colour coded based on my personal recommendations. These are just my own opinions, please remember that.

Highly recommended reading
Recommended reading
Alright, worth a read at least
Recommended if stuck
For when you’re beyond stuck and just have to be reading something

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Twilight Saga – Stephanie Myers
The movie coming out got me reading these books, and while they are great reading for teens and adults alike, once I started reading other ones – they didn’t even compare. The first 3 books are fab, but Breaking Dawn was just odd. Like it had to be a book to finish the series. Most of the book was ok, the parts of the plot minus the child, making it worth a read at least.

• Twilight
• New Moon
• Eclipse
• Breaking Dawn
• Midnight Sun

Midnight Breed Series – Lara Adrian
Loved these books, a fabulous mix of action, excitement and romance. Each book is different and the secondary, so to speak, plot running through all books is heating up to something big! ( I hope!).

• Kiss of Midnight
• Kiss of Crimson
• Midnight Awakening
• Midnight Rising
• Veil of Midnight
• Ashes of Midnight

The Hollows Series – Kim Harrison
Not vampire-y, but there are vampire characters in the book, main characters. Our heroine (Rachel) in these books is a kick ass witch and I have to say the interaction with her and the demons alone, make the books worth reading. Add to that everything Rachel goes through emotionally and physically and the excellent plots, makes these books ones not to miss.

• Dead Witch Walking
• The Good, the Bad and the Undead
• Every Which Way But Dead
• A Fistful of Charms
• For a Few Demons More
• The Outlaw Demon Wails
• White Witch Black Curse

The Black Dagger Brotherhood Series – J.R. Ward
I really loved this series, but I must say one of two of the chracters annoyed the hell out of me, Phury and John. The next book coming out is John’s and while I’ll definitely not miss it for anything, but he annoys me so much I nearly hate to read it! Enough of the characters who annoy me, these books are fabulous. The different spin into vampires taken in these books make them stand out head and shoulders above most other vampire series. These need to be at least top 3 of your must-read list

• Dark Lover
• Lover Eternal
• Lover Awakened
• Lover Revealed
• Lover Unbound
• Lover Enshrined
• Insider’s Guide
• Lover Avenged

Love at Stake Series – Kerrelyn Sparks
The only series where I constantly check to see when the next book is coming out – March 2010 is too far away! There isn’t much in the way of decent vampire action in the books, couple of fights and those are alright, we’re more into the interaction, behaviour and lives of the characters involved. Nothing wrong with that at all, love these books The first book, How to Marry a Millionaire Vampire, is seriously excellent!

• How to Marry a Millionaire Vampire
• Vamps and the City
• Be Still My Vampire Heart
• The Undead Next Door
• All I Want for Christmas is a Vampire
• Secret Life of a Vampire
• Forbidden Nights with a Vampire

Anita Blake Series – Laurell K. Hamilton
I couldn’t decide on a colour for these really. They start off excellent, and I mean excellent, but then turn into nothing more than sex, sex and more sex. Very adult series. Kinda got boring after a while, same thing over and over. Tons of sex, couple of fights, big fight at the end where she gains another new power ,or greater power, or something weird. Anita is a necromancer, a very powerful one, with a string of boyfriends a mile wide. Her werewolf boyfriend (Richard) annoys me, he’s just a wimp and when – in my eyes – the author tried to make him come across better, she made a balls of it and he just turned into an agressive idiot. Thankfully, there was a somewhat plausible escape from that! But he’s still a wimp, for a werewolf – not impressed. That said, her main (yes, main) vampire boyfriend is pretty cool.

The character, Anita, has the potential to be something just awesome is even too small to describe, the author created a fantastic character, but ruined it with all the sex. The character has been overshadowed by sex, and occasional furry sex which was going into another realm altogether. I want a heroine who isn’t a heroine between the sheets, can get that in any porno!

Need an open mind, like whoa, for these ones. Oh, and the sex isn’t even that good!

All that said, Hamilton redeemed herself a lot with the latest book and brought things back around to a decent plot, good action and good characters. The sex was still there, just way tuned down. Last book was pretty good.

• Guilty Pleasures
• The Laughing Corpse
• Circus of the Damned
• The Lunatic Cafe
• Bloody Bones
• The Killing Dance
• Burnt Offerings
• Blue Moon
• Obsidian Butterfly
• Narcissus in Chains
• Cerulean Sins
• Incubus Dreams
• Micah
• Danse Macabre
• The Harlequin
• Blood Noir
• Skin Trade

Meredith Gentry Series – Laurell K. Hamilton
Like the Anita Blake series, this one also features a lot of sex. I have no idea why, though granted vampires and sex kinda go together, Meredith isn’t a vampire though – she’s fae. Fae royalty, to be exact, and hiding from her horrible aunt (queen) and cousin. A sort of sexed and magiced up version of that old story, big time sexed and magic!

Alright, if stuck.

• A Kiss of Shadows
• A Caress of Twilight
• Seduced by Moonlight
• A Stroke of Midnight
• Mistral’s Kiss
• A Lick of Frost
• Swallowing Darkness
• Divine Misdemeanors

Night World Series – L.J. Smith
This is a pretty cool series, but lacks something. I fel tit was a little broken up and all over the place, no fluidity between the books seeing as it’s meant to be a series. Yes, main characters are mentioned, or appear, in other book but not with much plot substance. The stories as standalone books though, as worth reading.

