A few of my favourite things: Paranormal Romances

I love a wide range of fiction genres. Crime, Fantasy, Sci-fi, Urban fiction and Steampunk are right up there in my favourites. But top of the pops for me over the past few years have been Paranormal Romances. This has been an ever growing and popular genre, and our collections are just chokka full of paranormal goodness. These following Paranormal Romance series are my personal top 5, and are full of amazing world building and characters and plots I have laughed and cried over.

One of the first authors I came across when I started my love affair with Paranormal Romance was MaryJanice Davidson with her Queen Betsy series. MaryJanice is just so hilarious, and takes characters that should probably be pretty darn unlikable and makes you kind of love them. The titular Betsy begins the first book in the series Undead and unwed by losing her job, getting killed, and finding herself a member of the undead. She is also pretty disgruntled about the fact that the vampire community think she is their prophesied Queen; Betsy just wants to buy pretty designer shoes ;)

There is the tall, dark and gorgeous (and rather undead) Eric Sinclair to complicate matters further, as her potential consort to the unwanted throne. As the series progresses we meet werewolves, mermaids, zombies and Betsy's rather hellish younger half sister and so much more. MaryJanice has done several other series that both stand alone and tie into this one, including the Fred the Mermaid series (which starts with Sleeping with the fishes) and The Wyndham Werewolf series (we have Derik's bane). If you like a whole lot of humour with your paranormal romance (and really nice designer shoes), then MaryJanice is the author for you!

Next up on my list is Charlaine Harris, the author of the Sookie Stackhouse series which the TV series True Blood is based on. I was not initially a fan of the book series, which is entirely down to my stupidity in choosing a random book halfway through and then being completely confused about what was going on. Then I became 100% addicted to the TV series, so I went back to the books to fill my need for Sookie between seasons. When I actually started with the first book Dead until Dark, I totally loved the series (funny that). There are some pretty major differences between the books and the TV series, but I loved them both in their own way (and I way prefered the way the books ended to the way the show ended, ahem). If you don't know, Sookie is a waitress is a small town in Louisiana, with the 'gift' of being able to read minds. Due to the creation of True Blood, a synthetic blood, vampires have come out of the closet as it were. Local vampire Bill is rather attractive to Sookie, as she discovers that vampire minds are closed to her, which to a telepath is like all her Christmases have come at once. Vamps are still finding their new place in the world, and it makes for a fantastic series!

Perhaps my favourite paranormal vamp of them all is Bones from Jeaniene Frost's Night Huntress series. In the first book Halfway to the grave Bones takes main protagonist Catherine Crawfield (known as Cat) and helps to turn her into a completely kick ass vampire killing machine, which is kind of an interesting place to start when he is a vamp himself, and she is a half vamp! Cat is on a mission to take out as many vampires as she can to avenge the attack on her mother, but somehow learns along the way that maybe not all vampires are bad.  These guys are just plain HAWT and so are lots of their buddies that we meet along the way (personal favourite: Vlad Tepesh, who just happens to be that most famous vampire of them all - he even gets his own series which starts with Once burned).

I discovered Ilona Andrews and her Kate Daniels series when I took part in an online chat with NZ author Nalini Singh (another fav who features below). When I asked Nalini who some of her favourite authors and series were, this was on her list, and boy can I see why! In the first book Magic bites we meet merc Kate, and she is AMAZING. Easily one of my favourite kick butt heroines out there for sure. Kate's world is in a bit of a mess. Technology went too far and so magic decided to fight back, and now the world is hit by magic waves where tech doesn't work, and all kinds of magical beings exist, which is usually not really a good thing. There are two factions in Kate's city, the Shapeshifters lead by alpha Curran (talk about alpha male at his best), and the People, who operate vampires, which are mindless beings that are controlled by navigators. The world building in this series is fantastic, wouldn't want to live there, but love love love my visits!

And talking about fantastic world building, Nalini Singh has created not one, but two fabulous series, set in worlds similar yet oh so different to our own. We can be extra proud of Nalini as she is a New York Times bestselling Kiwi, based right here in Auckland. I have been lucky enough to meet her a couple of times at book events, and she is as amazingly nice as she is talented, with lots of time for her fans, especially on social media. The first of her series is my personal favourite the Psy-changeling one, which starts with Slave to sensation. While each book in the series focuses on a couple and the development of their relationship, there is a brilliant overarching storyline that is further developed with each book in the series. It focuses on the changing dynamic between the three main races (the Changelings, the Psy and humans) and in particular the crumbling of the Psy race (a race with psychic abilities) and its impact on society. I LOVE THESE BOOKS!

