My Personal Faves Read in 2019!

So, I don't typically include my personal opinions on this blog.  I like to stick to list topics and the general opinion of the reading world, as rated by Goodreads users.  But today to wrap up 2019 I'd like to share with you my ten favorite books / series I read this year.  Back to our regular type of list tomorrow, today lets talk about my interest in sci fi / fantasy romance!  I'm only going to include one book or series by an author if I've read more by them, but I'll mention the others I've read too.

Captive of the Horde King by Zoey Draven - On the unforgiving planet of Dakkar, I did what all the humans in our village did: kept my head down, worked to provide for my family, and I certainly didn’t break any Dakkari laws to risk inciting the alien race’s merciless wrath.
Unfortunately, the same couldn’t be said for my brother and one careless mistake brings a horde of the nomadic, barbarian Dakkari straight to our doorstep, led by their powerful horde king—a cold, ruthless, battle-scarred warrior demanding retribution.
In order to save my brother’s life, I do the unthinkable.
I sell myself to the horde king as his war prize. I agree to warm his furs, to travel with his horde across the wild lands of Dakkar, and to never see my family again.
But as I struggle with my new reality, I discover that the surly, mysterious, dominant horde king never intended for me to be his concubine…
He wants me as his queen.  Book 1 of the Horde Kings of Dakkar series 

I decided to take a chance on Audible this year in about October.  I had a baby in May and haven't been able to read as much as I wanted to since then.  Getting Audible was a REVELATION.  I also invested in some Airpods and suddenly I'm tearing through 4-5 books a week.  It's wonderful.  Anyway, Captive of the Horde King was the first book I got on Audible and I instantly loved it.  Barbarian aliens?  I am soooo in.  This book had great world building, a wonderful romance, and a plot that kept me listening up late.  As I'm writing this I just realized that book two (Claimed by the Horde King) recently came out and I'm hoping that it's coming to audiobook soon too.

The Choosing by Lucy Varna - Ziri Mokuru has lived her entire life in the rural village of Arden Hollow on the planet Tersi. While her parents are off having adventures and being Very Important People, she's struggled simply to find a place where she belongs. One night, she investigates a disturbance in her home and discovers an armor-clad man sorting through her belongings. Her first thought is for her parents' safety, not to question why this man is in her home late at night without even the courtesy of knocking. After all, no one among the trusting Tersii breaks into someone else's home without a good reason.
Ryn abid Alna has an excellent reason for sneaking into Ziri's home. After years spent scraping together enough vud for the bride price, he's finally ready to steal a wife. One look at Ziri's sweet smile and Ryn decides no other woman will do. She can fix anything she touches, so why not the loneliness he's lived with since he was enslaved as a young boy?
Though Ziri longs for love, she's not so sure she's ready to settle down with the man who kidnapped her, especially after he jumps her into a nest of Sweepers, a sinister alien race bent on mayhem and destruction. As the day draws near when she faces Ryn's family on the Choosing field, Ziri ponders the hardest decision of her life: Fight for Ryn and the place he's made for her in his heart or choose another man as a life mate and risk never knowing love. Book 1 of the Pruxnae series

I got this book as a free review copy on Audiofreebies.com not being sure if I would like it.  Boy did it blow me away.  I loooved it.  I'm a sucker for alien abduction romances and I don't know what weird thing that says about me.  This book had a really interesting culture in it, and the world (galaxy?) building was neat too.  I put the other books in the series on my wishlist!

A Demon and His Witch by Eve Langlais - Burning alive is nothing compared to the heat of his touch.
There are better ways to break up with a girl than having her roasted at the stake as a witch. Is it any wonder Ysabel has trust issues? She got her revenge, though, and it only cost her a slightly tarnished soul.
Working for Lucifer isn't all bad, until her ex-boyfriend escapes the bowels of Hell and she's forced to team up with a womanizing demon to fetch the jerk back.
As a minion in Lucifer's legion, Remy's seen a lot of things, but nothing can prepare him for the witch with the acerbic tongue - and voluptuous figure. The more she pushes him away, the more determined he becomes to seduce her. However, what's a poor demon to do when he accidentally falls in love and wants to keep her forever?
Welcome to Hell where you're screwed if you do and damned if don't. And just so you know, Lucifer has a special spot reserved for you... Book 1 in the Welcome to Hell series

EVE LANGLAIS! My new author crush!  I read A LOT by her but I picked the Welcome to Hell series as my favorite.  So far I've read books 1-4.  Looking at her other series I think this may be a sequel series to one or more of her other series, but I never felt like I was missing any important information reading these.  They are very funny and very sexy.  I know I keep saying this about all the books... but I loved the world building.  The concept of hell in these books is interesting. 
Close second to these books were the Alien Abduction series, of which I read books 1-5.  Also I'm currently reading the Furry United Coalition books.  I'm on book 3 and they are very fun as well.  I love you Eve Langlais, can't wait to read more!