A min plot doesn’t really seem to come into things until the last 3 books (last as in last released, more books are due). I don’ tknow if the author delibrately did a running plot change, or it all comes together in the coming books, but the difference between the first and latest book is substantial. Originally, it was all about Circle Daybreak, an organisation of people with different abilities and vampires coming together – good vs bad type. Circle Daybreak is hardly mentioned in the last books, steering more towards items of power the bad guys want and individuals (not even the Circle working together in any form) trying to stop them.

Definintiely worth reading though.

• Secret Vampire
• Daughters of Darkness
• Spellbinder/Enchantress
• Dark Angel
• The Chosen
• Soulmate
• Huntress
• Black Dawn
• Witchlight

Night Walker Series – Jacquelyn Frank
This is a really cool series. Not vampires, but demons. Love the twist on demons and the action/romance is packed in with chracters that are whole and exciting.

The series starts with Jacob, an enforcer of the laws of the Demon King (Noah) – both very cool characters. Jacob inadvertantly meets Isabella while hunting one of his own. Jacob’s over 600 years old and never fallen for a human, unlike those he hunts. See, demons suffer from a “madness” ever full moon, a mating madness – nduge nudge wink wink. But it is againt their laws to fulfil their desires with humans, they must stay to their own kind. Jacob can’t stand it – he needs Isablle but what to do?! The enforcer of the rule, breaking it?! Exciting stuff! Even writing about this and remembering the series makes me want to read them again!

The following books on Gideon, Elijah, Damien and Noah bring more species into the series including vampires and werewolves and evolving a plot of cross species romance, betrayal, action in a very jam packed series.

This series, while sorter than most, has everything, in abundance. It’s just a shame there isn’t more to come!

• Jacob
• Gideon
• Elijah
• Damien
• Noah

Sookie Stackhouse Series – Charlaine Harris
The books that inspired the TV series – True Blood. I love the TV series but the books , as usual, are better! Vampires, telepaths, werewolves, fairies, wars, castles, reincarnated Elvis – and that’s just one book!

Do not miss these!

• Dead Until Dark
• Living Dead in Dallas
• Club Dead
• Dead to the World
• Dead as a Doornail
• Definitely Dead
• All Together Dead
• From Dead to Worse
• Dead and Gone
• A Touch of Dead

Riley Jensen Series – Keri Arthur
Half vampire, half werewolf – I mean come on? Does it get any better?

While Riley Jensen mostly shows her werewolf side, with the vampire side peaking through in troubling times, this series is riverting. A chunk of sex, but done tastefully enough and fit perfectly into her chracter.

• Full Moon Rising
• 2. Kissing Sin
• 3. Tempting Evil
• 4. Dangerous Games
• 5. Embraced By Darkness
• 6. The Darkest Kiss
• 7. Deadly Desire
• 8. Bound to Shadows

Dark Series – Christine Feehan
There are so many books in this series, but I can’t get enough. The next book out isn’t until Sept. 2010, argh! Not trying to wish the year away, but this series is seriously rocking.

A dying vampire family, not blood related – pardon the pun, each finding their true loves in humans with some psychic ability, but not without a battle on her hands. Hard battles frought with pain and misery, but with a light at the end of the tunnel. Also features wizardry, but tied in beautifully.

Highly recommend.

• Dark Prince
• Dark Desire
• Dark Gold
• Dark Magic
• Dark Challenge
• Dark Fire
• Dark Dream
• Dark Legend
• Dark Guardian
• Dark Symphony
• Dark Descent
• Dark Melody
• Dark Destiny
• Dark Hunger
• Dark Secret
• Dark Demon
• Dark Celebration: A Carpathian Reunion
• Dark Possession
• Dark Curse
• Dark Slayer

Paladin Series – Alexia Morgan
A very interesting and riveting twist on the vampire type species. Paladins are protectors of our world from those of the other world, simply known as “Others” – but each death they suffer, decreases their life span and drives them more and more insane. Working for the government, who don’t care about their lives only protecting the barrier seperating worlds, death comes often to these heroes and brings with it the threat of madness and death.

Until a women comes into their lives and changes this. Good stuff, worth checking out.

• Dark Protector
• Dark Defender
• In Darkness Reborn
• Redeemed in Darkness
• Darkness Unknown

Den of Shadows Quartet – Amelia Atwater-Rhodes

• In the Forests of the Night
• Demon in My View
• Shattered Mirror
• Midnight Predator

Dark Hunter Series -Sherrilyn Kenyon

• Fantasy Lover
• The Beginning (short story in Sins of the Night)
• Dragonswan
• Night Pleasures
• Night Embrace
• Phantom Lover (short story in Midnight Pleasures)
• A Dark-Hunter Christmas (short story in Dance with the Devil)
• Kiss of the Night
• Night Play
• Seize the Night
• Sins of the Night
• Second Chances
• Unleash the Night
• The Dark Side of the Moon
• The Dream Hunter
• Devil May Cry
• Upon the Midnight Clear
• Dream Chaser
• Acheron
• One Silent Night
• Dream Warrior
• Bad Moon Rising

Cassandra Palmer Series – Karen Chance

• Touch the Dark
• Claimed By Shadow
• Embrace the Night
• Curse the Dawn