Paranormal Romance

Do you like reading stories about zombies, werewolves, vampires? If you say yes,  you might want to try reading a paranormal romance.  They have action, adventure, fantasy, time travel, sci-fi and of course, legendary creatures. The one thing that will remain true with this romance sub-genre is that there will be a happy ending. Here are a few excellent Paranormal romances.

Destiny's Star by Elizabeth Vaughn is an amazing fantasy romance adventure. This is the 3rd in the star trilogy.  Destiny's Star is a classic love story about one talespinning guy who can't properly sit a horse, and a warrior who does not believe herself worthy of the bard. This novel is full of adventure. There are sword fights, magic, war, love political intrigue and justice.  Vaughn keeps your attention from the beginning until the end.  If you want to read the whole series begin with Dagger Star, then White Star and conclude with Destiny's Star. They are definitely worth the read even if you are not fond of typical romance stories.

Laurell K. Hamilton's Guilty Pleasures is the first in a vampire series. Anita Blake  is a necromancer and vampire hunter. In this time period vampires are protected by law, as long as they don't kill humans. However, when vampires go rogue it is Anita's job to track them down and end their existence. Jean-Claude is the second most powerful vamp and he is definitely interested in Anita for more than just her professional skills.

Shadow Game by Christine Feehan is a  New York Times Bestseller. Christine Feehan plunges readers into the darkest recesses of the mind as a man and a woman discover the terrifying power -- and the forbidden passion -- that could destroy them both.

Sins of the Heart by Eve Silver. A national bestselling author introduces a darkly sexy new series about forbidden alliances . . . and inescapable desires. This includes a feisty strong female heroine, Roxy and demigod Dagan. When they meet again after 11 years passion ignites. The two adversaries must work together to solve a murder mystery.

L. A. Banks (1959-2011) Rest in Peace

It is with a heavy heart that I report the death of author Leslie Esdaile Banks, who wrote urban fantasy as L. A. Banks.  She died August 2, 2011 of cancer at the age of 51. Philadelphia born Banks attended both the University of Pennsylvania and Temple University.
Her first fantasy novel was Minion, which began the Vampire Huntress series back in 2003. She has also written the Crimson Moon series and had just began a new series about angels with Surrender the Dark and the forthcoming Conquer the Dark. She also contributed stories to many paranormal romance and other anthologies. She was a fantastic writer and I would recommend her books to fantasy and romance readers alike.
Try one of her following series and enjoy the talent and wit that she always brought to the page.  We will miss her.

Vampire Huntress Legend series

Minion
The Awakening
The Hunted
The Bitten
The Forbidden
The Damned
The Forsaken
The Wicked
The Cursed
The Darkness--on order
The Shadows--on order
The Thirteenth--on order

Crimson Moon series

Bad Blood
Bite the Bullet
Undead on Arrival
Cursed to Death
Never Cry Werewolf
Left for Undead

Surrender the Dark series

Surrender the Dark
Conquer the Dark

Collections

The Ancestors--813.0873808 Ance
Valentine's Day is Killing Me--813.08505 Vale (by Leslie Esdaile)

RITA Awards Part Two

Here are the remaining RITA Award finalists and winners the Washington-Centerville Public library owns. You can find the complete listing of winners and finalists at http://www.rwanational.org/cs/2010_rita_finalists.

For Historical Romance

Not Quite A Husband   (Winner) by Caitlin Alexander
This novel will make you laugh, cry and fall in love time and again.

Wicked All Day by Liz Carlyle
Reserved man meets a spoiled,yet charming woman, who consistently requires him to save her from herself.

With Seduction In Mind by Laura Lee Gurhke
This story has well-developed characters. The characters are set opposite each other and get on each others nerves until the sparks fly.

To beguile a beast by Elizabeth Hoyt
A blend of fantasy, reality and a sensual romance story.


Knight Of Pleasure by Margaret Mallory
A romance adventure story that shouldn't be missed!


For Inspirational Romance

Entertaining Angels / Judy Duarte
This is an uplifting inspirational novel that teaches readers to accept others for who they are and not what they look like.

An eye for an eye / Irene Hannon.  Irene Hannon.
This novel is a story of personal growth filled with romance, suspense and a strong christian message.

The Silent Governess / Julie Klassen
The Silent Governess is an interesting and satisfying soujourn into 19th century England.