Empire of Sand by Tasha Suri - The Amrithi are outcasts; nomads descended of desert spirits, they are coveted and persecuted throughout the Empire for the power in their blood. Mehr is the illegitimate daughter of an imperial governor and an exiled Amrithi mother she can barely remember, but whose face and magic she has inherited.
When Mehr's power comes to the attention of the Emperor's most feared mystics, she must use every ounce of will, subtlety, and power she possesses to resist their cruel agenda.
Should she fail, the gods themselves may awaken seeking vengeance.... Book 1 in the Books of Ambha

Here is one that I actually did read the print version of rather than the audiobook.  I picked up this book while on a very quiet shift at the very small library branch I work at and I think I had binged over a hundred pages before I even left work.  This is a richly detailed fantasy with some romance too, but it wasn't as much the focus in this book as a lot of the other books I read this year.  I haven't gotten to the second book yet, but it's definitely on my radar.  Oh and Tasha Suri is a great follow on twitter!

How to Date Your Dragon by Molly Harper - Anthropologist Jillian Ramsay's career has taken a turn south.
Concerned that technology is about to chase mythological creatures out into the open (how long can Sasquatch stay hidden from Google maps?), the League for Interspecies Cooperation is sending Jillian to Louisiana on a fact-finding mission. While the League hopes to hold on to secrecy for a little bit longer, they're preparing for the worst in terms of human reactions. They need a plan, so they look to Mystic Bayou, a tiny town hidden in the swamp where humans and supernatural residents have been living in harmony for generations. Mermaids and gator shifters swim in the bayou. Spirit bottles light the front porches after twilight. Dragons light the fires under crayfish pots.
Jillian's first assignment for the League could be her last. Mystic Bayou is wary of outsiders, and she has difficulty getting locals to talk to her. And she can't get the gruff town sheriff, Bael Boone, off of her back or out of her mind. Bael is the finest male specimen she's seen in a long time, even though he might not be human. Soon their flirtation is hotter than a dragon's breath, which Bael just might turn out to be.... Book 1 in the Mystic Bayou series

Dragons are one of my absolute favorite character types, so this book caught my eye easy.  Add in the fun quirky southern town and a paranormal mystery and I was hooked.  I also read book 2 (Love and Other Wild Things) and I desperately want pie from Bathtilda's Pie Shop.

Ice Planet Barbarians by Ruby Dixon - You'd think being abducted by aliens would be the worst thing that could happen to me. And you'd be wrong. Because now, the aliens are having ship trouble, and they've left their cargo of human women - including me - on an ice planet.
And the only native inhabitant I've met? He's big, horned, blue, and really, really has a thing for me... Book 1 in the Ice Planet Barbarians series

More sexy aliens!  This time with blue skin!  I don't think I would like to visit not-Hoth, not being a fan of cold and snow myself, but Ruby Dixon almost makes it sound worth it with these swoony and fun blue barbarian aliens.  So far I've read 11 of these and I currently have book 12 queued up to read soon.  Also by Ruby Dixon I read book 1 of Fireblood Dragons (Fire in His Blood) - again, sucker for dragons.  And SUPER SPECIAL MENTION - I read Bound to the Battle God and I freaking loved this book sooo sooo much.  So much so that I almost put that as the header here for Ruby instead of IPB.  Seriously, it is so good.  I'm really hoping that turns into a series rather than just a stand alone.  I will be waiting!

Polaris Rising by Jessie Mikalik - In the far-distant future, the universe is officially ruled by the Royal Consortium, but the High Councillors, the heads of the three high houses, wield the true power. As the fifth of six children, Ada von Hasenberg has no authority; her only value to her high house is as a pawn in a political marriage. When her father arranges for her to wed a noble from House Rockhurst, a man she neither wants nor loves, Ada seizes control of her own destiny. The spirited princess flees before the betrothal ceremony and disappears among the stars.
Ada eluded her father's forces for two years, but now, her luck has run out. To ensure she cannot escape again, the fiery princess is thrown into a prison cell with Marcus Loch. Known as the Devil of Fornax Zero, Loch is rumored to have killed his entire chain of command during the Fornax Rebellion, and the Consortium wants his head.
When the ship returning them to Earth is attacked by a battle cruiser from rival House Rockhurst, Ada realizes that if her jilted fiance captures her, she'll become a political prisoner and a liability to her house. Her only hope is to strike a deal with the dangerous fugitive: a fortune if he helps her escape.
But when you make a deal with an irresistibly attractive devil, you may lose more than you bargained for.... Book 1 in the Consortium Rebellion

Ada is my number 1 bad ass space princess...followed closely...or tied with... her sister Bianca in book 2 (Aurora Blazing)  These books are everything I want in a space opera romance and more.  These two I both read in print version rather than in audio, having discovered them before I starting using Audible, but I'm tempted to grab the audio versions just to revisit these wonderful ladies.  Also, Jessie Mihalik is another great follow on twitter!  Can't wait for book 3!

