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Posted by Grete, on February 12th, 2010 Sherrilyn Kenyon is one of the pioneers of supernatural romance. I’ve loved her work right from the first book I read and she remains one of my absolute favourite authors. Her characterisations and stories are amazing and I have no idea how she keeps the plotline running through 19+ books but she does and and the results are outstanding.
So what do you do when you have devoured everything she has written? Here are some recommendations for other authors in the same genre or with a similar style who I also love, and hopefully you might too!
J. R. Ward
Another author with a long running series, who has an amazing ability to bring her characters to life and into your hearts. Features vampires, hot men and sassy women, who could ask for more?
The following authors also write supernatural romance/urban fantasy but they are not quite as epic in scope as Sherrilyn Kenyon or J. R. Ward.
Keri Arthur
Keri Arthur’s ‘Riley Jensen’ Series are a great addition to the genre, with a gutsy, sexy heroine who is half-werewolf, half-vampire. The ‘Nikki and Michael’ vampire series has action as well as romance and the ‘Damask Circle Trilogy’ are definitely recommended reading too.
Patricia Briggs
For some werewolf love, Patricia Briggs brings the ‘Mercy Thompson’ Series to life and is an excellent, engaging, action packed read. Recently she has started on the ‘Alpha and Omega’ series from the same world, with two great characters who started out in a short story and are proving just as engaging. Lighter on the romance side than Kenyon but the story makes up for it.
Karen Chance
The ‘Cassie Palmer’ clairvoyant series has a bit of mystery going on, even with the numerous supernatural elements and makes for an exciting, sometimes heated mix. In addition to the main series, Karen Chance has recently begun a spin off series featuring the daughter of one of the main cast, which is shaping up to be a good read.
Kelley Armstrong
The ‘Otherworld’ series is going from strength to strength and Kelley Armstrong has a great way of telling stories through different character’s viewpoints. It starts with werewolves in Bitten and goes through several great characters who are witches, demons, sorcerors and necromancers. I love how she crosses their paths with other characters and often sets up the scene for following books as minor plots in the current one.
Rachel Caine
Two excellent series so far – ‘The Weather Wardens’ and their abilities to control the elements along with the enigmatic Djinn and her Young Adult series ‘The Morganville Vampires’. Both are excellent reads and highly recommended.
Kim Harrison
Witches, vampires, pixies oh my! The ‘Rachel Morgan’ series is a good solid read, inspired titles, humerous at times yet has its extremely poignant moments. Fast paced, full of action and definitely one to read.
Karen MacInerney
‘Tales of an Urban Werewolf’ are an easy, interesting and fun series to read. Doesn’t take itself too seriously but packs a punch when it needs to.
Carrie Vaughn
The brilliant ‘Kitty’ series (a misnomer since it’s about werewolves) just keeps getting better and Carrie Vaughn brings kick ass Kitty to life with style and panache.
If you have any other authors or books you feel would be enjoyed by people who loved Sherrilyn Kenyon, feel free to comment on this article with your recommendations.
Posted by Grete, on October 30th, 2009  About Karen Chance
Growing up in Orlando Florida, the bestselling novelist has lived in several countries before returning to Florida and settling in DeLand. With books translated into several languages and a nomination for Readers Choice for best Urban Fantasy Novel in 2008 she is a force to be reckoned with. A bit like her characters!
http://www.karenchance.com/
My Comments
I was introduced to these books by a friend and I’m glad I heeded her advice. Karen Chance creates an often dizzying world of vampires, clairvoyants, mages and the ultimate headspin of time travel. Her main character Cassandra Palmer is a gutsy heroine that got dropped in the deep end by becoming the world’s chief clairvoyant with no formal training or preparation. The charm of the books is how she deals with it and interacts with those around her, even those who would see her dead. My favourite secondary characters have to be Pritkin, the mad mage and Mircea, one hot vampire, both who have a vested interest in her and seeing her stay alive. The books are well written, the stories engaging and above all, you care about what happens to the characters. Well worth reading.
Bibliography
Cassandra Palmer
Dorina Basarab
Short stories
Posted by Grete, on September 24th, 2009 For Dorina Basarab, being a dhampir is not easy. Half-vampire, half-human and reviled by the vampiric community for being an abomination. Unpredictable due to blackout rages and short life spans, dhampirs usually go insane but Dorina manages to hang on to her sanity by being near her null friend Claire and unleashing her fury on those she believes deserve it. Dorina isn’t just any dhampir however, she’s also Mircea’s daughter.
I’m a big fan of Karen Chance’s main series, the Cassandra Palmer books, and I was keen to read this offshoot and I ended up quite disappointed. I didn’t gel well with the lead character of Dorina, she irritated me and really, the only thing that made the book worth reading were the rare appearances of Mircea. That’s not to say the book wasn’t well written or the story not interesting but it just didn’t have the charm and magic that the Cassie books do in abundance.
From an author whose work is usually outstanding, this is pretty average. There is one interesting thing I quite liked however, there is a very subtle but brief moment where Midnight’s Daughter melds with the first Cassie book. I won’t spoil it by saying any more than that but it is very subtle and a friend and fellow fan had to point it out to me the first time!
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Posted by Grete, on August 28th, 2009  Curse the Dawn continues Cassandra Palmer’s journey as the world’s Chief Clairvoyant, even if she hasn’t been sanctioned by the ruling magic council. They are even out to kill her so the power will pass to an initiate that has been trained to be a Pythia they can control. With both the Master Vampire Mircea and rogue War Mage Pritkin on her side, what can go wrong? As the war hots up, Cassie finds herself in the middle of it all, both sides looking to use her as a pawn and she just doesn’t take too kindly to being used.
This book was a rush from start to finish and absolutely a fantastic read. The action rarely stops and some of the situations Cassie finds herself in are hilarious as are the attempts to get out of them. My three favourite characters are all present – Cassie herself, Mircea and Pritkin all who you learn more about. I have to say Pritkin in this book is just brilliantly written and provides many laugh out loud moments. That’s not to say it’s all fun and games, the somber and tragic scenes often blindside you and at times can move you to tears.
I have to add in and without using any spoilers, the statue switcheroo was just inspired and really well executed.
I love all the books in the Cassie Palmer series but this is by far the best yet. I really can’t wait for the next one, and think I might actually have to re-read this one again straight away, for any bits I missed!
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Posted by Grete, on August 13th, 2008  Being the heir to the Pythia, the world’s chief clairvoyant, Cassandra feels she has way too much on her plate. The amount of power the position holds would make her attractive to all sorts of factions who would want to bend her to their own devices and she is sick of being used. Struggling to find someone else to be the heir while trying to unsnare herself from the master vampire who placed a geis on her, can she prevent her life from becoming one big bad day.
I was a little surprised at the direction this sequel took, but not unpleasantly. It delved more into the background of the characters, the history of the ‘world’, and also a lot more about the mysterious Pythia. It was as engaging and fast paced as the first, still a little confusing as it flipped around, but again the story didn’t suffer too much as a result. The Time travel seemed a little contrived but it did end up making a lot of sense. As in the first book, there wasn’t a lot of sex but the build up, anticipation and heat were very well done.
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Posted by Grete, on August 13th, 2008
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Very young children eat their books, literally devouring their contents. This is one reason for the scarcity of first editions of Alice in Wonderland and other favorites of the nursery.
Rosenbach, A. S. W.
About BookThing! BookThing! is a website where Grete can indulge her passion for books. There are reviews covering a range of genres (paranormal romance, crime, fantasy, romantic comedy), bibliographies for selected authors, features and sometimes the odd free book giveaway!
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