Second up by Nalini is the Guild Hunter series, which starts with Angels' blood. I do love this series too, but I always find it interesting chatting to other fans, everyone seems to love one slightly more over the other. To me this is a slightly darker series, set in a world where we are ruled by Archangels. Elena, the main protagonist is a Hunter. Her job is to hunt rogue vampires that have run away from their Angel masters. I do love the totally different take on vampires in this series, and Archangel Raphael is terrifyingly gorgeous! I'm personally hanging out for more about Ilium, I just can't get enough of the Angel also known as Bluebell ;)

For more about these fantastic authors (and nice comprehensive lists of all their series and titles), you can find their websites at:
MaryJanice Davidson
Charlaine Harris
Jeaniene Frost
Ilona Andrews
Nalini Singh

(PS - you may have noticed I managed to sneak an extra series into my top five, MWAHAHAHA!. Sorry, just couldn't choose between Nalini's ;) )

Werewolves, walking trunks and magical dresses!

My 'second' update! The trouble with reading books you don't know about is that you're always going to come across one or two that didn't particularly float your boat. Fortunately, books aren't written to take everyone's fancy, so if a werewolf romance or shenanigans in love (or fantastical tourists) sound like a bit of you, then grab these books for what could be your idea of a good time.

A book by a female author - Bitten by Kelly Armstrong

Elena is your average everyday modern woman - except, she's also a werewolf. The only female werewolf in the world, in fact. After being transformed against her will by her lover, Clay, and finding she didn't fit in well, she left her 'pack' to try her hand at becoming a normal person again, living in cities and working your normal 9-5 job with an even normal-er fiancee. It's been years that her pack has tried to contact her, but now the Alpha is calling her back - the pack family is under siege and someone is murdering humans on their land.

A paranormal romance, this one was the first werewolf romance I've read since Twilight (if you could call it one). While not a huge fan of Elena herself, I could definitely see how Armstrong became the immensely popular author she is today if this was her first in what is now a HUGE series.

A book by an author you love that you haven't read - The Colour of Magic by Terry Pratchett

I'm a fan of the hugely popular Discworld series, but I came in late to the books - starting with Going Postal. I had read a few of the older ones, but never bothered to read the first, as I'd already seen the movie. However, when this category came up, I thought I might as well. An earlier work and you can tell, it was still interesting to read of the 'beginning' of the Disc.

Rincewind is by far the most useless wizard in Ankh-Morpork. He only knows one spell, and even then he's never used it. When Ankh-Morpork's first ever tourist Twoflower turns up, with a sentient trunk and bundles of gold, it's Rincewind who gets stuck with him as a tour guide. All his life, Rincewind has tried to avoid trouble - but all Twoflower seems to want is trouble. Seeing dragons, meeting barbarians and getting in pub fights is all on his to-do list, and Rincewind is unfortunately dragged along.

A book with a love triangle - The Dress Shop of Dreams by Menna van Praag

Cora is a scientist, with no time for love, or feelings of any heartfelt manner. Walter is the young man with a heartbreaking voice at the bookstore, who is hopelessly in love with her. And Etta is Cora's troublemaker of a grandmother, who sells dresses that are magic. Everyone is nursing a broken heart, and only Etta takes any steps to fix them. Not hers, of course, but definitely Cora's. When Etta's magic goes awry, nothing goes to plan as Walter finds 'love' elsewhere and Cora gets entangled in a strange crime regarding her parents death.

Van Pragg is a unique storyteller. Every chapter follows a different characters perspective and gives insight to how everyone reacts to Etta's well intentioned magic. The different perspectives did get me a bit confused at times, but it was a magical read with lots of twists and turns.

Man Candy

Okay I admit it this is a post about raunchy books featuring hot guys on the covers - in other words man candy.  It may seem kinda shallow and even a little sexist, something of which I am neither, but enjoying a look at a hot guy (or girl) is something that we all do at times.