Tamed by the Troll by Tracy Lauren - Once the belle of her village, life took a dark turn for Adelaide upon her parent's death. Plagued by lingering grief, there was not a soul who didn't turn their back on her. They called her angry and spiteful...hell, they called her a monster.
One fateful day Adelaide finds herself alone, lingering on the edge of the perished woods - a cursed and evil place. Without warning, an orc army attacks.
Her village ablaze, Adelaide races into the perished woods, seeking refuge in a place of nightmares. With orcs at her heels, she's desperate to escape. But when the young woman crosses an aging stone bridge in the middle of the cursed forest she's met with an even more fearsome enemy. A troll...one who is determined to save her. Book 1 in the Perished Woods series

This was my second read on Audible!  This is an interesting take on fairy tale creatures and tales in this book and I am totally here for it.  Besides that, this was a great exploration of grief.  I see now that book 2 is out now too, so that will be going on my wishlist.  Also Tracy Lauren has an alien series?  The TBR list never ends....

Wild Blood by Naomi Lucas - Dommik was a monster, a Monster Hunter, and an alpha. Part of an elite group that dealt with the horrors of the universe. At least that was what everyone at the spaceport was whispering as he walked by.
A Cyborg, a hunter, a beast with eyes as dark as the pits of Hell and the stride of a predator. Katalina was a nobody who was intimate with death. It clung to her like a shroud, It followed her like the plague, and infected her like a parasite.
When she overheard that the Monster Hunter needed an assistant, she took the job. And when the Cyborg's eyes caught hers, she knew getting closer to death might just bring her back to life. The Cyborg didn't scare her. So she followed him and left fate up to chance. Book 1 in the Cyborg Shifters series

So...this book actually did make me blush when I tried to explain the premise to my husband.  It's a romance with a cyborg shifter who is part..spider?  It sounds very weird when I try to explain it...but I loved it.  Dommik gives me very Dom vibes and I am here for that.  I also read books 2 & 3, but book 4 doesn't seem to be on Audible from what I remember..but is on my TBR list too.

The Winter King by C. L. Wilson - After three long years of war, starkly handsome Wynter Atrialan will have his vengeance on Summerlea's king by taking one of the man's beautiful, beloved daughters as his bride. But though peace is finally at hand, Wynter's battle with the Ice Heart, the dread power he embraced to avenge his brother's death, rages on.
Khamsin Coruscate, Princess of Summerlea and summoner of Storms, has spent her life exiled to the shadows of her father's palace. Reviled by her father, marriage to Wintercraig's icy king was supposed to be a terrible punishment, but instead offers Kham her first taste of freedom - and her first taste of overwhelming passion.
As fierce, indomitable Wynter weathers even Khamsin's wildest storms, surprising her with a tenderness she never expected, Kham wants more than Wynter's passion - she yearns for his love. But the power of the Ice Heart is growing, dangerous forces are gathering, and a devastating betrayal puts Khamsin and Wynter to the ultimate test. Book 1 in the Mystral series

This was a truly epic fantasy! I loved it! The romance had a lot of ups and downs and will they / won't they that made me verrrry anxious but I was rewarded for making it through.  Book 2, The Sea King is on my radar for 2020!




Wow ok I don't usually write this much of my own opinion and I am feeling verrrry anxious about this, but I hope you've enjoyed hearing about what I enjoyed in 2019.  See you tomorrow with a new list! 

Werewolves

With only two days to go until Halloween, I am running out of time for my spooky fiction!  Here we go with werewolves!

Darkness Unbound by Keri Arthur - Being half werewolf and half Aedh, Risa Jones can enter the twilight realms between life and death and see the reapers, supernatural beings that collect the souls of the dead. But she soon makes a terrifying discovery: Some sinister force is stealing souls, preventing the dead from ever knowing the afterlife.
Reapers escort souls--not snatch them--but Risa is still unnerved when a reaper shadows her in search of someone Risa has never met: her own father, an Aedh priest, who is rumored to be tampering with the gates of hell for a dark purpose. With the help of her "aunt"--half-werewolf, half-vampire Riley Jenson--and an Aedh named Lucian who may have lost his wings but none of his sex appeal, Risa must pursue whatever shadowy practitioner of blood magic is seizing souls, and somehow stop her father . . . before all hell breaks loose.  Book 1 of 7 in the Dark Angels series

