Series and Trilogies and Such

As a hardcore reader, I follow several series by different writers. I thought I'd list some just to make a list (there is something nice about making a list, isn't there? I wonder why that is...).

It's kind of difficult to list things by genre, because fantasy/science fiction/mystery/romance and so on and so forth mix so freely in the hands of many writers, so here are just the series I try to follow and some that have already been finished that I've enjoyed.

Kresley Cole: Immortals After Dark (romance, (urban) fantasy)
-a great variety characters and supernatural beings, refreshing and often very sexy

J.R. Ward: Black Dagger Brotherhood, Fallen Angels (slightly darker romance/fantasy)
-dramatic and well-written, sometimes pretty harsh and the language can be rough, but I think it all works beautifully

Jayne Ann Krentz: The Arcane Society (paranormal romantic suspense, varying from Victorian times to the future), Harmony (futuristic romantic suspense)
-an ongoing series which dips into all the three times Krentz places her stories in, always a solid, good read

Carrie Vaughn: Kitty (how could I resist a werewolf called Kitty? :D urban fantasy)
-quirky, very suspenseful, a leading character I adore

Gail Carriger: Parasol Protectorate (Victorian, steampunk, mystery, bit of romance there, too, and lots of humour)
-weird, absurd and just brilliant

Lynsay Sands: Argeneau/Rogue Hunter (romantic, funny, with a fresh take on vampires)
-lighter than many other vampire series though not without excitement, unapologetically romantic and often absurd and hilarious

Charlaine Harris: Sookie Stackhouse, Harper Connelly, both urban fantasy/mystery, with some romance thrown in (and finished series Lily Bard and Aurora Teagarden, both more traditional mysteries with great leading ladies)
-they're all great, what can I say...

Laurell K. Hamilton: Merry Gentry (sexy urban fantasy) and well, I still read Anita Blake every now and then...
-the Merry Gentry series is about the Sidhe, it's highly imaginative and very sexy, and Anita, slew of lovers aside, can still kick butt and some of the more mystery-oriented books in the series are very good

Jeaniene Frost: Night Huntress (aka Cat and Bones, romantic urban fantasy)
-there's just something addictive about this series and the leading couple is a fun one, to be sure

Mary Balogh: the Slightly series, the Simply quartet and the ongoing series about the Huxtables (Regency romance)
-one of the few Regency writers I just can't stop reading, the characters are simply stellar and the period detail is excellent

Janet Evanovich: Stephanie Plum (humorous mysteries)
-Stephanie Plum is one of those heroines who make me feel like a success; absurd mysteries with hilarious characters, family-drama and PB&J thrown in

Maria V. Snyder: Study trilogy, ongoing Glass series (fantasy)
-a wonderfully created world (the same in both series), engaging characters, plenty of twists and turns and back-stabbing, love it :)

Faith Hunter: Rogue Mage and Jane Yellowrock
-kick-ass heroines, interesting plots, the first series takes place in a post-apocalyptic world and the second is a contemporary urban fantasy

And these are just off the top of my head. I'm constantly running out of bookshelves. I guess it's my bad luck that I prefer to read in English which means that the local library can only help me so far (my country is bilingual and let me tell you, English isn't one of the two). If I want to read something, odds are that I have to buy it. Hence the hoarding. Not that I'd let anyone have most of my books. I like being my own library :D

A Spot of Urban Fantasy (Surprised? Not.)

Being at loose ends at this awkward stage between studying and a hypothetical summer job, I've made it my mission to start reading through my towering TBR pile.

I hadn't read Ilona Andrews before, but for a long time I'd heard nice things about her work. Since I felt a hankering for urban fantasy, I picked up On the Edge and started reading. Excellent fun, nice world-building, a good bit of romance, a few great beasties. A thoroughly enjoyable read and a quick one for me since I just breezed through it in one day. Then I wished I hadn't because it ended. It was one of those books :) On to Andrews' other series now, I think...

Nicole Peeler's Tempest Rising was another recommendation. I simply have to bring this up: I was kind of confused by the cover artwork. I don't usually much pay attention to covers since some of my all-time favourites have terrible or tacky covers. Romance and Fantasy as genres are kind of known for the occasional lousy covers, after all. It's not bad, it's actually very pretty in that manga-inspired way, I just think it doesn't fit with the tone of the book. The cover led me to expect something more 'young adult' than the novel was; it was a mature book in my humble opinion. I did like the book very much, the leading character Jane True has to have one of the most distinctive voices I've read and her inner dialogue is incredibly well-written and often laugh-out-loud funny. This story also gets a few bonus points because the leading character isn't a vampire or a werewolf. Thumbs up for the variety :) Loved the story and will read the next installment. Still, I just don't get the cover... But that's details. It's a fun book and absolutely worth checking out.