Personally what makes me go weak at the knees is a sexy voice, a bad boy attitude and good dose of seductive charm  - and yes I'm looking at you Mark Sheppard, Richard Armitage and and a few others I won't bother naming but who are all very much swoon worthy IMO.

My first hot guy crush was Andy Gibb.  I kid you not. What can I say. It was the 70's and I was only 8 at the time so my taste in guys was probably not the best.  Since then crushes have come and gone.  There was Leif Garrett (whatever happened to him... *goes off to check out online*... comes back horrified), John Taylor (still pretty hot), Jeremy Northam as Mr Knightly and so on

Crushes are fun and harmless and book publishers are certainly aware that a good looking guy on the cover can be a pretty good incitement so if you're looking for some eye candy why not check out some (if not all) of the following.

 Changing the game / Jaci Burton.

"Sports agent Liz Darnell will do anything to win back her number-one client, baseball pro Gavin Riley. And Gavin's more than ready- especially when Liz is offering herself as part of the bargain."

What can I say except the guy has a hot chest.

Sometimes it's nice to be shallow.

Mystery man / Kristen Ashley

"Gwendolyn Kidd has met the man of her dreams. He's hot and sexy... it's just a little strange that he only appears in her bed at night..."

A touch of mystery is always a good thing.  Pretty much all of my fictional crushes from Mr Darcy in Pride and Prejudice to Lucas North in Spooks had that air of mystery about them and just made them all the more enticing...

 All out of love : a cupid, texas novel / Lori Wilde

"Football star Pierce Hollister finds himself back home, running a ranch in Texas, wondering how it all went wrong. But one thing is right: Lace Bettingfield -trouble is, she won't even give him the time of day."

Cowboys are a thing. Especially when they wear a gun.  I love a man with a gun or a sword or any kind of weapon really.  Which is probably why I love shows like Justified (sign... Raylan Givens)

Tiger magic / Jennifer Ashley

"Carly thinks her life is complete--until her car breaks down on the side of the road and the only one around to help her is a wild-looking Shifter. When Tiger sees Carly he knows instantly he has found his mate. But, as Carly is drawn into his Shifter world, will she risk everything for love."

Shape shifters sounds so cool.  Especially if they can turn into tigers.

 Forever / Jacquelyn Frank

"Police officer Jackson Waverly cannot stop thinking about Dr. Marissa Anderson, the gorgeous precinct shrink who keeps pushing him to confront his grief over the loss of his K-9 partner. But what Marissa really arouses in Jackson is intense desire, a desire that could cost her her life."

Another bare chest, another shallow moment.  Cops can be pretty hot also.

Bound by night / Larissa Ione

"Nicole Martin was only eight years old when the vampire slaves rose up in rebellion and killed her family. Now she devotes her life to finding a vaccine against vampirism, hoping to wipe out her memories along with every bloodsucker on the planet. But there's one thing she cannot destroy: her searing, undeniable attraction for the one man she should hate the most: a vampire"

As you may know from a previous post (see Vampires and Bad Boys) I have a thing for vampires, especially bad boy vampires.

 Men out of uniform / Maya Banks

 "They may enforce the rules, but when men in uniform are off duty and under the covers, they're experts at breaking them. And in this anthology these men know all about breaking the rules and then some..."

Cops, Sheriff's, US Marshall's; there is just something about a man in a uniform and even more so when he is out of it...

Uncommon pleasure / Anne Calhoun

"Two tales of two women, each daring to challenge the boundaries of the toughest of men...But in these edgy, heated encounters, the greatest thing each woman will risk is her heart."

More men who spend more time out of uniform than in it and who know how to make a woman go weak at the knees...

Marathons: A Pure Indulgence (Part 1): Paranormal Pandemonium

I love marathons.

And no I'm not talking about the kind of marathons you run. Because heaven forbid. Me? Run? Sorry not gonna happen.

What I am talking about are movie marathons, TV series marathons, book and author marathons.  The kind of thing where you indulge yourself completely in something.  Bingeing. At least according to a recent article that appeared in Canvas the NZ Herald weekend supplement.

It is, it seems, a relatively new phenomenon.  Who knew?

Well my partner and I  - apparently. Because we've been binge watching for several years now.  Or marathon watching as we call it. In fact marathon watching a TV show is the only way to watch a show.

Trust me you don't know what you're missing until you've tried it.