How to Flirt With a Naked Werewolf by Molly Harper - Even in Grundy, Alaska, it's unusual to find a naked guy with a bear trap clamped to his ankle on your porch. But when said guy turns into a wolf, recent southern transplant Mo Wenstein has no difficulty identifying the problem. Her surly neighbor Cooper Graham--who has been openly critical of Mo's ability to adapt to life in Alaska--has trouble of his own. Werewolf trouble.
For Cooper, an Alpha in self-imposed exile from his dysfunctional pack, it's love at first sniff when it comes to Mo. But Cooper has an even more pressing concern on his mind. Several people around Grundy have been the victims of wolf attacks, and since Cooper has no memory of what he gets up to while in werewolf form, he's worried that he might be the violent canine in question.
If a wolf cries wolf, it makes sense to listen, yet Mo is convinced that Cooper is not the culprit. Except if he's not responsible, then who is? And when a werewolf falls head over haunches in love with you, what are you supposed to do anyway? The rules of dating just got a whole lot more complicated. . . . Book 1 of 3 in the Naked Werewolf series 

Hungry Like the Wolf by Paige Tyler - INTRODUCING SWAT: SPECIAL WOLF ALPHA TEAM
They're tight
They're on target
They're as alpha as men can get
The Dallas SWAT team is hiding one helluva secret...they're a pack of wolf shifters.
The team of elite sharpshooters is ultra-secretive-and also the darlings of Dallas. This doesn't sit well with investigative journalist Mackenzie Stone. They must be hiding something...and she's determined to find out what.
Keeping Mac at a distance proves impossible for SWAT team commander Gage Dixon. She's smart, sexy, and makes him feel alive for the first time in years. But she's getting dangerously close to the truth-and perilously close to his heart...Book 1 of 10 in the SWAT series

Moon Awakening by Lucy Monroe - When Emily Hamilton's family is ordered to send a woman to the Scottish highlands for marriage to the Laird of the Sinclair, Emily volunteers in order to save her younger sister from such a fate. But at her new home, the only friend she finds is the Laird's sister - especially after Emily's stubborn streak causes the Laird to cancel the marriage. Lachlan Balmoral is Laird of his clan - and leader of his pack. One of the most feared werewolves prowling the highlands, he is on the march against the hated Sinclair, who have abducted a Balmoral woman. Book 1 of 6 in the Children of the Moon series 

Moon Called by Patricia Briggs - Mercy Thompson is a shapeshifter, and while she was raised by werewolves, she can never be one of them, especially after the pack ran her off for having a forbidden love affair. So she's turned her talent for fixing cars into a business and now runs a one-woman mechanic shop in the Tri-Cities area of Washington State.
But Mercy's two worlds are colliding. A half-starved teenage boy arrives at her shop looking for work, only to reveal that he's a newly changed werewolf--on the run and desperately trying to control his animal instincts. Mercy asks her neighbor Adam Hauptman, the Alpha of the local werewolf pack, for assistance.
But Mercy's act of kindness has unexpected consequences that leave her no choice but to seek help from those she once considered family--the werewolves who abandoned her... Book 1 of 12 in the Mercy Thompson series

Primal Law by J. D. Tyler - Meet the Alpha Pack, a top-secret military team of wolf-shifters fighting the most dangerous predators in the world, human and nonhuman. After a massacre leaves Jaxon Law crippled, he must relearn how to fight-and battle the anger and guilt threatening to overwhelm him. But when Jax rescues a beautiful woman who awakens his primal instincts, he is unprepared for the dangers that lie ahead. Soon he must decide if the deep connection he feels with Kira is worth defying the ultimate shifter law... Book 1 of 7 in the Alpha Pack series 

Sealed With a Curse by Cecy Robson - Celia Wird and her three sisters are just like other 20-something girls--with one tiny exception: they're products of a backfired curse that has given each of them unique powers that make them, well, weird. The Wird sisters are content to avoid the local vampires, werebeasts, and witches of the Lake Tahoe region--until one of them blows up a vampire in self-defense. Everyone knows vampires aren't aggressive, and killing one is punishable by death. But soon more bloodlust-fueled attacks occur, and the community wonders: are the vampires of Tahoe cursed with a plague? Celia reluctantly agrees to help Misha, the handsome leader of an infected vampire family. But Aric, the head of the werewolf pack determined to destroy Misha's family to keep the region safe, warns Celia to stay out of the fight. Caught between two hot alphas, Celia must find a way to please everyone, save everyone, and oh yeah, not lose her heart to the wrong guy--or die a miserable death. Because now that the evil behind the plague knows who Celia is, it's coming for her and her sisters. This Wird girl has never had it so tough. Book 1 of 5 in the Weird Girls series 

The Silvered by Tanya Huff - The Empire has declared war on the small, were-ruled kingdom of Aydori, capturing five women of the Mage-Pack, including the wife of the were Pack-leader. With the Pack off defending the border, it falls to Mirian Maylin and Tomas Hagen--she a low-level mage, he younger brother to the Pack-leader--to save them. Together the two set out on the kidnappers' trail, racing into the heart of enemy territory. But with every step the odds against their survival, let alone their success, grow steeper... 