For Paranormal Romance

Kiss Of A Demon King (Winner) by Kresley Cole
A dark paranormal romance in an urban setting filled with hot scenes where the evil queen plays with the handsome righteous king. 


For Best Regency Historical Romance

What Happens In London by Julia Quinn
A fun light-hearted historical romance.

A View To A Kiss by Caroline Linden
A sweet historical romance filled with intrigue and suspense.

Surrender Of A Siren  by Tessa Dare
A passionate tale of a runaway bride and a dark, dangerous privateer.


For Young Adult Romance

Perfect Chemistry (Winner) by Simone Elkeles
A story of forbidden love, acceptance and courage.

Put a Stake in it, Already*

Imagine the scene: Mild-mannered book lovers stand in the stacks wondering what to read next. Suddenly from behind every corner jumps a vampire crouched to attack the plots of every genre, sucking out the originality, intrigue, and, when they're very skilled (dare I say it?) writing talent from before our very eyes. Quick! Call Buffy, text Van Helsing, bring on Blade, or Anita Blake, or Jacob and his wolfish clan, but whatever you do, please, please, please: someone needs to stop the vampire takeover!

Not being much of a horror fan (I blame reading Roald Dahl's The Witches as a kid --I was terrified for weeks), I've never had much exposure to vampires. My first intro to the bloodsuckers was because I'm a sucker for humor and I'd heard good things about Christopher Moore's You Suck which was pretty funny. I wouldn't say I instantly became a convert to all things vampiric, but I enjoyed it. A year or two later, all the buzz raised my curiosity and I read the Twilight series and, no, it wasn't really my cup of tea but it seemed, much like the "vegetarian"vampires on its pages, to be relatively harmless. People were lining up in masses to read the tale of Bella, and hey...if it's something that people like to read, it's all to the good....right?

But now, everywhere I look, vampires have taken over. Every genre now seems to have an entire subgenre of vampire-driven stories. As I was looking at a book website the other evening, I noticed a forthcoming book called Wuthering Bites, part of the smash-up lit genre that's emerged (e.g., Pride and Prejudice and Zombies) where Wuthering Heights meets... of course...vampires. I'm not even reading these books and I'm tired of them. I have vampire fatigue by proxy.

If you, too, are a bit tired of the vampiric takeover of all things fiction, but still want a good read for the Halloween season, I highly recommend Audrey Niffenegger's new release, Her Fearful Symmetry, a creepy good ghost story that will haunt me for while. Other books safe for a vampire-free Halloween diet include Ghost Music and Neverwhere, or just about anything by Stephen King.

*Thanks to Scott, also sick of the vampire takeover, who graciously suggested the title of this blog post.

Another Day Dawns

If you haven't been living under a rock recently then you know what August 2, 2008 is. I can hear the screams already: "Edward", "Edward", "Edward".... That's right folks, Stephenie Meyer's Breaking Dawn will be available this Friday! It's a wonderful YA series full of vampires, werewolves, & young love. I love the audiobooks and the reader is fantastic! Read them in this order:
Twilight
New Moon
Eclipse
Breaking Dawn

If you like "creatures of the night", then try a few of these other series with "bite":
Guilty Pleasures by Laurell K. Hamilton
Dead Witch Walking by Kim Harrison
Gil's All Fright Diner by A. Lee Martinez
Minion by L. A. Banks
Dead as a Doornail by Charlaine Harris

"Southern Vampire" Series Coming to HBO This Fall

Readers nowadays can't seem to get enough of vampires. The paranormal romance and dark fantasy genres are just filled to the brim with writers hoping to make a buck off of those pesky bloodsuckers and their creepy pals. However, one author who's staked her claim in the genre, so to speak, and done it extremely well, is Charlaine Harris. Her popular "Southern Vampire" series, of which From Dead to Worse is the latest, is an entertaining and darkly humorous twist on Southern Gothic starring everyone's favorite telepath, Sookie Stackhouse, and in which vampires and other assorted baddies that go bump in the night are very real and make no apologies for it. And in case you've been living under a rock lately, Sookie Stackhouse and her gang are coming to TV land this fall in the form of the HBO vampire series "True Blood." Interested? You betcha! Especially since it's being produced by Alan Ball, creator of the very popular (and very good) series, "Six Feet Under." So read the books now (we've got 'em all) and get the Tivo ready for September.

The "Southern Vampire" series by Charlaine Harris:

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