It's seriously addictive. And once you start you can't stop. And of course marathon works really well with other mediums too such as movies and books. 

Winter is a perfect marathony time of the year. When you can spend endless hours indoors and not have to feel even a little bit guilty about it.  And yes I know marathony isn't a word but if you can think of a better word let me know.  In the mean time there is nothing better than stretching out on the couch with a hot beverage, a king size bar of chocolate and the utter indulgence of a marathon session.

Supernatural

8 seasons and counting.

Supernatural as you may know is my god.  The show that I measure all other shows to.

It's brilliant and funny and sad and exciting and... well I could just go on.  But I won't.  Just check it out for yourselves.  You will soon be hooked.

The Vampire Diaries    

Hot vampires? Check. Badass werewolves? Check. Love Story. Double Check.  And of course it has some great indie music.

Vampire Diaries is a confusing, somewhat trashy mess and it's all the better for it.  This is not a show to take seriously, instead just sit back and root for your favourite vampire bad-boy Damon Salvatore and wallow in his misery.

It's awesome stuff

Buffy the vampire slayer

Buffy was my first love.  

It was a show that broke all boundaries combining horror with humour in a subtle and exciting way.  It took itself seriously without taking itself seriously - if that makes any sense.

Throwing out the dumb blonde who always got killed and spinning it all on it's head and turning her into a kick ass heroine who could be girly one minute and stab a vampire with a stake the next.

In a word it was bloody fantastic.

Being Human

Being Human was the British way of making a paranormal TV show and it had it's  own unique, dark touch to it, something the Brits do so well.

There were struggles with identity and acceptance... and creatures even badder than you wanting to kill you. Who knew that being a vampire, werewolf or ghost could be so hard.

Laurell K. Hamilton

Before there was Buffy there was Anita Blake.

The gutsy heroine struggling to live in a world of vampires, werewolves, zombies and other creatures of the night.  As well as having problems with her love life.

What's a girl to do
 
J. R. Ward

A society of vampire warriors who defend their race against those that would do them harm, the Black Dagger Brotherhood are the ultimate vampires.

The covers of this series also let you know that these guys are not only deadly but sexy too.  Featuring as they do, a variety of bare-chested men. Sex sells and the popularity of this series is a testament to this.

It's the perfect romance/paranormal series to indulge in.

Sherrilyn Kenyon    

More warriors.

More sexy, hot men who will do anything for the women they love.

The Dark Hunter series features immortal warriors dedicated to defending mankind from the forces of evil. It's heady, sexy stuff.

Christine Feehan

Of course you just knew they were going to be more sexy, hot men.  In the Carpathain series these men are a powerful and ancient race, skilled in the art of killing... and love.

Finding a suitable mate though is difficult, especially in the world of mortals.

And the men in our lives thought they had it hard.

Review: Heart of obsidian by Nalini Singh [Jan]

Sahara is a NightStar, part of the strong clan of F-Psy who forsee events to come.  She is only a sub designation B, with the gift of backsight.  But she has another talent, so powerful no one knows of it.  Except her captor.  Held hostage for seven years and forced to use her power to benefit her kidnapers, she created a labyrinth in her mind to escape to so complex no one could breach it.  Then she was rescued from her prison.

Kaleb Krycek is the youngest member of the Psy Council.   Icily ruthless, he is an extremely dangerous and powerful Tk.  He’s been looking for Sahara for years before he teleports her to his fortress-like home in remote Russia.  Kaleb’s motives are shrouded in mystery; does he want Sahara in order to gain control of her power or is there a deeper connection?

I knew it!  The answer to a question was what I thought and it was so obvious!  A lot of questions are answered and some storylines wrapped up, while others remain a mystery and new possibilities for the Psy/changeling/human world are opened.  The plot was tightly packed with lots of action, chilling motives of fanatics, and the steamy hot love scenes Nalini Singh writes so well.  The pace moved well with events neatly flowing after each other, and the different points of view were easy to follow.  There was also a HEA.

A must read for fans, this story can be read as a standalone. I strongly recommend reading the rest of the series first though, mainly to enjoy the backstories of this compelling world.  Parental discretion is advised due to the passionate love scenes.


Title: Heart of obsidian
Author: Nalini Singh
Published: Gollancz, 2013
Series: Book 12 in Psy-Changeling
Reviewer: Jan