What's a Witch to Do? by Jennifer Harlow - High Priestess might sound like an '80s hair band, but its Mona McGregor's life. She runs the Midnight Magic shop in Goodnight, Virginia, and leads a large coven. She's also raising two nieces and hasn't been with a man for fifteen years. Then a handsome doctor takes an interest in her-- and a sexy werewolf arrives at her door! Hell's bells! When a demon begins stalking her, Mona has to find out who wants her dead... and who really wants her... Book 1 of 3 in the Midnight Magic series 

Written in Red by Anne Bishop - As a cassandra sangue, or blood prophet, Meg Corbyn can see the future when her skin is cut--a gift that feels more like a curse. Meg's Controller keeps her enslaved so he can have full access to her visions. But when she escapes, the only safe place Meg can hide is at the Lakeside Courtyard--a business district operated by the Others.
Shape-shifter Simon Wolfgard is reluctant to hire the stranger who inquires about the Human Liaison job. First, he senses she's keeping a secret, and second, she doesn't smell like human prey. Yet a stronger instinct propels him to give Meg the job. And when he learns the truth about Meg and that she's wanted by the government, he'll have to decide if she's worth the fight between humans and the Others that will surely follow.  Book 1 of 5 in the Novel of the Others series 

Vampire Fiction

Continuing our spooky month theme, here are vampire novels!

The Care and Feeding of Stray Vampires by Molly Harper - "The thing to remember about a 'stray' vampire is that there is probably a good reason he is friendless, alone, and wounded. Approach with caution."
Iris Scanlon, Half-Moon Hollow's only daytime vampire concierge, knows more about the undead than she'd like. Running their daylight errands--from letting in the plumber to picking up some chilled Faux Type O--gives her a look at the not-so-glamorous side of vamps. Her rules are strict; relationships are purely business, not friendship--and certainly not anything more. Then she finds her newest client, Cal, poisoned on his kitchen floor, and her quiet life turns upside down.
Cal--who would be devastatingly sexy, if Iris thought vampires were sexy--offers Iris a hefty fee for hiding him at her place. And even though he's imperious, unfriendly, and doesn't seem to understand the difference between "employee" and "servant," she agrees. But as they search for who wants him permanently dead, Iris is breaking more and more of her own rules . . . particularly those about nudity. Could it be that what she really needs is some intrigue and romance--and her very own stray vampire?  Book 1 of 7 in the Half Moon Hollow series

Dark Lover by J. R. Ward - In the shadows of the night in Caldwell, New York, there's a deadly turf war going on between vampires and their slayers. There exists a secret band of brothers like no other-six vampire warriors, defenders of their race. Yet none of them relishes killing more than Wrath, the leader of The Black Dagger Brotherhood. The only purebred vampire left on earth, Wrath has a score to settle with the slayers who murdered his parents centuries ago. But, when one of his most trusted fighters is killed-leaving his half-breed daughter unaware of his existence or her fate-Wrath must usher her into the world of the undead-a world of sensuality beyond her wildest dreams. Book 1 of 18 in the Black Dagger Brotherhood series 

Dark Prince by Christine Feehan - Carpathians are an immortal race of beings with animal instincts. Every Carpathian male is drawn to his life mate: a Carpathian or human female able to provide the light to his darkness. Without her, the beast within slowly consumes the man until turning vampire is the only option.' Raven Whitney is a psychic who has used her gift to help the police track down a serial killer. Now she is determined to escape the glare of recent publicity for the peace and quiet of the Carpathian Mountains. Prince Mikhail Dubrinsky is the leader of his people but, as his ancient Carpathian race grows ever closer to extinction, he is close to giving in to the heavy weight of loneliness and despair. From the moment their minds touch, Raven and Mikhail form a connection. But there are those who incorrectly view all Carpathians as vampires, and are determined to give their extinction a helping hand. Book 1 of 33 in the Dark Carpathians series 

Guilty Pleasures by Laurell K. Hamilton - My name is Anita Blake. Vampires call me The Executioner. What I call them isn't repeatable.Ever since the Supreme Court granted the undead equal rights, most people think vampires are just ordinary folks with fangs. I know better. I've seen their victims. I carry the scars...But now a serial killer is murdering vampires-and the most powerful bloodsucker in town wants me to find the killer... Book 1 of 26 in the Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter series 

Halfway to the Grave by Jeaniene Frost - Half-vampire Catherine Crawfield is going after the undead with a vengeance, hoping that one of these deadbeats is her father--the one responsible for ruining her mother's life. Then she's captured by Bones, a vampire bounty hunter, and is forced into an unholy partnership.
In exchange for finding her father, Cat agrees to train with the sexy night stalker until her battle reflexes are as sharp as his fangs. She's amazed she doesn't end up as his dinner--are there actually good vampires? Pretty soon Bones will have her convinced that being half-dead doesn't have to be all bad. But before she can enjoy her newfound status as kick-ass demon hunter, Cat and Bones are pursued by a group of killers. Now Cat will have to choose a side . . . and Bones is turning out to be as tempting as any man with a heartbeat. Book 1 of 7 in the Night Huntress series 

A Hunger Like No Other by Kresley Cole - After enduring years of torture from the vampire horde, Lachlain MacRieve, leader of the Lykae Clan, is enraged to find the predestined mate he's waited millennia for is a vampire. Or partly one. Emmaline Troy is a small, ethereal half Valkyrie/half vampire, who somehow begins to soothe the fury burning within him.
Sheltered Emmaline finally sets out to uncover the truth about her deceased parents--until a powerful Lykae claims her as his mate and forces her back to his ancestral Scottish castle. There, her fear of the Lykae--and their notorious dark desires--ebbs as he begins a slow, wicked seduction to sate her own dark cravings.
Yet when an ancient evil from her past resurfaces, will their desire deepen into a love that can bring a proud warrior to his knees and turn a gentle beauty into the fighter she was born to be? Book 1 of 17 in the Immortals After Dark series 

The Lesser Dead by Christopher Buehlman - The secret is, vampires are real and I am one. The secret is, I'm stealing from you what is most truly yours and I'm not sorry... New York City in 1978 is a dirty, dangerous place to live. And die. Joey Peacock knows this as well as anybody--he has spent the last forty years as an adolescent vampire, perfecting the routine he now enjoys: womanizing in punk clubs and discotheques, feeding by night, and sleeping by day with others of his kind in the macabre labyrinth under the city's sidewalks. The subways are his playground and his highway, shuttling him throughout Manhattan to bleed the unsuspecting in the Sheep Meadow of Central Park or in the backseats of Checker cabs, or even those in their own apartments who are too hypnotized by sitcoms to notice him opening their windows. It's almost too easy. Until one night he sees them hunting on his beloved subway. The children with the merry eyes. Vampires, like him--or not like him. Whatever they are, whatever their appearance means, the undead in the tunnels of Manhattan are not as safe as they once were. And neither are the rest of us.

Night Pleasures by Sherrilyn Kenyon - Dear Reader,
Have you ever wanted to know what it's like to be immortal? To journey through the night stalking the evil that preys on humans? To have unlimited wealth, unlimited power? That is my existence, and it is dark and dangerous. I play hero to thousands, but am known to none. And I love every minute of it.
Or so I thought until one night when I woke up handcuffed to my worst nightmare: a conservative woman in a button-down shirt. Or in Amanda's case, buttoned all the way up to her chin. She's smart, sexy, witty, and wants nothing to do with the paranormal-in other words, me.
My attraction to Amanda Devereaux goes against everything I stand for. Not to mention the last time I fell in love it cost me not only my human life, but also my very soul. Yet every time I look at her, I find myself wanting to try again. Wanting to believe that love and loyalty do exist.
Even more disturbing, I find myself wondering if there's any way a woman like Amanda can love a man whose battle scars run deep, and whose heart was damaged by a betrayal so savage that he's not sure it will ever beat again.
Kyrian of Thrace  Book 1 of 28 in the Dark-Hunter series 

The Raven by Sylvain Reynard - Raven Wood spends her days at Florence's Uffizi gallery restoring Renaissance art. But an innocent walk home after an evening with friends changes her life forever. When she intervenes in the senseless beating of a homeless man, his attackers turn on her, dragging her into an alley. Raven is only semiconscious when their assault is interrupted by a cacophony of growls followed by her attackers' screams. Mercifully, she blacks out, but not before catching a glimpse of a shadowy figure who whispers to her. Cassita vulneratus. When Raven awakes, she is inexplicably changed. Upon returning to the Uffizi, no one recognizes her. More disturbingly, she discovers that she's been absent an entire week. With no recollection of her disappearance, Raven learns that her absence coincides with one of the largest robberies in Uffizi history the theft of a set of priceless Botticelli illustrations. When the police identify her as their prime suspect, Raven is desperate to clear her name. She seeks out one of Florence's wealthiest and most elusive men in an attempt to uncover the truth. Their encounter leads Raven to a dark underworld whose inhabitants kill to keep their secrets.  Book 1 of 4 in the Florentine series 

Some Girls Bite by Chloe Neill - Sure, the life of a graduate student wasn't exactly glamorous, but it was Merit's. She was doing fine until a rogue vampire attacked her. But he only got a sip before he was scared away by another bloodsucker and this one decided the best way to save her life was to make her the walking undead.
Turns out her savior was the master vampire of Cadogan House. Now she's traded sweating over her thesis for learning to fit in at a Hyde Park mansion full of vamps loyal to Ethan Lord o the Manor Sullivan. Of course, as a tall, green-eyed, four-hundred-year-old vampire, he has centuries' worth of charm, but unfortunately he expects her gratitude--and servitude. But an inconvenient sunlight allergy and Ethan's attitude are the least of Merit's concerns. Someone's still out to get her. Her initiation into Chicago's nightlife may be the first skirmish in a war...and there will be blood.  Book 1 of 13 in the Chicagoland Vampires series 

Books with Librarians

February is Library Lovers Month, so here are ten books that feature a librarian as a character.

Books Can Be Deceiving by Jenn McKinlay - Lindsey is getting into her groove as the director of the Briar Creek Public Library when a New York editor visits town, creating quite a buzz. Lindsey's friend Beth wants to sell the editor her children's book, but Beth's boyfriend, a famous author, gets in the way. When they go to confront him, he's found murdered-and Beth is the prime suspect. Lindsey has to act fast before they throw the book at the wrong person.

The Bookshop on the Corner by Jenny Colgan - Nina Redmond is a literary matchmaker. Pairing a reader with that perfect book is her passion... and also her job. Or at least it was. Until yesterday, she was a librarian in the hectic city. But now the job she loved is no more. Determined to make a new life for herself, Nina moves to a sleepy village many miles away. There she buys a van and transforms it into a bookmobile--a mobile bookshop that she drives from neighborhood to neighborhood, changing one life after another with the power of storytelling. From helping her grumpy landlord deliver a lamb, to sharing picnics with a charming train conductor who serenades her with poetry, Nina discovers there's plenty of adventure, magic, and soul in a place that's beginning to feel like home... a place where she just might be able to write her own happy ending.

Jade Dragon Mountain by Elsa Hart - On the mountainous border of China and Tibet in 1708, a detective must learn what a killer already knows: that empires rise and fall on the strength of the stories they tell. Li Du was an imperial librarian. Now he is an exile. Arriving in Dayan, the last Chinese town before the Tibetan border, he is surprised to find it teeming with travelers, soldiers, and merchants. All have come for a spectacle unprecedented in this remote province: an eclipse of the sun commanded by the Emperor himself. When a Jesuit astronomer is found murdered in the home of the local magistrate, blame is hastily placed on Tibetan bandits. But Li Du suspects this was no random killing. Everyone has secrets: the ambitious magistrate, the powerful consort, the bitter servant, the irreproachable secretary, the East India Company merchant, the nervous missionary, and the traveling storyteller who can't keep his own story straight. Beyond the sloping roofs and festival banners, Li Du can see the mountain pass that will take him out of China forever. He must choose whether to leave, and embrace his exile, or to stay, and investigate a murder that the town of Dayan seems all too willing to forget.

A Murder for the Books by Victoria Gilbert - Librarian Amy Webber leaves her university job to live with her aunt in a historic Virginia mountain town. She lands a new gig managing the charming public library, which has too little money and too many eccentric patrons. The last thing busy Amy needs is a charming new neighbor. Choreographer Richard Muir inherited the farmhouse next door--and its scandalous story--from his great-uncle. Town folklore claims the original owner was poisoned by his wife, who vanished after her 1925 murder trial. When Richard persuades Amy to help him clear the name of the woman his great-uncle loved, their research implicates the town's leading families ... even hers. Amy and Richard crack open the books to turn the page on the town's turbulent past.

Murder Past Due by Miranda James - Everyone in Athena, Mississippi, knows Charlie Harris, the good-natured librarian with a rescued Maine coon cat named Diesel that he walks on a leash.  He's returned to his hometown to immerse himself in books, but soon enough he's entangled in a real-life thriller...
 A famous author of gory bestsellers and a former classmate of Charlie's, Godfrey Priest may be the pride of Athena, but Charlie remembers him as an arrogant, manipulative jerk--and he's not the only one. Godfrey's homecoming as a distinguished alumnus couldn't possibly go worse: by lunch, he's put a man in the hospital. By dinner, Godfrey's dead.
 Now it's up to Charlie, with some help from Diesel, to paw through the town's grudges and find the killer before an impatient deputy throws the book at the wrong person. But every last one of Charlie's friends and co-workers had a score to settle with the nasty novelist. As if the murder wasn't already purr-plexing enough...

Nice Girls Don't Have Fangs by Molly Harper - Maybe it was the Shenanigans gift certificate that put her over the edge. When children's librarian and self-professed nice girl Jane Jameson is fired by her beastly boss and handed twenty-five dollars in potato skins instead of a severance check, she goes on a bender that's sure to become Half Moon Hollow legend. On her way home, she's mistaken for a deer, shot, and left for dead. And thanks to the mysterious stranger she met while chugging neon-colored cocktails, she wakes up with a decidedly unladylike thirst for blood.
Jane is now the latest recipient of a gift basket from the Newly Undead Welcoming Committee, and her life-after-lifestyle is taking some getting used to. Her recently deceased favorite aunt is now her ghostly roommate. She has to fake breathing and endure daytime hours to avoid coming out of the coffin to her family. She's forced to forgo her favorite down-home Southern cooking for bags of O negative. Her relationship with her sexy, mercurial vampire sire keeps running hot and cold. And if all that wasn't enough, it looks like someone in Half Moon Hollow is trying to frame her for a series of vampire murders. What's a nice undead girl to do?

A Novel Murder by Elizabeth Penney - Faith Newberry's dream job may be morphing into a nightmare. Newly hired as the librarian at the upscale and pet-friendly Castleton Manor literary retreat, Faith sees her move from Boston to the quaint Cape Cod village of Lighthouse Bay, Massachusetts, as a boon. But things turn ugly when she discovers that the first edition book by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle proudly displayed in the library is a counterfeit and not a very good one at that. Who could have absconded with the real volume? Could it have been the former librarian when she mysteriously disappeared leaving only a cryptic note of resignation? Or has someone else duped the handome heir to the Castleton estate, Wolfe Jaxon? Whichever is the case, it soon becomes clear that someone will stop at nothing to keep her from learning the truth.

The Sorrow Proper by Lindsey Drager - The Sorrow Proper is a novel-length investigation of the anxiety that accompanies change. A group of aging librarians must decide whether to fight or flee from the end of print and the rise of electronic publications, while the parents of the young girl who died in front of the library struggle with their role in her loss. Anchored by the transposed stories of a photographer and his deaf mathematician lover each mourning the other's death, The Sorrow Proper attempts to illustrate how humans of all relations--lovers, parents, colleagues--cope with and challenge social "progress," a mechanism that requires we ignore, and ultimately forget, the residual in order to make room for the new, to tell a story that resists "The End." This debut novel explores the hypothetical end of the public library system and a young theory in the hard sciences called Many Worlds, a branch of quantum mechanics that strives to prove mathematically that our lives do not follow a singular, linear path.

To Win Her Heart by Karen Witemeyer - Having completed his sentence for the unintentional crime that derailed his youthful plans for fame and fortune, Levi Grant looks to start over in the town of Spencer, Texas. Spencer needs a blacksmith, a trade he learned at his father's knee, and he needs a place where no one knows his past. But small towns leave little room for secrets...
Eden Spencer has sworn off men, choosing instead to devote her time to the lending library she runs. When a mountain-sized stranger walks through her door and asks to borrow a book, she steels herself against the attraction he provokes. His halting speech and hesitant manner leave her doubting his intelligence. Yet as the mysteries of the town's new blacksmith unfold, Eden discovers hidden depths in him that tempt her heart.
Levi's renewed commitment to his faith leads Eden to believe she's finally found a man of honor and integrity, a man worthy of her love. But when the truth about his prodigal past comes to light, can this tarnished hero find a way to win back the librarian's affections?

Wonderland Creek by Lynn Austin - Alice Grace Ripley lives in a dream world, her nose stuck in a book. But happily-ever-after life she's planned on suddenly falls apart when her boyfriend, Gordon, breaks up with her, accusing her of living in a world of fiction instead of the real world. Then to top it off, Alice loses her beloved job at the library because of cutbacks due to the Great Depression.
Fleeing small-town gossip, Alice heads to the mountains of eastern Kentucky to deliver five boxes of donated books to the library in the tiny coal-mining village of Acorn. Dropped off by her relatives, Alice volunteers to stay for two weeks to help the librarian, Leslie McDougal.
But the librarian turns out to be far different than she anticipated--not to mention the four lady librarians who travel to the remote homes to deliver the much-desired books. While Alice is trapped in Acorn against her will, she soon finds that real-life adventure and mystery--and especially romance--are far better than her humble dreams could have imagined.